The Ascent

Chapter 40

Looking at the children huddled together, whispering excitedly, Jasmine wished she could travel back to her own childhood, to that time when she saw everything as just one more exciting adventure. Even Isaac seemed to allow the wind of obliviousness to carry away all the knowledge he had about their current predicament. Jasmine didn't blame him as it was probably easier for his young mind to cope that way. Still, she was somewhat jealous that he could find the escape she needed but could never get.

The resilience of children was something Jasmine wished the adults had more. It would have been helpful in times of strife, such as the one they were in. Instead, she was stuck in a hell of overthinking everything to the point where her head felt so swollen up that it could explode at any moment.

"Jasmine, I was thinking we could move out at first light," Asher said, looking at his children with an unconscious soft smile. "Can your leg take it?"

"I think so," Jasmine said, stretching her leg carefully as she moved it around experimentally. "It doesn't hurt as much anymore. At the moment, the pain is more like what you feel after working out for too long. It's bearable."

"Are you sure?" Asher asked, turning his head to look in her direction, his eyebrows knitted together, his teeth worrying his lower lip distractedly.

"Yeah, I'm not trying to be tough or anything like that. I promise. That's just how it feels right now," Jasmine said, understanding why he would think she was making less of her injuries.

It didn't make much sense to her either. However, she refused to think about it too much, terrified of what she might discover if she overanalyzed the strangeness of it all.

"That's weird," Asher said, squinting his eyes as if trying to read impossibly small letters on a chart which was miles away. "It's a gunshot wound, after all. It can't be fine mere hours after it was inflicted. We must be missing something, something obvious."

"Don't worry too much about it. It's just a graze," Jasmine said sternly, trying to dispel his worries even though hers had started stirring up now that he had pointed out the obvious. "Besides, I took those magic pills you gave me, so maybe that's why it feels like this, why I have the strength to keep walking."

"That might be it," Asher said, relaxing his stiff shoulders slightly.

"So, where are we actually going?" Jasmine asked, eager to change the subject.

"In the opposite direction of the cabin, of the sounds I heard?" Asher said, shrugging his shoulders.

"That's it?" Jasmine asked, surprised because Asher appeared like a man with a plan, and seeing him without one was strange.

"Yes, I was thinking about where to go when those sounds cropped up," Asher said dryly. "They appeared before I could figure out our next move. I reckoned we could rest there for a few days, then figure out something later."

"What are our options?" Jasmine asked, all business wanting to lift at least some of the worry from Asher's strong shoulders.

"Well, there is this cave of a famous outlaw who lived in these parts that the rare few can find," Asher said, some of the pride of being among the rare few showing by the straightening of his posture. "Or we could go to the nearby small town and hope for the best."

"I'm not in the mood for another damp cave," Jasmine said, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

Jasmine used to love visiting all the different types of caves as she found them fascinating. Yet, after spending a few days in one, fearing for her life, the magic of the exploration was gone. All that remained was the notion of overwhelming dampness and paralyzing fear.