Chapter 15: Week Four-Week Five: Sunday-Wednesday

Alice's eyes started to flutter, and a few seconds later they opened slowly. Her mind was cloudy and the eyes that just opened began to close themselves once more. A few more minutes of sleep couldn't hurt.

That's when a stinging pain on her cheek made itself known. She held her hand to her cheek, confused at the sudden pain. When trying to find a memory that could explain said pain, she was shocked to find she could not. There was a blank gap within her memories that made fear start to swell up within her heart.

*SQUELCH*

An odd sound wiggled it's way into Alice's ear. It was... such a strange sound. She swore she heard it earlier, but she drew another blank when trying to remember. Struggling to sit up, she looked around the both unfamiliar but familiar apartment. Immediately her eyes were drawn to multiple 'people' hunched over a person as they... ate him. Terror was overtaking her whole body, making it feel strangely numb. But when she looked at the man's face, the missing pieces of the puzzle started to come together.

Memories of what happened today rushed through her mind like a tidal wave. Once she remembered everything, her head turned to the side and bile came from her mouth. Her unladylike scene was from a variety of things, but the main contributors were the man's actions and his half-eaten body with guts thrown about the place.

Thinking of something, she hurriedly checked herself over for signs of rape. Luckily, her clothes were generally fine and no pain originated from her special cave. Tears started to well up within her eyes, but she managed to hold them in well enough. She placed everything that happened here inside a bottle, and would deal with it later. She had more important worries currently.

As she tried standing, her legs were still a little weak and felt like jello from the drug she was fed. Still, she managed to wobble her way over to the window while ignoring the infected in the middle of their meal. Taking a look in the sky, she sighed in relief seeing that not much time had passed. Maybe an hour or so. 

Alice stood over the man's body and looked at him with disgust. She felt some joy flow through her when she saw his fear ridden face. When she spit on that same face, it made her rescuers look over. An odd feeling made her want to hug them, to thank them, but she didn't exactly feel comfortable in hugging a flesh eating creature that prefers humans. Rescuer or not.

Alice grabbed her gun that was across the room and checked the remaining ammo. A few shots had been fired and based on the lack of dead infected, it's clear as day to say he wasn't... the best shot. She left through the broken doorway and made her way down the stairs. 

Seeing how the rapist fired a few shots, she didn't have to go through her plan anymore. It was a massive struggle for Alice to move through all the infected that littered the stairwell. Took a lot longer than she would have liked, but she finally made it to the first floor once more. Looking out into the streets, she noticed a significant decrease in the amount of infected lining them. But there were still enough out there to make her hairs stand up.

She certainly hoped that the infected from her building were drawn out. Or else this whole thing was useless. Well, it did teach her a valuable lesson about trusting strangers.

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Zach was sitting on a chair next to the bed his friend slept on. He looked over Jason's bandaged and bloodied body in worry. He truly hoped that his friend would get through this and come out the other side. But life is not an anime where the main character gets injured or is near death and somehow becomes stronger because of it. Chances are his friend will turn, and they will have to put him down. 

Although he hasn't known Jason for long, he did care for him. That's why it broke his heart watching him in this condition. While watching Jason, he noticed a black vein appear on his arm and travel throughout his body at a high speed before disappearing. It alarmed the group at first but as it kept happening, they stopped worrying about it. 

Zach got up from his seat and closed the door behind him, making his way to the group that stood in the hallway arguing lightly.

"We should leave now before it's too late. You all heard the shots coming from the other building. It's our best chance, before those monsters wander back inside."

"And what if we encounter the remnants inside the stairs? Shoot them? We don't even know how many stragglers there are."

"Better than sittin here on our asses with the time bomb ticking away. Don't know about you, but I'm startin to get hungry."

As Bill and Tyrone argued, Lily jumped in silencing them both.

"Shut the fuck up the both of you! I need to get back to Alice! She's just a teenager who's all alone! Besides, it's like Bill said. How much longer can we wait here before we need food? What about water? We should take the chance we have now before it's too late."

