31-Day MCSM One Shot Challenge - February Edition 2019

Building Fear

"Wait till morning?! Are you out of your mind?" Jesse asked in horror, throwing her hands into the air. "My people could be suffering at this moment, and you want to stop to rest?"

"Hear me out, friend. All of us are tired and worn through." Jack said, the calmness in his voice wanting to make Jesse explode. "We don't even have a plan right now."

"Then we make one." Jesse said firmly. "The hell with rest, Beacontown is on the line here!"

"I'm with Jesse on this one." Petra said, crossing her arms. "I agree that we could all use a breather right now, but who knows what the Admin could be doing with our home."

"We haven't rested since we left the sunshine institute." Jack pointed out. "Sooner or later, adrenaline isn't going to keep you going any more. It won't help Beacontown in the slightest, if you collapse right within the admin's reach."

"Ugh." Petra kicked at the cobblestone ground in frustration. "You have a point. I guess."

Jesse turned away, raking her fingers through her hair. Her gaze fixed itself outside the large broken window of the temple, seeing Beacontown in the distance. Cast in a red glow, an unnatural structure floating right above it.

"Jesse?" Radar asked her in a small voice. "Jack's right... let's all rest."

"Fine."

Everybody exchanged glances, almost taken aback by the coldness in Jesse's voice. A blunt, almost aggressive response.

"We'll think of something, you hear me?" Petra said to her. "And once we have a few hours of rest behind us, we can go strip Romeo of his powers and beat him to a pulp."

"Sounds appealing to me." Jack said, grinning. "It's been too long since I used my fists."

"And we going to stand around and talk, or get this over with?" Jesse suddenly asked, turning back around. An unnaturally fierce look blazed in her brown eyes.

Nobody really said anything, but the atmosphere grew heavy between them. Lacking the usual confidence that Jesse was always sure to provide.

Only exchanging glances and nodding to each other, everybody found themselves a spot to sit down in. Radar huddled himself up in a corner by himself, while Petra and Jack both just slumped down against whichever wall seemed most comfortable.

Jesse sat down opposite the window that looked out on Beacontown, her eyes continuing to stare at her town in the distance. She lifted her head, feeling something nudge her arm.

Lluna snorted softly, giving Jesse another nudge with her head. Then she lay down behind Jesse, curling her neck around her from the side.

Jesse's expression softened the tiniest bit, hesitantly stroking the llama's soft white fur. For a second, the animal's reassurance made her feel better.

But then Jesse's face fell again, looking down at the stone bricks. Even Lluna she'd have to say goodbye to eventually... Stella would understandably want her back, once she's no longer stuck to the admin's side.

Jesse sighed heavily, allowing her tired body to sink to the ground, wrapping her arm between her head and the stone flooring to use it as a pillow. She kept her gaze on the window, staring out at Beacontown in the distance.

Biting the inside of her lip, Jesse forced her eyes shut. Maybe the others were right, maybe some rest was really what she needed as well.

It was becoming so hard to just stay... optimistic. How she always did it in the past, was beyond Jesse. Maybe it's just been too long since she had to stay confident in a tough situation, maybe she had just forgotten how hard it was.