The Ascent

Chapter 14

As soon as they all settled as comfortably as possible, heavy silence encircled them. It was as if even the children could feel the heavy pressure of fear oppressing the adults, removing their natural ability to pretend that everything was okay. They all cuddled closer together, reflexively watching each other's backs.

In the silence of the night, which was quieter than usual, as there were no animals, no insects anywhere around them, Jasmine started contemplating everything that had happened. Fears and worries she managed to keep at bay until that moment started circling inside her mind like vultures. They were waiting for their prey to take a final gasp of air, signifying their feast.

Shaking off the all too clear visuals out of her mind, Jasmine couldn't help but let out a painful gasp as the shaking rattled her whole body.

"What's wrong?" Asher asked, a note of worry escaping his usually neutral voice.

"It's nothing," Jasmine said dismissively.

She had gotten so used to hiding her pain, her suffering, that telling someone something that was bothering her was a strange concept. It didn't even occur to her as a possibility. In the past, when she shared her pain, her family always told her to toughen up.

Nevertheless, Jasmine carefully cataloged her injuries as she couldn't afford to be careless about her body. Not now when her survival depended on her skill to escape deadly situations or fight through them. After mere seconds she realized that there were far more pains than she anticipated. The strongest of them all was the pain in her ankle. Everything else seemed to be scrapes and bruises, easily ignored.

However, now that her ankle had some time to cool down and her adrenaline had worn off, Jasmine realized that every movement caused her a lot of pain. It was worrisome that her ankle got the worst out of her scary adventures as it was sure to impede her further along the line, as well as Isaac and the others.

She started massaging it, hoping to release some of the tension. However, as Jasmine pressed lightly on it, she gasped in pain.

"It's definitely something," Asher said resolutely. "What's the matter? Where does it hurt?"

Jasmine was surprised by his reaction. In the past, people were all too happy to brush her off when she said that she was fine, even when it was clear that she was the furthest thing from it. Yet this random guy she met a few hours ago took the time to stop, confront her with the truth and help her.

"I think I hurt my ankle when I jumped from the balcony. Now that it cooled down and I am not terrified to death, I can feel quite a lot of pain," Jasmine admitted, too confused by the kindness to lie.

"Let me see," Asher said authoritatively. "You were jumping from a balcony? I am impressed."

She knew he was trying to distract her, but it didn't stop Jasmine from blushing at the compliment.

"No need. I am sure I'll be fine. I can take care of it myself," Jasmine said, unsure if she could as she had never actually had that type of injury before.

"Jasmine, I thought we were a team now," Asher said, trying to sound as reasonable as possible. "Doesn't that mean that we help each other out? Besides, even if you don't trust me, can you allow me to do this one thing for you?"

"Daddy can kiss it better, don't worry," Ariyana said sweetly.

Her statement almost made Jasmine choke on her own spit from the embarrassment. But, to her relief, the boy quickly started speaking as if he realized what his sister said wasn't the best at comforting people.

"I often get injured from playing soccer. Dad has become quite good at dealing with those types of things," Arman said, full of confidence and pride.

Hearing all those praises and being unable to think of any good reasons to refuse his help besides her own awkwardness, Jasmine quietly agreed.

Asher slowly took her ankle in his warm hands and carefully moved it around while massaging it. Even though he tried to be as gentle as possible, Jasmine yelled in pain.

"What are you trying to do, lame me?" she spat out, dazed by how much pain she felt.

"I am sorry. I had to do that to check how bad it is," Asher said calmly.

"And?" Isaac asked, concerned about the one person who showed some understanding for him.

"It's just a little bit sprained. It should be fine," Asher said with the knowing air of someone who had already dealt with many similar issues. "Under normal circumstances, you would need to rest up the leg, but as it is, you just have to be careful not to put too much weight on it."

As he said that, he started rummaging through his backpack and pulled out a jar of Tiger Balm, like a magician pulling a rabbit out of his hat. Carefully he rubbed a small amount of it on her ankle with the expertise of someone who had done something similar many times before.

"You just happen to be carrying this balm with you?" Jasmine asked suspiciously.

It was rather odd to her that the guy she met recently just happened to have what she needed on his person. And even as warmth and pain relief spread through her system, her body was polluted by another dark cloud, doubt.

"Of course. Trust me, when you have children as lively as mine, you learn to always go everywhere prepared," Asher said, sounding like he was talking about a battlefield. "I am very good at healing wounds."

Never having had any children, Jasmine couldn't tell if what he was saying was the truth or if it was a well-thought-out lie. The suspicion and gratefulness dueled in her heart as she tried to figure out the best course of action.

Finally, because of her bad childhood, doubt won, and she blurted out what she shouldn't have said. She knew it even as the words left her mouth.

"And does your wife think so as well?" Jasmine asked rudely. "Where is she?"

Clearly, that was the worst thing to ask when the whole world had disappeared, when the few who were left behind were terrified and heartbroken. Immediately Jasmine felt guilty for rubbing salt into their wounds, for not thinking through her words.

"Mommy always thought daddy was the best," Ariyana said with tears in her eyes. "But mommy is now with grandma, in heaven."

Jasmine wanted to slap herself so hard to start counting the stars. The world was falling apart, and that terrified her. But that was no excuse for breaking someone's heart like that. She really needed to get her temper under control.

Looking at Asher's crestfallen expression, Jasmine tried to sound as gently as possible when she asked another question that she knew she shouldn't ask. Yet, couldn't stop herself from asking.

"Did she disappear now?" Jasmine asked, wondering if he would have told his children she was dead when they didn't know that was the case.

"No," Asher said, for the first time looking defeated. "She died a few years ago."

"I am sorry," Jasmine said, guilt gnawing at her heart like a dog chewing on a bone.

Clearly, the topic was over, and the mood was as low as possible. All thanks to Jasmine's wagging tongue and clouded mind.

That was when she realized why that was. Every time she got too hungry, her temper flared up and caused her to say things she would end up regretting. Usually, she could control it to some level, but after the day she had, it was impossible. Especially since she ran around and climbed so much without having nearly enough food to keep her energy up.

Quickly she pulled some energy bars out of her backpack and started chewing on them carefully, immediately feeling better.

"Do you guys want some?" she offered quietly.

While they all started slowly chewing their bars, Jasmine contemplated their next step.

Run or hide?