Wake of the Dead | Two

Chapter Sixteen | Killian & Jasper

The safety that forests always offered would be a relief. Under the cover of trees and foliage, Killian knew his way around. Every herb he could identify, every track he could recognize. But out near the highway, where the plants became sparse, he felt nothing short of exposed. There was nothing here to shroud himself in, no shadows or bushes, no trees to hide behind. It had been a few hours since they'd left the bar, yet he still felt just as unsafe. The scent of alcohol still echoed in the back of his mind, conjuring bitter memories from the past to cloud his judgement. He wanted to comfort of cover, the comfort of knowing he could hide. On the pavement, he had none of that.

Biters from the night before had left a few corpses here and there, either completely stripped to the bone or too mangled to move when they turned. A gruesome form came into shape as Killian carefully skirted around the dead body of a younger girl, whose hair was matted with blood. Her intestines spilled out of her stomach, most of it missing or chewed up. Flesh from her legs had been stripped away, leaving just the bones. The sinew and veins in her neck were visible, her eyes dead and clouded over. Strangely enough, Killian noticed how weak this biter was, but it still reached for his ankle as he passed by carefully.

Letting out a soft, "Damnit," Jasper paused and looked down at her. The man tilted his head to the side, eyes softening and a frown tugging at the corners of his lips. A sudden, overwhelming pain washed over Killian. His heart ached for the girl, seeing her laying there, mangled. He couldn't begin to imagine the pain she'd been through before she died. Killian knew he wasn't any sort of mortician, he couldn't judge the time of death, but he hoped it had been quick. Looking away as he saw Jasper bend down, Killian didn't want to see Jasper kill this little girl, even if she was one of the undead. He could watch Jasper kill another man without blinking an eye. But a child? He didn't want to see the other man like that.

When the soft growls ceased and the unpleasant deed was done, Jasper stood up again, wiping the creature's brain matter off of his knife's blade using fabric cut from the girl's clothing. For a few moments he looked as if he was going to say something, but he thought better of it, and dropped his gaze. It took Killian a few moments to realize the other man had shut his eyes tight, shaking his head. He looked pale, but not sickly--the sort of pale somebody got when they were either scared, or had seen something they wished they hadn't. Only a few seconds passed until Jasper continued walking, with no words to be shared with the rest of the patrol.

The other three hung back and let Jasper take the lead. Before, they had all been walking together in a small bunch, but now Killian fell behind as well. He knit his brows together, watching as the other man thrust his hands in his jacket pockets, his face uncharacteristically cold and detached. "Is he okay?" Killian asked quietly as Aubrey, Harley and Chris caught up with him.

With the three completely silent, Killian opened his mouth to repeat himself, but Chris finally managed to say something. Nodding up ahead towards the patrol leader he said, "I've seen him like that before, only a few times." There was a slight pause as he said, "Every time he was alright, after people left him to think for a bit." A bitter snarl curled at the man's lips as he said with a dry tone, "I sort of miss those months ago when that shit still terrified me, you know?"

"Yea," Killian nodded, "I know the feeling." Stopping himself from talking before he gave one of the others something they could possibly use against him, Killian set the arrow back in its place. Eventually, the uneasiness of the bar had been relieved from his shoulders. The phantom scent of alcohol faded, as did his past memories. Although, his concern for Jasper didn't waver. As long as the other man was unhappy, Killian would be too. Seeing Jasper so upset wasn't something he was used to.

Without another thought, Killian jogged ahead of the others until he reached Jasper's side. The patrol leader's gaze was pinned ahead, eyes clouded over and unfocused--almost like one of the living dead himself. He wasn't pale anymore, his body more relaxed. Instead of stiff, his expression was more morose. At first, it was hard to speak. Suddenly shy, a lump had formed in Killian's throat, making it hard to talk. But he swallowed it back and managed, "Hey." To catch Jasper's attention, he did the only thing he could think of and reached out to hastily grab the other man's hand. "Jasper?"