The Ascent

Chapter 29

"Did you hear that?" Jasmine asked twenty minutes later when they were about to wake the children and continue their long and arduous journey.

"What?" Asher asked, looking around in confusion. "I didn't hear anything."

"The humming," Jasmine said cocking her head to the side, trying in vain to determine where the sound was coming from. "It sounds like a truck idling on the street in front of your house or something like that. It has quite a mechanic feel to it."

"Are you sure that's what you are hearing?" Asher asked, scrunching up his eyebrows in confusion. "All I hear is the chirping of the birds."

"It's barely audible but so irritating. It keeps distracting me from what I want to say or think," Jasmine said, rubbing her forehead with much more force than necessary. "But there is also something...alluring about it. Like I want to follow it, to get closer to it. I've never felt anything like it before."

"Can you at least roughly estimate where it is coming from?" Asher asked with the strangest look in his eyes that Jasmine couldn't decipher. It looked to her like a mixture of anger and determination.

"I think, and I can't really be sure, but I think it's louder in the direction we came from," Jasmine said, focusing all her attention on the strange sound. "It's like it's very far from here, and yet it feels so near, so safe. The vibrations that follow it are so soothing, inviting."

Jasmine stood there wide-eyed as the hum and its vibrations washed over her body, her feet turning towards the sound without her conscious decision. A trickle of blood ran down her nose as her headache became the most prominent feeling again, the pain stronger than ever.

"Jasmine, your nose! It's bleeding!" Asher exclaimed, sounding more terrified than ever. "We need to make a run for it. Don't stop until the sound is completely gone!"

Jasmine didn't say anything but started slowly moving backwards, to where they came from, swaying as if she couldn't bear the power of the wind pulling her deeper into the storm.

"Jasmine, did you hear me!" Asher yelled out, shaking Jasmine violently.

"Ye..s...Yes," Jasmine said, shaking her head clear of the seductive call of the hum.

Asher hurriedly picked up still sleeping Ariyana under one hand and Arman under the other. It seemed like it should have been impossible for him to carry both of his children, but he did so while they were not even awake yet.

"Isaac, we need to run," Asher said quickly. "Whatever got the others seems to be back."

Upon saying that, he made a dash for it, carrying both of his children, with Isaac and Jasmine following close behind, even though Jasmine's mind was still blurry from the temptation of the sound. However, part of her told her that these people mattered more than the lure the sound presented and that she needed to stay with them.

She obeyed without giving it too much thought.

They were running so fast that Jasmine could barely keep up. She did so by using the power of her will as she had run out of energy even before the strange hum cut short their rest time. In fact, Jasmine had lost her strength to go on long before that. And yet she still forced her body to give her more.

She knew there would be a high price to pay the next day, but for the time being, she didn't care. All she could think about was running away from the siren's call, escaping the strange, inviting noise that had probably been the death of most of the people in their city.

After some time, which could have been hours, days, or years, her legs gave out, and she crumbled to the ground with a loud thud. Once down, she couldn't gather enough strength in her tired muscles to get back up. So, she stayed lying down, hoping the others would notice her absence sooner or later.

"Jasmine, are you okay?" Isaac asked, being the first one to notice her collapse.

He looked down at her, his eyes so wide they appeared almost cartoonish. It made Jasmine laugh out loud. Here she was being asked if she was okay by a cartoon character.

"Haha, I'm fine," Jasmine said through what could only be described as hysterical laughter. "I am much better than you, hahaha."

"Jasmine, there is blood on your face," Isaac said sternly, like a parent talking to his disobedient child.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that," Jasmine said, wiping the blood off with her sleeve. "It stopped bleeding now. It's fine. But your eyes... haha haha."

Isaac was confused by the outburst but didn't say anything else. He just sat down next to her, carefully examining her, observing silently to see if she was truly alright.

"Jasmine, is this far enough?" Asher's voice came out of nowhere. "Can you still hear the sound?"

"No, I can't hear it anymore," Jasmine said giddily. "But I can see so many funny things. But I can't see you, the voice in my head."

"What's wrong with her?" Arman's voice asked.

"Nothing. Let's get you and your sister checked out first," Asher said hesitantly. "You both got nosebleeds. Did it stop bleeding now?"

"I think so," Arman said, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. "It was strange, like the humming was hurting my brain."

Asher retrieved wet wipes from his backpack and carefully wiped away the blood from his children's noses, ensuring the bleeding had truly stopped. For a second, the way they were thrashing against his grip reminded him of before, of how he lost his mother, terrifying him in the process.

Luckily, this time they didn't struggle as much. Thus, Asher could maintain his grip on them without too much struggle.

"Alright, you both look good now," Asher said gently. "I'll check on Jasmine next."

All that time, Jasmine was still lying on the ground, silently shaking from laughter, while Isaac stood guard next to her, at a loss for what to do. After all, how was one supposed to help a person who seemed to be losing her mind?

"Jasmine, are you okay?" Asher asked, cautiously approaching her. "Can I wipe that off for you?"

The blood was all over Jasmine's face. Her attempt to remove it only smeared it everywhere, making her look like she had just jumped out of a horror movie. The hysterical laughter that had overtaken her didn't help matters either.

"Sure thing, although I don't think that will help with the headache, with the despair," Jasmine said as tears started falling down her face quickly, like a leaking pipe about to burst.

Asher carefully cleaned her face, his touch as gentle as butterfly wings, unsure what to say. What could be said to make the person feel better in a world that seemed to be falling apart? Besides, he wasn't sure how much of it was her mind being unable to cope with what was happening and how much it was the consequence of the hum, whatever it was. Thus, for the time being, he let her be until she gathered herself up, which he was sure she would do as she was the strongest person he had met.

"Isaac, you didn't hear anything, did you?" Asher asked, looking at the boy who didn't have a nosebleed and lacked any signs of discomfort whatsoever.

"No, and neither did you," Isaac said confidently. "I wonder why that is."

The how and why hardly mattered to Asher, but he did appreciate knowing that at least they seemed somewhat immune to the sound. Whether it was because it was too far away or because their brains couldn't pick it up for one reason or another, Asher thought it was good news for them.

"All that matters is that we are okay now," Asher said dismissively. "We can rest for a bit more. After that, we can proceed according to plan."

"What about her?" Isaac asked, pointing at Jasmine, who had finally stopped laughing and whose eyes had drifted closed.

"I am sure she will be fine after some rest," Asher said, trying hard to believe what he said. "I am sure she is overwhelmed. She'll be fine soon."

He hoped he was right because the world without her sounded hard to navigate. He needed her strength, her persistence. It was something he had gotten used to, something he treasured, and something that he never wanted to lose.

There was one thing he didn't want to be.

Lonely.