Jenner shook his head guiltily.
"The basement generators—they run out of fuel."
Rick slammed his palms down onto the table. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
"And then?" He asked, unsure he even wanted to know.
Jenner ignored the question and rushed out of the big room.
"VI, what happens when the power runs out?" Rick asked, hoping the virtual assistant might have some good news.
"When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur."
Rachel swore as she jumped to her feet and grabbed Emma, yanking her down the hallway and into the rec room.
"Pack your bags, now. And put Gidget in her bag" She barked, stuffing her own pack and grabbing her bag.
She picked up Kuzco and put him in his own carrier before she took the blankets and shook them out vigorously, making sure nothing was left behind. Emma's headphones skid across the tile and under the edge of the couch, forcing her to sink to her knees to reach them. Headphones in hand, she rose to her feet, her joints flaring in pain.
"Here," she said, thrusting the headphones into her sister's hands. "I'm getting too old to drop it low like this. I just can't pick it back up like I used to."
The two exit the room, pressing themselves against the side of the hallway as they watch several members of the group bolt down the stairs looking for the generators. They could see the lights automatically come on as soon as the men entered the basement, their voices growing fainter as they descended further into the depths of the building.
"Decontamination—what does that mean?" Glenn sputtered.
"I don't like the way Jenner clammed up." Shane confessed. "The way he just wandered off like that."
"What's wrong with him? Seriously, man. Is he nuts, medicated, what?"
Their voices petered out completely as the girls re-entered the computer room, the lights powered down completely, plunging everyone into darkness before partially coming back on. The frightened faces of Andrea, Jacqui, Carol, Sophia and the girls were lit up by the dim, red lights. Sophia clutched her doll's neck, her hands shaking wildly and nearly wringing it in fear.
"Emergency lighting is on." The automated voice informed.
Rachel sat with Emma on the ground, her sister having folded herself into her big sister's lap as Jenner sat at his desk in the adjoining office and looked at a photograph of a beautiful woman. He traced the outline of the woman's face as tears poured down his face.
"I did the best I could in the time that I had." He told the photo. "I hope you'd be proud of that."
He put the photo down and picked up his work badge, walking over to the windows.
"We always think there's gonna be more time..." He sighed and ran his hands down his face. "...then it runs out."
Jenner walked out the door, passing Dale and Lori in the hall as he made his way back to the computer room.
"Why is the air off?"
"And the lights in our room?"
The queries from Carol and Lori were ignored as Jenner continued on. Daryl stuck his head out of his own room, still holding a liquor bottle in his hand.
"What's going on? Why is everything turned off?"
Jenner ignored him as well and took the whiskey bottle away from Daryl without slowing down.
"Energy use is being prioritized." Jenner explained when he entered the computer room again. Daryl followed close on his heels.
"Air isn't a priority? And lights?"
Jenner clumsily drank straight from the bottle, dribbling some down his chin and belching. He swayed a bit as he stood, the alcohol clearly taking effect.
"It's not up to me." The doctor slurred. "Zone 5 is shutting itself down."
"Hey!" Daryl barreled towards the doctor. "Hey, what the hell does that mean?"
Jenner kept walking, seemingly oblivious to everyone following him.
"Hey, man, I'm talking to you." He grabbed Jenner by the shoulder, yanking him around to face him and finally answer a question. "What do you mean it's shutting itself down? How can a building do anything?"
"You'd be surprised." Jenner chuckled as Rick, T-Dog, Glenn and Shane came running to join them.
"Rick?"
Upon hearing her call for him, Rick motioned her to wait as Jenner continued down the stairs past Rick and the others and up the steps into the computer room.
"Jenner, what's happening?"
"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 took another drink from the bottle, already having drained over half of it. He paused at the steps that led up to the work stations in the computer room and was followed by the rest of the group as they gathered around him. Jenner finally handed the bottle back to Daryl who angrily snatched it out of Jenner's hand and turned to Andrea. "It was the French."
Andrea blinked in confusion. "W-what?" She stammered.
"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."
"What happened?" Jacqui implored.
"The same thing that's happening here." The doctor drunkenly insisted, gesturing wildly at the room around them. "No power grid. Ran out of juice. The world runs on fossil fuel. I mean, how stupid is that?"
