After Jason killed the man who was in the midst of turning, nothing else eventful happened. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief seeing the button turn green when it was their time to shine.

They didn't want to be killed by the cruel executioner in such a brutal manner. The poor man's wide open and pain filled eyes still haunted them deeply.

Especially his desperate attempt to crawl away with a gaping hole in his chest as he choked on his own blood, tears streaming down his face as he looked towards the others for help. That was definitely nightmare fuel for a few people.

At the moment, the massive group was being led around the camp by Edward. His mood had not changed in the slightest, still being slightly enthusiastic to show off his fortress.

The events that had occurred earlier were not able to shake him that much. Plus, he had decided to throw that matter to the back of his mind and, in the words of his late 'Italian' father, forget about it.

When they arrived at the gardens, Jason and Alice saw two familiar faces, who were equally shocked seeing the couple arrive.

"Alice!" Lily ran straight for her sister and hugged her tightly, as if she hadn't seen her in years, before backing up. Her eyes sized Alice up and down with a slackjawed look.

"What the hell happened to you? You're taller than me now!" Although only an inch taller, Alice raised her nose highly and looked down upon Lily like she was a child.

"Oh nothing much. Just this, and that, along with that other thing." Just as Lily was about to scold her little sister and give her a piece of her mind, she noticed the wounds that were still present.

"Are you okay?! How did this happen?!" She carefully hovered over Alice's almost closed wounds, her voice filled with concern and panic. 

"Well-" Alice was interrupted when her fierce sis-con older sister glared at Jason. She put both hands on her hips and strode towards him with purpose.

"You stupid sack of shit! I thought you said nothing would happen to her?! You fucker!" Jason hurriedly jumped back, dodging a steel toed boot strike aimed at his crotch.

"Calm down Lily! Shit!" He ducked a punch thrown from her and hid behind Alice, using her like a shield.

"Stay back you demoness! Back I said! Or the pretty one gets it!" Acting as though he had a gun in his hand, Jason held it up next to Alice's head in a threatening manner, making the hostage giggle slightly.

"Oh no! Please don't shoot me mister handsome criminal! I'll do, whatever, you want~!" Playing along, the hostage raised her hands up, looking dreadfully scared.

A vein appeared on the side of Lily's neck as her eyebrow twitched angrily.

"Come here obediently, and I'll lessen your ass-whopping to only beating you half to death!"

"Yeah? I'd like to see you try you goddamn harpy!" Despite that, he stayed behind his gorgeous shield, a gun still aimed at her head.

As Alice looked at their antics, she couldn't help but laugh despite a pang of jealousy shooting through her. She loved how they got along so well.

Hooking her arm around Lily's, she held her back while calming her down with a smile.

"Easy Lily. I'll tell you all about what happened. At the same time, why don't you show me our new place?" Lily narrowed her eyes at her little sister, sensing something with her feminine supernatural powers.

'Hmm. She seems, different. Changed. I wonder if something big happened?' But she shook those thoughts off, letting out a snort as Alice led her away.

She looked over her shoulder at the big gorilla with fire pouring out of her eyes.

"Don't think this is over asshole. Better start sleeping with one eye open from now on, or you'll find yourself missing some precious jewels." To end that off, she pointed down at his crotch and swiped her finger across the air horizontally in a cutting motion.

Jason felt a chill go down his spine as he covered his privates.

Suddenly, a hand slapped his back. Which was soon followed by a hiss.

"Ouch! Jesus Jason, your back is as hard as steel. The hell you been eating?" A smiling Tyrone entered his vision and wisely chose to simply pat him on the shoulder lightly.

"A bunch of stuff. First, there was this big bear-" Thus, Jason told him about his journey with Alice back to the apartments, filling the bearded bald man with awe at his adventures.

After a few minutes of story telling, leaving out the naughty bits, Jason asked Tyrone about what he thought of the place.

"Oh! It's just great! The people here are super friendly and helpful. They're strong too, so I think we might be real safe here." A smile graced his lips as he told Jason about his time here.

