Matt Doeden - Can You Survive Dangerous Desert Encounters?: An Interactive Wilderness Adventure

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YOU find yourself stranded in the middle of the desert. Threats lurk everywhere. Youre hot. Youre thirsty. And most terrifying of all, deadly wildlife could creep out at every turn. Scorpions, spiders, snakes, and more. You never know what you might findor what might find you.

What will you do when you come face-to-face with a deadly desert creature? Will you run? Will you hide? Do you have what it takes to survive? YOU CHOOSE which paths to take. Your choices will guide the story. Will you live or die?

Chapter One sets the scene. Then you choose which path to read. Follow the links at the bottom of each page as you read the stories. The decisions you make will change your outcome. After you finish one path, go back and read the others for new perspectives and more adventures. Use your devices back buttons or page navigation to jump back to your last choice.

The sun beats down on the dry, barren land. A wind gusts, kicking up a swirl of dust. Everywhere you look, the desert stretches out to the horizon. Dry brush clings to life in the conditions. Animals scurry into the shade and burrow into the ground to escape the heat. Its a constant battle for limited resources. All around you, plants and animals are doing everything they can to survive. And now you have to do the same.

Have I been here already? you mutter to yourself. Am I walking in circles? This was supposed to be an exciting adventure, but everything has gone wrong. Your precious water supply is running low. You only have a couple of bottles, and that doesnt go far in this heat.

The heat of the day drains you of your energy. But you keep moving. And the nighttime chill is a shock to the senses. Night in the desert is even more terrifying than daytime. This place may seem barren. But its actually filled with lifeand a lot of it could kill you. You need to make your way back to civilization before its too late.

You put yourself in this situation, but you didnt realize the dangers you would face. Youll have to keep a level head to get back to safety.

Youll have to adapt and react, one step at a time. You know one thing for sureyoull do everything you can to survive.

Look up ahead, Omar says, pointing toward a few jagged boulders in the distance. They stand out against the blue sky on the otherwise flat land. Those rocks might give us a little shade. Lets check it out.

You follow your brother to the boulders. Both of you crowd against the largest one to get as much of your bodies out of the sun as you can.

As you catch your breath, you think back to how you got into this mess. The two of you were just on a joyride.

You are new to the area, and you decided to take Omars new 4x4 truck off-roading in the desert. He was doing tricks, spinning the truck around in tight circles and revving the engine loudly, while kicking up big clouds of dust and sand.

It was fun at first. But then the engine overheated, and something blew up. Honestly, you were lucky to not get hurt. But just like that, you found yourselves stranded in the middle of the remote desert.

Theres no cell phone service way out here, and you didnt tell anyone where you went.

As you watched the steam pour out of the trucks ruined engine, you realized that no one would be coming to your rescue. You were on your own. So you did the only thing you could think to do. You gathered what few supplies you had in the truck and took off on foot. Luckily, that included a couple bottles of water. But that was three hours ago, and it feels like you havent gotten anywhere.

You said you remembered a town about 15 miles in this direction, you say. How sure are you? Im starting to feel like going on foot was a mistake.

Omar shakes his head. Sweat is pouring down his face, which is flushed from the heat. No. It was this way. Im almost sure of it.

Almost? you repeat. Were staking our lives on almost?

Its this way. Besides, what other options did we have?

You shake your head and close your eyes. Omars probably right. But at the moment, youre exhausted and afraid. Your patience is growing thin.

Suddenly, you hear a strange sound. Its like a vibration a rattle. Its coming from the bottom of the rock right behind you. It takes you a moment to process the sound. But as soon as you do, panic sets in.

Rattlesnake! you both shout. As you scramble to your feet, you drop your water bottle.

You look back to see it lying on the ground, right in front of a largeand aggressive-lookingwestern diamondback rattlesnake. You recognize the species from its signature rattle and the diamond-shaped pattern on its back. You know that rattlesnakes rarely attack humans unless they feel threatened. And this snake clearly looks like it feels threatened.

Lets go! Omar shouts. Hes always been terrified of snakes, and hes ready to run.

Wait, you say softly. You point to the water bottle. We cant leave that.

So grab it, Omar says. Just do it quick, before the snake can react.

Youre not sure anyone is that quick. But the alternative is waiting for the snake to leave. And out here, in the desert sun, every minute matters. How long will that take?

Make a distraction, you tell Omar. Get the snake looking the other direction.

Omar steps to one side of the rock. He waves his arms and shouts at the snake, while you stand perfectly still. The snake turns its head toward Omar, rattling its tail in warning.

This is your chance. Moving as quietly and as quickly as you can, you dart forward and reach out for the bottle.

The snake senses the movement. In a flash, it strikes. You yelp in pain, as its long, sharp fangs sink into the flesh of your forearm. Omar screams!

You stumble back and fall to the ground as the snake slithers away into a crack in the rock.

Omar rushes to your side. The snake injected youre light-headed. Your vision is a little blurry. Its only going to get worse until you get medical help. We have to move, you say. Ive read about rattlesnake bites. Its only a matter of time before this makes me really sick or worse. I need to get to a hospital.

Omar helps you to your feet. The two of you head out into the desert, desperately looking for signs of civilization. Already, the effects of the bite are slowing you down, but you try to ignore the discomfort and focus on finding help.

After about 20 minutes, you come across a dirt road. Its really just a few ruts in the ground, but its something. Maybe this leads back to that town, you say. You start stumbling down the road. But after a few more minutes of walking, a wave of dizziness hits and you double over, vomiting.

You need to rest, Omar says. Its almost evening. The sun isnt so strong now. Wait here and rest. Ill go ahead for help. I can move a lot faster without you.