Just gonna keep this A/N short 'cause there's one at the end of the chapter. So sorry I took so long to update, shit happened and I just didn't want to write for a while. Either way, I hope you all like this chapter. :)
Jerry swallowed hard, staring at the pulsating patch of skin on Jack's arm. He took hold of his shoulders, him feeling heavier, and lightly lifted him off the ground. He was still breathing - which was a relief - but his blood still stained the floor.
"C'mon, Jack!" Jerry called to him, trying desperately to shake him awake, but he was unresponsive, his head lolling like a dead weight on his shoulders. "You gotta wake up, man!" he said, his panic intensifying. Jack couldn't die now, not when they were so close to curing him.
"Don' shake him," Victor said hurriedly over from the computer desk, still stumped by the sheet with the color code. "It could keep him in the coma long enough to kill him and then reanimate him," he warned him and Jerry nearly dropped Jack's head in shock, but he managed to keep a hold of himself and Jack.
"Well what do we do?" he asked hopelessly, pulling Jack into his lap.
Victor put down the color card sheet and walked over. "Help me get him onto the chair and I'll take another crack at the password," he said, taking hold of Jack underneath his arms while Jerry grabbed his ankles.
They heaved him towards the computer desk chair - a pre-Zombie Jack was heavier than Jerry though - having to keep a hold of the chair so Jack didn't roll it into the wall. Victor propped Jack up into a sitting position, his head falling forwards and his chin resting on his chest and Jerry took gentle hold of him and lifted it up.
"Keep his head up," Victor advised, walking back over to the computer and Jerry nodded, shifting his position so he was more comfortable. "Let's see now..." He tapped a few keys and a large beep sounded through the room, the password screen refusing to change.
"Do you even know how to do this?" Jerry asked apprehensively, trying not to think of Jack as some large, lifeless puppet as he held him.
"It's a color code," Victor reminded him, holding up the sheet to show him the markings again, but Jerry was lost on the sequence. "But how in the name of Christian Anderson I'm meant to put it in, I don't know," he added, pursing his lips at the sheet.
"Try finding something that you can put into the computer that's the same color as what's on the chart," Jerry suggested and Victor turned to him, looking pleasantly surprised. Couldn't have been as stupid as it sounded in Jerry's head.
"Saw it in a movie once," Jerry grinned - there was no way he was that smart; passwords were meant to have the alphabet in them, not colors - and Victor chuckled, beginning to search the desk.
Jerry turned his attention to Jack once more. "Jack, c'mon, wake up..." he pleaded in a soft voice, gently patting his cheek, which seemed to provoke a response out of him, nearly making Jerry yell out in joy.
Jack parted his lips slightly and groaned groggily, eyes debating on whether to open, when he jerked up suddenly, yelling out in pain. Jerry's eyes widened, but he kept a hold of him until Jack could support himself.
"What the hell" - he broke off into a short coughing fit - "happened?" he demanded breathlessly, staring at his own blood on Jerry's hands, but before Jerry could answer, Jack started to fidget uncomfortably.
He winced and gritted his teeth, clenching his fist. He glanced down at his exposed arm and, eyes widened, prodded it with a finger. It only seemed to make it pulse more aggressively and Jerry could see the veins moving in his arm.
"What in Hell?" he breathed in confusion, Jerry having to pull his arm back reflexively as he went to poke it again.
"You'll be fine, bud," came Victor's reassuring voice and Jack looks over to him. "I've almost got the hang'a this password," he confirmed, holding some old-looking floppy discs in his hands. "Just can't figure out how to put the discs in," he muttered, tilting his head as he studied the marked sheet.
"Discs?" Jack repeated in bewilderment, turning to Jerry with a confused expression on his face.
"I'll explain later," Jerry whispered to him, proud he had actually been able to help out for once instead of acting as the annoying hyper kid on a sugar high.
"It's a color code, right?" Jack asked, looking over at Victor confirmation.
"Yeah," he said, eyes still glued to the sheet.
"Let me have a look," Jack said, outstretching his hand and flicking his fingers.
Jerry and Victor shared a mutual look of worry. "Jack, you shouldn't-"
"It's not gonna kill me," Jack interrupted brazenly, sounding frustrated, his voice almost too sharp. "Just gimme the sheet," he demanded lightly, waving his outstretched hand.
Victor walked over and handed him the sheet. "I can't make heads or tails of it," he said with a defeated shrug. "Your Daddy's mind was more twisted than a maze," he added with a chuckle that Jack didn't return.
"It's easy," he said after a short while and Jerry was back to being confused. "The red row has a ring around two objects, so that means the red disc goes in twice," he explained, turning the sheet towards them and pointing at the row.
"S'long as you're sure," Victor said hesitantly, walking back over to the computer. He picked up the red disc from the pile and slid it into the monitor, pulling it out again then pushing it back in.