When speaking of the gardens, Tyrone became super enthusiastic. Obviously, he loved working there, which was a surprise to Jason. He didn't take the big black man as a veggie lover, who cared for plants like they were his children.

"Also, I met this one lady. She's been real kind to me, showing me the ropes and everything like that." He didn't have any real feeling of love towards this random woman, as it had only been a single day.

More like he saw her as a future friend. And maybe something more if God permits it.

Their conversation was cut short when the tour was back on it's way. A quick goodbye later, and Jason soon found himself checking out the barracks. He was very interested in this place as he watched Bill and other soldiers teach civilians on how to fight and use weapons.

Concerning Bill, Jason felt very conflicted. He had helped him create molotovs, even if he barely used them, and he wasn't exactly awful to be around. But Jason could never forget when Bill wanted to take his life. Not exactly something you could forgive and forget easily.

Then again, he wasn't really that close to the old man. And then there was that little voice whispering in the back of his mind to kill him. To kill every non-infected creature around him. 

Jason sighed and suppressed the dark thoughts that creeped up once more as the group moved away.

'Hm?' Feeling a gaze on him, he turned around and saw nothing. He could've sworn he felt someone watching him.

'Oh well. I'm sure it's nothing.' A dangerous look appeared in his eyes.

'Is what a moron would say.'

After some time walking, they had eventually reached the mechanic's warehouses.

When the Reapers saw the two tanks and other crazy vehicles being worked on, they thanked their boss for his vast intellect. Although they would be able to win a war, it would've been a pyrrhic victory at best.

As they all split up and explored, Jason managed to spot a certain fat meatball working on something.

'Well, not that fat anymore. Gosh, I feel like a proud owner.' Day by day, with less food and more exercise, Zach was actually trimming down quite nicely. Though, he still had a good amount of blubber to burn off.

With a mischievous grin, he silently crept up on his prey, stalking him like a predator. Weirdly enough, despite Jason's large size and weight, his footsteps made no noise whatsoever.

Finally, when just behind him, Jason slapped him on the back and growled like a monster.

"Boo!" 

"AHH!" Zach screamed like a little girl, his high pitched voice traveling through the warehouse and making everyone look his way. He blushed in embarrassment and apologized.

"S-Sorry." Turning around, he saw Jason's smile as he laughed to himself hysterically and held his stomach with both arms. Although Zach was upset at the jumpscare, he couldn't help but smile in relief seeing his friend safe and sound. More than safe by the looks of his new height.

"Uh... are those my shorts?"

"Yeah. Because of my new height and size, my clothes don't really fit me anymore. Definitely need to find a way to stop growing, even though I like it." Jason threw his arm over Zach's shoulder and looked down at the weird contraption he was working on.

"So, tell me. What is this thing?" Zach became super excited when hearing that, blabbering like a child.

"It's called the Brain Blasting Nail Gun, or BBNG for short! My Sensei told me to familiarize myself with it alone while she went off to do something! Oh! Let me tell you-" Jason's eyes turned glassy as he listened to the nerd drone on and on about stuff he couldn't care less about, replying with bored 'Oh's and 'Mhmh'.

But when Zach got to the Sensei bit, about this Meira character, Jason raised his eyebrows.

'Does he like her?' A teasing smirk found it's way to his lips.

"She seems pretty cool huh? You must really like her if you're going on and on like this?" A bashful expression appeared on Zach's face as he rubbed the back of his head.

"O-Oh I don't know. Sh-She is really awesome though." He began mumbling, but Jason's improved hearing could hear him. 

Then, out of the corner of his eye, Jason saw a decently beautiful brown colored woman walk his way with grease all over her. He reckoned she must have been from the middle east or somewhere around that area.

'Hm, she's definitely good looking.' Of course, he had no plans to steal her away from Zach. One, he already had Alice. And two, although he was a bad person, he wasn't scummy enough to do that to a... friend?

That word didn't feel right to him.

"Hey! You bothering my disciple you, uh, little shit?!" She faltered slightly when she came closer as Jason rose to his full height of 6ft 8in, towering over her 5ft 5in frame.

