Ashley McLain

The Well

Naomi was so very thirsty. She could feel the dryness in her mouth as she thought of the choice before her. “I have to make a decision soon,” she said, as she licked her cracked and blistered lips. She could taste the blood that had clotted at the corner of her mouth and scowled with disgust. How long have we been stranded on this damn island, Naomi thought. She tried to piece together the time since the cruise liner sank. Had it been one week or two? The only thing Naomi knew with certainty was that the human body could not survive two weeks without water. Naomi was in a race against time. As she lifted herself off the sandy floor and dusted off her dirty jeans, she looked up at the sky and admired the brilliant Azure sky all around her. Naomi never believed in God and thought of herself as a staunch and strict Atheist, but today, for the first time in her adult life, she looked to the sky and pleaded with God... “please, if you’re up there...help me.” She sobbed to herself quietly, feeling completely defeated. She shifted her gaze to the edge of the trees where she had buried the bodies.