Page 18 of Sheltering Instinct

Tess widened her eyes so Gwen would share her concerns. They probably aligned with hers.

“Our group has no survival skills nor seemingly any self-preservation instinct,” Gwen said. “The sun is high, and while we are one of the first groups out, everyone will be heading for the exit here in the next bit. The tourists in the area aren’t used to being in desert heat. Everyone who was going to climb Big Daddy did it as the morning half of their excursion. No one is going to be coming into the park for the rest of the day. That’s my calculus.”

“And those who are leaving probably drank their water and wouldn’t risk slowing their forward momentum to help lest they sink in and get trapped as well,” Tess added. “No one’s going to stop on the way out.”

“Nope.” Gwen pressed her lips together. “No one’s going to stop.”

“Maybe Otto can get us out of this.” Tess stepped back out into the scalding reach of the sun as Otto scooped a hand in a come-on motion to rally the troops.

“I need you all to push,” he said.

“Taking bets on that, Tess?” Gwen asked as she moved over to the side of the vehicle and put her shoulder to the frame.

On Otto’s signal, the group put their body weight and muscle strength to work, trying to push the vehicle forward and getting sandblasted by the spinning tires.

The chances of them pushing this vehicle free were not great, especially if Otto kept using that heavy foot on the gas pedal.

The group had exhausted their energy. The effort under high temperatures was making them sweat.

A tourist tram drove by without looking their way or slowing their speed. Granted, they weren’t moving fast, but at least they were moving forward. “Next time one comes by, I’m going to run alongside and beg for water,” Tess told Gwen as they returned to their tree.

“Okay, you take the first one. I’ll do the second.” Gwen lifted her chin as Otto tried letting more air out of the tires. “Hey,” Gwen called over, “we’ve got floor mats in the vehicle. You can dig the sand out around the front of each tire and shove the mat as far under as you can get it. The rubber on the bottom will give you stability, and the friction of the carpet will help grip the tires. You can at least get the vehicle going forward.”

“No,” Otto said and moved to the next tire.

“It’s worked for me in the past,” Tess added.

Otto just shot a couple of daggers their way and kept making his round of the tires, letting out a specific amount that he measured with his gauge.

“I’m not feeling confident here,” Gwen muttered. “Got any other techniques you’ve seen work?”

“I have one, but it worked on mud, not sand.” Tess reached up and grabbed a branch overhead just to have something to do with her hands. “Hang on, inbound.” She pointed at an open-sided safari vehicle heading their way. They could see the moment that the driver recognized the problem and steered toward the more solid-looking ground on the otherside of their tree. Tess jogged alongside. “Hey! Does anyone have any extra water? We have no water.”

An elderly lady dug in her bag and tossed out a small bottle as they pulled away. “Thank you!” Tess raised her hand in gratitude, then pocketed the water bottle as she made her way back over to Gwen. “Little bottle, but it’s something. That was kind.”

“Drink it now?” Gwen asked.

“If we rely on Otto, we’re going nowhere.” She pointed to the other side of the sand trap. “Mandy is out there with her shirt off, working on her tan.”

“Crazy.”

“Be that as it may,” Tess said. “I think this bottle will give everyone enough liquid to take a small sip and swish around their mouths to stop their gums from sticking to their lips. Barring that, it might help someone if they get heat sick, keep it from becoming an emergency. Though to be honest, I’m not feeling generous. I mean, I told them what could happen in this situation and how to mitigate it. Is anyone listening to me?’

“I’m listening because I’ve learned you’re usually right. They don’t know that about you, so no, they just think you’re a nag.”

Tess caught Gwen’s eye. “I’m depending on your begging skills to add to our reserves.”

“Next steps?” Gwen asked. “If we can’t get the vehicle out and no one helps, I’m thinking we’ll have to hike out of here.”

“That was my conclusion.” Tess was glad she had on a good pair of lightweight hiking boots. “As soon as the sun hits the horizon. We both grab our safety packs. We take all the water with us that we begged because we can’t save anyone if we go down on the trail.”

“And we pray not to get lost,” Gwen added. “It’s pretty far, and after last night, I’m worried about walking in the dark. It would be easy to get disoriented like Mandy did.”

“GPS.” Tess reminded her.

“Helpful. You downloaded the maps, though, right?” Gwen asked. “You’re not depending on connectivity?”

“I never depend on anything. I did the calculations. It’s a seventy-five-minute hike under normal terrain circumstances.”

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