S'haar was in the middle of her daily tour of the camp. It was usually uneventful, so she allowed her mind to wander a little as she walked. Day by day, it always seemed like so little happened, but looking back now, she couldn't help but think of all that had changed since Jack had fallen into his coma. They had four buildings up now, a billet for the workers, a woodworking hall, a smithy, and a warehouse. At the moment, the buildings were mostly empty, but Angela insisted they build them with the growth of the settlement in mind.

The billet was designed to sleep two to a room comfortably, but everyone had private rooms with at least a room or two between each worker. They were all situated around a large common room with a good-sized fire pit designed for cooking and storytelling.

The reluctant worker had left as soon as the snow melted. Lon'thul escorted him back to the village safely, made a report, and returned to continue in his role as the eyes and ears of the village while also supplying plenty of fresh meat to earn his keep.

The woodworker's hall could comfortably fit double what it currently housed with no further additions, but a portion of the building was also set aside to store tools and materials. If they were to put up another building nearby for storage, they could easily fit even more workers.

Fea'en had made sure all the stations were built to perfection. She'd taken her charges to task on more than one occasion when she found their work sub-par. S'haar honestly couldn't tell the difference between the quality work and the rejected attempts, but Angela had said to her, "That's what delegating is all about. You get the best person for the job, put them in charge, then let them do their job. If you have quality workers, a manager's job is more about seeing to it that their needs are met than babysitting."

The smithy felt empty, with only one worker present. Tel'ron often spent his days working in the woodworker's hall as a result. He and the woodworkers had gotten to know each other pretty well over the last few weeks. While the usual rivalry between woodworkers and smiths was present, it was mostly limited to good-natured fun in their small group.

However, if something needed any serious work done, Tel'ron was more than happy to utilize the new facilities. The smelters were located outdoors with a loose tent-like covering overhead, but they had a few good forges on the inside and an anvil made out of wrought iron with a steel face. Most of the anvils back at the village were currently made out of bronze, so this was a significant improvement. His eyes had practically leaped out of his skull when Em'brel told him of her plans for several such anvils, though they still only had the one for the time being.

It had taken Em'brel and Angela a bit of work to refit the mining suit for Em'brel to use, and even then, the girl had been timid in its use at first. But as she'd grown more and more accustomed to it, the work also went smoother. Though she still wasn't as fast as Jack had been. Angela said it had something to do with the suit requiring sustained exertion more than raw strength, probably because it had been designed with humans in mind. Still, they were mining iron ore much faster than any argu'n would typically have been able to.

S'haar smiled to herself as she thought of Em'brel. The girl's intelligence, courage, timidness, and natural beauty had endeared her to the entire camp and had created a bit of a rivalry between the only two boys of appropriate age. Tel'ron and Lon'thul were both falling over themselves to get Em'brel's attention, though as far as S'haar was aware, things hadn't progressed much past that point. They'd all been too busy, and the boys feared S'haar's or Fea'en's wrath if they were found slacking. So it was mostly limited to boasting around the campfire and trying to be the first to think of a new compliment for Em'brel each day.

As S'haar exited the smithy, Fea'en was waiting to address the new concern for the day. The older woodworker's arms were crossed in her typical stoic manner, though S'haar knew her well enough by now to know there was no hostility in her stance, and any irritation she radiated was directed at whatever got in the way of her work rather than any nearby person. Her voice was, as always, just as gravely and stoic as her stance. "Ground's too frozen to keep digging the palisade. However, we got the posts for the northern guard tower sunk, so we could keep working on that, or we could get started shaping the wood for the guardhouse that'll go near the gate. Your call."

S'haar thought for a moment before turning back to the master woodworker. "The guard tower is more important to get up quickly. If the guardhouse isn't up come spring, the guards will just have to set up a temporary station near the gate."

Fea'en nodded her understanding. "Makes sense. Give me a bit, and I'll let you know what we'll need in order to finish it up." Following that, Fea'en was off to seek out Em'brel so they could take another look at the plans the girl and the 'dragon' had drawn up together.

S'haar was pretty sure more wood was near the top of the list. They already had some shaped lumber ready to go, but it was best to split the woodworkers into two teams, one prepping the new wood and the other doing the construction. Besides, that meant S'haar got to use the chainsaw again. She wasn't quite as fast as Jack was since its use also seemed to take endurance to use, but she could definitely understand why Jack always seemed to be having so much fun while he used it. Eventually, her arms would feel ready to drop, and it wasn't as much fun anymore, but that first tree was always a rush. She smiled sadly to herself, imagining the wild grin Jack had plastered on his face the first time he showed her the chainsaw at work.

