The cleaning of Jason's room was going swell with Zach's help. Together, they were able to finish it all within two hours. But Zach brought up a little problem.
"What about the balcony? It's gonna be wide open. Why don't you just move into another apartment?"
"Hell no! This is my place and I'll be damned if I leave it! As for the doors? Don't worry. Gonna build me a nice trap that'll deter any sneaky thieves. Let's go get the bed moved, then we'll eat."
As his bed was completely destroyed by a soon-to-be lamppost, Jason had to get a new one from another apartment. Moving into position, they both lifted at the same time. However due to one side of the bed rising way too fast, Zach dropped his portion back onto the ground. He stared at Jason with confusion.
"You alright there hulk?"
Jason dropped the bed and stared at his hands in shock. He... was never this strong before. It was a pretty decent increase from before. The thing was, he never even noticed it until now.
"I don't know. Never been like this before."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I mean my strength. It's gone up from before."
"You're stronger?" Zach whispered to himself with a gloomy look. His path to catching up looked impossibly bleak before, but now...
"What do you think could have caused it?"
Jason stood there thinking for a few seconds, before replying with a matter-of-fact tone.
"Gotta be Scarface. Can't be any other explanation."
"Woah. That's... so cool! It must've been from the bite!"
Jason felt the same. The increase in power made something deep within him scream in joy. But he couldn't place a finger on what that deep thing was.
"Alright enough with the bullshit. Let's get this done and overwith. I'm starving."
Together they lifted the bed correctly this time and carried it to Jason's bedroom, with Zach blabbering the whole way about how he was like an anime character. When they were done placing the bed down, Zach had to leave quickly. Because of Killgore going through another fit.
After they finished their meal, Zach went off to train with his katana. As for Jason, he was thinking about what to do next. When Scarface rudely trespassed into his home, he broke both the balcony doors and his bedroom door. The bedroom door wasn't a problem since he was confident in being able to replace it with another one. The tools for such a job were probably laying around the place somewhere.
But he wasn't so sure about the balcony doors. He was under the assumption that it would be the same as the bedroom door. However the problem was what if another creature just busts it down again? Then there was the trap he really wanted to build. What could he make that could even harm something like the Night Hunters? Well, one problem at a time was his current motto.
Still, he didn't exactly feel comfortable with leaving it so open like that for any Tom, Dick, and Harry to wander inside like they owned the place. Thus he put his new strength to the test by moving a bunch of refrigerators to block the doorway. The increase in power... marveled him.
What he thought was going to take just an hour or two in replacing his bedroom door, ending up taking the rest of the day. Mostly because of his inexperience. But there was a sense of pride in seeing his accomplishment, no matter how minor it might seem.
Jason stood on his balcony, watching the last of the sunlight dip under the horizon and waited. Soon enough, he could hear the various roars of Night Hunters as they started their hunt. Those roars reminded him of his fight, and made him angry at his weakness.
But as he stared at the moonlight, and the brilliant starry night sky devoid of any clouds, the anger inside of him started to fade away. It looked... so beautiful.
After moving the fridge back into place, he quietly went back to his room and shut the door behind him. Throwing a lung to Killgore, he slipped into his new bed and fell asleep to the sounds of an organ being consumed.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When waking up next morning, he had a feeling today was going to be special. He knew they were running kinda low on water, with the ones downstairs already ran out a day ago and were using his dwindling shares. So a journey to the outside seemed to be in order. Especially since the streets had little to no activity on them.
After his morning workout and breakfast with Zach, the two of them headed downstairs to the others. Once they arrived, crazed laughter could be heard from outside Bill's apartment.
"Hahaha! Finally done with this shit!"
From their own apartments, the others all came out to see what the commotion was about.
"You gone senile old man? The hells wrong with you?" Tyrone said, obvious fake concern present in his voice.
"I'm done with the radio. Fixed this old piece of crap. I swear, this thing took years off my life. Come, take a listen."
Together, all of them crammed themselves into Bill's apartment. The group was a little surprised seeing Jason, but kept quiet as Bill fiddled with the radio. As he turned the dial, the group felt worse and worse. Because all they heard was static. Eventually however, a voice echoed out. But it sounded garbled and they couldn't make out what the other person was saying.
