Chapter 23: Week Five: Thursday

Jason stood in the middle of the barbershop with blood all across his face and two piles of bones beneath him. Unlike what happened when he ate Scarface's eye, Jason didn't really feel any stronger. But, he noticed his wounds were starting to heal slightly. Although, it would definitely take more than one or two to heal his ribs and arm.

"Awesome! I wonder if human tastes better or worse? The same maybe?" Not minding how insane his new cannibalistic nature was, he left the barbershop and hugged the wall to stay out of sight. 

He constantly looked back to make sure the infected on the street didn't notice him. When he got to the next building and entered, the same thing that happened in the barbershop happened again. Though this time, there were a few more infected that took some time to kill.

After consuming them, once again his wounds healed. Even the more minor ones had closed completely. Feeling incredible and full of energy, Jason repeated this process a few extra times before something happened.

"My arms healed? Ribs too?" He stared at his own arm, stunned beyond belief as he moved it around. Something that should have taken a long time to heal, was fine just after a dozen or so meals. His strength and speed had also increased and although it was barely noticeable, it was amazing in his eyes.

"What if I eat more? The Juggernaut? A whole Night Hunter?" The more Jason thought about it, the better it sounded.

There was nothing wrong with wanting some extra power. Maybe he could even try and get Alice to be like him? She was better than the rest after all.

Unseen by Jason, a black vein traveled across his neck before disappearing. The more he accepted, the closer he'll be to true perfection.

Not aware of his own mindset changing, Jason happily went across the street. Taking the alleys, he eventually made his way to the back of Bullseye Supply. However, a problem soon came up.

"No windows? Who the fuck designs it like that?" A little angry at the lack of windows, Jason tried opening the backdoor and found it locked. 

Kicking the door with all his strength, it only dented slightly.

"Jesus. Strong ass door." After a few more tries, the door finally opened a little allowing him to see inside.

"Of course it was barricaded." Right behind the door was a whole bunch of furniture blocking him from entering.

Pushing the door open with both hands, Jason finally entered into the back of the gun store. As he made his way around the place he eventually found an office. Entering inside, he was immediately hit with the smell of death and decay. Sitting in a chair at the desk, was a rotting corpse with most of it's head gone.

Walking closer, Jason found the corpse holding a shotgun in it's hands and a note on the desk.

"Time for a little afternoon reading huh pal?" Jason turned to the corpse with a smile, and was met with an obvious silence.

"Guess you don't need this anymore huh asshole?" After yanking the shotgun away from the decayed hands, he started reading the note.

'Foods gone. So is the water. And I can't go outside, there's way too many of them out there. Is this it? The end of me? What a load of shit. I beat cancer's ass twice and I die to starvation?

Started coughing a little while ago. Saw on the news how coughing might be one of the sign that you're infected. Ain't no way in hell am I becoming some mindless monster.

I just wish I could have seen my granddaughter one last time. Grandpa loves you cupcake.'

Jason tossed the letter onto the corpses lap and squatted next to him.

"Must suck huh? Granddaughters probably dead, walking around as one of them, or some dude's pet. I hope she is one. One of the infected I mean. Not too bad for her to still be alive right? Besides, they become stronger and faster. Honestly, doesn't seem so bad when you sit down and think about it. You agree right?" Again, no answer came. Jason scoffed at the corpse and walked out of the office.

"I hope your granddaughter got her candy taken away when she was a toddler. Now, where are my guns!"

After walking through a few rooms, he finally found the front area. However his face dropped instantly.

"Fucking looters! Actual goddamn rats!" Most of the guns were gone with only maybe a half dozen or so still around.

With a heavy sigh, Jason grabbed a duffel bag from nearby and started loading all the guns inside. Looking around a little more, he was able to find a few suppressors along with some ammo. But then he arrived in the storage room.

"Seriously? Real funny. Hilarious even." Jason said with a deadpan face. In front of him was an empty storage room, with a single bullet in the middle standing upright. Almost like a middle finger and a 'Fuck you pal'.

