The Sturniolos' Assistant

Chapter 1: Problem-Solving

"Matt, go faster!" Nick yells from the backseat as the chorus of hissing and bellowing cries grow louder.

"What do you think I'm trying to do?" Matt snaps back. His foot is pressed all the way down on the gas pedal of the utility cart.

"I'm still not getting a signal," Chris shouts. I turn around from the passenger seat and see Chris standing on the edge of the cart, holding his phone toward the sky.

"Chris, sit down. We'll try again once we get somewhere safe." I tug on his shirt, so he sits back down. The last thing we need right now is him dropping his phone, leaving us with three more chances to call for help. Three chances seem like good odds, but judging how this night is already going, I know that we'll have more bumps in the road.

"Malia, where do I go?" Matt asks. The panic in his voice makes my heart ache. I don't know how we're going to survive the night, but I have to put on a brave face for them; they're looking at me for reassurance. I have to act like everything will be alright. 

I try to remember where the maintenance building was on the golf course, but it's too dark to see and the only light I have to work with is coming from the headlights of the cart- plus it's hard to think clearly when I know we're being chased.

"Uh, go left!" I hold onto the side of the cart for support as Matt makes a sharp left. This path seems familiar, I think we're headed in the right direction. The sound of the engine almost drowns out the hissing of the things following us. I'm trying to come up with a new plan in my head when something hits the left side of the cart and pushes us off the path. Matt holds the steering wheel tight and fights to gain control, but it's too late. The cart falls into a sand trap and Chris, and I land right in the sand.

The pain on the right side of my body shoots quickly from my ankle to my shoulder. It's not bad, but I know it only feels like this now because of the Adrenaline. It's going to hurt a lot more later. Thank goodness it's sand and not concrete. Chris grabs my arm and helps me up.

"You okay?" he asks, brushing the sand off of me.

"Yeah. Are you?"

"Yeah." He shakes the sand out of his long hair. 

"C'mon, get in!" Nick shouts. We quickly get back into the cart. Matt tries stepping on the gas, but we don't move. I hear the sound of the back wheels grinding against the sand, struggling to get us out of the pit. I was wrong, this is the last thing we need right now.

"What do we do?" Matt asks. The maintenance building is too far away to go on foot. I don't know what else is out there and I don't want us to get separated from each other. It's too risky to ditch this vehicle.

"You two lift the back of the cart. Matt, keep trying the gas. I'll hold them off. If this doesn't work, we run."

They move fast to get us out of this sticky situation. I head to the back of the cart to look for something to defend us and find a shovel—finally, some good luck. I listen carefully and hear the sound of footsteps approaching. This night sucks. This place sucks. We need a new plan and fast. I grab the shovel from the back of the cart and hold it tight; ready to use it on anything that comes our way.

For the record... This was Chris' idea.