Glory And Gore

Chapter One

Shane continued to work. "Fine. Then just people. You need people to survive, Levy. It ain't just about the dead no more, and you know that."

That she did. Still Levy didn't answer as she put her entire focus into the task at hand.

Watch was boring, in Cas's opinion. There was a level of importance in it, sure, but it was dreadful to sit up on the second floor classroom and stare out a window with the impression of someone rolling up that was a serious threat.

The dead were passing by, surprisingly, ever since Zay had the idea of putting up a few rotted bodies to cover their scents after hearing a story from Shane about his Atlanta days. He hadn't been there for most of the story, but Shane swore up and down that his old group still smelled of rotting filth when they arrived back to the camp.

Cas expected that ignorance to change at any time.

"Hey." Ae Ri's accent made its way to him easily. She sat down on one of the desks that wasn't bloodstained and pulled her legs up to cross them. Cas nodded to her, and she stared at him with that reading gaze of hers. "Rory said your nightmares are back."

It was the same thing. Shane had tried to be cruel with him, tried to force him to overcome his fears, but he backed off every time, the ghost of someone or something reminded him that it wasn't always the way. But Cas could not get over the idea that one day he may have to kill someone. Or, if he didn't, that it'd result in someone he cared for dying.

Only a few had done it. Shane had. Maverick had. Probably Levy. But Cas couldn't quite bring himself to just do it.

It was something he had to get over. They wouldn't be lucky for much longer.

"Not a big deal," Cas replied, shrugging his shoulders. He looked out the window, finding a new interest in standing watch now. "I'll get over it."

"I thought I told you tell me anyway," Ae Ri shot back, smiling at him. She tapped on his legs. "Hey. We're in this together, remember? Have been since we were together at the school for that first day. You and me, the obvious guys out."

Cas grinned as he thought to back then. It had been such simple times. They were the first foreign exchange students at that school, and they were not well received. By anyone. Even the Asian-Americans seemed keen to stick their noses up at Ae Ri, no matter how hard she tried. To think those were their problems, once upon a time.

He looked over at her, and he took her hand. "I'm fine, Ae Ri. How are your lessons with Rory and Maverick going?"

Her cheeks darkened. "I still suck," she muttered, tapping her fingers against her shoes. "Self defense, and I'm failing miserably. Only reason I made it this far is because you pulled me into that closet and kept me quiet until the screaming stopped."

"That's not true." Cas knew it wasn't. Ae Ri wasn't tough, but she was great at a ton of things he wasn't. "You're really perceptive- notice a ton of things before I do. Remember that time you saw the traps?"

The traps had been big. Too big for smaller prey. Cas never spent too long dwelling on what may have been made of them both.

"Mind if I watch the other side?" Ae Ri asked, jabbing her thumb in the direction of the opposite side of the hall. "I know not a lot of dead even go over there, but maybe someone would notice that."

Cas lifted his hand. "Go for it," he said, and Ae Ri smiled at him before bounding off.

He turned his head to look out the window again, but he brought his frame of view closer in. Levy and Shane usually skinned whatever prey was caught together, with various members joining for various amounts of time. Either they finished early, or it was one of the rare times that Levy just didn't feel like doing it.