19:00 - Day 1

Jesse's eyes slowly opened. Immediately she just wanted to close them again, wishing she never woke up in the first place. Everything hurt.

She was still lying on the ground in front of the fireplace. A few flames were still steadily burning through the logs.
Jesse felt stiff all over, thankfully no longer as cold as she was earlier. There was heavy throbbing radiating from her right side, not only from her ribs but also her shoulder. Her head pulsed with pain.

Groaning slightly, Jesse forced herself up into a sitting position. She pulled herself upright, nearly toppling back over with pain and fatigue. Nonetheless, she still limped over to the fireplace, weakly picking up another log and adding it to the fire.

Jesse let out a slow sigh, loving the heat that the flames emitted, an unimaginable relief in the cold. She was almost mad at herself for having drifted off, knowing what a dangerous move that was. It had grown dark outside the house, but no wind were heard any more.

Jesse shakily limped back over to the couch, sitting down on it. She took that as an opportunity to look herself over, checking her injuries.

She clearly had been prepared for the weather, finding that she had three sweaters on beneath her jacket, along with a quite woolly long-sleeved shirt. With it she was dressed in a thick, warm pair of pants, and sturdy winter boots.

Jesse found no wound on her shoulder, but was barely able to lift her right arm. She guessed that whatever hit had broken her ribs, also did a number on her shoulder. Fortunately she found no other open wounds other than the one on her head, and the gashes on her cheek.

Jesse shivered slightly, but not from the cold. More from fear. What had happened to her? And how was she going to get out of the situation?

"Keep yourself together." Jesse told herself out loud, hating the visible tremble to her voice.

She turned her head in the direction of the window, only barely able to make out the dark night sky through the frosted glass. Well, she was stuck until the morning, so there was no point in tearing herself up over her next move. Her best bet at that moment was to have a look through the abandoned house, see if she could maybe find anything to eat or drink. She wasn't very hungry, but definitely parched.

Jesse heaved her sore body off the couch, clutching her side as she glanced around. It was mostly open concept, a dining area not too far from the living room and a tiny kitchen fitted into one of the corners. It didn't look like the house belonged to much more than one, or maybe two, people.

Jesse staggered slightly in the direction of the kitchen area. She sneezed slightly as she breathed in more dust. As she did, Jesse realised there was a very faint, but unpleasant smell in the air. Then again, considering the place was abandoned, she wouldn't be too surprised if the fridge was full of spoiled food.

The first thing that caught Jesse's attention, was a can on the counter. She reached over, picking it up and turning it over. Squinting slightly in the dark.

"Peas. Well, disgusting, but better than nothing." Jesse muttered, placing the can down.

She opened the first cabinet, quickly closing it again when she only saw some mugs and glasses. She had a similar reaction to the next one, only seeing a few plates and one bowl. Yeah, there definitely didn't live a lot of people.

Jesse pulled open the next cabinet, her hopes lifting slightly at the sight of some more canned foods - at a quick glance it looked like more peas and some peaches. There was also an unopened bag of crisps, and a jar of honey. At least she wouldn't be dying of starvation right off the bat.

Next, Jesse opened the fridge. Considering there wasn't any power, she was expected to be greeted by maybe the foul smell of some rotting food. But to her surprise, the fridge was almost completely empty. There were two cans of tuna in, as well as a half finished six-pack of soda.

And, what Jesse had been praying to find, a bottle of water.

"Luck is on my side, it seems." She said to herself, reaching out and picking up the bottle of water.

It wasn't a ton, so she'd have to be careful with it. At least there was still some soda as well.
Screwing the cap off, Jesse took a big gulp of the cold liquid. Water had never tasted as good as it did at that very moment. If it was up to Jesse, she would have finished the whole bottle on the spot. But, deciding to be smart about it, she only took a few more gulps before closing the bottle again.

Maybe this is like a vacation home. Jesse thought to herself. It'd explain the copious amounts of non-perishables.

She bent slightly down, pulling open what looked like a cutlery drawer. After a few seconds, she found what she was looking for; a can-opener. So Jesse carried that, one of the cans of peaches, and the rest of the water back to the fireplace.

