Desert Dehydration: My Husband Swapped My Electrolytes for Urine

In a bid to assess rare resources, our expedition team ventures into an uninhabited desert, only to be suddenly faced with a heat wave that reaches 158 degrees Fahrenheit.

Becoming so dehydrated that I'm close to fainting, I hurriedly open my backpack to dig out the electrolyte drink I prepared beforehand.

The bottle is already about to touch my lips when I realize it's half filled with urine.

I turn my head, just in time to see my husband's childhood sweetheart guzzling the electrolyte drink.

Just as I'm about to lose my temper, my husband yanks on my sleeve.

"Don't be mad. I was the one who gave your electrolyte drink to Maddy because she's nearly dehydrated. In the meantime, you'd better just make do and drink this, okay?"

By then, black spots are dancing in my vision. Squeezing the bottle of urine, I hiss through gritted teeth, "I'm already dehydrated, but instead of letting me rehydrate quickly, you're telling me to drink this. Are you trying to kill me?"

Immediately, a displeased look crosses his face.

"Stop talking nonsense. Maddy isn't like you and doesn't train her body every day. She absolutely can't handle such high temperatures. Isn't it only right that she gets the electrolyte drink?

"Besides, urine can rehydrate you, too. Why are you still making a fuss at this point?"

Realizing that he cannot be reasoned with, I decide to send out a distress signal and seek help before I fully lose consciousness.

"Severely dehydrated and near death. Expedition operations suspended. Immediate rescue required. Also reporting the presence of a robber within the teamplease contact authorities as soon as possible."

Chapter 1

My husband, Jonathan Anders, snatched the satellite phone from me. He wanted to make another call to call off the rescue and prevent them from contacting the authorities.

Upon discovering that the phone could only be unlocked by scanning my retinas, he tried to pry my eyes open, his movements rough and forceful.

"Samantha York! Do you have to make such a huge fuss over something so insignificant? It's just a bottle of water! Did you have to go so far as to call for a rescue? And what's this about a robber on the team? You think you can bear the consequences if the expedition is delayed?"

I used all the strength left in my body to grip Jonathan's wrist tightly, all while keeping my eyes firmly screwed shut.

Waves of dehydration-induced dizziness crashed over me. At the same time, it felt like there was a ball of fire burning in my stomach. Even breathing was agonizing, as though glass shards were tearing me up inside.

In an attempt to relieve the discomfort, I licked the beads of blood seeping from my cracked lips, but it was all in vain.

Because of Jonathan, I had lost most of my strength. I had no idea how much more I could endure.

Madison Zink took a large gulp of the electrolyte-filled water, her eyes becoming half-lidded as she let out a relieved sigh.

"Sorry, Sam, but Jon was just acting out of the kindness of his heart. After all, I was severely dehydrated. What if I had died in the desert?"

Then, she even poured out some of the water to wipe her neck.

"Electrolyte drinks really do rehydrate one quickly. Luckily, you brought one with you, Sam. Otherwise, I would have had nothing to drink."

My nails dug into the car seat as hatred surged through me. I wished I could tear Madison to pieces right here, right now!

I had specifically prepared that bottle of electrolyte water for quick rehydration purposes.

Before we left for the expedition, I had suggested bringing more. However, Madison had deliberately contradicted me, saying I was spreading false information and that drinking normal water would have the same effect. In the end, I was the only one who insisted on bringing the electrolyte drink.

Yet, when I needed it at this critical moment to save my life, she had purposely wasted it!

Jonathan turned to fuss over Madison in concern, pressing a hand against her forehead before moving it to her neck.

"You don't need to apologize. You're already being very kind by leaving her other sources of water. She's the one who refuses to drink it."

With that said, he tossed the half-filled bottle of urine at me.

"Samantha, just who are you putting on this act for? Don't think I'm unaware that you've received several years of special forces training before. You're definitely not that weak or frail.

"Besides, if you really were so dehydrated, I bet you would be willing to drink anything that has water content in it, no matter how disgusting, let alone urine.

"Maddy has a weaker body, and that's why I'm paying more attention and care to her. Is it really necessary for you to be so hard on her?"

As if Madison had given me the urine out of good intentions; she had definitely done it to humiliate me!

At this point, my throat was so parched and hurt so terribly that I couldn't even waste my breath arguing with them anymore.

Chapter 2

I struggled toward my backpack to dig out some emergency medicine in the case of dehydration, hoping it would ease my condition.

However, I had only just pulled out the oral rehydration salts when Jonathan smacked me in the face and snatched it away from me.

"Why didn't you take this out earlier? Was it on purpose so you could make Maddy suffer? How could such a vicious and wicked woman like you exist?"

Was I a wicked woman? Fury and despair fought for dominance within me.

Back when we first encountered the sudden heat wave, our team members were worried about the heat and absolutely refused to get out of the car to do their jobs.