He sighed as he took the bullet and put it into his pocket. The hatred and love he had for this person was at an all time high. And the reason for that, was because he had this exact same idea not ten seconds ago. Then he finds out this guy beat him to the punch.

"Not a bad haul I guess. If it weren't for those filthy thieves. Speaking of thieves, I hope no one took my katana." With a worried look on his face, Jason exited the store through the way he came and began walking back home through alleyways.

After thirty minutes of running and hiding from big groups of infected, Jason eventually made it back to the supermarket. However, his face was not pleased.

"For fucks sakes! Which sadistic bastard puts a bear trap on the ground, around a corner, and hidden under junk?! I'd love to meet them so I can shake their hand and rip their spine out through their mouth!" Jason fumed as he walked down the street with said bloody bear trap in hand, and a couple new holes in his pants. 

Of course he was going to take it for himself. This could do serious damage to someone. Just up his alley.

"Zach did say I was a little sadistic. What slander. Such a kind being like myself is just teaching others what it feels like to be caught in a bear trap! If anything, I'm a Saint!"

Keeping himself entertained with such delusional thoughts, Jason was completely unaware about the multiple pairs of eyes trained on him from inside the supermarket. 

'That must be the man Michael warned us about. Is he... insane? Talking to thin air?' Ram had doubts about the sanity of this man.

Although he was definitely larger than an average person, he didn't look too dangerous. That was, until an infected rushed at him. Ram and members of his team witnessed in shock as Jason expertly kicked its head, which then proceeded to break open like a watermelon as the body flew away a few feet.

'Holy shit!' Making sure to keep quiet, Ram waited until the madman was out of sight before talking to his team.

"Alright, the majority of you guys stay here. You, you, and you, come with me. Let's see where this big boy lays his head." He pointed to the three best and sneakiest members of his team, while the other six nodded their heads and stayed put.

Back to Jason, after a few more minutes of walking, he finally came back to the crime scene. Seeing the Juggernaut's face down body mostly eaten with broken teeth embedded into the skin made him feel a small degree of rage, but he reasoned with himself that it was unavoidable. After all, it would have been ridiculous if it had went untouched for so long.

Luckily, there was still some meat for him to enjoy. Putting his stuff down and squatting down next to the dead giant, Jason inhaled deeply.

"Ah. Smells... spicy?" Confused, he tried to take a bite but found the skin extremely tough to break through.

Thankfully the Juggernaut had been dead for a while allowing it's flesh to soften, that and Jason's own teeth had become sharper. The instant he started chewing a piece he finally ripped off, his mouth exploded with flavor. For a few seconds, his brain was overloaded with the amount of pleasure that single bite rewarded. It was far better than anything crack or heroin could deliver.

When he woke up and swallowed, he ignored the outside world as he ravenously dug back into the Juggernaut. Only after he had consumed the last of it and stood up, did his body undergo a change.

Jason witnessed as multiple black veins sprouted throughout his body and wiggled around as if alive. He felt euphoric as power filled his very being and changed him, physically and mentally. His muscles became more visible and the fat melted away, though some was still there. His height grew slightly taller, bringing him in at 6ft 6in.

Even as his bones and muscles reconstructed themselves, no pain could be found on his face. Only a creepy sort of bliss, along with a few sexual moans. When a few minutes had passed, Jason looked at his brand new body with fervent eyes. This pleased him deeply.

"Haha! I feel reborn! Will it always be this good? If so I might get addicted. But I probably won't, I can control myself." Although he said it like that, Jason was already addicted to not only the feeling of becoming stronger but also the drug-like state he was put into during and after eating. 

To test his new strength, Jason punched down at the road as hard as he could producing a small 'boom'. Upon contact, his fist became slightly numb but otherwise suffered no damage. As for the asphalt, there was a tiny little crack left from his attack.