A positive sounding beep! came from the machine and a green chunk filled up the bar on the screen. Jerry's jaw nearly dropped open and he looked at Jack, who was smiling smugly.
"I'll be damned," Victor said, slack-jawed himself. "How'd you do that?" he asked in amazement.
"Saw it when Dad took me here once," Jack explained. "Been tryin' to figure it out since I saw it, never figured it could be a password," he added with a faint smile on his face.
"What's the rest of it?" Victor asked, almost too eagerly, but Jerry couldn't blame him.
Jack turned the sheet back towards him. "Blue two times," he read out and Victor did the same with the blue disc, another green chunk filling the bar with a beep. "Green once, yellow twice and green again," he said slowly, giving Victor a chance to repeat it all.
The green slid out of the monitor after being pushed in a second time and the bar filled up, immediately switching to the home-screen.
"We're in!" Victor said in surprise, bending down and gripping the mouse to hurriedly search the files on the desktop.
"Whoo!" Jerry cheered, clapping Jack on the back excitedly. "Nice one, Jack!" he added happily, patting Jack on the back.
"Dang..." Victor grumbled suddenly, snapping them both out of their celebratory reviere.
"What?" Jack and Jerry asked flatly in unison. Was Jack's Dad so paranoid he typed the file in a different language?
"The recipe's in an encrypted file," Victor said, turning to Jack to gage his reaction. Surprisingly, he didn't look fazed in the slightest.
"Dad..." he muttered to himself in disbelief, rubbing a hand over his face, groaning tiredly. "Is there a flash drive anywhere?" he asked.
"Uh..." Victor frowned briefly before opening the desk drawer again and pulling something small out. "Yeah," he said, holding up a flash drive and Jerry nearly cheered again. "Thank God I never got rid 'a that laptop your Ma got me," he added in relief, Jack smiling as he put it into the monitor and let the file transfer over.
"C'mon, let's get out of here," Jerry said once Victor took the flash drive from the monitor and put it in his pocket. "Startin' to give me the creeps," he added, shuddering as something cold streaked up his spine. He really didn't like it here.
"How're ya' feelin'?" Victor asked, walking over to him and briefly pressing the back of his hand to Jack's forehead and cheek to check his temperature. "I ain't bothered about carryin' ya' up to the car if needs be, bud," he offered kindly, but Jack shook his head with a chuckle.
"It's just my arm, I'll be fine," he said reassuringly and Jerry happily took his word for it. Jack was stronger than both he and Victor combined.
They got out of the dreadful building - Jerry now understood in movie's when people kissed the ground - and started making their way quietly over to Victor's car. Thankfully there was only one Zombie in the near vicinity and it was preoccupied with feasting on the man's corpse, the one that Jack had tried to attack earlier.
Jerry swallowed and glanced at Jack nervously, but then that glance turned into a full stare when he saw Jack trying to contain himself.
"Jerry, stop looking at me like that," he hissed at him, looking offended, but Jerry was right to be nervous; the hungry look in Jack's eyes was back and the last thing he needed was to tackle a full-fledged Zombie. "It's not gonna happen again," he said in a softer tone, rubbing him on the back.
"Can you say that with complete certainty?" Jerry asked, biting his lip.
Jack suddenly went quiet, having to tear his eyes away from the sight of the Zombie and the corpse. "C'mon," he said roughly, pulling Jerry away with him.
He glanced back at the Zombie. Was his friend really going to turn into... that?
Locking the door behind them, Jack, Jerry and Victor walked down the hallway, seeing Rudy, Kim and Milton waiting for them, almost impatiently, in the kitchen. Thankfully they had managed to make it back without any casualties or anything happening to Jack, other than Jerry having to slap him to make him stay awake.
"Did you get it?" Rudy asked, standing up from his seat, Kim and Milton literally on the edge of theirs.
"We got it," Victor said triumphantly, the rest of them looking like they were about to pass out from the relief. "All thanks to Jerry and my genius grandson," he added, proudly putting a hand on their shoulders.
"Jerry?!" Milton said incredulously, then he cracked up into laughter that Jerry narrowed his eyes at.
"He's a lot smarter than he looks," Victor said as a matter-of-factly, effectively halting Milton's laughter. Jerry smirked and stuck his tongue out.
"Jack, your arm!" Kim gasped suddenly, Jerry and Jack both immediately looking at his arm. The veins were pulsing more grotesquely and were more visible, while the patch had started to grey.
"I'll be alright," Jack said, hastily pulling his sleeve down over it to stop Kim from gawking. "We got the recipe," he said with a small smile. "Albeit pops doesn't know how to use a flash drive..." he added teasingly, looking at Victor who frowned briefly.
