Jarod

## Jarod Thompson

**Jarod Thompson** is one of the main 8 characters in *Road 96*. After his daughter, Lola, died during the peak collapse of '86, Jarod became a serial killer while using his occupation as a taxi driver as a cover and a way to lure his victims. He has no political disposition; his only motive is a twisted sense of vengeance.

He seeks to kill both Sonya, to whom he sends death threats to almost everyday since the tragedy, and members of the Black Brigades, especially Robert Winters, their leader, as he is the one who recruited his daughter into the organization. Jarod also murders people unrelated to his daughter's death, possibly as a way to vent his anger, and has little remorse for murdering any of the teens you play as. When about to burn alive the player, he reveals that he has in fact done much worse than that on his previous murders. He himself is being hunted by Stan and Mitch as they know his plan to murder Sonya and wants to protect her.

Jarod can grant you the Cleverness ability.

## Appearance

Jarod has pale skin, with huge eyebags, black short hair and black eyes. He always wears his black fedora, accompanied by a black jacket on top of a white shirt and red dino-patterned tie. He has slim jeans and is rather skinny and tall. His pale face shows a crooked nose, and a short beard. The left side of his face seems to be more or less paralyzed, as his left eye wanders outwards and that side of his mouth barely moves when he talks. He may have suffered a stroke or other health conditions.

## Personality

The taxi driver has a very short temper, despite looking very calm and composed most of the time. Anytime his daughter, the border, the peak collapse, or the Brigades are mentioned, he loses his temper and his cold anger rises. When out of control and full of rage, he doesn't hesitate to kill the teenager you play as. He is an experienced killer and disposes of the bodies flawlessly. He doesn't care about hell or the police, and makes sure he will get his revenge no matter the obstacle, smoking tons of cigarettes a day to not fall asleep and get caught. He gets sad when drunk, and still gives advice to hitchhikers to survive on the road. His way to get better about his loss is revenge, and trauma dump random teenagers.

## Role

### *Road 96: Mile 0*

Jarod and his taxi are briefly seen when Zoe passes by it while skating.

Jarod can be seen through the telescope in the square pointing his gun at a man in the desert.

### *Road 96*

Jarod is on a killing spree throughout the game. Seeking revenge for his daughter, he is also being chased by Stan and Mitch after they suspect of his plan to murder Sonya, he tracks Brigades everywhere, discovering each and every secret hideouts and meeting places. Initially planned for Election day, he decides to assassinate Sonya a month prior, but doesn't pull the trigger when he overhears her conversation, stating that she feels guilty for not dying at Lola's stead and not saving her. Afterwards, he sets on taking care of his last main target: Robert Winters.

At the end of the game, on Election day, we can see Jarod managed to capture Robert in his taxi trunk, to kill him later.
In the credits we can see him at the beach with summer clothes and smiling at the sunset, finally at peace.

## Encounters

Jarod may be seen in the following encounters:

### Roll With It

The character will walk up to a bar, where the owner is struggling to keep up with the customers. His bartender and dishwasher have both called out, leaving him no choice but to hire you to manage the bar while he works in the kitchen. A mini game starts where in the Player will serve customer’s drinks as they order them, getting tips in the process. Eventually, Jarod will slam open the bar door and walk in. He will sit down and ask his usual, "The Jarod", which is made with:

* One part Good Swallow
* One part Motherland Spirit
* One part Heartland Refreshment

If you make the drink correctly, Jarod will remark about how his bartender looks like a kid, before giving you $15 and remarking “never order a taxi”. For your service as a child laborer, the Player will be given a free burger by the Owner of the bar.

### Walk The Dinosaur

In this encounter, the player is picked up by Jarod in his Happy Taxi, who promptly mentions that he has “Anger Management Issues”.

During their time with Jarod, the Player can choose to lean into the front of the car when invited by Jarod or when Jarod’s car gets engine trouble. Should the Player decide to watch one of Jarod’s cassettes during the latter scenario; Jarrod will question you upon his return to the car, asking which cassette was viewed. (The cassettes are “Killer Pineapples” and “Lola”).

Should the Player tell Jarod that “Lola” was watched (regardless of the cassette the Player watched), Jarod’s anger bar will immediately fill completely, and he will shoot the player. Choosing “Killer Pineapples” will never elicit this response.

Alternatively; the player can decide to stay in the back of the car during Jarod’s engine problem. This will skip his questioning about cassettes, and the Player will survive their ride with Happy Taxi.

Should you survive this encounter, you will be rewarded with Cleverness.

