Mr. E. (Over The Top)

"Alright people listen up. Tonight we will eat some of the food rations I managed to grab from the plane. We may have to conservative a bit, but none of us should starve either. Let's try to get as good of night sleep as possible, and tomorrow I will go out scrounging for more food," He said.

"Just how exactly do you propose to hunt without a gun or bow and arrow?" Greg asked.

"My karate instructor taught me how to make my own spears. I figure that I could try a bit of ice fishing, and I also spotted some deer tracks not too far from here. Regardless, I am fairly certain that I can bring back something for us to dine upon," Trent said with more conviction then he actually felt.

After they all ate what would normally be considered a light afternoon snack, but tonight would have to suffice as their evening meal, the four quietly paired off to try and get a bit of shut eye. Trent managed to make his way over to his pregnant teacher to enquire how she was fairing during this traumatic ordeal.

"Well I think the baby is ok for now. My feet and ankles are quite swollen, and I am a bit stiff from the jarring of the crash and having to walk so far, but other than that I am ok at least for now," She told him.

"I know that all the arguing that Greg and I have done has not helped your stress level any. I am very sorry about my role in that. I will attempt to get along better with him, but I will have to be forceful if he tries to do anything that could potentially put us all in danger," Trent whispered.

"Just how much do you honestly know about surviving in conditions such as this," She asked?

I must be honest with you. I have never actually been camping. I have always been fascinated with wilderness survival ever since I was a small child. I've read and studied every book, magazine article and movie that I could get my hands on pertaining to the subject. As part of my martial arts training, I was taught how to forge my own weapons from my surroundings, and shown how to track whatever prey I was up against. I am fairly certain that I can scrounge up enough food and water to keep us alive until help arrives," Trent said hoping to sound confident in his abilities.

Mrs. Miller gave Trent a reassuring smile that didn't quite make it past her waiving eyes and quietly suggested that everyone try to get some shut eye. Sleep was a hard commodity to come by that evening, as night fall brought on all of the fears and insecurities they tried to suppress earlier in the day. The restless group managed to elude Mr. Sandman until near exhaustion overcame them in the wee hours of the morning.

With little sleep from the previous night, Trent left the cave early in hopes of trying to get a better handle on his surroundings. Taking with him the knife from the planes emergency kit, he quickly widdled a couple of spears, and make his way down to the pond that was frozen over. Cutting a small hole in the ice, he was happy to discover a large spool of good size fish just below its surface. Spearing his prey was not the easiest thing that he had ever done, but despite the difficulty, he did manage to catch enough fish to adequately feed the four of them. Fearing that Becky or even Mrs. Miller might take offense to watching him clean and filet the fish, Trent decided to bear the cold a bit longer, so that the rest of the group did not have to witness this event. Upon returning to the cave with his catch of the day, he was told that Greg, who not believing he would bring back any food, decided to go out scouting on his own.

"Shit! That damn idiot is not dressed to be out in this type of weather. Alright, I had better go search for him, before he ends up getting himself killed out there," Trent said in a disgusted tone of voice.

"Trent, I know that we are not at school now, but you really do need to watch your language a little better," Mrs. Miller scolded while trying to maintain the persona of a proper school teacher.

Mrs. Miller, please understand that I say this with the upmost respect possible. You are right. We are not in school right now. We are three young adults and yourself, thrown into a horrible and potentially very dangerous situation, in which we must try and learn to coexist with each other, at least for the time being. If you attempt to treat this as a classroom in which we have to constantly be on guard for fear of saying something that you will take offence to, it is going to make our time together seem much more difficult to deal with," Trent concluded as he left the cave to go try and find Greg.

You know Becky, as hard as that was to hear, Trent is right. I have been trying to act as a teacher around the three of you since this whole mess started and quite frankly, I am lost as to what to do. I know nothing about camping or wilderness survival tactics. If we manage to survive this whole ordeal, it won't be because of me, she said breaking down into sobs.

"Oh don't cry Mrs. Miller! Trent didn't mean what he said. We are all just so stressed out right now, and none of us are handling it very well," Becky said reassuringly.

