The Ascent

Chapter 58

Before they opened what seemed to be the last hatch in their quest for Asher and Isaac, Jeremiah offered Jasmine a machete that she didn't even realize the guy was carrying with him. With her mind a bit clearer, she noticed the three rescuers had weapons on their person, but since Melissa and Plague were still carrying the children, they couldn't use theirs.

Jasmine wrapped her hand on the machete's handle with disgust. She wasn't even sure if she could use it. The mere idea of it cutting into a living being was repulsive to her. Jasmine was the only one who couldn't even kill the chicken for dinner when visiting her grandparents' house.

Not paying much attention to Jasmine's facial expressions, Jeremiah gestured for Melissa and Plague to stay behind the two of them, pointing at the children and their inability to use their weapons if need be. And even though Plague didn't seem too happy about it, he obeyed his grandfather without arguing. It was a first for him.

Jasmine probably could have taken Arman from Plague and let him deal with whatever threat lurked behind the door, but she was shocked to realize she didn't want him to. There was a strange need deep inside of her to be the one to protect her family, which she decided to fulfill.

As they opened the hatch, they found themselves in an enormous room with an oval-shaped portal glimmering nearby. Next to it were two bald men with their backs to the entrance, trying to push Asher and Isaac into the portal without using their weapons. It was clear that they needed them alive.

The two seemed to have resisted for far longer than the aliens anticipated. From the blur of clicking sounds between the two aliens, it was clear that whatever they were communicating was agitated and that they were close to using violence.

Her family was running out of time.

Jasmine rushed forward, and before she knew it, her hand was wet and covered in the sticky goo that was the alien's strange blood.

Her eyes blinking rapidly, Jasmine realized she had stabbed through the alien closest to Asher multiple times without realizing what she was doing. Only when the alien crumbled to the ground and revealed a stunned-looking Asher did she relax and drop the blade, which clattered when it hit the floor.

Jasmine was about to join it with loud sounds of fighting in the background when strong hands caught her in her downward spiral, holding her up effortlessly.

"Asher," Jasmine mumbled, recognizing the gentle touch by how rapidly her heart started beating, trying to escape her chest and join Asher's heart, forming that romantic image of a heart people usually drew and that only recently she had realized were two hearts put together.

She was also aware of Isaac holding onto her leg, and she looked him over giving him a gentle smile once she noticed he was okay, then shifting her attention to Asher again.

"Jasmine," Asher said, sounding breathless. "You saved us."

Jasmine knew that wasn't exactly true, but she no longer had the strength to speak or do anything. All the shock and horror were finally getting to her, causing her body to perform an emergency shutdown. Still, her eyes fluttered open, looking into Asher's wonder-filled eyes with fascination. How could someone's eyes feel so much like home?

As if in a dream, she managed to lift her hand, gently stroking Asher's cheek, his eyes shifting, a feeling written in them that she couldn't read. Yet, her whole body moved forward until her lips found sweet relief in the gentleness of his mouth, and she drank up the precious nectar that Asher gave her, offering her strength like nothing else could.

His lips parted like flower petals opened to the spring's call, deepening the kiss.

"Ahem, guys, we need to get going," Plague said, entering the room once it was clear of threats.