Liz walked down the street toward the coffee shop that her good friend Vicky worked at.  It was a typical morning and the city was busy with crowds of people walking past her doing their own thing.  Liz did her best not to bump into anyone on her way to pick up her usual order.  She wasn’t much of a morning person without her usual dose of caffeine in her system.  Vicky, the bestie that she was, always had Liz’s order prepared for her before she even showed up.  No line or anything.  Liz just had to enter the shop, wave down at her, and she would slide her regular hook up like usual.

In all honesty, Liz felt guilty for asking Vicky to do this so often as it felt like she was taking advantage of her.  Liz finally walked into the coffee store and saw Vicky running back and forth between two registers, taking orders and making drinks.  The line was longer than usual.  Heading off to the side, Liz gave Vicky a quick wave.  The moment Vicky saw Liz, a smile crept on her face, a look that she usually only wore when Liz was around.  Vicky then mouthed, “Give me a second.”

Liz nodded and stood over at the side watching Vicky do a magnificent job handling the crowd of zombies looking for their morning rush.

“And one mocha for you.. anything else?” Vicky asked a gentleman in front of her.  He quickly shook his head, gave her a dollar tip, and bolted towards the exit.  Vicky took this time to quickly grab a cup she had stashed away and slid it over to Liz who gave her a smirk.  Grabbing the cup, Liz took a quick sip and was delighted in the taste and quick bolts of energy she received from the drink.

“Mmmm, that’s good.  Seems like someone was late for work,” Liz chuckled as she leaned over the counter to hug her childhood friend. “How’s it going Vic?”  She got a closer look at Vicky and saw the tired look on her face as she shrugged. 

“Oh ya know, trying to pay those bills, same ol same ol.”  Vicky chuckled.  Liz could see there was more to those words, but didn’t want to press her.  As much as Liz wanted to chat with her friend, she was still technically working, so keeping the convo brief was the best route.  Liz knew how stressed Vicky was between managing school work and a part time job, a burden Liz couldn’t relate with.  Liz’s parents were able to help out with most of her tuition for college, while the rest of it was covered by her academic scholarships.  Most College students didn’t have it as rough as Vicky, but unlike most people, she seemed to hold it together.  Or at least better than most.

As if out of thin air, Vicky’s boss appeared.  There was a stern look on his face as he spotted Vicky and Liz talking for just a few minutes which seemed to be a few minutes too long.  

“How many times do I need to tell you about having your girly chit chats during rush hour? You are holding up the line!” 

“Sorry Mr. Perez,” Vicky muttered.

“Speak up, I didn’t hire you just to whisper to the customers and more importantly, to me!” 

“I said I am sorry,” Vicky repeated, this time with a slightly louder tone. “Won’t happen again!” 

“It better not, and when you finish, go clean the bathrooms!” He yelled as he left for his office. 

“Looks like someone in a pissed off mood,” Liz added as she quickly grabbed her cup of coffee. “I didn’t mean to get you in trouble Vicky..”

Vicky shook her head, “No it’s fine, he’s almost always like this.” 

Liz still felt bad.  “Honestly Vic, you could be more assertive, I’ve seen you pour your sweat and tears in this job. He has no right to treat you like that.  I don’t mean like, cuss him out or anything,” Liz explained.  “Just stand up for yourself, don’t get pushed around so much, you know?” 

“I don't know Liz, I can’t risk losing my job, sometimes you just gotta obey your superiors no matter what, even if it means having a sucky experience in the process.” 

Liz wasn’t sure if that was true, but she wasn’t going to push Vicky too hard in doing something she didn’t want to do.  “I guess you are right..” Liz responded before coming up with a random thought. “Ya know what you need? A mini vacation, let’s go to Clifton park outside of town.  We can go rafting, just the two of us or something!”  

As much as Vicky was against the idea at first, she knew she desperately needed a break.  Relaxing at the park with her BFF could do the trick.  She needed to do something to help unwind,  especially from all her final exams that she finished taking.   Add her long work hours she worked to help cover her schooling, it left little to no free relaxing time for herself.

“Honestly I could definitely use a break ... what the hell, let’s do it. We can leave when my shift ends in an hour.”  Vicky said, sounding excited from the thrill of hanging out with her best friend.

“Sweet, I’ll chill here in the meantime!” Liz cheerfully responded, with equal levels of enthusiasm that her friend was showing.

