NaNoWriMo Draft, November 2014. 

    Boom, boom, boom, boom...

    I stood in the corner of the venue, holding a solo cup full of red punch that I knew was spiked, listening to the pounding of the music.  All of the kids dancing and running around looked like they were having a blast. Kind of ironic when you think about it... I mean, it was my party. I should have been out there with them. Yet, I chose to disappear into the background. I chose not to be seen. 

     My dad was supposed to have been here about thirty minutes ago, but I wasn't too concerned. The taxi from the airport could be stuck in traffic or the plane could have been delayed. My mom, the one who planned this all, vanished about an hour ago after she had a head count of about seventy five kids. She kissed me on the forehead, tried to push me onto the dance floor, and then walked outside. She was probably waiting for me to come running out there screaming about how some kid threw up or broke something or about a fight. But that didn't happen. 

    Not exactly anyways. 

    I wasn't completely alone the whole night. When a group of kids got tired, they'd back off the dance floor. If they passed me, there were always echos of "You da man!" from the particularly drunk kids, "Happy birthday, Will!", or "Fabulous party.".  I'd thank them, smile, and the reply was always, "Glad you're having a great time!" They would continue on, probably trying to find which kid had sneaked in the alcohol. But they didn't need to search, you could taste the tequila in the punch.

    As I stood there awkwardly, continuously checking my phone and pretending that I was actually having a conversation with someone and sipping my punch, I started to feel nauseous. A couple kids noticed, asked if I was okay, but I pushed them away with a small smile. 

    Then, two familiar faces pushed its way through the crowd. Daniel and Selena. 

    "Will!" Selena scolded when she was close enough for me to hear her over the music. "Why aren't you out there having fun? It's your fifteenth birthday for crying out loud." 

    I smiled. "You know I'm not a party person." 

    "More like you're not a people person," she said. 

    "You okay, man?" Daniel asked. "You don't look so good." 

    "Yeah, a little queasy but I'll live." I reached into my pocket and checked my phone. Part of me was hoping there'd be some sign from my dad telling me where he was, but as usual, there was nothing. 

    "Still waiting on your dad, huh?" he said. 

    I nodded. "He'll be here." 

    Daniel and Selena traded a look. "Right," Selena said. "He'll be here. Might as well have fun in the mean time. C'mon. Let's go dance." 

    I shook my head right as another wave of nausea passed. I latched onto Daniel's shoulder. Dizziness followed the nausea, making my head swim. I shut my eyes and shook my head back and forth. Then, heat. It started in my chest and slowly built it's way up into my skull. Seeing my knees shake, Selena hooked my arm around her shoulder and then they both walked me over to a couch. 

    "Will," Selena said, lightly turning my head towards her. "What's going on. I need you to tell me what hurts." 

    I was sweating by then, the heat turning to an icy cold that made me shiver. "Everything." 

    It was true. A sharp aching pain pulsed through me. I groaned. 

    Then I heard his voice. "Will? William? Son, are you okay?" I tried looking a my dad, but I was still too dizzy to see straight. He sat down in place of Selena. "Where's your mom? Does she know you're sick?" 

    "He's not sick Mr. Conner. This just happened. We don't know what's wrong," Daniel said. 

    "Ok," Dad said, "Go find Joy and tell her what's happened." I heard Daniel's heavy footsteps running away. Selena sat down on my other side. "Can you go find something for him to drink that isn't spiked?" She squeezed my hand one more time before leaving. 

    The headache came next. The music didn't help a bit. I clawed at the skin on my head, trying to find relief. In that moment, I wanted to die. I doubled over, my head between my knees, trying not to puke. The pain felt unbearable. It was like a cycle. Nausea, dizziness, hot, cold, ache, and then headache. Sometimes it lingered all together, causing me more misery. Why was it taking so long? Where was mom? Where was Selena? 

    And then there was darkness. 

    Slowly, I woke up. It was a confusing moment. I could remember the agony, but I felt better now. No, not just better. I actually felt good. Nothing was sore or hurting. I expected to just open my eyes and be in my bed at home, or worst case scenario, in a hospital bed. First though, I had to get over this brown haze. It was everywhere. Just a light brown fog that made it hard to see. I tried blinking, but it didn't work. Eventually, I reached up to touch my eyes, hoping that if I rubbed them, I'd be able to see. Instead of my flesh however, I felt a rough fabric material. Then it hit me. 

    I was blindfolded. 

    Trying not to smile at myself, I sat up and tugged at the back of the blindfold. Never once did I wonder why I was blindfolded, I just laughed it off and started untying the knot. It wasn't until I got it off did I realize something was wrong. 

    I wasn't in Chicago anymore. 