"I'll help you," Milton offered, walking over to him. "We'll just find the laptop's USB port and go from there," he explained, Victor at least having the decency to act like he knew what Milton was on about.
Jack wheezed out a sudden breath and he became very pale, very fast. He swayed on the spot, stumbling backwards with a hand on his forehead, Jerry catching him before he could fall. "You okay?" he asked worriedly and Jack nodded, as if in a daze.
"Jack you're burning up," Rudy said in confusion, walking over to him.
Regarding Rudy with a strange look, Jack furrowed his brows and put a hand to his forehead, pulling it away and unaffected. "I can't feel it," he said with a shrug and Jerry looked at him himself; his cheeks were flushed and the beginning of sweat was starting to show.
Victor reached over from where he was stood and pressed his hand over Jack's forehead, recoiling almost instantly. "Sweet Jesus, boy!" Victor exclaimed, Jack looking even more surprised. "I could fry a slab 'a meat on ya' forehead," he said, sounding completely serious instead of joking.
Jack narrowed his eyes and folded his arms.
"We got a pool outback," Victor started quickly, Jack's glare faltering. "Jerry, go with him and cool him down," he suggested.
"It's boiling outside," he stated, although Victor probably knew.
"There's a cooler," Victor said and Jerry smiled in relief. At least he wouldn't combust from a mixture of Jack's temperature and the pool's water.
"What should we do?" Kim asked, standing up from her seat.
"Make sure no Zombie's followed us home, then you can hang by the pool while me and Beanpole here try and make heads 'n' tails of this recipe," he said, holding up the flash drive with an un-amused look on his face, while Kim nodded and she and Rudy walked out of the kitchen.
"C'mon, Jack." Jerry helped him outside, despite his insistence that he could walk and was fine, and they stopped at the edge of the pool. The cover had been off for a while by the looks of it, and there were a few leaves and dead bugs, but Jerry seriously doubted Jack gave a shit if he was burning up as badly as Victor said he was.
Jerry turned to Jack, only to immediately turn back when he started taking his shirt off. "Don't tell me you're nervous, Jerry," he asked, almost teasingly, throwing his shirt on one of the chairs.
Yes. "No," he lied, licking his lips when Jack couldn't see him. "But it'll be cold," he said defensively, effectively covering up his nerves.
"Only one way to find out," Jack said with a smirk. He grabbed Jerry around the waist and tackled them both into the pool, making a large splash.
Freezing cold needles shot through his skin and Jerry yelled out when under the surface, water running into his mouth. They resurfaced and Jerry spat out the water while Jack laughed wildly beside him, looking like he was about to break a rib or something.
"En serio, Jack?! Podrías haberme matado; hace mucho frío!" he ranted, aware Jack had no idea what he was saying. But he did, and it was cold. At least the weather was hot so he could dry off easier.
"What?" Jack asked in confusion, his face breaking out with another smile.
Jerry pulled a face and splashed him, sending a tidal wave over Jack's head. "You'd better be cooling down," he said in warning, pointing a finger at him. He rubbed his arms to try and warm up, but all that seemed to do was rub the cold over him.
"It's helping," Jack said, swimming over to the edge and resting there. How he managed to relax and close his eyes when the water was so cold was beyond Jerry.
"I wish you woulda let me take something off," he said and Jack opened one eye, a playful smirk at his mouth that thankfully Jerry didn't blush at. "I'm gonna be soaked, man!" he whined and Jack chuckled.
"You two look cosy," Kim's teasing voice remarked and Jerry turned around to see her and Rudy walk towards them.
"Shut it," Jerry growled playfully under his breath, Kim rolling her eyes.
"How're you feeling, Jack?" Rudy asked and he swam off the edge a little.
"A bit better," he said with a small smile. "Arm still hurts, though," he said, holding it up. Jerry didn't look; it was too horrible.
"Let's hope it doesn't spread too quickly," Rudy said, eyes narrowing in concern before Jack hid his arm back under the water, Jerry then turning around.
"I ain't dyin' yet," Jack said reassuringly, almost like in was blase about the matter and brushing off the fact he could turn.
A sudden whirring noise distracted them all, their heads darting towards the source. There was a snap somewhere far off and the visible blue electric current on the fence retreat back into the earth.
"What's going on?" Rudy asked worriedly and Jerry felt Jack splash the water in aggravation.
"The generator must've run out," Jack said with a glance at Jerry. The two of them hurried out of the pool, the heat sticking to them again - not that Jerry was complaining - and Jack slipped his shirt back on, not caring if he was wet or not. They'd dry off quick in this heat anyway.
The four of them ran back inside, being greeted in the kitchen by Victor and Milton at virtually the same time.