I was the only one who braved the sweltering heat to survey the suspected resource locations to gather data. That was why I so quickly became dehydrated.

Ironically, my own husband was the one disregarding my life and snatching away everything that could increase my chances of survival.

I abruptly lunged toward Madison and landed a ringing slap across her cheek.

"You have no right to use my things! You're fired!"

Jonathan, who had been sitting between us, let out an infuriated roar before opening the door behind me and swiftly kicking me out.

"Samantha York, why are you acting out?"

The other team members, also present in the car, chose that moment to speak up in shock, though they were standing on Jonathan's side, not mine.

"Ms. York, we're all colleagues here. No matter what, you still shouldn't have gotten physical."

"Judging from the force of that slap, you don't seem like you're suffering from dehydration. In that case, why are you snatching Maddy's stuff?"

This was truly preposterous. I was simply taking back what belonged to me, yet somehow, they had painted me as the villain.

Regardless, I wasn't able to make a sound in rebuttal.

The desert sand was terrifyingly hot, so hot that I wondered if this was what it felt like to be fried in oil.

The edges of my vision were growing dim, while blood was starting to drip down my throat from how dry it was.

From her position behind Jonathan, Madison shot me a provocative look.

"Maybe I should just return this to Sam. I don't mind, really. As a member of the national expedition team, it's only right that I sacrifice myself for the sake of the expedition."

Jonathan shut the car door, thereby preventing most of the heat from getting inside the vehicle.

"Don't curse yourself like that. I definitely won't let anything happen to you."

Meanwhile, I was left out in the blazing heat of the desert.

I shouted myself hoarse, every word dripping with anguish. "Don't you think it's ridiculous for her to say that when she doesn't even care about the life of her colleague?"

Rolling down the window, Jonathan glared at me. "Don't you slander Maddy like that! She's my childhood friend, and I know that she would never behave like that."

Childhood friend? That was exactly what Jonathan had said back when he wanted to bring Madison onto the team despite her lacking the qualifications.

Unfortunately, I had been stupid enough to believe him.

Would he have shown such favoritism if they were just childhood friends? To the point that he would completely ignore his own wife's peril?

My ears were starting to ring as my consciousness faded fast. Nonetheless, my will to survive had me struggling to grab the car window and hoist myself up.

In the next instant, Jonathan rolled up the window, which crushed my palms with unrelenting force.

The sharp pain had me letting out a groan.

The other team members were watching the show through the windows.

"I have to say, the team leader's so good at acting that I almost believe it's real. She should become an actress."

Jonathan still hadn't let up on the button for closing the window.

"Since you're so adamant about putting on this act, you should stay outside for a bit and experience what it's truly like to be dehydrated from the heat! I refuse to believe that someone who's been through special forces training would be unable to hold on for longer than us."

I couldn't even cry out for help. All I could do was risk breaking my bones as I forcefully ripped my hands free from the crushing force.

Then, I crawled with much difficulty into the shadow cast by the SUV, though that didn't help me much. I still felt like I was being cooked alive by the scorching heat.

Terror over my impending death loomed over me.

Chapter 3

Every now and then, a burst of laughter would erupt from the SUV, but even that gradually grew fainter and fainter.

Just as I was about to succumb to the darkness, a foot stomped down on my face.

"I bet you still don't know this, but Jon has been wanting to divorce you for a long time now."

At those words, hatred entered my unfocused eyes, but that only caused Madison to feel even more smug.

"However, that won't do. After all, if he divorces you, you'll get half the assets. The best outcome would be if you died." Pouring the electrolyte water onto the sand beside me, she added, "And that's why I would rather dump this water away than give it to you!"

I instinctively wanted to lick the wet sand, but I couldn't do it.

Madison laughed before crouching and leaning closer to me.

"The sun's about to set. Sure, the temperature will drop, but there are a lot of desert animals that come out at night." Taking out a folding knife, she viciously slashed my arm. "We'll come for your corpse tomorrow morning."

Blood instantly flowed from the wound.

With sheer fury powering me, I sat up to headbutt Madison and send her crashing to the ground. The coppery taste of blood in my throat thickened, but it did bring some much-needed moisture.

"Madison Zink, this is murder!" I cried in a hoarse voice filled with despair.

Upon hearing the commotion, Jonathan and the others rushed out of the SUV and dragged me away from Madison.

As Jonathan helped Madison up, she deliberately put on a panicked expression while pointing at the bloodied knife.

"I just wanted to give her some water, but she lashed out with that knife. She said she wanted the smell of blood to attract the wild animals around here to come and kill us all!"

What nonsense! She was clearly twisting the truth, and the urge to slap her welled in me.

Jonathan gave me a furious kick.

"Samantha, are you even human? Just because we refused to give you special treatment due to your team leader status, you want us to die? To think Maddy was willing to sacrifice herself to offer you some water! You don't deserve it!"

