Hope?

Jason moved down the stairs, he looked like a zombie but he also knew he had to mirror their movements. He was walking at a slow but steady pace, Jason could pass as a zombie.

But he knew the danger of such an act, the military for one wouldn't hesitate to gun him down the moment they see him in this state so he had to find a way to communicate with them if they were even still alive.

Jason had a wound on his shoulder but he hoped that Lillian's vomit would conceal it from the zombie's senses.

He didn't want to use the same path as the others because he knew they would gun him down from afar and he didn't want to break character either because he didn't know how the zombies would react to him but he also wanted to see if they were fine.

Jason began to walk in that direction at a hurried pace and he eventually reached his destination. He had to find a way to tell them that he was friendly because if things went as planned then they wouldn't need to fight anymore.

He saw how shitty Rachel was with a gun and needed them to fall back so they could protect them if another zombie happens to make it past them again, for all he knew, they were entering the building through another opening.

Jason remembered that the zombies couldn't see but he couldn't be sure about this either because of what Clementine said about the zombies communicating.

This worried him as he had them in sight, Jason had them in sight and began walking toward them but with his hands raised.

This was a big gamble, he didn't know what he would do if things went south.

Clementine noticed Jason coming from the other direction and pointed her gun in that direction.

She had every intention of pulling the trigger but this was her first time seeing a zombie that had its hand up.

The closer it got, the more familiar it looked, she squinted her eyes to see what it was and to her surprise it was Jason. She tapped the shoulder of X and Sam to look and they did just that.

Jason heaved a loud sigh because, unlike Rachel, these people had the marksmanship of killers.

Jason was within proximity of the military and they all looked puzzled as to why he did what he did but Clementine looked worried about this.

"Please don't tell me they are…" She paused, she didn't want to complete the sentence.

"They are fine…" Jason whispered. X was the only person that connected the dots.

"I see…" X muttered as his comrades looked to him for answers soon after.

"He is using the rotten flesh of the zombies to conceal his smell," X said and everyone returned their attention to Jason.

They were surprised that Jason could even handle the smell in the first place because they were feeling it from here. Seeing maggots on him was a rather disgusting sight.

Another wave of zombies was on their way but no one pointed a gun in their direction.

General x gave him the nudge, he allowed Jason to test his hypothesis.

Jason scaled through and began walking towards the zombies, the way his heart was beating told him that this was something that scared the living daylight out of him.

"What the fuck was I thinking!? I should never have attempted this!" Jason immediately regretted his decision and his thoughts conveyed that perfectly.

Jason was within two inches of the first zombie, the zombie approached him with suspicion.

Jason knew he needed to keep his cool or his experiment would end even before it began.

The zombie acted like it was sniffing him and Jason was scared that it might smell the blood from his wound but this didn't happen.

The zombie walked right past him and then the other, the sequence continued until they were all behind him.

Jason couldn't believe it, it actually fucking worked and this was invaluable information because this was a major game changer. Jason realized at that moment that this was something that could allow them to survive the apocalypse.

This could be considered a cheat code even and Jason had every intention of exploiting it.

The only downside was the smell, it was horrible and not everyone could tolerate it.

Jason also knew that it was not applicable for everyday usage so this was a last resort card and that was even if a zombie was around them.

The only reason they could survive this long was because they weren't in an open space.

If they were, this battle would have long been over.

Jason needed to inform the girls on the rooftop about this development because this was their only way out of it.

There was no other way they were surviving and he looked over his shoulder to see that the zombies were already slaughtered, there was a window for him to return to the girls and cover them with the zombie guts.

Jason didn't hesitate as he ran back to the rooftop, the military wondering why he was in such a hurry.

-

John was injured, he had no intentions of turning and wanted his comrades to kill him before leaving. Jason found a way for them to survive so maybe, just maybe there was hope.

"Go…" John said once again but his comrades weren't leaving him.

"Clementine and Sam…" X said as he began to hand them what was left of his weaponry, weapons that should help prolong their lives just a little longer should they need it but why was he doing this? Did he not plan on going with them?

"I want you both to protect those civilians like your lives depended on it…" X said and they both nodded. They weren't abandoning John, they were simply given a directive to protect more lives. X knew this would work and that was why he even suggested it.

They looked at John and nodded, this didn't look like a farewell nod implying that they had plans to return to him.

It was just X and John now, X removed a pack of cigarettes, placing one between John's lips and then his own as he lit them.

"Why are you so stubborn?" John asked X, he knew that X had the chance to leave him and survive yet he didn't want to. He chose to stick by him to the very end even though he was no more than a corpse. X dragged his cigarette before exhaling as his lips parted

"It is because you're my son, Johnny."