Left Stricken With Heatstroke In Death Valley By My Girlfriend

1 On the final day of our graduation trip, a freak heatwave struck Death Valley. I ended up with severe heat exhaustion, but my girlfriend gave our only bottle of electrolyte water to her male best friend. "You're fit, Connor. You know wilderness first aid. Just drink some regular water and walk it off." "But Ollie is different. He's always had a weak constitution. If he doesn't get these electrolytes, he could pass out." My head was spinning so violently I could barely keep my eyes open. Arguing was out of the question, so I turned to our other teammates for help. They just rolled their eyes at me. "Bro, isn't this jealousy thing going a bit far?" "Jane is just taking care of the sick guy. You're a grown man. Stop acting like you're on your deathbed." As the group packed up to keep moving, Jane looked down at me with a deep frown. "Do you seriously have to ruin the vibe right now?" "Fine. You stay right here and think about your attitude. Whenever you realize how childish you're being, you can catch up." What she didn't know was that my body had already stopped sweating. I was showing all the classic signs of a fatal heatstroke. She also didn't know that the moment she walked away, a mechanical voice echoed in my mind. [Critical condition detected. Host's vitals are failing. Initiate world transfer?] I peacefully closed my eyes. "I accept." ... "Connor, haven't you thrown enough of a tantrum?" "Ollie feels so guilty about you giving him attitude that he's too scared to even take a sip of water." "You play basketball for hours on end. You sit by the lake fishing in the dead of summer without a single complaint. What exactly are you faking right now?" "You just had to pretend to be weak to make the whole team feel bad, didn't you?" I had no idea how much time had passed. Jane's impatient voice crackled through the walkie talkie attached to my backpack. Immediately after, Oliver's guilt ridden voice chimed in. "Jane, please don't be mad at him." "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have taken that electrolyte water." "Connor is definitely furious with me. Maybe I should walk back and give him the rest of the bottle." Jane's tone instantly softened. "Don't be ridiculous." "The blister on your heel is already popping. If you walk all the way back, it could get infected. Then what?" "He's just taking advantage of my good temper to play the victim." "Ignore him. Once he gets bored of this little stunt, he'll crawl right back to us." The other teammates started chiming in on the frequency. "Exactly, Ollie. Why do you even care?" "Connor is just spoiled by Jane. He acts like he owns her, throwing a fit over every little thing." "We're all getting roasted alive out here. Nobody has time for his pity party." "A grown man sitting in the dirt playing dead for his girlfriend's attention. It's honestly embarrassing." I desperately wanted to drag my body over to my backpack, grab the radio, and tell them I wasn't faking. But my muscles were completely paralyzed. I couldn't move an inch. The chatter on the radio continued. The mechanical voice in my head spoke again. [Transfer sequence confirmed. World jump countdown initialized. Thirty minutes remaining.] At that exact moment, a chorus of cheers erupted from the walkie talkie. "A truck! It's a Ranger truck!" "Thank God! We don't have to walk anymore!" A rough, unfamiliar man's voice came through the speaker. "You guys the Apex Explorers?" "Did anyone bother checking the forecast? Ground temperature is pushing a hundred and thirty degrees today. Are you all crazy walking into the basin?" Jane's voice was perfectly polite. "I am so sorry, Officer. We misjudged the weather." "One of my guys injured his foot and has mild heatstroke. Could you please give him a ride back to the base camp?" I heard the sound of a clipboard flipping. "Getting him in the truck is no problem." "But your permit lists eight people. I only see seven of you here." "Where is your eighth member?" For a split second, I thought I was finally going to be saved. Then I heard Jane's calm, steady voice echo through the speaker. "Oh, that member." "He had a family emergency and had to hike out early. It's just the seven of us now." The rest of the team stayed totally silent, covering for her lie. The Ranger didn't suspect a thing. "Alright. Let's get the injured guy in the cab. We've got max AC and ice water in there." "The rest of you need to stop pushing it. Follow the main