Chapter 1: Those Granted to Hell VII

Jason was lying on the bed in one of the small rooms in the safe zone. The whole business of knowing they were infected and what just happened with the girls in the armory made him feel sick. His head hurt and all he wanted to do was rest.

—Hey, Jason... —Michael had come in. He sat down next to Jason, on the side of his legs. —I've already secured all the weapons you brought in. They're in a room and they're locked up.

—Very good. Thank you, Michael... —Jason kept his eyes closed. It seemed like all he wanted to do was sleep.

—All this infection stuff... it's driving me crazy.

Jason opened his eyes and looked at Michael intently. He was expressionless.

—We'll come back as zombies. At this point nothing would surprise me.

—I wouldn't want to come back as one of them, Jason... I'm really terrified of the idea. I was thinking... and I'd like to ask you something.

—I think I know where you're going... but tell me—Jason leaned back in a new position, now turning his body to Michael's direction, to the right.

—If I come back as a zombie, kill me, if George's not around. Honestly? I'm a coward and I don't have the guts to shot myself.

—Done. You can sleep easy that I will fulfill your request... you shouldn't overthink this whole thing too much. You should rest, Michael, as I did...

—I tried. tried a little. I think I've had enough sleep.

Michael nodded. Even though he was done, he didn't seem to want to leave.

—I don't know what to do. You're the only male here. I don't know how to talk to women, I'm terrible at it...

—You can stay, if you want. I wouldn't mind some company.

—Thank you.

Michael looked around the room, the rules of coexistence on the walls, posted on posters, a large poster congratulating Vallimorth's anniversary... it seemed that Vallimorth's Shopping Mall was celebrating the birthday of one of the founders.

Michael watched Jason for a few seconds. He saw that he was still wearing his sports armor, stained with blood, and some of the clothing was already torn. On the other hand, Jason's feet were dirty, and it looked like they had stepped on something shiny.

—So, Jason... What do you plan to do once you leave Vallimorth? —Michael wanted to create a topic of conversation that seemed the least bit interesting.

—I don't know! Maybe get a better place to live, start appreciating what little much I have.

—You didn't have high expectations from your life... did you?

—You know, my expectations about everything were so low... but now everything is different. Having the opportunity to help others in this process has helped me appreciate things. When I get home I'm going to delete my subscriptions to my porn sites, do some extreme fucking cleaning in my apartment and ask for Nikolai's hand.

—You sound different now. I like that you're starting to take charge of your life. If I may say so... you look like a pretty depressed guy, Jason.

—I've been struggling with depression for four years, Michael. Once I tried to throw myself out of my window, and just as I was about to do it, Nikolai called me... and we had a talk. That night he invited me to dinner and we slept together. He had saved my life long before all this and I bet my ass he doesn't even know it.

—I'm sorry to hear that you're suffering so much, Jason...

—I suffer a lot. I suffer and suffer, I love to play the martyr. Now I have to act because otherwise I'm going to die, literally. Talking to you is so liberating, Michael...

—It's the least I can do. I thought you might need some company. We need some male company here, not that I have anything against women being here... but... you know? Some male presence here would be okay.

—Maybe we'll find someone out there, who isn't a fucking nutcase, mind you. Now, Michael... if you'll excuse me...

Jason was getting ready to go to sleep, but something immediately woke him up. It was the screams of a woman asking a person to stop. Michael and Jason rushed out of the room and found one of the women they had previously rescued in the hallway.

She was holding a gun, looked terrified, and was ordering Mia to back off.

—I'm just trying to help you, you crazy bitch! —Mia shouted at her from a distance, approaching Michael and standing behind his back.

—What happened? -Jason asked everyone. Mia chose to answer.

—This crazy hoe stole a gun from the weapons you guys brought and pointed it at me! I wanted to convince her to drop it!

—Hey, girl! Please put the gun down! There's no need to do this! Please. Just tell us what you want and we'll help you —Michael approached her slowly, but the woman pointed the gun at him and told him to stop.

—There's no need to do this, girl! Please tell us what's wrong! -Jason wanted to understand why she was in such a state of shock and why she had stolen a gun.

—I know the truth! Dying brings us back and I don't want that! I don't want that! —The woman answered as she was crying. —They eat and eat! They are a plague and I don't want to be one of them!

—You won't be! Please believe me! Nothing bad will happen to you! You're with us, you're safe!

—You think I care about safety, "Jason"? You FUCKING THINK I care about safety knowing I'm a ticking time bomb? No!

—Please put the gun down and we'll find a way to resolve this! —Michael kept insisting, but the woman became desperate and pointed the gun at his head.

—Dying like this will keep him from coming back, won't it?

—Don't do it! —Jason shouted at her, even moved closer but the woman was still hesitant, so she pointed the gun at Jason.

—Maybe I should kill you all and help us?

—This bitch is crazy, Jason! Do something! —Mia clung to Michael as she felt that something very bad would happen to her if she got away from him.

—No! You won't have to go to such extremes! Come on, girl... we can help. Don't end things like this, you survived too long to die like this —Jason commented, stretching his hands out in front of him.

—I don't want to go back, I don't want to die either... but I know that true death is walking among the living sowing pain. Please! Just... let me go.

—What the fuck? —Michael swallowed, it was hard for him to do so.

—So I'm the only one who won't suffer anymore! Everything that was mine was taken from me, and knowing that there is no god and that only emptiness awaits me comforts me. Please let me go! I swear that I'll kill you all if you keep me here!

Everyone was silent. Jason looked at Michael as if asking for an answer, which Michael didn't even know how to respond.

That's when Jason opened his mouth.

—Do it.

What he said stunned everyone, even Megan and Ashley who were watching everything from the other room.

—If you want to kill yourself, do it. There's nothing we can do to save you, and if you think it's for the best...

—But Jason! —Michael looked angrily at the "leader", because he didn't believe what he was hearing.

—It's what she wants, Michael! She's already a threat from the moment she said she could take us all.

—Jason...

—Do it, girl. You don't worry... we'll deal with your body later.

And so the woman smiled. She closed her eyes and pulled the trigger. So much was her fear that her hands were shaking... which is why the shot missed, and instead of going straight to her brain, it shattered her jaw and part of her skull.

Jason ran to her aid as he took the pistol, but she only looked at him with a smile.

—Than- AH... ah.... Aghk...

—No...

—Ah... ah... ah...

The woman finally died, bled out and stopped breathing.

—That was bullshit, Jason! —Michael reached out to Slater, and also grabbed him by the shirt to shake him.

—It was the right thing to do!

—When someone wants to give up you encourage them NOT to! You never turn your back on someone!

—BEHIND YOU! SHE CAME BACK! —Mia shouted from afar. The woman had returned... it took seconds for her to become one of them.

Her white, empty eyes and those veins standing out on her neck were indicative that... there was an intruder.

Jason, who still had the gun in hand, shot her straight in the head. The woman had died for the second time, and this time it was for good.

—See? She was a threat and endangered everyone's life! She said she didn't want to be a fucking TICKING BOMB AND LOOK AT HER. I ALMOST FUCKING DIE.

Michael fell silent at Jason's scolding.

—Now... help me get her out. Her body will start to rot, I have enough to do with seeing corpses outside... and honestly? Having one here? No thank you.

Michael nodded. Meanwhile, Mia watched as they covered the woman with the blankets.