Jim Butterman

### Cause of Death

Indirectly killed by Dean Howards after being chained to the back of a truck and dragged along concrete for miles.

"*We're going to be alright... our group has something Badrick's doesn't. Loyalty through friendship... not fear.*"
—Jim to Dean Howards[src]

Jim Butterman is a recurring character and a survivor of the outbreak in Route to Paradise. He is an elderly man that ran a supermarket inside of Willamette Parkview Mall, and was at the mall during the beginning of the outbreak. Jim is seen as one of the most morally good people in the series, a man that prioritizes compassion and honesty, and discourages the idea of conflict whenever possible, believing there is always a better way to handle things.

At the start of the outbreak, Jim joined Leslie Staunton and her group that were based out of the North Plaza in Willamette Mall, where Jim's supermarket is. He becomes loyal to Leslie, and when their group comes under attack, Jim hesitantly stays loyal to her, not knowing at the time that the Leslie had caused the conflict in the first place. Jim is spared by the enemies, as are many others, including Jim's good friend Teddy Powell. They are allowed to join Jacob Feldman's group, who now control the mall.

Jim is wounded in the battle during "Adaptation", but two weeks later he's fully recovered, and has become an important, and trusted member of the mall group. Throughout the second season, Jim protests against his group for wanting to go to war against a ruthless gang known as The Rastas. Dean Howards becomes one of Jim's closest friends in the season as well, as Jim helps the man overcome the regrets he's been feeling about his past. When the mall is eventually destroyed, Jim leads his group to a cabin deep in the woods behind the mall, a safe place they can rest for a few days.

Eventually they move into a hardware store for a short period of time, before getting attacked by The Rastas. Jim, Teddy and Dean are captured and brutally interrogated by the gang, before attempting to escape. They are nearly home free when Teddy is suddenly shot dead, and Dean is recaptured by the Rastas, with Jim being the only one who escapes. Jim seeks shelter with a man named Michael Hall, who he learns has past conflicts with Jim's group. He offers Michael to come with him, assuring Michael that he can redeem himself, but Michael isn't interested, and so Jim leaves.

Jim is reunited with his friend Randall Forster a little later on, and they are attacked by a horde of zombies. Michael comes to their rescue, but Randall quickly recognizes Michael as the man that killed his best friend, and wants revenge for it. However, for Jim's sake, Randall lets Michael roll with them for the time being.

While traveling back to meet with the rest of their group, Jim and the others come across Dean, and two Rastas, Damerae Badrick and Derrick Williams. They try to save Dean, but Jim ends up getting shot and captured, while Randall and Michael have no choice but to flee. In Jim's last interaction with Dean, he tells him not to give into Badrick's mind games - a piece of advice that Dean takes seriously. Dean disobeys Badrick and doesn't play into his mind games as Jim told him to, and as punishment, Badrick has Jim discreetly chained to the back of a truck and then has Dean drive it without telling him about Jim. For what could have been an hour or more, Jim is dragged along the asphalt behind the truck, dying a slow, painful death.

## **Pre-Apocalypse**

Jim Butterman was the owner of Seon's Supermarket inside Willamette Parkview Mall. It's likely he had a close relationship with Teddy Powell, who owned the gun store nearby to the supermarket. It's also known that Jim was the owner of a cabin somewhere in the woods behind the mall that he purchased some time before the outbreak.

Jim used to have a loving family long before the start of the story. He was married with two children, but one day his son was stabbed to death by another boy in school. After a year of battling through the court systems, the man who stabbed his son wasn't brought to justice. Jim's daughter, Rebecca, became obsessed with bringing the perp to justice, that she eventually tried to kill the man, but failed. To protect his daughter from the police, Jim sent Rebecca to a school far away and abroad, an action that utterly destroyed his wife. Betty, his wife, couldn't live with herself having lost both of her children in such a short time span. She became addicted to the bottle, and went out driving while drunk one night, where she would be killed, likely in a car crash.

## **Post-Apocalypse**

### **Season 1**

#### "**The Scary Thing About Clowns**"

In the North Plaza of Willamette Mall, Jim hears knocking at the entrance of his supermarket. He opens up a small hatch nearby and looks out, greeting the group at his front doors. He asks them if they would like to apply for a membership - something that would allow them to come inside. However, after seeing zombies beginning to close in on the group, Jim opens the doors anyways to secure them safety. In the supermarket, Jim shows the survivors around and explains to them that they don't actually need anything for a membership. Erin Monroe comes walking over and tells Jim that she's left the jewelry she promised on the counter. Jim thanks her, then turns back to the group of survivors to elaborate further about the system they have set in the North Plaza, including the state of the gun store. Leslie Staunton then strolls over to the group to introduce herself - the leader of the North Plaza. After handing over a small name tag to Sasha McMale, Jim walks away to conduct business in the store.

