The Ascent

Chapter 38

"You sure are a clever boy Isaac," Asher said a few moments later as the ideas inspired by what Isaac had said slowly settled in his mind. "By the way, where are Ariyana and Arman? They shouldn't be wandering around alone. It's not safe."

"Oh, I almost forgot," Isaac said quickly. "All clear! You can come in now!"

After receiving a questioning look from Asher, Isaac sat down at the foot of the bed, crossing his legs, with an exasperated look in his eyes.

"You've been inside alone for a while, so when we came back, I told them to wait outside while I checked if the coast was clear," Isaac said, looking at Asher significantly, then directing the same look at Jasmine.

"What do you mean?" Jasmine asked, confused.

"In case you were in here kissing," Isaac whisper-yelled with such exasperation that Jasmine didn't know whether to laugh or die of embarrassment.

"What do you know about..." Jasmine started to ask, but her words were interrupted by Ariyana and Arman's loud entrance.

After giving it some thought, Jasmine decided it was for the best because she didn't need to know where Isaac managed to pick up all that knowledge that she didn't expect a kid his age to have.

"What took you so long?" Arman asked, grudgingly pushing Isaac to make room for him at the foot of the bed. "You said it would just take a second. And it took you forever."

"Sorry, I was just helping these slow adults figure things out and got carried away," Isaac said, gently nudging Arman when the other boy refused to look in his direction. "Oh, come on, it was just a bit longer, don't pout."

"I am not pouting," Arman said sulkily.

"Are too," Ariyana chimed in.

"Am not," Arman responded.

"Are too," she answered almost immediately.

Jasmine rubbed her forehead, right between her eyes, where an awful headache had already settled in. It was one of those that made you feel like a hammer was attached to your forehead, not allowing you to properly move, making you feel like if you tried to move your head, you might topple over.

"Alright, you two, play nice," Asher said, throwing a quick glance in Jasmine's direction, sympathy clear in his eyes. "There is a pack of cards in that drawer. Why don't the three of you play some cards? Quietly."

"Sure," Arman said as all three of them quickly jumped to get the cards, almost toppling over each other.

"Are you okay?" Asher asked once the children had finally gotten fully engaged with their game.

"I am fine. Just a little bit of a headache," Jasmine said, continuing to rub at the spot that seemed to carry all the world's burdens. "I think I am just a bit overwhelmed thinking it all through. It's way too much to process, to deal with."

"And your leg? Is it feeling any better?" Asher asked, scrunching his eyebrows as he looked over Jasmine's frail figure.

Yes, my leg doesn't hurt as much," Jasmine said, feeling pretty confident that she wasn't lying but wondering if the headache was just more painful and made her forget all about her leg. "I think it's more like a big scrape than a bullet wound."

"So, do you think that aliens have been transforming the planet for a while, with pollution and all that? Did they secretly guide the human race to contaminate our own planet, and now it's a perfect living environment for them who adapted to those living conditions as they didn't need oxygen to breathe but pollutant gasses?" Jasmine ranted, trying to see if the words roaming around her head sounded any better once released. "Oh my God! I am starting to sound like Isaac with all the conspiracy theories stuff!"