It was a blinding light. Henceforth, Adelaide covers her eyes with her arms. The light is completely blinding her sight, not only her but also the entire group.
With confusion on their faces, they entered the room unknowingly.
“Hello?” Rick’s voice echoes in the room.
Adelaide roams her eyes across the building. It was neat and clean, and it felt like no one was inside it. It is also quiet.
Aren’t they supposed to be working on how to get rid of the walkers outside? To find an antidote?
Then, they hear a gun click—they automatically point their gun at where the man is standing. “Anybody infected?” The unknown man asks the entire group.
“One of our group was. He didn’t make it.” Rick mentions the tragic event that happened to Jim.
Adelaide puts her hand to her forehead, “What’s the point of telling him about that?” She whispered to herself. While Daryl let out a snicker after hearing what she said.
After the question and answer portion, the anonymous man requires them to have a blood test—the price of their admission, he said. The man put his gun down, “You got stuff to bring in; you do it now. Once this door closes, it stays closed.” And the group did what they were told.
Adelaide didn’t have to worry about hers because all her stuff are in her duffel bag. She is holding her bag now, and she never leaves it behind. Her bag consists of a dozen of her clothes, her knife, and her Harry Potter book.
“Vi, seal the main entrance. Kill the power up here.”
It turns out the man who let them inside the building is a doctor and his name is Edwin Jenner. After the introductions, they are now in an elevator. It was an enormous elevator. They didn’t know where the doctor is taking them; they follow him like a missing puppy.
“Are we underground?” Carol worriedly questions.
Jenner looks back at her, “Are you claustrophobic?”
“A little,”
“Try not to think about it.”
Adelaide had a sour expression on her face, “Gee, thanks. How did we not think of that?” She grumbled, earning a whispered chuckle from Carl.
Zone 5, is where Jenner will take them. Zone 5 was empty; the other doctors and staff were gone. The only thing that is left is computers and monitors. Obviously, the Vi he is talking to is artificial intelligence.
Like Jarvis, in Iron Man.
Everything happened fast. Now, Andrea’s having her blood tested. She was the last one to take the test. The others, including Adelaide, sit on the chairs inside the room, waiting for Andrea to finish.
Adelaide sat on the other side of the room, using her bag as an alternative pillow. She slightly massages her temple. “Are you okay?” Adelaide looked at her side to see who spoke, and it was Glenn. Glenn smiles quickly.
“I’m fine, just lack of sleep.”
Glenn taps his shoulder, “You can rest your head here.” He whispered as he suggested, not even settling his eyes on his best friend.
Adelaide blinks; she didn’t reply. Then she bites her inner cheeks, “Aren’t you supposed to be angry at me?” She chuckles.
“Done,” Jenner announced. Glenn lost his chance to answer Adelaide’s questions. Andrea almost stumbles as she stands up, but thanks to Jacqui, she didn’t.
“Are you okay?” Jenner asks the blonde lady. Jacqui mentioned to the doctor that Andrea hadn’t eaten yet—
their entire group hasn’t.
/
The doctor is generous enough to let them eat at the dining table. Everyone is having fun. Everyone has a smile on their face as they eat the delicious food in front of them.
However, Adelaide is having a hard time figuring the doctor out. How can a person be that kind? Especially now, in the world they lived in, it is sporadic to find a genuinely good person. Her guts are saying otherwise. There must be something that the doctor doesn’t want them to know.
Dale pours the red wine into Lori’s glass, “You know, in Italy, children have a little bit of wine with dinner.” He mentioned as he gives the drink to Lori. “And in France.”
Adelaide ignores everyone while she is taking a bite of her pasta. Rick allowed Carl to taste a bit of wine. Carl sipped a little bit of wine and grimaced after.
Adelaide put a smile on her face when she noticed that the kid is disgusted with the red liquid. “That tastes nasty.” He commented.
Adelaide remembered the first time she had a taste of any alcoholic beverage. She was at her first college party. While everyone is having fun, Adelaide wasn’t. She was a freshman, she doesn’t have any friends, and no one wanted to befriend her. She was so out of place. The other students were daring her to drink until she gave in and drank the entire two bottles of vodka in just one night.
That was the night she fell in love with vodka. Afterwards, the morning she woke up, that was the first time she experienced being in a hangover. Adelaide had a massive and excruciating headache.
