Sam had been walking for two hours through the forest, accompanied by his parents and two sisters. His mother had decided to spend their family vacation in the woods, and they had hiked and fished for most of their five day tenure.
Sam glanced at his nineteen year old sister, Emily. The hot sun made her blonde hair appear to glow faintly. She was one year younger than him, but more mature, and focused on her medical studies most of the time. Sam appreciated the time to spend with his siblings.
As he ascended past a rocky outcropping, he noticed that his other sister, Megan, was struggling to climb the promontory which jutted onto the path. "Do you need a hand, sis?" he called, rushing towards her regardless of her answer. Dropping down, he hoisted her up gently.
"Thanks," Megan said. It had been easy to lift her due to her short stature and meagre weight. Despite her height, she was quite thin, having adopted Emily's habit of fasting. As they hurried forward to rejoin the group, their father called that they going to follow a path which led into a heavily forested area. Nobody objected, and they proceeded to follow the scarcely trodden road farther into the sunless depths of the woods.
Sam marvelled at the brilliant scenery, its fluorescent foliage vividly contrasting the sodden brown carpet of the forest. Staring ahead, he and his sisters noticed a resplendent waterfall, its vigourously churning waters refracting the sunlight into prismatic rays.
Quickly mouthing muttered guarantees to return, they raced towards its rocky basin, they deserted their parents, hastily sprinting unto the pool at the raging water's end. Recklessly pressing onward, the three kept their gaze level with the splashing curtain of water. Unheeding of their parents' calls, they merely laughed and joked with the little breath their running left available.
Suddenly, as they crossed an overgrown expanse, a sharp root caught Sam's foot. As he fell, he extended his hands outward to right himself when he touched the ground. To his surprise, when his face was level with the thicketed floor, he continued his descent. His eyes widened as he entered the gaping maw which protruded from the earth, too breathless to scream.
Craning his neck upward, he saw that both of his sisters had too fallen into the abyssal pit. Time seemed to drag on as he sped downward. Hot tears stung his eyes as he cursed himself, knowing that he should have stopped his sisters from following him. He had failed his parents and himself in his duty as the eldest sibling.
After what seemed like a minute, he felt his hands touch wet brush which was littered around the hole. His arms buckled and he fell backwards, crying out in pain. He felt a shock go through his spine and gritted his teeth, sending more tears down his face. Attempting to get up, he writhed viscerally as he put pressure on his arms.
Gradually, the pain had lessened enough for him to sit up briefly. Looking around, he noticed his sisters for the first time. Both Emily and Megan were crumpled in heaps at the other side of the small pit. New resolve allowed him to crawl over to them, wincing as his arms smarted painfully with each movement. He reached Emily first. She appeared to have landed on a small pile of dead leaves which her weight had dispersed. Sam reached out slowly to touch her neck, and felt a pulse. She looked unconscious. Judging from her appearance and the position of her fall, Sam assumed she had a concussion and some broken bones, but nothing too serious.
Sighing in relief, he inched his way toward Megan. He could see already that one of her tibiae jutted rudely of her leg. He gagged violently, smelling the vile odour of blood. Closer now, he saw that both of her legs and arms were at least partly broken, and that no vegetation surrounded her. Pulling himself beside her, he saw vulgar protrusions pressed against her chest: her displaced ribs. Gagging again, he sobbed primally at the thought of her organs being punctured. He moved two fingers to her neck, balking with dread.
As he touched her soft skin, he felt a yet softer pulse. Laughing drily, he fell onto his back, his face sticky with tears.
Roughly ten minutes later, he heard his parents calling their names. He remained silent until they came close, then shouted, "We fell in a hole! You need to get help!"
His parents fell silent. "Are you okay?" his father asked.
"No," Sam choked, barely audibly, "you need to get help". His parents heeded his wish and left running without responding. They were at least five days from their cabin, and eight from the nearest town. They had no car, so they had to survive until the roughly sixteen day round trip could be made. Crushed by the prospect of certain death, Sam passed out within a few minutes.
Sam awoke to being shaken lightly. "Sam!" Emily cried. "Are you okay?"
"I've been better," he answered. "Have you checked on Megan? She needs more help than I do."
"Yeah, I checked on her first. I fashioned a tourniquette to staunch the blood. Her vital organs are all unscathed. It looks like she'll make it."
"I'm so glad," Sam breathed relievedly. "Are you alright?"
"I think I'm better than you are. Now that you're awake, we need to talk about food and water."
Sam groaned, remembering that they had left their packs back with their parents.
"What are we going to do?" he questioned.
"Some water has seeped into the corner. It's dirty, but usable. However, we need food of some kind, and I think that the water will only last for a couple of days."
"Are there any dead animals or fruits around?"
"You can look, if you want. None of it will be enough for more than a few days, either. We need a sustainable source of food and water."
"I'm so sorry for getting you both into this mess," Sam stated apologetically.
"It's not your fault. I'm sure we'll make it. Life finds a way," she consoled brightly. "If we find food, we need to give Megan more of it than us, because of her injuries. If we don't find something soon, she will die."
Both Sam and Emily thought extensively. Sam grew depressed as he realised his sister would die. He contemplated cannibalising her once she died. Disgusted with himself, he stood and paced before sitting beside Emily.
"Em, do you have anything?" he asked sadly.
Emily sighed before replying, "There's only one idea I have, but it's a bad one."
"Bad or not, will it be enough for Megan to survive?"
"Probably, but it will be taxing for all three of us, especially you."
"I'm willing to bear the burden of my failure."
Nodding, Emily said resignedly, "We have to consume your semen."
Sam chuckled at the idea. At first he thought Emily was joking, but her solemn expression chased away the thought. As absurd as it was, he respected his sister's medical knowledge.
