12 Days Before Incident

It was quiet around the dining table. Nobody really said anything, their thoughts keeping them occupied. Petra, Axel and Lukas all seemed relatively calm, silently eating their food.

Olivia was looking restless, anxiously pushing her food around in her plate and glancing over at the window every now and then. She had received another letter from Redstonia that morning, explaining that the weather conditions were slowly continuing to deteriorate. Icy winds kept blowing in from the seaside every day, dragging down the city's temperatures.

Jesse was also silently picking at her food, more just distracted than anxious like Olivia. She had barely eaten anything since they sat down to eat.

"What did the vet say?" Jesse eventually asked, looking over at Lukas. "He came to check on the horse only an hour ago, didn't he?"

"He did." Lukas confirmed, looking up from his meal. "He's still uncertain as to what's wrong with her."

Jesse sighed, lowering her head back into one head and muttering under her breath in frustration.

"I'm sure she'll be okay?" Axel tried cheering Jesse up, giving her a pat on the back with his big hand.

"Yeah, yeah." Jesse just brushed her friend off with a sigh.

It was quiet around the table again, the atmosphere changing to an uncomfortable, heavy silence.

"Has there been any more news on Redstonia, Liv?" Lukas asked, trying to break the silence.

"Not since the letter that arrived this morning." Olivia responded softly.

"I mean, it's not 'town threatening', is it?" Petra pointed out. "They'll be fine, I'm sure!"

"I know, I know, I'm just paranoid." Olivia said with a sigh.

"Exactly." Petra responded, turning back to her food.

Thunder roared softly outside, causing everybody to glance up. Petra started to grin, loving every bit of rainy weather.

"Great, as if the weather hasn't given me enough sleepless nights already, I have to listen to this now?" Olivia said with a groan.

"How could rain possibly cost you a good night's sleep?" Petra asked, sounding astonished. "I never sleep as well as I do when it rains!"

"Maybe because we're different people with different opinions." Olivia muttered, glaring slightly over at the redhead.

"Okay, let's not start arguing over the weather of all things?" Lukas said, trying to keep the peace.

"I'm just going to call it a day." Olivia said, getting up from her chair and striding off.

"Huh." Petra leaned back in her chair, a smirk resting on her lips. "Usually I'm the one who'd leap up and leave the room fuming."

"You sound almost proud of it." Lukas responded raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe I am."

Jesse chucked slightly at her friend's words, before pushing her chair back and getting up as well.

"Are you done, Jesse?" Axel asked her in surprise. "You barely ate anything!"

"Not very hungry." Jesse said with a shrug, reaching out to take her almost full plate.

Before she could touch it however, Axel had quickly snatched the food for himself, excitedly saying he'll have it. Just rolling her eyes at her friend's antics, Jesse took Olivia's plates and carried them to the kitchen for the engineer.

Water was pouring down outside the kitchen window as Jesse slipped the dishes into the sink. She stared outside longingly, biting her lip slightly. It probably was not a good idea to go out in the stormy weather, but...

Jesse turned around on the spot, walking out of the kitchen and down the hallway. She hooked a black raincoat off of the coat rack, before stepping outside into the cold outdoor air.

Keeping the hood of the raincoat pulled over her head in attempt to stay dry, Jesse jogged through the rain in the direction of the stables.

She let out a relieved breath as she stepped into the cosy, dry, barn. Pulling off the wet coat as well as her mud streaked boots, Jesse began walking along the row of stalls.

The horses snorted excitedly when they noticed her, the grey mare letting out an excited whinny and the black gelding thrusting his head over the stall door. Jesse absent-mindedly pet his neck as she passed him, not hanging around to greet every one of the horses.

Finally she came to stop at the last stall, the one furthest away from the others. From the outside, it appeared empty, but Jesse knew it wasn't. Reaching out a hand, Jesse slid open the door and stepped inside the stall.

The mare looked up from her lying position on the ground, letting out a stuffy sigh before resting her head back down on the straw.

"Hey girl." Jesse whispered, kneeling down in the straw beside the mare.

She carefully tugged the mare's rug up higher to make sure she was properly covered, before stroking the horse's neck gently.

"I wish you could tell us what's wrong." Jesse whispered, subconsciously glancing up at the mare's still-full hay net.