Although scared, Meira tried her best to stand up to the giant. But then, Zach came in front of her frantically.

"It's fine Sensei! This is my friend I was telling you about, Jason!" Meira calmed down immensely at knowing this wasn't some asshole looking for an easy mark like Zach. 

"Hi there." Jason extended his hand, which she took with a smile.

"Pleasure to meet you, the name's Meira. I'm one of the chief mechanics here and-" She patted Zach on the shoulder, who soon gained a light blush.

"I'm teaching this one here my ways." 

"Well I'm glad he's found his true calling. He seems to really like it here with you. Went on and on about how awesome you were." Zach became as red as a tomato. Meira grinned when seeing that and was just about to tease him when Edward called her over.

A sigh escaped her lips.

"Looks like I'm needed elsewhere. See ya around Jason." Regretfully, she walked over to Edward who was joined by Michael. 

"Jason! You-" Zach began arguing with Jason, a smile on his face as he did so. He knew what his friend was doing, and was thankful for it.

After ten minutes of talking and catching up, they separated as Edward came to find him. As for Meira? She was helping Michael with his Flesh Render, brainstorming together about creating a gun that could fire it from range and increase it's power. After all, getting up close and personal nowadays was basically a death sentence. 

"A house? For myself?" Jason asked as they stood right in front of his new 'home'. It was a small metal house just recently constructed.

"Yup. Here, let me show you inside." When they walked in, Jason could only think of one thing.

'It's so plain.'

There was a small bed in the corner, two windows, a chair and table, and an oven. Otherwise, there was nothing else.

Edward looked between the bed and Jason a few times.

"I think you're gonna need a bigger bed. Sorry about that, I'll get you a new one tomorrow."

"Anyway, the oven here is hooked up to a generator that powers the whole base. Same for the lights." He walked over to a light switch and turned it on, lighting up the place before switching it off.

"It's not easy finding the fuel for that big rig, so I hope you could help us look for it out there in the wild." At his expectant tone, Jason didn't refuse. It would be inconsiderate to not help out after what Edward had done for his group mates.

"Don't worry. I'll be out there a lot, so if I come across any I'll bring it back." That brought a smile to Edward's face. Just as he was about to leave after thanking him, he stopped at the entrance.

"Oh, I almost forget to tell you. Later on tonight, in about an hour, we'll be having a little party. There'll be good food, games, dancing, and music. Would you like to come?" 

Jason's eyes flickered with delight, his stomach rumbling slightly.

"You had me at good food. I'll be there." A laugh and a wave later, Jason soon found himself alone.

Although it was plain and a little empty, he still liked his brand new house.

"Put the skull trophy there, then the eye in a jar here..." Jason began planning the interior of his home, trying to wow anyone that came.

As for his apartment, he didn't plan to abandon it yet seeing as Killgore was still there. Besides, it still had it's uses.

"But maybe I can bring her here? Perhaps I can train her to not attack the locals?" However, he threw those thoughts to the wind. That was left for the future him, as the current version had other plans as of now.

Walking out of his house, he locked the door behind him with the keys given to him by Edward and began traveling towards the warehouses near the water. As it was getting very late, less and less people were walking about. By the time he arrived behind one of the warehouses, there was no one else around.

"Come out." His sudden emotionless tone startled the person watching from behind a corner. 

Turning around, Jason saw a blonde woman walk out of her hiding place and come towards him. Ever since he felt himself being watched, he heightened his senses to the max to find them. It didn't take very long to find out that this random woman had been both watching him from afar, and following him for a vast duration of the tour.

As she confidently came closer, a sexy sway to her wide hips, Jason gave her a once over. 

On her pretty face, definitely above average, a sultry and seductive smile graced her pouty red lips. Light makeup, clearly put on by a master of their craft, made her features pop up even moreso, granting her a higher level of beauty.

Her shirt, which just so happened to be a little too small, gave a clear view to her big jiggling tits. And by the looks of her nipples poking out, she was braless as well.

Below her booty shorts, Jason could see her pale white and thick thighs on her long luscious legs. When she stopped in front of him, just an arm's length away, she peered up and looked directly into his eyes. Though, she made sure to take in his muscular form first.

