October 26th, 2010

The group walked into the C.D.C., everyone was on guard

"Daryl, you cover the back" Shane said as everyone had their weapons raised

"Hello? Hello?" Rick asked as they all looked around cautiously

"Close the doors. Watch for walkers" Dale said. Everyone kept looking around

"Hello?" Rick asked. Then, they all heard the sound of a gun cocking. Everyone raised their weapons in that direction. Winter saw a man, holding a gun

"Anybody infected?" The man asked

"One of our group was" Rick said. Winter heard Michael sigh

"He's not with us, so don't get all trigger happy" Michael said

"Why are you here? What do you want?" The man asked

"A chance" Rick said

"That's asking an awful lot these days" The man said

"I know" Rick said. The man looked at the entire group

"You all submit to a blood test. That's the price of admission" The man said. Winter looked over to Sam who had physically paled over the news. He wasn't a fan of needles

"We can do that" Rick said. The man lowered his weapon

"You got stuff to bring in, you do it now. Once this door closes, it stays closed" The man said, so Rick, Glenn, Shane and Michael ran out to grab everyone's things. They came back maybe five minutes later, and the doors were closed behind them

"Vi, seal the main entrance. Kill the power up here" The man said. They watched as the shutters went down, cutting them off from the outside world. Rick approached the man

"Rick Grimes" He said

"Dr. Edwin Jenner" He responded. He then led them to an elevator. They all got in, and the doors closed. The elevator had begun to go down once Jenner pressed the button

"Doctors always go around packing heat like that?" Daryl asked

"There were plenty left lying around. I familiarized myself. But you look harmless enough. Except you. I'll have to keep my eye on you" Jenner told Carl. Carl responded with a mischievous smile. The elevator had brought them to where Jenner was taking them. Then, he led them all out. Everyone followed Jenner

"Are we underground?" Carol asked

"Are you claustrophobic?" Jenner asked

"A little" Carol said

"Try not to think about it" Jenner said. They entered a large room

"Vi, bring up the lights in the big room" Jenner said. The lights turned on. Winter assumed it was an AI of some sort

"Welcome to Zone 5" Jenner said

"Where is everbody? The other doctors, the staff?" Rick asked

"I'm it. It's just me here" Jenner said

"What about the person you were speaking with? Vi?" Lori asked

"Vi, say hello to our guests. Tell them.. welcome" Jenner said. There was a timer going off behind him. Winter had noticed that it was going down

"Hello, guests. Welcome" Vi said

"I'm all that's left. I'm sorry" Jenner said with a pained smile. Then, he escorted them all to get their blood taken

"Who wants to go first?" Jenner asked. Winter turned to Sam who was playing with his hands nervously. Michael looked at his younger brother

"I'll go first, hey Sammy. You watch how it's done" Michael said with a smirk, doing his best to provide his brother some sort of comfort. Michael sat down in the chair and Jenner got the needle set up. He then began taking Michael's blood

"See, it's not that bad" Michael said. Jenner finished collecting a blood sample, and taped the cotton ball to Michael's arm

"What's the point? If we we're infected, we'd all be running a fever" Andrea said as Michael stood up. Suddenly he lost balance. Jenner helped catch his balance

"Are you okay? I didn't take all that much blood" Jenner said

"We haven't had the best diet. Food is scarce" Michael said. Andrea went over to help him sit down somewhere else. She then walked over and sat down. Jenner began to take her blood

"Listen, I've already broken every rule in the book letting you in here. Let me just at least be thorough. All done" Jenner told Andrea. Andrea stood up and blanked out for a minute. Jacqui was by her side. So, everyone continued to get their blood taken. Winter had gotten hers done. The only one left was Sam. He was sweating bullets as he shakily walked up to Jenner. Jenner looked at Sam suspiciously

"He's afraid of needles" Winter spoke up. Sam covered his face

"Why don't you just go ahead and tell the whole world" Sam said embarrassed

"Well, majority of the population is dead, so.. not many people to tell" Winter said

"You're not helping" Sam said as he sat down in the chair. Jenner grabbed Sam's wrist and stretched his arm out. Winter crouched down in front of Sam as he was freaking out. He was staring at Jenner

"Hey, look at me" Winter told him. Sam looked at Winter who was giving him a warm smile. Sam had almost completely forgotten what was going on, well that was until he felt the needle pierce his skin. His eyes went wide as he began breathing loudly