Jim is soon after approached by William Reynes, who wonders if Jim has seen a "lunatic with an assault rifle" wandering around. Jim hasn't but is concerned about the idea of this person roaming about. Jacob Feldman steps forward and asks if they would be able to go see the gun store. Jim warns them that the trip there is risky and filled with the undead. Jacob and a few others are willing to take that risk, and Jim wishes them luck before they head out.

#### "**An Unusual Team**"

A while later, part of the group that left for the gun store returns. Jim approaches and is worried when he finds out that things didn't go to plan and Jacob got separated during the trip. William asks Jim if he can speak to Leslie, and Jim points him in the direction of her office. When William comes back out of Leslie's office, he's informed that they'll soon begin clearing out the zombies from the plaza. In the meantime, William decides to head out to save Jacob, and Jim wishes him luck on his mission.

William returns with a group of others soon after, and Jim happily lets them all inside the supermarket, welcoming them with open arms. In the supermarket, Jim stands back as William shows the newcomers around the store. Eventually, Leslie shows up to welcome and introduce herself to the new people. She tells them all about her plan to renovate the North Plaza and have it be a safe home for all survivors. Jim and many others are all onboard for her plan. Before the security room survivors leave the supermarket, Jim hands everybody a chocolate bar as a parting gift. Quentin Richards sincerely thanks Jim and tells him he's a good man before he leaves with the others.

#### "**Guardian Angel**"

In the North Plaza, Jim calmly approaches the security room survivors, waving and grinning. The North Plaza has been cleared of zombies, and Jim expresses how happy he is that the plaza is now a safe environment for all survivors. Just then, Teddy Powell comes walking over to confront the security room survivors for stealing his guns. But quickly, the two sides work it out and come to an agreement, which Jim is happy to see. Robert Morgan, one of the survivors, begins to cough violently, worrying Jim. He escorts the coughing man over to a bench, while asking if there’s something he can get him, like water, but Robert assures him he’s okay. Afterwards, Jim heads back to the supermarket.

#### "**Life and Death**"

During the battle of the North Plaza, Jim is hiding inside the office at the supermarket with Leslie. Jim is clearly scared, but Leslie tells Jim that he must help defeat the attackers. Hesitantly, Jim takes hold of a revolver, while Leslie rushes out of the room. Just moments after she leaves, Jacob and Clayton Freeman burst into the office, where Jim is seen aiming the revolver at them, hands shaking. Jacob raises his hands and tries talking Jim down, but a nervous Jim says that he’s sorry, and fires one shot - missing. Jacob quickly charges forward into the old man and knocks him out.

#### "**Adaptation**"

After the battle, Jim is locked in the basement along with Clyde Rollins and Teddy, who the security room survivors saw as Leslie’s lieutenants. Soon, Jacob and a few others come to check on them. They inform Jim, Clyde and Teddy that they’re willing to let them out if they help defend the mall against another hostile group. Jim admits that he’s an old man and won’t be much help. But in the end, they’re willing to help defend in any way they can in order to be let out of the basement, and so they are let out, with all three of them designated to defend the back entrance of the mall at the North Plaza.

In the North Plaza, Jim has the idea to use the shelves from his supermarket as barricades. He gets a few volunteers to help him push the shelves into position. Afterwards, Jim joins the others outside as Teddy is handing out the guns from his gun store. Clyde nervously mentions that it might be better if they just left the mall, but Jim says that’s nonsense, pointing out that Jacob and the others were nice enough to give them a chance to prove themselves by defending the mall.

Jim and the others patiently await for the attack, and pretty soon, it comes. The back entrance is blown open with an RPG, completely obliterating most of the barricade that was set up. Smoke grenades are thrown in to obscure the view, and then the attackers on the other side begin firing through the smoke. Jim is hit in the shoulder by a stray bullet, and he immediately falls behind cover in pain. His shoulder bleeding, Jim looks to Clyde for help, but Clyde instead sprints away, abandoning everyone. Jim remains hidden behind cover, not being able to do much at all while the rest of the group puts up a fight against the attackers. Eventually, Teddy gets the chance to run over to Jim’s cover, examining his wounded shoulder. Owen Gliefield, the only trained medical professional with them, is shot himself, and he’s in no condition to do anything right now. So Dean Howards ends up rushing over to Jim, wrapping his shoulder with a coat to try and stop the bleeding. After another couple minutes of fighting, the group is forced to retreat out of the North Plaza and into Wonderland Plaza. Teddy escorts Jim there.