"Come on you stupid shit!" Only after smacking it on it's side was the voice clearer.
"Hello again my loyal listeners! I'm your host Crazy Seven, speaking from the safety of my hidey hole the location of which shall not be named! Don't take it personally kiddos. There's some real psychos out here.
Today's news is a sad one. I know some of you listening have friends and family in Hong King Kong, and are wondering what's happened over there.
Last week, I gave the dreadful news that a nuke was launched onto said city." Crazy Seven waited a few moments before continuing.
"I've got new reports about the situation there, and it's not good. The entire city was declared a dead-zone. It's said that there's no healthy people left there, only the infected remain to rule over the ruins of a once great city. For anyone that had loved ones there, my deepest condolences. A moment of silence for all those tragic souls lost." As he went silent, the group didn't know what to say. At least, until Kevin broke the silence.
"A goddamn nuke? What about all the people still living there? Do they simply not care?" Before anyone answered him, Crazy Seven's voice came back online.
"Let's get some happy news to lift our spirits up huh? D.C. isn't exactly a haven, but it's sure as shit a helleva lot better than most places. The big ass military camp is still running smooth around the White House, and they are taking in as many people as possible. Also, our brave soldiers scored a big win-"
Crazy Seven went on and on about a bunch of news that truly did lift the spirits of not only everyone in the group, but survivors across the nation. It showed that while bad, things weren't hopeless just yet. But his next words made certain hearts sink.
"Can't be all good news unfortunately. This one is for my friends hunkering down in Nuke Isle City. Since the last rescue mission ended in a complete disaster, for some reason the military has decided to stop sending any sort of help. And with the bridges already out, I'd say you guys are shit outta luck.
But the crazy thing is, it's not just there. For some top secret reason, the government has cut back on sending aid to numerous cities across the country. This... smells juicy. I'll do my damndest to get to the bottom of this. Anyway! It's that time I'm sure you all hate. Time for me to head off for today. Oh stop your crying. Tune in tomorrow for some help against the nasty infected! Crazy Seven, signing off!"
"Did that fuck-head say... the bridges are out? How the fuck are we meant to leave then?" Bill was furious at the news that the only way to leave this hell on Theia, was destroyed.
Tyrone put his fingers to the bridge of his nose and sighed in frustration. The rest were just as frustrated. But Jason, wasn't really concerned. He never really thought about leaving this place anyway. There was a lot of fun in this place. Even after his near-death experience with Scarface, he still felt that way.
"Well, you could leave by boat right? Or maybe helicopter?" The others looked to Jason in shock as Tyrone slapped his forehead.
"Of course. But there's still the problem of getting to a boat through the hordes of infected, finding a working boat, then finding someone to drive it because I don't have a clue on how to work the thing. Not to mention the helicopter."
"Pfft. Those are just details."
"I can drive em." While speaking, Bill turned off the radio and turned towards them in his chair.
"That's one problem solved I guess. But at least now we've got a goal to work towards." Tyrone said as he patted Bill's shoulder.
When the others began to split up and return to their duties, Jason spoke up regarding their newest problem before they could leave.
"So about the water shortage. We're not gonna last long with what we have left. Better we go outside today before the streets are flooded with infected. It's our best chance." The others stopped and looked to him.
"And who's gonna go out there?" Kevin asked.
"Well me obviously. It's clear that I'm immune or some shit, so it's a given for me. And Alice should come with as a scout." Before anyone else spoke, Lily shouted out in slight rage.
"Absolutely not!"
"Lily! We need to do this! I can do it!" Alice tried to rebuke her sister. She was tired of being treated like a child who couldn't handle anything. Of course, she knew Lily just cared too much for her.
"We've had this conversation already! It's not going to happen!"
"Lily, calm down. I know you're worried about her and you have every right to be worried, but I'll be right there with her protecting her. Trust me, she'll be fine."
"But..."
She looked between both Alice and Jason before sighing in defeat.
"Fine, but you're not going out there without something a little stronger to protect my precious sister." Lily pulled her beloved gun out of her waist and handed it to Jason.
"Lily..." Alice's face flushed slightly in embarrassment.
'Why does she have to say it like that?!' But Lily ignored her.