I know that you are right Becky, but so is Trent. It was his quick thinking that got us all out of the plane before it caught fire. He even managed to procure the emergence kit and food rations from it. The three of us never even thought to do something like that. He led us to shelter, and look at the fish he managed to catch for us to eat. Now, he is even out in the cold trying to find Greg, and instead of thanking him for his efforts all I can do is chastise him over something as petty as foul language, the teacher replied.

"Well now that you mention it; that does seem like a silly thing to be getting upset over with everything else that has happened," Becky said starting to giggle.

Pretty soon her laughter had become contagious, as the two ladies discovered a much needed outlet for their building anxiety.

"Thanks Becky honey, I really needed that," Mrs. Miller said wiping her eyes.

Trent had been tracking Greg's footprints for quite a distance, when he came to the conclusion that the quarterback must truly be lost. His movements were so sporadic that they lacked of any sort of pattern. When Trent found that he had come full circle, he really started to get concerned. The sun was just beginning to set when Trent spotted what looked to be a large mass sprawled across the ground a few meters in front of him. It seems that the young man had apparently passed out do so sheer exhaustion and long term exposure to the elements. Being thankful for his muscular build, do to his training, Trent quickly lifted the teenager, and began to carry him back towards the shelter of the cave.

The girls had decided to use a couple of the spears Trent had made, to roast the fish he had brought back. It wasn't exactly a gourmet meal, but the two ladies had their fill to eat, and were waiting for the boys to return before cooking the rest of the catch.

About an hour and a half after dusk, a winded Trent appeared at the cave entrance with an unconscious Greg in his arms.

"Oh God what happened to him," Mrs. Miller asked?

"Exactly what I said would happen. He got too cold and passed out in the snow," Trent replied.

"Is he going to be alright?" Becky asked.

"I honestly don't know," Trent replied in a worried tone of voice.

"Becky, come help me get him out of these wet cloths. Mrs. Miller, please spread out one of those blankets I grabbed from the plane," Trent requested.

"Do we need to remove everything," Becky asked shyly?

"Yes his underwear too. This is no time for modesty," Trent said.

After lying Greg in the middle of one of the blankets Trent quickly started stripping off his own clothing as well.

"What are you doing," Becky asked?

"Becky, Greg has hypothermia. Putting him close to the fire will help to a degree, but it won't warm him fast enough to save his life. The only chance he has is a direct exchange of body heat," Trent explained.

"Trent is right Becky. In cases of extreme weather exposure body heat is often the only treatment that will help save a life," Mrs. Miller replied.

"Holly shit! Look at the size of that thing," Becky exclaimed as Trent lowered his underpants!

"Becky! You shouldn't be talking about... Oh My," Mrs. Miller exclaimed!

"Yeah, well now you know why I am always wearing baggy pants," Trent said as his face darkened with embarrassment.

"How big is it," Becky wanted to know?

Becky, how could you ask such a thing," Mrs. Miller asked?

"I'm sorry Mrs. Miller; I guess that just sort of said it without thinking," Becky replied defending herself.

"Becky, as much as I appreciate your curiosity, we need to concentrate on Greg at the moment," Trent said hoping to end this very embarrassing conversation.

"Your right, what can I do to help," Becky asked?

"Greg needs all the body heat he can get to pull through. The problem is that this procedure can be very risky for anyone involved. Since he is so cold it could cause either of our body temperatures to drop below a dangerous level. Because of this I won't ask for your help, but I can't refuse it either," Trent said.

After contemplating the situation, both Becky and Mrs. Miller started to strip.

"Mrs. Miller, I won't let you do this. Being pregnant puts you at a much greater risk, besides we will need someone to keep the fire going," Trent explained.

Sensing that he was right the teacher reluctantly restored her clothing.

Laying buck naked next to Greg was definitely not one of Trent's erotic fantasies. Having Becky on the other side of him, so close, yet beyond his loving touch made the event seem more like a cruel nightmare. Trying to ignore the absurdity of the situation, Trent asked Mrs. Miller to throw another blanket, and any dry clothes she could find over the three naked teenagers.