Their time in Wonderland Plaza is short, and quickly they move into the Food Court to put up a final stand. Teddy lays Jim down behind cover where he’s safe, and instructs him not to move.

Eventually, Jim’s group defeats the attackers, winning the battle. Afterwards, Teddy helps Jim up, intending to take him somewhere he can be properly treated for his wound. Before going, Jim looks over at Owen and tells him that he’s a hero, and not to forget it.

### **Season 2**

#### "**The Mentor**"

Two weeks later, Jim is back on his feet again, and healthy. He's inside of his supermarket when Erin comes strolling in. Jim is happy to see her, having expected her to stop by. He explains to her that he'd like her to drive into town and pick up some solar panels from a store. Jim realizes that the power in the mall will go out eventually, and he wants to be prepared for it with solar panels. Erin is happy to do it, having already planned to go out with Albert Hanson that day anyway. Jim smiles, and wishes her good luck, before Erin leaves.

Later, Erin returns with the solar panels. They are carried up to the roof by Teddy, while Jim instructs him where to place them. Jim can't hold his excitement, as he thanks Erin and Albert again for getting the panels for him. When asked how long the mall generator has left, Jim reckons it probably has another week. The conversation turns to the new people that Erin and Albert brought back. They discuss whether or not they can trust them. Jim thinks they should give them a chance at least, reminding them all that Jim wasn't trusted at one point. Just then, Jacob stops everyone, and points out a convoy of vehicles driving in the distance with strange symbols painted on the cars.

#### "**The Calm Before**"

Jim enters Colby’s Movieland at the mall, where he finds William and Clayton watching a movie. He apologizes for being a hassle, then asks if they would mind going around and inviting everyone to the food court for a group meeting. William says that he’ll go and do it. Smiling, Jim thanks him and leaves.

Later, Jim enters the food court, delighted to find almost the entire group there for his meeting. He thanks everyone, and before the meeting begins, Erin announces that she is pregnant, which Jim and the others are happy to hear. Afterwards, Jim gets down to why he’s hosting the group meeting. He says it’s to share ideas with each other, which Jim starts off with. His idea is to have breakfast and dinner in the food court every day, where everyone is welcome to come. Most of the others agree, while a couple of others think it sounds like a waste of supplies. Afterwards, JIm invites Teddy to stand and explain his ideas about adding defenses to the mall. When Teddy finishes, Jim says that he’ll make sure he has a word with Robert when he can about helping set up the defenses. Just then, Felix Quarterman comes stumbling into the food court, drunk. He becomes infuriated upon seeing Alex Weiss there, a man who murdered an innocent person on the first day of the apocalypse, something Felix hasn’t forgotten. It devolves into a fight, leading to Felix having to be restrained and taken away by William. Jim frowns, as he takes his seat, the meeting having ended in disaster.

Later that day, Jim is still in the food court, pouting over how awful the meeting went. Teddy tries to lift his spirits by assuring him the meeting went well beyond Felix’s actions. Fraser Stiller, who’s nearby, then offers Jim and Teddy to come with him for milkshakes. Jim can’t say no, and gets up with Teddy to go with Fraser and a few others.

At the ice cream parlour in Willamette Mall, Jim and the others are waiting patiently for Fraser to finish making the milkshakes. They discuss how normal it feels to be waiting for milkshakes again like they would pre-apocalypse. Jim tells them to consider it a good thing, that they can have a moment to escape all of the chaos of the apocalypse for a little while. When Fraser arrives with the milkshakes, and Jim takes one of them. He takes a sip of it, and remarks about how delicious it is to Fraser.

#### "**On the Clock**"

In the food court, Jim is with Kate Bloodstone, Teddy and a few others, preparing for dinner. Kate mentions how great the idea was to have dinner in the food court every night. Jim smiles and says that a sense of community is important. Kate agrees, but she suddenly is reminded about Alex, and isn’t so sure about him being in the community. Jim thinks that Alex might just think differently than everyone else, and probably doesn’t understand that his actions are bad. When Fraser comes walking over, Jim thanks him again for the milkshakes they had earlier.

Later, while Jim is in the food court, Felix steps in to apologize to everyone for how he acted earlier. Jim happily accepts his apology.

While dinner is being served later, Austin Kingston, a new member of the group, arrives in the food court. Jim welcomes him and introduces himself, before letting Fraser get the man some food.

Jim is present in the Entrance Plaza later on when Benjamin Taylor and Shane Haywood arrive in secret, asking the mall survivors to allow them to blow up one or two plazas to make it appear to The Rastas that they’ve killed them. Jim, among others, are hesitant, and aren’t willing to let that happen. Eventually Benjamin and Shane leave, having been denied their requests.

