The patrol was going smoothly so far. The trek away from the farmhouse had been a bit less interesting, but Aubrey and Darren managed to catch Jasper up on the goings-on he'd missed within the group. There wasn't much drama to speak of, other than Killian and Casimir becoming more and more competitive by the day, but that was nothing new. He only wondered what sort of conflict Killian would manage to land himself in. Of course he'd defend his friend, but sometimes defending people wasn't the best thing to do. Killian certainly wouldn't want him to fight his battles.
The four continued on through the long, uncut grass of the field. Suddenly, Aubrey screamed and jumped, hiding behind Jasper. A snake wriggled in between the long stalks as quickly as possible, and Aubrey let out a pitiful whine, "Jasper kill it!"
Raising his brows, Jasper watched as the scaly creature moved past them faster than it had appeared. Aubrey gave in an indignant and even angry look, to which he responded bluntly, "It was just passing through. I'm sure there are other animals around here somewhere, Aubrey." Why she was afraid of a little slithery worm with fangs, Jasper wasn't exactly sure. He knew some people were, but he didn't understand it. Maybe, after being shot at by people who wanted to kill him, he was a bit desensitized to danger. Or maybe snakes just didn't bother him.
An amused snort from Killian made Aubrey even more upset, an aggressive huff leaving her nostrils as the other man said, "A wild animal can't risk getting hurt under any circumstances. Jasper was right, it was just passing through," He shrugged, "It wouldn't start a fight for no reason, especially not with a bunch of humans." Killian tilted his head to the side, thinking out loud, "It's also good for the farm, too. It'll keep away mice and rats, maybe other vermin."
Whatever anybody said about Killian, Jasper had to admit that the young man certainly had an impressive amount of knowledge when it came to the wilderness. He knew how to hunt and track, and seemed to know about the animals and plants themselves. It intrigued him even further about his friend's mysterious origins. They were in the southern countryside, but Killian had come from the city, as far as he knew.
The next person to break the silence was Darren, who was leading the patrol. He'd tried to volunteer Jasper for the job, but no matter how many times people tried to tell Jasper he was a good leader, he just wasn't. Maybe they saw something in him that Jasper didn't see himself, but as he thought back on it, he wasn't anything more than just an ex-military soldier who'd failed keeping the citizens of the city safe. Not to mention having a close brush with death. "Are we going to check the fence, or are we going to babble on about unpleasant reptiles?"
Exchanging an exasperated glance with Killian, he continued following Darren through the field. Wrinkling his nose as the dust kicked up from the long stalks tickled his nostrils, Jasper's chest jolted into a sneeze. Killian mumbled a quiet, "Bless you." Just that small little comment made Jasper's chest flutter a bit. Not because of what Killian had said, but because he'd cared to say it at all.
When the patrol had reached the edge of the woods, Jasper knit his brows together. A few biters turned their heads, snarls on their lips. Well, sort of—one of them had their mouth gashed open. They didn't really have any lips after that. One of the biters were more recently turned, and whipped around quicker than Jasper could have anticipated. With a sickening roar, it ran at him, teeth snapping. The other four biters growled and followed, but slower this time. Taking his gun from the holster at his waist, Jasper clicked off the safety, aimed and shot as quickly as he could.
The biter fell short a few feet of him, crumpling to the ground as the bullet pierced its skull. Killian had shot two with his arrows. Aubrey smacked one across the head with her bat, and Darren axed the other in the face. With the biters dispatched quickly, the small patrol stopped a few seconds to catch their breath and calm their nerves. Darren shot an uneasy glance towards Jasper, and he immediately knew what the other man was thinking. Where there were biters—especially fast ones—there were more nearby. They'd have to tell Tom immediately when they arrived back at the farmhouse.
Soft hands gripped onto Jasper's arm, and his heart skipped a beat when he saw Killian looking him over with narrowed and concerned brows. "Did it get you? Are you okay?"
Giving his friend a reassuring nod Jasper said, "I'm okay, Boy Scout. Are you?"
Killian nodded, "Mhm." Jasper couldn't help but notice the way the younger man's curls bounces against his head as he moved.
"Good," Breathing a sigh of relief Jasper turned towards Aubrey and Darren. "You two good?" When Darren and Aubrey nodded to confirm they were safe as well, Jasper ran a stressed hand through the tuft of hair on his head. "Okay," He said, "Let's get moving. The borders aren't going to search themselves."
As Jasper continued to follow Darren, the small patrol walked along the path that edged up against the woods. The group hadn't ventured far into them yet, they were waiting to get used to their new immediate surroundings first. The only people who had really been deep into the underbrush were Killian, Samantha and Casimir, the hunters. Sometimes people would follow them, but the hunters never took the others that far, if only for fear of being responsible for them while they were searching for prey. Jasper silently wondered if Casimir and Samantha were out hunting right then, and judging from the way Killian was staring through the thick trees and long grasses, he was too.
