The Ascent

Chapter 36

"I'm fine," Jasmine said, feeling anything but fine. "I guess I just overestimated myself. It's harder to move than expected, and I rushed too much."

"What should we do? Maybe you should rest, or I should carry you, or should I call the soldiers?" Isaac started babbling as he circled around Jasmine, flailing his hands helplessly.

"Isaac, calm down," Jasmine said gently as she carefully moved herself from the splattered position on the ground. "I will just need to take it very slowly and carefully."

The pain was the worst she had ever had, but Jasmine knew she could go past it. She just needed to adjust how she used her crutch and modify her speed. One thing she knew about herself was that she was determined. Stubborn was the word many people used to describe her.

"Why don't you run ahead to the cabin, and I'll follow you at a slower pace?" Jasmine said, trying to make a neutral facial expression while all she wanted to do was scream in pain. "Asher will want to know the news as soon as possible. We learned some useful things. We should share the information with him quickly."

Isaac seemed hesitant to listen to her, constantly looking at her worn-down figure. So, Jasmine pulled herself to the nearest tree with her back to it.

"I just need to rest here for a bit. I think that since we went uphill, I got more tired. But after I rest, I'll be able to slowly make my way to the cabin," Jasmine said resolutely, although she wasn't really sure she could do it and whether it would take her a day or two to do so having in mind the level of pain she was in and the rough terrain.

Isaac seemed lost in thought, like he was trying to solve an impossible math problem in his head. Then a strange light started shining in his eyes, and he stopped pacing, stood tall, and saluted her.

"Yes, sir! I mean, Ma'am," Isaac said enthusiastically. "I will complete my mission. See you at the cabin."

"See you," Jasmine said weakly, skeptical about the truth of her words.

Looking at his running figure, Jasmine felt a sense of relief wash over her. The purpose of sending Isaac ahead was because she worried that something might happen to him if he continued the journey at her slow pace. He was much safer by Asher's side. That was why she was resolved to get him to the cabin as soon as possible.

She was more or less sure that the aliens had better things to do than roam a random forest, but she wasn't ready to bet Isaac's life on it. The poor guy had been through enough as it was, more than she was aware of as he didn't talk much about what he went through before they found each other.

After some time, Jasmine's leg stopped pulsating in pain, prompting her to give walking another try. Using the tree as her support, she lifted herself up on one leg, careful for her injured leg not to support any weight. Then, she carefully adjusted the crutch and took a few steps forward.

It was painful but manageable. If Jasmine carefully checked where she was stepping and putting her crutch, she thought she would be more or less okay. However, she had to do it very slowly, watching every step she took, which made it even more exhausting. Still, it wasn't in Jasmine's nature to give up once determined to do something. Too bad that determination never came to light when she needed to deal with her family.

On the way, she found an even better, sturdier stick that she started using. It made her remember her childhood. The time when no one really mistreated her yet, the time when her family didn't yet have expectations for her to fail to achieve. They used to use those sticks when they went camping when the children were too tired and felt like they couldn't go on.

Even though those were her happy memories, they brought tears to her eyes. Never again would she experience such a sense of freedom, of joy. Not only because aliens might have done something to her family but because her family was broken long before the rest of the world. It started showing cracks and fissures a long time ago.

The happy memories gave her a little boost, so she persisted, using the crutch and nearby trees for support. She managed to do quite well, doing her best to ignore the persistent pain.

"Jasmine," a breathy voice said sometime later. "You sure have come a long way on your own."

Jasmine looked up for the first time in what felt like hours, light burning her eyes. She saw Asher standing there with scrunched-up eyebrows, lowered edges of his mouth, and a look in his eyes that Jasmine couldn't really decipher.

"Asher, why are you here?" Jasmine questioned, lowering herself slowly to the ground, too tired to talk and walk simultaneously. "Why did you leave the children alone?"

The reproachful tone in her voice didn't deter him as he pulled out something from behind him that looked like a large board, as broad as two humans.

"Isaac is looking after my children while they are playing hide and seek in the house," Asher said, sounding proud of himself for tricking the children into thinking it was a game while he just wanted them safe out of sight in case any aliens popped up out of nowhere. "They are really good at hide-and-seek. Besides, Isaac told me that you needed me more right now and that he would climb a tree and keep guard while I am gone."

Jasmine didn't like that arrangement because it didn't seem like there would be anything he could do to stop the aliens if they came looking, but it was better than nothing.

"And what's that?" Jasmine asked, pointing at the sturdy-looking board.

"Isaac's idea," Asher said, smiling brightly. "He said you can lie on the board, and I can drag you home faster."

That was when Jasmine noticed the ropes connected to the top of the board through haphazardly made holes that seemed strong enough to bear her weight. However, neither Isaac nor Asher considered that the forest floor was uneven and that she would feel every bump as a stab of pain in her leg.

"Alright, then, no time to lose. Let's go," Jasmine said, thinking of the children all alone back at the house.

Any physical pain she suffered would be nothing compared to the emotional pain she would go through if anything happened to the little ones.

She wasn't sure when or how, but she was starting to feel more attached to them, wanting to safeguard them at all costs. It was a strange and unfamiliar feeling as she was never protected, nor did she feel the need to shield someone from all the world's harm as she did for Asher, his children, and Isaac.

Asher gently lowered her on the board, tied additional ropes around her waist to keep her from falling from the improvised stretcher, and hurried off towards the cabin.

Jasmine's heart was beating like crazy, and she wasn't sure if it was from fear, pain, or the fact that mere moments ago, Asher was so close to her that she could feel his breath while he tied the ropes around her. It made her hands so shaky that she felt lucky that he couldn't see her as he dragged her on. Otherwise, it would have been utterly embarrassing and inexplicable.

"We'll be there in no time," Asher commented, his voice sounding broken and emotional.

It made Jasmine wonder if he was more worried about the children than he was willing to admit. Being a man in her country was never easy. From childhood, they were taught to be brave and not show emotions.

However, Jasmine always thought it required much more courage to be vulnerable, to open yourself up to others. After all, it was something she never could do in the past.

"Mhm," Jasmine mumbled through the pain, not wanting him to figure out how much distress she was in with each rock they went over, each hole they stumbled on.

What was more annoying for her was that her hands were still trembling, and her heart was pounding like a never-ending drumming that she could not only feel but also hear as it was so loud. She hoped it wasn't loud enough for Asher to notice because she wasn't sure how she would have explained it to him. She couldn't even explain it to herself.

What caused all of those strange sensations? Certainly, she was shaking and palpitating from the pain.

There was nothing more to it, was there?