Wake of the Dead | Two

Chapter Four | Jasper

The patrol was going smoothly so far. The trek away from the farmhouse had been a bit less interesting, but Aubrey and Darren managed to catch Jasper up on the goings-on he'd missed within the group. There wasn't much drama to speak of, other than Killian and Casimir becoming more and more competitive by the day, but that was nothing new. He only wondered what sort of conflict Killian would manage to land himself in. Of course he'd defend his friend, but sometimes defending people wasn't the best thing to do. Killian certainly wouldn't want him to fight his battles.

The four continued on through the long, uncut grass of the field. Suddenly, Aubrey screamed and jumped, hiding behind Jasper. A snake wriggled in between the long stalks as quickly as possible, and Aubrey let out a pitiful whine, "Jasper kill it!"

Raising his brows, Jasper watched as the scaly creature moved past them faster than it had appeared. Aubrey gave in an indignant and even angry look, to which he responded bluntly, "It was just passing through. I'm sure there are other animals around here somewhere, Aubrey." Why she was afraid of a little slithery worm with fangs, Jasper wasn't exactly sure. He knew some people were, but he didn't understand it. Maybe, after being shot at by people who wanted to kill him, he was a bit desensitized to danger. Or maybe snakes just didn't bother him.

An amused snort from Killian made Aubrey even more upset, an aggressive huff leaving her nostrils as the other man said, "A wild animal can't risk getting hurt under any circumstances. Jasper was right, it was just passing through," He shrugged, "It wouldn't start a fight for no reason, especially not with a bunch of humans." Killian tilted his head to the side, thinking out loud, "It's also good for the farm, too. It'll keep away mice and rats, maybe other vermin."

Whatever anybody said about Killian, Jasper had to admit that the young man certainly had an impressive amount of knowledge when it came to the wilderness. He knew how to hunt and track, and seemed to know about the animals and plants themselves. It intrigued him even further about his friend's mysterious origins. They were in the southern countryside, but Killian had come from the city, as far as he knew.

The next person to break the silence was Darren, who was leading the patrol. He'd tried to volunteer Jasper for the job, but no matter how many times people tried to tell Jasper he was a good leader, he just wasn't. Maybe they saw something in him that Jasper didn't see himself, but as he thought back on it, he wasn't anything more than just an ex-military soldier who'd failed keeping the citizens of the city safe. Not to mention having a close brush with death. "Are we going to check the fence, or are we going to babble on about unpleasant reptiles?"

Exchanging an exasperated glance with Killian, he continued following Darren through the field. Wrinkling his nose as the dust kicked up from the long stalks tickled his nostrils, Jasper's chest jolted into a sneeze. Killian mumbled a quiet, "Bless you." Just that small little comment made Jasper's chest flutter a bit. Not because of what Killian had said, but because he'd cared to say it at all.

When the patrol had reached the edge of the woods, Jasper knit his brows together. A few biters turned their heads, snarls on their lips. Well, sort of—one of them had their mouth gashed open. They didn't really have any lips after that. One of the biters were more recently turned, and whipped around quicker than Jasper could have anticipated. With a sickening roar, it ran at him, teeth snapping. The other four biters growled and followed, but slower this time. Taking his gun from the holster at his waist, Jasper clicked off the safety, aimed and shot as quickly as he could.

The biter fell short a few feet of him, crumpling to the ground as the bullet pierced its skull. Killian had shot two with his arrows. Aubrey smacked one across the head with her bat, and Darren axed the other in the face. With the biters dispatched quickly, the small patrol stopped a few seconds to catch their breath and calm their nerves. Darren shot an uneasy glance towards Jasper, and he immediately knew what the other man was thinking. Where there were biters—especially fast ones—there were more nearby. They'd have to tell Tom immediately when they arrived back at the farmhouse.