Wake of the Dead | One

Chapter seven

Jasper and Killian had been stuck inside of the gas station for the rest of the day. They had began to wander though, and hopefully only a few stragglers would be left by the morning time. Killian was recovering from their race by taking a nap in the corner. By then it had gotten dark, and all Jasper could see were the shadows of the biters moving outside of the windows threateningly. The power had gone out...of course, nobody was there to keep it back on anyways. If he wanted to do it manually he'd have to turn on the backup generators outside, and he wasn't going to risk getting bitten for a few hours of light. The pale moonlight shining through the window was enough for Jasper. Especially since he'd found a flashlight, which he'd been using sparingly as soon as it had gotten too dark to really see.

Jasper remembered when he would sneak around his house at night when he was younger. His parents would always scold him if he was caught, but his father would secretly encourage him just to annoy his mother. Yua had always been strict about his bedtime. Jasper could almost imagine her frustrated shouting of his father's name, 'Michael, do not encourage the boy!' A small smile spread across his lips at the fond memories. Out of everything he carried with them, the picture of his family was the one thing he cared most about. Although ironically, it was the one thing he never looked at. Why, he didn't know. But his heart sank as he realized that he hadn't seen them in so long, he was forgetting what they looked like. Reaching in his back pocket, Jasper pulled the picture out and smiled fondly at it. There was his mother, father, brother, and family dog.

Putting it away again, Jasper let a soft sigh drift between his lips as he began to continue his search for supplies. It wasn't that intense of a search. Almost all of the shelves were empty. He hadn't managed to find any food except for three out-of-date granola bars. Water was stocked up surprisingly well; Jasper had found four bottles of water. The man had gone back and forth between searching and setting things back in the small area he and Killian had decided to sleep in. On his third trip around, Jasper found a book behind the register. He assumed it was nothing, but on closer inspection it was an actual novel. He picked it up and read the back. It definitely didn't seem like his cup of tea, but there wasn't any better way to pass the time. Jasper soon returned to Killian and sat down, opening the book and using the flash light to read along the pages.

Rain began to patter on the outside of the store, and Jasper could see the dead dispersing gradually. Was the rain washing away their scent on the door? If it was, they were definitely lucky.

Thunder began to rumble in the distance, and Jasper glanced over when he noticed Killian gradually waking up. Another crash of thunder made the younger man jolt up and grab onto his knife. Jasper jumped as well, not exactly sure how to react. Was Killian going to hurt him? His heart beat heavy in his chest as his body tensed up. The silence grew gradually longer, until Killian seemed to remember where he was and dropped the knife. "Bad dreams?" Jasper asked.

"Something like that," Killian muttered. His ran a hand down his face and shook his head to wake up. Noticing the water, Killian reached for a bottle and cracked the cap open, chugging at least half of it at once. Jasper heard the other man's stomach growling loudly.

"I already had my share, you eat up. Sounds like you need it more than I do." Jasper said. Killian knit his brows together, and Jasper noticed that the other man had grown uncharacteristically quiet since they'd gotten to the station.

"What are you thinking?" Jasper asked, making his page in the book and setting it down. He leaned forwards, brows lifted curiously. When he tilted his head to the side, the tuft of hair on his head fell in front of his eye.

"What do you mean?" Killian asked sharply, cracking open one of the cans of food they still had left. "The only thing I'm thinking is that you're annoying as Hell."

"I try my best." Jasper teased, sitting up straighter. Thunder rolled through the sky outside once again, and Killian jumped. Jasper knit his brows together. The thunder had caught him off guard the first time, but it really seemed to bother his traveling buddy. "Don't like thunderstorms?" He asked.

Killian's eyes flickered over to Jasper, narrowing. "You're a lot smarter than you look." He said. Jasper didn't know whether that was a compliment or not. Either way, he'd take it. "And no, I don't." Killian huffed, starting to eat.

"You know, even soldiers don't like thunder." Jasper said.

Killian paused for a few moments, raising a suspicious brow. "Really?"

Jasper nodded, "Yea, really. But it's usually the ones who face actual conflict; you know, fighting for their lives and all that. To them, sometimes it sounds more like gunfire or bombs going off."

Killian knit his brows together, "Well...that makes sense." He said. "But you aren't afraid of it, are you?"

Jasper leaned back and took in a deep breath, crossing his arms, "Well, not all the time. Only when it gets a lot louder than this." Jasper leaned forwards again, "So, why does it bother you?"

Killian glanced up at Jasper and he said, "I was in a gang. Every time I hear thunder I think about the guns firing, people dying."

Jasper's eyes widened with surprise, and his intrigue grew even more. "So, why were you with them?"

Killian didn't answer for a while until he said, "That doesn't bother you?"

Jasper shrugged, "We all have our ups and downs. It's not my place to judge you."

Killian suddenly snapped, "Well, it's none of your business why," he glared at the ground, and Jasper felt his sympathy for Killian reaching new heights when he flinched again.

This time the thunder was getting louder. Jasper's heart began to quicken, so he took a deep breath, "You know what always helps me?"

"What?" Killian muttered.

Jasper held up the book, "Good ol' story time." Killian wrinkled his nose with distaste, and then Jasper chuckled. "Alright, no reading then? I can tell you about the time I was expelled from school."

Killian scooted a bit closer and widened his eyes a small bit, eating some more from the can and drinking some water. "You? Expelled?" He asked. "How? You're...well, you."

Jasper chuckled, "Well, I wasn't always so nice." Killian stared at him. "Okay, maybe I was." Jasper relented. "Just not all the time."

Killian tilted his head to the side, "Go on then. How did Mister Military screw up his high school years then, hm?"

"Well," Jasper began, "I wasn't very popular. I hadn't grown into my looks yet. Everybody knew my mother was a Japanese immigrant, so I would get a few not-so-nice phrases thrown at me every once and a while. But I still tried my best to learn."

"Why didn't you just beat the crap out of them?" Killian demanded, his voice suddenly frustrated and his eyes narrowed.

"Well, I did eventually." Jasper said. "But we haven't gotten there yet." Killian frowned, and Jasper continued the story. "The guy I thought was my best friend definitely didn't have my best interests at heart."

"That's why I don't have friends." Killian interrupted. Jasper ignored him and continued speaking anyways.

"Whenever I told him I was gay—keep in mind I didn't have a crush on him or anything, he wasn't that attractive—he decided it was a good idea to tell everybody." Jasper sighed, "And then the insults got worse. So eventually by the end of the year I just snapped. Couldn't take it anymore."

Killian leaned foreards eagerly as Jasper said, "I broke the guy's nose and punched a teacher when they got in the way."

"Serves them right." Killian muttered.

"So I dropped out of school. Helped my family out with the bills for a while, until I quit my job and joined the military when I was nineteen."

Jasper noticed a small smile tugging at the corners of Killian's lips, and could barely resist his own smile when he saw Killian yawn. "Is it time for bed?" Jasper asked.

"Think so." Killian muttered.

Jasper turned out the flash light and settled down in his own area. That night, his dreams were chaotically unpleasant.