Both of the men had traveled together in relative silence, much to Jasper's dismay. He wanted to talk to Killian, but after saying something as grim as he did he'd dampened the mood. The silence was awkward, at least to him it was. Although, it did give him time to ponder about his strange new...were they friends? Jasper would consider them friends, but Killian most definitely wouldn't. A one-sided friendship. That was, until Jasper was determined to make Killian trust him. He wasn't sure why, but he wanted to find out what happened to Killian that made the younger man so hostile. Jasper had met hostile people, but never any this bad unless something truly messed up had happened to them.
"The highway is just up ahead." Jasper managed to say. "It's about time we left the city. Maybe we can find a gas station along the road that has some food or water."
"Hm." Was Killian's only response. Jasper would be lying if he said he wasn't frustrated by the lack of communicative effort. The man couldn't help but rest his gaze on Killian, his brows knit together curiously. When Killian noticed him, he glared in return. "What?" He said sharply. "If you like looking at me so much, find yourself a camera and snap a picture."
Jasper raised his brows, "Really?"
"What? No!" Killian snarled. His voice was scathing, but that only made Jasper even more curious. Still, a small chuckle rumbled in his chest as he averted his gaze again. Instead, he took a bigger interest in the roads. They were crowded with cars, and he immediately paused. Killian stopped as well. The place they had stumble upon was definitely not pleasant. It was the direct route out of the city. Cars were piled up everywhere. There were a few wrecks here and there. Bodies littered the ground, torn to shreds. Jasper saw Killian's stomach heave, and turned away as the other man vomited up whatever he ate the previous night. Jasper was disturbed at the fact that he wasn't at all nauseous like any other person would be.
An overwhelming feeling of guilt fell on his shoulders, so much so that it took his breath away. It felt like the sky was falling on him, crushing his chest. These people were the people he'd been taught to protect. Sure there were a lot of biters, but maybe if they tried hard enough they could have saved more. The man jumped as Killian's voice suddenly broke the grim stupor he'd found himself in, "You can't save everybody, Jasper."
Jasper cleared his throat, "Yea, kid. I know." He chuckled with a wry smile, "Survivor's guilt is a real bitch, isn't it?"
"I don't feel guilty." Killian said bluntly, stepping over a body carelessly. "It isn't my fault any of this happened, so why would I?" He pushed past Jasper, leaving the soldier standing there...just standing. Part of what the young man had said was right. You couldn't save everybody. But you could definitely try. Jasper glanced up when he heard a low groan from Killian, and could see that he'd wrapped one arm over the wound on his abdomen. The younger man's brows narrowed, his teeth clenched.
"You alright?" Jasper's eyes widened with concern as he stepped over a dead corpse and walked over to Killian, who was now leaning against a nearby car. "Let me see."
"Don't touch me!" Killian snarled with protest.
"Let me see." Jasper said. His tone was stronger, more confident.
Killian glared up at Jasper, his breathing turning to panting to try and relieve the pain. After a few seconds, he reluctantly moved his arm out of the way. Jasper knealt down beside him. He could see a small bit of blood through the bandage, but it wasn't spreading. Just to make sure, he gently shifted it to check. The bleeding had been brief, but he couldn't imagine how painful it was. "What happened?" He prompted.
"I just barely bumped into that side mirror on the car." Killian said. His voice was strained a bit. "But I'm fine," He added hastily. Stumbling back to his feet and using the car for balance. "I don't need your help." Jasper eyed Killian cautiously just in case.
The scent of fresh blood prompted a biter to let out an ear-splitting shriek and slam against a car door; prompting the door to open and the biter to fall out. Jasper immediately took his crowbar from where it was stashed at his belt and slammed it into the biter's skull. As if on cue, a symphony of gurgling snarls, screeches, howls and roars echoed off of the city buildings. "Oh shit," Killian's voice was surprisingly blunt despite the situation at hand. There were at least twenty or thirty, it was hard to count. Most seemed to have been hiding in alleyways or adjascent streets, and Jasper even saw the door to an auto shop being pushed open.
"We need to get to high ground as quickly as possible." Jasper knew if they didn't keep a level head they would both be dead in a matter of minutes. He saw a few sprinting towards them, but cars and debris were getting in the way. They'd have to find a way through it, but when he saw one climbing over a car that was flipped on its roof, his chest lurched and adrenaline pulsed through his veins. "On the car." Jasper demanded. Killian didn't hesitate, and climbed up onto the roof. Jasper climbed onto a car that was right across from it. On higher ground, he could see them better. The biter that was climbing was having a hard time getting over. "We need to find somewhere to hide, there's no way we can fight off this many."