With a last look around the camp, S'haar's smile turned from sad to content. Everyone was where they should be, and the work was progressing smoothly. Well, one person was missing, but S'haar knew Em'brel and Fea'en were more than up to the task of keeping the missing individual on task.

-

Em'brel was walking out of the cave with the rolled-up plans for the guard tower. Sure enough, Lon'thul was waiting for her near the entrance of the cave. He looked at her with his large innocent eyes before speaking. "Want me to carry those for you?"

Em'brel looked at him with her head tilted to one side as she kept walking. "As always, I appreciate the offer, but as always, I'm perfectly capable of carrying some parchment that barely weighs a couple of pounds. Besides, don't you have some hunting to do?"

Lon'thul shook his head. "Nah, we've got enough meat stored up that we should probably eat from our reserves for a few more days before I go out again. We wouldn't want unused meat spoiling, which would result in the waste of animals that I could hunt later when we need the food. Today, I'm supposed to be working on digging out the well some more, though I don't know why you need it to be so large."

Em'brel shifted her load and picked up her pace a little forcing Lon'thul to adjust his own speed to keep up as she spoke. "I told you, we're not building this camp to accommodate the people here now, or even a couple months from now, we're designing it to accommodate the number of people who might be here a year from now! If your village is anything like my own, it's laid out in an ever-increasing sprawl that slowly expands as more people need more housing. What if we planned on the need to expand from the beginning? What if we organized everything with a larger population in mind from the beginning? That's what we're trying to do here and now."

Lon'thul nodded his understanding. Once he'd adjusted his speed, he was able to keep up with Em'brel due to his long stride, but he was still having to breathe a little heavier to speak while walking at this pace. Few men in the village could keep up with Lon'thul's pace, and he wondered where a noble like Em'brel gotten the endurance to set this kind of pace. Still, He was determined to show as little discomfort as he could while he spoke. "You make a good point, but it seems like it would just be easier to dig a second well when we need one. We'd already be done by now if this were a normal well."

Em'brel came to a halt as she shifted the scrolls to one arm so she could open the door to the woodworker's hall. She was about to reply when Fea'en's familiar gravelly voice cut in from behind the two of them. "I'm curious, boy, how do you plan on impressing the girl by complaining about the well she designed rather than making it a reality, the way Tel'ron is doing right now?"

Lon'thul froze mid-step, and Em'brel could practically hear the thoughts running through his head. His motivation had simply been to talk with Em'brel a little longer. He hadn't meant to diminish Em'brel's design. Now he had to decide between taking the time to defend his intentions or going and getting to work, so Tel'ron didn't get all the credit. He was caught in what Angela had once described as a 'catch 22.' It was a phrase named after a famous human book, and it meant that there was no right answer.

Finally, with a rueful smile, Lon'thul bowed his head in apology to Fea'en. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'll get to work right now." Turning to Em'brel, he added, "I can't wait to see what you make for lunch. I'm sure I'll work up quite the appetite making your vision a reality!"

With a wave, he ran off. Em'brel turned to Fea'en with a raised eye ridge. "I wish you all wouldn't give him such a hard time. Lon'thul has been working as hard as anyone else here."

Fea'en tilted her own head as she watched the boy leave. "He's a good kid. With a bit of luck, he might even turn out to be a good man. Right now, he's still a little too naive, and sometimes he needs a bit of a kick in the rear to get him moving in the right direction. Despite taking the lives of so many animals, he still doesn't realize how cruel and uncaring the world we live in can be, and how quickly things can go wrong if we aren't prepared."

Em'brel grew quiet as Fea'en's words sunk in. She knew what the woman meant. That was a lesson with which Em'brel was all too familiar. Some days it was all she could do to put a smile on her face when going out to face the same world that had taken both her father and Jack from her. Then she remembered something Jack had once told her when she asked how he'd dealt with his own loss years ago. "You have to set goals for yourself. Not something far fetched or obscure like 'I want to be wealthy' or 'I want to be happy.' No, instead, you set realistic, achievable goals. For instance, when I got here, I needed to get a local guide, check. I needed to get to the village and establish a rapport with the people there, check. I needed a sled and then a wagon, check, check."