“Well, just stick to soda pop there, bud.” Shane cracks a joke.
Adelaide sips wine from her glass as she saw Daryl walks through her peripheral vision. “Not you, Glenn.” He smirks.
“What?”
“Keep drinking, little man. I want to see how red your face can get.” Daryl poked fun at Glenn as he pours another drink for himself. Adelaide glances at her Asian friend, unaware of what they are talking about.
As Adelaide is about to serve herself another drink, she heard Shane clear his throat. “What?” She glimpses at her brother, carefully letting go of the bottle.
Shane ran his hand to his chin, “That’s your fifth glass,”
“So?” Adelaide reprimanded. The room erupted with laughter. Shane, however, doesn’t look amused. “The world ended. What could happen worse?” Rick joked, and Adelaide agreed.
“How old are you, Adelaide?”
Adelaide proceeded to pour the remaining wine into her glass before answering Daryl’s question. “Twenty-four.”
“See, she’s not a kid nor a minor. Let her live a little, Shane. I’m sure it has been a while since she had a drink.” Dale commented as he secretly winks at Adelaide.
“I attended a rave party before shit happened,” Adelaide recalls about her previous experience of being in a rave. Shane’s eyes widen, shocked by the new information he recently heard. “Don’t worry, father. I have a high alcohol tolerance.” She blurts before receiving a huff from her older brother.
Adelaide heard someone clinking their glass. “It seems to me we haven’t thanked our host properly,” Rick cited, putting up his glass.
T-Dog raises his wine glass, “He is more than just our host.” Everyone praises the doctor, including Dale and even Daryl.
“Booyah!”
There is an indescribable sensation in Adelaide’s stomach, and she doesn’t know why she is feeling this. It definitely is not because of the alcohol she just consumed or the food that is being served—unless there is something in the food they ate. All she is sure of is, Doctor Jenner is hiding something from them.
Or maybe, Adelaide is just being paranoid.
“So when are you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, doc?” Shane raises a question to the suspicious doctor. Adelaide stared at her brother with her eyes wide open. “All the, uh, the other doctors that were supposed to be figuring out what happened, where are they?” The former cop had his eyes on the doctor intensely.
“We’re celebrating, Shane. Don’t need to do this now,” said Rick, giving a warning to his best friend not to ruin the atmosphere.
Adelaide snorted, “Celebrating what exactly?” Rick did not reply as he only set his cerulean blue eyes at her, only for a few seconds.
“No. I want to know what happened too, surely it is not just me who’s curious as hell since Shane spoke up about it.” Adelaide noted, which made everyone in the room look at her. “It seems to me that Doctor Jenner is hiding something.” She added.
“Look, this is why we’re here, right?” Shane glared at Rick. “This was your move–supposed to find all the answers. Instead, we–we found him. Found one man. Why?” Shane points his thumb to the doctor who is sitting behind him.
“Well, 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.” Doctor Jenner revealed as everyone’s attention is on him.
“Every last one?” Adelaide inquires as she is pouring another drink into her glass.
“No, many couldn’t face walking out the door. They… opted out. There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time.”
“Opted out? What do you mean opted out?” Adelaide asks at the same time as Andrea. “You didn’t leave. Why?”
The former’s question is ignored. “I just kept working, hoping to do some good.” Doctor Jenner stared at the blonde woman who asked the question.
“Dude, you two are such a buzzkill, man.” Glenn snorted, looking at Shane and then at Adelaide. The dinner went well—aside from the abrupt interrogation which absolutely killed the mood. Then, the doctor showed them where their quarters are and introduced them to the hot shower that they have longed for so long—with the exemption of Daryl, of course.
Adelaide was in the shower for half an hour. It has been a while since she had a hot shower—she may be a bit suspicious of the doctor’s motives, but she is grateful that he let them inside the building. It would have been a waste of her precious tears if he didn’t.
Adelaide applauded herself on her previous acting skills earlier. It was rather convincing and very moving—for her. Her high school student self would be proud if she witnessed her performance earlier.
The younger Walsh joined in a room with Carol and her daughter, Sophia. Unfortunately, there is only one double-sized bed, but the good thing is, there is also a couch.
“Are you sure about sleeping on the couch, Adelaide?” Carol said with a worried tone.
