Wake of the Dead | Two

Chapter Nine | Jasper

"That's better," Aubrey sniffed contemptuously. Eyeing Jasper suspiciously, she followed his gaze towards Killian. To Jasper's dismay and embarrassment, her eyes lit up with a sudden revelation. Jasper cleared his throat loudly and gave the young woman a pointed glare. Doing her best to suppress her impish giggles Aubrey continued, "When you've quite finished 'spacing out,' have you gotten all of our stops memorized? What about backup plans if we get separated?"

"There's a group of backroads we can take," Killian suddenly said. His tone was sharp, confident. "So we won't have to be on the main road or in the woods. Some people still might be there, but chances are they'll be taking them because they want to avoid a fight, just like us." He paused for a few moments, "Or they'll be looking to ambush people from the woods. But you're all lucky to have me; I can navigate any woods like the back of my hand. If there's trouble, I'll get you all out of it."

Tossing the map back over to Jasper, the young man a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. It was an almost impish grin—Jasper couldn't help but share it. Killian was smart and he knew it. "As for a place to meet up if we're all separated, that won't happen if you don't wander off and stick with the group. Any backup plans can be improvised along the way, since the map doesn't show many resting spots. I wager we'll find a gas station about halfway there on the main road; if push comes to shove we can camp there for the night."

Raising a single brow, Aubrey crossed her arms but didn't argue. Chris nodded, while Harley replied with a timid, "Sounds good." 

An impressed expression crossed Darren's face as the other man tilted his head to the side, "Looks like maybe you should lead the mission instead, Killian." He nudged Jasper playfully, "After all, this one keeps insisting he's not a good leader." Jasper swallowed back a sharp retort. Although he knew Darren was only joking, that comment was still a bit of a punch to the gut. It wasn't as if he lacked leadership skills, he just didn't want to be in charge of others. Telling people what to do always felt awkward to him. Who was he to command other people's actions? 

To Jasper's relief, Killian spoke up. "No, the big guy can handle all of that. I'm just a good navigator." He shrugged, "Anyways, we should gather all the supplies we had and prepare to leave in the morning. The sooner we get there and come back, the better. Things aren't going to be easy for us just because we sit inside." 

"Right," Jasper agreed with a quick nod. Standing up, his jaws parted into a big yawn, stretching out his arms. To his amusement, he could have sworn Killian was staring at the corner of his eyes. "Everybody be up by sunrise. We'll organize ourselves and then move out." With everything settled, the patrol group went their separate ways and began to carry out the tasks they wanted to take care of before they left. Killian stood by Jasper's side even as the others left, as did Darren. Raising a curious brow Jasper said, "What's up?" 

A chill ran down Jasper's spine as Killian said softly, "Jasper, the biters are getting closer to the farmhouse." 

An unpleasant, anxious twist in his gut made Jasper feel sick. So the biters were getting more restless than the group thought? That meant the raid wasn't exactly just for supplies--at least, if Tom and Cohen also knew about the biters. Even if they didn't, it would be a good thing to keep their eyes peeled for a new place to camp along the way. "We're running out of ammo as well," Darren said, his tone weary. Hearing the exhaustion in his friend's voice made Jasper's heart ache. Living in this world hadn't exactly proven easy, but they could make it if they tried. "If we run out, there's no telling what sort of situation we'll find ourselves in." 

Swallowing back a sickening bile raising in his throat, Jasper knew he had been trying his best to avoid the inevitable question. When they ran out of bullets, what would they do? The biters weren't going to stop anytime soon. Darren and Killian exchanged a glance, and Jasper knit his brows together. When had the two started talking to one another? He couldn't help but feel a bit jealous, ridiculous as that was. His jealousy was almost immediately relieved as Killian said, "Darren stopped to talk to me after we came downstairs this morning. When he went to get his gun he only had two bullets to take care of the biters so he had to use his axe instead." Killian crossed his arms, "If there is any stop we can make to gather ammo, we should do it. I can make my own crossbow bolts, but none of us know how to make bullets or anything." 

Nodding once Jasper said, "If we see anything, we'll stop and gather some supplies." He added to Darren, "Tell the others to be more sparing with those bullets from now on. Only take care of the biters with blunt objects if you can help it." With that, Darren headed off to alert the group of Jasper's advice. When he was gone, a strange feeling of relief overcame Jasper. Being alone with Killian was his favorite part of the day; he wondered if it was the same for Killian. 

The younger man looked up at Jasper with a small smile, tilting his head to the side. "Hey," He said. 

"Hey." Jasper replied with a teasing grin. Killian gave him a playful shove, headbutting him in the chest. A laugh bubbled up from Jasper's lips, and he ruffled Killian's hair. "Whatcha up to, Boy Scout?" 

"I was thinking," Killian said, "That maybe we could..." He looked down, taking a sudden interest in the floor it seemed. "Do you want to go for a walk, just the two of us?" His hazel eyes looked up at Jasper, and he felt his heart melt. "I kind of miss when we traveled together. Just us, you know?" 

Tilting his head to the side, Jasper felt warm and fuzzy butterflies fluttering in his stomach. "Yea," He said. "That sounds perfect."