Archie watches the darkness grow, his eyes growing wide with shock.
"What is that?" Glen asks, his voice full of genuine fear.
"It invades the brain like meningitis. The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain shuts down, and then the major organs shut down too. Then death," Jenner explains, his tone serious as he points at the screen. "Everything you ever were or ever will be... gone," he concludes with a haunting warning.
Archie watches the footage on the screen with a sense of curiosity. The person who was infected's transformation is strange...
"Is that what happened to Jim?" Sofia asks, looking to Carol for an answer. Carol nods as she holds Sofia's hand.
Archie watches these two interact and then locks eyes with Carol, before abruptly looking away. Mellody, meanwhile, stares at Dale with a mix of confusion and concern. She's unable to understand his emotion in this situation.
"Are you okay?" Mellody asks, her eyebrows furrowing with genuine concern.
Dale nods in response, but he keeps staring at the screen, transfixed.
"She lost somebody two days ago, her sister," Lori informs the group.
"I lost somebody too," Dr. Jenner whispers to Andrea, as he leans in and meets her tearful gaze. "I know how devastating it is," he says with compassion.
"Scan to the second event," Jenner requests, turning back to the VI.
"Scanning to second event," the VI confirms.
"The resurrection times vary wildly," Jenner explains. "We've received 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," he shares, his voice tinged with an undercurrent of fear. He remains focused on the screen as he waits for the transformation to complete.
A red glow starts to flicker at the base of the brain, where the darkness slowly begins to dissipate. The lights start out randomly shooting out into the larger area of the brain, but they don't spread further.
Mellody approaches Archie and asks, "Is that what happened to Daddy?" Her tone is sad and concerned. Archie doesn't respond immediately, his face betraying some level of irritation.
Daryl turns his head to Mellody, his expression showing some degree of irritation.
"He ain't dead," Archie says, crossing his arms as he seems to share this sentiment.
"It restarts the brain?" Lori repeats, her tone sounding like she's trying to understand this concept.
"No, just the brain stem. Basically it gets them up and moving," Jenner explains.
"But they're not alive?" Rick asks, stepping forward and joining Jenner.
Jenner gestures towards the monitor and says, "You tell me."
Rick shakes his head. "It's nothing like before. Most of that brain is dark," he shares, as he joins Jenner, his own expression tinged with awe and fear.
"Dark, lifeless, dead. The frontal lobe, the neocortex, the human part--that doesn't come back," Jenner explains, his tone serious as he stares back and forth from the screen to Rick. "Just a shell driven by mindless instinct," he finishes, almost as a warning.
The subject's body starts to move, mouth opening and closing, and it's head moving side to side in a strange, jerky fashion. The arms, however, do not move at all, as if they were being lifted. A gun appears at the subject's forehead, pointing down. The bullet pierces the brain, and a bright red cluster of embers is violently extinguished. The brain becomes fully dark, and the body stops moving instantly.
"God. What was that?" Carol asks in a shaken voice, clearly affected by what she's just witnessed.
"You shot him...” Archie responds, raising his eyebrows as he looks at Jenner. There is no doubt that Jenner was responsible for the subject's death, but he doesn't want to admit it. Archie knows he's ashamed, even if he tries not to show it.
"VI, turn off the main screen and the workstation." Jenner commands, his voice firm and authoritative.
"Powering down the main screen and workstations," VI confirms. The screens go dark, leaving the group in dimly lit room.
"You have no idea what it is, do you?" Andrea asks, her tone almost like a question or statement as she stares at Dr. Jenner.
"It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal," Jenner answers, as he walks to a nearby computer.
"Or the wrath of God?" Jacqui asks, completely caught off guard by the sudden religious undertones. Archie shares this sense of surprise, not knowing how she could say that.
"You really think 'God' did this?" Archie asks, putting on a fake smile to mask his irritation. He seems utterly annoyed by this notion.
"If there was a damn God out there he wouldn't put us through this bullshit," he says, shaking his head angrily. All of the other participants stay silent for a moment, apparently unsure how to respond to his outburst.
"There are others, right?" Carol asks, holding on tightly to Sofia as if seeking comfort and protection.
"There may be some. People like me," Jenner answers, looking away from the others.
"But you don't know? How can you not know?" Rick repeats, stepping forwards and leaning in to Jenner. He's clearly angry and demands answers from this man.
"Everything went down. Communications, directives--all of it," Jenner says defensively, trying to explain his situation.
"So it's not just here. There's nothing left anywhere? Nothing?" Andrea's question sounds almost pleading as she stares at Jenner, waiting for an answer.
"Jesus," Jacqui mutters quietly to herself, shaking her head as she appears to be stressed and on the verge of panicking.
"Man, I'm gonna get shitfaced drunk again," Daryl says, as he rubs his forehead. It seems to be his way of coping with the stress and frustration of the situation.
"Dr. Jenner, I know this has been taxing for you and I hate to ask one more question, but... that clock--" Dale points to a red countdown clock. "--what happens at zero?”
"The basement generators--they run out of fuel," Jenner answers nervously after a pause. He seems like he may be lying, but it's hard to say for sure.
Rick's tone is clearly annoyed or angry as he asks, "And then?"
Jenner ignores the question and walks out of the room
Archie is evidently fed up with this situation, the lack of information, and Jenner's behavior. He yells out in frustration: "Okay Jesus, how about you give man a break!”
"We need answers now," Rick exclaims, stepping forward aggressively.
"He's busting his ass to actually--damn try and help your sorry asses and you're here complaining. You would be dead by now, we all damn wound. Stop freaking stressing him out so we can live another day!" Archie responds, stepping closer to Rick as he glares at him.
"You trying to start a problem?" Rick asks, placing his hands on his hips in a belligerent manner.
"I will make me your fucking problem if you don't shut the fuck up," Archie shouts, his voice dripping with anger and intimidation.
Daryl shakes his head and tries to defuse the situation. "Just let it go," he says, his arms still crossed in front of him. "It don't matter," he explains, but it's clear
Rick walks past Archie, slightly nudging him with his shoulder with clear intent to provoke him.
"VI, what happens when the power runs out?" he asks, seemingly trying to shift the focus away from the argument that was just about to start.
“When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur,” VI responds,
ricky
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