Shane lunged at the man before being held back by Rick. "Let me tell you—"
"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!"
"Oh, Okay." Jacqui agreed, but her efforts to pack were half-hearted at best.
Several people in the group panicked when an alarm began blaring throughout the compound, echoing off the cement walls.
The computerized voice spoke again: "30 minutes to decontamination."
"Doc, what's going on here?" Daryl asked when the announcement suddenly sent Jenner into a flurry of activity.
The archer eyed the doctor wearily as the man sat down at one of the monitors and scanned his badge, entering a code into the security pad and steadfastly ignoring the string of commands flying around him. At first it's unclear what the purpose is of his computerized commands until Rick started running toward the main security door that was currently sliding up to block the only way back out of the CDC.
Jenner hits a few more keys on the keyboard. "We've hit the 30-minute window. I'm recording." His voice was oddly calm considering the fear taking place all around him.
Emma started rocking back and forth as the chaos exploded, trying her best to block out the plethora or noise sources. There was too much. It was all too much. People moved around her in a blur. Glass shattered, making her flinch. Gidget whined inside the carrier. She needed her. The gloriousness. She was perfect. Not like all the people running and shouting. Sometimes the voices rang through her headphones clear as day while others sounded like the adults in Charlie Brown.
"There's no point. Everything topside is locked down. The emergency exits are sealed." She heard the doctor say.
Did that mean they'd have to stay? She knew that meant something bad, but she didn't know what.
"...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. It's better this way."
What was better? She could feel Rachel going rigid behind her, even shouting in her ear. That couldn't be good. Rachie was a loudmouth. Her mouth got her in trouble more than anything else, but she usually only yelled for a good reason. She felt her sister waving her arms. That meant she was talking with her hands again. Emma pulled one side of her headphones off her ear, letting in the god-awful noise when she did. The doctor was screaming.
"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!"
The yelling stopped. Good. There was too much yelling going on.
"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."
There were so many words today she didn't understand. She pressed her hands over her face, trying to stop the headache pulsing over her right eyebrow. Synapses. Decontamination. H.I.T.'s. Smallpox. She knew that most of those were bad things, but they jumbled in her brain like alphabet soup.
"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 degrees and 6,000 degrees and is useful when the greatest loss of life and damage to structures is desired."
"It sets the air on fire. No pain. An end to sorrow, grief...regret. Everything."
Those were bad things, but he said them like they were good. Was he lying? She heard more glass shatter and she flinched when she felt drops of liquid hit her. She scrubbed her face with her sleeve. The wet stuff stunk. She didn't like it. She didn't like the pounding that joined the yelling even more. She glanced up and saw Fluffernutter hitting the metal door with an axe. Of course it would be him. She pushed her headphones back on fully to block it out and focused on her breathing just like Rachey taught her.
Rachel held her sister through her panic attack, trying to ignore the craziness going on around them. She couldn't believe this crazy nut was going to kill them. Who did that? He saved them by letting them into the building, only to go ahead and kill them now.
"You should've left well enough alone; it would have been so much easier."
She rolled her eyes at man's pleadings. It was ridiculous. How dare he blame them for this?
"Easier for who?" Lori screeched.
"All of you. You know what's out there. A short brutal life and an agonizing death." He nodded to Andrea. "Your—your sister—what was her name?"
"Amy." The blonde peeped.
"Amy. You know what this does. You've seen it. Is that what you really want for your wife and son?"
"I don't want this!" Rick yelled emphatically.
Shane kept swinging the axe against the door, making no headway. "Can't make a dent." He grunted, each word punctuated by a strike of the axe.
"Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher."
Daryl ran at the man swinging his axe like the hothead he was. "Well, your head ain't!"
Like every other time, he was restrained before he could finish the deed when Dale, Rick and Shane grabbed him.
"Whoa! Whoa!"
"Daryl! Daryl!"
T-Dog pounced on him, wrenching the axe away from Daryl.
Rick shoved Daryl back away from the doctor. "Just back up! Back up!"
"You do want this." Jenner pleaded. "Last night you said you knew it was just a matter of time before everybody you loved was dead."
Everyone is shocked by the revelation, especially Lori as she looked at her husband. Betrayal was clearly etched across her face as Jenner's statement registered.
