Achievement Hunter: The Broken

Downward Spiral

Two weeks had passed since Lindsay's death, and Steffie hadn't been seen since.

Jack had sent out search parties trying to find her, but there was little hope for everyone. Geoff had tried radioing her, to no avail. They had been working on fixing it. However without Steffie, fixing tech was a difficult task. Jack was trying to stay positive, but he wasn't sure himself if Steffie was still out there. Everything that could go wrong, had.

They've all been trying to distract themselves from this with tedious tasks around the house. Jack chose farming, which almost always seemed to help clear his thoughts, to calm his mind.

The sun is high in the sky at this point in the day, making the thick air seem so much hotter.
"Uh, hey. Trevor. Do you think you could get me some wood? I'm expanding the farm a bit." Jack asks Trevor, who was sitting not too far away from him. He jumps at the sound of his name.
Trevor looks confused for a second, until realization struck his face.
"Oh. Sure...you got it, Jack." Then Trevor immediately walks off without waiting for a reply from Jack and he sighs.
He was trying to keep everyone's thoughts off of reality, but they had picked up on this already. Jack didn't care. He wanted to help them in any way he could.
Jack tried sending Michael out, but he refused. He had barely been outside since Lindsay's death, and this worried Jack to no end. Isolation wasn't going to help him, not in their new normal. He turned back to the farm, and began planting some seeds.

As he's working, Geoff strolls up to him. "Hey, Jack..." Geoff calls. "You doing alright?"
"Yeah, just planting seeds. How's the radio doing?" Jack grins.
"Same as always...you need any help?" Geoff offers, gesturing towards nothing in particular.
"Uh...I mean, if you want to get me some more seeds from the field? I don't think I have enough left to fill the garden." Jack chuckles.
Geoff nods, offering a warm smile. "Gotcha," and he takes off in the direction Jack had said to go.
The others run in and out throughout the day, pulling Jack from his thoughts, asking him if he needs help, saying they're going to do something, or just making smalltalk.
Yet, Jack doesn't mind the distractions. The longer he's alone, the more he thinks.
And thinks
And thinks...

At this point everyone had been busied with jobs as Jack continued digging, and burying seeds, and watering, and walking, and walking. And walking. Jack was pacing around the garden. This is the longest he's had to himself in weeks, and he hated it. He kept getting lost in his own head. Maybe he should just call everyone back, and they could all stay by the house today.

Jack spots Geoff plodding back with a basket filled with seeds, to which he instantly smiles. He runs over to walk with Geoff, and to have someone to talk with, to distract him. He was still shaken by everything, but he couldn't let the others see that. They needed him to be strong right now.
All he could do is put up a front for them.

***

Gavin was humming a lighthearted tune as he headed off to the desert to retrieve a cactus. He held a small clay pot he had found in one of the chests in his hands. The sun was boiling, but he was determined to get a plant growing in this pot. He needed something to take care of, something he could control.

He spots Jeremy off in the distance, crouched down by a cave and it's enough to drive his curiosity away from his initial plan. Jeremy is quick to spot Gavin, with his bright green scarf among the browned out environment. "Gavin!" Jeremy waves him over.
"Jeremy? What are you doing?" Gavin walks to his side cautiously.
"I heard something in there, it sounds weird." Jeremy points within the cave.
"Then...walk away...?" Gavin looks from the cave to Jeremy, wide-eyed, clutching the pot in his hands.
"What if it's another person..." Jeremy doesn't take his eyes off the darkness.
"That's impossible, Jeremy. And you know it." Gavin says sternly. "We shouldn't be here—"