"Woah, woah, woah. Relax" Winter said

"It's not helping" Sam said as he began to nervously laugh. The others were amazed at how Jenner could take his blood when he was fidgeting like he was

"And look, all done" Jenner said as he taped the cotton ball to Sam's arm. Sam looked over at Jenner and saw the needle that had just been in his arm. He then saw the vile of blood. Then, the next thing Winter knew, Sam was out cold. He had fainted from the sight

"Sam? Sam?" Winter asked. Then suddenly Sam opened his eyes

"That poor kid" Jacqui muttered. Jenner looked at Sam, almost guilty

"I apologize for not hiding it sooner. I didn't expect you to faint" Jenner said. Sam went to get up but Jenner stopped him

"Stay there for a couple minutes. If you get up too quick, you might faint again" Jenner said

Time had passed and everyone was eating dinner. They were all laughing, however, Sam was still recovering from the embarrassment from earlier. Winter rubbed his back in an attempt to make him feel better, but it didn't help. Sophia and Carl had managed through it just fine, and they were literal children. He was a 20 year-old man who passed out over a needle

"You know, in Italy. Children have a little bit of wine with dinner. And in France" Dale told Lori

"Well, when Carl is in Italy or France, he can have some then" Lori said as she took a sip of her wine. Sam looked at his glass of wine, but he wasn't in the mood for it. Winter also didn't like drinking or doing drugs. She was a bit of a control freak, and the thought of not being able to control herself in that state, freaked her out. However, the same could not be said for Michael, who was already on his third glass

"What's it gonna hurt? Come on. Come on" Rick said as everyone ate. Dale and Michael laughed. Lori agreed and Dale handed Carl a small cup of wine

"There you are, young lad" Dale said. Carl took a drink and his face became one of disgust causing everyone to laugh

"That's my boy. That's my boy" Lori said as she poured his glass into hers

"That tastes nasty" Carl said

"Well, just stick to soda pop there, bud" Shane said

"Not you, Glenn" Daryl said

"What?" Glenn asked

"Keep drinking, little man. I want to see how red your face can get" Daryl said

"Hell yeah!" Michael yelled. He then turned to Sam

"You not gonna drink, little bro?" Michael asked with a smirk

"You know I don't handle my alcohol well" Sam said

"Who gives a fuck? Live your best life!" Michael yelled

"He doesn't have to drink if he doesn't want to" Winter spoke up. Suddenly Rick began clinking his glass before he stood up. Everyone looked at him

"It seems to me we haven't thanked our host properly" Rick said

"He is more than just our host" T-Dog said

"Hear! Hear!" Dale cheered as everyone raised their glasses

"Here's to you, Doc" T-Dog said

"Booyah!" Daryl said

"Booyah!" T-Dog and Michael cheered. The mood was light and everyone was feeling safe

"So when are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, Doc?" Shane asked

"Oh, my fucking God.. may God give me strength to not beat your ass" Michael said as it went completely quiet. Sam didn't like how Shane ruined the mood

"All the- the other doctors. That were supposed to be figuring out what happened, where are they?" Shane asked. Michael's hands were balled into such tight fists that they were turning white

"We're celebrating, Shane. Don't need to do this now" Rick said

"Whoa, wait a second. This is why we're here, right? This was your move- supposed to find all the answers. Instead we- we found him. Found one man. Why?" Shane asked

"You're out of line" Winter said

"No, no. It's fine. See, when things got bad, a lot of people just left, went off to be with their families. And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted" Jenner said

"Every last one?" Shane asked

"No, many couldn't face walking out the door. They.. opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time" Jenner said

"You didn't leave. Why?" Andrea asked

"I just kept working, hoping to do some good" Jenner said. Glenn looked at Shane

"Dude, you are such a buzzkill, man" Glenn said. Soon after, Jenner led everyone to some spare rooms

"Most of the facility is powered down including housing, so you'll have to make do here. The couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you like. There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy. Just don't plug in the video games, okay? Or anything that draws power. The same applies- if you shower, go easy on the hot water" Jenner said before walking off. Glenn turned around with a smile on his face