    I was sitting in a clearing, surrounded by trees. The air was hot and thick with humidity, sweat already starting to form on my forehead. I could hear birds chirping, animals calling to each other, and the occasional buzz of some exotic bug that flew by my ear. 

    Panic was immediate. Where the heck was I? How in the world did I get here? I stood up quickly, trying to clear my head. I could remember my birthday party. My dad was there while I was sick, Selena was getting me something to drink, Daniel was trying to find my mom. How did I get here? That's the thought that repeats itself over and over. How did I get here? 

    It seemed as if there were trees in every direction, though I also thought that if I listened really hard, I could hear running water. My eyes started to water with tears. I took a few breaths, trying not to feel so overwhelmed. I needed to figure things out before officially panicking.

    I surveyed the ground where I was laying. I snagged the blindfold, and stuck it in my back pocket. Then I took off my blazer, tying the sleeves around my waist. I didn't have the thought pattern to worry about creases or dirt. I needed to get home. I turned in a slow circle, hoping for something, anything, that could be of any help. 

    Nothing. 

    I spun again. And again. Then a slight breeze blew through and I saw it flicker. I walked towards a tree, and upon closer inspection, I saw a yellowish piece of paper nailed to the tree. I tried walking closer to the tree, but almost tripped over something on the ground beside the roots. Glancing down, I saw a burlap sack. I picked it up, praying there was an explanation inside. 

    In the sack were three apples, two mangoes, and a small glass bottle. I slung the bag over my shoulder, and ripped the note off of the tree. My heart dropped to my toes as soon as I read the paper. There was only one word, but one word was enough. 

'Run.' 

    I closed my eyes, willing myself to stay calm. Run?! Run from what? What was there to run from? Where was I supposed to run to?own. 

    This was crazy. 

    I was probably going insane, right? I mean, I wake up in the middle of no where after passing out. Was I poisoned? Kidnapped? I shoved the paper in my back pocket too, and then sat down. What was I supposed to do?

    Suddenly, I thought back to summer camp back when I was ten. I took an outdoor survival class. Surely I learned something that could apply here. 

    Water. 

    I needed fresh water. I had enough food to last at least a few days, but after that I'd need more. But what would I eat? Were there animals? I'd need weapons to kill them. What about shelter? Does it get cold here?

    WHERE THE HECK WAS 'HERE'?

    I groaned. I needed to get my thoughts in order. If there was something to run from, I didn't need to sit on my butt and wait for it to come get me. 

    First thing I needed to do was find water. I closed my eyes and heard listened for it again. The noise was coming from my right, so I stood, made sure I still had everything, said a quick little prayer and then started walking. 

    The ground was covered in huge tree roots, a few I saw to my left were about the size of a man. There were odd looking bushes and weird flowers, even stranger bugs that were pollinating them. I heard mean and startlingly loud cries from animals, or maybe they were birds. There was no way of knowing which was which. I hadn't seen a bird or creature. All I knew was that their calls and cries made me want to pee in my pants in fear.

    I picked up my pace, fearing the shadows that lurked about and behind every corner and tree trunk. My hands were starting to shake. The realization was finally sinking in. 

    I was alone on an island. Lost. In a jungle.

    I would eventually find my way home. I knew I would. Maybe I just had to play along first. Make whoever was doing this to me think I was okay with it. 

    I took one more deep breath and then picked up the pace again. The water was louder now, though still kind of faint. I just kept walking, repeating the word over and over in my head. 

    Water. Water. Water. 

    If that was all I thought about, I couldn't get sidetracked or panicked or worried. I'd just get to my water, and then focus on my next need. I could do this whole surviving thing. I really could.

    But then everything changed. It was less than a second, but it was enough for the darkness to seep over my eyes, blinding me from the daylight I so desperately needed. I clawed at it, trying to rip it off, but instead of a person or an animal, all I felt was the warm, sweaty flesh of my face. There was nothing there, so why couldn't I see?

    I tried to move, run away, turn around, but my feet were stuck in place. A slow, steadily throbbing cramp inched it's way through my muscles, paralyzing me. I can feel my tears soaking my shirt. So much for acting like I could handle it. My bones felt they were going to crack into a million pieces at any given moment. I felt veins pop in my head.

    I'd never experienced anything so painful in my life. And then the pain quit increasing and just was there. I didn't know how to stop it, or how to put up with it. I quit struggling against it and simply sat there in my misery, just praying for it to end. The seconds stretched into minutes which felt like hours. I sobbed and screamed until there were no more tears and his throat was raw. 

    Then, as if turning off a switch, it was gone. 

    I could see. There was no pain. Only the memories of terror. I wiped my cheeks, readjusted my bag and continued walking. My thoughts went back to the water. 

    Water. Water. Water. 

    But nothing I did could ever fully take my mind off what happened.