"Ah!"
Hershel was so frightened that he screamed. Jason quickly covered his mouth with his hand."What are you screaming for? You scared me," Jason said.
"Woo woo woo!"
Even though Jason had covered his mouth, Hershel's eyes were fixed fearfully on the severed head in front of him. He struggled to pry Jason's hand away and run, but he didn't have enough strength.
"Look carefully. Is this head human?" Jason asked calmly.
Having seen plenty of horrors before, Jason was unfazed. He gripped Hershel's shoulders firmly while Rick finished dealing with the zombie — knocking out its teeth, cutting off its arms and legs, tying it with rope, and dragging it over.
"Look at this," Jason said.
He kicked the zombie to the ground, then gave Rick a look, signaling him to restrain Hershel if needed.
"If you think this is a human, how do you explain this?"
In front of Hershel, Jason pulled out a long knife and stabbed it straight into the zombie's body.
With a swift "whoosh," the blade easily pierced through the zombie and into the soil. Jason smoothly pulled it back out. The zombie didn't react to the injury at all; it only struggled weakly, its rotting eyes still locked on Hershel like a predator spotting prey.
Blow after blow, Jason hacked away until the zombie was in pieces. Its brain, however, remained intact, and the body parts twitched grotesquely. The mangled, rotting flesh looked like disgusting meat sauce. Even Rick had to avert his eyes.
Vomit!
Hershel couldn't hold back anymore. He bent over and threw up. As he wiped his mouth and looked down, he realized in horror — the zombie's head was still moving! His hand shook violently, the gun fell from his grip, and he collapsed to the ground.
"Now do you understand? Are they human, or are they dead?" Jason said, standing over him.
Scratching his ear, Jason explained calmly,"No consciousness. No speech. No life. No pain. They're nothing but moving corpses... and they will eat you."
In the dim wooden house nearby, two sisters stood by the window, watching the scene unfold with terror.
Beth clung tightly to Maggie's waist and asked nervously,"Sister... are they going to eat us?"
"I…"
Maggie hesitated, unsure how to answer."I don't know... maybe," she finally whispered.
Though she fed the zombies chickens every day, she'd never seen the horrors up close. All she knew was that every time she threw a chicken into the barn, the bird would scream... and then fall silent.
This group of zombies had appeared unexpectedly, but thankfully Dale had spotted them just in time.
He had been peeing when he noticed a shadow moving in the distance. Looking through his telescope, he confirmed it was a zombie and immediately alerted Rick.
Once Rick learned of the situation, he armed his group and rushed over, sending someone to notify Jason as well.
Hershel was completely shaken. It was the first time he realized that a zombie could still "live" even after being chopped to pieces. He had never understood that the brain was the zombie's core.
"I suggest you think very carefully," Jason warned coldly."Otherwise, you and your daughter might end up just like that after you die."
Seeing that Hershel was almost at his limit — and worried that pushing him further might break him — Jason signaled Henry to carry the old man back. Hershel could barely stand, let alone walk.
As they made their way back, Rick and Shane walked beside Jason. Shane asked quietly,"What happened to the old man? It looks like you're torturing him."
Jason rolled his eyes."Torture your sister. Let's talk about it when we get back — you'll understand soon enough."