Jesse's grip on the reins tightened as she anxiously adjusted her seat in the saddle. Her back was sore from hours of riding, but stopping wasn't an option. Not yet anyway.

Glancing sideways, Jesse looked over at each of her travelling companions. Petra was riding slightly ahead of her. She didn't appear tired like the rest of them, sitting upright in the saddle. Her blue eyes were troubled, a permanent frown edged into her forehead. Much like Jesse she would constantly glance around, her fists securely wrapped around the reins of her horse.

Olivia was riding on the other side of Jesse, their horses matching stride. There was a distant look in the engineer's eyes as she gazed down at her horse's mane, not seeming to register what was going on around her. She hadn't spoken a word in hours, their dire situation clearly weighing on her in a different way than it did the others. It was understandable considering what she's already been through.

Adjusting her seat in the saddle once more, Jesse focused her gaze ahead at the beautiful landscape in front of them.

It was a warm summer's day, the blue sky cloudless and the sun beating down on the lush green forests and fields. Birds could be heard singing in the trees, squirrels darting after each other between the branches. A clear stream was steadily flowing not too far from them, the sound of it's rushing water a reminder of all the rain that had already fallen that month. The world looked so peaceful and happy from afar, everything appearing to be nothing short of perfect.

It was a cruel reminder of how deceiving looks could be.

Jesse grimaced, closing her eyes and titling her head down. It felt like her whole life had been thrown upside down, after everything had taken a turn for the worse.

Everything started less than a month ago, at the end of spring when the first Beacontowners fell sick. It would have been mistaken for a common case of the flu, if it weren't for the strange purple rash that began to spread across their limbs after the first day or two. The victims quickly proved to show no response to any regular treatment as they steadily began to grow weaker before inevitably dying. And then, more people started getting it.

Nobody had expected the situation to escalate as quickly as it did. By the time people had noticed that something was seriously wrong, it was already too late. There wasn't much left that could be done as the large city's numbers began to go down, hundreds at a time.

As the Order, Jesse and her friends had tried everything they could. Olivia and Lukas both began to study the mysterious illness, trying to get to the bottom of it without exposing themselves. Olivia had discovered ways to treat parts of the disease, but no actual cure. Jesse, Petra and Axel focused on trying to help what was left of Beacontown, supplying the citizens with any resources they may need in an attempt to keep everybody who still appeared healthy, isolated.

Fortunately the three of them hadn't been working together closely, because one morning the mysterious purple rash had begun spreading across one of Axel's arms.

It was devastating to the entire Order, knowing one of their friends had limited time left and there was absolutely nothing they could do about it.

Jesse shifted uncomfortably in the saddle, the thought alone causing a knot to form in her stomach. That was the day things truly went to hell.

Olivia had been the only one to interact with Axel that day, and immediately isolated both of them from the rest of the group. She had known it was already too late for the both of them, and used her time looking after Axel, to continue studying the disease. The other three divided their focus between supplying both the remaining Beacontowners and their friends with resources.

Axel only had days left, by the time they realised they needed a new plan of action. Jesse, Petra and Lukas had set out for the only place they hoped to still find help at, Redstonia. However with the old Order's minecart system completely broken apart, they had to go the long way.

The group had only been gone from Beacontown for a day, when Olivia unexpectedly caught up to them. They hadn't seen their friend face to face in weeks, despite having her in the same building as them, and had expected her to be on death's doorstep much like Axel.

"I didn't want to take any chances at first, but after the first week I began getting the feeling that I wasn't going to get sick." Olivia had said as she rode alongside them. "There's always a percentage of people who are naturally immune to a virus. I've been exposed to it for nearly three weeks now, and I'm still fine."

They were all obviously relieved that their friend was okay, and more importantly going to be okay. Jesse had asked why Olivia didn't leave with them right away and instead caught up later. The question had brought a sad gaze to Olivia's eyes.

"Axel didn't have much time left." She had said softly, not making eye contact as she spoke. "I wanted to be there for his last days."

Even though she hadn't said it, everybody knew what Olivia meant. Silence had clouded over the small group as they all accepted the devastating truth. The Order was down to four.

As heartbreaking as it was, they all knew they had to go on. Olivia had explained that she was been able to study the disease in a lot more depth, and discovered more about it. She was confident that with some more time, researching, and experimenting, she could unearth the secret to finding a cure.

