Wake of the Dead | One

Chapter eleven

"Hey, Jasper!" Jasper perked up as he heard his name being called by a familiar voice, jerked out of his thoughts about Killian's morbid, twisted scars. His lips twitched into a small smile as he saw a redheaded young woman walking over, her curls bouncing as she tackled him into a hug. She was half his size, but still managed to make him stumble with the impact of sudden affection.

"Hey there, Gingersnap." Jasper said, ruffling her auburn hair. It was soft to the touch, but he was careful not to get his large hand tangled up. "Gotten into any trouble while I was gone?" Jasper asked suddenly, lowering his voice with a mischievous grin. The woman's name was actually Aubrey, but Jasper liked the nickname 'Gingersnap' better. He knew as well as anybody here that Aubrey had a sharp tongue, but definitely not as sharp as Killian's.

"Of course I did." Aubrey said with a jovial laugh, high-fiving Jasper as she did. Her nose scrunched up when she smiled, which was definitely what made her enthusiasm almost infectious. Her green eyes darted towards Killian, who was still waiting for Jasper to bring him dinner. Jasper could see Killian's foot tapping impatiently. "So, who's your friend?" Aubrey asked, wiggling her brows. "Anybody special?"

Jasper snorted with amusement. "Well...he's special alright." He muttered, watching as Killian turned to glare at Aubrey, before ducking his head away and tearing up a leaf he'd found on the ground. "Just watch your tongue around him, he's a bit of a hothead."

Aubrey nodded and said, "Ah, one of those. I heard Cohen muttering to Tom about how he might be...difficult." Jasper knit his dark brows together, with a deep frown pulling at the corners of his mouth. Cohen was muttering to the group leader about Killian already? What for?

"I can't see why," Jasper said irritably, lifting his head above Audrey's to keep an eye on his friend. Killian has successfully torn apart the leaf and was now idly breaking up a stick. "Killian hasn't done anything wrong." Jasper shook his head, "I'll talk to Tom about that in a bit, right now I've got to bring Killian his dinner."

Audrey raised a brow, "Well if you want to go talk to Tom now, I could bring it to him."

"Don't bother," Jasper shook his head, then had to run his hand through his hair tuft to keep it out of his eyes. "The guy won't eat anything anybody besides me brings him. He'll think it's laced with either drugs or poison, maybe both." Jasper phrased the sentence as a joke, but deep down he definitely knew that would more than likely be Killian's thought process.

Aubrey didn't seem to think much of his 'joke' and shrugged, "Whatever you say, big guy." Jasper silently thanked Aubrey for not pressing the matter any further. If the group was going to trust Killian, then possibly being aggressive towards another group member probably wouldn't be a good idea. Unfortunately Jasper had a feeling that with Killian, arguments and maybe even a fight would eventually happen.

As Aubrey walked away Jasper gave her a simple wave and said, "See you later then, Ginger." She gave him the finger with a playful and challenging glare. Jasper scoffed, feigning offense, which soon turned into a small chuckle. "Now," He muttered to himself, "Food." The camp was set up very hastily, with blankets and tents laying around in no order. In total there were about twelve other group members, not including Jasper and Killian. Jasper knew some better than others. Mostly it was Aubrey, Darren, Cohen and Tom. But the rest of the group seemed to respect Jasper, perhaps a little more than one another.

What Cohen had told to Tom unsettled Jasper for several reasons. Tom was the group leader, and anything that happened usually went by his say. Darren was more like a second in command, and if anything happened to Tom he would take over as the new group leader. They weren't devoid of any criticism though, and Jasper had seen arguments among the group break out and spread like a wildfire. That was when he normally came of use as the voice of reason. Jasper tried his best to be fair with everybody, and perhaps that's why he was respected among the group, but not necessarily super close friends with anybody. Especially now, when a lot of the group were unsettled by his decision to leave and search for survivors.