Something about seeing her little stash on the carpet, alongside the blanket and the crackling flames, made Jesse miss home. On cold nights, the order loved to camp out in the living room in their sleeping bags, together in front of the fireplace.

Lowering herself down, Jesse held her hands out to the fireplace again, feeling the heat dance across her skin. She was amazed how how used her eyes had gotten to the dark, able to comfortably make out shapes quite a bit away from the fire.

Jesse sighed softly, picking up her discarded gloves and pulling them over her hands. She shuffled slightly closer to the fire, closing her eyes.

She wished that she could just wake up from that nightmare. What if she ended up stuck out there, forever? What if she never saw her friends again?

Jesse chuckled dryly, thinking of what her friends would say if they were there. Pessimistic Olivia would probably have a similar fear and anxiously agreed. Knowing Axel, he'd probably make some sort of joke to try and cheer her up. Lukas would probably try and stay optimistic, maybe even encouraging. And Petra? She'd probably give Jesse a slap or punch to the shoulder and told her she was being stupid.

Jesse pulled her knees up closer to her chest, wrapping her arms around her. Gulping down an unwanted lump in her throat.

If only she knew what had happened.

Shaking her head to herself, Jesse looked over at the window. Still dark outside with only the moon offering any light. Maybe she should worm in some of those peaches and go back to sleep. She wasn't going to get anywhere if she didn't help her body recover a tiny bit.

It wasn't a secret that she was tired, but really Jesse didn't feel like going back to sleep. The whole situation was just too... upsetting.

Maybe she should get up and explore more of the place? There could be a bathroom upstairs - she remembered Petra once telling her, that in an emergency survival situation, the water from a toilet's tank could actually be potable.

Using the wall slightly as a prop, Jesse heaved herself upwards. She realised that climbing stairs with a broken rib or two wouldn't be very pleasant.

But, of course, she wasn't about to let that put her off.

Jesse leaned her weight heavily on the staircase's railing as she struggled her way up the steps. The unpleasant smell in the air was getting a little stronger as Jesse advanced up the stairs.

The upstairs wasn't quite what Jesse expected. It almost looked like an attic, the ceiling low. There were two beds, both looking like they haven't been used in ages. Also a door leading off into another tiny room, which Jesse guessed was a bathroom.

Jesse decided to not head to the bathroom yet, not able to think of anything in there that she desperately needed at that moment. If she became desperate enough for water, at least she would know where to go.

"God, this place reeks." Jesse muttered, covering her mouth and nose with her gloved hand. She hoped the place hadn't been taken over by rats, especially not since she slept on the floor earlier.

Jesse walked deeper into the room, glancing around. She stopped by one of the beds, noticing a granola bar resting on it. Sweet! Her luck was getting better! What was she going to find next, a satellite phone?

Chuckling slightly at her thoughts, Jesse reached over with one hand, picking up the item and shoving it into her jacket's pocket. She wanted to keep looking around, but really - the smell was starting to put her off a ton.

Jesse walked around the bed, just wanting to give the other side of the room a sweep as well, before bailing back downstairs.

As she did, something caught her eye. Jesse turned her head, her eyes widening before she let out a horrified shriek, backing up against the wall.

At first glance, she had thought that there was another person in there with her. But more accurately - there was a corpse.

Lying on the carpet, beside the other bed. The body was old, but not fully decayed yet. Long, shaggy ginger hair hiding the person's face. Their bones visible where their skin had rotted away.

Jesse stared down at the corpse with wide eyes, clasping a hand over her mouth as she felt bile beginning to build up in her throat. She couldn't believe that all along, the owner of the house - or one of the owners - had still been there. Just... dead.

Jesse slowly edged along the wall to get away from the corpse, moving in a large circle around their body as if it was going to get up and bite her. And when she reached the stairs, running on adrenaline, Jesse booked it back down to the ground floor of the building.
She dropped back down by the fire, wrapping her arms firmly around herself. Feeling herself shake ever so slightly.

"Calm down, calm down." Jesse told herself into a shaking voice, forcing her eyes shut as she felt tears pricking them. Her heart was violently hammering about inside her chest.

Jesse wasn't sure for how long she sat like that, curled in a tiny ball in front of the fireplace, trying to calm herself down again.