Shane's brow was furrowed in fury as he looked at his friend. "What? You really said that? After all your big talk?"
Rick stared at his wife in desperation. "I had to keep hope alive, didn't I?"
Jenner's tone is listless as he continues: "There is no hope. There never was."
Rick shook his head. "There's always hope. Maybe it won't be you, maybe not here but somebody somewhere—"
"What part of "Everything is gone" do you not understand?" Andrea pandered.
Of course, she'd be the first person to jump on the bandwagon.
"Listen to your friend. She gets it. This is what takes us down. This is our extinction event."
"Bullshit."
Everyone's attention turned to Rachel and her crass remark.
"I disagree. One tiny moment—a millisecond. No pain. Wouldn't it be kinder, more compassionate just to hold your loved ones and wait for the clock to run down?"
"Of course not!" Rachel leapt to her feet, her ire piqued as she saw Jacqui nod in agreement to the man's words and stalked toward him. "There is nothing peaceful about watching those you love die, knowing every second you're with them is a second they're never going to have again. It's heart-wrenching and agony. You think because you lost your wife and decided to give up that you can make that decision for the rest of us? That's fucked up." She hears Carol sigh disapprovingly behind her but keeps going, poking Jenner in the chest. "It's murder, plain and simple."
"Alright, Rachel. That's enough." Rick said.
She turned her anger on the sheriff then. "And you. You're no better."
Rick gaped at the diminutive woman. "Excuse me?"
Her dog's snout poked out from the bag slung over her shoulder, nostrils flaring in and out in quick succession as he searched for his human mother. His paws caused the bag's fabric to bulge out as the animal clawed against it and shifted his weight, knocking the woman slightly off balance. Pinwheeling her arms for a moment, Rachel soon regained her balance and slipped her hand into the bag to start petting the squirming dog in an effort to calm him down. Even as small as she was and the moans of delight coming from the dog in her bag, Rick had to admit that she scared him a bit. Maybe it was all the metal in her face or the way she slicked her hair back away from her face as if to highlight the modifications, telling him she was no stranger to pain and had in fact welcomed it on several occasions. Perhaps it was the red light from the emergency power bulbs, casting the woman in an almost hellish light and making her look almost demonic as she came towards him.
"I put mine and my sister's life in your hands. You talk about promises of a cure, of finding a place where people are safe, dragging us all over the countryside while people go hungry and come to find out you don't even believe it yourself? That's a special kind of stupid if you ask me. My sister and I have practically been ostracized by this entire group since we got here. Dale's pretty much the only person here who's even bothered to show any kind of compassion towards us even though we have worked and lived and fought alongside all of you. We followed you here because you said there was hope here for us. We're human fucking beings, Rick. There might not be any law of the land anymore, sheriff," she crowed mockingly, chewing on the title like she wanted to mangle it. "...but there is still such a thing as human decency. Get some."
"A little help here, Daryl?" Rick asked, his throat bobbing as he gulped.
The redneck shrugged, offering no assistance. "Don't know what to tell you, man. At least she ain't yakking at me for once."
Suddenly Shane burst forward, breaking through the group brandishing his shotgun before leveling the barrel toward the doctor. There was a moment of hesitation when the barrel passed by Rachel and Shane paused, propelling Rick into action.
"Shane, no!" Rick shouted, pushing Rachel out of the way and towards her sister before lunging towards his friend to intercept him but Shane pushed him away.
"Out of the way, Rick! Stay out of my way!" He shoved the barrel into Jenner's cheek. "Open that door or I'm gonna blow your head off. Do you hear me?"
Carol and Sophia dropped to the ground, the former pulling her daughter into her lap, covering her eyes and ears to shield her from the imminent chaos. The little girl popped her thumb in her mouth and rocked in her mother's lap, yanking on the braids of her doll's hair while Rick continued to de-escalate Shane.
"Brother, brother, this is not the way you do this. We will never get out of here.
Lori shoved Carl behind her, wagging a disapproving finger in her former lover's direction.
"Shane, you listen to him."
Not a great move, Lori, Rachel thought. We don't antagonize the looney tunes.
"It's too late."