"Hot water?" He asked before looking at T-Dog, who also had a smile

"That's what the man said" T-Dog said. Everyone had gone off to take showers. Though, some had to wait their turns as there were limited showers. When Sam finally got his turn, he felt at ease with the warm water coming in contact with his skin. He couldn't remember the last time he had a warm shower. He felt at peace in that moment. He used the shampoo to wash his hair, and then body wash to wash himself. It was pure bliss for him. When he finished, there was a razor in unopened packaging. Sam had done his best to shave since it all started. At this point in time, he wasn't a fan of having a beard or a mustache. Sam used the razor after putting on shaving cream. When he finished, he looked at himself in the mirror. He then walked got dressed and walked out. Sam then entered a room where he saw Michael's stuff. Winter was inside reading a book on the couch. Sam approached her and sat down

"Hey" He said. Winter looked up from her book and at him. To him, she looked so pretty in that moment

"Hey" She said with a small smile. He wanted to tell her so many things, but couldn't. He wanted to tell her that he loved the way her eyes sparkled when she talked about something she liked. Or when she talked, he loved the way she was so expressive and how it would take her forever to finish one story because she got off topic. He loved the way, that he could always rely on her if he needed her. He loved the way she would bite her lip when she was focusing on something really hard. He loved the way that she would mess with her jewelry when she got nervous. He loved her laugh, her smile. He loved everything about her

"Sam? Are you okay?" Winter asked as she played with her necklace. Sam snapped out if it

"Oh, yeah.. sorry I spaced out" He said as he looked away embarrassed

"Hey, do you think we really have a chance to survive all of this?" Winter asked him suddenly. Sam didn't know the answer for sure, but how could he

"I think so.. and if not, we might as well make the best of it, right?" Sam asked as he looked at the white wall in front of him

"Yeah.." She said softly. Sam didn't know what to say. He was at a loss for words

"Hey, Sam?" Winter asked. Sam turned, only to jump back by the sudden closeness of Winter. Their faces were so close. Sam felt his heart race as his stomach got all uneasy. Winter just stared at him. He couldn't read her expression. Yet, for some reason, Sam reached his hand out, and placed it on Winter's cheek. She didn't move away or reject it. Before Sam could even think, Winter had closed the space between them. He felt her warm lips on his. His entire mind went blank as he closed his eyes in pure bliss

He kissed back as he kept one hand on her cheek. The other moved to her waist. He felt her hands move to the back of his neck. Then, he felt her fingers play with his hair. He softly smiled into the kiss. It was soft and sweet kiss. Then, it turned into something more needy. They both had strong tension between them, and they had for a long time. Sam began to move his lips down to her neck. He could hear her uneven breaths. Then, Winter had lightly pushed him away. Sam immediately stopped and looked at her concerned

"Did I make you uncomfortable?" Sam asked with wide eyes. Winter looked at him. She had a sad smile on her face. He was ready to get hit with rejection

"Listen, Sam.. I'm glad you feel the same way.. or at least I think you do.. but I'm not ready for that kind of relationship.. I'm sorry if that disappoints you" Winter said. Sam was almost taken back by what she said. I mean he was ready for the 'it was a mistake' reaction, but he didn't get it. He sighed in relief

"You had me worried for a second, I thought I was gonna get friend-zoned. But, listen.. Winter, I've been in love with you since the day we met. I want you to know that I would never do anything to make you intentionally uncomfortable, and if I do make you uncomfortable, I hope you'll tell me. I would never force you to do something you don't want to do. If you'd like to take things slow, I'm down for that, and if you're never interested in getting that intimate, I'm okay with that, too. Though, I wouldn't like to die a virgin, so I'm hoping eventually you'd like to do it, but if not, that's totally cool. I don't care what we do, as long as I'm with you" Sam said. Winter covered her mouth as she began crying. Sam began to freak out

"Did I say something wrong? Oh, please don't cry" Sam said worriedly. Winter wrapped her arms around Sam as she hugged him

"Thank you" She said. A small smile formed on his face. He wasn't really sure why she was thanking him, but it didn't matter. He lightly caressed the back of her head as he wrapped an arm around him

October 27th, 2010

"Hey, lovebirds. It's time to wake up" A voice rang out. Sam slowly opened his eyes. He felt a weight ontop of him. He looked down to see Winter asleep on him. He then looked up to see Michael who was leaning against the doorway. He had a smirk on his face. Then, he noticed that Michael had a busted lip