#### "**Partners in Crime**"

When Benjamin blows open the entrance to the mall, Jim and the others flee to the food court, pursued by zombies. Arguments break out, and Jim does his best to calm everyone down.

Time passes as Jim and his group remain stuck in the food court, not knowing how to deal with the horde of zombies. Dean stumbles up to Jim while they’re there, questioning him about alcohol. Chuckling nervously, Jim says that he doesn’t mind a drink at the right time, but that there are more pressing matters currently at hand. Dean is persistent about getting some alcohol right now, but Jim insists that now isn’t a good time. Eventually, the horde of zombies breaks into the cafeteria, and everyone’s bickering and arguing comes to a halt. They all begin to focus on the zombies, wiping them out. Even Jim manages to kill one zombie, but is quickly approached by two more. He freezes in a panic, but Teddy and Owen come charging over, killing the two zombies and saving Jim. He thanks them.

Eventually the group is able to clear out the zombies and return to the Entrance Plaza to examine the damage done. And it’s not good. Frowning, Jim looks around and says that they’ll need to put up fences to plug the giant hole in the entrance of the mall.

Jim leaves the Entrance Plaza for a while, and returns a few hours later with Teddy Randall Forster. They’re astonished at how quickly Robert and the others have cleaned up the rubble and put up some fences. Jim tells Robert that he needs to pat himself on the back for all of his hard work.

Later, Jim is in the Entrance Plaza when Jacob goes ballistic on Dean, calling him out for being a worthless drunk. Jim sighs quietly and says to himself that this is never going to be a normal group.

A bit later on, when Erin and Marcus Downes return to the mall, Jim is present, as he listens in to them explain that a Rasta train is coming into town. A group of volunteers are put together to go out and hijack the train. Jim tells everyone who’s going to be careful.

#### "**Promise**"

After the failed train heist, Jim and the others convene on the roof of the mall to hold a funeral for Clayton, who was killed. Teddy points out Randall, Clayton’s best friend, who’s sitting by himself off to the side. Jim frowns, knowing that it must be hard on Randall. Kate suddenly steps up and brings about the idea of going to war against the Rastas for what they did, which Jim is taken aback by. Jim doesn’t agree, worried about the losses they’ll suffer in a war against the Rastas, but practically everybody agrees with Kate over Jim.

#### "**Warzone**"

Jim enters the mall’s storage room, having heard a ruckus coming from inside. He steps in, where he sees Dean, clearly beaten up about something, and Marcus, who’s trying to comfort him. Jim realizes that Dean could need someone to talk to, and so he offers to sit and chat with him. Marcus gets up and leaves them to it, leaving the storage room.

As Jim sits down beside Dean, he sighs. Looking up, Dean asks if he can be completely honest with him, and Jim tells him to go ahead. Reluctantly, Dean admits that he hit his wife in the face when she divorced him, and he still feels terrible about it. Jim leans forward, telling him that people do things out of their control when they’re upset. He says that Dean would only be a monster if he didn’t regret it, but the fact it’s eating Dean up shows that he’s grown beyond the person he was back then. Jim frowns, placing a hand on Dean’s shoulder as the man wipes away tears. Jim explains to Dean that people come and go in their lives. When Dean explains the reason his wife left him, Jim nods, and says that he understands. Dean asks why, which leads Jim into telling Dean a story about his family. Jim says that a long time ago, his son was killed when he was stabbed at school. He and his wife were broken, but the person that was affected the most was Jim’s daughter, who wanted to make sure the person that stabbed her brother was brought to justice. Jim explains that his daughter became so caught up in trying to get justice that she eventually tried to kill the person herself, and failed. When the police started to look into the situation, Jim sent his daughter to a school far and abroad. He says that all he was trying to do was keep his daughter safe, but admits that all he did was make things worse. Jim’s wife couldn’t handle everything, and went out drunk driving one night - and ended up getting herself killed. Sighing loudly, Jim looks down, nearly in tears, as Dean pats him on the back and says that he’s sorry. When Jim looks back up, he tells Dean that the point is that everyone makes mistakes, but that you can move past them, like he himself did. Jim knows that Dean is more than capable of becoming a good man. He makes sure that Dean knows he was never a man that had bad intentions. “We have our own family now, Dean,” Jim says, “And you’re part of that family, whether you like it or not.” Dean smiles, nodding, before he hugs Jim and thanks him. Jim then stands up and tells Dean to get some rest.

Later, Jim joins the rest of his group up on the roof of the mall, as they look toward the town, seeing smoke and hearing gunfire. A war has just begun. Randall says that they should jump into the fight now and take out both sides, but Jim says that Randall isn’t thinking clearly, and that it’d be suicide to do that.