Rick stepped closer, putting his hand on the barrel of the shotgun to push it down. "He dies, we all—"
Shane jerked the shotgun back up at Jenner's face with his finger hovering over the trigger, screaming like a possessed man but he shifted his aim to a computer monitor at the last second and started shooting again and again, screaming as the screen shattered and the monitor exploded. He stopped only when the shot ran out of bullets and dropped the gun down at his side, breathing heavily.
"— we all die! Shane! Shane!"
Assuming Shane was through, Rick gripped the barrel of the gun, a renewed struggle ensuing as he fought to take the gun away from Shane. The two men grappled over the weapon. When Dale came forward to assist, Rick stopped him with a murderous glare. He then hit Shane across the head with the butt of the shotgun before throwing his elbow into Shane's shoulder. Shane grunted in pain and collapsed, spending the next few moments on the ground counting stars. Rick panted heavily as he stood over him, holding the butt of the shotgun behind him like a baseball bat, ready to hit him again to keep him down.
"Are you done now? Are you done?"
He wheezed, still holding the weapon high to show he was ready to beat him with the shotgun again if he had to.
"Yeah, I guess we all are." He muttered, glaring as the doctor continued to sit calmly.
The man had no right to be so calm. Since when was death something to welcome?
Rick handed the gun back to T-Dog and looked around the room. A sea of frightened faces floated in front of him. His son. His wife. Carol. Sophia. Shane. Even after everything Jenner had said they were all looking at him for answers. He paced, trying to calmly assess all that's happened. He stopped in front of the doctor, gripping the armrests of the chair as he crowded the man against the back.
"I think you're lying."
"What?"
"You're lying about no hope." Rick repeated. "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?"
Jenner shook his head, doubling down on his malaise.
"It doesn't matter."
"It does matter." He professed, pushing the man away and turning to his group. "It always matters."
As much as he hated to admit it, Rachel was right. He had failed the group. He'd failed his family. He'd lied to them. Given the current state of the world, it was hard to still think God existed among them. The dead were rising. A bitten child could die and reanimate, its only drive forcing it to hunt the very people who gave them life. Where was God now? This was hell. And yet, there was something inside Rick telling him not to give up. He turned back to face the doctor.
"You stayed when others ran. Why?"
"Not because I wanted to." Jenner blubbered. "I made a promise." He pointed at the decommissioned wall screen. "To her. My wife."
"Called it." Rachel quipped.
Lori squinted at the woman before turning her attention back towards Jenner. Again, she had been right. "So Rachel was right? Test subject 19 was your wife?"
"She begged me to keep going as long as I could. How could I say no?"
Daryl scoffed and picked up the axe again, unwilling to continue listening to the man wallowing in his pity party, slamming the blade against the door.
Jenner leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and threaded his fingers together. "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."
Rick knelt down in front of the man as he continued to plead their case. They were making headway, he was sure of it. Maybe, just maybe, they could still get out of here. But time was running out. The clock was quite literally ticking, counting down on the seconds they had left.
"Your wife didn't have a choice. You do. That's—that's all we want—a choice, a chance."
Lori came behind her husband and rested her hands on his shoulders, giving them a comforting rub. "Let us keep trying as long as we can."
Jenner sighed and stood up from the chair, holding onto the edge of the table as he stumbled back over to the security pad. Keying in the number sequence, he unlocked the door Daryl had been beating on.
"I told you topside's locked down. I can't open those."
Daryl wasted no time in grabbing up several of the bags and running toward the exit as soon as the metal door began crawling up, opening the way to their hopeful escape. "Come on!" He called to the others as he disappeared through the doorway. Several followed closely after him, except for Jacqui who simply sat down next to Jenner.
Rachel loaded herself and her sister up with the few belongings they had and were about to follow out the door as well when they saw Dale and Andrea making no move to leave.
"There's your chance, take it." Jenner stated.
Rick smiled. "I'm grateful."
"The day will come when you won't be."
Jenner then grabbed Rick by the forearm and pulled him close like he was giving him a hug, tilting his head slightly so he could whisper in his ear. Judging by the look that crossed Rick's face, Rachel was sure it wasn't anything good.
What could Jenner have possibly said to make Rick react like that?
