BatIM Steps of the Survivor

Chapter Five

Once emerging, the light of dawn was upon the landscape, revealing the town which had been under the blanket of autumn the last time she had seen it, now covered in a thick, white, snowy blanket of winter. The fact that so much time had passed still shocked her to her very core. She wondered how much of history she had missed while fighting for her life in the studio.

After a moment, she could feel Joey's gaze on her, and with warmth in his voice, he spoke. "Would you like me to walk you home?"

This took her by quite the bit of surprise, and she considered for a moment. I don't want to pass out in the snow again. . . there might be no one to find me if I turn him down. . . but the last thing I want is him knowing where I live. She took a breath and with a bit of a glare, she replied. "No, I can handle myself."

"Alright then. If you freeze to death, it's not my fault." He gave a quick smirk before turning and walking away back toward his house, the opposite direction from where she needed to go.

She stared after him for a minute or two before turning around and heading home herself, hoping she'd be able to recover her Boris plushie and the seeing tool before someone else found them and mistook them for useless, or garbage someone tossed out.

Now that it was lighter and any fog that came with the snow had dispersed, she could see a poster on a light post. She read it, tears almost coming to her eyes as she did so, the picture on it was of her and her mother, looking so happy together. . .

MISSING: Jade Alice Wolfe. Last Seen, September 13, 2008. Wearing a white shirt with gray sleeves, reading 'Warrior CATS' with an orange cat in the center. If seen, call Susie Campbell (her mother).

Jade's eyes froze on the name. Susie. . . is this meaning to tell me. . . mom is Susie? Her thoughts asked herself, having this fact previously been unknown to her. She didn't bother looking at the phone number and kept going, knowing that, even if she did have a phone on her, it would have been long since ruined by ink. She doubted it'd have signal that far underground either way.

She kept going toward home, far too tired to try and question more inside her head. Maybe I'm more related to the studio than I thought. . . I guess this explains my middle name. She thought to herself as she trudged through the cold snow. She never felt more alone than she had in this moment, but there was seeing her mother to look forward to. To keep pushing herself for.

Suddenly, she saw a short shape running toward her, looking like it was running on four legs. Is that a. . . a dog? Her vision soon proved her right as a dog ran up to her, tail wagging excitedly as it held a Boris plushie. Her Boris plushie. Jade stared in absolute shock. The dog dropped the Boris plushie at her feet, went into a play bow and barked at her.

"Hey there little buddy, what are you doing out here all alone?" Jade bent down, offering her hand to let the canine sniff it. It did with a notable excitement as she picked up the Boris plushie. She was glad to find it undamaged. She was startled to feel a warm, wet tongue licking her hand, then as she realized it was the dog, she chuckled. She petted the dog, who seemed to enjoy the attention. "Thank you, buddy. Do you have a home to go to?" She looked to see if the canine had a collar, and sure enough, it did.

"Pickle." Jade chuckled at the name written on the dog's tag. The dog barked in response. "You're a good dog, Pickle." Pickle then bounded further into the snow, ahead of Jade by a few paces. He looked back her, as if expecting her to follow. Jade followed Pickle with a bit of a chuckle as her four-legged companion continued to lead.

Soon enough, they came to a patch of snow with parts of an object sticking out of it. Approaching it curiously, Jade brushed the snow off and smiled when she saw the seeing tool in the snow. Great! At least I have something to keep the memory of Allison and Tom. . . just like I do of Boris. . . she let out a sigh. I really just can't manage to keep a friend. . . can I? She stood back up, a certain kind of dullness overtaking her gaze. The dullness of dead innocence, the kind you only have once, cut short by a tragedy no less than a monstrosity. The cold was suddenly much colder as she kept trudging forward.