Wake of the Dead | Two

Chapter Thirty-Eight | Jasper

Jasper listened to the sounds of happy chattering amongst his groupmates as they continued to eat their dinner. He'd eaten so much himself that his stomach felt nauseous. It was hard to keep it all down, he knew he'd eaten too much too quickly, but it wasn't until they'd had enough food when Jasper realized just how hungry everybody was. A small smile crossed his lips when he watched Casimir and Killian getting along, telling the story of how they caught the deer. It was obviously exaggerated, but it wouldn't have been a good story if it wasn't.

"We were hiding in the bushes on our bellies, watching this massive deer walk right in front of us!" Killian said, his hazel eyes bright with excitement. The group had all gathered in the living room, sitting in a half-circle with the two hunters in the focal point. The younger members in the group listened with widened eyes, leaning forward as if they couldn't bear to miss a single thing they said.

"So we held our breath. One move and it would've darted away. Our hearts were beating so hard we could hear them in our ears. I could feel my pulse jumping like a jackrabbit," Killian continued. Despite the man's shy disposition, Jasper had to admit he was a good storyteller. Even Casimir looked impressed. The only gaze he didn't like on Killian was Cohen's--the doctor was leaning in the doorframe to the kitchen.

Jasper glared across the room, meeting Cohen's eyes with a silent challenge. He wouldn't let the doctor so much as look at Killian without difficulty. As long as Cohen was in the group, all of Jasper's friends were in danger. Killian included. Whatever the doctor was doing in that barn, Jasper couldn't even imagine. He didn't want to find out. All he knew was if Cohen stepped out of line, there was a bullet with his name symbolically written on it in Jasper's gun. The doctor's lips twitched into a small smile, deliberately glancing towards Killian. That look in his eyes...voracious.

Jasper politely excused himself and picked up his empty dinner plate, ruffling Killian's hair as he headed to the kitchen. With every step, he could feel his muscles growing tighter and tighter, his teeth clenching together and his grip on the dinnerware getting stronger. As hard as he could, Jasper shouldered past Cohen and set his plate delicately on the island in the center of the room. The doctor's eyes were empty, cold. "That boy of yours sure is a good storyteller." Jasper took in a deep breath, biting his tongue. "Think of how good a scary story about being fed to monsters would be." The man's voice was like cold silk, freezing and smooth all at once. "A doctor could make use of such an intelligent specimen."

Jasper shoved Cohen into the farther corner of the kitchen, where nobody could spot them from the living room. The doctor stumbled, catching himself on the wall. Before he could recover, Jasper crossed the space between them and grasped the other man by the neck, pushing him violently up against the wall. Cohen's smile had faded, replaced by gritting teeth. Jasper clenched his jaw as he felt Cohen's nails dig into his wrist and claw down his arm, forcing himself to ignore it. He held fast, refusing to budge. It took everything in Jasper's power not to just suffocate the doctor and have all of his problems dissipate, but he knew there was no way he could do that without any major consequences.

"Stay away from him, you hear me?" Jasper demanded. He could feel the blood boiling beneath his skin, his grip on Cohen's throat tightening. Pressing his thumb down on the doctor's windpipe he snarled, "You're a doctor, must be pretty smart, yea? What happens if I just keep holding you like this until you pass out?" The fear that flickered across Cohen's face was enough satisfaction to last Jasper for a whole week. "Are you scared?" Jasper's voice lowered. "If you like the biters so much, why don't I just kill you and toss you out to them? That'd make a nice case study."

An awkward, "Uhm..." Made Jasper whip around to glare at whoever had entered the kitchen. Darren stood there with a rather bemused look on his face. "Sorry to interrupt you, man. Just dropping my plate off. Don't mind me." As soon as Jasper let go of Cohen, the doctor stumbled to the floor on his hands and knees, heaving for breath. The doctor struggled for a long while before managing to choke out, "You don't know who you're dealing with," Holding his sore throat in his hand.