Lori ran back, loaded down with their own bags and grabbed Rick's hand, pulling him away from Jenner and dragging him out behind her. Rick grasped the door jam, stopping their escape as he looked back at T-Dog who had also remained behind, his voice cracking with emotion as he pleaded with Jacqui to join him.
"Let's go. Let's go." He begged, trying to pull her out of the chair but she wouldn't budge.
"No no. I'm staying. I'm staying, sweetie."
"But that's insane!"
"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."
She stared directly into Rick's eyes as she said the last part, directing her command at him. She knew he wouldn't want to leave her behind. But she had made her choice. Finally, she was at peace.
"Dog, come on, man. Come on! Let's go! Let's go!" Shane shouted as he took T-Dog by the arm and led him up the ramp.
Dale gestured for Jacqui to come, too, but she shook her head and folded her arms tightly against her, turning her back. She didn't even give Dale an opening to try and persuade her. Desperation was splashed across his face as he looked over at Jenner, his eyes widening further when he saw Andrea next to him.
"I'm staying too."
"Andrea, no." He croaked.
Just like Jacqui had, Andrea turned her back and sat down on the ground.
"Dale!" Emma called, terrified she was about to lose the only person in the group who'd been remotely kind to her.
Dale glanced at the girls as if he'd only just realized they hadn't left.
"Just go!" He insisted, gesturing for them to leave with a frantic wave of his hands. "Go!"
Rachel swallowed the lump in her throat, but nodded and pulled her sister behind her as she ran out of the room.
"Come on, Emma!"
"We can't leave Dale here!" Emma cried as she smacked her fist against Rachel fingers which were circled around her wrist in an iron grip, fighting to break free of her sister's hold. "He'll die!"
Upon entering the lobby, Rachel spun around, holding both her sister's hands in hers and looked up into her face. Emma stubbornly stared over her sister's head, watching as T-Dog and Daryl ran at the doors, banging against them.
"Emmie, baby, look at me." Rachel framed Emma's face with her hands, tilting her face down to force her look at her. "Dale's going to be here soon, okay? But we can't wait. I have to get you out of here.
The rest of the group continued their assault against the front windows, pounding on the glass in an attempt to break through.
"Get them doors open!"
"Come on!"
"It doesn't work!"
"Wait a minute! Wait a minute."
Rachel glanced over to see T-Dog punching Jenner's key code into the electronic security pad beside the door.
"Try it! Try it! Try it now!"
Nothing happened. She turned back to Emma.
"You know I promised Momma I'd always take care of you, right?"
Emma nodded, sniffing as tears streamed down her face. Rachel gently brushed them away with the pads of her thumbs.
"And you wouldn't want me to break a promise I made to Momma, would you?"
Emma shook her head. She flinched when Daryl and Shane started swinging axes into the window but the military grade glass showed no signs of even cracking.
"It's you and me, Squirt. We're going to get out of here. You, me, Gidgie and Kuzco are going to get out of here and keep on keeping on like we always do, yeah."
"Yeah," Emma chirped, her voice tiny.
Rachel smiled. "Good girl. Now," she stood up and shouldered her bag again, grabbing up her bat. "Get out your slingshot. We need to be ready to run when the glass breaks."
Another clock like the one in the computer room rests above the windows, the neon numbers lit to show the countdown had progressed to 003:10.
Only three minutes left, Rachel thought. Would they really be able to escape? Jenner had said the windows were capable of withstanding the force of a rocket launcher. How were they going to doing anything anywhere near that force with just a few axes?
"Daryl, look out!" T-dog bellowed, yelling as he ran full force at the window with a chair.
The chair didn't work, bouncing harmlessly off the window and sending T-dog careening across the tile. Shane loaded his shotgun and pointed it at the window.
"Dog, get down! Get down!"
T-dog flattened himself against the tile as Shane fired a round at the glass. It barely made a dent, leaving only a small divot in the glass.
"Jesus." Shane breathed, shocked.
Sophia whimpered from her mother's arms. "The glass won't break?"
Carol's eyes brightened and she suddenly reached in her bag, hurrying towards Rick as she rummaged through its contents.
"Rick, I have something that might help."
Shane rolled his eyes dismissively. "Carol, I don't think a nail file's gonna do it."
"Now's not the time to be a chauvinistic dick, Shane. It's not like you've done much better."
