System Of The Undead

Chapter 111: New Job

Jason was relieved, the moment he sat on the chair, the tension in his body left him.

The fact that there was cooked food in their presence and not junk was refreshing.

He watched the ladies dig in, they were talking and visibly relieved to be there.

It was nothing like the camp that they had just come from and due to the work and roles that they were to adopt, it meant that no one would be a freeloader.

They needed to keep themselves occupied and they were happy about this.

Clementine was beginning to reconsider going back to base, this was looking like a better option than returning and she didn’t know what Sam was up to but it couldn’t be anything good.

"Hey dipshit, you aren’t eating?" Lillian asked Jason, who was lost in his little world.

"You really need to stop talking like that or you will never find a boyfriend," Jason responded.

"Who said I’m straight? Did you just assume my sexuality?" Lillian fired.

"I’m sorry to say but the cancel culture is no more and no, it doesn’t matter if you’re straight or gay. You will remain single." Jason responded.

He knew Lillian had a smart mouth on here but he was ready for her.

"Come and eat something before you starve to death, old man," Lillian teased.

"Who the fuck you calling old!? Rachel is way...!" Jason stopped himself from completing his sentence because he could feel her eyes staring right into his soul.

"Complete it, I dare you," Rachel said.

"Anyhoo... My point was, I’m not old," Jason quickly retracted his words.

"You’re such a wuss!" Lillian teased him as she began to laugh.

She wasn’t the only one that found this funny, the rest of the ladies giggled.

It was funny, they were all enemies at one point and now they were sitting around the table like a big happy family.

Jason knew he needed to get some food in him because he didn’t know when next they would eat.

The fact that Mariam wanted to see him, Jason wanted to be fully energized, if things were as she said then he was about to receive some good benefits.

He stuffed his face and something broke in him when he thought that one day, he could lose all this and Jason made a vow to himself that he would do anything to protect and ANYTHING!

He finished up and everyone was content, filled to the brim and Jason got up to his feet.

"Where are you going?" Clementine requested as she saw him heading towards the door.

"I’m going to see Mariam," Jason responded and this drew the attention of the other girls because he had no business with Mariam.

"Why?" Clementine requested.

"I picked to venture outside the walls, a raider if you will and I believe she wants to talk to me regarding that," Jason said.

Rachel didn’t understand why he would pick that when they could finally have a certain life of normalcy but she bit her tongue.

"I see, I was considering applying for that as well but I won’t be staying here for long. It would be easier for me to sneak away if I picked something small and irrelevant," Clementine responded.

She didn’t try to make Jason change his mind because she knew this would be good for the group.

"That makes sense," Jason said, he looked at Bella and noticed that she had been awfully quiet but they needed access to medicine.

This was the only way to get it, Jason wasn’t about to let this opportunity go to waste because he needed meds.

"Well then, I will be off," Jason said as he walked out of the house.

He met Glenn waiting outside, he knew why he was there, it was to take him to Mariam.

"Hey man," Glenn greeted him, he was as friendly as ever.

"Hey Glenn, I was told to meet Mariam after I was done here," Jason said.

"Follow me," Glenn responded, gesturing for Jason to follow him as they began walking away.

Jason was beginning to like Glenn but he also noticed that Chronos had been quiet ever since he decided to come here.

He didn’t know why but he liked Glenn, Glenn was a friendly man.

Jason followed and he could see the community was blooming but he could also see heavily armed men patrolling.

These people were looking at him with suspicion. Of course, they would.

Not everyone would be trusting of a stranger that just waltzed into their community even though Mariam had accepted them.

Jason knew it was up to him to make these people accept him if he was going to stay here long term, which he intended.

It was easy to spot the building, it looked like a town hall and Jason instinctively knew that this was where Mariam was.

They stopped at the door and Glenn knocked on it three times but it was almost like he was speaking in code, and the door swung open.

"It’s all you now, my man," Glenn said, he wasn’t going in or it was more accurate to say he couldn’t go in.

Jason took a couple of steps in but he was stopped in his tracks, they patted him down to see if he had anything on him.

They gave him the nod of approval and Jason walked forward, there was a door in front of him.

Jason didn’t know why he was nervous but he was, his steps felt heavier as he neared the door.

He ultimately entered and he saw Mariam seated behind a desk.

"Sit," Mariam didn’t even wait for him to speak, she wanted to waste no time as she was a busy woman.

Jason nodded, taking the seat on the other side of the table.

"Tell me, Jason, it says here that you have experience in killing an undead, is that correct?" Mariam asked, she had on reading glasses and this only complemented her beauty.

"That is correct ma’am," Jason responded, giving her the respect that was due,

She didn’t seem to have a problem with him calling her ma’am.

"That is fascinating, I want to know the circumstance in which you killed those humans," Mariam questioned him, this was like a job interview and Jason had every intention of nailing it.

"It was to protect my friends and myself," Jason responded. Mariam raised her head and looked him right in the eyes like she was trying to discern if he was lying or not.

It is not like it mattered, she had no intention of turning him down because they were running low on raiders.

Mariam took off her glasses and leaned back on her chair.

"I will talk to the man I have placed in charge and get back to you," Mariam said.

Jason was confused, if this was all why didn’t she just ask him then?

"Is that it?" Jason asked, this was a bit underwhelming but he was glad that it was over.

"No," Mariam said, she tapped something on her table and a lady wearing the same uniform as the one he saw the men with gun wearing, came in.

Jason noticed her arms were covered in tattoos, Jason’s body stiffened because even though she was a girl, she wasn’t harmless.

"That’s Debra, she will put you through on what you need to know," Mariam said.

Debra looked intimidating and Jason knew there was no way he could drop his guard around her.

Debra nodded and her eyes descended on Jason before giving him a nonverbal signal to follow her. Jason was on his way and the moment they were out of the building, Debra looked at him and sighed.

"You know you’re going to die, right?" Debra warned him.

"Die? I would have died long ago if some zombies could do me in," Jason boasted, he knew he needed to exude confidence even if it was fake.

"You have a smart mouth, dumb it down a bit or you won’t survive here," Debra gave him a stern warning, Jason looked around and saw the eyes of everyone on him.

"You see, we aren’t very trusting of strangers and you, my friend, are a stranger," Debra reminded him of his place, not like Jason had forgotten.

"I intend to change that because I have people I want to protect," Jason said.

"We all have people we want to protect and that’s why we do what we do. Do you understand? You need to show us we don’t have to protect them from you," Debra said.

"I intend to do that," Jason responded.

He took a deep breath, he needed to calm his breathing because he was getting a boost of adrenaline thinking about his next path.

Jason was a man who spent most of his life indoors, uninterested in not only human interaction but the drama that came with it yet here he was.

He was living a life that was opposite to the one he knew, he had people he wanted to protect even though he just met them.

Jason knew he was being naïve as this could easily bite him in the ass but the world was gone but was the very essence that made them humans gone as well?

This was what Jason wished to find out.

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