"We gotta get that fence back up 'n runnin'," Victor said hurriedly, glancing out the window. The coast was clear for now, but they couldn't take chances. "Milton, you gon' be alright stayin' here with Kim?" he asked.
"Sure," Milton nodded and he and Kim went into the living room, leaving the rest of them to it.
"Jack, you rest up," Victor said, almost sternly but he was worrying too much. "Rudy and Jerry, you come with me," he said and they started to walk out into the hallway.
"No way," Jack said abruptly, halting their movements. "I'm going," he declared, folding his arms. It was not a request, he was going one way or another.
Jerry sighed and looked at his friend imploringly. "Jack-"
"I'm still useful," he insisted, effectively cutting him off. "And I ain't a Zombie yet," he added and Victor looked at him, the two engaging in a brief, silent stand-off.
"Fine," Victor gave over and Jack grinned triumphantly. "But if anything happens to ya', I get first dibs on 'I told ya' so'," he bargained and Jack shrugged.
"Dry off before you start touchin' them fences," he said to Jack and Jerry, handing the both of them a tea towel that they started drying their hands with. "That's the last thing we need," he added lowly as they finished drying.
They headed outside, closing the door behind them, and ventured out of the fence. Jerry felt too open and exposed and that shiver was back. And he did not like it. Jack looked like he was wary too, but there were no Zombie's around, so what would they have to be nervous about?
"So where do we get gas for the generator from?" Rudy asked as they started walking around the perimeter of the fence.
"I got plenty, although it may not be the problem," Victor said and that seemed to peak Rudy's interest, the boys both walking behind. "But a dead walker mighta' broke the circuit somewhere," he said. "So we need to check for 'em and push 'em off," he explained.
"Jack," Jerry said suddenly at the sound of ragged breathing. "Dude, you're breathing like a chainsaw," he said bluntly.
Jack turned to him, his breathing completely normal. "Uh, Jerry, that's not me," he said nervously, shaking his head.
They kept walking ahead and came across a Zombie that was trapped on the fence. The barbed wire was sticking through it and snaring into it's clothes. It gurgled in breaths and tried to pull itself off, but it wasn't going anywhere.
Victor sighed. "Let's get 'er off."
Rudy and Victor walked over to the Zombie and grabbed hold of its shoulders, yanking it roughly off the barbed wire and throwing it onto the ground. Jack and Jerry wasted no time in jumping up and down on it's head, Jack with noticeably more anger in him.
"Can you see anymore?" Rudy asked Victor while Jack and Jerry were scuffing their feet along the ground to scrape the Zombie brain off.
"Nah, that's it," Victor said surely. "One of 'em'll usually do it," he explained and Jack nodded, with Jerry being thankful to be going back inside.
"You cheating bastard!" someone yelled suddenly.
"Motherfucker! Get back here!" another screamed.
The sudden, defeaning sounds of gunshots and... bolts discharging? filled the air and the four of them jumped back reflexively. It seemed far off into the distance, but so far, nothing except the prospect of a cure had really been in their favour.
"What the heck is that?!" Rudy asked once the sounds began to die down.
"Bandits!" Victor yelled, gritting his teeth in aggravation, looking around worriedly.
"What?!" the rest of the said in unison. Jack and Jerry looked at each other nervously.
"Survivors who've lost everythin'," Victor explained quickly, starting to walk back to the house and the others followed. "They're dangerous and we need to move," he said, saying no more.
"You got the danger part right," a voice drawled, stopping them in their tracks.
Two men walked out from behind a bush, both holding foreboding looking rifles. Jerry saw Jack and Victor both clenching their fists, but what good were they against guns?
"But you ain't goin' nowhere," one of the men said with an ominous chuckle, cocking his gun and pointing it towards them, although thankfully not aiming at anyone specific.
"Still wanna say 'I told you so'?" Jerry heard Jack hiss towards Victor.
"Look," Rudy began sternly, walking forwards and Jack reached out to yank him back so he didn't get too close. "We don't have anything," he said and one bandit's lip curled in a snarl, the gun coming closer to his face and Rudy chuckled nervously, backing off.
"Just get outta here," Jack said dismissively and Jerry was near enough about to ask if he was insane. "We got nothin' for ya'," he said almost apologetically and it probably would have been, if it weren't for the guns pointed at them.
"And what if we don't, kiddo?" one asked, patting the end of his rifle up and down on his palm.
"Yeah, you gon' jump up 'n' down on our feet?" the other teased and they broke into cackling laughter.
"No," Jack said slowly, reaching to the hem of his shirt to pull it up. He exposed his bite wound to them and their eyes widened, their laughter dissolving, while Jack's triumphant smirk looked cruel. "Not exactly," he said with a chuckle.
"Uh, word of warning," he began, holding up a finger and sounding strangely chipper. "I'm really hungry." That last was a menacing growl and the bandits took off running, Jack chasing after them.