Adelaide chuckles and nods her head. The elder lady’s too caring and kind for her sake. “I’m good here and am used to sleeping on a couch. Besides, it is long enough for my legs, so I don’t have to worry about it aching.” She assured the widow.
“Hey, I am not trying to pry or anything, but I’ve noticed that you and Glenn are distant from each other. What happened?” Carol’s forehead created lines.
Adelaide sat on the couch comfortably, “He got fed up with my childishness and returned my gift to me. It’s actually my fault—”
“Then you should apologize,” Adelaide was taken aback by Carol’s sudden comment, “You wouldn’t want to lose your best friend because of a stupid reason, would you?”
And Adelaide did what she was told. She could have done it even if she wasn’t asked by the middle-aged lady, but of course, her pride is beyond control. A few minutes after, he went to Glenn’s room which he shared with T-Dog. Adelaide knocks on the door and after hearing the person inside shouted that she can come in, she entered.
Glenn was surprised at seeing his best friend, knowing about their previous silly banter. Adelaide’s eyes widen, “Glenn, put a damn shirt on.” She snapped, “I didn’t come here for a strip show.”
Glenn’s eyebrows puckered, and then he looked down at himself. He was half-naked. He sprinted to his bag and pulled out a decent white shirt. “Sorry about that, I thought you were—never mind. You can sit wherever you want.”
Adelaide laughs at him, then sat on the couch. Glenn sat on the bed, facing his friend. “What–what brings you here?”
“I’m sorry, were you about to sleep? I can come back tomorrow if you want?” Adelaide suggested, just trying to avoid her best mate. She kind of forgot that Glenn is drunk. “You will remember what I am about to say tomorrow, right?”
Glenn rubs his eyes, “Are you about to confess your undying love for me?” He joked with a straight face on.
Adelaide laughs, “No, not really. It is exactly the opposite.” She continues to giggle, “Anyway, I came here to apologize for the way I acted earlier today. It was very immature of me.” She said, admitting her mistake.
Glenn shook his head in disagreement, “It was me who was being immature when I gave you the anklet back. That was so stupid.” It didn’t last long until the two shared their sentiments and made a pact to never fight over petty reasons again in the near future. It was petty and stupid, and life’s too short to fight about petty things. But then, every relationship has a lot of arguments and petty quarrels. Maybe it is normal for them, after all, they treat each other not as best friends but as siblings.
“Does this mean I can have my anklet back?” Adelaide nods immediately. She stretched out her arms and unclasped the anklet on her ankle.
Glenn finds it fascinating, “So, the whole time, you are wearing my anklet?” Glenn accepted the anklet and put it on his left anklet.
“Yeah, I was scared that I might lose it.” Adelaide answered back, “I also had a hunch that we will resolve our issues immediately.” She added.
“I don’t know, I just thought you gave it to your new buddy,”
“Who?” Glenn rolls his eyes in annoyance, he’s not entirely sure if she’s genuinely clueless or just loves to act dumb, “You mean, Daryl?”
Glenn nods his head as Adelaide chuckles in response which made the man purse his lips in a pout making his lady friend laugh even more.
“I doubt he’s my new buddy. He was nosy, I can affirm that.”
As T-Dog got out of the shower, Adelaide immediately evacuated the room and decided to go back to her room to have a long and comfortable sleep. Just as she departed Glenn’s room, she crosses paths with Shane, who had claw marks on his neck.
“What the hell is that?” Her eyebrows frowned, putting her palm on his neck, but was slapped away in a split second.
Shane rubs his scarred neck and replies, “It was itchy, so I scratched it. Didn’t notice my nails were long. It would be best if you sleep now. It’s getting late.” Shane planted a kiss on Adelaide’s head, “Have a good night and sleep, Adelaide.” Completely caught off guard by her brother’s display of affection, suspicions erupt in her mind.
“Likewise, Shane. And get yourself an ointment or something while you’re still outside.” She murmured as she watches him walk away without letting her respond.
She walked a few steps in before she arrived at her room. As she was ready to open the door, a calloused hand touches her left shoulder.
Adelaide turns back quickly and lets out a sigh of relief. “You scared the hell out of me,”
It was Daryl. “What you doin’ outside? Go get some sleep!” He exclaimed.