So the group had split up again. Lukas decided to ride the last stretch to Restonia on his own, to see whether he could find any help. Jesse and Petra both chose to accompany Olivia to a place where she hoped to find the answers she was looking for. That had been almost 48 hours ago.

Shaking the thoughts away, Jesse squirmed in the saddle again. She just couldn't get comfortable any more, her body was begging for a break.

"Are we still on the right track?" She decided to ask, looking over at Petra.

"Pretty sure we are." The redhead responded, pulling a faded map out of her saddle bag with one hand. Her blue eyes scanned it swiftly, before she looked up again. "These landmarks are pretty vague, but if I'm correct, then we're making really good progress."

"That's good." Olivia said softly, speaking for the first time in several hours. "The sooner we reach the mushroom forest, the better."

"Have you ever actually been there?" Jesse asked, once more shifting in the saddle. "I've only ever heard of mushroom islands, never of a mushroom forest."

"It's deep inside a jungle, which makes it difficult to find." The engineer explained, tucking a strand of curly black hair in behind her ear. "Ellegaard told me about it."

"I hope it has what you need." Petra said, glancing back worriedly. "I hate knowing there's something out there that we don't have any way of beating yet."

"Certain medicinal mushrooms are all that has worked against this so far." Olivia said, taking a deep breath. "I've only been able to treat some of the symptoms, but I'm hoping I can find a way to create a cure from them."

"It is the best bet we have so far." Jesse said softly, shaking her head. "Let's just... hope for the best." She couldn't think of anything more motivational to say.

"Why don't we stop for lunch?" Petra suggested, trying to break the tense atmosphere as she gently pulled on her horse's reins. "I'm absolutely starving!"

Jesse immediately pulled her horse to a stop as well. She wasn't hungry in the slightest, but desperate to give her body a break.

They had reached the stream, and the horses immediately dipped their muzzles into the fresh, clear water. Jesse, Petra and Olivia all sat down on the soft green grass, watching the horses. Jesse's mind was a million miles away, not hearing a word of what Petra was talking about. She glumly looked down to the sandwich in her hands with absolutely no appetite. The thought of eating almost made her feel sick. Shaking her head to herself after a few minutes, Jesse took a small bite of the food.

"I hope Lukas made it to Redstonia okay." Olivia said, looking up from her own lunch. "And that they're not in the same situation as... as Beacontown."

"Me too." Petra agreed, taking another bite from her sandwich and continuing to talk mid-chew. "But he knows where we're going and has a map, he'll follow us if things doesn't go as planned."

It was silent between the three girls again.

Jesse had stopped eating, returning to gaze at the horses. Petra's horse had stepped into the stream with his front legs, seeming to enjoy the feeling of the cool water around his legs. The other two horses were both grazing contentedly, swishing their tails to chase away away the occasional fly.

"Aren't you hungry, Jesse?" Olivia asked, noticing the half eaten sandwich that Jesse wasn't paying any attention to.

"Not really." Jesse admitted, slipping it back into the paper bag with her other sandwich. "I'll just grab something later."

"That's what you said this morning as well." Petra pointed out.

"We're all stressed out, Jesse, but you've gotta eat." Olivia added gently.

"Liv's right." Petra said, reaching over to put a hand on Jesse's arm. "You need to stop worrying.... this much..." He voice trailed off, eyes narrowing.

"What?" Jesse asked, taking the redhead's sudden silence as an excuse not to respond to her friends' fussing. She hadn't bothered to look up and actually meet Petra's eye.

"I think I know exactly where your appetite's gone." Petra whispered, pulling Jesse slightly closer and reaching over to feel her forehead. "That's definitely a fever."

"Wait, what?" The colour visibly drained from Olivia's face, her own lunch sudden forgotten.

"That can't be, it's just hot out." Jesse sat, swatting Petra's hand away. "I feel fine."

"No, you are burning up." Olivia said seriously, also pressuring a hand to Jesse's forehead. "No wonder you've been looking so pale on the last few miles."

"Okay, but... how do we know what this is?" Petra's usually confidence voice wavered anxiously.

Jesse reached up a hand, raking her fingers through her dark chestnut hair. As she did, she too felt the unnatural heat radiating from her skin. Suddenly she was questioning every little detail of that day so far. Was the heaviness in her eyelids really from the bad night's sleep? Was that distant headache really just from all the stress?

"Jesse, are you sure you're feeling okay?" Olivia insisted.

"Other than not having an appetite at all, I just feel... really tired." Jesse admittedly, suddenly no longer trying to deny that something might be wrong.