Jerry moved forwards to go and help, but felt Victor's hand on his arm. He whirled around to glare daggers at him - Jack had just run after bandits that had guns and he was just going to stand there?! - but his gaze softened as he looked surprisingly calm.
"Jack's gon' be fine," Victor said gently, although something in his eyes said otherwise.
"What?!" Rudy said incredulously, cutting in while he simultaneously watched Jack chase the bandits. He wasn't letting them get far, that was for sure.
"You saw what happened when he nearly killed that guy," Jerry cut in with a hiss. "He nearly made mince meat out of us!" he yelled, running a hand through his hair and turning to look at Jack who had managed to round the bandits into running back towards them.
"I think the mistake was tryin' to stop 'im," Victor muttered under his breath, but Jerry heard every word.
He didn't have time to press, he was too distracted when he saw Jack leap up onto a tree and push himself off it, heavily colliding with the bandit while his companion halted completely, yelling in surprise and horror when Jack suddenly bit into the man's neck, moving his head like he was trying to burrow himself into the skin.
Jerry's face screwed up in disgust as Jack reared up from the man's neck and swallowed his flesh with blood coating around his mouth and dribbling down his neck. The other bandit clicked his gun and Jack threw back his head, letting out an almighty snarl, directly into the barrel of the gun.
He stood up and with intensified strength, yanked the bandit's gun from him and smashed the end against his jaw so hard, he was flipped down onto the ground from standing. Jack's chest heaved as he breathed out, catching his breath and placing a foot on the bandit's chest to keep him there.
Jerry, Victor and Rudy hesitantly walked over.
"Jack..." Rudy said, trailed off in complete shock. Jack looked ashamed of himself, but not so ashamed that he felt the need to wipe his mouth.
"You're not throwing up," Jerry noticed, tilting his head to the side inquisitively. He should have been throwing up everything he ate, right?
"I know," he said with a nod. He turned to the gasping bandit who was trying to crack his jaw back into place under Jack's restraining foot, and aimed the gun down at him, the shot ringing loudly in their ears and exploding into the bandit's skull and spattering Jack's ankles with more blood.
"No sense in leavin' him to turn," he added, stepping off of his body and walking towards them, clumsily wiping his mouth, but missing a large smear up one cheek and on the tip of his nose.
"What the hell was that?!" Rudy demanded, looking from a bloody Jack to the bandit's, one gasping for breath with a large gash in the side of his neck and the other shot dead with his brains over the ground and Jack's ankles.
"I was hopin' I was wrong," Victor began with slight hesitation, "But earlier, when Jack damn near killed me and Jerry tryin' to get to a dead guy an' eat him, I thought he'd be able to keep the flesh down," he explained and that seemed to get Jack's interest. "And I was right," he finished, gesturing towards Jack.
"At least we found something you can eat," Rudy said suggestively, but he looked like the idea throughly grossed him out, and he wasn't the only one. Jack didn't look too crazy about it either.
"No way I'm killin' someone just to eat 'em," he said vehemently, folding his arms.
"Any type a' flesh'll work," Victor said, although Jerry wasn't quite sure how that was meant to be reassuring, the thought was still disgusting. "Lucky for you, today's the day I empty my rat traps," he said with a disturbingly chipper smile. Who the hell wouldn't even oppose to feeding their grandson a dead rat, even in this situation?
"I don't know what's worse," Jack said, looking at the three of them. "The fact I have to eat a rat or that I think I'll like it," he said, shuddering in disgust and they started to laugh.
Until Jack yelled out in pain. Blood started oozing down a cut that had opened up in the side of his head; he wiped it off with his hand, but it just kept coming.
"C'mon," Victor said quickly, putting a hand on Jack's shoulder as he winced and pressed his fingers to the wound. "Let's get back inside before any nearby Zombies' pick your scent up," he advised smartly and Jerry looked nervously at the bandits' corpses - good thing Jack had destroyed their skulls.
The three of them took off running, not giving any Zombie's the may be lurking to get wind of Jack's blood, and closed the fence behind them. Victor pressed the switch and the electric current flared back up into the fence, up to the tips of the barbed wiring, and they went inside, Jack locking the door behind them for good measure.
"See this," Rudy began, having to double over to catch his breath in a wheeze. "Is why I never say 'yes' to helping anyone," he finished, breaking off in a brief coughing fit. Jerry chuckled and patted him on the back.
Kim and Milton walked out into the hallway, their eyes widening at the sight of Jack's still-bloody mouth.
"What happened to you?!" Kim asked in shock, rushing up to him, studying his dust-stained clothes and the dried blood on his mouth and hands.