Adelaide rolls her eyes, “I was supposed to, but then you decided to scare the hell out of me. Anyway, I would like to inform you that Glenn and I—”
“You two finally together?” Daryl interrupted, obviously teasing. Pain is hidden, buried inside of him. He would never let Adelaide know that he enjoyed her company.
Adelaide shakes her head aggressively, “Dixon, how many times do I have to tell you, Glenn and I are just friends? We already reconciled. You were right. The roots of our misunderstanding were... shabby. I was shabby.” She genuinely smiled at the man in front of her.
“Good to know. Now, go to your room and sleep.” Daryl responded as he walked away and entered his room with his lip curled up.
Adelaide’s mouth twitched. “Gosh, these people are treating me like I am a kid. I’m a grown woman, for Pete’s sake!” Adelaide whispered to herself and carefully opened the door to her room. She peeked and saw that Sophia is already asleep while Carol reads a book beside her sleeping daughter.
Adelaide smiled at Carol, to which she reciprocated. Carol lowers the book she is reading, “How was the talk?”
“Eventful. We’re good now. All thanks to you, Carol. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have any courage to face Glenn. Your support and Daryl’s harsh words earlier at the car helped me to use my head.”
Carol’s ears ringed as she was surprised about Daryl’s role in Glenn and Adelaide’s reconciliation. “Really? Daryl? What did he tell you?” She smiled.
“I am shocked as you are too, but yeah, he told me that we were a bunch of idiots,” Adelaide lets out a chuckle when she remembers how Daryl said it. She was really offended.
“That definitely sounds like Daryl,” Carol laughed. “Sorry, I am confused, and I’ve been wanting to ask you this.”
Adelaide knows where this conversation is going, “If you are about to ask about the real score between Glenn and me. Let me stop you right there.” She forcedly chuckled—clearly tired of answering the same old assumption about her relations with Glenn. “We are not dating. We never dated. We will never date. We knew each other back in college then we became really good friends. Then both of us got busy with life and all so we stopped communicating. It just happened that we met each other again after all of this.” She informed the clueless lady.
“Enough about me. How are you? I haven’t had a chance to talk to you considering after… everything.” She remembered the day her fist landed on Carol’s dead husband.
He deserved the punch and maybe even death.
Carol sighs heavily, “I am doing great, thanks for asking. After everything that happened, I am so lucky that Sophia and I are still alive. That’s all that matters to me, my daughter’s safety and of course, our group. And I thank you for keeping us safe here and back in the camp..” Carol yawns, “I have to sleep now, and if you can’t sleep with the lights on, you can shut it. Sophia cannot sleep with lights on either. Good night, Adelaide.” She requested.
“Good night,”
The couch has three pillows stacked and a grey blanket on the top. Those weren’t there before she left, so Adelaide guessed it was Carol who put it on the couch. Before she lay down on her bed, she turns off the lights.
For safety, Adelaide locked their bedroom door. She didn’t want to let her guard down even if Doctor Jenner had explained what happened in CDC, and she was not entirely convinced that they really are safe. She can see it in his eyes earlier, the doctor is not telling them everything.
And even if Jenner wanted to trespass on their personal space, a dagger can be found underneath her pillow.
/
Despite having trouble sleeping, Adelaide had managed to complete an eight to ten-hour sleep. Her eyes aren’t heavy when she woke up yesterday or the day before, and she guessed it was because she had a complete night of great sleep. Which is really hard to get, especially in the world they lived in and their suspicions against the doctor.
As Adelaide assumed, she did not have a headache when she woke up from her slumber earlier, even if she had a lot of drinks last night.
And that’s on having a high tolerance for alcohol tolerance.
Sophia and Carol were still asleep, so she folded her blanket, dusted the couch a little, and then rushed to the bathroom. Adelaide did not bother to wake Carol and Sophia Peletier because they look peacefully sleeping. She wouldn’t want to ruin it.
She washed her face and brushed her teeth before she left the room. While at the same time, Rick exited his room shortly after Adelaide did. “Good morning.” She greeted him with a smile.
“Morning,” Rick greeted with his soothing morning voice.
The two of them walked together in silence, not even a word was spoken after Rick’s reply. The silence between them was really awkward, like, they could have said a million words to each other but chose not to because of some unknown reasons.
Adelaide would like to have a deep conversation with Rick, but, then she was reminded of Lori. Considering what happened in the quarry, Adelaide doesn’t want to be on Lori’s bad side again.
