This thread continues Shaun's game from the archived thread of the same name. I'm reprinting his last post here.
How long the battery lasts depends on what the computer is doing at the time. It will go all night if the laptop is closed, but it will last less than an hour if Firefox or some similarly demanding program is running. At the dealership, I recall having Microsoft Word and Firefox running.
It sounds like the underbrush does not inhibit movement significantly, I'll gather my things and head downstream. I will also be checking for tracks or any other sign that somone - human or otherwise - has been here recently.
Gathering my things reminds me of that nagging feeling. I go "over there" and check it out - but I won't leave sight of the river.
To which I responded:
The computer was on with all programs still running, battery at around 75%.
You head over in the direction of the feeling. As you move, the vector angles down more and more sharply; after about a dozen yards (just as the vegetation is about to obscure your view of the river behind you), you come upon your GPS, unplugged and on the ground. The feeling points to it directly.
There might be irony in there somewhere.
As you return to the riverbank, you notice that the insect drone has gotten very loud indeed. Glancing about, you spot an insect flying downstream over the river. It's a dragonfly, and it's about three feet long. It sedately passes you by.
A little ways downstream, the water explodes beneath the dragonfly and a long, scaly snout erupts from the river, snapping up the hapless insect between a pair of toothy jaws. You catch a glimpse of something like the head of a crocodile before the beast sinks back into the river with its meal.