“Damian, stay with me please.” Beth sobbed.
Damian groaned.
“I…called the police, they’ll be here soon,” Beth promised.
“We need to get out of these woods, just hang in there.”
“Where is Richard?” Damian blinked rapidly
“We lost him, I don’t know where he is,” Beth said her voice thick with tears.
They went silent, their heavy breaths filling the night air. Beth so hated the woods she just wanted to scream herself hoarse.
“Your phone rang,” Damian said.
Beth gasped.
“It’s the police. They want to know where we are.”
“We need to get to the highway.” Damian struggled to stand; he had sprained his ankle real bad.
“Can you run?” She asked.
“I think so.”
She took his arm and draped it over her shoulders to help him ease his pain.
“Lean on me a bit. You are pretty heavy too.”
“Yeah, yeah”.
They went silent as they made their way through the woods searching for any sign of civilization. They were lost.
“I am never ever going hiking again no matter what you say,” Beth vowed fiercely under her breath.
Damian laughed.
“I heard that.”
“You heard me. It is your fault we are lost and messy and it’s not funny.”
“It’s all for the fun Betty and the adventure.”
Beth shook her head and rolled her eyes.
They walked on some more, the sounds of the night and the woods and each other for company.
“Water.” Damian groaned.
“Yeah, we need water.” Beth agreed.
“Do you hear that?” Damian whispered.
“Sounds like a river.”
They rushed hurriedly towards the sound. It was a small strip of clear water. Beth gasped happily as they made their way down as fast as they could.
The moon was bright and full and the stars twinkled in the sky. It was beautiful.
“Beautiful, I tell you,” Damian said with a sigh.
Beth nodded.
She let out a tiny gasp suddenly.
“What?” Damian asked.
“Did you hear that?” She asked.
“Hear what?”
“Shhhhh! Listen, I heard it again.”
“I heard it too.”
They both got up and hurriedly made their way through the branches and the trees and the bushes and finally, they could hear it loud and clear. The sound of the police siren.
Beth screamed happily.
“They are here!”
She took Damian’s hand and helped him climb out of the bush.
“Over here! Over here!”
They screamed and ran towards the police vehicles as they slowed down.
The end.
This story is inspired by this week's prompt which is "They are here". Thank you for reading.