Upon their arrival, they were greeted by the group, who recently just started breaking their fast.
There were two seats that are vacant; Adelaide sat next to Glenn while Rick emptied the seat next to Lori. “Good morning.” Glenn greeted his best friend without even looking at her.
Adelaide pursed her lips to a smile, “Good morning to you too, Glenn. Ladies, gents, I hope that you have a delightful morning.” She politely greeted them as they greeted her back.
“Eggs. Powdered, but I do ‘em good.” Adelaide heard T-Dog say. Adelaide has her eyes on Glenn, who keeps on moaning, which is kind of distracting Adelaide.
“Glenn, you alright?” She put her hand on his shoulder and removed it a few seconds after.
“Protein helps the hangover,” T-Dog stated; he puts one egg on Glenn’s plate. “Do you have a hangover too, Adelaide?”
Adelaide shakes her head, “No not really, but, can I have one of what you’re cooking, please? Thanks!” T-Dog gladly puts an egg on her plate. Jacqui massages Glenn’s shoulders.
“Jacqui, have you eaten?”
The woman nods quickly, “Eat your breakfast, hun.” She responded, a beaming smile on her face as she continues to massage Glenn who happens to be in a sour mood because of his hangover.
Adelaide obeyed her. Glenn is still recovering from his hangover, so she didn’t disturb him yet. That made her put a mental note to herself to never let Glenn hold a glass of any alcoholic beverages.
T-Dog is a great cook. That’s all Adelaide knows. There were slices of bacon on the table, too so, she took two of them and quickly ate it. Dale gave her a cup of soup, and Carol, who arrived earlier together with Sophia, handed her a glass full of water. She really feels the love she is getting from these people.
She is not even opening her mouth to ask for anything but it seems like they already know what she needs. Kind of reminds her of how her grandparents used to take care of her back when she was in their care.
Oh, only God knows how much she misses those old people who raised her. And how badly she wants them to still be with her.
At that point, Adelaide Walsh was a bit happy that not everything she wants will be given to her. No matter how much she misses them, she would never let them live in the world that she currently lives in as of the moment. And she would lie to herself if, by every run and attack of the walkers, her grandparents will be safe. It’s better to die of old age than get bitten by the monsters lurking around the country.
“Don’t ever ever ever let me drink again.” Adelaide heard Glenn’s voice speak. Then she only laughs silently. “Still heard your giggles, Adelaida.”
“When will you stop calling me that?”
“When water turns into wine,” Glenn responded, slowly eating the food on his plate while Jacqui is still massaging him.
“It already did, like, two thousand years ago.” She whispered, her lips curled into a smile, recalling what she learned from a Sunday school which is being taught by her grandmother.
Shortly after, Shane arrived. Adelaide didn’t bother to listen to what her brother and Rick are talking about but was piqued by her interest when T-Dog asks him about the scars he had on his neck.
“I must have done that in my sleep.” He replied, avoiding his sister’s gaze. Adelaide doesn’t know if that was a lie or if the one he told him last night was. She chose not to open her mouth.
“Never seen you do that before,” Rick stated. Adelaide looks at the man on her right then back to her food.
“Good morning, Adelaide.” Carl greeted her with a broad smile on his face.
Adelaide beamed at the child and glanced at his mom beside him, which seems uncomfortable. Her smile wears off, “Lori, are you alright?” Adelaide asked, her tone laced with concern.
Lori’s eyes widened, and she nods, “Yeah, I am. Thanks for asking, Adelaide.” She did not expect Adelaide to ask her if she was alright, especially when she was mean to Adelaide for the last couple of days.
Adelaide smiled in response and drank from her glass, her eyes on her brother. He had a guilty look on his face. Just then, Doctor Jenner walks into the room, greeting everyone. They flooded him with questions and were asked to follow him to Zone 5.
“Give me playback of TS-19.” Doctor Jenner ordered the AI, who is named Vi. “Playback of TS-19.”
The whole time, Adelaide is just listening to their conversation. Her eyes are on the monitor. The monitor now shows TS-19’s brain starting to turn black and losing the lights called synapses.
“Everything you ever were or ever will be...gone.”
Adelaide breathed in as she processes all the information that she is hearing. Adelaide didn’t have a perfect life, but she is happy with the life she has right now. She might have not met her biological mother but, her grandparents were good to her. Even Shane’s father did more than being good to her—he even let her have his surname even if she is not his real blood and flesh, she will be eternally grateful for that man.
