Thanks to all who entered last week’s giveaway. The week 1 winner is:
*** Kari Hardy ***
If you’re just joining me for the summer, each week I’ll do a random drawing for a book from the HORIZON series. Book 1 was written by Scott Westerfeld, and book 2, DEADZONE is mine and will be released on Sept 12, 2017.
HORIZON tells the story of a group of kids who are the sole survivors of a plane crash somewhere over the arctic. But as they explore their environment, the crash site is anything but arctic. Danger awaits them at every turn…
One of the survivors is Molly, a natural leader who always puts others’ needs first. What should she do? Stay with the plane in case rescuers come? Take the team out to explore, hoping to find a way to rescue themselves? Or split the team, hoping one half will succeed?
This week’s question is: What would you do and why?
- Stay with the plane. Maybe rescuers know where we are. Hopefully we don’t run out of food before they get here.
- Explore the area. Nobody knows we’re alive, so we must save ourselves. But there are a lot of unknowns ahead of us, and no guarantees everyone survives.
- Split the team. If rescuers come, or if they don’t, we have a chance. Unless splitting the team makes us too weak to survive either scenario.
- You have another option? Let’s hear it!
RULES:
- Only one entry per person.
- Open to anyone with a U.S. or Canadian address
- One copy will be given away each week until all copies are gone, with winners posted each Sunday evening, when the new contest entry is listed.
- You may post each week, but you can only be a winner once.
22 Comments
If I were stranded, I would explore the area, to ensure that I had the resources I would need to last in the environment. If I were to stay behind, there would be too much of a chance we could run out of supplies before my group was found. By staying together with the group, we would have the advantage of numbers to outsmart or endure whatever dangers might lay ahead.
I would do both 1 and 2. I would explore the area for more food and to ensure that the group was safe. I would also look for nearby villages. However, I would also stay with the plane because it would be likely that people would come looking for it, and they would be food like peanuts and pretzels. If I had to choose one, I would most likely choose to split the team so both 1 and 2 could be achieved.
Thanks for hosting the giveaway!
– Loreley
I’d explore the area as a group and leave an indication at the plane that there are survivors in case rescuers do end up coming. Who knows if and when someone will come to help so we’d need to find food and make a plan once we know the situation.
Exploring the area seems like a good idea. Who knows, maybe you’ll find someone who can help. Besides that you would need food and water. Leaving a message back at the plane while your gone would probably be good just in case someone comes back.
I would quickly turn the plane into a shelter for the night. In the morning, I would get
everybody together and we would scout the area and look for food. If we find no natives, then
we would start building a boat. At night we would make several bonfires to signal a rescue
team.
I would stay at the plane, or at least until everyone has gathered their wits.
I’d have the team gather whatever supplies we could carry, and we’d begin exploring if a plane hadn’t showed up.
After a week of waiting, I’d probably have everyone head out and explore.
First, I would salvage any supplies I can from the plane. Second, I would delagate tasks such as finding food , water, building a shelter, and scouting out the area. Afterward when all of the groups return to the airplane . We would discuss our next course of action. Then we would light a signal fire. To alert anyone if there is anyone in the area that there are people in distress. If there are locals on the land we attempt to communicate that we come in peace. If we attempt to communicate successfully it would be boon and we would attempt ask the locals for guidance to navigating the land. We form a partnership that would be vital to keeping us alive until rescue.
Honestly, I would be scared to venture away from the plane, so I would probably want to stay and wait for rescue. It would be wise to split up – some go looking for help, and some wait for it.
As long as I’m part of the group staying behind, that is.
I would explore the area so I would know what we were up against. But, I would stay together as a group because 2 heads are better than one (and 3 or more are even better).
I think that I would definitely explore and try to find resources away from the plane, but I would also stay close to the airplane. It can’t hurt to find things away from the crash, but the reason for flight plans is so that if a plane doesn’t show up on time, they know where to go looking for them. That would mean that the airplane would most likely be found way quicker than if my group and I split up or if we all left the airplane.
I would explore the area, because if you are stuck in an unknown area and not knowing when you would be rescued or if you were going to be rescued then u might as well find out what the land looks like and where the best spot is to set up camp. You could see where the best places to find food and water are. If you go and explore the area you would most likely have a higher chance of survival because you would know a little more about the area than the person sitting on the plane. Also you could find out where there are resources to make fires and shelter. Finding out what the area looks like would be the best idea.
I believe that it would make the most sense to search the surrounding area for resources before splitting up into teams. This way, we could find dead, dry sticks and grass for a fire, (which would keep most animals away from the crash site, and keep us warm) materials for a shelter, and maybe food and/or water. Then, once we at least find the resources for a fire (if no resources are found, then maybe use things from the wreckage) and we have a strong fire going (medium sized, a large fire would burn through the limited resources too quickly), then we could split up into two teams. One group would mainly focus on looking for food and water, and the other would stay at the campsite. The group that would look for food and water would consist of the most knowledgeable people and the strongest people of the survivors; seeing as they would need to have at least basic knowledge about the environment, and the strength to (hopefully) deal with any obstacles that may arise. The other group would be made of people who would do the more mundane work, such as cooking, searching the wreckage, cleaning, and shelter building. It would also be best if, while looking for food, the hunting group searched for green-colored plants, as they usually produce more smoke than your average brown-colored plants. The green plants would serve as a beacon, of sorts, and would remain with the camp group, in case they need to attract attention. In order to avoid any incidents, there should be a designated leader of each group, voted upon laws, punishments if a person breaks the voted upon laws, and specific jobs for people in the group. This would take care of any disagreements that might arise, and keep an orderly group system. As long as a democratic group system stays in place, and you make sure you have the resources to split into groups before you split into groups, splitting into groups is the best course of action.