The hour passed by quicker than she expected with Liz spending most of the time checking her messages and looking up the recent posts on social media.  Every once in a while she would look up from her phone and spot Vicky making a drink or two for someone.  Anytime they looked at each other, Liz would shoot Vicky a goofy grin or face that would make her crack up for a second or two before she jumped back into work mode.  As much fun as it was to goof off with Vicky at her job, it didn’t take too long before it was time to go.  Once Vicky was done with her shift and ready to leave, Liz got up and gave her a quick hug.

“Finally, am I right?”  Liz laughed.  “Come on, let’s get out of here before they try and stiff you with another shift.”

“Oh god please don’t joke about that,” Vicky giggled.

After making a pit stop at Liz’s house to get the supplies for their rafting trip, the two girls drove to the park.  Music cranked up, singing along to their favorite artists, Nick Jonas especially, they were in heaven. At that moment, life felt great, they felt like they were teenagers again, back before the college stress and adult life came along to ruin the fun.  No worries about when work started next, when the next paper is due, and no social media drama.  This was exactly what both girls needed as they drove to their destination.  

“How’s your fam?” Vicky asked as she lowered the volume of the radio as it went into commercial mode, giving a perfect opportunity to catch up with her friend.  They were close but the past couple of months had been hard on both of them to bond.  It was rare to get this much time together, and Vicky didn’t want to miss a second of it.

“They are alright I guess, I don’t really see them that often to be honest, typical life of doctors I presume, always working them late hours...”  Liz explained with a hint of disappointment.  As much as Liz loved her parents, they hadn’t really hung out in a long time.  Since she started college, it was like they didn’t even exist.  Just the occasional text of, how are you, or something bland.

“I’m sorry Liz I didn’t know..” Vicky replied, truly feeling her pain.

“Hmm? Oh no it’s no biggie, I manage on my own, plus I spend most of my free time at the shelter helping kids.”  Liz quickly added not to bring the mood down

Vicky quickly nodded.  “Ah, that's so sweet Liz,” Vic smiled, giving her a light pat on the shoulder.

“You know it, and it feels nice. I was lucky that I had so many things growing up.  The protection and safety my parents provided... I just want others to at least get a fraction of what I had growing up..” 

“That’s great to hear, girl.” 

“And what about you? Aside from school and work? How are ya doing Vic?”

“Uhh, well I guess I can brag that I made a personal record while working out this morning. Ran 2.5 miles in under 16 minutes,” Vicky grinned.

Liz returned her own enthusiastic response, “Seriously? That’s fantastic Vic! Guess that explains the abs, my bestie looking sexy as FUCK!” Liz joked as she quickly yanked up her shirt exposing Vicky’s faint six pack, forcing her to blush and quickly pull the shirt down.

“Thanks,” Vicky chuckled, trying not to make it a big deal.  Just as they arrived at the park, she suddenly remembered her school grades. “Oh and I also got my results back for this semester: 3 As, 1 A- and one B” 

Liz jumped out of her car seat as she yelled with joy for her friend on doing well in school. “Ahhh that's so great Vic, congrats! You deserve it!” 

Vicky, however, wasn’t as thrilled about the news as she was.  “It’s your parents, isn’t it?  Vic, they should honestly chill, B’s aren’t bad they don’t know how stressful you have it.  Having a 3.2, or whatever isn’t bad.”

“3.5,” Vicky corrected.

“SEE!  Exactly!  That’s amazing, most people wish they could have a GPA like that.”

Vicky smiled at Liz’s words.  “Tell me about it,” Vicky sighed. “It’s just that no matter how much I try they are never satisfied.” 

“No offense girl, but fuck them,” Liz retorted. “Why do parents have to be so damn strict.”

“Because they are our parents, they will always be the ones in charge no matter how old we are.  They will always have the final say over us no matter what valid reason we give them,” Vicky groaned. 

Liz could see that this topic was only making her friend feel even more stressed out so she tried to change the subject quickly, while grabbing her hand.  “Don’t worry Vic, this break will be all about relaxing, you deserve it!” Liz said excitedly. 

It didn’t take long before they finally found a nice spot by the river to start their vacation.  They would jump into the river, do some rafting for a bit and settle for the night, spending some quality girl time.

“The current looks pretty stable, so we won’t even need to put that much effort in paddling.  It’s kind of like a lazy river,” Liz chuckled.

“Let’s do it!” Vicky added with enthusiasm. 

