Survive This!

In the reality television show Survive This, a group of young teenagers is taken to remote locations as part of a fictional disaster scenario designed to test their survival skills. They subsist primarily off whatever they can scavenge from their new environment, which includes building shelters out of tree branches and eating bugs, insects and other interesting things. The contestants have the option of quitting at any time and the last person standing becomes the ultimate survivor.

This got me thinking about how I would fare in similar circumstances. Would I know what I could safely eat without poisoning myself? Would I know how to build an adequate shelter to stay warm and dry throughout the night? How would I hold up psychologically as time wore on and my body became physically exhausted? Interesting questions, although I hope I am not put to the test any time soon: I prefer pizza and beer to bugs and swamp water. But that’s just me-I tend to be picky that way.

In The Killer Trail, Chris Ryder faces the prospect of spending a night in the woods during a snow squall in an attempt to evade the psychopathic killer Ray Owens. As the story evolves and the setting moves from the trail to the hospital where Chris works, a picture emerges of various survivors. Chris is one such survivor as he perseveres through various physical and psychological hardships. Ray Owens is another type of survivor in that for him quitting has never been an option as he pursues his criminal objectives.

On a larger level, hospital patient Paul Butler faces adversity on a daily basis. He lives with a diagnosis of schizophrenia in a society which stigmatizes people with mental illnesses. Although he is a fictional character in this story, he represents true survivors.