Pigs and Guilt Complexes

Comfort

Jesse didn't know how long she had been riding for. It had been early sunset when she left the others in her dust, and now the moon was rising over the dunes. Her horse had already slowed to a gentle trot after all that riding. She knew it was feeling just as tired as she was.

It had only been a matter of time before someone spotted her in that state, she thought to herself. She had been living off borrowed time for long enough. And despite all that had happened between her and Petra when they found that redstone portal, she was glad that it had been her who found her. She was uncomfortable with the idea of one of the townspeople or Harper finding her, and she doubted that Ivor would have handled the situation any better. She may have died right there and then if it had been Lukas; there was no way of living that scenario down.

But she had only made it worse by leaving them all like that. She couldn't help it. After she saw Petra everything just kicked into panic mode. She needed to get somewhere far away from everyone else and bring everything back under control. If she turned back now, she'd probably run into Petra and the others, and she wasn't in the mood to be interrogated. Besides, she was still feeling tired after all the riding, and her dreams always left her more exhausted than when she went to sleep.

She needed to find somewhere to stay for the night.

Suddenly, arrows started flying past her head. The horse neighed and bucked her off, speeding down the way to the town. Two skeletons stood in front of her, bows drawn and arrows ready. She leaped out of harm's way and sprinted towards them with her sword drawn, cutting her way through them.

She looked around the landscape frantically for a safe spot to camp. The vast endless plains had narrowed into a thin valley with sandstone cutting her off on either side. The only way was forward or back - neither was a good option. In the corner of her eye, she spotted a small cave opening in the sandstone to her right. It was a bit of a climb, but it was better than staying exposed in the open.

Jesse ran towards the first few blocks and started to climb, not daring to look anywhere but up until she made it all the way to the opening. As she hovered by the entrance, she checked her pockets for any items. Just the enchanted flint and steel, some raw chicken drumsticks, a normal flint and steel, and several sandstone blocks. It wasn't much, but it would have to do.

She entered the cave, gauging how large she wanted her shelter to be. Slightly further in, she spotted a small stream of water. That would come in handy. When she settled on a size, she covered up the tunnels leading deeper into the cave with the sandstone, leaving a small opening for her to get to the stream later.

She went back to the centre of her shelter with the normal flint and steel ready. She poised the steel at the ground and swiped the flint across its surface. The ground erupted into fire that blazed around the sand. She went back to the cave opening and swiped some sticks off a dead bush before feeding several to the fire. With the others, Jesse fashioned a makeshift grill for the chicken and placed both over the fire.

With her fire going and some food cooking, she headed back through her small doorway to the stream. She had no idea where the water was coming from. Maybe PAMA had sent several monsters to cut off the water flow here, and without them it had found another way around. Either way, she was glad for it, cupping it in her hands and splashing it across her face. She relished the cool sensation it left on her skin and brought some to her lips for a drink.

When her thirst was quenched, she settled on staring at the water's surface. Even though the stream was small, Jesse could see her reflection as she came closer to the water's surface.

Olivia once told her that she envied Jesse's hair. Those thick, glossy waves that fell gracefully past her shoulders, all the while holding in place without the need for any hairspray. She had never really cared about her looks. Regardless of the situation, the thought of looking pretty had never crossed her mind. It wasn't as if she spent time with anyone other than Axel and Olivia.