#### "**Fractured Beyond Repair**"

On the roof, Jim walks out to see smoke rising in the distance still. Felix is with Jacob and Robert, discussing plans on how to defend the mall. Jim is disheartened to hear them talking about it, having become very worried about all the conflict in Willamette. Felix tells Jim that they **must** be making plans for how to defend the mall in case of an attack. Even though Jim understands, he still doesn't like it. A bit later on, a heated argument breaks out between Quincy Atherton and Austin. Jim rushes over, attempting to intervene and get the two men to stop.

Sometime later, still on the roof, Jim's group is talking about the idea of going to war. Jim once again raises his concerns, but he mostly goes unheard. When Owen points out that Dean is absent, Jim asks them to show some sympathy for him, and says that he's trying to change.

Eventually, Dean joins the others up on the roof. Jim greets him with a smile, and is happy to hear that he's doing well. After some time, the group decides that they're going to attack a Rasta outpost, much to Jim's dismay. But there's nothing he can to change the mind's of his companions. Frowning, Jim heads downstairs.

#### "**Family Business**"

Up on the roof, Jim is nervously waiting for his group to return. With him is Albert, who was shot a few days earlier; the reason he didn't go with them. Jim hopes that they're okay, but is concerned with how long they've been gone.

A little while later, Jim stands up extatically when he sees his group entering the parking lot below, having finally returned from their attack. Albert gets up to go down and open the gate for them while Jim waits on the roof.

Jim leaves the roof just moments later to go down into the security room. There, he sees Teddy laid out on a table in terrible shape; his hand is missing, having been shot off. Jim panics, rushing to his side. He holds his heart, becoming more and more concerned. Dean holds Jim up, and then helps him into a chair, trying to calm him down. After Owen and William finish doing their work on Teddy, Jim asks if he'll be okay, and he is assured that Teddy will live.

#### "**Home**"

Later that day, Jim is seen escorting Teddy up to the roof, his hand now bandaged up. As everyone from the group convenes on the roof, arguments begin to break out over what they should do now. Erin is dead after another failed attack against the Rastas, and now the group is expecting a counterattack from the Rastas. Jim tries getting everyone to calm down, reminding them that this is a life or death situation, and they need to think logically, and tackle the situation as a team. Eventually, the group comes to a consensus that they are going to stay in the mall and defend their home in the event that they are attacked. Jim wonders if they should test out Robert's defenses that he's spent the past few days setting up, which everyone thinks is a good idea. Robert proudly takes a remote and presses a button that activates a bunch of electric fences down in the parking lot. But suddenly Robert is shot dead by a sniper; The Rastas have arrived. Felix takes charge of the situation and splits the group into two teams, one to defend the front entrance, and another the back entrance. Jim takes Robert's dog, Apollo, and goes to the back entrance in the North Plaza.

In the North Plaza, Jim is seen sitting behind cover in a corner, while Teddy, Kate and others are battling against a few Rastas. Eventually, the group realizes that they can't stay here forever, and agree that they should retreat to the roof. Jim grabs Apollo when it's safe to do so, and rushes upstairs to the roof.

Most of the group links back up on the roof, where Jim tells everyone that they can't stay here any longer. They need to leave if they want to survive. He lets everyone know about a cabin he knows about in the woods behind the mall. Jim, Teddy, and some of the wounded people climb down the ladder first and head into the woods, planning to meet with everyone else there afterwards.

### **Season 3**

#### "**Winter Wasteland**"

Jim steps out of the kitchen of the cabin, walking into the living room, where much of the group is. It's been a couple of days since the mall, and things have been rough. Jim carries a tray with cups of coffee, which he hands out to Albert and Aldus. He then heads back into the kitchen.

A few moments later, Jim reenters the living room, checking on everyone. Kate assures him that everyone is fine, and that he needs to sit and relax for a little while. Jim states that it's his job to be the worrier. Just then, Marcus, Fraser and Zac Barnes return from a hunting trip, and Jim goes back to get them some coffee from the kitchen. He comes back out shortly after with the coffees, then asks Jacob if he'd like one, but Jacob isn't interested. Jim then listens on the conversation his group is having about going out to explore a hardware store Marcus and them saw while out. Jim frowns, and says that they should just send a small group to check it out beforehand. Teddy offers to go, but Jim won't have it, declaring that Teddy needs to stay here and rest. Jim then goes back into the kitchen.

Jim later watches the group leave.

A few minutes after they've left, Dean shows back up at the cabin after having been gone for a while collecting fire wood. Jim quickly goes back to get him a coffee from the kitchen.

