Emerson leaned her body into Addis. ‘Do you remember when we talked our dads into taking us camping? How old were we?’

‘Nine.’ Addis closed her eyes and let the memory wash over her, hoping that remembering the gut-clenching laughter and the hiccups that followed would somehow help her hold onto her father a little longer, like she could pretend he was still alive, just waiting with Aunt Grace for her to come home. Of course, her mother’s death devastated her, too, but the truth was they had fought constantly, due in great part to her mom’s endless jealousy and false accusations. She was good at that, accusing people of things. What she was bad at was accusing the right people of the right things. But the unbreakable bond Addis had shared with her father – well, the loss of him was a punch felt all the way to her soul.

Em’s broken chuckle sounded more like a smoker’s cough, hauling Addis back from the edge of collapsing under the weight of her loss. ‘God, our dads were as clueless about being in the woods as we were.’ She searched for Addis’s hand, squeezing tightly. ‘Thank goodness for those cute boys who were camping nearby, otherwise we never would’ve gotten our tents up or a fire going.’

‘Or food,’ Addis added. Remembering it, she could almost taste the charred hot dog slathered in ketchup and mustard, could savor the hot sweetness of burnt marshmallows and melted chocolate on graham crackers. ‘And then the next day, when they got us lost on the way back from the stream—’

Emerson picked up the memory where Addis left off. ‘Only to realize we were right next to camp all along.’

‘If nothing else, that was an adventure, even if it lasted only one night.’

The camping conversation exhausted, the heaviness of their predicament once more took center stage in their minds. Addis leaned her head back against the bark of the tree, wondering if they should just curl up together and let whatever may come just happen. If their fate was to die, they would; if their fate was to find help, they would. She just didn’t know if she could keep going on. But saying that to Emerson seemed like the ultimate betrayal.

As if her best friend had logged in to her private thoughts, Em whispered, ‘I’m so tired, Ad. I don’t know if I can keep going.’

Addis opened her mouth to offer encouragement, but nothing came out. No words of wisdom, no declarations of Hey, we’ve got this, not even a steadfast agreement of Yes, let’s just lie down right where we are and wait for the wildlife to eat us.