"Hey there handsome. Sorry about following you like this, just wanted to get you alone is all." Her voice was seductive and light, pleasant to listen to. But Jason was unimpressed, an impatient look to his face.

"And why is that?" The woman stepped closer, her breasts dangerously close to touching his stomach.

"I wanted to get to know you is all. Would you believe me if I told you I fell in love at first sight? Oh! Where are my manners? I'm Taylor." The smile on her face grew slightly larger as Jason's eyes flickered down. Though, she was so conceited with herself she didn't notice the disgust in his eyes.

Taylor placed her fair and soft hand on his abs, wandering over his bulging muscles and biting her lips.

Suddenly, she noticed his large arms move, his hands gripping her cheeks lightly. Looking up at his face, she saw a gentle smile as he stared into her own eyes. Taylor was drawn into those brown beauties, unable to escape from their grasp.

"No. I don't believe you." In a split second, Jason snapped her neck to the side, making a bone protrude out at an unnatural angle.

Taylor's body went limp, the only thing holding her up was Jason's meaty hands. A mocking look appeared on his face as he twisted her head again, light cracking sounds emanating from the bones. 

"Wow, I can't believe I attracted a slut. Wait." He looked down at his own body, smirking narcissistically.

"Nevermind, I can't really blame you. But I'm wondering-" He kept twisting her head, speaking to her in a delusional manner, as if she were still alive.

"Why did you do such a thing? You'll help me find out, right?" With a tug, he ripped Taylor's head clean off, blood pouring out as the rest of her body fell to the ground once it lost it's support.

"Hmm. Let's see if I can try this." Jason decided to experiment on her with his Mimic powers. He only wanted her memories and thoughts, not everything about her like he did with Robert.

His fingers gripping her head turned into black tendrils that dug deep into her skull, eventually reaching her brain. They wormed their way through the nerves, sifting through her memories.

Jason could see her entire life, and he wasn't impressed. A daddy's girl that got everything she ever wanted and a popular girl in high-school that was passed around. Quite literally as Jason witnessed a train being run on her by the entire football squad, with not even a single hole unstuffed.

"Ugh. I don't need this part." He didn't want to be here any longer than he had to, so he quickened the process. Eventually, he made it to when she first saw him. Then, a weird smile adorned his face.

"Really? That's your reason for this? Here I was thinking this was some elaborate plan. Hahaha!" Jason laughed at her stupidity, unable to help himself.

When Taylor saw him being led by Edward through the camp, she became curious. It didn't take long before she found out who Jason was and from there, came up with a plan to seduce him. She figured if she wrapped him around her finger like the male that he was, survival in this harsh new world was guaranteed.

As for Alice? Taylor only saw her as a little girl that got lucky. In her mind, there was no way Jason would pass up the chance to have his way with her. Once they had sex, he would see she was the superior woman and would follow any order she gave him. Like a good little puppy.

Jason held up her head towards his own, looking into her dead and vacant eyes with a smile.

"You absolute bafoon, did you really think that would work? Fucking inferior trash." He laughed once more, but then, he heard something. Cautious footsteps approaching.

"Oh no." Although he said that, there was no panic in his voice or in his actions as he waited there for his next victim. Whoever they were, they had only themselves to blame for seeing something they shouldn't have.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"See you guys tomorrow!" I waved at my compatriots as they headed home for the night, while I moved in the opposite direction of them. 

"Ugh, another long day of standing around doing nothing. Life is good." My hand came to the back of my neck as I tried rubbing the stiffness away. 

Although my job was nothing more than standing in one of the watchtowers all day, I couldn't really complain. At least I was safe, which is more then could be said for the exploration teams.

A shudder went down my spine recalling their torn up forms. Every time a team went out, they never came back the same. Whether that meant physically, or mentally.

Luckily, I didn't regularly have night watch like the poor saps who replaced us this evening. The first time I did though, scared the absolute shit out of me. Watching those damned bastards try climbing the walls, only to barely get spooked off by the UV lights.

