This was… I had a hard time collecting my thoughts. They were a mess. It was like my brain was caught in a fog, and concentrating on more than one thing was hard.
I looked around again, trying to double-check what I had seen, ensuring they were correct. The trees were full of leaves, there were flowers, the grass was green, and the sun was high in the sky. This was not the start of April; it looked more like summer.
Had the lightning strike messed with my memory? I was having trouble concentrating. I looked at my clothes. I had worn these before, and I remembered buying them. I returned to the thought that I needed help, and I was unable to walk a few meters without feeling like my legs would collapse, so what to do, I thought.
I pulled out my phone. The screen was black. I held down the power button, and nothing. I grumbled a bit, dug out the power bank from my backpack again, and hit the charge indicator. It did not show any charge and did not even blink.
I went into the bag again and pulled out a hard case containing some small solar cells. I opened them and connected the charging cord to the power bank, and after a minute, the charge indicator on the power bank came on.
While it would take an entire day to fill the power bank, I should be able to turn on my phone after about an hour, giving me enough power to make some calls. So I leaned back, waiting for the sun to charge my power bank and for my head to clear up, as well as stop it from spinning whenever I stood up.
After a bit, I started to alternate between walking around the bench and resting on it whenever I felt dizzy, or my legs were about to give out. The first few times, Sam followed me around, but after a while, she just remained on the bench while I took longer and longer walks around it.
I felt very proud of myself the first time I could walk around the bench several times without sitting down. I still felt the need to puke my guts out, but due to my amazing walking abilities, I started to venture further away from the bench. Well, that was to the oak tree and back, so not that far.
Hey, you would think that was impressive, too, if your legs turned to Jell-O as fast as mine did, and I was also trying to prevent myself from doing another nose dive into the forest bug-filled detritus. My nose had spent enough time that day functioning as a plow.
After a while, the dizziness had subsided, and I only felt some discomfort in my stomach when moving around, but I was starting to feel mentally drained.
I sat down and clicked the button on the power bank, 5% charge the display reported, and 12 hours until it was fully charged.
I put the solar cells and power bank on the ground and put my legs up on the bench while placing the backpack behind my back against the armrest so I could sit comfortably, Sam jumped up and crawled up on me, laying her head on my stomach, which made me winch with anticipation, but I hardly felt any pain, it was more like a weak, dull pain now, so I ignored it.
While I petted Sam, I was contemplating how to get home. But after a few minutes, I let my mind wander while watching two ducks dabbling in the pond.
I awoke hearing a loud noise, and I will neither confirm nor deny that it was my… ehh… snoring that woke me up. I looked down at Sam and gestured for her to move, but she did not budge.
‘Sam, get up. I need my legs,’ I said to no avail.
I leaned forward, forcing her to head off me, and moved back a bit, allowing me to free my legs. After I turned around, she immediately plopped back down on the bench, giving me an annoyed look.
I bent down to check the power bank and was surprised at the charge level. The display showed 42%. How many hours had I slept? I did the math in my head; around 5 hours, maybe more, I was unsure, I checked the display, and it said 7 hours until fully charged. If I remember correctly, it was 12 hours from a full charge when I last checked. Had I really slept 5 hours on this bench?
‘No matter,’ I thought. I pulled out my phone and placed it on top of the power bank, and after a few seconds, the power bank showed wireless charging as active. A few seconds later, the phone display came on, showing a charging icon.
I sat there impatiently waiting for the phone to turn on, just staring at the display, “Come on,” I blurted out while trying to will the bloody thing to turn on.
“Finally,” I said as the Apple logo appeared on the phone. A few seconds later, the phone asked for a password and the SIM code. I finished punching it in and went to the contacts page wanting to call for help, but I realized I did not know where I was.
I opened the maps app and pressed the triangle for my location, and nothing happened. No maps started to load, and only the compass seemed to be working. I went to the contact and pondered for a minute who to call. I felt silly calling emergency services now that I was not in pain and could walk a bit. My head also felt a lot clearer.
After a few seconds more, I pressed Dan’s number, I knew he would be either at home or in his store at this time of day, and I could not be far from his store. I hit dial, and the phone reported no network connection.
‘Strange,’ I thought. I went through the menus and checked if the cellular modem was active and if the phone was in airplane mode, but still no signal. I took the phone off the power bank and held it above my head. Again no signal.
I stood up and walked around a bit, and it still showed no signal. I rechecked the GPS, and it still had not found satellites to get a lock on where I was. The phone showed 1% power, so I put it back on the power bank and sat back on the bench.
Where was I that I could not get a signal? This forest was not that big, and it only took a few hours to walk around it, an hour a most to walk along the longest path inside it. That brought my thoughts back to the pond, it was way too small, only the size of a football field, and I don’t remember there being any ponds in the forest.
Stolen story; please report.
I looked up, still seeing the sun high in the sky, which provoked a question, how long had I been here? I looked at the phone again.
Friday 5. April 02.25.
“That can’t be right,” I said out loud. That was only four and a half hours after leaving Dan’s store.
It also showed the time as the middle of the night, but it was closer to noon now. I speculated if phones keep their internal clock running when out of power or if they only update time when they turn on and connect to a cell tower. I was not sure about that.
“Mid-day…” I said slowly.
I looked up and back down again quickly. ‘Hey, bonehead, don’t stare at the sun,’ I thought to myself.
Where was the sun? I thought back to when I first sat down on this bench, it was over the pond to the left side of it, and it was still there. It had not moved.
‘That can’t be right,’ I thought. I tried to remember back to before I had fallen asleep. Yes, I am sure the sun is in the same location. Because I had been hoping it would move behind the leaves of the tree in front of the pond so I could sit there in the tree’s shadow.