She cherishes all the memories, the moments that she had with them. Her first love, first heartache, and meeting Glenn when she was in college. Imagining that all of it will be gone, with only one bite from a walker, scares the living shit out of her.
Adelaide wasn’t really scared of how death looked like, or what will happen to her in the afterlife. Will her soul be in the pit like most people believed in or in purgatory—if there is one—or is her soul will be coexisting on Earth together with the living, she doesn’t know and she used not to care about it. But the answer to the question ‘how’ was explained by the doctor, it terrifies her.
While in the monitor, a small ignition of light erupts on a small part of the brain. It was the brain stem. “Basically, it gets them up and moving.”
“But they’re not alive?” Rick furrows his brows as he questions the man in charge of the facility.
Doctor Jenner turns to Rick, and he stretches his arm, “You tell me. The frontal lobe, the neocortex, the human part–that doesn’t come back. The ‘you’ part. Just a shell, driven by mindless instinct.”
Adelaide looks away from the monitor and massages her temple. “What was that?” She heard Carol talk about the bang that sound like a gunshot. The bullet went through TS-19’s brain.
“He shot his patient in the head. Didn’t you?” Andrea suspected the doctor.
Doctor Jenner avoided Andrea’s question, “Vi, power down the mainstream and the workstations.”
“Did you ever find out what it is?”
“No. It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal.”
Jacqui cuts him, “Or the wrath of God?”
“There is that,” Doctor Jenner continued, his lips parted.
“There are others, right? Other facilities?” Carol questions.
“There may be some,” Jenner replied.
Rick was trying to get some answers out of him, and Andrea too. But they didn’t find anything. For a doctor, he surely knows nothing.
Then Adelaide, unknowingly had her eyes looking on the digital clock, and her brows are raised. It seems to be counting down, and currently, there is only an hour left.
Dale must’ve noticed it, too, since he asked the doctor about it and why it is counting down. “What happens at zero?”
“The basement generators, they run out of fuel.” He casually replied.
“And then?” Rick uttered, looking at the doctor walking away from him.
“Son of a bitch.” Adelaide cursed. She wasn’t entirely sure about what was going to happen at zero but she’s already having a hunch. Hopefully, it is all just her paranoia. “Vi, tell me what happens when the power runs out.” She raised her voice with authority.
“When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur.”
/
Adelaide runs to her room like her life depended on it—it kind of is. She gathered her things, and she put back her holster belt on. With one last look, everything she owns from before the apocalypse and her precious daggers and knife is all in her bag.
She hears the door creak, and it reveals Carol and Sophia. “Adelaide, what are you doing?” Sophia’s innocent voice was heard.
“Packing, well, my stuff is already packed. I am arranging it nicely. Just in case bad stuff occurs.” She replies to the clueless girl. “Better pack yours too. We’ll never know what happens next and it will be best for us if we are ready. Stay close to your mom, okay? Never leave her side.” She said, sent a quick smile to Carol, and exited the room with her bag.
Then, Adelaide went to Glenn’s room and search for his backpack. It was almost empty, and when she opens the cabinet, some of his clothes are hung inside. “Man’s feeling at home already,” She muttered before she folded the clothes nicely and put them back in his bag and some of his personal stuff. Then the lights turned off.
Glenn, Rick, Shane, and T-Dog went underground and searched for the generators to determine what was wrong.
She put Glenn’s bag on her back while hers are on her left hand and saw everyone outside of their rooms and Doctor Jenner is wearing his coat. They were questioning him why the lights and the air conditioning were turned off.
“Energy is being prioritised.”
“Air isn’t a priority? And lights?” Dale asked.
The doctor shook his head, “It’s not up to me. Zone 5 is shutting itself down.”
“Hey! Hey, what the hell does that mean? Hey, man, I’m talking to you.” Daryl screamed at the doctor. “What do you mean it’s shutting itself down? How can a building do anything?” Daryl followed the man through the place where they were earlier.
“You’d be surprised.”
Rick, Glenn, Shane, and T-Dog arrived from the basement. Glenn stands next to Adelaide, sweating. He notices his bag was with her, “Why do you have my bag?”