"Long story short," Jack cut in before either Jerry, Victor or Rudy could open their mouths to explain - Probably a good idea too, Jerry thought to himself, That girl can worry the stripes off a zebra - about the bandits. "I can eat flesh without throwing it up," he said and Milton looked throughly grossed out, Jack in mutual agreement.
"I'll be right back," Victor said, making to head down the hallway, but Kim and Milton stepped in front of him, blocking the way, a nervous look on their faces and Jerry didn't like it.
"Uh, actually, Victor," Milton began, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "We need you in here," he told him and Kim nodded.
Victor sighed. "A'ight," he said gruffly, giving in and the two of them disappeared back into the living room. He turned to Rudy. "Rudy, you go down with the boys and get the rat traps," he said before he went into the living room.
"No!" Rudy protested suddenly, a child-like whine about his voice that Jack and Jerry both raised their eyebrows to. "I'm afraid," he admitted sheepishly.
Jack snorted, but put his hand on Rudy's shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry, Rudy, it's just a rat," he said, smiling at him.
Rudy chuckled nervously. "I meant of the dark," he said and Jack rolled his eyes.
The three of them walked down the hall and through the kitchen, Jerry grabbing a towel for Jack to press onto his wound, that he silently accepted, and came to a trap door in the corner of the kitchen. Jack yanked it open and started to ascend into the darkening basement. Jerry tentatively followed and Rudy wouldn't even poke his head down the ladder until Jack switched the light on.
Jerry coughed as dust flew up his nostrils and turned to the floor, seeing a suitable sized rat corpse caught in the trap. He picked the trap up. "Here." He handed it to Jack, grateful to be shot of the thing already.
Jack pulled the metal bar back off the rat's neck and picked it up by its tail. He grimaced unsurely, bringing it to his mouth and then reeling back when he caught the scent of it. There had been many times where Jerry had envied Jack and this was not one of them.
"Here goes nothin'," Jack sighed and grabbed the rat in both hands, bringing it to his mouth and impulsively biting into it with a nauseating crunch, blood spurting around his mouth and on his hands. Surprisingly, Jack didn't look fazed and continued eating, but amidst the brewing bile in his stomach, Jerry couldn't help but notice the similarities between Jack and a ravenous Zombie.
Jack broke away from the rat, bits of hairy flesh sticking out from his teeth, and threw the corpse on the ground. He wiped his mouth and stood there in confused surprise, in complete disbelief that he had eaten a rat, while Jerry and Rudy watched him, the both of them barely managing to refrain from throwing up.
"I can't believe I'm saying this," Jack broke off to grimace again and rub a hand over his forehead. "But pass me another trap, Rudy," he said, Rudy begrudgingly doing so.
Jack snapped the rat from the trap and began to attack it with more voraciousness. Rudy lurched over, but thankfully his vomit was contained in a dry heave, while Jerry just stared at Jack who seemed to be completely absorbed in eating the rat, despite his initial disgust.
"I will never be able to watch Ratatouille again," Jerry said to himself, having to look away so bile didn't rise in his throat.
Thankfully a distraction came and Kim's boots appeared at the top of the ladder as she climbed down.
"Guys, we need you up-" She stopped immediately in her tracks at seeing the sight of Jack with the rat, her mouth in a small 'o'. She shook her head and folded her arms. "I can't believe I'm actually okay with this," she said in disbelief.
Jack threw down the rat and strode towards her in mock-indignation. "You?!" he said, pretending to be affronted, but there was a faint smile on his face. "I'm the one that has to eat 'em!" he added with a shudder.
"What did you need, Kim?" Rudy asked, refusing to look at either Jack or the rat carcasses. He looked paler than usual and nobody needed him throwing up right now. Thankfully, Jack wiped his mouth clean again.
"Victor needs you all in the living room," Kim said and Rudy immediately became attentive beside her.
"Freedom!" He cheered, whooping loudly and dashing up the ladder so fast that the three of them couldn't contain their laughter and started to climb up themselves.
"Anyone would think we forced him to come down here," Jack noted with a smile and Jerry and Kim looked to be in agreement.
Jack flicked the light off and closed the trap door. The three of them walked into the living room, seeing Victor sat on the sofa and Milton stood around the table they had perched the laptop on, Victor's brows pursed and Jerry barely managed to hold in his groan. What could possibly be wrong now?! Did the universe feel an intense need to crap on everything that appeared to be an inkling of an absolution in this screwed up world?
"What's the problem, pops?" Jack asked, seemingly able to sense the uneasy air in the room.
Victor sighed and moved his finger down the mousepad, scrolling down the page. "Well, most of the stuff in the recipe is stuff we'll have no problem findin' here," he said quickly to reassure them in some way. "But-"
"Uh-oh," Jack groaned, running his hands through his hair. "Nothing good comes after a 'but'," he said seriously and Jerry began to panic again, realising he was right.
