Jason had been searching for his brother, Alex ever since the outbreak began. When it happened, Jason and his father had come across Alex's school only to find it empty, save a few clues that a veteran like Jason's father could identify that showed that the military had been present. They lingered onto the hope that Alex could be alive as they headed from their Colorado home town of Glenwood Springs to Denver, the capital of Colorado. They spent a few weeks on the road, scrounging supplies from buildings they came across, until one day, they came across a small group of college students on the way out of Denver. The four of them told Jason and his father that Denver was far too dangerous, and had been ever since the outbreak began. These students had already lost two of their friends while trying to escape Denver, but they ended up reassuring them that Alex could've most likely been taken to Utah, since it's been known that Denver had been very hectic since very early in the apocalypse. And so, Jason and his father decided to join them. 

Fast forward a few months later, and Jason had been reduced to walking down the stretch of highway towards Salt Lake City with his friend Robert, with nothing but half a bottle of water and a can of dog food between them. It was now the end of fall, and the two young men had been on the road for two days by this point. Things came to this because Andreas allowed the group to become too big, so naturally, it was much easier for someone to hide a bite from the rest of the group. When they turned in the middle of the night, Jason and Robert; who happened to be on watch at the time were the only ones who were able to grab their weapons and run, but not without trying their best to save the rest of the group before the screaming attracted more of the undead horde outside of camp. Jason's father was not able to see this happen, as he had been taken by the horde much earlier.

At this point the two men were utterly exhausted, after walking for the past two days with minimal supplies and only taking a few hours of uncomfortable sleep in cars each night. Once again, night began to fall, but this time, they found a diner on the side of the highway. Of course, they chose this as their camp for the night. Stupidly, they went to sleep without taking watch. They agreed to search for supplies in the morning. 

They were woken up in the middle of the night by a flashlight glaring in their faces. [b]"Who the fuck are you??"[/b] a loud booming voice exploded behind the blinding light.
Both men were visibly rattled, and they sat up holding their hands in front of their faces. [b]"I won't ask you aga-"[/b]
[b]"Yeah, we heard you!"[/b]
The light concentrated on Jason, the one who made the remark. 
[b]"You interruptin' me boy?[/b]
The man intimidated the guys with his tough, backwoods slur, and his impatient yelling. Robert saw that this was his chance and he slowly reached for his pistol. 

Unfortunately, the man noticed this, and immediately pointed the light at Robert. An incredibly loud bang filled the room, and Robert promptly had a hole in his throat and was bleeding out, seizing up as he did so. Jason only had a few seconds to react as the man reloaded his gun (which was originally thought to be a mere flashlight). He grabbed his axe and swung wildly at the man's leg, bringing him to his knees. Jason then proceeded to get up as quickly as he could and swung into the back of the man's head, ending him. He took a moment to process what had just happened as he watched his friend slowly die. He didn't have long though, as he heard shouting coming from outside, and so he ran into the kitchen after grabbing his gun and axe, away from the sound of the man's potentially violent friends. As he passed through the kitchen, he noticed a rucksack that appeared to be full, standing on the floor, next to the back door. He grabbed it on the way out, without even looking through it as the situation was kind of urgent at the moment. He climbed over the chain link fence behind the diner after throwing over his axe and rucksack, and ran off into the forest, hoping they would not be able to follow him. He felt terrible for having to leave Robert behind, but he knew there was absolutely nothing he could do. 

Although things were so shitty, Jason encountered a stroke of luck in the rucksack he had straight up stolen from the diner, as it had two canteens filled with water, and a week's supply of food; maybe two if he rationed it. He stayed in a cabin that he discovered for a few nights, praying that the people he killed and stole from would not find him. After staying there, he decided it was time to hit the road again, this time on his own. 

He made his way back to the highway, and noticed a 1976 Dodge Charger slow down near a sign that said "Welcome to Salt Lake City". He decided to stop and go prone, so that he could see what would happen next. He was glad that there were very few shamblers walking around, because otherwise, this would've been a bad decision. Jason watched as the man pulled something out from the back of the car, and then open up what looked like a bottle, only to throw it away angrily. The man then began to walk past the sign, toward the city. Jason sighed to himself, since that also where he was going. He was not too fond of the idea of meeting strangers after all that had happened within the last week.