Next Source Of Power: 500 Kilometres

• Brock Clifton, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2018

Slightly sunburnt, we drove across the dunes, exceeding 60 km/h, the sand creating an opaque cloud behind us. As the car jolted up and down, thrashing us around in the cabin, the experience made us completely forget about our lives and focus on the present, leaving our worries behind. We drove for several more hours, before coming across a sign that read: “Next source of power: 500 kilometres”. I barely took notice of the information, as the sign refracted the light from the headlights, limiting my vision. Promptly, we veered off to the side, ready to camp out for the night.

I unfolded the swag and assembled it, as she plugged in her phone to the car's battery, ready to charge. Like in many deserts, at sundown, it gets very dark, very quickly. There hadn’t been a cloud in sight today, so tonight was no exception. Millions of stars illuminated the sky, like flashlights in the distant universe. The clear night and the bright sand, made the sky appear a dark blue colour, similar to that of a whale. The night air was crisp and short bursts of wind stung my face, like a weak whip slashing against my burnt skin. The atmosphere the night created was phenomenal, not a sound to be heard anywhere. The wind made my swag swing, lulling me to sleep, under this incredible view.

Daybreak the following day, and the heat was slowly rising, like an oven coming up to the desired temperature. It sure was very toasty in that swag, so I emerged out and disassembled it, placing it back in the truck. Like usual, I woke up first, so, quietly I made myself a cup of tea, using the hot water from our flask. We didn’t pack sugar, so it was very bland. I was tempted to put sand in my drink, due to the lack of sleep, but I reminded myself that sand would just make it taste even worse, and indigestible too. It was another half hour before she woke up. After we inhaled our cups of tea, we packed up everything into the truck.

I put the keys into the ignition, nothing happened, again, nothing. I racked my brain for any possible ways to fix a car engine without the use of anything convenient, but as you may have realised, there wasn’t any way to fix it. I realised her phone had drained the car's battery. We were stuck here, lost and alone with no source of power for another 500 kilometres.

I spent the rest of that day trying to figure out how long it would take to walk that far. I’m not a genius, but I could tell you that it would be a while, and with this heat, one would die of dehydration very quickly. How long would we survive with no food and very little water? Isolated, we gave up hope. No help would come, for another 500 kilometres.