Wake of the Dead | One

Chapter thirty-four

"Isn't that the truth," Diego muttered, taking a swig of his water. "Same reason I never paid child support." A few snickers spread throughout the group, but Killian was beginning to feel a cold sweat bead on his forehead. 

Thankfully, Jackson noticed Killian's discomfort. He stood up and stretched, "Alright, I'm going out for a hunt. Too restless. Wanna come with?" He added to Killian. Silently thanking his cousin, Killian remembered that nobody else in the group was really a hunter. Getting away from them with an excuse would be the best way to clear his mind freely. Nodding, he stood up and hiked his crossbow over his shoulder. Leaving the campfire side, Killian followed Jackson out of the abandoned patch of woods in an old park that they'd moved to, just on the outskirts of the town. 

The gaze of Jackson burned into Killian's skin as he stared at the ground, hands in his pockets and focusing on nothing but his footsteps. The pavement was rough on the ground, an old car crash littering pieces of metal across the road. Soon they came to the end of the town, where the backroads moved away from the highway and a massive patch of woods put a distance between the town and countryside farms. Crickets chirped, stars gleamed cold and unwelcoming in the blackened night sky. It was hard to see with only small bits of moonlight filtering through the sparse branched above to light their way. 

After what felt like forever, Jackson broke the silence. "Looks like they believed you." He said, glancing at Killian very briefly. Killian still focused on the ground below him, his cheeks heating up with an embarrassing flood of emotions. He'd always hated the idea of being close to somebody. Never interested in relationships, he'd never truly had romantic feelings for anybody; he didn't even know what those sorts of things felt like. "But I know you well enough to know you're lying. You've never set your eyes on anybody before." There was a long, long pause. "Not the way you looked at him, at least." 

With his breath catching almost violently in his chest, Killian forced himself to squash down the panic beginning to rise up, swallowing back a harsh bile that formed in his throat. "Obviously you didn't like that girl, but I know you cared about Jasper--you two were really good friends. But Killian," When Killian turned to look at Jackson, shrouded in the shadow of a large tree, his stomach sank. Something about that shadow was familiar. "You don't belong there with them." 

It felt like somebody had hit Killian with a truck. His breath stuck in his throat, he took a step back, his eyes widening a bit. "You," His voice shook, "You were the one who attacked me that night." 

The other man knit his brows with confusion, but his eyes grew cold. "Killian I don't know what you're talking about," He said. "There's no way I could have strangled you, we didn't even know you were all at the motel." 

A sickening twist in his gut make Killian take another step back, keeping a hand on his knife. Right now, he wasn't angry about the betrayal. That would come later. Now, he was scared for his life. "Jackson," He said carefully, "If that's true, then how do you know they strangled me when they attacked me? How did you know we were at the motel? We never told you that." 

The other man's face hardened, as if somebody had flipped a switch. Killian almost tripped over a tree root, his heart hammering hard in his chest. "Why?" He demanded. "Why did you do that to me?" 

Jackson's voice was so cold that it sent a shudder down Killian's spine, dread falling down on his shoulders like an unbearable weight. "If you didn't feel threatened, you wouldn't have wanted to leave them. It was only good luck I was hunting late that night, tracking a deer that would have fed the gang for days. Only better luck that your friend happened to bring a patrol to the town looking for supplies." He took a step forward, his eyes softening, "I'm sorry, but you belong here with us. Of course," He added, "I also didn't want you to get caught in the crossfire." 

"Crossfire?"

"Of course," Jackson said, and Killian's belly flip-flopped over and over at the casual tone in his cousin's voice. Like he wouldn't expect Killian to be terrified, as if this was all normal. "I couldn't tell you, but Renier made me track them to make sure they left our territory. And that place they found to camp? Overrun. But they took care of it." He added as an afterthought, "Of course we want that for ourselves now. But the only way to do that is to make sure they're gone for good."

Knitting his brows together Jackson said, "But they hurt you. You couldn't possibly care about them now, could you? Your best friend didn't even stay with you. Aren't you mad about that?"

Forcing a shockingly convincing, bitter laugh, Killian spat, "Of course I am. When are we going to kill those fuckers?"

Jackson wrapped an arm over Killian's shoulders, "First thing tomorrow, before the sun's up when they're sleeping." A sadistic grin cross his older cousin's lips, "Glad you haven't gotten soft, kid. Else Renier would have probably killed you by now." He tapped Killian's chest playfully, "Luckily, you're cousin's got your back, right?" 

"Right," Killian agreed with a small nod. After turning around and heading back towards their camp Killian added, "Well, I've got to get some hunting done. How about I meet you back at camp? I know we've got to eat in the morning. Don't want to kill on an empty stomach, right?" 

Knitting his brows together Jackson said after a long pause, "Can we trust you?" 

Swallowing back a wave of overwhelming terror Killian said, "Of course you can. Why would I want to keep them safe? All they've done is hurt me."

The other man's gaze softened, and he pulled Killian into a brief hug. "Good. It's nice to have you back, kid." 

Killian stood there as Jackson headed away, whistling a merry tune under his breath. Running a hand through his hair, Killian clenched his teeth. Jackson knew he was lying. Just like he'd said when Killian had lied about liking Aubrey, he knew Jackson could tell that he was lying now. His cousin was going to tell Renier. 

But...he'd given Killian a head start. 

One he wasn't planning to waste.

Without another thought in his mind, Killian whipped around and began sprinting in the direction of the farmhouse.