I think I would explore the area every day to look for other people, food, clean water, shelter, etc. I would try to keep the group together as much as possible- only separating during the daytime. To keep the groups from getting lost, I would have use use tennis shoe laces, ponytail holders, and pieces of clothing that easily rip to mark trails to and from the plane. Every night, I would make sure that the group came back to the plane, or another safe place, so that we could all discuss what we found with each other. I would then from there, have us explore every inch of the surrounding area, and if no sign of human life was found, I would have us create a new hideout, different from the plane, and start the same exploring process all over again until we found somebody to help.
Thank you SO much for hosting this giveaway!
I would stay with the plane. If rescuers come then will look for the plane. If you leave the area then rescuers might not see you. Also the unknowns of the island might hinder your ability to survive.
I would choose option three, to split the team. While reducing numbers could potentially cause problems for the exploring group if there is a threat that could be better dealt with in large numbers (like a pack of wolves), for the most part the team is better off splitting up. If rescuers come, there will be people there to let the rescuers know that there are more people who need to be rescued on the island. But if rescuers do not come, then the exploring group is hopefully able to find food, water, and/or shelter for the whole group. It certainly would not be useful for the whole group to wait around for rescuers. Even if people were trying to come and rescue the stranded survivors, who knows exactly how long that would take? More food may be needed before help arrives. However, if everyone leaves it makes it more difficult for rescuers to know (1) if anyone really survived, (2) how many survivors there are, or (3) where to even begin looking for the survivors. Besides, exploring in smaller groups may actually be safer. It is easier to go undetected by potential predators, and it is easier to keep track of everyone. Leaving a group at the plane also gives a kind of home base to the group. It allows everyone to still work together as a team, but also gives everyone different responsibilities. The group that stays can work on creating a shelter or safe spot near the plane (as well as devise some kind of signal that can be easily seen), while the other group can look for other food, water, or things that could provide better shelter, or create better shelter. Besides, there could be people in the area who could help (although at the same time you don’t know exactly what kind of people are in the area, so it would probably be good to be a little cautious there too. Another potential threat the the above-mentioned smaller group (one that goes with the pack of wolves suggestion) could be bloodthirsty locals. So the exploring group definitely needs to proceed with caution. Sitting and waiting is definitely not the best solution because if no one comes, you have basically sat and waited for death. I think that is a worse fate than trying to survive other ways if that is at all possible. If you can’t survive long enough for rescuers to come, then all is already lost. And there is no specific timetable for those rescuers to come. It could be a very long time before anyone finds you. If a plane malfunctions, it is very likely that any kind of tracking device also went haywire and there are thousands of miles of area for rescuers to search for. In all honesty, they can’t even be sure that you have hit land. They will probably search the ocean too, which adds to the time you may have to wait. However, if the plane is not in a safe spot (e.g. hanging off some kind of cliff or close enough to the shore that high tide will carry the wreck back out to sea) the whole group should salvage what they can from the plane and head to a safer spot together.
I would split into groups according to how different people feel, if some people want, they can stay at the plane, others may want to explore. I’d then help both groups split what we could salvage from the plane then stay back with the group at the plane cause honestly, I wouldn’t be brave enough to head into the unknown. I would then collect a scout group from the people staying at the plane and find a water source and some fruits and stuff. I would also attempt to make weapons in case some unfriendly being were to find us. I would also try using branches and stuff to make a smoke signal, then use more sticks to create a “help” sign.
i would stay at the plane and look for some gadgets left behind there and i could go out on a search for food and maybe a spring of clean purified water
I would stay with the plane. That is where you are more likely to be found. If people are out looking for you a plane wreck should be pretty easy to spot.
I would stay with the plane, so that I could get the supplies easily. I would make a big fire whenever a plane or helicopter came by. It would provide shelter and have supplies.
If I were Molly, I’d explore the area. Staying by the plane could be fatal, since there is little to no food, and a plane wreck might not be the sturdiest shelter against the elements/dangerous plants and animals. Also, we’d likely be presumed dead, and I doubt that we’d be found, even if a search party was sent out. Exploring the area could help us understand the setting, and we could find food, water, and make proper shelter. Also, we could find a high cliff or such to build a huge fire that could help searchers to find us. Not to mention, the bonfire could scare away unwanted predators.
I think I would explore the area, then after, return to the wreckage with whatever we had found. It would enable our group with the possibility of having more supplies to live off of when/if someone finds us, or, even the possibility of finding a way out ourselves. Though, at first, I would probably want to stay at the plane for awhile, just in case anyone happens to stop by, then, leave to rescue ourselves- not leave right at the first chance we get.
I would salvage the plane radio in hopes of contacting someone, but knowing this might take some time send a few people to scout for food and water. Plus this has the added benefit of keeping them busy and from sitting around anxiously twiddling their thumbs.