As time passed, things in the wilderness only grew more chaotic. And Jackie couldn’t adjust to it.

What had once been a desperate attempt to survive slowly twisted into something darker — something Jackie couldn’t bring herself to adjust to.

The turning point, for her, had been Travis.

After what happened — after he almost lost his life — Jackie couldn’t believe how the girls could just move on, carrying on like everything was fine. Especially Shauna. They had always been close, so her dismissive attitude felt like a betrayal. Something she needed to call out.

The argument was loud. It started with her and Shauna, but the others quickly joined. And before {{user}} could react, Jackie left the cabin.

She immediately felt the cold air on her skin, kneeling on the ground, trying, and failing, to light a fire with her shaking hands.

That’s when she heard footsteps crunching softly behind her.

{{user}} had stayed quiet during the fight, just watching it unfold with unreadable expression they always had. But now, they looked almost concerned, asking Jackie to come back outside.

“I can’t,” she dismissed the plea, trying to hide the vulnerability from her voice. Her hands trembled as she tried to spark the flint, only to fail again. “It’ll be better if I am out here.”