It is about three weeks after Jay started going to the shrine. He is looking for Zane to tell him that he's heading out, but can't find him in the upper level of the temple. "This is stupid." He mutters, "Zane knows my routine by now, do I really have to tell him every time?" In Jay's most recent visit the doctor even said his asthma was well controlled.
He eventually finds Zane in the lair, he is plugged into the computer, either recharging, doing an upgrade, or something? Jay waves a hand in front of his face, "Hello? Zane?" He asks, then sees a note taped to the computer:
Press this button to wake, only do so if urgent.
"Well, I guess this isn't urgent." Says Jay before leaving. Cole was still asleep, but he had been doing this for weeks! They knew where he was.
He enjoys the walk to the shrine, the sun is out with a few wispy clouds. There is a slight breeze, and it isn't quite as warm as it was yesterday. Autumn was coming to an end, the leaves on the big tree at the shrine were almost all gone. Halfway there he wonders if he should have brought a jacket. Oh well, too late now.
Once at the shrine he gets to work, adding colour to one of his latest Nya sketches. He is so engrossed in what he is doing that he barely notices as the sun starts to fade, and the wind picks up. A water droplet landing on the paper grabs his attention, he looks up to see an overcast sky, as more droplets quickly add to the first. "Well, crap." He says while quickly packing up his things, shoving the precious art book and supplies back into his satchel. The rain continues to pick up as he looks around for shelter, the head of the dragon sticks out from the cliff face, so he climbs down from the platform, crosses the stepping stones and tries to shelter under the statue. Unfortunately the dragon head is quite high up, and the direction of the wind means he is still getting wet. Less so that if he was standing out in the rain, but still enough to cause a problem. "yup, definitely should have brought a jacket.. or checked the weather forecast.."
He pulls out his phone, before remembering there is no reception here, he goes to the chat with Zane anyway, realising with a sinking heart, that he forgot to share his location. He groans in frustration, "They don't know I'm out here.."
He has two options; wait here, or head back. Waiting here relied on the rain clearing before he froze, or his friends finding him before he froze. He couldn't rely on his friends coming for him, Cole might still be asleep, and Zane was tuned out from the world busy with his diagnostic or whatever. Who knew how long that would take. He looked up at the sky, this wasn't one of those fast moving summer storms that sped through and quickly moved on. Rain at this time of year could stick around for hours, or even all day. If he stayed here for hours, he could be in real trouble.. He starts shivering, the wind chill and spray already having an impact. He curls up, wrapping his arms around his legs, trying to stay warm while the rain continues to splatter him. If he went back, he should go now, while he still had energy and wasn't a frozen blob. I just need to make it to one bar lookout, then I can call for help, get Zane to pick me up in his chopper or whatever.. He ransacked his memories, trying to remember if there were any other spots where he could take shelter along the way. None sprang to mind, but he would just have to deal with that later.
He pulled out his phone, opening a chat with Cole and Zane, tapped share location, and typed:
Bluejay: Help! Rain caught me unaware, not dressed appropriately.
As expected he got the 'failed to deliver' message, but that meant his phone would resend it automatically as soon as he was in range. "Maybe moving will help me warm up.." he says hopefully. If he was going to move, he wanted to move quickly, so took out his inhaler and took a pre-emptive dose.
Jay stands up, brushing himself down. "Here goes nothing.." he says before dashing out of the shelter of the shrine. The cold rain quickly penetrates the rest of his clothing, but at least he didn't notice the shivering as much while he was in motion. He had hoped that running through the wooded area would give some shelter from the rain, but the water just falls down in larger blobs after collecting on the leaves. The rain continues to plaster him, cold and wet. If falls heavy and constant, sound echoing throughout the trees, his footsteps adding small rhythmic accents to the majestic drone.
He makes his way up the slope towards one bar lookout, by the time he reaches the top his lungs were complaining loudly. He wanted to check his phone, see if the message had sent, but breathing came first. He stops, pulling out his inhaler and takes a much needed puff. While he was waiting for it to take effect, he decides to look around to try and find some shelter. He futilely wipes some of the water from his face before turning on the spot, taking in the 360 degree view, looking into the distance for any sign of an overhang, cave, or similar. I would settle for or similar.. As he was focussed on searching, he wasn't paying as much attention to his footing. Placing his weight onto his left foot, he realises it wasn't fully on the path, heel overhanging into thin air. Fear grips him as he loses his balance, waving his arms to correct. "Shit, shit, SHIT!" he yells before he stabilises, a wave of relief washing through him. He barely has time to let out a small sigh before the soggy ground gives way, and he finds himself tumbling down the cliff.
