The camp was small, set just barely inside the city limits. There were large trucks surrounding the area, just as Jackson had described. Two armored military vehicles and three horses, large tents set up in orderly sections. The horses were tied to a makeshift post set beside a large campfire. Skinning racks for fresh kills stood nearby, one holding a large buck with a woman preparing it to eat. Jasper, Darren, Aubrey and Jackson were just at the border of the woods, behind a chain-link fence. The only thing stopping the rival group from seeing them was the deep foliage blocking the view.
Of course the group was much larger than their own, which was what Jasper expected. But still, he couldn't help but feel like Jackson exaggerated the story to add a bit more agency to his situation. As Jasper parted his lips to say something about it, he could see the scrutinizing gaze of the half-biter flickering around the scene before them. "This isn't all of them," He said softly. "There were more, I swear to you. Their leader isn't even here from the looks of it."
Once again, Jasper scanned the camp. All he could see were groups of men and women with hefty guns strapped to their backs and a strange sort of uniform. There were what Jasper counted to be twelve people, eight men and four women. There wasn't a strict uniform, but all were wearing some combination of diluted or dark colors...with some sort of armor over it. Metal, he presumed. But the thing that made Jasper so angry inside were the guns and trucks. They were obviously military. It didn't matter to him where they'd gotten it. A small part of him wondered what it would be like to hold one of those firearms again.
Too busy watching the strangers mill about, what Jackson said hadn't sunk in immediately. When Jasper finally processed it, he felt sick. "More?" The twisting in his stomach only got worse with Jackson nodded. There were more than what they already saw? "Their leader isn't here either?" He clarified again. Jackson nodded a second time, his eye staring at the people below. There was something in the younger man's gaze that sent shivers through Jasper's body. It was almost murderous. In his very short time spent with Renier's gang alongside Killian when they'd passed through Swanston, Jasper had never imagined any of the people there were too close besides the two cousins.
"None of them even look anything like him," Jackson shook his head, "Nowhere near as big." Jasper narrowed his eyes. The men in the camp looked relatively athletic, with varying degrees. There was still a few on the taller side as well. How could Jackson even tell from such a far distance? The half-biter must have seen the doubt on Jasper's face, because he then continued. "You'll know him if you ever see him. This man...he'd tower you, Jasper."
"What?" There was no way Jackson wasn't exaggerating. Jasper knew he was a tall guy, he'd been teased about it from time to time. He'd met men taller than him, but Jasper couldn't ever say they'd towered him. "You must have just been frightened of him is all," Jasper muttered, "If what you're saying is true, these people don't screw around when it comes to taking hostages."
"I'm not frightened of him Jasper, I'm terrified." Jackson 's voice shook as he dug the fierce metal claws into the hard-packed soil.
Jasper's lips parted, speechless. Never in his life would he have expected Jackson to say he was scared of anything, let alone terrified, or hear a shake in his voice. As he peered closer, he could even see the paranoia beginning to take ahold of the other man. Now, his long-standing wariness and dislike towards Jackson began to waver, replaced with mutual respect. Whatever those people had put Jackson through, it wasn't anything short of traumatic. Aubrey gently pressed against Jackson's side in an attempt to comfort him, which the younger man immediately obliged to, leaning against her and closing his eyes for a few split seconds.
The urge to break the two apart again was almost overwhelming, but before Jasper could do anything he caught a glance from Darren, who shook his head. Swallowing back his protests, Jasper continued to watch. He wasn't sure exactly what they were looking for, but whatever it was, they couldn't go back empty-handed. The group wouldn't be satisfied with what little information they could offer them. Jasper needed to determine if they were safe at the farm, if they should leave, what their next move should be. Of course, he'd run those decisions by Tom first. But in that current moment, his job was to protect his group, if not with direct confrontation then a decision on how to handle their new 'neighbors.'
"It looks like," Jasper made sure to keep his voice as quiet as possible, "Those tents are temporary, not set up in a real permanent fashion. They made a campfire, but that's about the only construction they've done." He tilted his head to the side, observing one of the men to strolled over to the first truck and opened the driver's door. Through the window, he could just make out the shape of somebody answering a radio. "They might be just passing through." He finished, then quickly added, "There's a guy in that truck chatting over radio. Keep your eyes open. Might be trouble." After a few seconds hesitation, Jasper couldn't help but let curiosity get the better of him. "I'm going to try and get closer, listen in on what they're saying."
"I'm coming with you." Darren murmured.
Not wanting to waste time arguing, Jasper nodded once. He left Aubrey and Jackson's side, keeping his head low, making sure to carefully watch his step. Any small snap of a twig, while probably not noticeable, could possibly alert the other people. Slowly standing and moving across the fence line, Jasper kept his head down. Once his view of the other group was obstructed by a building in front of the fence, he hauled himself over it, tapping down on the other side. Darren was not as graceful, nearly falling flat on his face. Jasper had to help the man over when his pants got caught on one of the wires.
Jasper continued with his back to the wall of the building, grateful for the lowering afternoon sun. The shadow from the building wall would cover him, at least a small bit. All he needed to be careful of was how much noise he and Darren made. With his heart beating hard in his chest, Jasper felt as if he could barely breathe. One wrong move and they were both as good as dead. He didn't know how gutsy these people's trigger finger's were, but he sure as hell didn't want to find out.
Just as Jasper got close enough to the truck to hear what was being said, his whole body grew cold. "They're all dead, took em' out this morning. No word from the Mistress or Stephan." Feeling his stomach drop, it took all of Jasper's strength not to turn tail and run in the opposite direction. Mistress. Oh no. It can't be her.
