The intercom on Jason's waist buzzed urgently.He froze for just a second—then bolted toward the door.
BAM!
In his rush, he crashed straight into Maggie, sending her stumbling backward with a startled gasp.
"Ah—!"
Instinctively, Maggie wrapped her arms around Jason's back to steady them both.Her face tilted up, eyes wide, meeting Jason's face just inches away.She swallowed nervously, her heart pounding.
Jason quickly realized what had happened.Feeling the soft warmth against his chest, he blinked down at Maggie—but there was no time for that now.
He grabbed her shoulders firmly and said quickly, "Stay inside. Zombies are coming. I have to go."
Without waiting for a reply, Jason broke free from Maggie's grasp and sprinted into the night.
Inside the office, Hershel hesitated for a long moment.Finally, he opened a drawer, pulled out a pistol, and walked toward the door.He looked seriously at his daughter.
"Take your sister upstairs. Lock the door. Don't come out," he ordered.
"Father..." Maggie's voice shook. She wanted to argue, to help—but seeing the rare sternness in Hershel's face, she bit her lip and obeyed, rushing upstairs where Beth was waiting.
Meanwhile, outside, shadows flitted across the fields.Jason, Rick, and Shane were already moving fast through the farm, weapons in hand.
They avoided using flashlights—one wrong move could attract more zombies from the woods.
Ahead, a dozen slow-moving zombies staggered out of the forest, their focus drawn to the faint light still glowing from the farm cabin.
"They're headed for the house!" Rick hissed.
"Turn off the lights, now!" Jason barked into the radio, calling Duan at the cabin.
Moments later, all the lights in the wooden house snapped off.The sudden darkness left the zombies confused—but now they had locked onto Jason and the others instead.
Roar... roar...
The groaning grew louder.
Facing the disgusting, broken corpses, Hershel's hands trembled.He gripped the gun tightly, but fear rooted him in place.
Jason seized the moment.He grabbed Hershel by the shoulder and forced him to look straight at the advancing horde.
"Open your eyes!" Jason snapped coldly. "Do you see them?Are they still human to you?They're just corpses—meat puppets driven by a virus.If your family ended up like that, would you want them rotting away, biting, killing, spreading death?"
"No... no... no..." Hershel gasped, retreating step by step, his heart pounding in terror.
The zombies were just a few meters away now.Hershel raised his gun instinctively—but Jason stopped him.
"Leave one alive!" Jason shouted over his shoulder. "Rick—cut off its teeth and claws!"
Rick hesitated but nodded.He glanced at Hershel, thinking grimly: Better keep an eye on that old man. If he snaps now, it'll be bad.
Meanwhile, Shane stepped forward with his custom weapon—a reinforced metal bat with razor-sharp teeth welded to it.It was brutal but effective—designed by Jason himself.
"Come on, ugly! Let's see what you've got!" Shane shouted theatrically, lifting the bat high.
A zombie roared and lunged clumsily toward him.
"Call you sister!" Shane yelled back with a grin.
With one mighty swing, Shane brought the bat down.
CRACK!
The bat connected with the zombie's skull, and something black and wet shot into the air.The mangled corpse hit the ground, twitching once before going still.A rotten blackened piece—maybe an ear, maybe worse—landed a few feet away, rolling awkwardly in the dirt.
Jason watched coldly, his mind already working through the next steps.
This wasn't over.This was just the beginning.