Adelaide took the bag off herself and gave it to him. “I packed your stuff, just in case we’ll have to leave again.”
“Everything? Including my—”
“No, your undergarments’ are already inside your bag. Don’t worry. I didn’t touch any of it.” She replied. “What did you find down there anyway?” Adelaide curiously asked, shifting the subject.
“Bunch of generators and empty drums.”
Adelaide lets out a heavy sigh.
The digital clock says 31 minutes. Whatever it is, that is going to happen. They only have half an hour before whatever happens happens.
Jenner passed the empty alcoholic beverage to Daryl. “It was the French.”
“What?”
“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.” Jenner implied. “They thought they were close to a solution.”
“What happened?” It was Jacqui’s voice echoing in the room.
Jenner stands up to the platform, “The same thing that is happening here. No power grid. Run out of juice. The world runs on fossil fuels. I mean, how stupid is that? Let me tell you—”
Shane climbs the stairs, engulfed with anger and ready to attack the doctor. “To hell with it. I don’t care.”
Rick followed Shane to the platform, “Lori, grab our things. Everyone, get your stuff. We’re getting out of here, now!” Rick commands everyone.
Everyone is ready to go to their rooms and grab their things, excluding Adelaide. Glenn insists on helping the others, so he left too. Adelaide put her bag on an empty table. Shortly after, an alarm disrupted the entire building.
“What the hell is that for?”
“Thirty minutes to decontamination,” Vi, the robot said, with a monotonous voice. Carl clambered to the platform, his tiny hands holding his father’s.
“Doc, what’s going on here, damn it.”
Shane repeated what Rick said a while ago, which is to get their stuff. But, they were too late. The doors are already shut.
“Did you just lock us in?” Glenn raised a question, surprised by the doctor’s actions. “He just locked us in!” He shouted, informing everyone in his group.
Adelaide stood there, unmoving, observing the people inside the room. The kids were crying, and the adults are frightened. Afraid for their kids, and also for themselves.
While Daryl is frantic. That anger pushed him to attack the doctor, who dares to record himself in front of a camera. Luckily, he was interrupted by Shane.
“Hey, Jenner, open that door now,” Rick commanded at the guy in a coat.
“There’s no point. Everything topside is locked down. The emergency exits are sealed.”
Shane huffs, “Well, open the damn thing!”
“That’s not something I control. The computer does. I told you, once that front door is closed, it wouldn’t open again. You heard me say that.” Doctor Jenner prompted them.
“It’s better this way.”
“What is?” Rick blunted. “What happens in twenty-eight minutes?” Jenner turned his head away from Rick. It made the man more upset.
“What happens in twenty-eight minutes?!” Rick yelled as Shane slam his hand on the table. “Come on!”
“Do you know what this place is? We protected the public from very nasty stuff!” Doctor Jenner erupted with outrage.
“Clearly, something went wrong. We wouldn’t be here if you all didn’t fail!” Adelaide stated.
The man with the coat snickered at her statement, “You know nothing about everything! Weaponized smallpox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half of the country! Stuff you don’t want getting out! Ever!” He paused and sat on the swivel chair. “In the event of a catastrophic power failure in a terrorist attack, for example, HITs are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out.” He calmly explained.
“HITs?”
Doctor Jennifer ordered the artificial intelligence to define HITs, “HIT is high-impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosives consisting of 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 5000° and 6000° and is useful when the greatest loss of life and damage to structures is desired.” The artificial intelligence stopped talking.
“It sets the air on fire.”
Adelaide steps forward, her eyebrows knit together. “You let us in, only to die? Don’t you have any conscience? There are children here! Children! They don’t deserve this, we don’t deserve this!” She retorted, ending her silence.
Doctor Jenner spun around and faced the maiden, “You begged me to let you in,” Then he eyed Rick. “You did too.”
“If I knew that this will gonna happen, I wouldn’t have faked my tears and agreed to go to Fort Benning.” The younger Walsh snapped, as she rolled her eyes. “We did not sign up for this, Jenner!” Adelaide hissed.
/
They did everything just for the door to have a dent. They have wasted bullets, Daryl’s pickaxe, Adelaide’s sharp knife, everything. All of it was an epic fail.
They are getting impatient. The children were crying, their moms on their sides. Some of the men were eager to break the gates. Some wanted to get out, and they still have hope that they can. Unfortunately, others accepted their fate.
