None of them knew what exactly to expect, and sometimes that’s the exact ingredient that’s needed to start a new adventure.

  They had been thrown a bit off-balance by the fun and drinks of the day before in a luxury resort, which in itself would make the transition to survival that much harder.

  All of them woke up late, they had all had a drink or two more than their usual, and even Nick and Donald had problems getting started. Outside it was already blazing bright and in a way it was an omen of what was to come.

  “So today is the day,” Nick says while everyone sat down at the breakfast table, “If you decide to continue today, then it will be one of the toughest transitions that you will ever make.”

  “The sun and heat are both unforgiving in this part of the world,” Donald says, “It will drain your energies, it will dehydrate you and it will wear you down.”

  “But there’s victory as well,” Nick says, “If you manage to pull through for the next 25 days, then you will have proven to yourself that you’re tougher than you always thought that you were.”

  “It will be an experience that you will carry with you for the rest of your life,” Donald says, “But don’t underestimate it, because it’s also extremely hard.”

  “For now,” Nick says, “Enjoy your breakfast and use this moment to make up your mind about the next 25 days.”

  With the sleep, tiredness, jetlag, heft, heaviness and that misnomer feeling of being hungover----------it wasn’t exactly the best time to do much of anything.

  “You plan to pull through?” Michael asks.

  “I sort of can’t back down now,” Rhonda says, “I have told too many people.”

  “Didn’t you tell me that you just finished college; and you’re off to a new town anyway?” Michael asks, “Who cares?”

  “What about you?” Rhonda asks, “It sounds to me like you wouldn’t mind spending a month in this resort-------.”

  “I normally don’t go for this sort of stuff,” Michael says, “But this truly is something that I see myself getting used to-----------this is all so different.”

  “You would get bored,” Rhonda says, “You can’t just settle.”

  “O, I would have no problems at all------,” Michael says.

  “So you have zero doubt?”

  “The Survival is what I came for,” Michael says, “But I might just negotiate an additional week or two down here.”

  “What do you think they have for you?” Rhonda asks.

  “My best guess is either a bike or a motorbike,” Michael says, “And I assume that they will throw in a whole lot of dehydrated meals.”

  “In case something happens,” Rhonda says, “We signed a waiver-form. Whatever things happen: it’s on us.”

  “What do you think they got for you?”

  “I hate biking,” Rhonda says, “So I really hope that it isn’t that, but I would really prefer to just have a car.”

  “That’s probably a stretch---------.”

  “I know.”

  “So what is your plan?” Philippa asks.

  “I will carry through,” Dean says, “Even if it sucks, the content will be totally worth it.”

  “I really came to grind as hard as I possibly can,” Philippa says, partly trying to convince herself, “And even though this pampering is nice and all-----it just doesn’t do it for me.”

  “You never do this?” Dean asks.

  “Let’s just say that there’s a time and place,” Philippa says, “And a little heat ain’t gonna stop me.”

  “You have come to deal with something,” Dean says, “Even I can see that---------. And from what you told me last night-----you have been long overdue on that one.”

  “As soon as we touched ground yesterday, I just had this nagging feeling that this is just the sort of place where people have a bigger reason for coming down,” Phillipa says, “But that makes it also the sort of place for some bad ones to hide out, if you know what I mean.”

  “That might very well be the grim side of a place like this,” Dean confirms.

  “It’s just a feeling, but I can’t seem to shake it,” Philippa says.

  “I just came for the experience,” Tanya says, “And to mark the end of an era.”

  “It seems like your friend has other ideas,” Dean says, “You think that they will pull through?”

  “Can’t crawl back now,” Philippa says, “Besides, it looks like they have something to return back to.”

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  - 2 -

  By eleven they are all set to go.

  Nick and Donald had sort of anticipated that the time in the resort would be just enough to get the five participants to form a very rudimentary bond--------enough for there to be a healthy degree of peer pressure. And, it did work, because all of the participants stuck with the survival part.

  When they all came outside, the roof of the bus was packed with five bikes of different setup and sizes: two touring bikes, two electric touring bikes, and an electric mountain-bike. They were told to go ahead and explore.

  In the bus there were five extra-large backpacks that contained basic survival gear: canned food, dehydrated food, life-straws to purify water, salt-tablets to combat dehydration, a hammock with mosquito-net, 10 liter water-bag, knives for survival, a rifle, basic traps, lightweight pot to cook over a fire, dehydrated coffee and tea, and finally a GPS-device to track their position, and to point to their extraction point.

  “So which bike belongs to who?” Michael asks, “The women go electric?”

  “We just have to consider the physical difference,” Nick says, “The electric bikes should even the odds.”

  “The electric bikes come with solar panels that will get them recharged within about two hours.”

