Five Survive

Red needs to pee and wonders how to tell the others. Oliver assigns Reyna, Maddy, and Simon to find a jack and wrench, commenting that he and Arthur will get the tire. Red asks what she can do since she does not have a task. Arthur notes everyone is walking in the same direction and asks her to follow them. He climbs on top of the RV to see if there are any lights close by but sees nothing.

Reyna hands Oliver the tools to fix the tire. Arthur holds the light and talks with Red. Red points out that being outside must help with Arthur’s claustrophobia, and she wonders what could have punctured the tire. Oliver says that he knew they were going the wrong way, and Arthur counters that it was no one’s fault since it is hard to navigate in the dark. Oliver asks Red to take the jack and wrench to the front so the others can start loosening the nuts. While Reyna and Oliver change the tire, Maddy and Simon talk about Simon’s eccentric “white uncle” (49) who owns the RV.

Red finally talks to Maddy about sleeping arrangements but refrains from telling her that she can only sleep on the left, even though Maddy is “flexible” about which side she sleeps on (50). Red remembers that she has to pee, but since the car is jacked, Oliver tells her she cannot pee in the RV. Red walks away from the group to find a secluded area. She goes into the wilderness and hears a snap. When she looks at the trees, she notices something moving in the darkness.

Red calls out to see if anyone is out there and thinks about how getting killed while peeing would be horrible. She runs back to the group, shaken by the experience.

On the way back, Red meets Arthur, who, having heard her yelling, has come to see if she is okay. They walk back, joking and flirting about axe murderers in the wilderness. Arthur asks Red about the origins of her name, and Red explains she was named after her grandfather, Redford Foster, who was a police captain. Arthur asks, “Like your mom?” (55), and Red feels intense pain at the reminder of her loss. Arthur mentions that Maddy asked everyone not to mention Red’s mom but says he’s there if Red wants to talk to someone. Red changes the subject and asks Arthur what he wants to do after graduation.

Arthur mentions that his family owns a house-flipping business, and they expect him to work on the administrative side of things. However, he does not want to be inside an office all day because of his claustrophobia. Arthur traces his claustrophobia back to when his brother locked him in the closet: “Just a prank but…my brother sometimes takes things too far” (56). Realizing that Arthur has his own childhood trauma, Red changes the conversation and jokes about future plans with Arthur again.

The tire is fixed by the time Arthur and Red reach their friends. Everyone agrees they should turn around since the road ahead is a dead end. Oliver blames everyone for their bad navigation. Simon and Maddy joke around with Red about her interest in Arthur, which Red tries to deny. Simon says that he approves of them together.

Once everyone is inside, Maddy takes a celebratory picture of everyone together, and then Reyna starts to drive again with Oliver directing her. Oliver repeatedly warns Reyna to be careful of a large rock, annoying her, and she finally makes the turn to go back. However, they suddenly hear loud cracking sounds, and all the tires get punctured.

Shocked into silence, everyone tries to understand what just happened. Oliver breaks the silence, accusing Reyna of driving badly and puncturing the tires, and Reyna defends herself. Oliver races outside to see what happened. Reyna, Simon, and Maddy follow him out. Arthur and Red step out of the RV last. Red inspects the tires, noticing the holes in them and how flat they are.

Oliver continues to scream at Reyna, who reiterates that it is not her fault. Red keeps looking at the tires, trying to figure out how they got punctured. Maddy is unsure of what to do, and Simon calls out that it’s no one’s fault. Oliver continues shouting.

Red notices a moving red dot on the side of the RV and tries to grab her friends’ attention. Suddenly, they hear another loud crack, and Red notices a new, bullet-shaped hole in the body of the RV. She alerts everyone that it’s a gun, and everyone runs inside. However, Red is paralyzed, lost in her trauma and memories of her mom. Oliver screams her name repeatedly, which finally makes her run into the RV.

Once inside, everyone gets down on the floor for safety. Reyna asks Red if she saw somebody, and Red explains that she only saw a red dot before she heard the shot. Simon, still drunk, thinks that it’s nothing serious, just someone trying to scare them. However, Red clarifies she saw a bullet hole, and Simon gets scared. Oliver tries to find a justification for the shooter’s actions, wondering if they are trespassing on someone’s land. Oliver tries to communicate with the shooter, but Red notes to herself that since the shooter is using a laser, he is probably too far away to hear them.

The window above Oliver shatters, and everyone realizes that this is not a prank. Oliver asks Simon to turn down the lights, pointing out that since Simon is away from a window, he will be safe. He also asks Red and Arthur to close the blinds on the side where the sniper is, even though he is closer to the windows. Apart from Oliver and Maddy, who continue to huddle on the floor, everyone gets assigned a window blind to close.

Once all the blinds are closed, Oliver and Maddy stand up, and Oliver asks Reyna for the keys so that they can leave. Reyna does not have the keys and thinks they might be outside. While Oliver screams at her, Arthur says that he has the keys. Oliver says a “quick ‘Sorry’” (74) to Reyna and sits down to drive. However, the engine won’t start, and Oliver notices they are out of gas. Frustrated, he screams and punches the steering wheel. Red realizes that the shooter was aiming not at her but at the gas tank and shares this with everyone.