I sat there for a minute, my mind going over the possibilities. If lightning had hit me, that could also have messed up my phone. The thought of that bothered me, not that I was stuck by lightning. But that my phone had been. I just bought the damn thing four months ago. A lightning strike could also have messed with my memory and sense of time.
My thoughts returned to the need to find help. First, I picked up my jacket, wanting to put it on but stopped, it was too hot for a winter jacket, so I tied it around my waist. Next, I attached the solar panels to the back of the backpack, so they could at least charge the power bank while I walked.
I looked at Sam, “Come on, we need to get home,” I said to her, and she perked right up and came down from the bench. I tried to figure out of the sun was setting or rising but was unable to see. So I looked at my phone again, but still no cellular or GPS signal. But the compass worked. If I was still in the forest next to my town, the closest path to help was there, and it was south of the forest. I looked at the time on the phone, it might not be showing the correct time, but I could still use it to measure my travel time.
02.46.
I managed to cram my phone and power bank into my pants pocket and hoped it would continue to charge the phone. Then, I pointed my nose south and started to walk slowly. I passed the large oak tree and still felt no dizziness or shakiness in my legs.
I saw what looked like a path in the direction I needed to go and was a bit relieved. At least other people walked along here before.
After a few minutes of walking, I took a few seconds to see if I should continue or if Sam or I needed a break. I was not feeling tired or any discernible pain, still just some soreness in my right side, but I felt no issues in continuing to walk.
I started to walk again, this time paying more attention to Sam. She mainly looked fine. But she did limp slightly on her left leg.
We continued walking, and I was glad I did not feel any urge to stop. Apparently, the nap I had involuntarily taken was just what was needed to find my walking legs again. Oh, and as a bonus, I thought while walking, I had managed not to throw up during this whole ordeal. I considered that a huge victory.
After a while, we came to a crossing with four signs.
Wyscan Pond ->
Hiking Trails ->
<- Trolls meadow
<- Town
I knew we had some wooden troll sculptures, I had walked passed them a few times, but I did not know about Wyscan Pond. I did not even know there was a pond in this forest. I only knew about the much larger lake.
I looked at the sign with the text town on it and followed the path it directed me to.
After walking for a while, I pulled out my phone. Still no signal. I checked the time.
03.21
Thirty-five minutes had passed, which seemed long. I kept thinking about where I could be in the forest but quickly put that thought aside. I knew I would be out sooner or later, and I was not feeling nearly as bad as I had a few hours ago.
The number of trees started to lessen, and I saw a field. Finally, we were out. We kept walking for a few more minutes until I saw what appeared to be a car in the distance. As we got closer, I saw the car in a grass field. I went off the path and walked towards it.
This was not a new car but an old one, a Maroon red Volvo PV544.
The only reason I knew what make and model it was, is that my father loves classic cars, and one of his friends owns one. It looked in good condition but was dirty and could use a wash.
The driver-side door was open, I looked inside, and the interior was almost pristine. Someone had taken good care of this beauty. Although, there was some dirt on the driver seat, and it looked as if the door had been open in bad weather. I closed the door, just out of habit, wondering what a car like this was doing in a grass field.
I heard Sam bark and looked up. Sam does not often bark, sure, when playing with her and such, yes, but on a typical day, it was rare.
“Sam,” I said, but she did not respond. She barked again, and I heard the direction it came from. I turned and walked in her direction. I could see her. She was standing still, looking at me, then turned around, and then back to me.
“Come here,” I said while clapping the side of my leg, but she remained still.
I walked over to her and saw someone lying in the grass. I took a few more steps and froze. In front of Sam was a dead body.
I stood there frozen. I do not know for how long. What shook me out of it was a sensation in my stomach, I threw up or tried to, but almost nothing came out, but that did not stop my body from trying to repeatedly expel what it could.
After a bit, I stopped trying to throw up, collected myself, and looked back at the body, trying to suppress another urge to throw up.
This was not just someone lying in the grass and I thought was dead. This was a human body mutilated, cut open, no, mauled open, bites taken out of, flesh eaten. This had not happened today, as there were maggots and flies all over it.
I took a few quick steps toward Sam, grabbed her collar, and dragged her away while trying to suppress the gag reflex that had intensified as the smell hit me.
I stopped at the car, bracing myself against it, trying not to panic or throw up again. That was a man, a dead man. He had died days ago, was he killed? How did this happen? My mind raced through scenarios, and after a few awful ones had run through my head, I stopped myself. Yes, this could have been a murder or an animal attack, it could also have been an old man out with his car, and he had a heart attack or something.
I again had to stop my head from going off on unhelpful speculations. I needed to get back to the city, get help, and report what I had found.
Still holding Sam’s collar, I wondered where her leash was.
‘Nevermind,’ I thought, keeping a tight hold on her collar while leading her beside me. I quickly walked back to the forest path leading back to town.
We continued at a fast pace, and after a while, I let go of Sam’s collar as my stomach started to hurt from walking bent sideways. She continued to follow.
My head was spinning, and my thoughts were racing, and they did not calm down until I saw buildings in the distance.
I walked faster again, trying to figure out where I was, looking past the terraced houses and trying to recognize any buildings or landmarks. But after a few minutes, I stopped at a large street crossing and looked down the streets, then at the street names.
I did not recognize buildings, and none of the street names were familiar. I continued further south into town but stopped when I heard a scream.
More screams, not just from one person. They were coming from further down the street. I grabbed Sam’s collar again, holding her tight, and slowly walked to the next road crossing and looked down. I saw people running, screaming.
“RUN!!!!” I heard several people scream.
Then I saw it. It was huge……
“FUCKING HELL!!!” I blurted out and ran.