  “Seems fair,” Dean says, “Plus I can actually use the exercise.”

  “You will need to eat though,” Nick says, “And even with that you can expect to be at a caloric deficit by the end of all this.”

  “You will need to get creative to make sure that you take in enough calories,” Donald says, “This means catching prey, skinning it, roasting it over a fire, and eating what you caught.”

  “If there are no further questions, let’s go on board.”

  - 3 -

  The drive to the first drop-off was long---------four hours long. The plan was that the last of them would be dropped off about an hour before sunset, which would come in around eight.

  “So how do we decide who goes first?” Rhonda asks, “You got our names in a hat?”

  “Ladies first, right?” Michael says, and it’s out before he realizes that it probably wasn’t the right time for that sort of joke-------------Rhonda seemed tense enough already.

  “I’ll go first,” Phillipa says, “I have been waiting for a bit of action ever since we arrived here.”

  “I’ll go second,” Dean says, looking over at Philippa--------with an undertone that’s between flirting and laying down the heft of someone who has been around the block once or twice.

  “Then me,” Tanya says, “Can’t wait to get started either.

  “Ok, then let me I guess,” Rhonda says, looking over at Tanya with a look that says I wish I could crawl back out of this one.

  “Then I’ll go last,” Michael says, with a big smile, because he is still sort of close to the hottest girl of their outfit, “So when do we reach the first drop-off?”

  “That’s four hours from the hotel,” Nick says, “And then one hour between each drop-off point.”

  “That isn’t too close after each other?” Philippa asks, “Wouldn’t we bump into each other?”

  “Unlikely,” Donald says, “You have seen the terrain, besides, each of your final coordinates are slightly different.”

  “What if something happens?” Tanya, “My phone hasn’t worked since I arrived here----------.”

  “And it won’t work until you leave,” Nick says, “Not to mention that you will not be able to charge while you’re on the road.”

  Donald holds up the GPS-device, “Just press the alarm button---------it will alert us, and also in case there’s suspicious activity.”

  “So for tonight I basically just look for a shady spot under some trees,” Rhonda says, “And then make a fire to cook food.”

  “In so many words,” Donald says, “Then tomorrow you pack all of your stuff up and you start moving in the general direction of your final coordinates.”

  “What if we reach those coordinates before the 25th day?” Michael asks.

  “The alarm will automatically go off,” Nick says, “But chances of arriving that early are extremely thin.”

  “What if we can’t get there on the 25th day?” Philippa asks, “Will you all come get us.”

  “Certainly,” Nick says, “Or we will send a representative if the terrain turns out to be extremely rugged.”

  - 4 -

  “This is it,” Donald says, after the bus has come to a full stop.

  Philippa took her assigned backpack, and got out of the bus. After that they all followed to have a good lookaround.

  “Coast seems clear,” Michael says, “Is this a populated area?”

  “Not really,” Nick says, “If you want to take it easy, you can just walk off the road a bit, find a patch with some trees and install your hammock.”

  “No danger of any sort?” Tanya asks.

  “Not that we know of,” Donald says, “Like we said, we have been traveling here for over a year-------and we haven’t experienced anything bad.”

  “I camped before,” Philippa says, “No worries.”

  “Let’s move on,” Nick says.

  An hour later they arrive at the second drop-off near an outlook that’s eight stories high. This time it’s out in the plains---------with views as far as the eye can see in all directions.

  “Not much for a hide-out here,” Dean says.

  “You have a choice here,” Donald says, “Camp near this outpost during the night---------or travel during the night and camp during the day when you have reached the end of all this.”

  “How much water can I carry?”

  “We put three bags that can hold 10 liters each in all of your backpacks,” Nick says, “So it doesn’t matter whether you travel during the day or night.”

  “Okay then.”

  Next drop-off is at the foot of the mountains.

  “You can go over or around,” Donald says.

  “You should make a camp for the night,” Nick says, “It will be impossible to travel by night.”

  “So I’m seriously doing this,” Rhonda says, “So why am I doing this again?”

  “Always the jester,” Tanya says, “You will tough this one out.”

  “You will be on the other side in no time,” Michael says.

  Next drop-off is near a lake.

  “Sunset is in a little over two hours,” Donald says, “So you should definitely camp.”

  “It will give me plenty of time to get wood to build a good fire,” Michael says, “And maybe catch some fish.”

  The final drop-off is near the ocean.

  “Technically you could follow the coastline and end up back at the resort,” Donald says, “But, there’s no road along the coast that runs all the way to where we started.”

  “You may have the coolest spot to spend the night,” Nick says, “You can fall asleep to the sound of the ocean.”

  “Thanks, I guess,” Tanya says.

  And with this, all the participants are dropped off, and the survival begins.