Part 1:

"What a rush"

The strong wind blew across Franks face. The air was filled with lots of intensity. He was super scared of heights. Not just some person who doesn't like to go high, but someone who just can't stand heights. Sometimes he would throw up from being so sick from heights. He could not believe that he was thousands of feet in the air. He never liked airplanes. What he couldn't believe was that he was in a small jet. His friends and he were up hundreds of feet about to Para shoot off. He never liked his friends for his birthday parties. They would always do extreme things. This one took the cake. They were right in the middle of the desert, about to jump. His friends thought his twenty-fifth birthday was special. So there they were now. He was up in an airplane far up in the sky.

Everything seemed to be going all right. They were talking about old times from years before. All of the stories have been told over and over again. Still there were many laughs in them. A noise started to bug him though. None of his friends were making it. It was the plane, and that's what scared him. At first the sound of the plane was consistent, now it cluttered. It seemed running fine for a few seconds, and then it slowed and clunking noises came. It kept going back and forth. He was trying to tell his friends, but they just said he was paranoid. Suddenly there was no engine sound at all. It just stopped without warning.

The captain was a small timer, and had no one to phone to. He yelled back to his buds and him. They had to jump now. It would be a lot lower than they were supposed to be. They had to have the timing perfect, or they wouldn't make the ground safely. All of them hurried to get their packs on. They all jumped about the same time. The rush was extraordinary It felt as though all the blood in his body rushed right to his head. It was the best rush he ever had. He didn't feel as afraid of heights anymore, but he'd probably never ride a small plane again.

They hit the ground pretty hard. All of them watched as the plane came crashing to the ground. The pilot was still in it. They were stranded out in the middle of the desert. There was no food or water. The closest town was at least forty miles away. With the heat of the desert, how could they possibly live?

Part 2:

"A Brilliant Observation"

It was desert as far as the eye could see. The dust from the dirt swirled around them. He stared far into the desert. Each way he looked there was nothing. There was no civilization anywhere. His friends were all talking about the rush they got. He nudged them. Soon they looked at the dry desert, then the remains of the plane, and then back to him.

"Where the heck are we?" one of his friends said.

Everybody stared at him. "What makes you guys think that I know," he said. Still they looked at him a little longer and back to the desert again where the sun was setting.

"There I supposed to be a town north from here," another one of his friends said.

"How are we supposed to know which way is north!?" one of his friends said.

Frank looked up to the dull sky and across the horizon. There was no way to see which way was which. None of them were smart enough to have a compass. Then he saw the little left light from the sun evaporating behind a tall hill. Everybody was in conversation, trying to figure out which way was which.

"The sun sets in the east right?" Frank asked. His schooling wasn't entirely great. But he thought he had the right idea.

"No but it's in the west," a friend replied.

They all started to watch the last ounce of sunlight disappeared behind the hill. Now none of hem had any good since of direction. They sat there trying to figure out where north or south was. They knew eat is opposite of west, but now North or South. Rank's friend Joe was good at directions. He moved so west was to the left of him, and east was right.

"That way's North," Joe said. The talking amongst them stopped. Joe was the smartest of them.

"You sure?" one of the said.

"Absolutely positive," Joe replied. He was kind of like the leader of the group. Whatever he says goes. Slowly they all walked north. After a while the silence was broken, with a conversation.

Part 3:

"The Choice"

After walking for a couple of hours, they started to get very thirsty. Not just when you have a craving, but mouth totally dry. There wasn't even any saliva in their mouths. Their stomachs growled a little, but it was nothing compared to the thirst they had. It was almost as if they didn't have water they would just lay down and die. In a little while none of them could take another step. They were all collapsed on the ground.

They couldn't stand it anymore. Jack and Joe went crazy and started to dig threw the dirt trying to get to see water. Another friend Mark wandered off from the group. In the distance he saw a tiny puddle of water. He was rushing to it, without even thinking about his friends. He bent over it, and took a look at it. It stood perfectly still. He didn't think about it a minute more. He took one great big scoop with his hand. He filled his mouth with it. That's when he realized it was all dirt. It was a mirage the whole time. He couldn't believe it, it looked so real.

Now they were getting closer to the city. It was right over the hill. The hill was about twelve miles off. A little bit of light was appearing from behind the mountain. Frank was afraid it was going to be the last sunset he would ever see. The hill really didn't look like a hill. It was flat on the top. It was very wide, it wouldn't be wise to try to go around it. Not once did they stop. They had to make it over. The town was right there. They were running low on breath. Sweat covered their whole body. Joe and Jack were so thirsty that they licked the cold sweat off their bodies.

It was now about six in the afternoon. But it still felt like noon. It seemed as though the heat didn't drop even one degree. Now they were at the foot of the steep mountain. None of them were in enough shape to climb it. Even before they had to walk the long distance, they weren't in shape. None of them exercised every day. So they weren't ready to walk or climb anything. Now since they all were exhausted it didn't seem possible. Frank tried to encourage them, but it didn't work. He would have to go over the mountain all by himself. It was all up to him now. He would have to save his friends. There was no other Choice. The mountain was a lot steeper than he thought it would be.

Part 4:

"The small town"

He slipped off the hill several times. Still he didn't give up. There was no way he was just going to watch and let his friends die. This time he had a running start. He got all the way to the top. He grabbed onto the top, barely able to pull himself fully up. He looked down to his friends. He was at least twenty feet high. Now his fears of heights started to come back. He looked at the other side. The town was not there. He looked around it was on the other side, but about another mile. He didn't feel up to walking anymore. But his friends were inches from dieing. He had to save them.

He ran the whole way for he couldn't let any time slip threw his hands. His sweat was triple as much as it was before. He could feel that the air was cooler, but still lots of sweat came dripping down. He finally reached the small town. It was sure small. There were only fifteen houses and one grocery store. The pharmacy was in the grocery store. There was no hospital or police station. They must be local residents doing those jobs. Of course there wasn't a town for hundreds of miles. He decided to go into the grocery store to ask. They told him to go to the sheriff's house to get him. So he did just that, and it didn't take him long for there wasn't much town to move around in.

At first the sheriff didn't want to he said he was off duty. But Frank never stopped bugging him, so the poor man had no choice. Luckily the sheriff had a horse, so they didn't have to walk. Still on horse a mile will take a little while, especially when he had to carry Frank too. Otherwise they could have had the run them there. The sheriff and he climbed the hill, with the help of a rope. They looked on the other side, all of his friends were asleep. Frank threw a rock down to wake them up. They were happy to be rescued, but didn't think they would be able to get up. But they all combined their efforts, and they got them all up.

They had to stay at the sheriff's house for a little while to recover. Then they finally got back home. And never again did they go on an airplane or a high rollercoaster, because now they were all afraid of heights. They still could have fun, but not the same way they used to. That event changed their lives forever, and it's something that they'll never forget.