Wake of the Dead | One

Chapter seventeen

Jasper closed the door gingerly behind Killian as the other man entered the room. He could almost feel the hesitance and anxiety rolling off of his friend, who sat meekly alongside the others. Killian was a stranger to the other men, and being in a room with them was without a doubt making him uncomfortable. Jasper felt a bit guilty for inviting him to the meeting, but part of him wanted to introduce Killian to the group more formally. If he did so, Killian could potentially feel a lot safer, and the group might be a bit less cynical. 

Sitting down on the floor next to Killian, Jasper leaned his back against the wall of the motel room to get comfortable. His irritability and anger towards Casimir, Aubrey, Dominick and Wilson was dying down. Still, he didn't want to set his eyes on them for a long while yet. The idiots had put everybody in danger, and he wasn't going to tolerate that. 

Tom began the meeting, "There are several things we can do at the moment." His dark eyes raked across ever member of the--what Killian referred to it as--council. Tom continued, "Colder weather is getting closer and closer by the hour. None of the group is truly prepared for it. We need more supplies, as well as more clothing if we're going to survive." 

Cohen added in almost immediately, "If any of the group members become ill, then I won't have a lot of necessary equipment to care for them," The doctor's voice grew increasingly grim as he added, "There's a chance we might have to leave somebody behind." Jasper narrowed his eyes, a deep frown tugging downwards at the corners of his lips. There was no way he was going to leave anybody behind, especially when they were too ill to defend themselves. Cohen met Jasper's eyes, almost challengingly. 

"Before we discuss leaving anybody behind," Darren cut into the conversation, his gaze flickering between Jasper and Cohen for a few tense seconds, "Let's talk about what we can do first. If there's any possibility that the town might be safe enough to raid, we should do that first." 

Killian's sharp voice interjected with Darren's sentence, and the other men seemed surprised--as if they hadn't even noticed the younger man was with them. "But what if the town isn't safe enough to raid? If we go as a group we might all be in danger but if we send a scouting patrol, we don't know if they're gonna be able to defend themselves." Tom's lips parted to speak, but Killian didn't give him the chance to. "Even if there aren't biters, another group could decide they want the same thing. If that's the case, then that isn't gonna end well for either side." 

Jasper's lips twitched into a small smile. His chest swelled with pride as he caught a glimpse of the familiar, sharp glare in Killian's eyes. His friend was definitely determined to get his two cents in, whether the rest of the council liked it or not. "Killian's right," Jasper said, his voice even and confident. "I might be a bit biased, but the man has a point. We can't send our people into unfamiliar territory without knowing if there's a major threat or not." 

Jasper paused for a few seconds, and a tense silence fell over the meeting. "That's how I lost a few people. My comrades and I were given orders we had to follow, we didn't have a choice," He cleared his throat to compose his wavering voice, "But we have a choice now. We shouldn't let a stupid mistake cost us the lives of others." 

Glancing beside him, Jasper could see that Killian's hazel eyes were practically glowing from the praise. He was even more determined now, with his brows narrowed. The man could also see the pride in Killian's expression too, how he sat up straighter and held his chin more confidently. Barely holding back a chuckle, he gave his friend a short, encouraging nod. 

The tension in the room could be cut with a knife. Every man thought he was in the right, which was dangerous. Thankfully each of them knew how to keep their frustration in check...perhaps except for Killian, who was scowling. Although, scowling was Killian's usual expression. Maybe Jasper shouldn't have been all too worried about that.