"So, you two finally confessed, huh? You guys a thing now?" Michael asked as Sam's eyes moved to Michael's hands. His knuckles had abrasions all over it. Michael noticed him looking and hid his hands

"You gonna answer me?" Michael asked

"You're gonna wake her up" Sam said

"Actually, I've been awake. I didn't want to wake you up" Winter spoke as she sat up. She looked down at Sam with a smile

"Well, breakfast is ready" Michael. Winter quickly got up and walked out. Sam followed after, but stopped as he walked by Michael. Winter went ahead, not even noticing

"What happened to your hands? Are you okay?" Sam asked. Michael had smirk on his face, but his eyes were filled with rage

"You think this is bad, wait till you see the other guy" Michael said. Michael and Sam then went to join the others who were up, which consisted of Lori, Carl, Andrea, Dale, Glenn and T-Dog. T-Dog had given Winter plate of food and she sat down. Michael, and Sam got their own plates and then sat down. Michael made eye contact with Lori before Rick walked in

"Morning" Rick said

"Are you hungover?" Carl asked with a smug grin on his face. Lori turned to her son

"Mom said you'd be" Carl said. Rick sat down

"Mom is right. You know, Michael you seem just fine, but I'm positive you drank more than anyone last night" Rick said

"What can I say? I'm just a natural" Michael said

"Natural my ass" Glenn said as he held his hand to his forehead. Others walked in

"Eggs. Powdered, but- but I do 'em good. I bet you can't tell. Protein helps the hangover" T-Dog said to the miserable Glenn

"Where'd all this come from?" Rick asked

"Jenner" Lori said as Rick held a pill bottle

"Could you help me, please?" Rick asked. Lori took the bottle

"He thought we could use it. Some of us, at least" Lori said referring to Glenn

"Don't ever ever ever let me drink again" Glenn said

"Hey" Shane said as he walked in. Everyone turned and just stared. Winter covered her mouth as Sam just stared shocked

"What happened to your face?" T-Dog asked. Shane's face was black and blue. He looked like he got his ass beat real good. Sam then turned to Michael who just kept staring at Shane

"Oh, we got into a little altercation. It was the alcohol talking last night. But, it's cool, right? No hard feelings" Michael said with a fake smile. Sam knew Michael better than most. He was very honest, and right now, Michael wasn't telling the entire story. Lori looked uncomfortable

"Yeah, yeah. It's all good. Like he said, the alcohol was talking" Shane said

"Remind me to never let you two drink again" Dale said. Then, Jenner walked in

"Morning" Jenner said

"Hey, Doc" Shane said

"What happened to your face?" Jenner asked

"Got a little too rowdy last night" Shane said as he looked at Michael

"Doctors, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing-" Dale was cut off

"But you will anyway" Jenner said

"We didn't come here for the eggs" Andrea said

After everyone had finished eating, Jenner led them all to the big room. Winter was still feeling all warm inside from last night. She hadn't felt this kind of happiness in a long time

"Give me a playback of TS-19" Jenner said

"Playback of TS-19" Vi said as it loaded on a large screen

"Few people ever got a chance to see this. Very few" Jenner said as a human head was displayed on the screen

"Is that a brain?" Carl asked

"An extraordinary one. Not that it matters in the end. Take us in for E.I.V.." Jenner said

"Enhanced internal view" Vi said as the brain was zoomed in on. Everyone watched. There were lots of flashing lights

"What are those lights?" Shane asked

"I believe they're called synapses" Sam said

"You'd be correct. It's a person's life- experiences, memories. It's everything. Somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those ripples of light, is you. The thing that makes you unique and human" Jenner said

"You don't make sense ever?" Daryl asked

"Like that man over there said before, those are synapses. They're electric impulses in the brain that carry all the messages. They determine everything a person says does or thinks from the moment of birth. To the moment of death" Jenner said

"Death? That's what this is, a vigil?" Rick asked

"Yes. Or rather the playback of the vigil" Jenner said

"This person died? Who?" Andrea asked

"Test Subject 19. Someone who was bitten and infected.. and volunteered to have us record the process. Vi, scan forward to the first event" Jenner said

"Scanning to first event" Vi said. The next thing everyone saw was the blue lights now turning black

