Story Day - Check the Map

As a refresher, I decided it's better to drop down to only posting one day a week (Mondays). With school, work, social stuff, and making sure I set time aside for God, family, and things like food and sleep (which actually are important - surprise surprise!), I don't really have the time to write that much.

That being said, I moved Story Days to the end of the month and will start alternating between posting a review and posting a story at the end of the month. And today marks the start of that! So, may I present a very short microfiction I called "Check the Map". :P

The Prompt

I didn't actually have one for this story. I made it all up out of my own brain. *taps noggin and grins*

The Story

It'll all be worth it, in the end.

Sweat dribbled down my back, causing my shirt to cling to my skin. I grimaced and pulled it away, only for it to suction back on.

It'll all. be. worth it.

I hitched my pack higher on my shoulders and focused on trudging forward. Jake, my best friend and fellow treasure-hunter, muttered something under his breath - probably a death threat to the nearly-invisible bugs attacking every bit of open skin.

"You alright back there?" I asked over my shoulder.

"I reckon," he drawled. "Are you?"

"Could be worse. Can you check the map again? I don't want to get off-course."

He snorted. "Don't need to check the map. I know where we're going, remember?"

"Yes, but I want to be sure. Just check the map, will ya?"

He grumbled about trust and respect and swatted away a swarm of those nasty insects, lowering his pack to the ground. I turned back and took a breather while he dug for the map, grateful for the rest.

I became alarmed when he didn't come up with our coffee-stained parchment right away. "Jake...?"

"Gimme a second, kid," he mumbled, starting to unpack his pack completely.

I groaned. "You lost it."

"Did not. It's just unfound."

"Same thing!"

He mumbled something incoherent as I plopped down on a nearby boulder, glancing above the trees to the top of the jungly peak we were supposed to crest. That was where we would have used the map to find our spot.

Now, without it...

We were lost in the Amazon with no way out.

---

I never openly described these characters, instead hoping their individual voices and the ways they related to each other conveyed all the necessary details. Let me know what you think they look like! What are their families like, if they have them? What genre is this? Have you ever been to Brazil - or out of the country? What is the most terrifying place you've ever heard of?

Until next time,

Take courage, pursue Christ, and smile while you still have teeth!! ;P

-Joelle

(P.S. The short story contest is still up and running! Here's the form to submit your story if you haven't already. :) Also, let me know what kinds of posts you'd like to see from me by filling out this form! I'm pretty sure it's one of the shortest I've ever made. XD)