During my last night watch shift, some dumb newbie tried messing with them, throwing stones and making fun of them. I will never forget one of them being burned by the lights and shot by us as he scaled the wall, and yanked that poor kid down to get torn apart. His screams...

Shaking my head to get rid of those depressing thoughts, my mind instead lingered towards home. I couldn't help but let a smile grace my lips thinking of those waiting for me. It made me thankful once more that I had a job safe within these high walls, instead of having to venture into the dead city.

"I wonder if they're ready for the party yet?" Although I'd personally rather not go, as I was dead tired, they were pretty excited. So, I had no choice but to indulge them.

Suddenly, my body shivered as a cold wind whipped at my skin. My eyes peered upwards towards the sky above and for some reason, it was... eerily dark. It was kinda scary looking. Some would argue that might be a bad omen, but I don't believe in such hogwash.

I walked closer to the water, always doing this on my journey home. I loved to look out into the calm water despite the monsters lurking underneath it. Always brought such clarity to my mind. But then, I saw something. 

Off into the distance, I saw the largest man I'd ever seen before being followed by a young blonde woman. Wait... is that Taylor?

The only reason I even bothered to remember her is because of her boyfriend. Good man by the name of Kit. I always wished him luck as he left the Docks to go out and get supplies for us. I can't stand by and do nothing if his girlfriend is cheating on him. He deserved the truth.

Sneakily following behind them by a good distance, I see Taylor hide behind a corner. Just as I'm about to confront her, she moves around from her hiding spot, presumably to that man.

Giving it a few minutes, I move in after seeing them not exit. Then, I hear it. A loud snap that made me halt in place. My breath became heavy as I came to terms with what just happened. Even though I didn't see the scene, I could imagine it.

I've heard a bone break once before, my own when I fell off my skateboard and ate shit. My leg snapped in half with a disgusting crunch and that, is the exact same sound that I heard from around that corner. Also, based on the lack of screams, I doubt it was anything other than someone's neck.

Gulping, I had half a mind to turn around and book it. But what if by the time I got help, the killer was long gone and we weren't able to find him? I know I shouldn't try to be a hero, especially with my family waiting for me, but I couldn't forgive myself that if because of my cowardice, someone else paid the price.

Moving fowards slowly, I could hear someone talking. Was I wrong? Was that not a bone breaking but something else? I might have been, as I do have some doubts about someone committing murder within these walls, especially during these times when we all need to cooperate to survive.

However, as I got closer, I realized only one person was speaking. Then, for some odd reason, it stopped. Confused at the lack of any sound, I inched my way to the corner where Taylor had previously been.

"You absolute bafoon, did you really think that would work? Fucking inferior trash." A dark and ominous laugh startled me, making me pause in place. What? Did I miss hear or something?

I should probably turn back, but I was literally four steps away from finding out the truth, and my curiosity was killing me. Moving towards the corner as silently as possible, I peeked around.

Instantly, my blood went cold as my breathing hitched. There, I could see that same man holding Taylor's head in between his hands, blood dripping down from her torn neck and forming a massive pool below, right next to the rest of her body.

Looking up at the man, my heart pounded out of my chest as I realized he was staring right into my soul. His eyes were... so cold. Emotionless almost. But I could see a hint of something within them. Is that, joy?

Without hesitation, I turned around and booked it back the way I came! If I could make it back into the 'streets', there was a chanc-

My plans were cut short when a massive amount of pain came from below me! I tried shouting, but a rough, clawed, and armored hand covered my mouth!

Looking slightly down, I could see another one going straight through my chest, blood dripping down the 'fingers'. 

"Shhh. We don't want you to spill the beans, do we? Now, just fall asleep." A low, but deep whisper echoed throughout my mind, making it sluggish and foggy. My killer's face came into view, and the last thing I saw before fading to an infinite darkness?

Was that... horrible grin.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------‐---

Jason extracted his claw from the random man's chest, making him fall to the ground.

"Hmm. This... isn't good." His first day here, and already he killed two people. But, he simply shrugged his shoulders, clearly unconcerned with what just happened.