She leaned her head down, resting the side of her face against the mare's flank, listening to her unnatural, yet somewhat soothing breaths.

"You're going to be okay... We'll find a way to make you better..." Jesse's voice trailed off slightly.

For a few minutes, it was completely silent in the barn, the only sound being the hammering rain on the roof. There was a sudden creak of the barn door opening, another figure stepping inside. Raincoat pulled over their head, water running down it's smooth, waterproof surface.

"Jesse? Jesse, you in here?" Petra asked as she tugged off her raincoat.

She hung it up right beside Jesse's raincoat, walking down the row of stalls. Almost knowing exactly where she was going to find her friend.

Petra stopped outside the last stall, peering over the half-door. Her eyes came to rest on Jesse inside, curled up against the horse on the ground. Her eyes closed, breathing rhythmical.

Petra chuckled, shaking her head to herself. "Such a classic Jesse-move."

Petra quickly unzipped the jacket she had been wearing beneath her raincoat, pulling it off. Not wanting to wake her friend, but also not about to leave her to get cold. Stepping into the stall, Petra simply draped the jacket over Jesse's shoulders, before turning around and stepping out again.

Closing the stall door behind her, Petra switched off the barn lights. There was a shuffle in the dark as she felt for and put on her raincoat, followed by the door creaking shut behind her.

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Jesse's eyes slowly fluttered open, sleepily staring up at the wooden barn roof above her.

She was lying in the straw bedding of the horse's stall, her clothes and hair covered in hay dust. Her entire body felt stiff and uncomfortably cold.

Letting out a yawn, Jesse rolled over and propped herself up on her elbows. It was no longer raining outside, the sky outside the windows a dull grey colour.

Jesse shivered slightly as she sat up, glancing around her. The horse was lying a bit away from Jesse, head resting on the bedding, eyes closed. There was also a blue jacket lying in the straw, looking like one of Petra's jackets. Jesse assumed her friend must have brought it to her during the night, since it was so cold.

Jesse stiffly go to her feet, stretching out her cold limbs. She picked up Petra's jacket, not even bothering to brush all the hay dust and bits of straw off, before slipping it on. The jacket was too big for Jesse, the sleeves dangling over her hands. But it was warmth nonetheless.

Yawning again and rubbing her tired eyes, Jesse stepped out of the stall and began walking towards the barn door. She wished she hadn't accidentally fallen asleep in there, it was way too cold.

Outside it was even colder than inside the barn, everything wet. The soggy ground squelched beneath Jesse's boots as she trudged away from the barn.

Sudden movement caught Jesse's eye, causing her to look up. She saw a figure walking up to the front door of the Order Hall, beginning to raise a hand to knock.

"Radar?" Jesse asked in surprise, stifling another yawn as she walked over.

"Jesse!" Radar's face quickly fell when he saw her walking up. "Are you... alright? You look like you-"

"-slept in a barn?" Jesse finished for him, chuckling vaguely. "That's because I did."

"Why?" Radar asked in horror, his voice rising a few pitches.

"I was watching over a sick horse." Jesse said with a shrug. "Guess I drifted off. Why are you here so early in the morning? Did another letter from Redstonia arrive?"

Radar quickly shook his head. "No, not that. But I don't have good news...I, uh, would like to discuss this with the entire Order, if that's okay."

"Give me two minutes." Jesse said, opening the door and gesturing for Radar to come inside. "I'm just going to have a quick shower and dress in something warmer, and then we'll be all ears."

Radar nodded, eagerly following Jesse inside the building, out of the cold. Jesse called a quick 'Morning!' over to Lukas and Petra who were sitting in the living room, leaving Radar with them before starting up the stairs.

Barely a few minutes had passed before Jesse came jogging down the stairs again. Her dull expression was swapped out for an alert gaze, damp chestnut hair pulled back in a ponytail, and dressed fresh, warm clothes.

The other four order members, as well as Radar, were all gathering around the dining table with mugs of warm drinks.

"Finally!" Axel said, as Jesse plonked herself down in an empty chair beside Olivia. "Radar's got me all anxious, but he won't say a word before you're here!"

Jesse completely ignored Axel, immediately turning to face Radar. "What's the bad news?"