"I'm down to my last magazine, so make them count okay? And Jason? If there is even a hair missing from her head, I swear to Christ, I'll shove my foot so far up your ass you'll be able to taste my fucking shoelaces." Saying so, she walked over to Alice and gave her a big hug while whispering into her ear.
"Be careful, please?"
"I will. We'll be back before you know it." No matter how many times Lily has embarrassed her with the whole overprotective stuff, she loved her big sister's warmth and her loving embrace.
After hugging her for a while, Lily eventually let go and sat down nearby with a somewhat irritated look.
"So where do you plan to go? The supermarket?" Kevin said.
"Yeah. It's just down the road so it'll be a quick trip. Hopefully it's not looted too bad. Alright. I'm gonna go get my shit, then we'll go."
Jason left the room and started making his way to the stairwell. Trailing behind him was Zach, who was concerned about the whole thing. But he knew better than to try and change Jason's mind. As they reached the fifth floor, Zach spoke up.
"Um, do you want my katana? It might be better than your hammer." Zach was worried about Jason going out there with just the puny hammer.
As for said hammer, after it was dropped by Jason when fighting Scarface, it was picked up by Zach while Jason was still in his mini coma.
"Are you serious? Fuck yeah! Well? What are you waiting for? Go get it!" Jason had a wide smile on his face when thinking about the damage he could create with the katana.
While Zach did that, Jason got his armor together while talking to Killgore.
"You know, ever since I made this it's never been tested. At first it seemed like a good idea, but I wonder..." All he got in response was a growl.
"You're right. I should test it. You're so smart darling."
He brought up his cardboard and duct tape armored forearm to his mouth, and bit down as hard as he could. But to his surprise, he only felt a slight tingle Moving his mouth back he saw little damage, with some teeth marks and the duct tape looking a little worse. Gazing at his forearm made him wonder. Was his bite stronger now?
"Who knew duct tape and cardboard made some decent armor. Gosh, my genius knows no bounds."
Before he left his apartment, he made sure to stock up on as many knives as possible inside a bag and slung it over his shoulder for easy access. He was in desperate need for a more... advanced training.
When he felt prepared enough and walked out, he saw Zach in all his glory as he walked over from down the hall. In his hands he carefully carried the holy weapon still inside it's sheath, with the utmost respect. Stopping in front of Jason, Zach handed the katana to his dear friend.
"Take care of her, will you? By the way I never told you her name. It's Honjo Masamune. " He had such a sad look to his face as he handed off one of his most prized possessions. It really was by the grace of Goku he got that for such a low price.
"Yup. I'll treat her real good." As for Jason, he completely ignored the sad man and played with his brand new lethal mistress. It was... awesome.
Seeing him have such a good time, made Zach feel a little better about losing his weapon. Only when Zach was gone, did Jason stop playing with Honjo Masamune and walk into apartment 2 to grab Killgore's food. It was a little surprising that no one had accidentally walked inside and got a nose-full of rotting flesh poured directly into their nostrils.
He was going to give her the rest of it, because he was on a special mission he hasn't told anyone yet. Get Killgore fresh food. It broke his heart to watch her eat this rancid flesh, she deserved better.
Jason easily carried the rest of the food back to Killgore's cage. Instead of throwing it to her, he wanted her to take it from his own hand. Taking a torse, he held it right before her and waited.
Killgore looked at both pieces of meat and made a massive decision. She decided not to snap at the large meatsack whose presence was starting to feel nicer for some strange reason, and instead only took the torso. While she ate up, Jason had a big wide smile on his face.
"Aw, I knew you loved me!" He pet her for a few moments before throwing the rest of the food into her cage.
"I'll be back soon Killgore, with fresh meat. God, you'd look so badass with a spiked collar." A growl soon echoed out.
After appreciating Killgore's beauty for a few seconds, Jason thought it was high time to leave. Walking back down to the second floor he witnessed Alice standing in the hallway with her arms crossed and a bag on her back waiting for him. Seeing Jason, she walked over.
"Finally ready? What were you doing up there? And what's with the get-up?"
"I was feeding my lovely companion. As for this? It's my amazing genius armor."
"It doesn't really look too good."
"Yeah? Well fuck you too then. Let's get going already. Tsk, damned sisters. Making fun of my stuff." Although he said that last part to himself, she still heard it.