I managed to squeeze out several words through my injured throat. "That's just"

Before I could finish speaking, Jonathan cut me off with a disgusted expression. "People like you should be the ones to die in the desert!"

His ruthless words stabbed deep into my heart like a dagger.

Following that, some of the team members spat globs of saliva at me.

"At first, I thought you were just jealous because Jon paid extra attention to Maddy. Never would I have expected that you would be so wicked as to wish us all dead!"

"We truly are super unlucky to have met a monster like you!"

My team members were all people I used to treat with genuine sincerity, yet at this moment, none of them were willing to spare me even a little bit of trust.

A muffled sob escaped my lips as I tried to move my bleeding arm, to show them just who had actually suffered an injury.

However, none of them noticed, or perhaps they were deliberately pretending not to see. Either way, they all crowded around Madison as they comforted her.

"Don't be scared. We're here too."

"Once this expedition is over and we return, we'll immediately report her to the higher-ups."

"That's not enough. We should send scum like her straight to prison instead!"

Jonathan scoffed, "Well, that all depends on whether she makes it out of here alive first."

The more they spoke, the more their words cut deep into my heart till it was a bloodied mess.

The sun was slowly slipping below the horizon, and the surrounding temperature was starting to drop. However, I was still bleeding incessantly, which made me easy prey for any nighttime predators out to hunt.

I had no hope of surviving this night.

Madison stared at me, her eyes shining with malice.

With a frosty look in his eyes, Jonathan said, "If you kneel and apologize to Maddy, we can still take you with us tomorrow morning. Provided you don't die, that is."

I simply gazed at him quietly, feeling as though I were staring at a stranger.

Yet, this was no stranger. This was the man who had gone through many ups and downs with me, the man who had been on countless expeditions with memy husband.

Chapter 4

I was slowly sinking into the darkness, no longer able to see anything clearly. All the pain coursing through me had also gone numb, and it felt as though I was falling into an abyss.

Madison's voice, dripping with fake concern, reached my ears. It sounded muffled, as though coming through a wall of dense fog.

"Sam! What's happening to you?"

By then, I was unable to respond anymore.

She continued worriedly, "She left a lot of blood here. What if the wild animals smell it and attack us? Even though Sam doesn't like me, I still can't bear to watch her die.

"How about this? Let's dig a hole and bury Sam along with the bloodied sand. That should cover up the scent of blood."

Everyone instantly agreed with her suggestion. Hence, they grabbed shovels from the SUV and dug out a hole beside me in no time. Following that, they kicked me into the hole.

Sand filled my nose and mouth, causing me to suffocate.

Madison wasn't trying to cover the smell of bloodshe wanted to bury me alive.

Mustering up as much strength as I could, I seized the hem of her pants.

Madison's response was quite aggressive as she viciously stomped on my wrist, breaking it. Then, she backed away while screaming, "I think Sam's still trying to kill me!"

An enraged Jonathan started dumping shovel after shovel of sand on me.

"Maddy was just trying to help you, yet instead of being grateful, you turn on her? I truly wonder what must have blinded me back then for me to not see just how heartless of a person you are! I want a divorce!"

It didn't take long before I was mostly buried. My breathing grew faint while my heartbeat slowed.

Meanwhile, Jonathan was comforting Madison. "Why bother being worried for her? It's normal for accidents to happen when coming to such places. Stop blaming yourself for this."

The last bit of my will to survive was snuffed out, and I allowed myself to embrace the darkness at last.

However, while they were still busy burying me completely, the thrumming of helicopter blades sounded from above them. The strong currents caused sand and dust to fly everywhere.

Instinctively tossing down their shovels, they clamped their hands over their mouths and noses before running for the SUV.

Subsequently, I was dug out of the hole. The suffocating pressure surrounding me vanished, allowing air to once again reach me.

Several voices were talking all around me. It seemed the rescue team the higher-ups had sent had arrived.

The rescue team's leader was frowning as he checked me, his movements swift and professional. Then, he started barking out orders, "Her mouth and nose are obstructed by sandshe's suffocating. This needs to be cleared out immediately! She's also suffering from critical dehydration. Give her an intravenous infusion of Lactated Ringer's solution right away!"

Eyes narrowing, Jonathan approached the team leader and grabbed his arm.

"Are you really a medical professional? What do you mean she's suffering from critical dehydration? She's clearly just pretending!"

Unwilling to waste energy arguing with him, the team leader handed him a satellite phone.

"You can direct any questions you have to your superior. I'm only responsible for saving lives, not giving explanations."

The moment all the sand blocking my mouth and nose was removed, the rescue team hooked me up to a respirator. The intravenous solution had also eased the worst of my extreme dehydration.

At that moment, I heard the head of the Natural Resources Department's voice coming through the satellite phone, sounding stern and cold.

"Jonathan Anders, except for Samantha, every single one of your expedition members is fired, pending investigation. All of you will also be bearing the losses incurred for this failed expedition!"