The Ascent

Chapter 59

To Jasmine's surprise and utter delight, they did not splash on the ground, despite some minor issues similar to turbulence, which Jasmine was pretty sure were her fault. Not having thought her plan through, she didn't take into consideration that the system failure on the spaceship might influence shuttles as well.

Luckily for all of them, Melissa and the others managed to land the shuttle despite the small hiccups, and they were standing on solid ground once again, lucky to be alive. After all, it wasn't every day that you walked inside the belly of the beast and ended up giving it indigestion, escaping intact.

"What now?" Plague asked, looking up at the dark skies that looked eerie.

They couldn't see the spaceship from this distance. But while they were making their descent, Jeremiah noticed the critical system failure on the ship, so it was only a matter of time before it crashed to the ground, so he took them farther from where they were taken than he planned. He would have taken them even farther away but as the ship's systems failed, the shuttle became more unreliable, and he couldn't risk it.

Still, from the strategic point of view, he was satisfied with the information he did manage to gather from the shuttle's systems. It appeared the spaceship they were on was just one of many situated at different points above the planet who worked together in unison. He was happy to note that bringing one down might disrupt the system, although it couldn't destroy all of them.

"I may have a bunker," Jeremiah said, running his fingers through his hair. "You all are welcome to it. It ain't much, but I made it big enough for my whole family."

As he said that, a sad look passed between him and Plague. It seemed like no matter how well prepared the guy was for any potential catastrophe, there were things he couldn't predict, people he couldn't save.

"Of course you do," Plague responded exasperatedly.

Still, there was a hint of pride, a crack in the shell he tried to present to everyone. It seemed like teasing his grandfather was far better than thinking about what he had last said about the family that could not share the bunker with them.

"Jasmine, what do you think?" Asher asked, standing in front of Jasmine with Arman's little hands firmly wrapped around his neck.

"I don't know," Jasmine replied honestly, running her fingers through Ariyana's hair as the girl surprised her with one big hug the moment they landed and hadn't let go yet.

Isaac, lying on her shoulder, looked at Jasmine and Asher in shock.

"Are you two idiots?" Isaac asked, clearly annoyed. "First of all, bunkers are the coolest things ever. And secondly, it sure would be nice to sleep without worrying about the bald men finding us."

"Isaac, language!" Asher warned sternly, and to Jasmine's surprise, Isaac looked at him repentantly.

"You do have a point," Jasmine said tiredly. "We need a place to rest and regroup. We are okay for now, but we are clearly running on fumes and need to recuperate if we are ever to figure out the whole alien invasion thing."

"And who says that we even have to figure it out," Isaac said, lifting his head from her shoulder just enough to look into her eyes. "Jasmine, we aren't the main characters of one of your novels. We don't have to save the world or figure out all there is to this. We can survive by hiding out."

He sounded like a wise man instead of a child left alone by the apocalypse, making Jasmine question if some souls were born old, like Isaac, or if reincarnation was real. If the life he was living now wasn't his first one.

Jasmine stopped combing through Ariyana's hair for a second to process his words. Even though all of them had lost their families to the aliens, it didn't mean they had to get them back. It didn't mean they could, at least not for the moment. All they could do under the circumstances was survive and live to fight another day.

"Asher?" Jasmine asked questioningly, not daring to look into his eyes after the kiss and the embarrassing bout of throwing up.

She never thought she would be the one to kiss a guy first. It simply wasn't something she was taught. Her family always put emphasis on the guy being the first one to make the move and how if the women did it, it meant they were easy. But the kiss was so good that she couldn't find it in her to regret it.

Asher took so long to answer her question that Jasmine got some of the water Melissa was passing around, carefully washing out her mouth as she still had that disgusting feeling after throwing up. Then, she drank some of the water, refreshing herself. After that, she passed the bottle to Ariyana, who kept clinging to her without saying anything.

"It does seem like the most logical step for now," Asher finally said tiredly, rubbing his eyes. "I want to get my mother back, but I think it would be foolish going in blind. Maybe we can find others like us in the future to form a resistance or something. But for now, the most important thing for me is the safety of my children. And the bunker seems like a dream come true for a parent in the apocalypse."

Jasmine nodded in understanding, patting her pockets to find that she was lucky enough that she hadn't lost her mint gums, and proceeded to pop one into her mouth, feeling instantly refreshed as it washed away the horrible taste she had in her mouth ever since they left the ship.

"Let's get going then," Jeremiah said determinedly. "This place ain't good for hidin'. Besides, we have a bit of a walk before we reach my place."

Tired as she felt, Jasmine didn't want to move from the spot on the ground that she had claimed as her own the moment they landed. However, she knew that another group of aliens could take them at any moment, and she wasn't ready to go through another terrifying experience like that.

"Jasmine, are you okay?" Asher asked when she wobbled upon getting up, keeping a firm grip on Ariyana.

"Fine," Jasmine said, feeling as if her muscles hurt with the strain of getting up.

It made her wonder how she would walk for however long they had to when she couldn't even get up properly without feeling like her legs were made of jelly.

"You can do it," Asher said, gently kissing Jasmine's forehead, eliciting an excited giggle from Ariyana.

"Jasmine and Daddy sitting in the tree

K-i-s-s-i-n-g!

First comes love.

Then comes marriage.

Then comes baby in the baby carriage..."

"Alright, alright, you little munchkin, that's enough," Asher said, ruffling her hair with a huge smile.

Asher had been worried about how quiet Ariyana was, and the fact that she was finally talking, even if it was to tease him, was a huge relief. He hoped that meant she wouldn't have any permanent damage from what happened to her, and that made him worry a little less.

But Jasmine was turning a dark shade of red at the child's words, and Asher couldn't help but find it utterly adorable. However, it wasn't the time nor the place to point out her adorableness, so he kept it to himself for the time being.

"Alright. Ariyana and Arman, you lazy bugs, you must walk now. Jasmine and I can't carry you everywhere," Asher said, swinging Arman up and around, eliciting a giggle from the boy before putting him down. "That way, we can reach our destination faster, and Jasmine and I won't break our old backs."

Children laughed at their father's joke and seemed to bounce back from the traumatic experience quickly. Isaac looked at the two, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Children," Isaac grumbled like he wasn't one of them, and then he joined the two with a stern look that immediately declared him the leader.

Jasmine and Asher let them go ahead of them behind Melissa, Plague, and Jeremiah as they stayed at the back, keeping the children in their line of sight.

Asher's hand suddenly reached for Jasmine's, and with hands clasped together, they went on.

Looking for hope.

Rest.

Quality time together.