*PLEASE NOTE : DUE TO OTHER STORY OBLIGAIONS, THIS STORY WILL ONLY UPDATE EVERY TEN DAYS TO TWO WEEKS TO BEGIN WITH, AND OTHER PROJECTS WRAP UP, i HOPE TO GET IT BACK TO ONCE A WEEK, THANK YOU FOR YOUE PATIENCE AND PLEASE CHECK OUT MY OTHER EPISODIC NOVEL THAT ARE HERE ON TAPAS AND ARE COMPLETED, NOW ENJOY RESET TO START,

CHAPTER ONE

“To the best sales team, fourteen weeks in a row!”

Saul raised his mug of beer, and Karen, Maggie, and Thomas joined in. This was one of many toast that night. This was also the fourteenth Friday night in a row that the bar tender would have to call for a cab to take them home. Every Saturday after this outing, each of them would barely remember why there head was pounding and would swear that they would not make that mistake again. However, the cycle never seemed to be broken.

The cab driver was a little slower than normal in getting to the bar this week and the four of them were just about to order another round, when the driver arrived.

“You called for a cab?” the driver asked.

“Where is Jose?” the bar tender asked.

“On vacation. Those the riders?” the driver asked pointing to the now, quite rowdy group.

“Yes, here is their addresses and here is the fare.”

“Forget the fare, um Jose said he owed you one.” The driver said in a distant voice and walked over to the group.

“Folks, your cab is here,” the driver said politely.

Karen had to use her hands to help her stand. She wobbly looked at the driver.

“Whoooo are yoooouu?” she slurred.

“Your ride home, will the four of you, please come with me?”

The bar tender was surprised on two counts. First, that the driver did not get a single argument out of any of them, and second, that they could all walk unaided. The four of them stumbled across the floor and out the door.

“Whoa!” Dats, um biggest cap I…I ever seen.” Karen slurred out again.

Karen woke up the next morning very sweaty.

“Why is it so hot in hear?” She mumbled as she slowly tried to sit up. She wiped her forehead and slowly opened her eyes. Two things became instantly apparent to her. One she had no clothes, and she was not in her apartment.

“Where am I and where are my clothes?” she mumbled as she wrapped the sheet around herself and tried to stand.

 That failed and she sat back down quickly as she was extremely lightheaded. After sitting for a few moments, she managed to get on her feet and made it to the bedroom door. When she opened it, the heat and the light that rushed in caused her to shut her eyes and shut the door.

“What is going on here?” she mumbled and went back and sat down on the bed. Trying to clear her mind, she started to take a better look around her room. For the first time she noticed that there was one door that led to a small bathroom, an open closet, with only a few garments in it. Her bed was a twin size, and had a night stand next to it with a lamp, and a book on top. Near the door that led to the outside, was a small sink, and a small eating table with one chair. The total square foot of the space could not have been any bigger than 400-450 square foot.

Trying to clear her mind, she finally stood again and went int the bathroom. This room was primitive at best. A hand pump for water, a small basin, and on one roughly made shelf on the wall sat the following items: sun screen, skin ointment, bandages and rubbing alcohol.

“I must be dreaming, but this seems so real,”

She splashed some water on her face, put on sunscreen, grabbed one of the sun dresses that was in the closet, and a straw hat that was on top, and opened the door to the outside once again. This time much slower, to allow her eyes and mind to adjust to what might be out there. What she saw was a lot of sand, and a few trees. Finding no shoes, Karen hurried across the hot sand to one of the bigger trees, Under the shade of the tree, she looked back at the place in which she came. The “house” was a wooden dwelling with a tin roof. The roof was mostly shaded by a large tree in the back of the dwelling. Out front was an old fashion well. It was equipped with a rope and bucket. Off to one side of the door was a fire pit. On several stones were a few cast iron cooking pots. Everywhere else she looked she saw nothing but sand.

“I am melting” she grumbled as she tried to fan herself.

As warm as in was inside, it was even hotter outside. Between the lack of a breeze, and the amount of alcohol she had drunk the night before she was wet with sweat.

“Some dream! More like a nightmare if you ask me. She looked at the well and decide to make a run across the hot sand to where the top of the well was casting a shadow. Looking down into the well, she was not able to tell if there was water in it or not. After making sure the bucket handle had the rope tightly attached, she lowered it into the well.

“I am a city girl! This roughing it stuff is for the birds!” she grumbled as she heard the bucket hit water. By time she got the full bucket of water back up her arms were burning, and her soft hands were beginning to bleed. She rested the bucket on the ledge.

“Enough of this! I am ready to wake up now.” She screamed.

When nothing changed, she took the bucket inside and poured some of it in the small sink. After “sponging off the best she could.

Her statement of being “A city girl” was only true after she moved away from home. Growing up on a farm was something she hated and could not wait to get away from. Although, these conditions that she found herself in now was worse than what she grew up with, it still brought bad memories.

She looked around and located one small tin cup. Feeling like she did not have much choice, she poured a small amount of water into the cup and took a sip.

“Well, it is cool, and I would not wish to die of thirst.” She said as she finished that cup and poured another.

She laid her dress over one of the chairs to dry.

“By the looks of things, I will not be having any visitors, she mumbled as she sponged of again, and went and sat on the bed. She looked at the book on the night stand and picked it up.

“Return to home? That is an odd name.” Karen mumbled.

What was odder was there was no information as to the author, publishing house, copy write date, nothing at all on the first few pages. What she read on the next page made her scream and shut the book.

“Chapter One: For Karen, We hope you are adjusting to your new setting. Knowing your personality, you probably have not looked at this book until you have already done a few of the things we would recommend.”

After she read the recommendations, and they were indeed what she had already done, she did the for mention scream and shout of the book.

“This has to be the weirdest dream I have ever had!”

She opened the book again.

“We are sure you are full of questions. We will assist you where we can, but most of your survival will be up to you. That is all that can be reviled to you at this time.”

The rest of the books pages were blank.

Oddly enough, she was no longer afraid. The words in the book seemed to give her confidence that whatever was going on, she was safe, and was in fully control of her situation.

“Okay, one step at a time. I will need more water, some source of food, and some way to heat the water and food.”

 She had no way of telling the time, other than the location of the sun in the sky. The best she could figure she had about six or so hours of light left.

“It is flat too hot to try to search for any kind of substance right now. I will have to wait till the sun starts to set. Whoever put me here, made dure I had a close by source of water, maybe food is close by also. Although what little view, I got outside, it does not seem very promising,” she mumbled to herself.

When she felt the temperature start to drop, she put her dress and hat back on and headed out in search of some sort of food. Each time she wisely traveled in one direction and marked her trail, using her dwelling as the starting point. After four trips in different directions, she returned the last time just before dark. Tired and hungry, she returned empty handed. She brought in another bucket of water just as she heard the sounds of the night animals begin. She remembered hearing similar sounds when she was young. Her father had shot many a wild animal, this was mostly because they would be after his crops, or animals.

 Her stomach growled. She glanced over at the book that was on the night stand.

“I was told that I would not die. If I do not find food tomorrow, I will begin to seriously doubt that statement!” She said in a loud voice.