"What do we need?" he asked hurriedly. "Something blessed by a voodoo Queen?!" he said in agitation, feeling his panic morph into the effects of a sugar high. He looked around to see everyone staring at him. "Y'know how hard it is to find a voodoo Queen?" he asked rhetorically and worriedly, complete nonsense just pouring out of his mouth.
"Calm down, boy," Victor said, holding his hands up in an attempt to pacify him, standing up from the sofa. "We don't need no voodoo-hoodoo," he said reassuringly.
"Well then what?" Jack snapped almost impatiently, but Jerry couldn't blame him. He was the one with the bite. "'Cause we clearly ain't gonna get it here," he deduced, folding his arms and Victor avoided his eyes, adopting Milton's gesture to nervously scratch the back of his head.
"We need the blood of the zombie that bit you," Victor said eventually and Jack threw his hands up in the air in exasperation, letting out another groan of annoyance.
"Well that's gonna be a problem," he said with a wry smile and Jerry felt uneasy this time. "Since it's back in Seaford and who knows how many Zombies'll have gone at it by now," he added with a sigh, flopping down on the other sofa. Jerry went and sat down next to him, rubbing his arm.
"Look, no point gettin' our panties in a twist now," Victor said calmly, looking around at everyone. "It's late, no flights run at this time and - I'm sorry, Jack - but night outside in this town is like a suicide mission," he added, looking out the window, thankfully no Zombie's crowded outside the fence.
"Let's just sleep it off and go huntin' for the stuff tomorrow," he suggested. Jerry knew he was being practical, and that was the smartest thing to do, but Jack didn't need practical, he needed the damn cure!
Jack leapt up from the sofa at that, striding over to him. "It'll have been two days by tomorrow," he reminded him, eyes widening briefly in panic. "I'll only have one day before I turn," he said, trying to keep his voice from shaking and Jerry swallowed hard. He hadn't even been keeping track of the time...
"It's our best option now, bud," Victor said gently, laying a hand on Jack's shoulder as he looked absolutely crestfallen. "I'm sorry," he apologised as Jack's eyes fell to the floor.
Jerry bit his lip apprehensively. He knew Victor was right, but he didn't want to admit it.
Jerry huffed out a breath and turned in the bed, the sheets sticking to him an a sweaty slick, the pillow feeling hard and lumpy. More to the point, how was he meant to sleep when Jack was just counting down the hours until he would turn into a Zombie, and filled with a burning urge to murder them all.
Squinting through the darkness, Jerry saw Jack's darkened shape sit on the edge of his bed. He reached out and flicked the lamp on, bathing them both in a dim, yellow light.
Jack looked paler than he had yesterday and, now Jerry got a proper look at him, looked gaunt and sickly. His hands were in his lap, like he was concerned about something. His eyes looked vacant, until he turned to him with a weak smile.
"Hey," he greeted him, his smile thinning, his voice rough and scratchy. "Can't sleep?" he guessed.
"No," Jerry said just as quietly, shaking his head. He had gotten past the point of trying to fall back to sleep after he had heard the sound of electricity crackling and gutteral gurgles.
"Me either," Jack said as some form of reassurance, turning to face him, although still keeping his hands in his lap. "Well, more like I can't," he corrected, Jerry nodding in understanding. Jack moved again and Jerry's eyes widened at what he saw Jack had been holding.
A gun.
"Please tell me you've just got that in case a Zombie gets in?" Jerry pleaded hopefully, a nervous laugh coming from his throat while he simultaneously wondered where Jack had gotten in from.
Jack shook his head, much to Jerry's dismay. "I can't turn into one of them, Jerry," he said softly and Jerry swallowed. Jack wasn't going to... shoot himself in front of him, was he?
"You won't," Jerry said surely, although it seemed more for his benefit then Jack's. He had convinced himself something, anything would work. It was better than thinking about the inevitable. "We've got the recipe and-"
"And that's assuming I won't turn by tomorrow," Jack interjected, sounding too practical for Jerry's liking. He was facing reality, something Jerry couldn't do. He wasn't going to lose his best friend to one of those... things and he would personally get the Zombie's blood himself if he thought it would make the slightest bit of difference. "Anyway, if I did, someone would have to shoot me," he said lowly, as if he knew everyone would rather see him alive as a Zombie, instead of dead and nothing.
It was silent for a moment before Jack whispered, "I know you didn't promise, Jerry." The words hung in the air and Jerry nervously chewed on his lower lip. The worse part was that Jack didn't seem angry, he seemed disappointed, which was so much worse.
He opened his mouth to speak, surprised his mouth hadn't gone dry at this point. "Jack, I-"
"You have to promise now." It didn't even sound like a demand, like Jack didn't have the strength to do it. It sounded like Jack desperately needed the promise, but Jerry couldn't give it to him, not when there was a miniscule chance that he could be saved.
