15.Life or death part 1

I wake up with a warm body against my back. I turn around and see Daryl still sleeping. I quickly climb out the bed and walk to my bag to get clothes to wear for the day. I choose jeans, with an army muscle shirt and my combat boots.

I walk into the bathroom and put on my clothes, wash my face, brush my teeth and put my hair in a high ponytail. I walk into the room and see Daryl nowhere in sight. He already left?

I pack my things back into my bag feeling uneasy about today. I put my daggers around my wrist and my throwing knives around my waist.

I walk to the cafeteria and see everyone already there. I sit beside Glenn who was smoothing his headache.

"Hello," I say to everyone.

Daryl nodded at me.

"Morning," Rick says looking like shit.

"Are you hungover? Mom said you'd be."Carl says to his dad.

"Mom is right. Mom has that annoying habit."

He sits next to Lori.

"Eggs."T Dog asks as he walks to us with a pan in his hand putting some on my plate.

" Powdered, but... but I do 'em good"

"Thanks, T"

Glenn moans next to me. Look someone has a hangover.

"I bet you can't tell. Protein helps the hangover."I say to Glenn while eating the eggs.

"Where'd all this come from?"Rick asks Lori drinking the pills that the doctor gave her.

" Jenner."

" He thought we could use it, "Lori said to Rick.

"Thank you. Some of us, at least."Rick smiled at me.

"I don't get a hangover, I can drink as much as I want the secret is water,"I say to Rick empty my plate.

"Thanks for the Eggs T"

"Don't ever ever ever let me drink again."Glenn moan next to me.

I laugh at him. Poor Glenn

The smile drops as quickly as it was there when Shane walks in.

"Hey" He greets Rick and sits down beside Rick.

"Hey, Feel as bad as I do?"Rick ask him

I look at him with hatred. Fucking bastard pretend to be Rick's friend.

"Worse, "Shane answer looking at Lori and then glaring at me.

"The hell happened to you? Your neck?"T Dog notices the marks on Shane's neck.

" I must have done it in my sleep."

Bullshit, if only Rick knows.

" Never seen you do that before, "Rick answer him confuse.

"Me neither. Not like me at all."He says looking at me with rage in his eyes.

Come at me and see what happens.

"Morning."The doctor walks in and gets himself a coffee.

"Hey, doc."I greet the doctor.

"Doctor, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing..."Dale says following the doctor as he walks away from the coffee table.

"But you will anyway. "the doctor says looking at Dale.

"We didn't come here for the eggs," Andrea said with a bitchy attitude.

I was wrong about her. Fuck she and Shane are perfect for each other. Both are assholes.

"Why are you so ungrateful, Blondie," I ask with a blank face.

She turn so quickly I swear her neck almost broke off and glare at me.

"Watch it b.."

"Come with me."Jenner interrupts her.

We follow him to a room with lots of computers and a big screen in front of us. I stand next to Daryl and look at the screen.

Jenner clicks on something. It makes a beeps

"Give me playback of TS-19."Jenner order Vi

"Playback of TS-19."

Jenner: "Few people ever got a chance to see this. Very few."

We see on the screen a brain in X-ray format.

"Is that a brain?"Carl ask.

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

"Enhanced internal view."

"What are those lights?"Daryl ask.

" It's a person's life... experiences, memories. It's everything. Somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those ripples of light are you... the thing that makes you unique. And human."Jenner explains to us.

"You don't make sense ever? " Daryl question Jenner.

"Those are synapses, 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." I explain.

"Correct, how did you know about it?"Jenner asks.

"I'm not just a soldier, I study medicine and science too, but I didn't finish science. But I know enough."I say looking at them.

They all look at me in shock. They snap out of it and turn their attention back to Jenner.

"That's what this is, a vigil?" Andrea ask.

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

"This person died?Who?"Andrea ask again.

"Test subject 19. Someone who was bitten and infected... And volunteered to have us record the process." He answers sadly to her. "Vi, scan forward to the first event"He ordered.

"Scanning to the first event."

The whole image changes.

" What is that?"Carol ask.

"It invades the brain like meningitis. The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shutdown, then the major organs." Jenner explains.

" Then death. Everything you ever were or ever will be... Gone."I finishing the explanation.

"Is that what happened to Jim?"Sophia asks her mother with fear in her voice.

Poor thing. This whole zombie thing isn't made for children, they are so young and innocent.

"Yes."Coral answers her daughter.

Andrea look down sadly.

"She lost somebody two days ago. Her sister."Lori says

We all lost someone. All we can do is live on and fight this thing.

"I lost somebody too. I know how devastating it is. Scan to the second event." Jenner says with sympathy in his voice.

"Scanning to the second event."

"The resurrection times vary wildly. We had reports of it happening in as little as three minutes. The longest we heard of was eight hours. In the case of this patient, it was two hours, one minute... Seven seconds."Jenner further explains.

"It restarts the brain?" Lori ask.

"No, just the brain stem. Basically, it gets them up and moving." I answer her.

"But they're not alive?"

"You tell me. It's nothing like before."Jenner says.

"Most of that brain is dark."

" Dark, lifeless, dead. The frontal lobe, the neocortex, the human part... That doesn't come back. The You part. Just a shell is driven by mindless instinct."Jenner says

"God. What was that? "The group looks at the screen in shock.

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

" Vi, power down the main screen and the workstations."

"Powering down main screen and workstations."Vi did as she was ordered and the main screen turn off.

" You have no idea what it is, do you?"Andrea ask.

I just want to leave and drink myself numb. But sadly I have to listen to what the hell is going on.

" It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal," Jenner says.

"Or the wrath of God?"Jacqui ask.

"There is that," Jenner answers her.

"Somebody must know something. Somebody somewhere."Andrea says with hope.

"There are others, right? Other facilities?"Carol asks Jenner.

"There may be some. People like me."

This is going nowhere.

But you don't know?"I ask Jenner.

"How can you not know?"Carol ask

"Everything went down. Communications, directives... all of it. I've been in the dark for almost a month. So it's not just here.'Jenner explains.

There's nothing left anywhere? "Andrea asks.

"Nothing? That's what you're really saying, right? Jesus. Man, I'm gonna get shit-faced drunk again."Daryl says looking frustrated.

"Yes, I agree. I just want to drink till I feel nothing"I say walking to the exit but Dale asks Jenner a question I stop.

Fuck, I thought we were done,

"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 ask.

Interesting. I didn't even notice the clock.

"The basement generators... they run out of fuel," Jenner says.

"And then?"Rick ask.

Jenner ignores Rick's question.

" Vi, what happens when the power runs out? "He asks Vi instead.

"When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur,"Vi explain

"Decontamination... What does that mean?"Glenn ask

That's not good. I knew some shit was about to go down. I follow Daryl to the room when he starts drinking whiskey. I grab it out of his hand again.

"Why do you keep doing that."He snaps at me.

"Because you don't look like the type to be asked kindly, "I smirk at him.

"Oh yeah. what type am I?"He asks moving close to me. I can smell the whiskey on his breath. He's so close to me.

"The type to take what he wants and doesn't ask shit, "I say moving closer to him. Our chest touch.

"Is that so mmm. We spend one night together and suddenly you know me?"He angry ask me grabbing the bottle out of my hand.

"Nah, redneck I already sum you up when I saw you on the road when I found the group."I move my finger on his chest walking away.

He grabbed my wrist.

"Not so fast."He says frustrated to me. The air-conditioning shut down when Daryl wanted to say something.

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Hey, my awesome Weirdos.

Cliffhanger (laughs evilly)

I hope you enjoy this chapter.

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Bye-bye.