Wake of the Dead | Two

Chapter Thirty-Seven | Jasper

The camp was small, set just barely inside the city limits. There were large trucks surrounding the area, just as Jackson had described. Two armored military vehicles and three horses, large tents set up in orderly sections. The horses were tied to a makeshift post set beside a large campfire. Skinning racks for fresh kills stood nearby, one holding a large buck with a woman preparing it to eat. Jasper, Darren, Aubrey and Jackson were just at the border of the woods, behind a chain-link fence. The only thing stopping the rival group from seeing them was the deep foliage blocking the view. 

Of course the group was much larger than their own, which was what Jasper expected. But still, he couldn't help but feel like Jackson exaggerated the story to add a bit more agency to his situation. As Jasper parted his lips to say something about it, he could see the scrutinizing gaze of the half-biter flickering around the scene before them. "This isn't all of them," He said softly. "There were more, I swear to you. Their leader isn't even here from the looks of it."

Once again, Jasper scanned the camp. All he could see were groups of men and women with hefty guns strapped to their backs and a strange sort of uniform. There were what Jasper counted to be twelve people, eight men and four women. There wasn't a strict uniform, but all were wearing some combination of diluted or dark colors...with some sort of armor over it. Metal, he presumed. But the thing that made Jasper so angry inside were the guns and trucks. They were obviously military. It didn't matter to him where they'd gotten it. A small part of him wondered what it would be like to hold one of those firearms again.

Too busy watching the strangers mill about, what Jackson said hadn't sunk in immediately. When Jasper finally processed it, he felt sick. "More?" The twisting in his stomach only got worse with Jackson nodded. There were more than what they already saw? "Their leader isn't here either?" He clarified again. Jackson nodded a second time, his eye staring at the people below. There was something in the younger man's gaze that sent shivers through Jasper's body. It was almost murderous. In his very short time spent with Renier's gang alongside Killian when they'd passed through Swanston, Jasper had never imagined any of the people there were too close besides the two cousins. 

"None of them even look anything like him," Jackson shook his head, "Nowhere near as big." Jasper narrowed his eyes. The men in the camp looked relatively athletic, with varying degrees. There was still a few on the taller side as well. How could Jackson even tell from such a far distance? The half-biter must have seen the doubt on Jasper's face, because he then continued. "You'll know him if you ever see him. This man...he'd tower you, Jasper."

"What?" There was no way Jackson wasn't exaggerating. Jasper knew he was a tall guy, he'd been teased about it from time to time. He'd met men taller than him, but Jasper couldn't ever say they'd towered him. "You must have just been frightened of him is all," Jasper muttered, "If what you're saying is true, these people don't screw around when it comes to taking hostages." 

"I'm not frightened of him Jasper, I'm terrified." Jackson 's voice shook as he dug the fierce metal claws into the hard-packed soil. 

Jasper's lips parted, speechless. Never in his life would he have expected Jackson to say he was scared of anything, let alone terrified, or hear a shake in his voice. As he peered closer, he could even see the paranoia beginning to take ahold of the other man. Now, his long-standing wariness and dislike towards Jackson began to waver, replaced with mutual respect. Whatever those people had put Jackson through, it wasn't anything short of traumatic. Aubrey gently pressed against Jackson's side in an attempt to comfort him, which the younger man immediately obliged to, leaning against her and closing his eyes for a few split seconds. 

The urge to break the two apart again was almost overwhelming, but before Jasper could do anything he caught a glance from Darren, who shook his head. Swallowing back his protests, Jasper continued to watch. He wasn't sure exactly what they were looking for, but whatever it was, they couldn't go back empty-handed. The group wouldn't be satisfied with what little information they could offer them. Jasper needed to determine if they were safe at the farm, if they should leave, what their next move should be. Of course, he'd run those decisions by Tom first. But in that current moment, his job was to protect his group, if not with direct confrontation then a decision on how to handle their new 'neighbors.'