"So, not as strong as this big fuck just yet. But what if I eat a few more?" A smile blossomed to his face when he thought of that. 

Jason took a few more minutes to run through some tests and came up with something slightly disappointing. His strength, durability, and muscles had all increased massively. Unfortunately, that's where it ended. His speed had seen a small in increase due to his leg muscles growing, but his mobility, flexibility, eyesight, and others remained unchanged.

"Is it because a Night Hunter is a more rounded overall character instead of being focused on a single skill tree?" Jason thought about it a little and came to this conclusion as to why the two improvements were so different.

Looking at the bones with fresh teeth marks, Jason suddenly thought of something.

"Wait a minute. The Juggernaut was laying face down and so most of that area was fine. Now, all that's left are bones and some mysteriously large ripped pants." His eyes widened after remembering a certain very long, thick, and veiny object he saw during his drug induced daze.

"Holy shit! Did I eat his dick and balls?! Does that make me gay?" After a second of thinking he denounced such a crazy idea.

"Course not, I'm straighter than an arrow. But now that I'm thinking about it more, I should have left some for Killgore! Heartless bastard!" He felt bad that his beautiful companion would have to settle for the lower tier food, but nothing could be done. Next time he would save her some, if he could control himself.

"One thing's for sure, I need new clothes." Due to his increased size, his torn clothes became very tight.

Just as he was about to leave, he looked towards a broken window of a building. His katana that was thrown away by the Juggernaut should still be there.

Although he doesn't really think it would be too useful anymore given his increased strength and lack of skill, it would still make for an awesome trophy to place on his wall. 

Still unseen, Ram and his guys were staring at Jason in shock and horror. In their minds, he wasn't human. He was a monster that only looked the part. Deciding not to risk it anymore, they made the wise decision to leave.

"Let's get the fuck outta here!" Ram quietly whispered, earning grateful nods from the other three. They went back to the supermarket, grabbed the bodies, and started walking back to base.

Unaware of his stalkers departure, Jason walked into the apartment building and found it empty. He wasn't surprised as most it's occupants either came out during his fight or joined the horde to chase after him. After going up a few floors, he came to a locked door that should be the correct room. Easily shattering it into pieces with a single kick, Jason stepped inside and only had to look around for a few seconds.

There, in all it's glory, was Honjo Masamune stuck halfway into a wall. Pulling it out with no effort, he went to put it back into it's sheath when he remembered something.

"That's right. It got blown away when that asshole hit me. Same with my knives." Sighing, he walked to the window and looked at the bones on the road.

"I wish I could kill you again. But I'll just have to settle with having your skull as my piss bucket. Ooh, maybe a trophy on the wall instead?" With that, he left the building and made his way back home. As for the skull, he would return later for it.

Soon enough, he came before the barricade and called out.

"Someone there? I got girl scout cookies." However, silence answered him instead.

"M'kay. I see how it is. Leave poor old me out here to freeze to death. Not like I ventured across this inhospitable land, got chased by rabid monsters with broken bones, and also brought back weapons for us all to enjoy. I should be a damn war hero. 72 virgins as my reward." Mumbling to himself, he pushed the barricade out of the way with zero effort. He walked inside but came back out not a few seconds later.

"Forgot Killgore's meal. Sometimes I wonder just how stupid I am. It's astonishing really."

The journey to find a random infected didn't take too long. With a quick sneaky snap of it's neck from behind, Jason grabbed the paralyzed body by it's collar with one hand and went back into the barricade. Closing it behind him, he carried all his goodies up the stairs. 

Halfway up the stairs to the second floor, he met someone. Both parties were shocked before one of them spoke up.

"You're back!" Alice ran down the stairs and hugged Jason, who wanted to respond but didn't know how to. After all, his hands were occupied.

Feeling some slight embarrassment, Alice let go and went up a few steps to become eye level with Jason.

"Are you okay? What happened? Why are you so tall? What's with the body?" She fired off multiple questions rapidly. All this time she had been worried for his safety.

