Wake of the Dead | One

Chapter twenty-nine

"Got everything packed up, Boy Scout?" Jasper's voice startled Killian out of his internal thoughts, making him jolt to attention. Clutching his bag even tighter in his hand, he nodded meekly, trying to divert Jasper's amusement away from the fact that he'd managed to spook him.

Shrugging off his embarrassment and clearing his throat Killian snapped, "No shit." Then, hastily added, "Next time you scare me like that, you'll a get a knife in your gut." Despite his irritable disposition, he felt a sense of relief when Jasper started using his nickname again. It definitely made him feel relieved, in a strange way, to know he and his best friend were on good terms still. Why they wouldn't be, Killian had no idea, but it was still a nice reassurance.

"Wouldn't be the first time," Jasper said. The cheery tone his friend used was unsettling to say the least, but he could easily write it off with the typical, He's a marine. Why would I be surprised? Still, even with that logic, Killian had never heard anybody sound so nonchalant about experiencing a knife to the stomach--not even people who'd had surgery under anesthetic before. Was Jasper kidding him? It didn't look like it. As he watched his friend through curious eyes, Killian couldn't help but notice the way Jasper ran a hand through the tuft of hair on his head. Over time he'd realized it was a strange habit of Jasper's, to mess with his hair when he was stressed.

Tilting his head to the side, Killian's lips parted to ask Jasper what was wrong, until he was interrupted by an unfortunately familiar voice. "Hey, man. You excited to get moving?" Dominick asked, trotting over to Killian with a kind smile. Aubrey followed close behind, but she stopped to talk with Jasper instead. Lately Dominick had been hanging around Killian, to the young man's dismay. The sudden closeness with another person was certainly not something he was used to. But Dominick seemed harmless enough.

Shifting his stance awkwardly he replied with a mumble, "Sure. It's about time we get moving." The more he thought about it, the more wary Killian was becoming. Moving meant running into biters, which definitely wasn't on his list of priorities. Encountering those monsters would leave you short on supplies, low on ammo, given a death sentence from a bite or worse--being ripped apart while still living.

Despite those morbid imaginings, Killian's spirits were lifted a bit when Dominick gave him an encouraging smile. "At least there's gonna be more things to hunt, right?" That seemed to be the base line of their friendship; hunting. Killian didn't mind it though. There could be worse things--at least hunting would be productive and feed the group. Over the time he'd spent with Dominick, Killian had noticed how quickly the other young man picked up on things. He'd skinned a rabbit with near perfection after only the third attempt.

A heavy arm wrapped around Killian's shoulder, and Jasper dragged him closer with a small smile. Although, he gave Dominick a glance that Killian hadn't ever seen before. It was almost passive-aggressive, even. He knit his brows together with confusion. Did Jasper not like that he and Dominick were friends? He made a silent note to ask about it later. For now though, it seemed like everybody was ready to go. As usual, Chris and Harley were traveling together. Darren, Tom and Cohen were in the lead. Casimir, Samantha, Keagan and Wilson were trailing at the back. Dominick, Jasper and Aubrey stayed near Killian.

The size of the group was one thing Killian wasn't quite sure he'd get over. There were so many people to keep track of, he wasn't sure how Tom did it. Of course, Darren and Cohen usually helped. But that was still a hard task regardless. "Alright crew, are we ready to get going?" Tom asked from the front. A collective ring of groans, sighs, and excitement fluttered throughout the group, and Killian took his first step of their journey to Swanston.

The cold air sent a deep shudder running down his spine, although Killian knew he was lucky enough to have Jasper's jacket. He pulled it closer around him, leaning into Jasper in an attempt to get even warmer. Their journey was already looking cold and bleak. The only thing that would make things worse would be biters showing up. Once again Jasper brought him out of his thoughts, "Hey kid, everything will be okay." The man gave him a warm, reassuring smile. Killian gave him a hesitant, unenthusiastic barely-smile in return.