The two girls got on the raft and went with the flow, sitting back and enjoying the nice blue sky with plenty of clouds of various shapes. This is what they needed, and they hoped this moment would last for as long as possible.  Drifting in the current without a care in the world, the sound of the river running beneath them and the wild noise of nature filling the air.  It was heaven.  

It was about ten minutes into their relaxing journey when Liz spotted something up ahead.  She noticed that the river was going to divide into two paths, one that was very unfamiliar to her, while the other path was the normal one she traversed countless times.  One path led to the checkpoint they were supposed to land on, the other took a turn off the river to somewhere Liz had never known existed.  Normally Liz wouldn't have worried, however current was leading them down the other path. 

“Uh, Vic?” Liz called out to Vicky who was resting her eyes.

“Yeah?” Vicky replied unaware of the dilemma that Liz was looking at.

“This path isn’t supposed to be here, right?” Liz slowly asked before she realized that the current picked up speed.  It quickly knocked Liz off balance onto the raft before Vicky could respond

As Liz got back up, she realized there was nothing she could do as the raft already was taken down the new mysterious path.  

Vicky tried to play it cool, “Uh... so we made a detour, I’m sure it won’t take us too far from the checkpoint,” Vicky assured. 

“Yeah.. I guess you are right..” Liz said as the girls were forced to enjoy the ride and continue going with the flow.  The feeling of dread and mystery filled the raft.

As the two girls looked back at the path ahead of them they noticed a strange fog was beginning to form.  It looked like it just came out of nowhere and quickly grew in size as it filled the whole river area.

“Okay well THAT’s definitely new…” Liz remarked about the mysterious haze that sprung out of thin air.

“Now I’m getting a little worried, Liz.”  Vicky called out grabbing the side of the raft as they were starting to speed up.

“Shit, hold on!  I don’t know what’s ahead of us,” Liz shouted as she prepared for the worst. 

Just as Liz finished her sentence, the fog had completely enveloped their space causing the girls to not even see each other despite how close in proximity they were. The gray mist covered too much of their vision for them to see past the sides of the raft.

“Lizzzz,” Vicky called out worriedly. “What’s happening!” 

“I don’t know… I honestly don’t know,” was all she could say before they were knocked off guard as the current continued speeding up. 

“Oh my fucking god, Liz! Are we going to die?!  If we live through this you are so—“ Vicky tried saying before the raft tilted forward causing the girls to bounce off and land in the water, with them screaming at the top of their lungs in the process.  Liz and Vicky splashed into the cold water as they attempted to stay afloat in the stream.

Vicky, being the athletic one, was able to use her legs to quickly stay on the surface of the water.  Getting a hold of herself, Vicky took a look around in the dark fog and tried to spy Liz.  She wasn’t anywhere in sight. 

“LIZZZZZ!!! LIZ WHERE ARE YOU?” She yelled, beginning to worry she lost her friend somewhere in this damn detour, or god forbid something fatal struck her in the process. If only she could fucking see!

After swimming around for a few minutes she finally saw a shadow a few yards away from her . “Liz? LIZ IS THAT YOU?” Vicky cried out.

“VICKY? Is that you? Where are you?” Liz sputtered from the fog.

“Liz, stay where you are, I am coming to you!” Vicky responded as she swam towards the shadow that she hoped was her.

As Liz's eyes opened, she saw her savior, Vicky swimming toward her.  Liz watched the dark shadow start to come into focus, showing off Vicky with her damp brunette hair clinging to her face.  Soaked but not enough to impede her swimming. 

Vicky reached her friend as she quickly grabbed a hold of Vicky in response.  “Oh my god, Vicky thank you… you saved me…” Liz teared up as she dug her face into Vicky’s chest. 

“Let’s not celebrate too early,” Vicky added, trying to stay a float in the current.  “We have no idea where the hell we are..”

Liz and Vicky looked around hoping to find a clear opening in this vast fog but to no avail.  It was all the same.  They couldn’t even find the raft they were in just a few seconds ago. 

“I’m sorry Vicky… if we don’t make it, I’m so so sorry,” Liz cried out, tearing up in the process before Vicky stopped her. 

“Shut up Liz, we are going to live. This fog can’t exist forever and the minute it goes away, we can find the side of the river.” 

Liz sputtered as she spit water out of her mouth.  “I… I dont’ think we're in a river,” Liz explained.  “I think this is salt water?”

“Wait... are you saying we were dumped in the ocean or somethin?” Vicky questioned.

“I don’t know… probably?” Liz replied.