"This is bad, I thought we were safe out here." Petra said, getting to her feet and raking her fingers through her red hair.

"Technically we should be, if this is the virus that's been going around, Jesse must have picked it up back in Beacontown." Olivia said softly, her voice low and afraid.

"Doesn't that mean..." Jesse began, uncertainly looking up at her friends.

"You're already contagious, have been for a while." Petra finished grimly. "Which means I'm bound to get it too."

An uncomfortable silence hung over the small group, everybody weighed down with a mixture of new emotions. Uncertainty. Fear. Hopelessness.

At first, Jesse felt almost numb towards the whole realisation. It was like her mind refused to accept the possibility and simply wrote it off. But as the minutes ticked by, the numbness was replaced by a growing storm of panic raging within her.

Suddenly everything felt incredibly real. She was going to get sicker and sicker until she died, and there was almost nothing they could do about it.

"We're going to figure something out, Jesse." Olivia said softly, having noticed the tears beginning to pool in her friends eyes.

"We won't let this take us down." Petra added, although her own voice had started to quiver. "I refuse to let it."

No other words were spoken as the three of them huddled together, hugging each other tightly. Despite the confident words they had spoken, silent tears still made their way down Olivia's face, while Petra gnawed on her bottom lip anxiously. It was a large gamble, but they had no choice but to continue on their journey and hope for the best.

"Come on, guys." Petra was the first to break the embrace, putting on a determined expression. "We only have a few hours of daylight left, let's make the most of it."

Jesse and Olivia nodded, getting to their feet in silence. Jesse could feel her friends' eyes on her as she made her way back to her horse, watching her. She didn't blame them.

The gelding let out a soft wicker as his rider approached, giving Jesse a gentle nudge with his muzzle. She gave him a shaky pat, her mind too preoccupied to properly focus on her horse. Jesse's movements were slow and heavy as she adjusted her stirrups and tightened her girth again, before slowly putting her foot in the stirrup. She gritted her teeth, heaving her sore body over the saddle with difficultly.

Petra had stopped adjusting her own tack, her troubled gaze focussed on Jesse. She watched her friend mount in silence, before effortlessly vaulting into her own saddle and almost immediately steering her horse towards Jesse.

"How long have you been stiff like that?" She asked under her breath.

"Only this morning really, I... I though I was just getting saddle sore." Jesse admittedly sheepishly.

She'd already realised what Petra was getting at, and wanted to kick herself for not noticing one of the most obvious signs that something was wrong. Of course, she's only been on a horse for what? Two days? They'd had way longer journeys than that, and she almost never felt that uncomfortable.

"Olivia, I know this is difficult, but you looked after Axel." Jesse said softly as the three of them began to ride again.

"How bad is this going to get and how fast?" Petra asked, before Jesse could finish.

"This disease is a cruel, slow killer." Olivia said softly, not looking her friends in the eye as she spoke. "It started off like nothing, it was just... flu like, really."

"Reminds me of having Wither sickness." Petra replied grimly, her blue eyes darkening. "You think you can manage at first, but then you just keep getting worse."

"It's awfully similar." Olivia said, shuddering. "The rash will start spreading in a day or two from now. I don't know what it feels like, but Axel could never leave it alone, he would scratch at it till his arms bled."

Jesse glanced down at her own arms. Her tan skin was clear and smooth, if looking a little pale at that moment. Even though it was the least of her worries, that was the part she found herself dreading.

"The symptoms are so varied, it was hard to keep track of them." Olivia went on softly. "Before Axel got sick and I was observing the Beacontowners, it was sometimes hard to believe they all had the same illness because of how differently they were affected. Most suffered for weeks before they died."

"As horrible as that is, at least we have time." Petra said, looking over at Jesse. "We just have to get you to that forest, and you can rest there while Liv look for a cure."

"Petra, do you think we can get there before the end of this week?" Olivia asked, looking over at the redhead anxiously. "I don't know for how much longer after that Jesse will be able to ride. And you're probably going to start getting sick too, by then."

Fishing the map out with one hand, Petra studied it closely.

"I don't know." She admitted. "I think so, but it depends on the terrain and the weather entirely. If the whole journey is as easy as it has been? Definitely."

"Then there's hope." Jesse said, smiling weakly as she looked between her friends.

Despite the fear that pulsed through her veins, she was confident enough to feel optimistic. If only that optimism could last.