"What?" Jerry couldn't believe what he was hearing and it didn't even draw him any comfort from the fact that Jack wasn't going to shoot himself.
Jack reached out and placed the gun in Jerry's hand, everything suddenly feeling so real; the rough edges of the serial number irritated his fingers and the gun felt too heavy. But what frightened him the most was that Jack had purposely positioned himself to be on the wrong side of the gun.
"You have to promise that if I turn, you're gonna put the gun right here," Jack went on, eyes remaining hollow as he used Jerry's own hand to place the gun to his temple. Jerry wanted to let go, but the gentleness in Jack's grip made it too strong. "And pull the trigger," he finished solemnly.
At that, Jerry jerked back, the gun falling from his hand and on the floor with a loud clunk! but he didn't care if everyone else woke up at point, not right now. "No! I-"
"Jerry, please" - Jack grabbed onto his hand with a sense of urgency that hadn't been there before - "I can't turn into one of them," he said simply, it hurting Jerry so much that Jack needed to know he would be able to do it. Be able to kill the one person who had truly made him smile since the world had died around them.
"W-Well, I can't shoot my best friend," he offered as a rebuttal, but his voice was weak and didn't hold the same strong merit as Jack's did. If that was any indication to him that he couldn't do it, he didn't know what was.
"Jerry, you don't understand." Jack's eyes were beginning to falter under their emotionless bravado and Jerry swore he felt something break inside him. "I can't turn into the thing that was the reason that my Dad was killed, I can't turn into what killed my Mum, and..." he trailed off and as he swallowed, Jerry could see the lump that he was trying not to let dissolve into tears.
"What?" Jerry asked softly, moving closer and tightening his fingers underneath Jack's grip to get him to go on. As much as he didn't like it, he was so close to understanding, but he needed to know everything.
Jack swallowed again and looked at their intertwined hands before looking up at him, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. "I can't turn into something that's going to hurt you."
He went on in a shaky breath, tears be damned as far as he seemed concerned. "You're my best friend and I-" He broke off and a single tear dropped down from his eye that he didn't move to stop; all his insecurities were showing, but he didn't care and Jerry smugly knew that it was because of him. "I don't know of anyone else I'd want to be with right now, in the middle of all this," he said, managing to keep his voice steady.
Jerry felt his heart swell inside his chest; if Jack said anything more it would burst and everything he'd ever felt for him would engulf them both in a tidal wave. But it wasn't Jack saying that that made him break, it was the tears that started running down Jack's face. Immediately, he wrapped his arms around Jack's body and pulled him into his own, face to the crook of his neck as Jack shook with sobs, completely coming apart.
It was scarier than anything the Zombie ridden world could have thrown at him.
"Jerry, please, please..." he trailed off and dissolved into more sobs, clinging to Jerry like he was a lifeline and he automatically tightened his grip, trying to press themselves closer together than humanly possible.
He had to make Jack see that he was going to make it out of this alive or if he didn't, that none of them would shoot him-especially Jerry. He meant too much to him. A huge lump formed in his throat and his eyes burned. He tried to swallow, but that, combined with how broken Jack seemed, made his own tears fall.
"I can't lose you, man," Jerry said solemnly, pulling away and holding Jack at arms' length, but only wanted to hug him again at the drying trails of tears on his cheeks.
"I know," Jack said with a small nod, barely managing to look Jerry in the eyes. "But please just do this for me," he begged, grabbing onto his shirt and pulling him towards him, Jerry for the first time being able to see the desperation in Jack's eyes. "If it does happen, I need to know that if I attack you, you'll save yourself," he continued and Jerry pulled him into his arms again, head fully nestled into his neck and he closed his eyes.
"I need to know that you won't let me turn," he mumbled into his shoulder, relaxing slightly against him.
Jerry breathed out heavily. It was so easy as to lie and just tell Jack what he needed to hear, but he couldn't lie to him - maybe in the past about silly little things - not now. Not when it seemed his entire mental sanity in the moment seemed to depend on his promise. His truthful promise.
"I promise," he whispered, his voice broken and quiet.
And his fingers didn't cross this time, just tightened around Jack's shirt as his own tears ran down his face.
Hah, you all thought the cliffhanger was gonna be the thing about the blood back in Seaford, didn't ya? Nope. ;) It was going to be, but then I remembered this scene I was gonna put in and well... seemed like a perfect time to attempt to make everyone cry. (Not that I probably have) :D
As usual, please review since I'll need them for an update - about over 45 should do it ;) - since I wanna know what you thought, and I hope I won't take as long to post the next chapter this time, but life gets in the way more than I like. I did warn about the delay on my profile though. :)