Alice giggled a little at the now sulking Jason and followed after him, as he looked down at his 'armor'.
'Fuck. She's not wrong. Dammit...'
They came upon the newly put up barricade made of various heavy furniture and even some refrigerators. While Jason moved them out of the way, Alice stood by the side watching. Her true thoughts unknown.
"By the way. Your scars? I thought they looked really cool. Badass even."
He stopped what he was doing and turned around to face her.
"I know right?! They look fucking wicked! I'll tell you about the fight and how I got them later."
When Jason finally finished moving the last piece out of the way, he gestured towards the doorway with his arm along with a slight mocking bow.
"After you, 'princess'."
"Hehe. Thank you, my knight in duct tape armor."
"You... whatever. Just signal me when it's clear, asshole."
She continued giggling for a few more moments before stopping. Alice looked around every nook and cranny, but found nothing bad. So she looked back and waved for Jason to come over. Once he arrived, she gave her knight a thoughtful question.
"Shouldn't you move the blockade back?"
Jason looked back, suddenly feeling a massive wave of laziness wash over him at the thought of walking back and moving the pieces back into their correct place.
"I'm sure it'll be fine. We'll only be gone for like... 20 minutes? Ish?" Alice narrowed her eyes at Jason, but failed to say anything further about the subject.
"And the apartments?"
"Eh, just leave em. Probably won't be worth the time. Let's go outside."
As they had already checked the situation from out the windows, they weren't surprised in seeing a few infected on the streets. Jason stepped onto the street and pulled out Honjo Masamune from it's sheath.
"Fucking beautiful."
It was a work of art crafted to perfection, with no words to describe it's beauty. When Jason walked to the closest infected, it roared once it noticed him and charged at him. In his eyes, it moved sorta of slower than before. Seems like it's not only his strength that increased.
Standing in an awkward and clearly inexperienced two-handed stance with the blade above him, he waited for it to get closer. Once in range, he swung down with all his might. Instantly, the infected was cleaved in half like butter from top to bottom with no resistance. It's guts and blood splashed onto the ground making Alice gag slightly with a somewhat disgusted face. Although she was worryingly getting way too used to blood and gore, this was a bit too much.
But Jason had a big smile to his slightly bloodied face.
"Awesome." The blade had given him a new form of power.
The other four infected noticed the commotion and ran towards the samurai with obvious intentions. The closest one was easily decapitated by his weightless blade with a horizontal strike. Jason raised the blade once more and swung in a diagonal, slicing through half of the next infected's head.
Losing his two handed grip he came up and stabbed the one in front of him. He kept his blade in the infected's head and with his other hand grabbed the collar of it's shirt. Moving slightly into position, he threw the dead body into the coming infected which knocked it down. Before it could move the body on top of it and get up, Jason ran up and stabbed it's brain while it struggled on the ground.
"How was that?" Jason asked while looking at Alice for approval and praise.
She looked at the bloodied man and gave a thumbs up with both hands. Which earned her a smile. Alice thought he looked a little cute like this. Well, as cute as a giant bloody killing machine could look like.
But then Jason did something strange, he walked towards a random alleyway.
"Where are you going?"
"Just checking in on my baby bird." Hearing his reply, she was so stunned that no words came from her open mouth. But still, she followed after the unstable man.
On both sides of the alleyway were multiple doors that could house his Usain Bolter. He wanted to spend time looking for his baby bird, but the mission for water should be priority. The duo stepped out of the alleyway and continued on down the road.
"So... what were you looking for?"
Jason sighed before responding.
"Not a what. A who. Usain Bolter. He's a special infected that fed off the bodies I threw from the balcony. He's different from the others. When he spotted me due to a certain loud mouth, he ran away as fast as possible. More like a deer than some flesh eating monster. He always ran towards that alley. Probably in one of the buildings."
"Hm. Sounds interesting. Bring me along next time you search for him."
"Will do. I am concerned though..." Jason paused as he looked back to the alleyway one last time with a worried face.
"Haven't seen him in a while. I hope he's okay."
"I'm sure your... baby bird... is fine." Alice wanted to laugh, but she was a little worried that doing so would hurt his feelings. So she held it in.