"I... agree with Lily. I don't see another option here." Kevin showed his support to both Lily and Bill, outnumbering Tyrone. 

"I-I agree too." Zach finally spoke up after listening the whole time.

"Alright. Let's-"

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

"Shh. You hear that?"

Kevin quieted Tyrone before he could finish his sentence. The group waited in silence for a few moments, listening deeply. 

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

"Is that... a knock on the door?"

The group all nodded, each showing suprise and shock. They made their way to the barricaded door leading to the stairs. Moving the objects out of the way, Bill had his gun up ready to blast any enemies while Lily stayed behind him with her knife drawn, Tyrone and Kevin had both their weapons to support them. As for Zach... he manned the door.

Getting the all clear, Zach opened the door to reveal their visitor. Shock appeared on everyone's face. Most of all Lily. 

"A-Alice?"

"Lily!"

Overcome with emotions, Alice rushed into Lily's embrace and wrapped her arms around her big sister. Lily put her knife away and returned the hug. She looked down at Alice, feeling her shake and saw tears run down her cheeks. The bottle she tried to keep closed broke open like a dam when she felt Lily's warmth, and all those emotions flowed out.

"Alice? What's wrong?"

"I'll tell you all about it..."

The group walked into the room opposite Jason's and listened in to Alice's story. They were memorized by her wild tale. Up until the moment she met the strange man.

"That son of a bitch! How dare that fucking cunt touch you!" Lily punched the bed she and Alice were sitting on in rage. 

The others comforted Alice, making tears flow again. But this time these tears were mixed with happiness. She was thankful to have them support her like this. When she said he was dead, Lily spit on the floor and Bill made a remark.

"Good riddance."

"Alice, sweetheart, did you see any infected out there? Can we go back down?"

Wiping her tears away, Alice replied to Tyrone.

"There's still a few in the stairwells, but none on the roof. As for the other floors I only took a quick glance so I don't really know."

"Alright. You lead the way and spot any of them for us. We'll handle the rest."

"Wait a second! Let Alice rest some more!"

"It's fine Lily."

"But-"

"Trust me Lily. I can handle it."

Lily took a look at her little sister and realized she was telling the truth. She gave Alice a smile.

"Okay. I believe you."

Alice looked around the room and noticed someone was missing.

"Where's Jason?" Whe she asked that question, he saw the faces of the group turn solemn. Especially Zach's, he looked ready to cry.

"He's in here."

Kevin led the way to Jason's room, and told Alice what they knew. To say she was shocked was an understatement. 

"Why hasn't he turned yet?"

"We... don't know. Zach says he might be immune or something like that but who knows. Pretty badass though you have to admit. He lasted so long against one of those 'things'."

"Yeah."

There was a knock on the door, startling the both of them. Turning around they saw Bill standing there.

"You ready girl? And give me my damn gun back before you hurt yourself."

"I'm ready, old man."

When she stepping in close and handed him the gun, she heard Bill whisper something only she could hear.

"Uh... nice... uh... job."

Alice almost couldn't believe her ears. She asked loudly, a teasing smile on her lips.

"Huh? What was that?"

"Nothing. I never said a damn thing, brat. Don't slander me."

She giggled as he walked off mumbling to himself about how youngsters don't respect their elders anymore.

After some prepping, the group was ready to take on the world. The only one who stayed behind was Zach.

"You sure about this Zach?" Tyrone was worried that when they came back, they wouldn't find two people.

"I'm sure. Someone has to stay and keep their eyes on Jason. Besides, I'm pretty useless in a fight. Don't even have a weapon. Good luck."

With that done, Alice was the first to step back into the stairwell with a flashlight guiding her way while the others stayed a distance behind her. 

Walking down a few steps, Alice alerted the group by way of hand signals that there was an infected right in front of her. The infected man stood in place as he stared up the stairs blankly, dead eyes. Arriving right behind him, Alice got his attention so Tyrone could smack him upside the head sneakily.

"Hey."