He grabbed his newest victim's leg and pulled him over to Taylor's body, a trail of blood following them. Seeing this, Jason frowned.

"How am I gonna clean this mess up?" However, one thing at a time was his current motto.

The first thing he needed to figure out, was what to do with the bodies. Thinking of that, his eyes just so happened to wander over to the water.

"That's right! Tyrone told me about the flesh eating fish in there! Gosh, I feel like a serial killer right now!" Giddy with excitement, as he always had a fascination with serial killers, Jason easily picked up both bodies and threw them twenty meters into the water.

Just as he picked up the slut's head, he saw a massive school of fish tear the bodies apart. Within just a few seconds, only bones remained as they sunk into the deep dark unknown waters below.

"Wow! Holy shit!" Their lethality and quickness shocked Jason, but only slightly. 

Tossing the head up high, he waited happily as he saw a seven foot fish, armor across it's face, leap out of the water and swallow the head in one gulp.

However, there was no smile on Jason's face anymore.

"Did I see wrong?" When the fish jumped out of the water, Jason just so happened to look into it's eyes. There was something about the cloudiness of it that struck him as odd.

"Well-" He took off both his shorts and underwear, throwing them off to the side as his cock dangled in the cold wind, making his balls shrivel up slightly.

"Might as well find out. Besides, I'm curious. Does it taste better than regular fish?" With high expectations, Jason threw himself into the water, cannonball style.

A sizeable splash later and he soon found himself under the dark waters. Thankfully, unlike the poor humans, he had night vision that allowed him to see quite clearly. Looking around, he was stunned at the sheer amount of creatures floating around.

Schools of fish like the ones he saw previously, dangerous octopuses lying in wait for their next victim, flesh eating turtles with sharp fins that could cut steel, and many more. It was such an active environment, filled with blood and death, but also life. To him, it was such a strange contradiction.

Although Jason wanted to stay here and take in the sights, he recognized that he needed to leave. The reason for that, was because every creature here was barreling towards him, snapping their jaws and preparing to tear him apart. Grabbing the very first fish that he could, Jason high tailed it to the surface.

Unfortunately he was not a merman, so many aquatic creatures tried taking bites out of him. Luckily, his durable skin and armor kept them all at bay. Though, he could feel the wear on his armor. It wouldn't last long like this.

Breaking the surface, he quickly climbed up the ledge, fish still in hand. Looking down, Jason could see an octopus trying to strangle his leg, a turtle hell bent on taking his other arm, and the tiniest little shrimp currently biting his cock.

Seeing them all, he let out a chuckle before ripping them off and tossing them back into the water. Except the shrimp. That one deserved death.

The fish in his hands kept moving erratically, trying to escape his grasp. But Jason's firm grip kept it in place.

"I should be able to gain it's memories this way. I don't think the method really matters that much."

Bringing it up to his mouth, he took a large bite out of it's middle section and chewed slowly, a pleasant expression on his face.

"Ooh! That's delicious!" Finding the taste even better than he thought, he chowed down on his poor victim, bones and all.

"Hm! The bones give it a nice crunch!" Done with his meal, Jason sifted through the memories as gills appeared on his neck. Though, they quickly disappeared as he found it distracting.

"I was right." Jason was slightly grim as he found what he was afraid of.

When he first looked into it's eyes, he had a strange thought that the fish was hypnotized or something like that. And unfortunately, he was correct. 

Within the fish's memories, Jason saw a massive creature, easily eclipsing anything he'd seen up to this point. Although it looked similar to an octopus, the amount of weapons across it's body said otherwise. With it's mind control ability, it had taken tens of thousands of aquatic infected as it's soldiers.

Luckily though, that monster was many miles away from this location, currently hibernating for some strange reason. As for the minions in the water? They just aimlessly came here in search of food. The only order the octopus gave them was to feed and grow stronger in preparation for something big. As for what that something was, that was unclear.

Shaking his head, Jason got dressed and walked away. There was nothing that could be done for now. Even if he could go and find that thing, from the power it showed, it would kill him near immediately. His main weakness that could be exploited was his maneuverability in water, which was sorely lacking in comparison.

