Chapter 8 - Shred of Hope

08:20 – Day 2

It turned out sleeping on a tiled floor in a cold, abandoned building, was not the most comfortable thing in the world. By the time morning came, Petra was about just as tired as she was the previous night.

She had managed to get a few hours of uncomfortable sleep, which had helped bring down her headaches for a while. But for the majority of the night, Petra had sat at the measly little fire, every now and then adding new planks to keep it going.

The sun was up outside, and the fire had finally burned through all the fuel Petra could find in the gas station. She peered out of the window, scanning the surroundings outside. It seemed to be an okay day, the pale grey sky clear of any clouds. Perfect.

Petra turned away from the window, stiffly walking back over to where her burned out fireplace was. She knelt down on the ground, pushing everything into the backpack she had found. At least she had food to last her a while. She'd be able to make a plan for water once she reached the cabin.

Petra hesitated slightly, considering going to get the two remaining cans of sardines and beans. She still hadn't eaten anything, but she knew she would have to soon. And she didn't know whether there'd be food at the cabin, or how long she'd be stuck there.

Petra stood up, still holding the backpack. She slowly walked through the empty rows of shelves, in the direction of where she killed the wolf.

Trying very hard not to look at the dead animal, Petra reached for the two cans. It was odd for Petra, to feel guilty over something she had killed. After all, she used to hunt for her food before the Wither Storm incident. Then again, she killed wild cows and chickens... never wolves.

As soon as her fingers wrapped around the second can, Petra shoved it into the backpack, getting to her feet and quickly striding away.

She stopped at the large doors of the gas station, once again intensely scanning the sky. It was still grey, not exactly clear. But a few dim rays of sunlight were shining down, only a light breeze blowing. Probably the friendliest Petra has seen the place's weather.

Taking a deep breath, Petra swung the bag onto her back. She reached up, brushing away the annoying strand of red hair that was dangling in her eyes once again. It was the main reason she always preferred to wear something on her head.

Petra subtly glanced down at her injured arm again. Her jacket's sleeve was rolled down over the bandaged wound. It was still quite sore, but as long as she didn't put strain on her arm, it was fine.

"Let's do this." Petra muttered, heaving open the large doors.

She immediately shivered as she stepped outside. The building may have been cold, but she was realising just how much warmth it had provided. Petra walked onto the open road, her eyes scanning the surroundings. To her right were the hills, littered with snow-covered fir trees. To her left was the drop off, below it stretches of clear snow as well as what looked like a frozen over dam or small lake. And then of course, the wooden cabin in the distance.

Petra frowned, narrowing her eyes. Either she was seeing things, or there was a thin trickle of smoke rising from the house's chimney. Was there actually somebody there?

"Only one way to find out." Petra mumbled, turning away and beginning to walk down the road.

She hoped that her assumption was correct, and that it did indeed snake down at some point. She was not about to risk breaking a leg by climbing down to the lower level. Petra shivered slightly, wrapping her arms around herself as she walked. Was the wind getting stronger, or was she just being a wimp? At least she wasn't in as much pain as the previous day. Tired, but completely conscious of her surroundings.

Petra couldn't help but think back to her friends and Beacontown. Had she gotten herself into that shitty situation on one of her expeditions? No, last thing she remembered, she was back in Beacontown... Or had more than a few months been wiped from her head?

Petra kicked at some of the snow on the road in frustration. She hated, loathed, having questions without answers.

For a long while, it was just Petra and her thoughts. Walking down the road that seemed endless. Petra was starting to doubt that the road did lead down, the wooden cabin having grown small in the distance. Maybe she should have gone in the other direction...?

The wind was picking up quickly, tugging violently at Petra's clothes. The grey sky had clouded over completely, snowflakes slowly beginning to fall.

Petra gritted her chattering teeth, wrapping her arms more tightly around herself. She was too far to turn back.

But then, something caught Petra's eye. A fallen tree that must have come from up on the hill quite some time ago. It seemed to have rolled across the road, and fallen off the drop – no doubt a lot of momentum would have been built up.

It was propped up sideways to the road, leading down the short drop, supported by the sharp rocks at the bottom. A natural ladder.

"This could not have been more perfect." Petra breathed in relief, jogging over to the fallen tree. She knelt down, reaching over with her left hand and giving the wood a firm shake. It didn't budge, seemingly well secured.

Another strong gust of wind showered Petra in fresh snowflakes, the icy air stinging her eyes. She bit her lip, knowing that it was going to be risky, especially in her state. But if she didn't risk it, she probably wouldn't make it to a shelter in time.