The infected's eyes regained some life as he turned around, expecting healthy food to find. But all he saw was an empty space. Before he could think of anything else, he felt some kind of impact on the back of his head. He tumbled down the stairs until his face smacked the ground. Although his head felt fuzzy he had no pain anywhere, so he tried getting up. But another impact landed on his head and he fell down again, unmoving. Now all he stared at was everlasting darkness. He was finally content.

Throughout the rest of the floors, hallways, and stairwells, Alice and the gang cleared most of the building. The only part left untouched was the first floor. Although the lobby was cleared, there was still a mass gathering of flesh eaters hanging out in the streets. They didn't want to take any chances with them there. But they did try their best in rebuilding the blockades in the doorways.

The next few days went by in a blur. Everyone was trying to busy themselves as they waited for the infected in the streets to clear up. Bill was still working on his radio and was close to fixing it, Lily was trying to train Alice on how to defend herself after her run-in with the rapist, Tyrone and Kevin were building barricades on as many windows as possible and fortifying the first floors doors, and Zach was keeping an eye out on Jason. 

Of course, Zach never forgot his morning workouts. He could already imagine the pain Jason would inflict on him if he stopped doing them. Besides, Zach was liking his progress and the feeling of getting stronger. He looked down upon Jason, wondering when he would wake up. At this point, most of the group didn't think he would turn. With the exception of Bill. 

While reading his manga and paying attention to Jason, Zach noticed his eyelids twitch. But he didn't pay this any concern. Jason's eyelids had twitched many times previously, so he didn't think this time would be any different. However when Jason's eyes started opening, his breath quickened and excitement rushed through his body.

"J-Jason?"

His eyes were half opened, like someone who just woken up from a long sleep. Suddenly, they snapped open and his body sat straight up.

"Where am I?! Where's that piece of shit gone?!" His eyes scanned the room, searching for his nemesis. 

"Jason! Calm down! I'll explain it all."

Then, Zach explained everything. From when he passed out, to Kevin and Lily's adventure to his room, Alice's journey, and even his own seizure. 

"Wait here! I'll go downstairs and tell everyone. I bet they'll be so happy! Well, maybe."

"What the..."

As Zach ran off to tell the others, Jason sat there in shock. He couldn't believe he was still alive. Truthfully, he wasn't expecting to wake up again. He thought his ticket was punched and it was time to dance with Satan. But it seems, God was on his side.

The strange thing was, he felt no pain. Deciding to check his wounds, Jason got off the bed and made his way to the bathrooms mirror. 

Seeing his reflection, he gasped in amazement. His body had changed. It wasn't a change anyone else would notice. But for him who had seen the same body everyday for years, it was noticeable. His body had gained a bit more muscle overall while losing a tiny amount of fat, and his abs were finally starting to show which made him smile.

Then, he took off all the bloody bandages to reveal his nude upper body in order to see the extent of his injuries. But surprisingly, they were pretty much healed. The only thing that remained were his scars.

A total of four scars were left across his body. The smallest was the cut to his right cheek. Although the tongue only barely touched him, it still cut deep enough to leave a decent scar. The next was the one on his left forearm from Scarface's unpredictable attack. The scar ran along his entire forearm, going from the wrist to the elbow.

The deepest one by far was his shoulder. It looked like a shark had taken a bite out of him. The last and largest of them all was the five finger gash across his chest, stopping just above his belly button. His hand traced across it, feeling a tinge of phantom pain along with flashes of Scarface looming over him. He swore that piece of shit would pay for this. 

Jason hated him to his core. It had reminded him when he was younger. Weak and powerless. He lost that fight, badly. Constantly on the run like some kind of weakling. The entire reason he was even able to take an eye was because Scarface left his guard wide open. It underestimated Jason completely. Other than that, he failed to do any real damage.

"God... they look so cool though."

As Jason posed in the mirror to admire his new scars and muscles, Zach ran down the stairs as fast as he could. After a few close calls involving planting his face on the floor, he finally made it to the second floor where the rest of the group was. Before he even entered Bill's apartment, he could hear an argument currently ongoing.