“That’s crazy!  We’re nowhere near the sea,”  Vicky remarked. 

Liz didn’t argue but after floating around for a good couple of minutes, Liz began to feel funny. 

“Hey, Vic?” 

“Hmm?” 

“Do you feel… tired?” Liz yawned, unable to stop herself.

“Yeah.. I mean ...” Vicky started to say only to yawn as well.

“Oh god… I’m so…sleepy,” Liz commented.  “I-I don't think I can stay… awake.” 

Vicky felt fear grip her at the fact that they were passing out in the water. However, she was powerless to fight it. “Yeah.. me too..”

It didn’t take long before they were both overcome with fatigue and eventually fell asleep. 

——-

Vicky’s voice cut through Liz’s dreams.  “Liz….”

“Lizzzz…..”

“Mmm 5 more minutes…” Liz moaned before she felt a pat on her face.

“HEY!! What was that for!?” Liz yelled in shock as she jumped up. “I’m up!”

“Nice to see you’re awake sleepy head,” Vicky smirked at her friend as she got up slowly.

“Where are we?” Liz moaned, still in the process of fully waking up.

“That’s the thing, I have no idea,” Vicky commented by her side.

Liz frowned, “What?  What do you mean?” 

“I woke up just a few minutes before you and looked around the area in the meantime. I couldn’t find the river… and we’re on a beach of some kind.  Liz, I don’t know where we're at… and my phone is soaked.  I don’t have GPS,” The sound of panic in her voice was clear.  “I think we might be lost!”

Liz tried to make a joke to lighten the mood, “What?  You think we were sent to another planet or something, vic?” Liz chuckled but this only made things worse on her.

“Look in front of you!  That’s an ocean,” Vicky pointed out.  “The closest body of salt water was states away from us!  How,” Vicky pointed again to the massive body of water, “Did we end up HERE?!  Stop taking this as a joke… we are lost.”

As Liz looked around, she had to admit, what Vicky said did have a point. Liz sighed before she fell on her knees into the sand as the waves reached her.  She finally let it sink in. 

“I’m sorry… this is my fault…” Liz began. “All I wanted was to have a girls day with you.  Now I got us lost and stranded on some beach, god knows where!” 

Vicky noticed how distraught and crushed her friend was.  She was on the verge of tearing up. She walked towards her before kneeling herself.

“Hey look at me,” Vicky sighed as she tried to comfort Liz. “I thought I lost you in the water back there.  It freaked me out.  I started to panic.  I couldn’t bear to lose the one person who means the world to me,” Vicky said as she too began to lose it. “What matters right now is that we are okay and alive, thank god.”

“You mean everything to me too Vic,” Liz sighed as she pulled Vicky into a hug.  “ I’m glad you are okay as well. I just wish we knew where the hell we are though,” Liz said with a sullen tone. 

“Well regardless of where we are, we are going to have to explore the area and start a camp before it becomes nighttime.” Vicky told her. “Let’s head deeper into this mainland.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Liz nodded, starting to pick herself up.

As the two girls walked further into this new territory, they immediately began to notice some irregularities in their path. 

“Uh Liz?”  Vicky chimed out 

“Yeah?”  

“I couldn’t help but notice the size of the trees here.” Vicky replied, observing the scenery around her.

“What do you mean?” Liz asked, barely paying attention. “Damn it, can’t believe I lost my sandals somewhere in the water,” Liz complained. “I hate walking barefoot.”

Vicky pushed that aside, “Meh it’s not so bad. I practically walk barefoot anywhere, no big deal. Unless we run into some set of legos, cuz that shit hurts like a bitch.” 

Liz laughed at her joke, before she got back to the point.  

“But no, What I’m saying is, look at the size of these evergreens, They aren't that tall, only reaching our belly buttons. Aren’t evergreens supposed to be like 40 or 60 feet tall?” 

Liz walked towards one of them and kneeled trying to study the plant life closer. “Wow you’re right, these are evergreens, I think…” Liz responded as she tilted her head to look at the plant life.   “And they are abnormally tiny too,” she added, grabbing the tip of one of the trees and without much effort, plucked it from the ground. Her eyes opened widely when she noticed several small creatures run away from the now uprooted tree.  They ran in different directions like insects exposed in the open.  

Liz immediately let out a squeal as she was caught off guard by the tiny wildlife. It only took her a few moments to realize they weren’t actually bugs but in fact some kind of humanoid figures. “Oh my god…are those people?”