"But at least I have a real, clear goal now. Become stronger than that thing!" Jason paused seeing the blood still there, but chose to leave it. He was too lazy to clean it up. Besides, he was curious if someone could Scooby-Doo it and solve the mystery.

Jogging over to where the party was suppose to be, Jason soon found almost four hundred people interacting with each other. He also saw the Reapers mingling as well, though, only a few approached them.

"Jason! Over here!" Hearing his beloved's voice, he walked over to Alice who was sitting on a bench next to Lily.

As for the big sister herself, she simply glared at him and snorted, looking the other way. An apologetic smile appeared on Alice's face.

"Sorry, she's still pretty upset about what happened. But at least she promised to not cut your balls off, so that's something at least!" Sitting next to her, he waved it off with one hand and used his other to bring her close. 

"It's fine. I understand where she's coming from." Another snort came from Lily, who crossed her legs and arms. As for Alice, she snuggled deep into his embrace. But then, her nose twitched.

"Uh, Alice?" Jason asked, confused on why she was sniffing him with a frown. Suddenly, she leaned in and whispered with a growl, a dangerous look on her face as her teeth came to their full, monstrous length.

"Which bitch did you meet?!" He was shocked at her ferocity, as her hands wrapped around his throat, squeezing tightly as her claws threatened to pierce him. Despite the precarious situation, he was more than pleased.

'She could actually smell... Tally? Whatever her name was.' Already, he had wiped her name from his mind, deeming it unimportant. But seeing the angry and jealous Alice, he chuckled and grabbed her cheeks.

"Just some stupid whore who wanted to conspire against me. Don't worry, we never did anything." Watching her calm down, he kissed her on the lips. He then leaned in next to her ear, whispering with a hot breath.

"You know, that jealous and obsessive look of yours was so fucking sexy." Jason loved the Yandere-like vibes coming off her. 

When Alice heard him, she looked down at his crotch and saw his bulge larger than before, twitching slightly as if winking at her. Just as she was about to suggest leaving and rutting like animals, Lily cleared her throat, making them both jump back.

"What the fuck are you two whispering about over there? Acting all lovey dovey, it's pissing me off." Luckily, it seemed like Lily wasn't able to overhear them.

As Alice separated from Jason and calmed down the envious Lily, Edward appeared on a stage, a boom box in one hand and a beer in the other. He cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention.

"I don't have much to say, so I'll make this quick. Lately, there's been a lot of dark things going on. A real sense of hopelessness, like there's no light left in the world."

His words invoked emotion in some, those who has thought about ending it all. Or, those who had seen their friends hanging from the ceiling, not able to handle the pressure the new world brought on them.

"But with the support of Michael and his Reapers, I see a future for us all!" Jason peeked at Lily, noticing the frown on her face as she glared daggers at the Reapers group.

"I know, you don't trust them and I understand that. Believe me I do. However, if we are to move foward and survive in this new world, we must band together! If we do not, we will fall, just like all the others that have sacrificed themselves so that we may continue living. A toast to them. May they rest in peace, wherever they are." With that, he downed the beer, as did most of the others. On his face, a pained look appeared remembering the past.

'I wasn't even able to recover her body.' Taking another swig, he realized he needed stronger stuff to drown out the pain.

With the Reapers, a few people became grim at Edward's words, remembering their fallen brothers and sisters. But then, they heard his happy and joyful voice.

"Now, let get this party started! There's games, food, homemade drinks that'll knock you on your ass, and many more! Have fun! But try not to go all out, you hear? We got a lot of work to do tomorrow, in preparation for the storm." He turned on the boom box, making loud rock music echo out. At the same time, a few people, including Carter, walked out carrying crates in their hands.

Within, people saw footballs, soccer balls, violins, and all sorts of goodies just waiting for the right person to come along and claim them.

"That wasn't a bad speech." Alice said happily. She was enjoying the festive atmosphere as people danced and played games, drinking together and having fun.

"I need a drink." Lily had a gloomy voice as she got up and walked over to the alcohol section.