"I said no! You are not going out there again!" Lily said, fury poured into her every word.

"Why not?! Our water is running low and we need more, who better to go than me?! They can't even see me for fucks sakes!" 

"But what if there is one that can?! What then huh?! What if you run into another psychopath? You are not to go out there again! You understand me?!"

Alice tried to reply, but couldn't find the words. What if Lily was right and one of the infected could see her? She would be torn to pieces. Reluctantly, she gave the answer her big sister wanted.

"Fine. I understand."

"Don't sulk like that. You know I'm only saying this because I care about you."

Zach decided it was a good moment to interrupt them now that things have started cooling down.

"Hey guys, Jason's awake. Do you... wanna go see him?"

The three other people in the room were shocked. They couldn't believe that he had woken up so soon. Bill stopped his tinkering, grabbed his gun, and walked out of the door.

"W-Why are you bringing that?"

"Just in case."

And so, the group moved together to go visit Jason. On the way, they picked up Tyrone and Kevin who were busy bloclading any windows or balconies. When getting to the sixth floor and stepping inside, they were slightly shocked to see Jason in the hallway staring at them. It was sort of creepy.

"Are you okay? To be moving like that?" Lily was the first to express her concern.

"Yeah, I feel good. Really good. Better than usual actually. Like I can take on the world."

"That's nice and all. But do you remember anything?" 

In response to Tyrone, Jason tilted his head in confusion.

"What do you mean? All I remember is passing out on the roof. Why?"

"Oh. No reason."

Jason narrowed his eyes at Tyrone, clearly suspicious. But he decided to ignore it and started walking past them.

"W-Wait Jason! Where are you going?" Zach asked while following behind him like a little lost puppy.

"To get some clothes idiot. And see the damage done to my room by that bastard. Come on, you're helping me clean up."

"Ok!"

When they were put of earshot, Bill spoke up.

"How is he even vertical? I've seen my fair share of weird shit in the war where people survived crazy things, but never that. The amount of blood he lost, the severity of his injuries. At the very least he shouldn't be awake."

"I don't know what to say either. But I'm glad he's alright. We're gonna need his help."

With that, the group dispersed and returned to their normal duties.

When Jason arrived in his trashed room, he went ballistic. Zach could see the steam coming from his head and stayed silent through it all. Especially since what Jason was saying was unerving to him.

"This... this is just great. Peachy. I'll skin him alive... Make furniture out of him. Maybe turn his skin into a goddamn lamp and use his skull as my pissing bucket!"

Jason went into his room and was thankful that Killgore was still fine and dandy. He tried to pet her, and almost lost his hand.

"Good girl. Keep that energy up. I'm gonna need that."

She growled at him and snapped at him when he tried getting too close again. But when Zach entered the room, she went into a crazy frenzy state. She slammed into her cage and angrily barked at him. Even her mouth started frothing.

"Hehe, seems like she doesn't like you. Just go out there and start cleaning things up, I'll handle in here."

"Sure!" Zach happily ran out of the room, scared of this demon hound. When he was gone, Jason spoke in a low tone to Killgore who still hadn't calmed down.

"You're hungry, aren't you? I know, it's been so long since you ate anything. All because of that Scarface bastard. I'll get him back, for the both of us. Let me go get you a treat."

He exited his place and went to apartment number 2, where the previous owner of Killgore slept soundly. Jason grabbed the bag containing the other arm and went back to his apartment. He felt it poetic to reunite both arms within her stomach.

"What's in the bag?" Zach questioned. Curiosity all over his face.

"Nothing special. Let me remind you though: The curious cat got his dick chopped off and fed to a dog. Or something like that I'm sure."

Zach immediately covered his groin with his hands and shook in fear, while Jason whistled with joy as he went past him. Inside his room Jason dangled the arm right above Killgore, making her try and reach for it.

"That's a good girl. Catch!"

He threw the arm to her, which she easily caught and started eating it like it was a five course meal. While she was busy, he was able to get a few pets in before she snapped at him again.

"Oh! Progress!"