Greg's body felt like a giant Popsicle that someone had just pulled from the freezer. After nearly two hours had passed, he still didn't feel any warmer. Laying there shivering Trent had to wonder if this was finally the end.

"Uh where am I," A groggy, Greg managed to ask?

"Relax your back in the cave," Trent replied.

"I am. How did I get here," He asked?

"I found you passed out in the snow and carried you back," Trent replied.

"Am I naked," Greg asked?

"All three of us are, now shut up and get some rest, and don't get any funny ideas either," Becky replied.

"I really fucked up didn't I," Greg asked already knowing the answer?

"Yeah you did, but we can talk about that tomorrow. Right now let's just keep our hands and any other body part that might arise to ourselves, and try to get some sleep," Trent said relieved that the young man had finally regained consciousness.

The four awoke late the following day with both the guys sporting their usual morning wood. Red faced the boys quickly dressed and made their way outside the tent to take their morning constitutional. Becky was not only treated to a nice view of Trent's penis in its expanded form, but could now also make comparisons with Greg's much more average appendage. Feeling as though she was cheating on her boyfriend, Becky silently scolded herself for her lustful thoughts.

Mrs. Miller could practically read the young girls mind, as she too was having some unsavory ideas about her well endowed student. Being away from her husband, and in her current condition, she found her hormones were increasing her sex drive. She only hoped that the four of them could maintain a sense of decorum while faced with these palpable temptations.

Back inside, Trent and a still unstable Greg sat down near the fire, as Mrs. Miller began to cook up the remainder of the fish for the near starving young men. Always the gentleman, Trent insisted on sharing their portion of the food with the ladies. After getting something in his stomach, he asked Becky to gather more wood for the fire, while he would again scout for food. Greg was to stay inside with Mrs. Miller to try and fully recover.

The four settled into their new lives together, and the role that each of them would play within it. Trent was of course the main source of their food supply. Becky would collect wood to keep the fire going, and help out with whatever else she could. Mrs. Miller was in charge of keeping them entertained, as she would create games or word puzzles, anything really that could occupy their minds. Greg finally realized how close he came to death, and in so doing lost most of the arrogance he had been displaying throughout this whole ordeal. After fully recovering, he and Trent started working together to try and provide for the group. Greg began to appreciate Trent's knowledge of survival tactics. Trent admired the boy's eagerness to learn, and made sure to utilize the camping experience that Greg had brought to the table. They built traps and snares, in an attempt to capture rabbits and other small game. Although most of their meals consisted of fish, the boys did occasionally snag a deer once in a while. Using the snow as a freezer, they managed to get several meals out of that type of kill, before the meat became unsafe to eat.

Days quickly turned into weeks, and then to months with no foreseeable hope of being rescued. Early on, they had crafted their own pots, bowls and cooking utensils, as well as created a method of capturing new fallen snow to use as drinking water. They dug a hole and setup some well-placed logs in front of it to act as a make shift toilet. They sparingly used the hand sanitizer and the rubbing alcohol Trent had lifted from the plane in conjunction with boiling water to keep clean and help fight off germs.

During this time, the four, although trying to maintain their modesty, had all managed to catch each other in various stages of nudity. Being cramped as they were, privacy was not usually an option, and soon the stress of not being able to obtain sexual release had them all on edge. A solution to this problem came when Trent and Greg managed to discover a second cave not far from their camp site. This particular cavern was much smaller than the previous one that they lived in, but could possible afford, one or even two people a bit of much needed privacy. After sharing their find with the girls, Trent explained how each of them could go there to scream, yell, cry or just to get a bit of "alone time". The only rules were that you had to tell the others when you were going so they wouldn't worry or accidentally walk in on each other, and if anyone made a mess they had to clean it up for the convince of the next person. After the group started utilizing this newly discovered sanctuary, there was a noticeable improvement in their moral.