"Jasper, what is it?" Darren murmured into Jasper's ear. He shook his head, unable to respond. All he could do was try to calm the spinning that had suddenly taken over his mind, making him dizzy and lightheaded. Still, he continued to listen in.
"No, but we're staying til' Stephan gives us the word. The Silence here are really starting to get on our nerves."
"Jasper, you look like you've seen a ghost." Darren hissed, grabbing onto Jasper's wrist. "Come on. You can't be here like a sitting duck. We have to leave." At first Jasper parted his lips to protest, but Darren interrupted him, "We got what we came here for. They're dead."
Jasper nodded, but it still took Darren's effort to haul him back onto his feet enough to stand. With his face turned away from the scene, his head began to clear a bit. Running a stressed hand through his hair, Jasper silently crept his way along the wall and back over the fence, making his way over to Jackson and Aubrey.
"So?" Jackson muttered, "What's the verdict?"
"They're...all dead." Jasper murmured softly. He was immediately made wary of Jackson, whose eyes narrowed. The young man didn't trust him, but eventually, Jackson's shoulders sagged.
Aubrey ran a hand through his curls, only for her efforts to be gently pushed away. "I guessed as much. Better to make sure than leave them if they were still alive." As the patrol headed off towards home, Jasper could see the sun beginning to set in the sky. The biters would be out to play soon, which definitely wasn't something he'd want to be caught up in.
❖ ❖ ❖
"Damnit, I told you we should have taken the other route!" Jackson snarled. He gripped onto a biter's head and slammed it against the ground, digging the metal claws on his gloves into its eyes. The wretched creature went limp a few split seconds later.
"Yea, he told you so!" Aubrey added, slamming Jasper's tire-iron into a biter that tried to jump on Jackson.
"Well you should've been paying more attention instead of giving each other bedroom eyes!" Jasper yelled in return. Fuck. She better give me my tire iron back. That thing has sentimental value now. Instead of his go-to blunt force weapon, Jasper was reduced to using Darren's bat--since Aubrey forgot to bring her own. Meanwhile, Darren himself had climbed up a tree and was shooting down at the biters closer to the edge of the clearing.
Something gave Jasper a sharp smack at the back of the head. "We were not giving each other bedroom eyes!" Aubrey snapped.
"Of course you were, they're the same eyes I give Killian, I should know." Jasper swung the bat into the side of a biter's skull, watching with satisfaction as it crumpled to the ground. It was gory, but at least they weren't wasting precious ammo--or experimenting on the biters like Cohen was. That thought alone was enough to make his skin crawl. But, even worse was the thought of Jackson and Aubrey getting together. That single idea made him want to cut Jackson into little pieces and feed him to the vultures.
Was Jasper exaggerating?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
With another swing, Jasper watched as the skull of the next biter crack open. It didn't kill the rancid creature, but it exposed the soft brain tissue beneath. He swung again, catching it across the jaw and pushing it toward Jackson, who was ready and waiting. The man lashed out those razor-sharp, metal claws and lodged them into the biter's exposed brain, shoving it off and away from him when it dropped dead.
On their way home, Jasper had decided to take a shortcut route straight through the woods instead of following the path the patrols normally went. It was getting dark and avoiding biters was the thing he was hoping for, but to no avail. Lucky for his dignity, he could see which direction they were coming from--the trail they were going to take if he hadn't lead them away. The pile of biters laying on the ground, he silently waved a hand to gather his small troupe and trekked his way up the small slope that lead them out of the woods and back towards the house. In the distance he could see a very Killian-shaped silhouette on the porch, waiting for him to come home.
Jasper made his way across the field between the farmhouse and the woods, not turning to see if the others were following. He'd had a long day. What he needed most was a nice dinner and of course, time with Killian--and lots of it. As soon as Killian spotted him, the young man perked up and took a big jump off of the porch. Jasper's heart jumped for a few split seconds, worrying for his lover's potentially bad leg, but relieved when Killian landed without any issue. "You're back!"
A chuckle rumbled through Jasper's chest as he hugged Killian up against him, "Yes, I'm back love."
"Did anybody see your arm?" Killian whispered, barely audibly.
"No, nobody did," Jasper reassured him. He pressed a gentle kiss on Killian's forehead, closing his eyes and relishing in his partner's company. Oh, the things I'm going to do to you when we're alone. Jasper thought. "Did your hunt go well?"
Killian nodded vigorously, giving the other patrol members a tiny wave before grabbing onto Jasper's wrist and leading him into the house. "Look, Casimir and I caught a whole deer!" Jasper's stomach immediately rumbled when he caught sight--and smell--of dinner. It looked as if it was almost ready. Samantha, Keagan and Harley were preparing that night. Casimir, Chris and Tom were chatting in the living room. Cohen, meanwhile, was nowhere to be seen--which was the best thing that had happened all day.
Darren, Aubrey and Jackson immediately headed into the kitchen. At first Jasper was going to snap at Jackson; who'd told him he was allowed to walk around without supervision now? But he noticed how Tom kept his eyes on Jackson, even while keeping up an idle conversation with the others. He gave Jasper a small nod, he'd take care of it. Relieved of all his duties for the day, Jasper felt his muscles finally beginning to unwind. "Of course you did, you're both the best hunters I've ever met." Jasper laughed as the end of his sentence was cut off with a kiss.
Killian snuggled his face into Jasper's chest. "I missed you." He mumbled. Jasper could barely understand his partner's muffled words, but an amused smile still managed to find its way across his lips.
"I missed you too, love."