Adelaide was on the floor, hugging her legs. She was listening to how Doctor Jenner tries to convince her friends just to give up.
Daryl has attacked the doctor with his axe. Shane did too but with his rifle. Rick stopped both.
Adelaide Walsh looked up; everyone has their eyes on Rick. She did too. Rick set his blue eyes on hers for a millisecond, then on his family.
“I think you’re lying.”
Doctor Jenner was caught off guard, “What?” His brows creased.
“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.” Rick paused, “You chose the hard path. Why?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Adelaide rose from the floor and crossed her arms, “Yes, it does. You wouldn’t be here breathing and locking us all in here if it doesn’t.” She insisted.
“You stayed when others ran. Why?” Rick asks the doctor again.
“Not because I wanted to.” Jenner got up without breaking his eye contact with Rick. “I made a promise...to her. My wife.”
“Holy shit. Test subject 19 was your wife,” Adelaide gasps in realisation.
“She begged me to keep going as long as I could. How could I say no? She was dying. It should have been me on that table. I wouldn’t have mattered to anybody. She was the loss to the world.” Doctor Jenner revealed. “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.”
“Your wife didn’t have a choice. You do. That is–that’s all we want. A choice, a chance.” Rick answered.
“Let us keep trying as long as we can.” Lori pleaded.
“Please. Just let us out.” Adelaide begged. Ironically, the last time she begged, she wanted to get in, and now she wanted the opposite.
Doctor Jenner remains silent for a minute. “I told you topside’s locked down. I can’t open those.” He walked away and went closer to the computers.
Adelaide blinks her eyes rapidly. A tiny seed of hope erupts in her heart. Then the doors were now open. She lets out a heavy breath.
“Come on!”
Adelaide looks at the clock, only four minutes left. Everyone rushed to their rooms and grabbed their stuff. Adelaide takes her bag from where she left it earlier.
“Here’s your chance, take it.”
“I’m grateful.”
Adelaide was beyond happy about his sudden change of mind. “Just so you know, I was half-assed acting when I pleaded to let us in, kinda regret it. But still, thank you, Doctor Jenner.”
Doctor Jenner pursed his lips into a thin line, “The day will come when you won’t be.”
Adelaide was confused, “What’s that supposed to mean?” Jenner grabs Rick and Adelaide pulling both of them in. As he whispers a sentence, Adelaide never expected to hear.
Rick’s expression changed. Adelaide was mortified by what she heard, and suddenly, her wrist was grabbed by Glenn as Lori held her husband’s hand.
Unfortunately, Jacqui stayed. Andrea did, too, along with Dale. Adelaide said her goodbyes to them and went with the others. She wasn’t really close with Andrea and Jacqui but with Dale. Dale was almost family. He kind of reminds him of her grandfather. She could not force him to live with his life if the man himself does not want to. The same reason as Andrea and Jacqui too.
Their life, their choice, right?
It will be painful for some of them but they will live, knowing that the people they care about will not be able to feel the pain, anger, and much more emotions that will occur to them.
Each of them grabbed their stuff that they have left in their rooms and went to the topside immediately—the countdown still happening. The group had a hard time escaping since the doors were locked and the glass was bulletproof.
But, it wasn’t grenade-proof. Thanks to Carol, she remembered the grenade she found on Rick’s uniform when she washed it a few days back and gave it to the man. The former cop did not waste any second as he quickly planted the grenade close to the glasses. Luckily, the grenade worked as a portion of the glass broke.
It was a breath of relief when they finally escaped the building. Then they sprinted back to their cars that are parked outside while killing some walkers ahead.
Adelaide was in the RV, along with Glenn and the Grimes family when they noticed Dale and Andrea getting out of the building.
Ten seconds later, an explosion occurred. The CDC building is now on fire, and with that big explosion, Adelaide was not surprised when the walkers were drawn to it.
•─────⋅☾ 𝔭𝔥𝔬𝔢𝔫𝔶𝔵𝔳𝔦 ☽⋅─────•
rick and adelaide have a 10 years age difference. i followed rick’s age in the comics since on the tv show, his age wasn’t stated nor confirmed (u can correct me if i am wrong). then, shane was only ten when adelaide was born meaning, they have an eight-year gap.
in conclusion, my oc and her love interest are both adults. thank you very much.