### Enjoy The Silence

The player is riding in the back of Jarod's cab. They knock to get his attention and he apologizes for forgetting they're back there. After asking where for the player's destination, the player takes a rest to recover energy. After waking up, they notice some belongings that Jarod claims belonged to the previous passenger. This includes a notebook with the Black Brigade insignia that the player can take a closer look at and find plans for a bomb.

The player can ask about the insignia or mention that the plans were for a bomb. After Jarod's response, the player can lean forward and try to ask about the music Jarod's playing or of the photo of his daughter. A tape can also be seen here. But Jarod will get upset and his cold anger begins to fill. The longer the player leans forward, the more it fills.

After sitting back down, the player hears some thumping. If the player asks Jarod about it, he will claim not to hear anything. If the player continues to ask Jarod about it, his cold anger will fill up. Eventually, the player will notice a potted plant being knocked off the back of the backseat. Then a voice will start to cry for help. When Jarod asks about it, the player can lie to avoid further antagonizing him. After an even louder cry, Jarod will stop the cab and claim that he has a flat tire and gets out.

At this, a man's head will pop from the seat and claim that Jarod wants to kill him.

Jarod opens the trunk and berates the man for disturbing the customers. At this point, the player has 60 seconds to escape, the player can lean forward and steal the tape in the front seat. After which, they can either honk the horn or unlock the doors.

If the player honks the horn, Jarod will come back and shoot the player. He will also shoot the player if the timer runs out.

If the player unlocks the doors, they can then flee from the cab, to which Jarod will comment to himself on how he's impressed with the player.

Should you survive this encounter, you will be rewarded with Cleverness.

### Take Your Time (Do It Right)

The player will see some burning vehicles in a desert-like plane, they will keep walking into a tunnel. Jarod drives past the player in his cab.

The player keeps walking through the tunnel until they’re either almost out the other side or they look at Jarod’s cab. Either action will have Jarod jump out at them from the corner at the exit of the cave. Jarod believes the player to be a Brigade, whatever the player says, Jarod will shoot his gun in the air and say “I’m the one doing the talking! Understand?” After a couple more lines, he shoots his gun again, “”What did I say?”, this time he shoots a bird, which falls onto his cab.

Jarod tells the player to find him a light in the van behind them, because he feels like a having a smoke. Once the player does this, he will be closer to the van, telling the player that they got that very quickly and that he knew it was their van. Then he play a game of “hot or cold”, leading the player to look in the boot of his cab for a can of gasoline, telling them that he has a surprise. If you decide to try and look at one of the tapes, he tells you off, saying its private.

The player will then be told to pour the gasoline all over the van, being told that the surprise is that they’re going to burn the whole van down. When they do this, Jarod will push the player into the van, saying that burning down the van wasn’t the real surprise. The player can either be confused to beg Jarod not to kill them. If the player is confused, Jarod will explain that the real surprise is that they’re going to burn the van with them in it. If the player begs Jarod to let them go, Jarod will comment on how they already knew the surprise.

The player will then try to convince Jarod to let them go. No matter what options are chosen, Jarod will always let the player leave, he tells them, “Go. But tell the other Brigades I’m coming for them… For what they did to Lola. GOOOOOO!!!” Once the player gets up, Jarod shouts once more, “And remember, tell them!” As the player leaves, Jarod will shoot his gun to the van, causing it to catch on fire.

### Praying For Time

During this encounter, (which is only triggered by using a stolen car) Jarod will show up on the road directly ahead of the player, where the Player will stop their car to pick up Jarod.

After some small talk, Jarod will tell the Player that “Something is wrong with your doors.” After this comment, the player can attempt to unlock their door, though it will be undone immediately by Jarod, who pushes the locks into their locked position.

Following this, the player will (in one way or another) tell Jarod to leave the car, where Jarod will proceed to pull out a loaded gun and point it at the Player’s torso. Jarod remarks that he just wants to be “cheered up”, and tells the player to drive.

”Cheering up” Jarod consists of a conversation between the Player and Jarod. After one question, Jarod will take control of the conversation from the Player, asking the Player about their opinions on the news. Depending on if Jarod has given up trying to kill her, he will either talk about Sonya or The Black Brigades. Answering that you don't like the one he is talking about is advisable as it will result in the lower anger levels for this encounter.

Getting Jarod’s anger level high will see him kill the player, after having them repeat “I want to die” in one word increments, though this can be avoided by using the Cleverness ability or winning a lucky roll.