Days seemed to morph into one another as Mrs. Miller's due date crept agonizingly closer. Being female and also planning to someday become a nurse herself, Becky was the obvious choice to become Mrs. Miller's Lamaze coach. Greg and Trent would always try and allow the ladies enough privacy to go over whatever needed to be done. They prayed each day to be rescued, but so far they hadn't seen any indication of that actually happening.

It seems odd how miracles can sometimes be stacked together to work in conjunction with each other. It was nearing the end of what should have been their summer vacation, and Trent was once again walking back from the lake with his catch of the day. As he got closer to the camp site an exasperated Greg came running up to him hands in the air shouting "a plane a plane". Even as Trent's mind began to comprehend the implications of what the boy was saying he couldn't help but smile at how much the bulking quarterback suddenly resembled the vertically challenged character of Tattoo from old reruns of Fantasy Island.

"Greg, calm down and tell me exactly what happened," Trent asked.

Well I was walking up the hill to check on our 911 sign that we made out of scrap parts from the wreckage. I was afraid that the storm we had a few days ago might have messed it up somehow. Anyway, as I was trying to realign some of the pieces that the wind had blown over I heard a small plane off in a distance. As it appeared to get closer I quickly lit the signal fire and started waving a piece of the burning wood around in the air. I was trying everything I could to get their attention, and it seems to have worked. The plane started circling the area, getting lower with each pass. I am sure they spotted me, our 911 sign and even the wreckage, with as low as they eventually flew, Greg exclaimed excitedly!

"That is fantastic!" Trent replied with equal enthusiasm. Now all we have to do is hope that they act quickly and send help so that we can finally be able to get the hell out of here. Let's go tell the girls the good news," Trent suggested.

The two young men hurried back to their cave to share this awesome piece of good fortune with the ladies. They were subjected to a blood curdling scream upon their arrival.

"What the hell is going on," Trent asked already afraid of the answer?

While entering the cavern, Trent learned that his worst fear had come to pass, as Mrs. Millers water had already broken and she was now in full fledged labor. Handing the fish to Greg, Trent rushed to the woman's side and immediately took stock of the situation.

"Easy Mrs. Miller, everything is going to be fine," Trent said with more conviction than he actually felt.

"Everything is not going to be fine; I am in labor; damn it," Mrs. Miller exclaimed!

"I know that, just try and relax," Trent said as he reached up and started to remove her clothing.

"What the hell are you doing," Mrs. Miller shouted?

"Well at the moment I am trying to get you prepared to deliver this baby," Trent replied.

"You can't see me like this," She protested.

"Look my dad's a doctor and I've studied the birthing procedure in hopes of someday becoming one myself. Right now, I am the closest thing you have to an OBGYN. You might feel embarrassed, but you will get over it. At this moment, the baby is what's important. It wants out, and I for one suggest that we accommodate its wishes, don't you," he asked the bewildered instructor?

Greg decided that his best course of action was to leave, while he could still manage to hold down his breakfast. The quarterback may be used to seeing some measurement of blood after a particularly rough game, but this was going to be far more then he thought he could handle.

"Alright, the first thing that we need to do is figure out how close the baby is to coming out. Have either of you been timing Mrs. Miller's contractions," Trent asked?

"No we haven't, and the names Linda," Mrs. Miller answered.

"Excuse me," Trent asked?

"If we are going to do this I would feel more comfortable if the two of you would please call me by my first name," She replied.

Ok, if that is what you want. Linda when you feel a contraction coming on I want you to focus on your Lamaze training. You can scream, yell curse cry, and squeeze Becky's hand, whatever it takes to get through the pain. We are not in the most ideal situation here, but let's not forget that females have been giving birth since the beginning of time. You are a strong healthy woman, and you will get through this, he said encouragingly.

Trent took a few t-shirts and ripped them into rag size pieces. He also sterilized the knife, and got it ready to cut the umbilical cord. Boiling water, and then letting it cool to a mild temperature, Trent planned to use the cloths to clean the baby and its mother after the birth. The contractions were now coming within minutes of each other, and the three knew that it wouldn't be long before they were joined by a new born infant. Greg had told them all about seeing the plane before he left the cave and each secretly hoped that paramedics would arrive in time to finish the procedure.