Em'brel had nodded but felt like he was asking the impossible. However, Jack wasn't done. "Some days, the bad days, that can be too big a goal to handle. Instead, you set smaller goals just to keep you moving. Something like, 'I'm going to get out of bed and take a shower,' or 'I'm going to clean my room,' etc. Then there are the terrible days, days were an hour away is just too far. Those days your goals can be as simple as, 'I'm going to take another step,' or 'I'm going to sit up.' The key is to keep moving forward. No matter how slow or small your progress is, as long as you move forward, you're moving in the right direction."

Em'brel nodded her head to the Jack in her mind and pushed open the door to the woodworker's hall. At the memory of Jack and his comforting smile, her own smile had returned, and she got started on her next goal. "Ok, I've got the plans for the guard towers right here. Let's get them laid out on the table and figure out what our first step should be!"

Fea'en followed the younger girl inside. At first, she'd just been humoring the girl when she'd presented her plans for the first building after Em'brel had taken over where Jack had left off. However, Fea'en had quickly discovered the girl really knew what she was talking about and listened intently as she described what she wanted.

Looking at the plans, Fea'en offered a few recommendations or corrections based on her own expertise, and Em'brel incorporated them into her plans without hesitation.

Fea'en couldn't help but appreciate how nice it was to work with someone who knew what they wanted while also respecting an expert's advice. In her experience, those two things never existed in the same job at the same time. Initially, Fea'en had only come out here to get things started in the camp and make sure her workers were safe, but between the people running the place and how comfortable the living conditions were, she was beginning to think of making the move permanent.

-

Angela rode along with S'haar and Em'brel as they worked throughout the day. She also kept an eye on the surrounding wildlife and weather, focusing on anything else that could further threaten her family.

All this was done while a small portion of her attention remained focused on Jack. She'd cataloged every twitch, murmur, and even changes in breathing and heart rate. The changes were all subtle, but it was enough to indicate to her there was some activity going on in his mind, and she held onto the hope that gave her the same way a drowning man might hold onto a life preserver tossed his way.

She tried never to let on to the girls how scared she was of losing Jack. They had more than enough worries of their own, and she could tell they used her hopeful demeanor as a source of strength. She never said how bad Jack's coma was, but she could tell as time went on, they were starting to suspect for themselves.

Based on his lack of response to stimuli after the first twenty-four hours, Jack's likelihood of waking up dropped to something like thirteen percent. As the days passed and he remained unresponsive, his odds continued to fall. Most coma patients would either wake up in under five weeks or stay unresponsive for the rest of their lives. Every day dragged them closer to that deadline, and Jack remained unresponsive.

Angela ran through the test again, just like she did twice every day.

First, she tested for any response to verbal stimulation. "How are you doing today, Jack? Can you hear me? If so, can you open your eyes?"

No response.

Second, using a robotic arm set up next to his bed, she applied pressure to the nail on his index finger for ten seconds. Enough to be described as an 'uncomfortable pressure' but not enough to do any damage.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Seven.

Eight.

Nine.

Ten...

No response.

Third, she applied the trapezius pinch. It is a pinch applied next to the patient's neck to stimulate pain but isn't enough to cause any real damage. She squeezed for ten seconds.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Seven.

Eight.

Nine.

Jack's elbow slowly bent, and his arm came across his body. Angela was so stunned she forgot to release her grip for one-tenth of a second. That was clearly abnormal flexation, but still a response to pain. That made his score five out of a possible fifteen. It was still a low score, but it was also the highest he'd scored since he was first brought in by Em'brel.

-

As Jack continued walking along the road in the middle of nowhere, he heard Angela's usual questions. Sure, she'd talk to him throughout the day, but every so often, she went through this same pattern of questions. Jack tried to shout out his responses, but nothing seemed to penetrate the gloom of the space he found himself in. But this time, shortly after the usual questions and his shouted response, his shoulder started hurting. Jack's arm shot up to his shoulder as he swore under his breath.

That's when he heard angela's surprised voice. "You... you felt that? Jack, can you hear me? If you can, you better get your butt back here! We're running out of time!"

Jack looked down the road, stretching out in front of him, and picked up his pace a little. He still had a long way to go, but he finally felt like he was making progress.