Jake definitely did not think his entry through. It was obvious that the only one that could've needed help was the leader with her medical work. Of course, Jake had no expertise on the field at all, although at least it looked like none of the group did besides her. Still, it could have been worse. The red-haired woman could have asked him to help drag away the corpse which was really starting to unnerve the man, for example...

Either way, he offered his aid and it was time to keep himself to his word. He nodded slightly and stepped closer to the 'operation'. The injured man was already getting stitched and bandaged up, the leader looked like she was a professional medic before being brought here. Quite fortunate, he thought as his own fresh wound was still aching. Maybe he will ask her to fix him up as well, she looked like she was almost done with her first patient anyways. There was not much he could do to assist there - not like he minded that. To still somehow show his intentions, he helped packing up the remaining medical stuff into a bag.

He also overheard the brief introductions - the woman's name, Elmina sounded very, [i]very[/i] familiar for Jake, but he could not put the picture together just yet. Even though he spent most of his last years before his capture in solitude and he did not meet too many people. His name memory was just horrible, partly because his mind was always occupied with data and his attention was at a hundred places at once when he was not focused on one thing.
There was not much time for such pondering anyways as more and more people joined the group. One older man brought along another injured, this one with what looked like a deep cut on his face. Elmina did not hesitate and beckoned them to come closer so she can tend his wound as well. Jake was about to unpack the meds once again, when she said [b]"Excuse me a second"[/b] and stood up. She was about to deliver a speech or something, he thought. At least give some directions. This was the fourth item on his list of essentials and if she had it, he did not mind following.

Before anything was said though, another man entered - or more like two and a half men in one. A six feet tall and wholly broad beast with his entire body being covered in tattoos. He looked like a tribesman from older times...exactly that kind of tribesman who would eat the foreign invaders alive. The man did not have many kind words for the group either. Obviously no one said anything back - who would want to anger this monster? Jake gulped and tried his best to ignore him. Yes, he was already surrounded with murderers and other horrible criminals [i]before[/i] he appeared, but none of them looked like that kind who could snap your neck in half a second if you talk to them wrong. Or, even if they could, it was not so obvious and intimidating than in his case.

Jake started regretting everything, not just his entry. How was he planning to survive for longer than a couple hours before his utter social ineptitude makes either the beast or anyone else snap? His chances were as nil as if he just set off into the forest alone. What is better, he wondered. Being brutally murdered or dying of starvation...?

Then suddenly, [i]Elmina mentioned computers[/i]. For him, that felt like a ray of hope piercing through the heavens, destined to save his ass from sure death, at least for now. Bonus points as even the beast-man decided to pull away from the group slightly, disgruntled.
[b]"That..."[/b] He stood up. [b]"That would be me."[/b] Although the fact that they had to go back to the same Apox centre he just fought so hard to escape from was less than pleasant, he would have given anything to get back to his comfort zone.

[b]"And believe me, no one is coming. Wherever we are, [i]Prime[/i] isn't watching."[/b]

That was the moment it all snapped into place for Jake. Elmina, computers, the Prime system. He finally remembered all the moments of the September of 2088, from the first conversation to the eventual attack on the UN machine. This Elmina was none other than the former UN medic Elmina Lennox, the one who gave him the access codes and went so far as to kill the highest-ranking officers to make the attack possible.
The two did not exchange any messages after that and Jake saw a cease of all her activity on the Outerweb in 2090. He wondered if she got caught. And here was the answer. 145 years later, they were once again standing besides each other, having survived what looks like the apocalypse. This could have been very romantic, he thought...if not for the current circumstances.
And also if not for the [i]second[/i] realization: it was quite likely him who caused all this. The virus in Prime, set to destroy it could have activated just recently, causing the fall of the Apox centre and the death of many. He did not really want to deal with this fact, but there was no denying it now.

[b]"Aand also believe me, I'm most probably the reason why. Elmina, remember that particular virus without an execution date...?"[/b]