"Woah, calm down. I'll explain it all. Just take a seat, it's a little long." Dropping off everything to the side and making sure it didn't fall down the stairs, Jason sat down on one of the steps.

After Alice joined him, perhaps a little too close, he went off about his whole journey. From his epic battle with the Juggernaut, to getting injured, having to run away from the horde, his cannibalistic meals, everything. Maybe he should have kept some of it secret, but he didn't see any point in that. How was he suppose to cover up his new height?

Throughout the entire tale, Alice experienced a roller coster of emotions. Gasping at this, awing at that, etc.

"You know, they probably won't take the whole cannibal thing very well. Maybe it's best to skip over that?" For some reason, she didn't care about what he had done. If anything, she thought it was a good thing because he got stronger. And that scared her. Why was she changing so much? Especially recently.

"What else can I say then? I don't see a good excuse for my sudden increase in height."

Alice thought for a few seconds before chuckling.

"You could tell them you met a short Italian plumber who gave you a mushroom." Jason pondered over the answer for several moments, before realizing what she meant and laughed a little.

After that, they sat in an awkward silence for a few moments. Until Alice spoke up.

"You know, I was really worried about you. I was so scared that you wouldn't come back, or we'd find your body dead and eaten." Jason didn't really know what to say. It felt really good that she cared for him like that.

"I was worried about you as well. I saw that big fat infected in the middle of the horde. She was definitely a special one like the Juggernaut. How did you slip past her?"

"Oh, I used a normal infected as a shield. I hid behind him and pushed him to the lobby." Jason's eyes widened a little.

"Damn, that's genius! I never would have thought of that." Jason chuckled a little, which in turn brought a smile to Alice. 

As they stared at each other's faces, their lips unconsciously moved closer and closer together. After what felt like an eternity, they kissed.

It was mind blowing for the both of them, something they had never experienced before in their lives. Except for Jason, as it was extremely similar to the time he ate the Juggernaut. But here, he felt more in control than last time. 

With their eyes closed and lips connected, they failed to notice a small black vein pass from Jason's mouth and into Alice's. It wriggled slightly, moving down her neck to above her heart, and disappeared just as they opened their eyes and separated. They stared at each other, speechless over what happened. Until, Jason broke the silence.

"That was-"

"-fucking awesome?" Alice finished his sentence for him, causing the both of them to laugh.

As Jason looked into her gorgeous emerald eyes, he was unable to hold back his desire for her. Reaching for her cheek and grasping it lightly with his hand, he pulled her into another deep and long kiss. Which Alice eagerly accepted with closed eyes and by wrapping her arms around his neck. They stayed locked together for several minutes, unwilling to part.

Unknown to the both of them, a pair of green widened eyes were watching.

'Holy shit! What the fuck just happened?!' Lily stood there, hidden and shocked beyond belief. 

She heard her sister say she was going downstairs to watch for Jason. So, being the good big sister she was, decided to follow after her when done with her meal. Lily had made it just in time to see Jason arrive, Alice hug him, and his tale of adventure.

Truthfully, she was disgusted at Jason doing something like eating the infected and sacrificing those people. Although they really aren't human anymore, it was still wrong morally. 

However, it wasn't like she hated his guts or anything. To her, it seemed like he was just doing his best to survive in a messy situation. The whole thing confused her, and she didn't know what to think.

But then, they kissed out of nowhere. She wanted to go down there and break it up, but Alice seemed really willing. What if her sister hated her for doing that? She couldn't bear it.

However, if they started taking their clothes off Lily would definitely stop it. Regardless of what her sister thought.

As Lily contemplated her feelings, the duo's lips finally unlocked. Both wanted to continue, but knew enough was enough.

"So, what now?" Alice giggled nervously. Everything was so weird. She will admit she liked Jason, but this seemed way too fast. 

