The Ascent

Chapter 13

The moment they were deep enough inside the forest, away from the strange light the bald men used, Jasmine decided they could afford a moment of rest. She said it was for the children after the mad dash they had to make from the construction site to the forest. However, the truth was that she wanted to use the time to send a message to Isaac to check if everything was okay and to warn him that she was bringing company.

She didn't want him to mistake them for the bald men and get unnecessarily scared. Besides, she wanted to make sure he was still alright, that she didn't need to lose her mind over it.

Isaac, is everything okay? I found a few more humans. I am bringing them with me. They should be safe enough, but staying on alert can't hurt.

When she didn't receive an immediate reply, Jasmine didn't worry too much. After all, there was always the possibility that he hadn't felt the vibration of his phone or something. However, after a few more minutes passed, her heart started thumping loudly, and fear was back with full force.

What if something had happened to him? If he was gone like everyone else, and it was all her fault for leaving him alone?

Who could think leaving a child alone in the forest was a good idea?

With shaking hands and without paying any attention to Asher, who was starting to stare at her, noting her complete posture shift, Jasmine typed another message. She was hoping for the best but already expecting the worst.

Isaac? Please answer me.

Nothing. It felt like Jasmine was talking into an empty abyss, pointless.

"Arman, take care of your sister for a moment. I need to talk to Jasmine," Asher said quietly.

Although Jasmine heard what was being said, she ignored the stranger, too focused on her worry to understand why he would want to talk with her. She had already helped him as much as she could. She fought against her nature, against her worst fears. What more could he ask of her?

"Jasmine, what's wrong?" Asher asked with unexpected gentleness.

His hand hovered above her shoulder before Asher slowly retreated it as if he had just remembered how she had reacted to physical touch earlier. Instead, he stood awkwardly in front of her trying to catch her frantic gaze.

"He isn't answering my messages," Jasmine said automatically, without even realizing that she was doing it. "What if something horrible happened to him. All because I wasn't smart enough to think of a better solution than to send a little boy alone into the forest. I thought I was protecting him. But I am not so sure now."

Jasmine knew she was babbling, something Jasmine often did when she was nervous or scared, but she couldn't stop. It was one way to get all the emotions and fears out. She needed that cleansing more than anything else.

"Can I see?" Asher asked, looking pointedly at her phone. "Maybe there is something wrong with your phone."

That sounded so reasonable that it made Jasmine angry that she didn't check that before panicking. It annoyed her that she needed someone else's help to do so. Her emotions were even more out of control than usual. So, instead of arguing with the guy, she just gave him the phone, knowing she wasn't thinking straight. In that condition, she would surely miss something obvious.

Asher carefully looked at her phone, nodding his head as if he had discovered all the mysteries of life, annoying Jasmine even further. What was more irritating was that the elusive hint of a smile appeared on his face and quickly disappeared once he noticed that she was watching him.

"You don't have any cell reception. Your messages aren't going through, that's all," Asher said calmly, sounding sure enough to dispel some of her worries.