As they continued down the street, Jason easily slaughtered any infected that barred their path with his peerless katana. While Alice would occasionally run ahead and scout the area to make sure there weren't tons of them hiding in the buildings. The journey thus far was smooth sailing for the most part. When they were almost to the supermarket, Jason decided to start using his throwing knives.
He sheathed the katana and placed it on his waist. Reaching into the knife filled bag, he pulled a couple out and held the majority in one hand. In his other contained only a single knife. Jason gripped the handle of the knife and took a step forward with his left foot. His target was a mere 30ft away as she looked directly at the ground unmoving. With a flick of the wrist, he sent the knife towards his target. And missed by only a hair.
"Ah shit, so close!"
While he grabbed another knife, the infected lady looked up due to the noise and spotted fresh food. She ran towards Jason as fast as she could. He threw another aimed for her head, but this time hit her shoulder. She didn't even flinch or slow down as her legs carried her to her prey. When she was 15ft away, Jason threw once more and managed to land a knife right in the center of her forehead. He definitely needed more practice. Behind him he could hear clapping from his companion.
"Nice job. That was pretty cool."
"Thanks. Could be better though." He tried to be nonchalant, but the praise from Alice made his face bloom into a smile.
For the rest of the journey, Jason only used his knives and saw a decent improvement against fast moving targets compared to an unmoving wall. Though, there was one time he missed the head multiple times and had to resort to his katana. And soon, they were in front of the supermarket.
"You ready?"
"Yup. I'll check it out first, wait here. I'll scream for you if I need help."
Jason nodded to her and waited outside while he surveyed the area. Luckily, the area was surprising clear. As he stared down a certain street that wasn't too far away, he wondered about something. The refugee camp. Down that direction for a few miles would be the high-school where the military set up camp. By now it's probably been overrun, but Jason was thinking about the supplies left behind.
His thoughts were interrupted by the door reopening and Alice stepping out. She didn't have a good look to her face, making Jason's stomach drop.
"How bad is it?"
"There's only a few infected in there. The problem... is that most of the stuff in there is gone."
"Shit. Alright, let's get in there and see what's left. Hopefully Lady Luck will bless us."
Jason stepped inside the supermarket and immediately saw one of the infected. He was waiting in line as he blankly looked ahead. An odd scene for sure. It was as if he was a customer waiting to get his food checked-out. Especially with a basket next to him.
Hearing the door open for a third time, he looked over and finally saw a healthy human. He growled and ran around the check-out station right for Jason. Elsewhere in the store, all the noise attracted the others to come and play.
Using his katana, he easily dispatched the infected in front of him. Out from some of the aisles, he witnessed as three more infected came running out right towards him. The closest one recieved a horizontal slash that cut their head open from the nose and up. Next, Jason stabbed out with his weapon going straight through it's brain and killing it. As he effortlessly pulled out from the dead one's head, he threw a front kick to the last infected's chest. When struck, the infected flew backwards across the room.
"Wow!" Alice was shocked in seeing a human body fly so far because of a simple kick.
The kicked infected struggled to stand, but when it finally did the duo were able to see the damage. A clear indent of a shoe was in it's chest, showing the power Jason now wields. It moved forward slower than before with a slouched back, and met it's demise with a downward strike that cleaved it in half.
"Phew. Let's gather what's left. You take that side, I'll take over here." Although they were mainly here for water, gathering the food was just plain common sense.
Alice and Jason moved to their respective areas, grabbing any food that wasn't expired and placing it into their bags. However, there truly wasn't much left here. Only about a weeks worth. When the both of them were done, they met in the middle of the store to compare their haul.
"Hehe, I won!" Alice had a triumphant look to her face.
"Tsk, whatever. Doesn't even matter."
"What about my prize?" Alice asked with a hopeful look in her eyes.
"Oh yeah? What prize do you want?" Jason found her amusing, so he decided to play her game. But then, he noticed her face turn mischievous. Which caused a sinking feeling appeared in his chest.
"I want... the sour patch kids!"
Jason stood there stunned, his eyes wide open. He pointed at her with anger.
"You're an actual prick! Do you find pleasure in my suffering?!"
"Hehe! Yup!" Alice giggled with a smile on her face. She found Jason to be a joy around, even with his flaws.