#### "**On the Move**"

The next day, Jim is in the living room when Dean returns to the cabin again. Jim greets him, before Dean begins to complain that he's tired of running, and doesn't want to leave the cabin. Owen tries to explain to Dean the reasons for why they need to move, but Dean doesn't want to hear it. Seeing that he's clearly upset, Jim beckons Dean over to him. When he comes, Jim thinks back to when he first purchased this cabin before the outbreak, and how it means a great deal to him. But even Jim knows that it isn't safe here, and that they need to trust the opinions of Jacob and William. Dean understands, but he's still tired of it. Jim feels for Dean, but tells him that everything will pay off in the end when they are safe again. "You have to be optimistic," Jim says. Sighing, Dean reflects on his past mistakes, mainly about how he wasn't a good husband to his ex-wife. Jim remembers back to the conversation they had at the mall, and reminds Dean that he's a better person now. "You're a survivor like everyone else here." Suddenly, William is seen by Teddy through a window returning to the cabin. Jim looks over and listens in as William says that they're leaving the cabin and moving to the hardware store. Jim heads into the kitchen to get his things, before stepping back out and kneeling beside the dog, Apollo. Moments later, Jim and the others leave the cabin.

Along the way to the cabin, the group comes upon a frozen lake that they must cross. As they start crossing, a few zombies begin stepping onto the ice from afar. Jim tells everyone not to worry, and to keep going. As they are reaching the end of the lake, Owen fires off his gun to kill a zombie, which draws a few more zombies to their location, angering William. The two men bicker, before Jim tells them to quit it.

Eventually, the group makes it to the hardware store, where Jim is reunited with Randall, who had been missing since the mall got destroyed. After reuniting with everyone, Jacob announces to the group that he and William are already planning to look for somewhere else to stay - and they're going to start by checking out their old workplace, Willamette High School. Jim is on board with the idea, but says that that do need to settle down somewhere soon. After Jacob, William and Kate leave, Teddy sits and talks with Dean, while Jim overhears them. Jim eventually chimes into their conversation, telling Dean that he has every right to feel the way he does, but that they need to soldier on no matter what.

#### "**Tracked**"

In the hardware store, Jim is sitting quietly, petting Apollo. A heated argument soon breaks out between Fraser and Zac, leading to Teddy muttering quietly that their group really is broken. Jim nudges him, and tells him not to say that.

A little later, Jim is alarmed when the front door bursts open, Kate rushing inside. She says that everyone needs to pack and leave now - suspecting that the Rastas were following her. Before the group has any chance to pack and leave though, the Rastas pull up outside and launch their attack. During most of the fight, Jim stays down in cover, not really able to fight back. When most of the group begin to flee out the back door, Jim stays in cover with Teddy and Dean, unable to move, pinned down. Before they even have a chance to escape, The Rastas surround Jim, Teddy and Dean, leaving them with no choice but to surrender. Jim is grabbed by a Rasta and dragged away, as are the others.

The three of them are taken to a warehouse somewhere in town. Off-screen, Jim is interrogated by Damerae Badrick, the Rasta leader, before being taken back to a dark room where Teddy and Dean are. Jim is thrown into the room, beaten and bloody, as he lands with a thud. Badrick slams the door closed, as Jim coughs up blood. Slowly, Jim sits up, assuring his two friends that he didn't say anything to Badrick. Dean grits his teeth in anger, while Teddy assures the old man that they will get out of here. Jim slowly sits up against the wall, and says that they have to stay strong, and not break in front of the Rastas. He tells Teddy that they won't be able to escape, but Teddy insists that they can. Suddenly, Badrick returns, taking Teddy with him, and leaving Jim and Dean in the darkness again. When they're gone, Jim looks over at Dean, remaining hopeful. He knows that Badrick won't be able to break Teddy. "Our group has something Badrick's doesn't," Jim tells Dean, "Loyalty through friendship... not fear." Dean, feeling more comforted, agrees with him. But Dean is still scared - and is fearful of what Badrick might do. Jim knows that Badrick is just using them to try and find out where the rest of their group is. He tells Dean that they can't tell Badrick, no matter what, before Jim suddenly passes out.

When Jim awakes, he finds Teddy being thrown into the cell by a Rasta, before the same Rasta begins to approach Dean. But quickly, Teddy stands and wraps his arms around the Rasta's neck, choking him out. Jim is cut free of his restraints by Teddy, as is Dean. The three men then quietly leave the room, following Teddy's lead. Teddy kills another guard on the way out, silently. Once they make it outside, Jim weakly follows Teddy and Dean over to a fence, nearly home free. Slowly, Jim climbs over the fence first - before he suddenly sees a zombie crossing the street towards him. Panicking, Jim asks for Teddy to toss over the knife, which he does. Jim looks towards the zombie, nervous, as he raises the knife. Then, he stabs it in the head quickly, killing it. Teddy and Dean smile and congratulate Jim - when suddenly a gunshot rings out, and Teddy falls dead. Jim stands in complete shock, seeing Teddy's lifeless corpse slide down the side of the fence, before going limp in the snow. When Dean sees Rastas charging out from the warehouse, he yells at Jim to run, which Jim does, crossing the street and vanishing into the trees.