"What's with her?" Jason asked, confused on why she was so upset. Even moreso than last time. 

Hearing him, Alice sighed lightly.

"It's the Reapers. She's got some bad history with them." Then, she told him everything Lily had told her about the gang of criminals. Like when she had found the crumpled up corpse of a woman, used and abused before being throw out like trash.

Soon enough, he had an understanding look to his face. He could see where Lily was coming from, and could sympathize with her. He didn't have any love for them either.

After a few minutes of talking with one another, the older sister came back with a drink in each hand. However, it seemed to be some of the homemade stuff Edward was talking about.

"Here. I got you some." Lily handed it over to Jason, who soon waved his hand.

"Nah I'm good. Don't really like alcohol that much." In return, Lily clicked her tongue, looking down at Jason in disappointment.

"Tsk, pussy." Her mocking tone set a fire in his belly, making him roughly take the drink from her as she sat down.

"Fine, asshole." Alice couldn't help but giggle. Their relationship seemed very strong. 

'Hmm.' That got her thinking about something. While Alice thought about the future, Jason downed the drink in his hand as Lily watched with a mischievous look, almost like a cat stalking their prey.

"Oh fucking hell!" His throat burned as he coughed up some of the drink. 

"What the hell is in this?!" The two sisters laughed out loud, tears in their eyes as Jason glared at Lily.

"You son of a-" They began going back and forth, with Alice joining in ever so often to fuel the flames. Smiles were on each of their faces as they goofed around.

"Come on! Let's dance!" Jason abruptly stood up and took both sisters by their hands, startling them. Nonetheless, they allowed themselves to be swept away by the 'knight' in shining armor.

Their bodies moved and grooved to the music, letting themselves go and be free of any concern plaguing their mind. Jason wrapped his arms around Alice's waist, gazing into her emerald eyes with a smile, as she did the same. Taking her hand, he twirled her around and let her go.

Feeling something tap him, he turned around and saw Lily's outstretched hand with a raised eyebrow.

"Well? Don't leave a lady waiting." Chuckling, he took her hand and placed the other on her waist.

"You? A lady?" Seeing his smirk, she slapped his chest playfully, gaining her own grin.

"Asshole."

As they looked at each other, there was an air of tension as their eyes locked on one another. Unconsciously, their bodies seemed to close the gap, their chests almost touching.

Alice, watching them act somewhat intimate, did have a somewhat jealous look to her face. But it wasn't like last time. Instead, she tapped her chin, a contemplative look on her face as she stared at them.

Throwing away nonsense thoughts, Jason spun Lily around as he did with Alice, lightly throwing her in the direction of her sister. As he watched the two dance together, he couldn't help but notice something on Lily's face.

'Was that... disappointment?' He wasn't some naive japanese protagonist who couldn't see the signs when someone liked them. It seemed like a conversation was in order for the both of them. 

A sigh passed through his lips, shaking his head and joining the sisters again. He would tackle this issue later. For now, he just wanted to have some fun with them.

Thirty minutes later, Jason, Alice, Tyrone, Lily, and Bill found themselves sitting around a campfire next to Carver, Emily, Timothy, Michael, a random woman, and Edward. As for Zach?

"I'm the King of the World! Bow before Emperor Zach mongrels! For I, shall open the Gates of Babylon!" He was a very happy drunk after only two shots.

"Hehe, probably the most fun he's had in a long time." Tyrone said while watching him dance with some people. He was much less reserved than before, allowing himself to be free.

"So, who's that lady next to you Carter?" Lily had been curious since the first moment she arrived. She had to have been the same age as Alice, and just as pretty as her. But she had been cold to everyone, barely speaking more than a few words.

Carter looked to his left, and only after he got the nod from her did he answer.

"Her name is Alexis, someone who escaped the refugee camp with me." A couple eyes were drawn to them, curiosity burning inside them.

"Could you tell us the tale?" Jason asked the question everyone was thinking. Once more, Carter looked at Alexis.

"It's fine." Her voice was as frosty as her exterior.

"Well, it's a bit of a long story." Carter looked at his drink, seeing his own reflection within.