Noticing Jacob was falling behind, Orm had stopped as Dawn continued up the steep terrain. “Are you okay Jacob? You really don't look well.”
Jacob responded, “I'm fine…,” in a faint voice with sweat pouring down his face.
“You have a fever, I think we need to stop pretty quick here,” said Orm placing a hand on Jacobs forehead before handing him a water bottle.
Running up ahead to quickly catch up with Dawn, Orm could see Jacob mindlessly trudging along as he looked back, as if Jacob were unaware, he was even moving.
“The kid seems is pretty sick, we may need to stop for the night.” Said Orm as he caught up with Dawn.
“I’m fine...” said Jacob as he caught up looking very pale. “We don't have time to stop...” he continued as he kept walking ahead past Orm and Dawn.
“There is an old abandoned cabin I know of about an hour ahead, we can rest there for the night.” Said Dawn with concern on her face, as she watched Jacob walk by.
After the brief pause, Orm and Dawn caught up with Jacob. The group continued walking along in single file with Dawn leading the way as she cut a path through the thick brush. Feeling increasingly ill, the march through the wood felt like an eternity to Jacob as the chills became more frequent. The pain of moving up the hills eventually faded, replaced by malaise as he felt like a mindless drone forever moving forward. The pain from the wound on his shoulder had increased fallowing the plunge in the river. However, he said nothing of his discomfort or condition to the others. Trudging on, the pain reached a point of being completely unbearable. Yet, in those moments, as he shivered in the cold while fighting the discomfort and nausea, he forced himself to continue. He believed on some level he deserved it for being alive while others where not.
The sun eventually dipped far beyond the mountains making it next to impossible to continue moving. Leading the group through the wilderness in almost complete darkness, Dawn pushed forward to the top of a steep hill. Arriving slightly after, Jacob and Orm stood with the precipice behind them looking out into a small clearing, barely visible in the fading twilight. The silhouette of a small weathered hunting cabin stood at the far end of the clearing, offering a place of refuge against the increasingly frigid air. Without saying a word, the others fallowed Dawn as she led them towards their place of rest for the night. Collapsing on an old bed lined with animal furs, Jacob curled while wrapping the blankets tightly around him as he shivered violently against the cold. Falling in out of dreamless sleep, Jacob remembered feeling the warmth of a fire and Orm bringing him some warm stalk to drink late in the night.
Waking up with a start from the sound of heavy snow falling onto the roof from a nearby tree, Jacob looked out at the sunlight spilling in through the frosted window. The cabin was warm, and a small fire still burned under the mantle. In those brief moments after waking Jacob felt warm and content before the memories of the preceding events came flooding back. Noticing he was alone; Jacob threw the thick fur blankets off him. Realising his old wet clothing had been taken off as the freezing air hit his skin, he looked around the small room for something to wear. Finding his clothing hanging dry on a wood rack near the fire, Jacob quickly got dressed as he unsuccessfully searched his memory for when they came off.
A frigid torrent of cold wind hit hard as Jacob opened the cabin door. Zipping his coat as high as it would go, Jacob pulled a toque he found tightly over his ears as he looked out at the artic wonderland. About ten yards up ahead near the base of a steep hill, Jacob could see Orm and Dawn talking in low voices, with looks of concern on their faces. Stepping out into the snow, the pain of the hike and his wounds quickly returned, brutally reminding Jacob of all that had happened. Forcing himself to move forward through the pain and stiffness, he made his way over to the others.
As Jacob approached, Orm turned to look at him and put his finger across his lips, gesturing Jacob to be silent. “Their over there...” he whispered as he pointed up the hill.
XII
Quickly turning around to the sound of an alarm, Jin began working the levers and nobs on the control panel in front of him. The hologram sphereat the centre of the bridge again began spinning and working its gears. The light above the device flickered as it focused into a map of the area closely surrounding the ship, with three bright objects highlighted near the edge of the image. The flagged objects appeared motionless in the trees to the souths, within a hundred yards of the vessel for several minutes, before disappearing from the holographic display. Getting out of her seat, Reliq walked over to the large window facing the direction of the unknown objects. Looking intently towards the tree line across the snow-covered clearing, all she could see were whisps of wind dancing across the fresh snow on a gentle breeze.
“There is nothing out there, ...probably a sensor glitch from the crash.” Said Reliq, as she continued to watch the tree line.
“I will recalibrate the sens...