He cries out in alarm, realising that no amount of arm waving could correct this one. He tumbles head over heels losing all sense of up.
"Oh FUCK!" he yells again as his body collides with something hard, pain shooting up his right side. At least he had stopped moving. He opens his eyes, head ringing, heart pounding, as he takes stock of his position. I'm alive, that's a good start. The first thing he sees is his sketch book, stuck in a bush. The angle is strange, which way was up again? He glances around, then back at the book, it was a bit further down the slope, pages flapping in the wind. His heart sinks, as he realises there is no way he could get to it safely. He is strung over one of the few trees growing on the steep slope. His satchel is still looped over his shoulder, but the flap is open, art supplies scattered. He realises he had been holding his inhaler, his hands were both now empty. He scrunches them up, then slowly uncurls them, checking they aren't hurt too bad. I'm alive and my hands seem ok. But no inhaler.. He looks back up the slope to try and see how far he fell. The scar of freshly disturbed soil goes up a fair way, at this angle he can barely see the top. "Guess I'm not climbing out of this.."
Pain continues to throb in his side as he pushes himself up into a seated position. As he repositions his leg, pain shoots through his left ankle, "yeah, definitely not climbing out of this.. I should have stayed at the shrine." He speaks through clenched teeth, hoping the pain in his ankle will fade, now he has stopped moving it. He is now stradling the trunk, one leg on each side, while he leans back against the muddy slope. He carefully pulls out his phone, heart sinking as the toolbar still says no reception, but when he opens the chat it has the little tick, showing his message was sent. He must have got reception for a moment when he was at the top. A small wave of relief washes through him. They know I need help, they know where I am.. He puts his phone back in his pocket, not wanting to drop it with all his other possessions. "I just need to sit here, and keep breathing until they find me.."
His shivering was back, but not much he could do about that now. He couldn't move, so there was no hiding from the rain. There was still a slight tightness in his chest, but for now he was getting enough air. He didn't have his inhaler, which meant he wasn't allowed to freak out. Freaking out always made it worse. It didn't matter that he was soaked to the core with freezing cold water, much like the water he almost drowned in, he wasn't allowed to freak out! He takes a deep breath and lays his head down on the mud, staring up into the sky. Rain looks funny from this angle, think about that, think about anything other than the fact water is trying to kill you again. "Nya, are you mad at me?" He asks, voice cracking. "Is this because I haven't found a way to save you yet? I don't know how! Please, tell me what to do!" This time talking to the water offers little comfort. Was the continued downpour an indication that she hadn't heard him? Or an indication that she had? A statement of her displeasure. He closes his eyes and takes another deep breath. It's probably just rain… probably.
Jay's thoughts continue to spiral, flashing between Nya, and drowning, waiting in the sub, waiting on the couch, waiting in an alleyway. Why was he always waiting for someone to come and save him? Why was he always wet and cold? Round and round his thoughts go, until his brain feels like cold wet mush. His breathing is a little strained, but doesn't seem to be escalating. Well, I think I have found a worse way to die than drowning.. He muses. His fingers and toes started to go numb a while ago, body still shivering uncontrollably, a small trickle of rainwater ran down the fresh scar, directly into his back. He had forgotten what it felt like to be warm and dry. He had no idea how long he had been here. It could have been minutes or hours. Maybe I could take a brief nap? His eyes felt heavy. He had been trying to stay awake, but was struggling to remember why.
The earth starts to tremble, and then some more soil and mud slips down the scar. It did that occasionally, small pebbles bouncing off his head. But he couldn't move, couldn't dodge, couldn't do anything but wait. What was I waiting for? The earth trembles again, with less dirt coming down this time. There was something unusual about the trembling, he frowns, trying to figure out what. Why is it so hard to think?
The earth trembles once more as a rock grows from the slope beside him. That's a weird landslide.. Jay thinks with confusion before Cole in a waterproof poncho lands on the newly formed rock.