Wake of the Dead | Two

Chapter Twenty-Three | Jasper & Killian

Killian's lips parted to deliver a stinging retort, but Jasper shook his head once. Killian hesitated for a few moments, then headbutted Jasper's shoulder to demand comfort. Burying his fingers into Killian's curls, Jasper admired the softness. "We were patrolling the area," He said shakily. Clearing his throat to stop the uneven wavering he continued. "Then we heard a growl. Out of nowhere, there were two biters. One—it didn't look like the others." Jasper narrowed his eyes, shaking his head. "It was skinny and agile. Quicker...maybe smarter. It tackled Wilson and..." His voice trailed off. Swallowing back a bitter bile that raised to the back of his throat he forced himself to speak.

"The thing tackled Wilson," Jasper repeated. "It tore into him, ripped him apart. The second biter bit his throat out. Then a ton of others showed up," Jasper noticed a sudden spark of interest in Cohen's eyes when he mentioned the biter that wasn't exactly like the others. "They all swarmed over him. The strange biter grabbed one of them and smashed its head in, then a few moved away from Wilson and started eating the dead biter."

A murmur of unease traveled throughout the room. "Casimir and I killed them. Then we ran. That's how we got here."

"It was right behind you," Aubrey said softly. In the silence of the room, it wasn't hard to hear her speak.

Jasper interrupted before anybody could saw anything. "It grabbed onto my ankle," he admitted. "It didn't scratch me though." He unlaced his boot and pulled up the bottoms of his pants, just to prove to the others he didn't lie. There was no need to cause a stir over people wondering if he'd gotten scratched, bitten or not. Jasper didn't know if people could get turned by being scratched, but he didn't want to find out.

Next to Tom, Cohen's expression was still unreadable--almost to an eerie extent. "You said one of the biters were...different." The doctor inquired, "Different how so?" A few strands of his dark hair fell in front of his eyes. Cohen tied his long hair back into a bun, adjusting his glasses back in place.

It only made sense for Cohen to be interested in the biters, Jasper reminded himself. The man was a doctor, he was bound to be intrigued. Shaking his head, Jasper closed his eyes tight. He didn't want to remember what it looked like. But maybe telling the group about it would be best. If some of the biters were changing, they needed to figure out how to differentiate between them and what dangers came along with each. "It was fast. Really fast. Skinny--almost like a skeleton, sunken eyes and exposed teeth. It moved kind of jerky, but not like its limbs were stiff. More like it moved so fast that when it was standing still it was just...surreal."

Explaining what the wretched creature looked like made Jasper feel cold. Like he wasn't himself. Surely something like that would never happen in front of him? Maybe it was all a bad dream. None of it was real. But if none of it was real, how long would he be dreaming? It wasn't until Killian nudged him that Jasper snapped back to reality, seeing everybody staring at him. Clenching his hands he continued, "It was completely bald...look, I don't know what to tell you! What else do you want me to say? It just..." Killian desperately tried to comfort him, but Jasper could feel his distress only beginning to grow more and more. "It fucking tore him apart. I couldn't do anything to stop it. I couldn't look away."

"Enough, Cohen." Tom's command was stern and strong, his eyes narrowing. "They need time to process everything, time to rest." Nodding to Samantha and Harley the group leader said, "Can you two start dinner while the others and I barricade the house? We don't know if they're still out there, we can't take any chances." He hesitated as his eyes reached Killian. He added carefully, "Take care of him."

"I don't need taking care of." Jasper replied on impulse, his muscles stiffening. Running his hands down his face, he could feel the cold sweat on his forehead. He didn't want to eat, he felt sick. But Jasper knew that would probably be the best thing he could do. When Tom and Killian exchanged small glances, Jasper knew they both guessed he was lying.