"What is that?" Glenn asked

"It invades the brain like meningitis. The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shutdown, then the major organs. Then death" Jenner said as the entire brain went black

"Everything you ever were or ever will be.. gone" Jenner said

"Is that what happened to Jim?" Sophia asked her mother

"Yes" Carol said. Andrea began to tear up. Jenner was confused

"She lost somebody two days ago. Her sister" Lori said. Jenner approached Andrea

"I lost somebody too. I know how devastating it is. Scan to the second event" Jenner said

"Scanning to second event" Vi said

"The resurrection times vary wildly. We had reports if it happening in as little as three minutes. The longest we heard was eight hours. In the case of this patient, it was two hours, one minute.. seven seconds" Jenner said. The dark brain had started to light up, only it was a small portion. The lights were also red

"It restarts the brain?" Lori asked

"No, just the brain stem. Basically, it gets them up and moving" Jenner said

"But they're not alive?" Rick asked

"You tell me" Jenner said

"It's nothing like before. Most of that brain is dark" Rick said

"Dark, lifeless, dead. The frontal lobe, the neocortex, the human part- that doesn't come back. The you part. Just a shell driven by mindless instinct" Jenner said before something sliced the brain in half

"God. What was that?" Carol asked

"He shot his patient in the head. Didn't you?" Andrea asked

"Vi, power down the main screen and the workstations" Jenner said

"Powering down main screen and workstations" Vi said as the large screen turned off

"You have no idea what it is, do you?" Andrea asked. The thought made Winter worry that everyone was destined to die this way

"It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal" Jenner said

"Or the wrath of God?" Jacqui asked

"There is that" Jenner said

"Somebody must know something. Somebody somewhere" Andrea said

"There are other facilities, right? Other facilities?" Carol asked

"There may be some. People like me" Jenner said

"But you don't know? How can you not know?" Rick asked

"Everything went down. Communications, directives- all of it. I've been in the dark for almost a month" Jenner said. Just when Winter had begun to have even a sliver of hope, it was ripped from her. She felt a hand intertwine with hers. She looked to see that it belonged to Sam. She appreciated the sentiment

"So it's not just here. There's nothing left anywhere? Nothing? That's what you're really saying, right?" Andrea asked. Jenner couldn't respond, which left everyone shocked. Winter felt Sam squeeze her hand. She looked back at his face and saw the uncomfortable expression he was making. She understood that he had grabbed her hand in the first place, not only to comfort her, but to comfort himself. It was in that moment, she finally understood what she had to do. Sam was always doing his best to stay strong for her, and now, it was her turn. She wanted him to be able to rely on her like she relied on him

"Man, I'm gonna get shitfaced drunk again" Daryl said

"Dr. Jenner, I know this has been taxing for you and I hate to ask one more question, but.. that clock- it's counting down. What happens at zero?" Dale asked

"The basement generators- they run out of fuel" Jenner said

"And then?" Rick asked. Jenner didn't respond

"Vi, what happens when the power runs out?" Rick asked

"When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur" Vi said. Winter felt Sam's hand start to shake. She looked at him to his eyes wide

"No, no.. we gotta get out of here. We gotta get out of here now" Sam said. Michael looked at his brother

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Michael asked

"We're gonna go check out the fuel room" Rick said as he led a group out. Sam was just muttering to himself

"What is wrong with you?" Michael asked. Sam looked at his older brother

"We're all gonna die" Sam said with tears in his eyes. Michael's eyes went wide, and Winter started to get really worried

"What are you talking about? Why are we gonna die?" Michael asked

"The point of these kinds of facilities are to keep things in.. they don't want whatever's in here to get out in the public, and in worst case scenarios.. these things will blow up, to keep that from happening.. we're all gonna die" Sam said as he removed his hand from Winter's and grabbed Michael's shoulders. The others came back. Only the three of them had heard what Sam said. The power began to shut off things. Winter began to fiddle with her necklace nervously

"Jenner, what's happening?" Rick asked

"The system is dropping all the nonessential uses of power. It's designed to keep the computers running to the last possible second. That started as we approached the half-hour mark. Right on schedule" Jenner said

"You need to let us out" Sam said with wide eyes. Everyone turned to look at Sam

"I can't do that" Jenner said

"No, no.. please.." Sam said

"Hey, what's his problem?" Daryl asked. Jenner wanted to change the subject because he knew, that Sam knew

