Bond

Surrounding him lay the corpses of multiple victims of his inhumane massacre- a justified one.

Similar to Jason's circumstances, Hugo had a poor start in the apocalypse, offending Dorian and the majority of the group.

Even before the apocalypse Hugo was targeted. You'd assume after the apocalypse began it would be easier for his foes, but that was simply too wrong.

Hugo had an entire area around him littered with bodies. Many had limbs ripped apart, others horribly injured with destroyed bones, caved-in skulls, and damages to their organs that led to their inevitable death.

Luckily he was dealing with a maximum of 4 at a time, but that number had grown by a dozen.

He stood amidst the chaos, unwavered by the sudden appearance of this many soldiers.

Each shamelessly covered their entire body behind trees to act as a defense against a single man.

If there was a tree in his vision, a soldier was occupying the space behind it.

He didn't have to fight them. He had enough speed to outrun them with a light jog.

But the burning in his blood, the thirsty desire to annihilate and fight reigned throughout his body, growing with each blow traded.

He wouldn't let such insatiable urges ruin his judgment.

He loved to fight, which also meant he didn't want to die.

"You lucky bastards." Those were the last words Hugo spoke before sprinting into the distance.

They began chasing after him, but the group could barely match up to a 3rd of his running speed.

Shortly after they gave up. They suffered far too many casualties today and they weren't eager to rise that number even more.

Jason silently observed behind a tree around 50 yards away.

He couldn't hear anything if words were being exchanged, which is why he waited to see if anything would happen.

To his surprise, Hugo began fleeing, a stampede of soldiers following him to ensue.

Jason didn't know the relationship this man had with them, but he didn't care.

He knew Hugo was strong.

Unlike the others, Jason could nearly match Hugo's speed.

Having such a fortunate deal with the system, he was able to have an explosive headstart and was quite strong so early on.

Jason trailed after Hugo, he was sure he noticed him but for whatever reason, he didn't cease his escape.

Hugo reached the highway, suddenly altering his path towards the valley.

One thing Jason shirked was his stamina. To fuel such high speeds, he needed equal if not more stamina.

His speed was on par, but his stamina wasn't.

His speed drooped down, and the distance between the two increased gradually until Hugo took another abrupt turn, causing Jason to lose sight of him altogether.

'Fuck...' Jason quickly scurried through his mind. Should he continue to chase after him? Look for survivors? Go to the valley?

With the new world, having alliances of comrades was a must. The reason Hugo and Jason haven't massacred the group was that they had far too many numbers.

If both of them had a few friends, they'd be able to defeat the entire group with ease, only attaining a few injuries.

Without the rudimentary needs, any hopes of conquering them were far-gone.

Jason sagged against a diminutive grey convertible, sweat dropped from his hairline onto the pavement, splattering on his shoes and pant cuffs.

'God I really need something to drink around here.'

Jason's thirst was eminent. He wasn't sure if he drunk anything since getting abducted.

Unfortunately, fewer cars were occupying the highway, decreasing the odds of finding anything to drink.

As he anticipated, every car was robbed. Leaving only behind invaluable objects or half-eaten food.

Leaning against the cars, he trudged forwards in exhaustion, stumbling down.

All to pick himself up and keep going.

Jason had a penchant for powerful people, like Jax in his old school.

That's why he wouldn't stop until he met up with Hugo. Only then would he rest.

However, his body had other plans.

In an instant, Jason's right side went scaringly limp. He lost his balance and plonked onto the highway floor, dazed and frightened.

He clawed at the road, tears streaming out of his eyes. Would this be his end?

Then his left side suddenly went weak. He could barely raise his hand, let alone talk.

His eyelids suddenly became heavy. The weight of a thousand boulders slammed onto his eyelids, threatening to seal them forever.

The acrid taste in his throat leaked out, although less important than before.

Footsteps approached far behind Jason. They became increasingly loud and strident, eventually coming to a halt.

The last thing Jason remembered was swallowing the bitterness back down. He was sure he'd reload from a checkpoint if he died, and he wasn't in the mood to redo everything he did today.

**

In a daze, a cacophony of ringing and crackling of fire assaulted his ears. Everything was a blur.

Jason rose his head, he saw a faint silhouette of a brawny near bald figure in the corner of his eyes yet he didn't care.

His head swayed from side to side, and he could barely keep himself awake.

He was about to pass out when a voice spoke to him.

"You should eat or drink something. You're growing gaunt."

Jason could see the withered blood stains through his splayed hand, his eyes faltering at the glowing light placed across from him.

"What... Are you that guy from the woods..." Jason asked slurredly, concentrating his eyes on Hugo to ingrain his face in his memory.

"I am. I also noticed you were following me. I was surprised you matched my speed. I was wondering who you were until you unexpectedly stopped. I went back after a while to check and I discovered you passed out.

I picked you up and brought you to my shack. I hope you don't have any petulant behavior despite my hospitality. Don't question me on what I do. I won't either."

Jason could only nod as a wave of nausea drowned Jason.

Rolling to his side, barf hurled onto the floorboards, soaking between the tiny crevices.

"That... Was an accident."

"I know."

Hugo stood up and walked to the west side of the house, opening his cabinet and pulling out a white towel, throwing it at Jason.

"Clean up your mess."

"You're a surly one." Jason jokingly insulted him, chuckling at his own words.

Jason only received a solicitous expression in return, leaving him to fend for his mess.

"There's some food on the stove. Eat, drink some water then leave. I don't have enough resources for the two of us."

Jason locked his eyes with Hugos', yet the latter's look was dourer.

"I'll get to the point. Let's work together."

Hugo was surprised at the brusque reply, caught off guard at the proposal.

"I just said-"

"I know. I'll get my own resources. I only want your strength." Jason's eyes narrowed, giving an aura of determination of stubbornness.

"People will need others to survive, or groups like the other one will just kill individuals without much care. Us alone can beat all of them in a fair fight."

Jason resumed to rumble on about his views and goals, and Hugo primly listened along.

Jason finished his rant and politely waited for Hugo's response.

He stood with his eyes shut, registering the information and organizing his thoughts.

He weighed the pros and cons. Ultimately he came to a clear decision.

"I'll work with you, just don't be a pain in my ass."

"I should be saying that."

Jason reached out a hand with a smirk, Hugo accepted.

"Together, we probably won't die."

"I don't plan on dying anytime soon."