A/N If this ends up to be a total failure, I may just discontinue this story. BUT if one person likes it, I might continue to a fifth chapter or more.

DISCLAIMER: Roses are red, violets are blue – I don't own, so please don't sue!

Zoe lay in her hut, playing with the string of a bow she had carved. It had been six days since the slashers attacked base six and she still hadn't been found. Zoe had found some Hell Plant and made flares, occasionally setting one up high in the trees. There was also a dead tree that collected rainwater nearby, and even though she had to boil and disinfect it, it was still water.

Zoe didn't want to risk walking any more than a half-klick radius from her hut. She had gotten close to that point until she heard of Phoenix soldiers. Apparently she was right in the middle an area that was infected with Kilro Salivus, a virus that affected everything and practically destroyed all sense of life. It hadn't fully affected the forest, but the area was Phoenix territory and they were ordered the keep watch and tell them when they would stay away. Zoe also couldn't leave her forest or she would be right in the clutches of the Phoenix.

She was basically screwed.

Her only hope was that sooner or later a thermal cam or something of sort would catch one of her flares and find her.

Food was also getting scarce. It would only be a matter of time before all the Nemies in the area left, died of Kilro, or got hunted by her. There was no other source of food other than a few poisonous mealworms she had dug up, but they were a last resort as they caused affects something along the lines of hallucinations, fear, mind warp and a few other side effects she didn't even want to think about.

Shaking her head she shifted positions. She had found some feathers and ferns, so she lined the insides with them so she wouldn't wake up sore. Her skin had also changed to be a little pinkish after her normal caramel skin got sunburned. Zoe had cut her hair with the knife at her thigh, making it now to her shoulder blades so when she pulled it into a pony tail, it wouldn't get caught in the foliage. She had also lost a substantial amount of weight from lack of food and water. She got enough exercise surely, but she needed fats and carbohydrates to keep her going.

She wondered if her parents were worried. Most likely, her mother worried constantly about everything and her father was so loyal to his family that if any of them were to get hurt, he would go to no ends looking for them. Josh was probably taking it better. He could always see the strength in people; he knew what she a capable of. Maddy must've been studying, as she always did when she was distressed.

Zoe slowly climbed out of her hut, making her neck pop while she put her bow back. It was dusk, almost time to set another flare and time to check her tree for water. She slowly climbed down, walking to the tree first. It as maybe thirty feet away, hidden by a few brambles she had cut through. Already thirst was starting to burn at the back of her throat for she only drank water when she needed to.

She made it to her tree and gasped. The tree had dried out.

How? It was full yesterday! No, it was full that morning!

Quickly she checked all the way around the small trunk. Zoe saw that there was a hole in the log at the bottom. It must've been there the entire time, and something was just stopping it from leaking. Now that the stopper was gone, she was all out of water.

She shook her canteen. If it was full, it could last her three or four days, depending how hot is was and how she rationed.

Empty.

How could she be so stupid! Zoe mentally slapped herself for drinking the last bit in the noon, thinking that she could always go back and get more. Now she had chances of dehydration as well as starvation. Suddenly she thought of something. If she set off multiple flares at once, there was chance the thermal camera's fire alarm system would go off.

Practically sprinting all the way back, she scrounged up all her Hell Plant flares. Zoe had about four in total, as well as a few extra buds that didn't burn as well. Running up to the top of the tree, she placed all the flares upright so it wouldn't burn her hut. Taking out a stone and a small piece of flint she picked out, she lit the first flare, making the night around her glow eerily red. Using that flare, she lighted the next three and the extra buds. It was now very bright on top of the tree, and very hot.

Another need for water made its way into her mouth. That was going to be a huge problem. With the flares burning, she climbed back down the tree and sat in the dome.

Zoe waited for the last flare to pop, signaling it had run out of plant and died out. She still didn't fall asleep though, it was too hot. Hot weather without water and no sense of rescue or salvation? A sigh escaped her. Tonight was going to be a long night.

A/N More writers block, causing this to be a bit shorter chapter. Zoe will most likely be rescued in the next chapter so please R&R and as always, I STILL ACCEPT FLAMES/BASHING. I DON'T CARE.