"Weellll? Hand it over!" She held her hand out, waiting for the loser to cough up the winnings.
Jason gritted his teeth and reached into the bag. He loved sour patch kids. But... she did win. With reluctance, he placed the bag into her hand.
"Fine. Take it you little shit. Haaa. What about water?" Jason asked, a 'bitter' look to his face.
"I found two packs of them!"
Alice happily skipped along and led Jason into the back of the store, showing him what she had found. True to her word, there were two packs of bottled water sitting on the shelf. Each pack had 32 bottles.
"So little? If we do two a day this will only last us around four days at a minimum. Then we have to account for physical activities that would increase the intake of water. Well, let's check the storage for anymore."
When Alice and Jason went into the storage area of the store, their fears came true when it was mostly empty.
"Christ, these heartless bastards couldn't have left some stuff for us? Hope they rot in hell."
They split up to search for anything of value. There was still some things left here, but most of it was either expired or couldn't fit inside their already full bags. But, they finally came across a stroke of luck when they found another two packs of water.
"Oh thank you Lady Luck! We'll come back later to collect the rest of it."
Jason took on the 'burden' of carrying both packs out of storage. He placed them on top of the others and was about to pick them all up, when the door opened. Hearing both the door open and the voices that followed, Jason put a finger to his lips. Alice nodded that she understood.
"There's bodies in here too. Freshly killed. Watch out, the bastards might still be here." A gruff voice sounded out, perhaps an older man.
"What should we do when we find them?" This newer voice was clearly much younger than the last.
"Kill em obviously. And listen new kid, don't kill any women. We'll take turns on her before taking her back to base. Though, if she's a virgin that's different. Gotta take her to the boss if that happens."
After his comrade, the gruff man spoke up again.
"Hmm. That reminds me, you never got a turn on the new girl we captured a few days ago huh? Shame you won't get to try her, Bosco got to her."
"Bosco?"
"Heh. Once that big man has his fun, we bet how long she'll last. They usually break in a day or two. Longest one lasted two whole weeks! Ahh. I miss her. The ass alone was to die for." The middle man spoke with a reminiscing tone. However, his tone didn't last long and soon turned into a snarl.
"But then again, I bet she would break in four days! Damn bitch made me lose a fuckton of money!" After he was done speaking, he spit on the floor to show his disgust.
The conversation between the three men enraged Alice deeply. Especially after her own encounter with scum like them. Jason himself never liked the notion of rape, and was as enraged as her at how casual they were about it. Clearly, they had done this sort of thing often. He peeked around the corner of the aisle they were hiding behind, and was able to see all three of them walking around cautiously. All of them had weapon, but by the looks of it lacked any guns.
"Dammit!" Suddenly one of them shouted out, alerting the others.
"What's wrong?" The gruff man headed over, thinking he was in trouble.
"Those pieces of shit took the last of the sour patch kids! Assholes!"
Alice and Jason looked at each other and almost burst out laughing. Jason put his hand over her mouth and his own as they struggled to keep quiet.
"Really?"
"What?! I love-"
As the two continued to banter, Jason thought it was the perfect time to strike. He could see the kid standing outside the aisle waiting there while looking at them bicker. He wasn't even paying attention to his surroundings like an idiot. Had a goofy smile on his face listening to his friends argue. Jason looked over to Alice and mouthed out 'Stay here' which she nodded to. But she was still going to watch.
Jason left their aisle and started silently walking towards the boy. When he was closer, he was easily able to see that this kid was only about 18 years old. Strange thing is, his face was a little bruised. Like he got into a fight or something. Ignoring that, Jason already had a game plan ready to go.
He came up behind the kid and kicked as hard as he could on the back of his knee.
*SNAP*
"AHHHH!"
Instantly his leg snapped, and there was even bone protruding out. As he fell to the ground screaming in pain, the two other men looked over in shock. Enraged, they charged at him.
"You sonofa bitch!"
The gruff man came first and swung his bat right at Jason's head. In Jason's eyes the bat moved toward him slowly and gave him plenty of time to side-step to the left, dodging it completely. With his left hand, he landed a nasty left hook to the man's jaw.