trail back immediately." Just as despair swallowed me whole, Jane's voice dropped to a harsh whisper on the radio. "Connor, I know you can hear me." "The Ranger truck only has two empty seats. Ollie's foot is hurt and he needs the medic tent. Every minute we wait for you is another minute he risks infection." "Don't you dare press that button and embarrass us right now." "Walk back to camp slowly. Tonight, I'll take you to get that BBQ ribs you love." The hundred and thirty degree heat mercilessly baked the earth. The sound of the truck engine faded into the distance. I could hear everything happening inside the cab with agonizing clarity. "Whoa, this AC is freezing." "Jane, I'm actually a little cold." The rustling of fabric came through the speaker. Jane's voice was dripping with affection. "Here, put my windbreaker on. We don't want you catching a cold." "Take slow sips of that ice water to cool down. Don't choke." I was out here being roasted alive by the desert sun. Meanwhile, her male best friend was sipping ice water, completely wrapped in her tender care. The sheer betrayal sparked a final surge of adrenaline. I used every ounce of my remaining strength to drag my body toward the backpack. Oliver's voice filtered through again. "Jane, is Connor really going to be okay out there all alone?" "The sun is brutal today, and he doesn't even have a drop of electrolytes." Jane let out a light laugh. She couldn't have sounded more dismissive. "What could possibly happen to him?" "He still has half a bottle of regular water in his bag. Plus, he practically lives at the gym. His stamina is way better than yours." "Knowing him, he's probably hiding in the shade behind some dune, waiting for me to drive back and beg him to come with us." "I absolutely refuse to humor his toxic behavior." The teammates trekking behind the truck chimed in to agree. "Ollie, stop worrying about that jealous freak." "He's just mad that our boss treats you well. He's trying to make everyone miserable." "Imagine threatening to break up and faking an illness just to scare your girl. What a loser." "Once he gets thirsty and hungry enough, he'll come crawling back with his tail between his legs." My trembling fingers finally brushed against the backpack. With the absolute last sliver of life I possessed, I pressed the talk button. "Help..." The chatter on the other end instantly died. Ten full seconds of agonizing silence passed. Then, Jane's voice came through, colder than ice. "Connor, your tactics for getting attention are getting pathetic." "This is the Apex Explorers' public channel. It's for emergencies, not a toy for your jealous tantrums!" Oliver whispered softly in the background. "Jane, he really sounds like he's in pain. Maybe we should ask the Ranger to turn around?" Jane scoffed with pure disgust. "Turn around for what?" "The blister on your foot is about to burst. Every second matters before it gets infected." "He's a guy with a wilderness survival certificate! Does he lack basic common sense?" "Connor, listen to what you are doing!" "Ollie is hurt, and you're out there throwing a fit over your own fragile ego!" "If you dare clog up this channel one more time, I am kicking you off this team permanently!" Before I could even breathe, a sharp beep echoed. She had manually booted my frequency from the channel. My last chance at survival evaporated into the scorching air. The mechanical voice in my head chimed in. [Countdown complete.] [Host vitals have reached zero.] [Soul detachment sequence initiated.] [Lingering emotional tether detected. Activating spectator mode.] When my consciousness returned, my soul was floating weightlessly in the air. Guided by instinct, I drifted miles away, straight to the base camp clinic. Jane was carefully helping Oliver out of the truck, supporting his weight as they walked into the medical tent. "Doctor! Please, you need to look at his foot!" The old army medic stationed at the camp adjusted his reading glasses. He grabbed an iodine swab and leaned in close. He stared at it for a long time, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper. "A blister?" "The edges aren't even red. The skin hasn't even broken. You called in an emergency Ranger evac for a blister?" Jane stepped protectively in front of Oliver. She looked dead serious. "Doctor, he has a very weak constitution." "Out in the desert, bacteria is everywhere. If this gets infected and leads to sepsis, it's a massive issue." "Please use your best antibiotics on him. I'll