What a stupid mistake.  I knew I shouldn’t have been with him, or both of them.  Francis told me he was in Nevada, but he knew.  He never had anything in Nevada. That’s it, this was all a plan to get me caught red handed, but it’s my fault so I deserve it.  That’s why we are in the middle of the Mojave.
I was feeling unhappy in my current relationship, Francis had anger issues, and just seemed off.  He was a well built man with hair that was down to his shoulders, I liked that.  We met at the supermarket, and we’ve been dating for a year and a half.  He was a great guy, and never laid a hand on me, and was very sweet most of the time.  I became increasingly nervous though.  I met another man, Dan, at a bar one night.  I was with some of my friends, but I didn’t want them knowing I was falling for another man.  We started to hang out.  First maybe a coffee run, then we started going on tangible dates at restaurants, we grew very close, my boyfriend never knew, nor did the new boy.  This was probably one of the worst things I have ever done to  myself or other people.  I was just waiting for the trip he had been planning for a while.  He said it was less of a trip and more a business meeting because he works for a college planning firm.  Finally the day had come and he had all his bags packed.  I gave him a half-assed kiss and, presumably, he left.  I assume he just parked down the street and waited for his chance to strike like a spider.  I assume he saw the car and waited a little while to come in because he barged in 10 minutes after Dan stepped in the house.  With one swift kick he broke down the door and with a fiery look in his eyes he went straight for Dan with a tire Iron.  One quick swipe and he was out like a light.  He didn’t hit me, either because he still loved me or he wanted me to watch him drag unconscious Dan across the carpet and towards the front door.  I was scared for my life I didn’t know what he was going to do.  He blindfolded me, for some reason he didn’t do anything more than that, either he thought I wasn’t going to run or something else.  Obviously he was treating me a lot better than Dan.
We must have been driving for hours.  In was so incredibly scared for my life and Dans.  I felt horrible for getting him in this situation.  I wonder if he’s  awake?  All of a sudden I felt the familiar sensation of the car turning, but this time it was different, I felt the gravel under the tires.  We were driving on a dirt road.  I could see it was dark through the blindfold,  I was laying flat on the back seat.  Eerily Francis was playing Frank Sinatra’s cover of Silent Night on repeat.  It’s June.  After another ten minutes the car stopped, and Frank quickly got out of his 1986 Ford Bronco.  I could hear him sliding Dan out of the back.  Muffle groans of Dan could be heard from the back seat.  Next was me.  The sharp gravel was hurting my knees.  I could feel grit brush against my face in the wind.  I could see the glow of the headlights through the blindfold.  Suddenly he rips it off my head and I can see that Dan is wearing a burlap sack over his head.  I haven’t been more afraid in my life. 
“Francis what are you doing!” I yell.
“driving”, he said with a monotone voice.
This sent a shiver down my spine because what he said and how he said it.
“Please let Dan go”, I pleaded, “It’s my fault he didn’t know”.
Francis’s stance was unwavering I could not persuade him.  I gave up and the air was silent.  The chirps of crickets could be heard in the distance, the calm rustle of desert shrubbery, and the soft sound of tumbling sand.  At that point I knew what was going to happen and I prayed for miracle.  Here I am now still praying.  Nothing has been done.  Frank has been standing and staring at Dan for ten minutes now.  Either he scared of finishing or was savoring the moment.  Dan has stayed quiet through the whole ordeal.  He seemed unusually calm throughout like he wasn’t even awake, but I knew he was.
The ordeal lasted for another hour with Francis still standing motionless.  His back was faced towards me so I could not see his face.  I started thinking about my plans to escape.  What would I do.  Would I run and leave Dan behind or risk it and try to save him too.  I made my decision.  It was his mistake not binding me.  I ran at him picking up a rock along the way.  I hit him in the head, and just kept running I grabbed Dan and sprinted for the truck.  Suddenly I heard Frank hot on my tracks.  I panicked and ran past the truck and into the mojave desert.  I didn’t know how close I was to civilization or even where I was.  I kept running.  I could picture Francis tracking us in his tracks.  I ran as hard and as fast as I could so there would be no chance of finding us.  I felt like my heart was going to explode, and dan was way slower than me.  This is gonna be one interesting night I said to myself. 
