System Of The Undead

Chapter 62: Whatever Helps You Sleep At Night?

The night came and Alex had to find shelter because he knew that they couldn’t journey at night as the risks were far too great.

They luckily found a small house that they could sleep in, there were no threats inside or rather, undead but Alex was considerate of Jason, he removed the gag from his mouth so he could speak or move his jaw around because he knew that they must be sore.

"I have no problems with you, you see? Tomorrow will be the beginning of the worst day of your life so I want you to have the last peaceful night..." Alex said bluntly and Bella expected him to protest or ask a ton of questions but nothing of that sort occurred.

"Thank you," This was all Jason said as he rested on his sides, he was going to sleep on the floor.

Bella looked at him and wondered what was going through his head because he was the one that was probably most affected by her betrayal.

Bella looked to the floor, she could tell that Jason didn’t have the mental strength to even argue or resist anymore.

She was used to seeing him lively and happy but he was the opposite of that right now, he was a shell of himself.

"Bella, you should get some rest too, we will move again in the morning," Alex was calm and he didn’t sound hostile but that was because he was exhausted.

He has been walking throughout and needed some rest, but Bella knew that an opening will come for her to escape. She just had to play by his rules for now.

"Jason..." She called out in a whisper but Jason didn’t respond.

"Of course, he wouldn’t... What was I thinking..." Bella thought to herself, Jason was justified to feel the way that he felt considering that this woman had just betrayed him.

She was surprised by how calm he was, it was almost like he was resigned to his fate.

Jason managed to close his eyes and the dream that ensued made him wish that he never did.

-

A young Jason was seen walking around in the neighbourhood, he looked full of life, unlike the empty husk he later became in life.

This couldn’t be the same Jason there was no way but what could a twelve-year-old child know about the world that would make him lose faith in humanity?

"Hey, Jason..." A man in a black van called out and Jason’s head tilted in that direction with a wide grin on his face.

"Uncle Benjamin!" Jason called out, full of excitement as he hopped into the van.

"You didn’t go to school again?" Benjamin asked but Jason rolled his eyes in irritation.

"School is for losers, I already know all that they teach so why waste my time?" Jason responded.

"It is to make friends. School isn’t just learning books but human interaction as well, you can’t have one without the other Jason," Benjamin tried to impart knowledge to his young nephew but he already knew all he was saying, Jason was probably aware of it.

"I don’t need people. All they will do is hold me back..." Jason pouted.

"That hurts, you don’t need me to?" Benjamin asked but the panic in Jason’s eyes was evident the moment Benjamin said this.

"Never! I will always need you, Uncle Benjamin! You’re my best friend!" Jason tried to desperately clear up the misunderstanding.

"Hahaha! You’re such a pure soul," Benjamin responded but Jason pouted once again.

"So uncool," The young boy thought to himself.

"You don’t have to worry... I’m never leaving y-!" A truck rammed right into the driver’s seat and sent the van tumbling a good fifteen meters away.

Jason was dazed but his injuries weren’t that severe due to the point of collision.

Blood dripped down his forehead but he was scared about his uncle, he wasn’t moving.

A loud painful cough escaped the lips of the man that was so full of energy moments ago.

"Uncle Benjamin!" Jason called out but Benjamin was barely hanging onto his consciousness and knew he had to do something about this.

He had to get Jason out of there, he could hear the horrified sounds of everyone around but no one was reaching out to help them.

Jason looked frustrated but there was no way he was going to abandon the one person he loved the most.

"Uncle Benjamin! Please be okay!" Jason begged and Benjamin knew what he had to do at that moment.

"Get out Jason I can leave through your door! Hurry up!" Benjamin said and the nimble young Jason exited the window and the people around immediately grabbed him, taking him away from the car.

There was gasoline and this meant that anything could trigger a spark, they had to be careful.

There was no selfless person there that day but in reality, there was nothing much anyone could do.

Benjamin’s legs were crushed beneath the steering wheel and stuck in place. The only way put was if someone cut off his legs and that was impossible in his current situation.

Jason watched as the car caught fire and the flames burnt his uncle alive.

The agonizing scream remained in his head till this day but what truly traumatized Jason was how everyone treated him after that.

They made him feel responsible for his death because if he had just stayed in school like he was supposed to, Benjamin wouldn’t have stopped and he would have probably passed the truck safely.

One can only imagine what this would do to an impressionable mind, Jason grew to hate himself and close himself off from everyone except his older brother who was the only one to stand by him. He finished high school only because he made a promise to his uncle and after that, he didn’t further his education and retreated from the rest of the world.

But there was something even darker that lurked in Jason’s past but he was jolted awake before could revisit that fateful day.