Grief doesn't slow you down, It sharpens everything especially the blame.
"Keep moving."
Jasper said it without turning back and without looking at the place they left him, Caleb was already home behind them and not buried.
Just…gone
And that was th problem, it broke them not just because he died but because of how everything happened very fast and how they all walked away. The silence was different now, heavy and loaded and every step carried something unspoken or even dangerous. Guilt moved quietly but spreaded fast. It started with the eyes, no one dared to look at Jasper directly, not even the one a who trusted him and especially not them.
Stacy walked beside him close enough but not like before. Jasper noticed even the hesitation from her including the crack which formed in the group. Caleb's death did hurt more and it created a question and no one wanted to ask out loud. Everyone was isolated in their own thought.
Could he have been saved? And worse of it all, Did Jaspr let him die?
The first voice broke and it came from behind them
"We should've stayed." The voice said sharply.
The group slowed down slightly
"We couldn't." Jasper said without turning.
His voice was calm
"We didn't even try!" The voice concluded
The statement hitted harder because now it was not just grief that spoke but accusation. At that instant, Jasper stopped walking as he turned slowly with his eyes scanning the group to find the speaker. It was from Marcus, a young man in his mind-20s shaking as he spoke angrily.
"He was alive," Marcus continued
"He was talking…"
"And he was dying," Jasper cut a in sharply.
Their eyes lock into each other with grief, emotion and reality.
"You don't know that," Marcus fired back
"You didn't even give him a chance!"
The group became uneasy because now the fracture was visible.
"This isn't helping anyone…"
"No," Marcus snapped
"What's not helping is pretending we had no choice." His eyes moved back to Jasper
"You have the order."
The weight landed heavily as Jasper didn't deny it, didn't deflect, he just stood there holding it because he knew that Marcus was not completely wrong and that was what made it worse
"Yeah." Jasper said finally and quitely.
"I did."
That honesty hit harder than any defense, there was no where to hide. Marcus Laughed bitterly
"So what happens next?"
"We just keep dropping people when the slow down?"
Jasper stepped forward slightly
"No." His voice was firmer
"We keep people alive but not pretending that we can save everyone."
Jasper's word cutted deep because they were true and no one wanted them to be. Marcus shook his head.
"That's nothing to leadership."
"That's survival," Jasper replied.
They continued their journey in silence and turmoil unresolved. The damage was done and they divided.
"You're carrying too much." Stacy spoke softly only to Jasper's hearing.
Jasper exhaled slowly .
"Someone has to." He said
As Stacy stopped walking, Jasper turned.
"Now like this," she said
Her eyes were steady but there was something in them now.
"You're shutting down," she continued
"And if you keep doing that…."
She stopped herself half way and didn't finish the sentence. Jasper already understood that he was loosing more than people. He was losing connection.
A low sound was heard from the distant at first but it grew louder and the convoy came closer. Engines roar across the wasteland very fast. Zod raised a hand stopping everyone instantly.
"Positions." He commanded.
His men moved quickly with their weapons ready and formations tight and prepared. The group were confused and uneasy. They all realized that it was something bigger and as Jasper watched closely he saw clearly that Zod and his group weren't in control anymore, they were preparing for something they'd feared and that changed everything. As the Horizon broke, dust rose first, then shadows and then machines and Vehicles with heavy armor more than before. They didn't slow down or hesitated but went straight towards them. Zod muttered under his breath.
"…This is bad."
Jasper narrowed his eyes because grief didn't matter anymore neither does guilt. The convoy closed the distance fast, fast enough to outrun or even hide and then a loud speaker crackled to life coldly and distorted.
"All units on the ground…Do not move."
The voice echoed across the wasteland with absolute command. Zod and his group froze, they even obeyed. Jasper didn't move, he locked his eyes on the incoming force, he felt something was wrong. The vehicles slowed down slightly, threatening.
As the convoy surrounded them and weapons rose from every direction…one chilling realization settled over Jasper and the group; They didn't just lose Caleb…They had just walked into something far worse.