I was too scared to make a fire because he would definitely see me.  So I covered myself and Dan with desert bushes and did the best we could to stay warm.  It’s weird that it can be so hot during the day the so cold during the night.  In the distance I could hear the faint yelp of coyotes.  I tensed up, I tried to cover myself even more, I just hoped the coyotes wouldn’t find us.  I wasted time I should’ve slept, but I couldn’t.  I could have made some progress, but instead I laid there motionless review the horrible events that happened yesterday. 
I layed there for three hours trying to collect my thoughts.  What should I do next.  Will Dan be able to move tomorrow?  What if he can’t?  I imaged how far we are into the mojave.  How expansive the landscape is.  Once again I questioned if I was going to survive, especially with Dan who most likely won’t be able to go that far tomorrow.  No water, or food, and nothing to build a shelter with.  We were both in the clothes that we wore in the house earlier today.  A cold breeze rolled by and goosebumps spotted my arms.  I don’t even have a sweatshirt.  I knew then that I had a slim chance of living if roads weren’t close.   So this is how it has to be.  If Francis doesn’t kill me the wilderness will.
The sun rose the next day, and instead of feeling refreshed like I always do, I felt tired, and I knew this might be my last day.  The sun didn’t bring joy, it brought dread.  During the two hours of sleep I got a layer of dust had settled on me.  I tried to wake Dan up and he did immediately thrashing his arms.  He seemed crazed, but totally alert.  Immediately he settled down.
“Where am I”, he said with a weak voice.
“Take a guess”, I said sarcastically.
He looked around, and first he was emotionless, he almost seemed fine with the dilemma he was now discovering.  Then he asked, “are we stranded?” like he thought that we were on a trip.  My heart sank I knew he would freak out.
“Yes”, I said.
Like I said immediately he stood up and started walking around looking for a nearby road or any indication that there could be civilization near.  We saw nothing.  Early on in our affair I learned that he was deathly afraid of being lost.  I knew he wouldn’t take the situation well.  Starting very softly he began to scream, I covered his mouth quickly fearing that Frank could still be out there looking for us.  The land was barren, and the landscape seemed a lot different during the daytime.  Before we disembarked, I prayed that we would make it out alive, we survived the first night so we can do it.  This gave me a sudden boost of confidence that I have never experienced before.  I took Dan by the hand and we walked.  My dad taught me how to read the sun.  I wanted to head west towards California.  It’s our best option, and it’s towards home.  I took a deep breath, and hoped the day wouldn’t get any worse.
We have been walking for hours.  I started to feel the effects of dehydration.  Dan did not seem to mind.  the sun was at its peak, and gritty sand was grinding against my leg.  Still no sign of any life.  Though, I knew we were far enough away from the original sight and there was probably no chance that Francis could find us I felt like someone was watching me.  Like last night I felt goosebumps
Dan saw it first, the glint in the distance.  What was it? As we got closer we discovered it was the reflection off the chrome grill of  semi truck parked at a lonely gas station.  This was our oasis, our glimmer of hope.  Staggering we moved ourselves as fast as we could.  By this time we had been stuck for 18 hours in the desert.  This had turned out better than I expected.  my mind started racing thinking about what the future holds, and also cracking into a nice cold soda at the gas station.  The station was getting closer and closer, I hurtled a shrub I had no time for it.  Past the gas station I could see glimmering  ars streaking across the open road. We sprinted silently only the crunching of gravel under our feet could be heard, but something started to make its way into my thoughts.  Slowly Silent Night started playing louder in my head.  The song that use bring joy now makes me feel uneasy.  I could almost taste the sweet refreshing soda.  Dan was just a few feet behind me when we heard the low grumble behind us.