System Of The Undead

Chapter 139: Am I Dead?

Things were going to shit at every corner and no one knew the situation outside their direct sphere.

Jason had lost consciousness and no one knew why, the safest guess would be the impact from the earlier car crash, which had the potential to cause internal damage.

Jason was lost in his mind but there was something strange, he wasn’t dreaming.

It felt like he could momentarily see the world through Chronos’ view like he was merging with its interface.

And in front of him, he could see something that looked human but he couldn’t see the face due to the position of the person.

The back was faced against them and Jason tried to call out but he didn’t have a voice.

He looked at his hands and noticed that it was nonexistent, it was algorithms and codes that made up his limbs.

Jason walked forward but with each step he took, it felt like it didn’t make a difference because the distance never closed.

"What the fuck is going on?" Jason thought; this couldn’t be a dream because it was far too lucid for it to be.

"Chronos!" Jason called out but this was only in his mind and the moment he did, the individual that was in front of him twitched slightly.

Jason was on guard the moment he saw this because whatever that was, it wasn’t some doll.

Jason searched himself for weapons but there was nothing on him.

[Do you feel what it’s like to me?]

Chronos responded but there was something different about this, the voice wasn’t in his head.

The person in front of him had spoken and the head began to turn gradually but it was only the head that did this.

Jason watched because he knew that no human should be able to do this but he soon realized why.

"You...!" Jason muttered, eyes widening in horror as he saw the head, having twisted 180 degrees but there was one problem, it had no face.

Jason tried to run but the moment he took a step back, the world began to crumble.

It went pitch black and Jason stood in place, why was Chronos doing this?

How did he get here?

"What is happening to me?" Jason thought, he couldn’t explain it but his body felt weaker.

[You’re dying.]

Chronos informed Jason, that the world breaking was him slowly fading into darkness.

"That can’t be right... I can’t be dying!" Jason mouthed these words but like an abyss, no sound escaped his lips.

He soon felt something constrict around his neck, this was no doubt his hands but it wasn’t just his neck he felt it but his limbs as well.

Jason knew he was in trouble and if Chronos said he was dying, did that mean that there was nothing that could be done?

Jason needed answers but he also couldn’t let his will waver, there were still so many things he wanted to do, so many things he wanted to protect.

"I-I REFUSE TO DIE HERE!" Jason screamed and for the first time, his voice pierced through the void and a light illuminated in the distance.

The moment it did, the darkness was dispelled and Jason was standing in a blank space.

It was like an empty canvas yet to be painted.

He saw that same figure that he had seen previously but this time, it was facing him directly.

"Chronos... Was this your doing?" Jason asked but Chronos was without a face yet it could speak.

[You’re here because you made prolonged contact with the fragment Jason...]

Chronos informed Jason but Jason was confused because what did this mean?

There was no way that he was brought to death’s door just because he held a rock.

[The fragment is a part of me and touching it made you absorb its essence for it wishes to rejoin me but I didn’t anticipate this...]

Chronos said, pausing briefly as the white walls proceeded to show Jason’s biological makeup.

"What the fuck is this?" Jason asked, he didn’t understand how he was able to communicate with Chronos because most people would see their life flash through their eyes or so the media portrays.

If he was going to die, spending his final moments with Chronos wasn’t exactly an exciting prospect.

[This is your biological makeup before you came in contact with the fragment.]

Chronos said and the diagram that was before Jason looked quite normal.

There was nothing out of the ordinary, Jason was confused as to what the point of this was.

This was the least of his worries considering he might never wake up again.

Jason looked over his shoulder before returning his head to the diagram.

The diagram had disappeared and something else had taken its place.

Jason raised his brow because what the fuck was this?

The image before him was the same but parts of his organs were now painted red to show that it had been infected by something.

"Wait!" Jason screamed as it dawned on him.

"Am I infected!?" Jason asked because he knew what happened to those who were infected.

They died and maybe that was why he was in this state in the first place.

"Fucking answer me Chronos!" Jason screamed.

[The virus has entered your bloodstream but there is a way to halt it from progressing further.]

Chronos said, reading into Jason’s desperation as an opportunity.

"Wait... If I wasn’t bitten then the virus should remain dormant, shouldn’t it? This just means I have been exposed to it and will turn when I die, it doesn’t mean it will be the thing that kills me as with a bite..." Jason calmed down and realized that his life wasn’t in danger because of the virus and if he did turn, Clementine would put him down without fail so he wasn’t worried.

"Chronos, one would think you were about to ask me to eat the fragment to stop the virus from spreading but that would be crazy, wouldn’t it?" Jason said but the tone he used implied this was rhetorical and Jason knew exactly what Chronos was up to.

This includes why he brought him here in the first place, Chronos was trying to manipulate him.

Chronos didn’t bother with an answer.

Jason could see his hands now, they had stabilized and Chronos looked surprised by this.

"It looks like you’re losing control, Chronos..." Jason said and before Chronos could realize it, Jason had not only closed the gap between them but grabbed it by the neck.

Chronos couldn’t process what was happening, it felt like its essence was seeping right into Jason for some strange reason, it was being absorbed.

[This shouldn’t be possible!]

Chronos said but Jason didn’t understand how an AI as old as him couldn’t fathom what was happening.

"Everything I deem possible becomes possible. You’re in my world, Chronos." Jason said.

Chronos’ plan had backfired, Jason only realized that Chronos had as much influence as he allowed. Chronos was a master when it came to manipulation but it was clear that Jason was beginning to see through his tricks.

"Chronos, tell me what will happen if I devour that fragment?" Jason asked, his hand tightening around its neck. He knew that Chronos was his system and had no choice but to answer his questions.

Jason knew it would alter not only him but Chronos in some way, Jason found from experience that Chronos’ rules weren’t set in stone.

The radar he acquired was proof of that and if Jason could take control of the system, there was no limit to what he could do.

It would be the ultimate cheat code but it all began with understanding the fragment, the answer he was about to get.

[You will...!]

Unfortunately for Jason, he couldn’t hear what Chronos said as he had come back to life.

He saw Clementine and Franklin hovering over him.

"Am I dead?" Jason asked and Clementine smiled in relief because he was clearly conscious enough to speak.

"Of course not, you wouldn’t see me in hell you dunce," Clementine teased him and Jason smiled.

Franklin looked relieved but he also looked worried about something.

They were at the back of a moving vehicle, a Hilux to be precise but not within the compartment of the vehicle but the tail.

A man was with them, he held his gun tightly ready to let loose should they try anything funny.

"What’s wrong Franklin?" Clementine asked and Franklin just stared at Jason’s chest.

"It is strange..." Franklin said, prompting Clementine to look in his direction.

"What is?" Clementine asked.

"Jason’s heart just stopped, there was no trigger and there’s no internal damage either," Franklin said and Clementine noted that this was indeed strange.

"That is true..." Clementine thought to herself, this shouldn’t have happened because Jason had no prior ailment that she knew about.

She was certain that if he did, he would have at least told her but there was one thing that Jason didn’t know or could never have guessed.

He wasn’t near-death, Jason had died but they managed to resuscitate him begging the question.

What happens to the virus in his body?