"Uh, I don't really know. But I wouldn't mind if we continued this. See where it goes. There was definitely some magic in those kisses." Jason said. His thought process was the same as Alice's, in that he liked her but this was a little fast.

Then again, this was the apocalypse. Where they could die tomorrow or even today by getting ambushed by a mutated ferret. So why not throw caution to the wind and try a little something?

"Okay!" Alice said excitedly, more joy within her than she expected.

As they both got up, Jason started grabbing all his things while Alice looked on with interest. Higher up the stairs, Lily noticed they would soon come her way so she got out of dodge before they saw here. She would confront her sister later, alone. 

'Tsk, can't believe I got one upped by my own sister.' Lily thought as she sneaked up the stairs and into the second floor. She had wanted to try and go for him beforehand, but now it seems like she'll have to take a step back.

Jason and Alice climbed the stairs slowly, trying to deepen their connection with each other by talking.

"What's with the dead guy?" Alice asked quizzically. She wanted to ask this before, but it got put on hold for several reasons.

"Oh this? He's not dead, just paralyzed. I was gonna feed him to Killgore since she hasn't had a good meal for a while."

"Can I meet her?" Alice replied, not at all caring about the poor infected's fate.

"Maybe in a few days. I'm gonna let her out of her cage and let her wander around my place. Besides, she just started warming up to me and I don't know how she'll react with you. I don't want you to get hurt on accident." Jason saw it as a 50/50 chance Killgore would see her or not. He didn't want to risk her life on a mere chance.

"Okay! I'll wait!" Alice said sweetly. Her heart felt warm and fuzzy when he said he didn't want her in danger.

"So... should we tell the rest about, us?" Alice asked.

"Hm, don't know. Maybe we should hold off or a bit? At least until we know this isn't some fluke."

Alice agreed with a nod of the head. Then, they talked about various things for the rest of the way. Including the man and the kids. Eventually, they came to the second floor.

"I don't really wanna talk to them to be honest. I'm pretty tired." That was both true and a lie. He had plenty of energy physically, but mentally he was exhausted.

"Quit your whining. Go in there and get it over with. It'll be done before you know it." Alice said with a pat on his back, a thumbs up, and an adorable smile.

Leaving the paralyzed infected outside, he walked in and spoke.

"I'm home kids! Don't worry, I finally found the milk!" Alice giggled a little.

As he said that, everyone left their apartments a little stunned. Conveniently enough, Zach was also here. 

Then began the long story. It was very similar to what Alice felt, a roller coaster of emotions. But, they didn't take his meal choice or sacrificing very well.

"How could you do those things?!" Kevin shouted, outraged. Tyrone and Zach felt similair feelings. Bill actually approved of it and Lily just faked it until she made it since she heard it before.

"I wanted to live. I wanted to survive. This is the new world, kill or be killed. If I didn't sacrifice those people, I would have died." Logically, it made sense. But morally, it was awful. 

"And what about those things you... ate?" Tyrone asked, nearly gagging at the end.

"To become stronger. I mean, how the fuck do you think we can survive against those monsters who can bench press cars as a warm-up? Rely on Alice the whole time?" Again, it was logical. But those pesky morals in their hearts kept shouting at the injustice of the whole thing.

They were about to ask more, but Jason interrupted them. Alice seemed to know what was coming and sighed.

"Let me ask you something. How in the fuck can you give away MY fucking supplies like that?"

"Well the children-" Tyrone began saying, preparing to make his case, but was cut off.

"Yes yes the children. But here's something. Those, aren't your supplies! They're mine! Who risked their life for them?! Who suffered the pain of multiple broken bones?! Who was chased by fucking dogs and cats, forced to rip their mouths off my flesh?!" Jason exploded in rage, shouting at all of them.

After each question he pounded on his chest with one clenched fist, producing loud booms that rattled their eardrums. The group was stunned into silence, a little horrified. He didn't.... seem human anymore. Almost monstrous even.

