2-BEAU WEBB - DAY 1 - WHERE AM I?

JOURNAL ENTRY - DAY 1

Hello....you don't know me, but my name is Beau Webb.  I am 23 years old and a science intern at Landgraab Simoleons Lab. While I was fixing one of the new machines with a wrench, a spark emitted and I was transported here to this place.  I don't know where I am in time or space, or if I will ever get back to my own time. But I am keeping a log so that if anyone ever finds me or if I get back to my time, I can tell my tale.

This is me .. (takes selfie)....

In the meantime, I must face the fact that I am alone and must do whatever I can to survive. And the thing I have to do is to find a way to get out.  I can do it, I am a scientist -- ok, well, a scientist in training. And, plus I have my trusty lab coat on.

Now, a lab coat may not seem like a great thing to you, but do you know what lab coats can hold?  And the new ones...the one like I have...so techno.

....pulls out solar flashlight....and looks around....

It appears I have been "time tunneled" into a cave.  

Knocks on wall -- Hard as rock.
Pushes against cave -- solid rock.
Licks rock...ewwww....well, I won't do that again - I guess it tastes like rock.

But wait, there are some other things that I see....

Looks like a campfire...

And some type of tarp shelter...I think someone was here before....I wonder what happened to them?  I don't see any bones...so they didn't die here.  They must have gotten out somehow.

There doesn't seem to be any water that I can see, or even food...although who knows what lurks in this cave.  

Think....THINK....what do I need to do next?  Survive....what are those key elements to survival again?  Come on, think back to those Boy Scout days...

Oh yeah, I remember now....

1. Air

2. Water

3. Food

4. Shelter

5. Defense

1.  AIR - ok so for now, I can breathe.  But, if you're in a cave with no exit, how long do I have before my oxygen runs out?
....grabs pen and paper from lab coat....and scibbles some calculations on paper....um....maybe 17 hours...but before then...the Co2 will affect my thinking.  I must practice my yoga breathing techniques and take slow breaths to conserve my oxygen.

2. WATER - ok - no water source - but I do have my water bottle that is full...

3. FOOD - well, I have some food from the cafeteria in my lab coat pocket...an apple....a cupcake...and a marshmallow...oh gee....I shouldn't have said cupcake...now I'm hungry!

4. SHELTER - it seems I can use the tarp shelter to sleep in, but no sleep now..have to work on a plan to get out, or if I sleep I will never wake up...

5. DEFENSE - don't seem to have to worry about that now, since I am trapped

I am going to add something else for my situation...

6.  COMMUNICATION - If I can't get out alone, I need to get help from someone on the outside....

Now what?  I need to work on a plan. Plan....plan...plan...what do I do?  THINK!  Yes, there are 2 important tasks that I must do.

PLAN 1. GET TO THE OUTSIDE

PLAN 2. COMMUNICATE WITH SOMEONE FROM THE OUTSIDE

I am going to think about # 1 for a bit, but I think I can do something about #2.

I already tried my cell phone and there is no signal here. So, can't call anybody.  What did people do before they had phones?  THINK!  A field phone? No, still a phone. Write letters? Right, like anyone is going to get my letter from inside a cave!  Hmmm...no cell service, no postal service....But wait, what did they do in that movie....Independence Day...they used..they used...Morse Code! That's it!  I am going to build a morse code sender.  I think I have everything I need right here in my lab coat.

ok, wait....maybe I should take inventory of what I have in my lab coat.  Here's some rock tables and I am going to place everything down and see what I have

ok...so if I take the battery out of my cell phone and attach the wires to it, and I can use that piece of tin...and....I need something flat...like a board...perfect...a piece of firewood...and then I can screw in that....where is my Swiss army knife...and then I can use the pliers and twist it so...and there you have it....ready to go...it's pretty rudimentary...but I think it will work...

I sent my S.O.S. in Morse Code. So far, I haven't received any response.  Maybe no one knows Morse Code anymore, or maybe the signal didn't go far enough. So much for putting it together with things I had in my lab coat.  Well, I can try again later.  Back to Plan 1.

PLAN 1. GET TO THE OUTSIDE

So, I am trapped in a cave...I need to find a hollow part...or some crack in the rock...goes around cave knocking on the rocks....not here....not here....FOUND IT!  Hollow...there is some space behind this rock and there is a crack in it.   Aaarrrgggg....I can't move it!  *Wipes brow*

I feel a panic attack coming on.....how will I get out....how will I get out?

THINK!  THINK!  CALM DOWN! How do you move rocks? You pull them, you push them, you BLOW THEM UP!  Yes, like the railroaders in the olden days, I am going to blow up the cave....I mean the rocks...with potassium nitrate....aka - dyno-mite!

And I have just the thing to do it with...where are those sparklers from the Geekcon Festival?  I know I had them in my lab coat somewhere...Ahh yes....here they are...

Now, if I just wedge them into this crack....and....I push some...yes....I can do that....and then I have to light them...where are my matches?  Oh please, let this work....Holds Breath and lights them all.  KABOOM!