Chapter 3
Marcel stood there in the pitch-black forest paralysed with fear. Completely and utterly alone, he had nothing but his own thoughts and fears to fill his head.
Marcel had never been in a situation like this before. He had always been relatively independent, but he had always been able to rely on someone to help his if he needed it, someone to support him if he couldn't do it himself. But just then, when he realized that for the first time in his life he was really alone, he experienced true loneliness and fear. And it was at that moment when he realized how lucky he was to have a mother that loved him as deeply as his did and a friend that would always be there for him. He suddenly remembered how he had treated his mother's worries with such a flippant attitude. He realized that he had left with hardly a proper goodbye, and how much that would have hurt his mother. He, for the first time, thought of someone else before himself, and realized that his mother had only wanted some re-assurance that she wouldn't lose him like she did his father.
He thought about his fight with Edwin, and realized that Edwin's cruel remark was probably just his way of coping with the stress of being without his parents and being in such a new place. Marcel knew that Edwin didn't deal with new situations as well as he did. "If only I had thought of this earlier!" mumbled Marcel aloud, knowing that he had over-reacted to Edwin's joke.
As Marcel thought these thoughts and many more, his feeling of loneliness grew and grew until it felt like it was going to engulf every fibre of his being. It was at the moment when guilt about leaving his mother joined the already raging storm of emotions in Marcel's head that he collapsed into a painful heap on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably, overcome by every emotion he had ever experienced and more. He lay this way for countless hours, crushed and emotionally drained, wounded and on the verge of despair, because of nothing but the sound of silence.
Marcel woke up that morning feeling surprisingly refreshed. Last night's emotional breakdown had helped him calm down and put everything in perspective and look at the bigger picture. Which was, of course, that he was completely lost with no rescue in sight. No matter how emotionally and physically refreshing the previous night's breakdown had been, there was no way to avoid the sinking feeling of complete and utter hopelessness that accompanies being lost. Marcel shook his head, trying to focus on his situation. It seemed that the only thing his mother had neglected to pack for him was what he needed most. A compass. He knew that if he went generally south, he would hit civilization soon enough. Marcel looked up at the sun, hoping to see where the sun was rising. He winced, and jerked his head towards the ground after making the mistake of looking directly into the sun. He obviously couldn't look at the sun for an accurate estimate, so he would have to find another way of finding the direction. Marcel racked his brain for a couple of minutes when he finally thought to look in the scout guide. He opened up the book and looked up the section so aptly called "Lost". According to the book, moss will always grow on the northern side of the tree. "That's simple enough," Marcel thought to himself. He stood up and brushed the forest debris from his pants, walking around the tree his was just leaning against. "That's funny!" Marcel said aloud as he saw that there was moss growing on all sides of the trunk. Slightly put out, Marcel moved on to the next tree to see if they were all like that. To his relief, this tree only had moss growing on one side. Just as the feeling of hope was returning to him, another tree caught his eye, and with a sinking feeling realized that although this tree only had moss growing on one side, it was a different side than the first tree. Marcel heaved a deep sigh, realizing that he didn't have much of a chance of finding the direction. Less than two days ago, Marcel had been desperate to get away from home, get some freedom and now he would give anything to be home.
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Marcel sat on the prickly forest floor for what seemed like days trying to figure out what to do. The realization that he had to keep moving came with a sudden thirst and hunger that gnawed at his stomach. He had to find something to eat or drink soon or he wouldn't be able to keep moving for much longer. Although he remembered the scout's number one rule about getting lost was to stay put, he really needed to find something to eat. He reluctantly got up from his uncomfortable seat and began to gather his scattered belongings. As he began his trek for food and water, Marcel looked at his surrounding and assessed the difficulty of finding food. There seemed to be plenty of wildlife around, tons of rabbits, squirrels, and he even saw a couple of deer. If he could find some way of trapping the smaller animals, he would have no trouble getting food. This is all hypothetical thoughts, Marcel told himself. He would be found before he knew it. He had to be. He wondered if anyone had started looking for him yet. The thought that he might be going further away from any rescue efforts made him freeze in his tracks. He shook his head, knowing the decision was made.
After about an hour of hiking through the incredibly humid forest and being eaten by mosquitos, there were no thoughts left in his head save those about water. His whole body burned with the need for water. He could feel the energy draining from himself, so he pushed himself even harder determined to cover as much ground as possible before nightfall.
Marcel woke the next morning, not even remembering when, or how he fell asleep. The only thing on his mind, that could be on his mind was the fact that if he didn't find water soon, he wouldn't have the energy to continue his search. He clambered to his feet, slightly re-energized but still sore from the previous day's trek. He picked his way through the fallen branches and roots, continuing his marathon in search for water. He hardly noticed the mosquitos anymore, and the areas where his skin was exposed was so covered with bites that there wasn't much more that the mosquitos could do to him. As he stood up from his third break in 30 minutes, absentmindedly brushing away the from his face, Marcel's ears caught the sound they had been waiting for for days. He sprinted towards the sound with a child-like enthusiasm, but what he saw was not what he had expected. What he saw made his knees weak, not with relief, but with fear. He was realizing that life outside a book was
much, much different.