Jason wanted to continue, but a hand tugged on his arm. Turning his head, he saw Alice shaking her head. With a sigh, he stopped and calmed himself down.

"You know what? Whatever. I'm exhausted and need sleep." After saying that, he walked out and grabbed the infected who accepted his new life as a vegetable.

Alice sighed as Jason left. She could understand his feelings and sympathized with him. She looked over at Lily and noticed she was staring at her with an odd gaze. For some reason, she became very nervous.

'My... katana.' Zach thought with a sad face. That sheath was literally one of a kind.

Jason absent-mindedly walked up the stairs, thinking to himself about what just happened.

'Why was I so angry?'

It was true he had some degree of anger towards them. After all, he risked his life for something important only to have someone else give it away without consulting him. Anyone would be mad at that. But this was too extreme, too uncontrollable. Then, his eyes widened.

'The Juggernaut maybe?' The thing was, after saying his piece, all that anger faded away. Almost like he needed to let it out.

"This is all so confusing. I really hope that was a one time thing, or this will get very annoying to have to deal with each time. I sure hope Alice didn't get scared."

When he opened his apartment door and stepped inside, a wave of happiness came over him. He was glad to finally be back home. Setting down his things in the kitchen for now, he dragged the vegetable over to his room.

Killgore, hearing the door open and sniffing the air, wagged her tail unconsciously at who was coming. Finally, her meatbag was home! Suddenly, she stopped her tail and laid back down. It's not like she cared for him or anything.

The door opened and revealed the new and improved Jason to Killgore's sight. She was confused, but thought nothing of it. Perhaps it was a growth spurt.

"My precious! I'm sure you missed me, right sweetheart? Look here, I got you a present! Fresh and still alive!" He held up the infected in the air with one hand, showing her meal.

Killgore's ears twitched at that, but looked uninterested. But all that changed, when Jason unlocked the cage. She looked up in shock, contemplating on what to do.

"Now, if you try anything, I'm gonna have to punish you bad. You won't like that, and neither will I. So be obedient and sit." Jason said sternly with hopeful eyes. He wasn't worried about her trying to harm him. It's not like she could if she tried. He would snap her spine in half with no remorse if she lunged for him.

Killgore took a hesitant step out and came before Jason. She was very big, her head reaching just below his stomach.

There was something about her meatbag that was new to her. Something different. But she couldn't exactly put her paw on it. Whatever it was, she knew it would be unwise to try and kill him. Besides, deep down, she was starting to enjoy his presence.

Watching Killgore sit before him and wait made Jason's face gain some joy. He threw the paralyzed and confused infected into her cage.

"Go ahead and eat up." With that, he went into his closet and began taking his torn bloody clothes off as Killgore started ripping into the confused newcomer with glee. 

As Jason stripped himself down, he thought back to his supplies being given away by Tyrone.

"What do you except from some inferior thing?!" He said with a snarl, ripping off his shirt with a rough tug. But then, he shaked his head.

"Huh? The fuck am I saying? Must be more tired than I thought." Truly, he had no idea why he said that.

When finally naked, he looked at himself in his full glory.

"Hmm. I like the beard, but I think it's time for that shit to go. The increase in height is pretty good. Oh my fuck, those triceps. Christ, what a badass!" The scars along with the new muscle made him look like an absolute tank. The changes made him think of consuming more special infected, eager for their power to become his.

But when his eyes drifted down, he froze.

"No fucking way. Is it, bigger?" He tapped his dick a little, afraid it was a dream. It swayed and twitched at his touch, and was clearly very real. His cock had gained an extra inch in length.

With a giant ear to ear smile, Jason celebrated with a little dance.

"I should definitely find more Juggernauts!" With a slight cough as he remembered someone else was in the room, he then continued.

"For, scientific purposes of course. Purely educational."

Killgore swallowed the last of the liver and looked up. Was it really so important for his mating tool to be bigger? She then used her claw to pull out the infected's intestines, wondering if her meatbag was insane.