"I'll run ahead and look!" Killian said. Jasper tensed, his eyes flickering towards Killian. The two stared at one another for a few split moments before Killian said, "I won't leave you to die. Not like this." Jasper hesitated a moment longer, before giving Killian a tense nod. As Killian took off, Jasper was worried about the younger man's wound. Would it open up again? What if he got even more hurt? Jasper then found himself wondering; was he concerned about Killian because he actually cared, or was he concerned because he was potentially trusting Killian with his life? Either way, Killian was trusting him too. If any biters got past this point, they'd either take him down or go after Killian.
One of the fast biters leapt from the roof of a car right next to him, and Jasper immediately took the shot. Its head snapped back, brain matter splattered the side of the nearby car when it slammed into the vehicle. The slower ones were easier to take out, but first Jasper had to take care of the ones that would for sure grab a hold of him. The biter climbing over the car landed on the other side and scrambled up. Jasper aimed his gun and shot it between the eyes before it could get too close. His eyes flickered back and forth so he wouldn't be blindsided. Another fast biter leaped off of a car off to the side, its arms stretched with and its teeth ready to bite down. Jasper noticed with a sinking stomach that it had...sharpened teeth. He pulled the trigger without a second thought, sending it reeling back into a side mirror.
As he was distracted with the quicker ones, he hadn't noticed the somewhat 'normal' biters clawing at the front and back of the truck. Jasper shot the two in the front. When he turned though, his stomach dropped. The gun clicked, and it was empty. He quickly reloaded, letting the empty mag drop and pulled a new one from the belt at his waist, quickly reloading his gun like he'd done possibly thousands of times. But it was strange. Now with his life in direct and immediate danger, it felt like he was taking way too long. When he finally secured it in place, he aimed and shot. A dead hand grappled at his ankle, and he whipped around. The bullet caught the biter in the side of the face, and he shot again. This time it dropped dead.
Jasper couldn't hold out in that one place any longer. He had to be faster than the biters. Before more could swarm the back of the car, Jasper ran and jumped onto the next hood. He climbed up onto the roof, and the biters immediately whipped around to come after him again. He had to keep moving. In the distance, he saw Killian waving his arms. Jasper knit his brows together, and saw him beckoning Jasper to follow. Jasper immediately began to head towards him. A sprinting biter began to run after Jasper, on all fours like a wild animal. It ran beside on the sidewalk with horrifying ease. Jumping from the different car roofs on the highway was hard, especially quickly. Jasper had nearly fallen three times even before he got anywhere close to Killian. But with the fast biter constantly trying to snap at him, he knew the moment his feet touched the ground he would be done for.
When Jasper had caught up with Killian, the two continued to move quickly. Soon, Jasper realized the other biters were beginning to follow. "What's the verdict?" Jasper asked. Killian was already looking exhausted. Jasper was tired, but he was used to this kind of exercise. Killian probably wasn't.
"There's a gas station farther up the highway. We're going to have to run for it." Killian said in between heaves of breath. They came to a stop when there were no other cars they could jump to. Now, it was only them and the biters.
"Hey Killian?" Jasper said.
"What?" Killian spat.
"I bet I can get there before you." Jasper taunted. He needed to give Killian some sort of motivation. Knowing how spiteful the other could be, a race was the perfect thing to keep them from getting caught. Without another thought, Jasper jumped off the car into a full out sprint. He slowed a bit to take out his gun, and stopped for a split second to shoot the fast biter in the face. Killian caught up, the two ran as fast as they could. Jasper's lungs heaved for air, his heart pounding in his chest. He could feel his sides cramping, his stomach growing nauseous. But he shoved those feelings aside and focused on the one goal. Killian seemed to be doing the same, while also trying to run ahead of Jasper, giving him a competitive glare.
Soon, Jasper and Killian were beginning to tire out. The biters were only a few yard behind them. They raced past the city limits sign. A few biters beside the road had decided to join in on the chase. At last, Jasper flung open the door to the station. Killian threw himself in, and the two shoved a nearby shelf in front of the doors. Jasper moved to the back of the store with aching feet. Maybe if the biters couldn't smell them anymore they'd wander away by the next morning. Killian dragged after him, and the two laid on the cold ground. A stray biter roamed out of the supply closet. Killian took his crossbow and shot it in the face. The younger man groaned loudly, gripping onto his cramping sides.
Jasper took the initiative and stood up, hauling the dead corpse into the supplies closet again and shutting the door so they wouldn't have to look at it. "Well," He huffed with a smile, "Which one of us won the race, then?"