A deep ache in his heart was almost agonizing when he saw the grief in Killian's eyes. He wondered whether his friend was thinking about Dominick--one of the only members in the group who'd made an effort to get to know Killian, and somebody Killian had been teaching to hunt--or Jackson, Killian's cousin, who'd run off along with the rest of Renier's old gang. Although he knew Killian cared deeply for his cousin, Jasper couldn't help but remember those cold and unfeeling eyes Jackson had whenever he shot him. There had been no hesitation, no remorse, sure as hell no guilt. A shudder ran down Jasper's spine just thinking about how familiar that stare was to him now. He'd seen them before, just in different circumstances--in combat.
Whenever Jackson had pointed his gun at Jasper, there was a point where the world had skewed out of place. He had no longer been standing in front of Tom, he'd been standing in front of a fellow soldier. The farmhouse had disappeared, the grass had suddenly felt like rubble, and the man in front of him with a gun had looked more like the faces of the men who'd do anything to kill him and his comrades. Only when he'd been shot had things nauseatingly snapped back into place. Jasper hadn't realized he'd been shot until he'd looked down at the ground. He remembered the confusion, then the burning, aching sensation in his lower gut. Everything after that had been a blur.
By the time they'd reached where the barn was, Jasper and the patrol had taken out at least five more biters. Darren nodded to Jasper and Killian, "Aubrey and I are headed back to the farmhouse now. You and Killian check out around the barn and see if you can spot any traces of that wolf. When you get back, Jasper and I will talk to Tom."
"Sounds like a plan." Jasper replied, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he watched Darren and Aubrey turn back and start making their way back to the house. Now, being left alone with Killian, Jasper felt a lot more comfortable. Almost nostalgic for the days that he and Killian had travelled together, before Killian had even been introduced to the group. Before all of the huge mess with Renier's gang and the battle of Swanston.
With Darren and Aubrey gone, Jasper's chest filled with butterflies at the thought of being alone with Killian again. "So," Jasper said, "Are we going to go find that wolf or what?" But before he could continued talking, Killian whacked him and put a finger to his lips to shush him. This only made him even more curious as to what Killian was doing. He parted his lips to ask, thought better of it, and closed his mouth again. Jasper followed his friend as Killian's eyes were pinned down to the ground, walking around the barn.
The younger man's hazel eyes lit up as he saw deep paw-prints left in the soil. Jasper would have missed them if it wasn't for Killian pointing at them. He tilted his head to the side, "So, Boy Scout, do you think it's a wolf?"
With his brows knit together in concentration Killian frowned, "It's hard to tell. But I think it's a dog. The steps between the front and back paws are spaced out more," Jasper didn't even know that was a thing to look out for, but Killian was the tracker here, not him. "The toes are more compact. I'm pretty sure it's a dog, but it's got to be a pretty big one."
"Do you know where it's headed?" Jasper asked, but Killian's brows narrowed even further. "What?" Jasper prompted. The smaller man pointed towards the woods, but he picked something up and handed it to Jasper. Looking down at the pen in his hand, Jasper knit his brows together. "Why would a pen be out here? With a dog?"
Giving him an exasperated glare Killian quipped, "It wouldn't be, idiot. But think. People carry pens, and people own dogs. We don't have an animal problem, we have somebody sneaking around our land." He then nodded to the woods, "They headed that way. You can see the grass flattened in the direction they walked."
Feeling the hairs at the back of his neck stand up, Jasper stood and helped Killian to his feet. He could feel his friend subconsciously pressing up against his side, and noticed the way Killian's golden-hazel eyes darted back and forth—sudden paranoia was beginning to make them both on edge now. "We should get back to Tom." Jasper muttered softly.
Suddenly bristling, Jasper grabbed Killian and pulled him into the barn after he heard a twig snap. Killian's eyes widened—he'd heard it too. Jasper's heart beat hard in his chest as he heard footsteps approaching the barn, the shadow of a man outlining the light filtering through the cracked doors. Killian grabbed his hand and—stepping carefully and quietly—lead him behind a stack of old and dusty hay.
The space was small. Jasper could feel his body pressed up against Killian's. He narrowed his eyes, keeping a hand on his gun. Killian slunk back, keeping his body as close to Jasper's as possible. With a sudden jolt, Jasper could hear Killian's breathing growing heavier. He gently wrapped a hand over his friend's mouth to keep quiet. Killian's muscles tensed, but they relaxed again when he set his hand on Jasper's.
The stranger slammed open the barn doors, and Jasper heard the loading of a shotgun. A snarl curled at Jasper's lips as a strange man stepped into the barn with a doberman at his heels. The stranger said in a sing-song voice, "One down," Jasper's stomach churned when a body hit the floorboards. "A few more to go."