cover whatever it costs." The old medic shook his head in sheer disbelief. He tossed a standard band aid onto the table. "Just stick this on it. Keep it dry." The medic walked over to the sink to wash his hands. He glanced out the window, his face grim. "The heat out there is wicked today. Ground temps hit a hundred and forty an hour ago." "Are you absolutely certain nobody else from your group is still out there?" "In this kind of weather, a man left outside for two hours wouldn't even be saved by God himself." Jane walked over to the water cooler and poured a cup of ice water. She carefully tested the temperature against her wrist before handing it to Oliver. Her tone was incredibly firm. No hesitation at all. "No one is out there." "The guy who left early runs marathons every month. He's built like a tank." "Right now, he's probably sitting in a five star hotel back in the city, soaking in a bathtub with the AC on full blast." The rest of the team pushed open the tent flaps just in time to hear her. They immediately joined in on the mockery. "Exactly. Connor is way too smart to actually suffer." "He just wanted to play dead to see the boss panic." "Too bad she didn't fall for it. I bet he's ordering a cold beer at the bar right now." Oliver sat on the edge of the cot. He bit his lip, looking the picture of innocence. "I wonder if Connor kept his radio on. I'm worried he can't reach us." Jane patted his shoulder comfortingly. "His radio is right in his bag. Stop worrying about him." "Once he realizes no one is playing his game, he'll come back and apologize on his own." She turned to the rest of the crew, falling right back into her leader persona. "Ollie went through a huge shock today. He gets the only room with air conditioning tonight." "The rest of you, bust out the camping stoves. We're having a feast tonight to celebrate surviving the trek." I drifted near the ceiling of the medical tent. I watched them laughing. I watched them erase my existence completely. The sun finally dipped below the horizon. A massive bonfire crackled to life in the center of the camp. Oliver pulled out his phone and snapped a candid picture of Jane cooking over the flames. Floating above him, I clearly saw the post he uploaded to Instagram. [Some people try to prove their importance by walking away.] [What they don't realize is that the people who truly care will worry over your smallest frown.] [Blessed to have you. Desert survival trip is a success.] Within a minute, a string of likes and comments flooded the post. It was every single member of the Apex Explorers. "You and Jane are seriously soulmates!" "That toxic jealous boyfriend doesn't deserve a woman as amazing as her." "Someone is probably scrolling through this from his hotel room, punching the air right now, LMAO." Jane walked over holding a plate of grilled ribs. She checked her smartwatch, her eyebrows knitting together. "Has Connor messaged the group chat yet?" Jax didn't even look up from his food. "Nope. Not even a single emoji." "Just drop it, boss. He's probably sitting at that gas station on the edge of the highway, waiting for you to cave and pick him up." "What a drama queen. It's been hours, you'd think he'd be hungry by now." Jane shoved the plate of ribs into Oliver's hands and pulled her car keys out of her pocket. "I am not letting him get away with this." "Everyone except Ollie, get in the SUV. We're driving out to get him." The crew groaned, looking thoroughly annoyed. "Why are we babying him? Let him learn his lesson." Jane let out a sharp, cold laugh. "I'm bringing you guys so he can apologize to every single one of you, face to face." "This team isn't his personal playground for his temper tantrums." "He wasted all of our time today. He needs to own up to it." Oliver immediately stood up. "I'm coming too." "I know Connor crossed the line, but he's still my bro. When you guys lay into him later, I need to be there to run interference." After soaking in another wave of praise for his endless kindness, Oliver climbed into the passenger seat. I followed their SUV as it drove straight back toward my corpse. Half an hour later, the headlights swept across the exact sand dune where they had abandoned me. Inside the car, the annoyed chatter instantly died. Jax pointed a trembling finger at the windshield. "Boss... that guy..." Jane followed his gaze and saw my grotesquely twisted body lying in the dirt. Her pupils shrank. She practically fell out of the car, sprinting toward the sand. "Connor!"