*CRACK*
Following a massive crack that no doubt meant his jaw was currently dust, he toppled over. Unmoving. The last guy swung his crowbar and watched in horror as Jason caught it with his left hand. He felt a slight sting as he caught it. Not giving the other man a chance to move, Jason threw a right elbow straight to his face. The man fell over backwards and failed to get back up. On closer look, a massive chunk of his head was pushed inward.
Jason checked on the gruff man and found him to be barely alive. If left here he probably won't last more than an hour. So Jason did what any kind samaritan would do. Stomp on his neck with his foot and listen to the sweet sound of his bone breaking.
"You can come out Alice."
Following his words, Alice came out to see the carnage that he left in his wake.
When she saw the dead men and the screaming boy on the ground, joy blossomed onto her face.
Jason looked down at the still screaming boy and crouched down next to him.
"So. Where's that base of yours?"
But the kid failed to respond, still somewhat delirious over the pain and the sight of his broken leg. Because of his failure to speak, Jason's face adopted a bad look.
'Ooh. Jason doesn't like that.' Alice thought to herself.
Taking a knife from his bag, he lifted the boy's shirt and brought the tip of the blade to his stomach. Then, he started slicing from his belly button all the way to the middle of his chest.
"AHHHH!"
"Oh? What's that? Ready to talk now? Where's your base? Or... do you want me to continue?"
Now there was a long bloody line across his body that bled profusely due to how deep Jason went. Due to the pain from his leg and body, he started crying like a newborn baby.
"Is that a yes?" As he said that, his knife started hovering over his eye.
"NOO! PLEASE!"
Taking a few deep breaths, he started blabbering.
"I-If you go down to Helix Street and go into an alleyway, you'll find a building at the end. On th-the building's door there's going to be a skull. That's all I know! I swear! Please... don't hurt me anymore!" The tears started flowing more out of his eyes. But Jason and Alice didn't have sympathy for the blubbering 18 year old.
Laying his hand on the boy's throat gently, Jason spoke softly and reassuringly.
"Hurt you? No, no, no. I won't hurt you anymore. Promise." Hope started surfacing inside the little man's eyes.
However, Jason's hand started tightening, choking the boy. The kid who sensed Jason was going to kill him, tried to struggle in any sort of way. He clawed at his arms to get him to stop. And stop he did.
*CRACK*
With a little more power, Jason snapped the boys neck. Ending his life as his head tilted to the side.
Off to the side, Alice felt nothing. Except for an odd joy from deep within her. And that made her panic to some degree. She had never liked watching people die or see any kind of gore. But lately not only has she been getting used to it at a very fast pace, she's come to almost enjoy it. What was wrong with her?
Jason stood up and placed his knife away. When he looked over to Alice and saw the dilemma on her face, he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't feel bad for worthless slugs like these fucks. They don't deserve it."
"I... don't feel bad. If anything, I feel good that they're dead. Isn't that wrong?" Alice looked up, seeking guidance from the wrong man.
"Nope. Nothing wrong with that."
"Well, what about you?"
Jason tilted his head slightly as he looked at her in confusion.
"What about me?"
"How do you feel? You know? Killing these guys?"
"How do you feel when you take out the trash? Or kill an ant? These aren't people. They're garbage. And you don't feel bad when you take out the garbage. Besides, doesn't really feel too different from killing the infected."
Leaving her to her own thoughts, Jason walked over to where they put their supplies. He put both bags full of food on his forearms and carried one of the packs of water to the still motionless Alice. She snapped out of her stupor when her arms suddenly bore the weight of 35lbs.
"W-What?"
"You need to get some muscles on them arms. Like your sister. Carrying this all the way back should be a good enough workout." As Jason replied to her, he walked back over and easily picked up the three other packs.
But Alice just looked at him strangely. Although she definitely felt the weight, this wasn't really too heavy for her. Which was... odd. However, she ignored that.
"My sister? Please. I don't wanna look like that she-hulk. Her last boyfriend left her because of her muscles."
Walking over, Jason gave her a once over.
"I don't know. I think you'd look decent with some extra muscle on you. Nothing too big though."
"Well... I could give it some thought."
Hearing her response, he chuckled a little.
"Alright Alice. Let's go home."
Before they left, he gave the place one last look. He definitely needed to return after dropping their supplies off.
And the fucked up part about this whole trip? He never even found the spiked collar.