Taking a deep breath, Petra took a hold of the tree with both her hands. She flinched as her injured arm throbbed from the pressure. Ignoring the pain, Petra carefully lifted herself over onto the tree.

Tightly clinging onto it's course bark, Petra edged herself down the wood, piece by piece. It was a good thing she liked climbing trees, she had some experience with it.

Petra clutched the the tree tightly as the strong gusts of wind tugged at her clothing, threatening to pull her off of the log. Once she got down onto solid ground, she needed to get to the cabin in a blink of an eye if she didn't want to freeze out there.

Inching down a bit further, Petra extended one leg. She carefully felt around until her boot met one of the sharp rocks. It was going to be a test of her balance...

Very carefully, Petra slipped her other leg over the tree as well, positioning both her feet on the rocks. Her injured arm protesting violently, Petra lowered herself down until she was positioned on the rocks.

Letting go of the wood, Petra held out both arms for balance. She glanced to the side, only just about able to see where solid ground was. One leap, she'd be able to make it.

Taking a deep breath, Petra jumped. Missing the last rock by a mere centimetre, she landed on the snow with a thud.

Petra couldn't hold back from letting out a cry of pain as all her body weight came to land on her injured arm. She was swift to push her up on her left arm, gripping her right tightly. Short jagged, gasp-like breaths left her mouth as she squeezed her eyes shut. A slow pulsing was starting to return to her head.

After a few deep breaths, Petra staggered upright. Shielding her eyes from the snow and wind with one hand, she looked around for the cabin. The fog was thickening, hiding the structure completely.

"Okay... you know the direction, you don't have to see it to find it." Petra said to herself, beginning to walk in the direction she remembered seeing the cabin.

As she did, something else became visible. Petra couldn't believe her eyes, staring in disbelief at the faint figure visible through the fog, the shape of another person.

They were mere a shadow in the fog. The person was hunching slightly forward, clearly struggling as they were walking against the wind, unlike Petra. They were clutching their hands to their chest, staggering as they walked.

"Hey!" Petra called out, waving her hands.

The person stopped, their shadow changing as they lifted their head. They began walking in Petra's direction, only to suddenly sink to the ground, collapsing in the snow. Petra broke into a jog in their direction, getting to the person right as they began struggling upwards again.

She inhaled sharply, clasping a hand over her mouth. Recognising the mob of wet chestnut hair, the pained brown eyes.

"Jesse!?" Petra asked in horror, grabbing her friend by her shoulders.

Jesse weakly looked up at Petra, not seeming to register who was standing in front of her. Taking in Jesse's appearance, Petra was horrified to say the least.

Her tan skin was almost a pale grey colour, she was so pale. Her lips and fingers blue, teeth chattering violently. Her brown eyes dull and lifeless, seemingly ready to fall close at any second. Worst of all, three deep claw marks across her cheek.

"Jesse, what happened to you?" Petra asked desperately. Snapping back to her senses, she pulled her friend close to her chest, hoping to offer Jesse some of her body heat.

Much to Petra's surprise, Jesse struggled slightly against her grip, weakly pulling out of her arms. She look up at Petra, a faint hint of recognition in her eyes.

"P-P-Pe-"

"Yes, it's me." Petra cut off her friend's stuttering. "Jesse, what- you know what, never mind, questions later. We need to get out of this storm."

She grabbed Jesse by her wrist, starting to head in the direction the cabin was. Much to her surprise, Jesse resisted, pulling her hand free.

"N-no." Jesse said through her chattering teeth. "G-Got to f-find-find the o-ot-others!"

"What?!" Petra asked in surprise. "Jesse, we need to get inside before we die out here!"

She reached over to take Jesse's wrist, the shorter girl stepping back before she could.

"Look, I can see you look like you've been through hell and back already." Petra said firmly to Jesse. "But we need to get inside somewhere, especially you. Please, Jesse, cooperate."

Jesse weakly shook her head, still refusing despite the fact that she could barely stand on her feet.

"Look at me!" Petra snapped, finally losing her cool. "I fell down a hill yesterday! Do I look like I can pick you up and carry you with me?! For goodness sake, Jesse, I don't want the two of us to die out here, just because you have some stupid idea in your head!"

Jesse didn't say or do anything at Petra's words. She glanced slightly down at the snow, wrapping her arms around herself. Petra's face softened slightly, feeling bad for lashing out at her friend.

"Come on, Jesse, there's a cabin nearby." She said, gently but firmly taking Jesse by her arm. "Come with me."

"I-I-I-" Jesse tried speaking, while reluctantly allowing Petra to lead her in the direction of the cabin. "I c-c-came from t-there."