She desperately wished she could leave the place and never come back again. But of course, that wasn't a viable option.
Jesse took another, deep, shaky breath, slowly beginning to calm down again.

She raked her fingers rapidly through her chestnut hair, wishing she wasn't alone at that moment. Wishing she had somebody with her who would talk sense into her, reassure her, or hell even tell her she was being stupid. She couldn't stand being so alone.

Jesse briefly thought back to the dog toy she found. She could only pray that she didn't find the remains of an animal somewhere. An unknown stranger's body was one thing, but that of a pet? Hell no.

Jesse shakily got up from the floor, letting out a pained groan as her side throbbed heavily, pain searing through her shoulder. A headache was quickly starting to return as well. Jesse shakily felt along the dark corner beside the fireplace, her fingers meeting the rough side of another fire log. She placed it into the burning fire, the flames crackling response. At least that was bound to hold her for a while longer.

She stiffly moved back over to the couch, her sore body thankful for getting to sit on something more comfortable than the carpet. Jesse wrapped herself back in the blanket, grimly staring down at the fire. Not even feeling the desire to keep questioning the situation, how she got there or why.

"I just want this shit to be over." Jesse muttered to herself, taking a long shaky breath.

She leaned her head back against the couch, staring up at the ceiling above her. Quickly looking away when she realised the body was up there.

Jesse shivered slightly to herself. Maybe it was time she did what she considered earlier. Get some food into her system, and sleep the rest of the night away until morning. Not knowing when the last time was that she's eaten, Jesse decided it would better to start off on something small. She fished around in her jacket's pocket for the granola bar.

Much to Jesse's surprise, she quickly realised just how hungry she actually was. In only minutes, she had finished the entire morsel of food.

Feeling a lot better with some food in her stomach, Jesse's eyelids finally began to feel heavy again. She considered going to sleep right by the fireplace again like the first time, but decided against it. She was no longer as dreadfully cold as she was earlier. The thought of laying her sore body down on the hard ground again, wasn't very pleasant.

Curling herself up underneath the thin old blanket, Jesse nestled herself into the side of the couch. Leaning her head down on the scratchy material, her brown eyes resting on the flickering fire.

The wind was slowly beginning to pick up again outside, howling around the corners of the sturdy wooden house. Snow spiraling down outside the frosted-over windows, building up around the cabin.

Jesse shuddered slightly at the sound of the forming blizzard outside. Out of all the cold places she's been, even the snowy worlds they ended up in, in the portal hallway... She's never ended up in one quite like that.

There was no way it could be even remotely close to home.

Jesse closed her eyes, trying to push out all the thoughts keeping her mind awake. Her desperateness to know, starting to grow with every second.

She couldn't even think of a reason she or her friends would have want to leave beacontown for. Last thing she remembered, Petra had just returned from an expedition as well. So unless Jesse lost more than a few months, not even Petra would have had a reason to leave.

No matter how many minor reasons Jesse came up with, that could possibly have lead them to leaving Beacontown, she still couldn't think of a logical explanation for how she ended up in the situation she was in.

Jesse groaned softly, burying her face into the fabric of the couch she was lying on. She had to stop, she wasn't getting herself anywhere. All she was doing at that moment, was wasting precious time that she could have spent sleeping and recovering. She tried to focus her mind on something else. Intently listening to the crackling of the fireplace, or the howling of the wind outside.

And after a long time of simply lying awake, Jesse finally drifted off to restless sleep.

___

I forgot the header, goddangit. I'll add it tomorrow morning *facepalms*

And we're back at Jesse! Not the most active or exciting chapter, but it was necessary.

As of right now, Jesse is probably in the best position out of all the Order members. She has food, water, firewood... a lot of things to keep her going for a bit. But for how long will that last?

I actually don't have a ton to say about this chapter. I think I'll leave this A/N off here, as I have a feeling I'll have a lot to say at the end of the next chapter!

Be sure to leave any new thoughts or theories you have, in the comments - I love hearing them! Some of you have been pretty spot on with your guesses, while others are in for some hefty surprises... but hey, I'm not spoiling anything!

Anyhow, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I'll see you again in five days with chapter 6!