"It was the French" Jenner said

"What?" Andrea asked

"They were the last ones to hold out as far as I know. While our people were bolting out the doors and committing suicide in the hallways, they stayed in the labs till the end. They thought they were close to a solution" Jenner said

"What happened?" Jacqui asked

"The same thing that's happening here. No power grid. Ran out of juice. The world runs on fossil fuel. I mean, how stupid is that?" Jenner asked

"Let me tell you-" Shane was cut off

"To hell with it, Shane. I don't even care. Lori, grab our things. Everybody, get your stuff. We're getting out of here now!" Rick yelled

"He's not gonna let us leave. He's gonna kill us all" Sam said as everyone rushed to grab their things. Then the alarm began glaring

"You two stay here, I'll get your things" Michael said as he rushed off

"What's that?" Shane asked

"30 minutes to decontamination" Vi said as a clock appeared on the screen

"Doc, what's going on here?" Daryl asked

"Everybody, y'all heard Rick. Get your stuff and let's go! Go now! Go!" Shane yelled. Then Jenner closed the door that would let us out

"Did you just lock us in? He just locked us in!" Glenn yelled. Jenner sat down and began recording

"We've hit the 30-minute window. I am recording" Jenner said. Everyone was freaking out

"You son of a bitch" Daryl said

"Shane!" Rick yelled

"You locked us in here!" Daryl yelled as he rushed towards Jenner. Shane stopped Daryl

"You lying-" Daryl was cut off

"No, no, no, no!" Shane yelled

"Hey, Jenner, open that door now" Rick said

"There's no point. Everything topside is locked down. The emergency exits are sealed" Jenner said

"Well, open the damn things" Daryl said

"He can't.." Sam said

"What? What the hell you talking about?!" Daryl yelled

"That's not something I control. The computers do. I told you once that front door closed, it wouldn't open again. You heard me say that" Jenner said

"You didn't tell us you were gonna kill us all either" Winter said

"What?" Rick asked

"It's better this way" Jenner said

"You mean to tell me, you're gonna kill us all?" Lori asked. Jenner stood up as the others started yelling at him

"You know what this place is?! We protected the public from very nasty stuff! Weaponized smallpox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country! Stuff you don't want getting out! Ever! In the event of a catastrophic power failure- in a terrorist attack, for example- H.I.T.s are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out. But, you already knew that" Jenner said looking at Sam who was just staring at him with wide eyes

"H.I.T.s?" Rick asked

"Vi, define" Jenner said

"H.I.T.s- high-impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosives consist of a two-stage aerosol ignition that produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum-pressure effect ignites the oxygen at between 5,000° and 6,000° and is useful when the greatest loss of life and damage to structures is desired" Vi explained

"It sets the air on fire. No pain. An end to sorrow, grief.. regret. Everything" Jenner said. Daryl threw a bottle of alcohol at the door

"Open the damn door!" Daryl yelled. Shane ran towards the door with an axe

"Out of my way!" Shane yelled as he hit the door with the axe

"Daryl!" T-Dog yelled as he tossed Daryl an axe. Daryl caught it and began trying to break the door as well. The children were crying

"You should've left well enough alone. It would've been so much easier" Jenner said

"Easier for who?" Lori asked

"All of you. You know what's out there- a short, brutal life and an agonizing death. Your- your sister- what was her name?" Jenner asked Andrea

"Amy" She responded

"Amy. You know what this does. You've seen it. Is that really what you want for your wife and son?" Jenner asked Rick

"I don't want this" Rick said. Sam couldn't even move. He was frozen in pure fear. Winter had never seen him like this. Sure, she'd seen him break down, but this was completely different. Winter understood that there was probably no way to get out. She didn't want to come to terms with it. She didn't want to die, but if these were her last moments, she didn't want them to be miserable. She embraced Sam as tears streamed down her face

"Can't make a dent" Shane said

"Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher" Jenner explained

"Well, your head ain't!" Daryl yelled. Dale rushed over to Daryl

"Whoa! Whoa!" Dale said as he and Rick held Daryl back

"You do want this. Last night you said you knew it was just a matter of time before everybody you loved was dead" Jenner admitted. Winter stared at Rick, shocked

