Both Eyes Open - Daryl Dixon (under editing)

Decontamination.

Lara followed behind the group as everyone followed Dr Jenner into the main control room, where he went to one of the central computers, set his coffee down and clicks a button, and the machine beeps.
"Give me playback of TS-19." He says aloud to the computer.

"Playback of TS-19." Vi replies, and on the large screen at the far end of the room a few lines appear onto the screen and a picture appears after the loading screen.

"Few people ever got a chance to see this. Very few." Jenner says, turning to look at everyone in the group as they all settle into a spot where they can see the screen. Lara found a place stood beside Carol and Sophia, with Daryl moving to her other side, scratching his face before leaning on one of the machines.

"Is that a brain?" Carl asks, a little astounded.

"An extraordinary one." Jenner replies delightedly for a moment, before looking instantly solemn, "Not that it matters in the end. Take us in for E.I.V."

"Enhanced internal view." Vi states, as the image of a person shifts and zooms in on the brain.

"What are those lights?" Shane asked, sitting down behind Lara. She shifted uncomfortably toward Daryl upon noticing Shane's presence.

"It's a person's life... experiences, memories. It's everything." Jenner explains, gesticulating rapidly, as everyone remained transfixed by the image on the screen, only looking to Jenner every now and then, "Somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those ripples of light, is you... the thing that makes you unique. And human."

Daryl stood upright and folded his arms, looking from the screen to the pacing doctor, "You don't make sense, ever?"

"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."

"Death?" Rick asked, stepping forward nearer to the doctor, "That's what this is, a vigil?"

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

"This person died?" Andrea asked rather bleakly, "Who?" She stepped up to just beside Rick, who glanced from her to Jenner.

Lara sighed and leant forward against the machines, watching the lights and impulses flashing across the screen as doctor Jenner continued,

"Test subject 19. Someone who was bitten and infected... And volunteered to have us record the process. Vi, scan forward to the first event." He ordered, and the computer complied, and the image of the MRI virtual camera changed dramatically, showing a black and dark tree like formation, where the impulses of life where before.

"What is that?" Glenn asked incredulously.

"It invades the brain like meningitis. The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shutdown, then the major organs. Then death." He told them harshly,

Lara observed the expressions around the room, mostly of emptiness, bewilderment from Dale, but extreme heartache from Andrea, she could only place down to her sisters recent death. "Everything you ever were or ever will be... Gone."

"Is that what happened to Jim?" Sophia asked timidly, looking up at her mother, her innocent face exuding fear and uncertainty.

"Yes." Carol replied, holding her daughter closely. Lara shut her eyes tightly, before blinking her vision clearly, and looking up at the sound of someone sniffing, and then to Lori who spoke next.

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

Jenner moved over to Andrea and lowered his voice calmly, "I lost somebody too. I know how devastating it is."

"You alright?" Daryl whispered, and Lara looked back, surprised to see him looking right at her, with something of concern toying on his features.

Standing up straight she nodded curtly, refocusing her attention as Vis' voice filled the room.

"Scanning to 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."

Everyone remained silent as little flickers of red light relit the stem in the brain on the MRI image. Slowly but surely it seemed like the brain was turning itself back on.

"It restarts the brain?" Lori asked.

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

"But they're not alive?" Rick asked, frowning at the doctor.

"You tell me."

Rick shook his head staring up at the image, "It's nothing like before. 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 driven by mindless instinct."

Everyone frowned as a small object appeared at the top of the screen and suddenly a tunnel was created through the brain, stopping the patients movements.

"God. What was that?" Carol asked, pushing herself to her feet.

"He shot his patient in the head." Lara stated, arms folded, glaring confoundedly at Jenner's back.

"Didn't you?" Andrea asked him, as he turned his back to the screen.

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

"You have no idea what it is, do you?" Andrea asked, folding her arms and walking towards the doctor.

"It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, - fungal..." He rambled, until Jacqui interjected,

"Or the wrath of God?"

"There is that."

"Somebody must know something. Somebody somewhere." Andrea stated determinedly.

"There are others, right? Other facilities?" Carol asked, holding onto Sophia.

"There may be some. People like me."

"But you don't know? How can you not know?" Rick persisted astounded at the doctors lack of detail and energy.

"Everything went down. Communications, directives... all of it. I've been in the dark for almost a month." Jenner told him truthfully.

Andrea continued to press the questions, "So it's not just here. There's nothing left anywhere? Nothing? That's what you're really saying, right?" She interrogated him, as he looked dishearteningly at the ground at her feet.

"Jesus." Jacqui exasperated, holding herself up by the desk.

"Man, I'm gonna get shit-faced drunk again." Daryl groaned, rubbing his palms into his eyes and leaning on one of the monitors beside Lara.

"Might join you." She said sadly. Daryl turned his head to her and blinked at her as if he were shocked. She offered him a weak smile before looking away.

Dale stepped forward passed the group toward a large red timer on the wall, "Dr. Jenner, I know this has been taxing for you and I hate to ask one more question, but... That clock..." He points at it directly, before turning to the doctor, "It's counting down. What happens at zero?"

The room grew awkwardly quiet, and everyone straightened up on their spot.

"The..." He paused silently, looking pensive before continuing, "basement generators... they run out of fuel." And with that he turned and made his way out of the room, ignoring the questions following him.

"And then?" Rick looked expectantly at Jenners back, before looking up at the ceiling, "Vi, what happens when the power runs out?"

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

"Decontamination?" Lara asked with a frown.

Rick glanced about the group before pointing at some of the men, "Shane, Glenn, T-Dog - with me. We'll be back in a minute." He said storming out of the room and toward the nearby stairwell.