#### "**State of Mind**"

Jim runs as fast as he can through the woods - but he's not very quick. He can hear voices behind him, which encourages him to move faster. But one Rasta finds where Jim is - and sneak attacks him, hitting him across the face and sending him to the ground, his glasses shattering. Jim shields his face, begging, as he crawls backwards. Suddenly, the Rasta falls dead, blood spraying across the snow. Panting, Jim looks around, wondering where the shot had come from. That's when he sees a building nearby, an old slaughterhouse. A figure appears in the doorway, Michael Hall, who then approaches Jim swiftly. He ushers Jim into the slaughterhouse quickly.

In the slaughterhouse, Jim is given some water by Michael, before being left alone for a while. Soon, Michael comes walking back into the room, apologizing for only having water on hand. Jim says that he's grateful no matter what, thanking Michael for saving his life. He explains to Michael that the man attacking him was from a vile gang, a gang that Michael knows of. Michael then formally introduces himself to Jim, shaking his hand. He begins to ask questions, mainly about why the Rasta was after Jim. Jim starts off by stating that he comes from Willamette Mall, before he is cut off by Michael, who tells him to say no more. Michael is already well aware about who the mall survivors are - which gets Jim to questioning who Michael really is. Michael admits that he did some bad things in the mall at the start of the outbreak, before going on to join the Rastas for a short period of time. He says that he left the Rastas a while ago, and was hoping never to encounter them again. Nodding, Michael then tells Jim to get some rest, and they can figure out what to do afterwards. Jim thanks him again, before leaning back into a chair.

#### "**Reunion**"

After a day of rest, during which all Jim could do was think about Teddy and Dean, Michael arrives back at the slaughterhouse with a deer carcass. He offers Jim some of the meat if he plans on staying for another night. Curious, Jim wonders why Michael is helping him. As Michael begins to skin the deer, he replies that it's just the right thing to do. Michael knows that he's already killed enough people to be considered irredeemable, and now he's just trying to be a better person going forward. After a moment of awkward silence, Michael asks Jim what he plans on doing next. Jim says that he isn't completely sure, but knows that he needs to go look for his group. He asks Michael if he'd want to accompany him, but Michael isn't interested, instead wanting to live out his days in peace, away from all the chaos. Jim says that Michael could redeem himself if he went with him, but even Michael knows it's not that simple, and there will be some people who will never trust him. Sighing, Jim gets up and thanks Michael for all the help he's provided, before stating that he has to go look for his friends. Michael watches Jim go in silence.

Jim would eventually return to the warehouse that he escaped from, hoping to find Dean still there. But the warehouse has since been abandoned, and there are no signs of anybody. Jim searches inside the warehouse, killing a zombie in the process, but he can't find anything. As Jim steps back outside, he notices billowing smoke in the distance, and decides to go and investigate it.

Jim arrives at the origin of the smoke - the Willamette Docks. But all he finds there is an overwhelming amount of zombies. Jim finally concludes that his group must be at the high school, and so he sets that as his next destination. But before Jim can start heading there, he hears a gunshot nearby in the woods, and hurries over there to find out who it is shooting.

In the woods, Jim is shocked when he finds Randall walking through the woods with Jon Matthews and Angela Jaegar. When Randall sees him, he rushes over, bear hugging Jim, ecstatic to find him alive. He tells Jim that he's sorry about Teddy, but says that he never gave up hope on Jim. Jim asks about Dean, but unfortunately Randall hasn't seen him since the hardware store got attacked. The four of them decide that they should start heading back to the school, but before they can do that, they are ambushed by a horde of zombies. While trying to get around them, Jim is tackled by a zombie and is saved by Randall. Jon and Angela lose sight of Jim and Randall, who are quickly becoming surrounded by zombies. But suddenly one of the zombies is shot dead, then another one. An opening is created that allows Jim and Randall to escape the zombie horde.

After a few minutes of running, Jim and Randall come to a stop, out of breath, as they wonder who it was that saved them. As Jim is saying that he thinks he knows who it is, Michael steps out from the trees. Randall immediately frowns, and slugs Michael across the face. He grabs Michael and slams him into a tree, starting to choke him out, as Jim yells for Randall to stop. He begs Randall to stop, and eventually Randall does, reluctantly, for Jim's sake. As Michael is catching his breath, Jim asks if he followed him, to which Michael says that he did. He wants to help Jim and his group any way he can - something Randall is highly against, as it was Michael who killed his best friend, Clayton. Jim tries explaining to Randall that Michael has changed since then, but Randall still doesn't trust a word that comes out of Michael's mouth. But begrudgingly, Randall allows Michael to stay with them, for Jim.