"What? You really said that? After all your big talk?" Shane asked

"Can you fucking blame him?!" Michael asked

"I had to keep hope alive, didn't I?" Rick asked

"There is no hope. There never was" Jenner said

"There's always hope. Maybe it won't be you, maybe not here, but somebody somewhere-" Rick was cut off

"What part of 'everything is gone' do you not understand?" Andrea asked

"Listen to your friend. She gets it. This is what takes us down. This is our extinction event" Jenner said

"This isn't right. You can't just keep us here" Carol cried

"One tiny moment- a milisecond. No pain" Jenner said

"My daughter doesn't deserve to die like this" Carol cried

"Wouldn't it be kinder, more compassionate to just hold your loved ones and wait for the clock to run down?" Jenner asked. They heard a gun cock. Shane was carrying a rifle. Rick grabbed onto Shane

"Out of the way, Rick!" Shane yelled as he pushed Rick off. Shane then aimed the gun at Jenner

"Open that door or I'm gonna blow your head off. Do you hear me?!" Shane yelled

"Brother, brother, this is not the way you do this. We will never get out of here" Rick said

"Shane, you listen to him" Lori said

"He dies, we all-" Rick was cut off by Shane screaming. Then, Shane aimed at the computers and shot at them. The gunshots snapped Sam out of whatever head space he was in. He immediately ducked as Winter did. Everyone ducked. Though, Rick managed to take the gun and bring Shane to the floor

"Are you done now? Are you done?" Rick asked. They had stood back up

"Yeah, I guess we all are" Shane said. Rick walked over to T-Dog and handed him the rifle. Rick then looked around at everyone before looking at Jenner

"I think you're lying" Rick said

"What?" Jenner asked

"You're lying about no hope. If that were true, you'd have bolted with the rest or taken the easy way out. You didn't. You chose the hard path. Why?" Rick asked

"It doesn't matter" Jenner said

"It does matter. It always matters. You stayed when others ran. Why?" Rick asked

"Not because I wanted to. I made a promise.. to her. My wife" Jenner said

"Test Subject 19 was your wife?" Lori asked

"She begged me to keep going as long as I could. How could I say no? She was dying. It should've been me on that table. I wouldn't have mattered to anybody. She was a loss to the world. Hell, she ran this place. I just worked here. In our field, she was an Einstein. Me? I'm just.. Edwin Jenner. She could've done something about this. Not me" Jenner said as Daryl kept trying to break the door with an axe

"Your wife didn't have a choice. You do. That's- that's all we want- a choice. A chance" Rick said

"Let us keep trying as long as we can" Lori said

"I told you topside's locked down. I can't open those" Jenner said as he walked to the control panel. He typed in a code and the door opened

"Come on!" Daryl yelled. Almost everyone including Winter and Sam rushed out. Though, some hadn't moved

"Hey, we've got four minutes left! Come on!" Glenn yelled. T-Dog was dragging Jacqui

"Let's go" T-Dog said

"No, no, I'm staying" Jacqui said. I'm staying, sweetie" Jacqui told him as she got out of his grip

"But that's insane!" T-Dog yelled

"No, it's completely sane. For the first time in a long time. I'm not ending up like Jim and Amy. There's no time to argue. And no point, not if you want to get out. Just get out. Get out" Jacqui told T-Dog. So, they left. They rushed to the main floor but the doors were blocked

"Get them doors open!" Shane yelled as he tossed Michael an axe. Michael began hitting the window with an axe. Rick ran over to help. They were blocked in. Shane began shooting at the window

"The glass won't break?" Sophia asked

"Rick, I have something that might help" Carol said as she rushed over to him with her hand in her bag

"Carol, I don't think a nail file's gonna do it" Shane said

"Your first morning at camp, when I washed your uniform I found this in your pocket" Carol said as she pulled out a grenade. Rick took it

"Look out!" Rick yelled. Everyone ran away and got down. Rick pulled the pin

"Oh, sh-" Rick yelled as he sprinted off. An explosion went off and it broke the glass. Everyone ran out. Rick and Shane began shooting at walkers. All of them ran to their vehicles. Michael, Sam and Winter got into theirs and was waiting for Rick to lead them out

"Get down and cover your ears!" Michael yelled as he ducked and covered his ears. Winter and Sam did the same. They heard the explosion. It was loud. Winter looked up to see the entire place in flames. Then, they left

(6132 words)
11/27/22