Final Days (MCSM Fanfiction)

Chapter 7 - Irrational Actions

22:20 – Day 1

It's barely been two hours since Jesse went to sleep, the night sky outside still dark. The flames in the fireplace were still steadily burning their way through the logs, bathing the room in a gentle orange light.

Jesse's sleeping from was staring to move on the couch. She rolled over in her sleep, shaking her head slightly. Eyes squeezed tightly shut. Letting out a soft groan, her eyelids slowly fluttered open. Jesse blankly stared up at the roof for a few seconds, blinking slowly several times.

As she slowly started to become aware of her surroundings again, it also became clear to Jesse that something wasn't right.

The thing that worried Jesse the most was not the dull throbbing in her head, or her slightly fogged up vision. It was the fact that she no longer felt cold. She wasn't just not cold any more, she was properly warm, almost hot inside her thick jacket.

"No, no, shit no." Jesse breathed, shutting her eyes tightly.

She reached up with one hand to wipe a few beads of sweat off the side of her face, her skin burning at the touch. A steadily rising fever.

Using the back rest of the couch, Jesse shakily heaved herself upright into a sitting position. On instinct, she held onto the couch for balance as the world lightly tilted around her.

Leaning slightly down, Jesse clumsily felt along the base of the couch until her fingers wrapped around the bottle of water. She shakily removed the cap, bringing to bottle to her lips and taking a few large gulps. Even the water – which Jesse knew for a fact was ice cold – felt warm.

"Okay... maybe this is just the flu or something." Jesse mumbled to herself, flopping back down onto the couch and taking a deep, shaky breath. "I'll just go back to sleep... see if it blows over."

Jesse closed her eyes tightly, trying to think of anything else to get her mind off of how crap she was feeling at that moment.

She's never wanted to be back in the safety of the Order hall as desperately as that moment. Or to at least be with her friends, have somebody by her side who could remain optimistic for the both of them.

Jesse let out a soft groan, struggling her sore body over onto her uninjured side as she tried to get more comfortable. Despite how extremely heavy her eyelids felt, her mind refused to welcome any sleep.

What if it wasn't just something small? What if she came down with something serious? Could one of her wounds have gotten infected already?

Jesse took a deep breath, forcing out the negative thoughts. Trying to think of something that could put her mind at ease, maybe help her fall asleep.

Another strong gust of wind howled around the corners of the sturdy cabin. Jesse opened her eye slightly, listening to the furious gusts of wind outside. It sounded really nice... even refreshing.

Jesse shook her head to herself, closing her eyes again. She wasn't even thinking straight at that moment!

"Sleep. Just sleep." Jesse muttered to herself, her voice cracking slightly.

She coughed slightly, hating how dry and scratchy her throat was starting to feel. Jesse weakly felt for the water bottle again, mentally cursing to herself. She was meant to use it sparingly, not gulp it all down in one night!

After another small drink, Jesse curled herself back up on the couch. Sleep. That's all she felt like doing at that moment, if only her body would agree.

Slowly exhaustion began taking Jesse over again, her mind drifting off. But it was far from a peaceful sleep. As the minutes ticked by, Jesse restlessly tossed and turned, drifting in and out of a shallow sleep.