#### "**The Mist**"

Jim, Randall and Michael are forced to hide in the sewers for a while to escape a blizzard above. While down there, Randall and Michael bicker the entire time, which gets on Jim's nerves. Jim pleads to Randall to at least give Michael a chance to work with them. With spite in his eyes, Randall glares up at Michael and says that the only reason he's not going to kill him is for Jim.

The three spend a few hours in the sewers before they climb back up onto the streets. They plan on going back to the high school, which Michael says will be the quickest if they take a shortcut past the quarry. Jim smiles, and tells Michael to lead the way.

As they approach the quarry, they see a truck, and people standing around it. To avoid being seen, they crouch into some bushes - and that's when Jim realizes one of the men is Dean. He's still alive, to Jim's shock and excitement. The two other men are Badrick and one of his Rasta loyalists, Derrick Williams. Michael readies his sniper and says that they'll pick the two Rastas off - but before he can do that, Badrick gets behind the truck where he can't be seen. Jim begins to hear snow crunching behind them, and when he turns he sees a zombie. Quietly, he says that he'll deal with it. As silently as he can, Jim approaches and kills the zombie - but lets its corpse drop into the snow. The noise that creates is enough to alert Badrick, who sends Derrick into the woods to investigate. With no other choice, Jim, Randall and Michael flee back into the woods, while Jim shouts to Dean that they will be back to save him.

#### "**Red Asphalt**"

The three men race through the trees as fast as they can, but Jim can't go very quick, and he runs out of breath rather soon. Realizing that Derrick is gaining on them, Michael tells the others to get into cover, as he prepares his sniper rifle. While they're in cover, a group of zombies begin to approach on them. Jim stabs and kills one of them, but as he's doing so, exposes part of his body. Derrick takes the opportunity to shoot Jim in his leg. Screaming, Jim falls to the ground, his leg leaking blood that stains the snow. Michael and Randall try their best to help Jim, but they're constantly tackled by zombies, and are under fire from Derrick, making it near impossible. One of Derrick's shots hits Michael in his shoulder. In the end, Michael and Randall are left with no choice but to flee, leaving Jim behind, who is then approached by Derrick. Jim looks up, groaning in pain, as Derrick grabs his shirt and begins to drag him through the snow.

Jim is dragged all the way back to the quarry, slowly losing blood the entire time. When they get to the quarry, Derrick drops Jim next to the truck beside Dean, before he and Badrick walk off to get something ready. Jim, barely conscious, looks over to Dean, and calmly comments that he's so happy to see him again. Dean shimmies over to him, asking if he's okay, and saying that it's going to be okay. Jim, weak and tired, tells Dean to listen to him. He mutters out that Badrick can't do anything to hurt them, and that they've already seen the worst of it. Dean then goes on to rapidly explain that Badrick is planning to lead a giant horde of zombies to the school to attack it. Jim tells Dean to make it as difficult as possible for Badrick, and not to buy into his mind games. Then, Badrick and Derrick are seen returning. Dean is taken aside by Badrick for a moment, before Badrick steps away and grabs Jim. As Jim is getting carried away, he tries to tell Dean one more thing, but Badrick tosses him into the back of the truck before he can get it out.

Jim is next seen at the high school when it's revealed that Jim had been secretly chained to the back of the truck by Badrick, who then made Dean slowly drive the entire distance to the school without telling him about Jim. Having been dragged along concrete for god knows how long, Jim is almost unrecognizable, his body mutilated, skin peeling off, blood seeping out of his body all over. But somehow he's still alive. He mumbles a last, incomprehensible word, before going still, dead.

### **Season 4**

#### "**Gunpoint**"

Jim's corpse is seen in this episode, having been recognized by Clyde, who is horrified by the sight.

#### "**Consequence**"

Although his body isn't seen, Jim is finally laid to rest this episode when Dean buries him near the school.

## **Death**

Killed by
* Damerae Badrick *(Caused)*

After Dean disobeys Badrick, Jim is secretly chained to the back of a truck by Badrick.

* Dean Howards *(Unknowingly)*

Badrick then forces Dean to drive the truck, a man who doesn't know about Jim behind the truck. Jim dies a slow, brutal death, being dragged along the asphalt behind the truck, finally dying when the truck comes to a stop at Willamette High School.

## **Appearances**

Any episode with a checkmark over it signifies Jim Butterman appearing in any way.