"Redstonia isn't the only area with dropping temperatures all of a sudden." Radar blurted out, straight to the point. "Areas both North and East from Beacontown has also been reporting unnatural weather conditions."

"But those areas shouldn't be affected if these temperatures are coming in from across the ocean?" Petra pointed out, her brow furrowing.

"The temperatures clearly aren't brought over just from one area then." Radar said, taking out a photograph from his jacket's pocket and laying it down on the table for the others to see. "Temperatures are dropping below freezing point everywhere."

"Isn't this the desert near Boomtown?" Jesse asked in horror, seeing the snow-coated sandy landscape.

"It is." Olivia said, slowly clasping a hand over her mouth.

Axel's eyes were wide and round, and he seemed to be at a loss for what to say about the situation.

"It's like the cold is coming from all directions, slowly closing in on Beacontown." Jesse whispered.

"I don't understand what could be causing this." Lukas said, sitting back in his chair and biting his lower lip.

"I've sent messages out to every single town that has had contact with Beacontown in the past, for as far as possible." Radar said. "I have gotten no responses yet, but I only just contacted them a few hours ago. Soon, we should know exactly how far this problem is stretching."

"Talk about bizarre..." Petra mumbled.

"I was planning on heading over to Champion City today, hear if they're up to date with what's going on, or if they maybe even know more than we do." Radar added.

"That's a smart idea." Jesse said softly. "I surely hope this situation doesn't get too out of hand, at least not before we have a logical explanation for what is going on."

"Axel?" Petra asked, looking over at the big guy. "Have you heard anything from Boomtown, considering the condition the desert is in?"

"No." Axel said, shaking his head. "Magnus should have things under control in Boomtown, I'm sure of it. Besides, if disaster breaks out, it's every man for himself. That's just how it works back in Boomtown."

"I can't say I am that confident about Redstonia." Olivia said, stressfully rubbing her temples. "I don't want to do this, but... I think I should go back."

"You do that." Jesse said, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Your people need you right now."

"Thank you for understanding." Olivia responded softly, giving Jesse a small, anxious smile.

"Will you be alright, going alone?" Lukas asked her. "Or would you like any of us to come with you?"

"I'll be fine." Olivia reassured him. She looked over at Radar. "Any more news I need to hear, or can I go get a head start on packing some supplies?"

"No more news." Radar responded, to which Olivia swiftly nodded before getting up and walking away.

The others' anxious talking grew distant as Olivia walked up the stairs, disappearing inside her room. She ripped out an empty red suitcase from beneath her bed, throwing it open and swiftly beginning to toss clothes and other necessary items in. For once, the tidy engineer didn't care about doing it neatly.

Olivia yanked shut the suitcase as she finished stuffing her belongings inside. She grabbed a thick red coat, pulling it on and swiftly doing up the buttons.

Olivia was about to grab her suitcase and head back downstairs when her eyes caught sight of a photo lying on her bedside table. The New Years photo taken at the party, the one she was planning on getting framed.

Olivia reached out, picking up the photo and looking down at the smiling faces of her friends, grinning back at her from the glossy paper. Wanting a part of her friends with her on the journey home, Olivia slipped the picture into her jacket's pocket, before grabbing her suitcase and leaving the room.

___

I added the header, but for some reason it's not showing up and now I'm raging inside. I'll add it again too, but ugh!

Anyhow I don't know why, but all this incoming disaster really excites me. I'm sane, I promise.

So! This chapter is a bit shorter and more on the filler side of things, but it's still important. And hey, thanks to wifi issues, you guys are getting the next chapter in four days instead of five, so you don't have to wait much longer to get back into full action again. The next three chapters are all pretty freaking important to the plot!

Things are about to go tumbling down hill for the order, and I'm waiting for that with a demonic grin on my face like the author I am (let's face it, none of us are normal here XD)

Anyway, because it's a bit of a filler, even if it's an important one, I don't have a ton else to say. But I'm looking forward to hearing what you all have to say! Am I the only one with a strange addiction to reading comments? The more comments I get, the more it excites me-
So if ya'll have any new theories forming, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the situation!

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you all in four days with chapter 16! ...Crap, we're speeding through this book, I need to get a move on with the next one XD