So many questions were on the tip of Petra's tongue, wishing she knew what happened to Jesse. Continuing to walk in the direction of the cabin, Petra pulled Jesse close to her and wrapped an arm around her back. Not only to help her friend walk, but also to warm them both up a bit.

"Why did you l-leave?" Petra asked her, wanting to know in advance if she should expect something bad. Her own voice was beginning to break off through her shivering as well, now that she was calming down.

"I-I-I wanted t-to g-go home." Jesse replied, slightly leaning onto Petra. Her eyelids were fluttering dangerously.

"J-Just stay awake, y-you hear me?" Petra said desperately.

She wished they could pick up the pace, but Jesse visibly wasn't in a state to walk any faster. Whatever her friend had been through, Petra could tell that Jesse's mind wasn't all there at that moment.

The structure was beginning to come into view, visible through the thick fog. Petra tried increasing her pace slightly, still tightly holding on to Jesse, who was having a lot of trouble staying upright.

"C-come on, w-we're almost t-there." Petra encouraged as they reached the cabin's porch. Ignoring her own sore body's complaints, she slightly lifted Jesse up the few steps, helping her onto the porch.

Keeping her right arm wrapped behind her friend's back, Petra shoved open the heavy wooden door, kicking it shut behind them the moment they were in.

Jesse was almost completely limp against Petra, but she weakly managed to lift a hand, pointing to where a few couches were positioned. "F-fire."

Spotting the fireplace, Petra helped Jesse over to the tiny living room area. She could tell that Jesse wasn't there too long ago, the burned out fire still emitting some heat. Petra also spotted a turquoise jacket lying on the floor, presumably Jesse's. A good jacket at that, thick, warm and wind proof.

"Here." Petra gasped slightly as she finally managed to set Jesse down on the couch. "Lift your arms."

Jesse weakly did as Petra told her to. Her expression filled with pain as she slightly raised both her arms, her eyes glazing over with tears.

Petra carefully pulled off the soaked sweater Jesse had on, relieved to see that the ones she had on underneath it were still dry. She grabbed the thick jacket, pulling it over her friend's head. Jesse immediately wrapped her arms around herself, whimpering slightly as she clutched at her sides. Petra wanted to know why her friend was in so much pain, but her first priority was to get a fire going again. Thankfully her own jacket was waterproof, meaning she didn't have to take it off.

Grabbing one of the newspaper prints that lay beside the fire, Petra ripped it up and scrunched it into tight balls. She swiftly fished the lighter she found out of her pocket, setting fire to the newspaper.

After adding some fuel to the fire, Petra slipped the backpack she was still carrying off her back, tossing it to the side. She turned back to Jesse who was still curled in a tight ball on the couch, holding out a hand and gesturing for Jesse to come sit right by the fire with her. Jesse weakly slipped off the couch, limping slightly as she walked over before sinking down beside Petra.

Petra spotted two gloves lying beside the fireplace. Jesse's as well? Why did she take off so much gear before going out?

"Let me see your hands." Petra said, holding her one hand out.

Jesse silently held out both her hands, allowing Petra to gently take and inspect them. She let out a soft breath of relief.

"Good, you avoided frostbite." Petra said, picking up the two gloves. She carefully pulled one over each of Jesse's hands for her.

"Petra?" Jesse whispered softly, looking up at her friend. There was a tiny bit of life back in her brown eyes.

She looked back down at the fire, avoiding eye-contact with Petra. "Is it... is it really you?"

"Jesse." Petra carefully lifted her friend's chin so their eyes met again. "Of course it's me."

For a second it was completely silent, before Jesse leaned forward, wrapping her arms around her friend. Petra hugged Jesse back tightly.

Jesse buried her face into Petra's jacket, letting out a soft, strangled sob. "Y-you saved my life."

"Easy now." Petra whispered, still tightly embracing her friend. "You're going to be okay. We found each other now... and together, we'll find a way out of this mess."

___

I'm sure a lot of held breaths were released this chapter.

Finally the first two of people have stumbled upon each other, and it's Jesse and Petra! Which is great, considering if nobody found Jesse, she'd probably end up an icicle.

Things are still far from great, but the situation is looking a lot better than the previous chapter. Petra's at the cabin with Jesse now, where there's enough resources to go around for a while to come. Soon we'll see what's going on with the others, but for now, things need to be cleared up here. 

I don't have a ton else to say, so I'll leave off here, but please leave your theories if you have any new ones! I love hearing what you guys predict will happen/have happened in the past!

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you in five days with chapter 9!