My eyes opened as the wind howled. A sting pulsed along the side of my neck. I flinched away from it, and my back ached at the movement. I settled back into the seatbelt, embracing the sting with clenched teeth. Someone coughed, and through my blurred vision I found Todd still next to me. He’d held my hand the last I remembered, but now his arms hung by his ears. 

A stream of dried blood stained his skin from base of neck to forehead. The front passenger seat sat empty. Chuck’s curly hair hung below the headrest in front of me. His arms matched Todd’s, the only difference was a cheap digital watch around his left wrist.  No one moved.

Mel’s gone.

An unnatural scream joined the howl of the wind. I fought at the latch of my seatbelt and failed to unbuckle it. There was no way to pull myself up and undo the latch at the same time. Tears rolled down my forehead as my body shook from the sobs taking over. 

How could we end up like this when I’d planned a perfect weekend? With no one to find us, a weekend to ourselves. Todd, the prepper, ensured we had everything we needed. Yet here we are. Hurt. Near death. Possibly dead. I can’t. I can’t. I can’t control this.

Frustration surged as I writhed against the seatbelt. I cried. Mel screamed. I closed my eyes. Tears stung my windswept skin. What would Dad tell me to do? Why didn’t I tell him about our trip to the Great Salt Bowl? I fell still for a moment. Dad would tell me to take in my surroundings.

I wiped my eyes. My head spun from the pressure. Dirt and small tufts of dead vegetation spread out to either side. The ground was below my head. Gaps in the blowing dust revealed the sky toward my feet. The sun was still high above us. I couldn’t have been out for more than fifteen minutes. We were trapped somewhere, and my mind connected the dots. We were inside the Great Salt Bowl. My breathing cut into short hisses.

The only way out was not to panic. At that thought, my heart beat in my ears once more, and I forced my breathing to slow.

At the campground, Chuck teased Todd for over-stuffing the side-by-side. I tore open the pouches in front of me: hand warmers dropped to the dirt, sunscreen dripped onto my hand. I cursed. One pouch clung tight. I yanked at the exposed loop of black steel. A hooked knife. I slumped, breath ragged. Thank you Todd. I sliced the belt. My legs dropped, spine folding as I crashed onto the roof.

Todd groaned beside me, and my hand rested on his seat. Dead people don’t groan, right? Mel’s screams quieted. I wanted to free Todd right away, but he was safe. Mel’s screams faded into the wind, and I needed to find her before they disappeared. I focused on her cry of pain, turned toward it, and ran. The shifting winds died just enough to show a flailing arm on the other side of a thick, twisted bush. I screeched in excitement, in fear, in sheer hope my friend was okay.

“Mel!”

Pain bloomed in my hip. My leg locked up after my quick sprint, and I limped toward Mel. Tears streaked down my cheeks. Our phones sat uselessly in our cars on the other side of the mountain. Though I doubted there was any service down here anymore. Mel’s cries had become mumbles by the time I reached her. I wrapped an arm around her as I pulled her out of the bush that must have saved her life. Thin cuts criss-crossed her right arm. My throat knotted as I pulled Mel free. White bone protruded from her left arm.

The contents of my stomach roiled. I laid Mel down on the ground next to the bush and sat next to her. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. I wrapped my arms around my knees and leaned forward, trying not to focus on Mel’s arm.

The upside-down vehicle still held two occupants. I wanted to go help them, but my thoughts warred inside. We wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t planned the “perfect” weekend.

I didn’t want Mel to be a third wheel.

I convinced Todd this would be fun.

I’d insisted Chuck bring the side-by-side.

Now, we were all going to die because I knew best. I trembled as Mel cried next to me. How long had I been out? Minutes? It felt more like hours. I needed to make this right, even if I didn’t know how.

Updated:02/03/2026: Minor refinements to pacing and clarity. Added time markers to help orient readers in the immediate aftermath of the crash.

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The Great Salt Bowl Chapter 2