Should you survive this encounter, you will be rewarded with Cleverness.

### Beat It

In this encounter, the player arrives at a run-down brigade hideout. They find a bat and enter the hideout by whacking down the gate. They destroy everything with the bat, they then walk over a white wooden ramp.

Jarod jumpscares the player, apologizing for scaring them. He then shows the player the “radio tree” and suggests they destroy it. The player and Jarod destroy the radio tree together, then sit down and talk about his daughter, Lola. Jarod mentions that he always smokes after therapy.

Jared will talk to the player about Lola for a while before getting angry, saying that nothing helps. He then orders you to run before walking off. A gunshot can be heard. The player must run up the fallen radio tree onto a caravan, and drop down to the other side of the fence and leave.

### Better Be Good To Me

In “Better Be Good To Me”, the Player will arrive at a motel and sleep the night, though they will always wake up in Jarod’s bed, regardless of whether or not they purchased a room. Upon realizing that the Player is awake, Jarod talks with the Player, and instructs them to hide in the closet when the hotel's manager comes to talk to Jarod.

In the closet, the Player will see a cop’s lifeless body standing upright. Jarod refers to this as his “problem” and tells the player to help him clean [the cop] up. Jarod goes to the bathroom, but quickly realizes that he forgot the “*soap*” for the cop. Upon leaving to get the “*soap*”, he tells the Player to stay in the room and drag the Cop into the tub. The Player is free to walk around the room during this time.

Moving the cop will trigger Jarod’s arrival back in the motel room with a can of gasoline, pouring the gasoline into the tub and burning the cop’s corpse. Shortly after, the hotel’s manager checks in on Jarod, and asks if the Player is ok. If the Player repeatedly sends signs of distress to the Manager, Jarod will kill the Manager and the Player.

Affirming to the Manager that nothing is wrong, however, will have Jarod thank the Player for their assistance and give them $15. Should the player later approach the manager and ask him to call the police, Jarod will kill the Manager, but not the Player. Before leaving, Jarod blames the death of the Manager on the Player.

## Quotes

*"Do you like dinosaurs? I won't get angry if you don't."*

*"No. I'm a sad, angry man with a gun. See the difference?"*

*"Before we get much further...I should let you know that I have some anger management issues. Now you know."*

*"Well, bad things happen sometimes, don't they?"*

*"Go...But tell the other Brigades I'm coming for them...For what they did to Lola. GOOOOOO!!!"*

*"That leaves just the Brigades... Time to cut the head off the snake.”*

## Trivia

* Jarod has been sending Sonya threats for ten years (based on her statement in the encounter *Cruisin*).
* Jarod appears in two Sonya encounters
	+ In *I've Seen That Face Before* : When you are recording Adam talking to Robert, Jarod can be briefly seen standing at the doorway behind you. He watches you and Sonya in silence then leaves. He then stays in the room at the end of the hall, when you listen to the door, you hear him say "I can hear you breathing.".
	+ In *Burnin'*  : You can see him walk in the background while betting with Sonya, he will jumpscare you when you pick up her wallet, and is seen standing near the bar when Sonya asks you to go there

* Jarod can be seen in John's encounter, *Let's Get Serious* : When you ask to be let in to use the bathroom, the guard says "You and that skinny guy". When you enter the restroom, he'll be in one of the stalls. He says nothing and just stands there.
* Jarod attends therapy (based on his statement in *Beat It*).
* Jarod's tie has a dinosaur print.
* The song that Jarod plays in his taxi and whistles constantly is called *Flower Duet* from the French opera *Lakmé* composed by *Léo Delibes*.
* Jarod's voice actor, Mikee W. Goodman, is also known for his voice work in the game *Disco Elysium* as Reptilian Brain and Horrific Necktie.
* Jarod's last name is Thompson, as shown from an Easter Egg in Road 96: Mile 0.
	+ If you look at an door inside the apartment complex Kaito lives in while playing as him, he describes the tenant as a man named Mr. Thompson who lost his daughter in the Collapse of '86. Looking at the cardboard boxes beside the door shows a toy dinosaur inside along with Jarod's books, clearly indicating the Thompsons were none other than Jarod and Lola.
* A dev stated in the official Digixart Discord server that Jarod's age was listed as 52 in the behind-the-scenes document with character information. However, since this is not mentioned anywhere in-game, this should be taken with a grain of salt until official confirmation.
* Despite claiming that he never lies, Jarod tells the player he won't get angry if they don't like dinosaurs, and that he faints at the sight of blood. Both these statements are in fact lies.