Shane glared at her.
"Your first morning at camp, when I washed your uniform I found this in your pocket."
Carol explained as she pulled out the grenade Rick had picked up in the tank back in Atlanta. She placed the weapon gingerly in his hands before taking Sophia away and running toward the back of the lobby.
Rachel's mouth dropped open in shock. The woman couldn't be serious! The shock waves alone could kill them, let alone the blast itself.
"Come on." Sophia said, grabbing onto Emma as she and her mother ran by, pulling on the girl to follow.
Rachel groaned inwardly and followed. At this point, it was either be killed by thermobaric bombs or a grenade. She didn't like either of those options.
"Look out!" T-dog screeched.
He hunched over into himself, taking cover while Rick removed the pin and put the grenade on the window sill to rest directly against the glass. Terrified over what he's just done, Rick leapt back and vaulted over the lobby furniture to put as much distance between himself and the grenade as he could. He launched himself over the desk just as the air shook with the force of the grenade's explosion.
"Oh, Sh—"
Glass shattered, raining down and spilling across the floor. The grenade's blast radius hadn't extended very far. Only the window the grenade was directly up against had shattered, creating a hole big enough for them to escape through. Carl, Sophia and Emma are passed through the hole first, careful to avoid the jagged edges of the glass and setting them safely on the other side. Rachel handed her bag with Kuzco through the hole and was surprised when Daryl took it from her, waiting for her to slip through before handing the dog back.
"Thanks."
"Whatever." The man grunted, turning away to book it towards the vehicles as if he'd never helped her at all.
Walkers swarm across the parking lot and around the building, having been lured by the sound of the blast. Several stumbled directly into the group's path to the vehicles, their arms outstretched to snatch any unwitting survivors. The sound of growling and gunshots filled the air as the group trekked away from the CDC. Shane and Rick shot down several of the walkers in their path, leading the way through the carnage. Daryl took another's head off with a swing of his axe.
Removing the keys from his hip pocket, Rick threw open the door to the RV and climbed into the passenger, shoving the keys into the ignition and starting the engine. Rachel dove around the other side of the RV, pulling her sister to the ground with her. They pressed their backs against the hot metal side of the vehicle. Rachel pulled Kuzco out of his carrier and folded him into her chest. She buried her face into his fur, a small whimper escaping her throat when he tucked his little head into her neck. Fear filled her for a moment when she felt the RV's engine rumble against her back. They wouldn't leave them behind, right?
"Wait wait wait." She heard Lori say from above. "Wait wait. They're coming."
Rolling to the side, she chanced a peek back to see what Lori meant and was relieved when she saw Andrea and Dale jumping down out of the building. But would they be able to get far enough away before the building exploded?
"Come on!" Lori screamed. She honked the horn, motioning for the two to get down. "Dale, get down! Down!"
The RV rocked as Rick threw his family to the floor, covering them with his own body. "Get back! Everybody down! Down!"
Rachel wrapped her arms around Emma, still clutching Kuzco tightly. They could hear walkers stumbling closer, slapping the door of the RV as they tried to get to the family inside and hoped they wouldn't realize there was easier food just around the corner. Dale and Andrea took shelter as they dove behind the wall of sandbags stacked out by the guard shack. T-dog, Shane, everyone else ducked down in their vehicle. A huge fireball formed from inside the CDC building, steadily growing until it consumed the entire place. Intense heat blasts out from the windows, melting the glass and setting fire to everything around it. The heat wave blasted out, tipping the RV into the girl hiding on the other side. Rachel could feel the heat on her back, so hot it almost burned her. Pieces of the walkers that had been pounding on the RV flew over and under the vehicle, their decomposed tissue unable to handle the force of the blast. She shuddered when she saw the skull of a walker roll out from underneath the RV, its teeth spewing out from its mouth. It would be just their luck to be hit with walker shrapnel and get infected. The abandoned tanks, cars and trucks parked close to the building exploded as the bomb obliterated everything it touched. The explosion expanded until the roof disintegrated and the building imploded on itself, collapsing in a fiery heap.
The intense heat disappeared just as quickly as it appeared. Rachel crawled out from around the RV, stunned to see that the CDC had been reduced to rubble, the remnants consumed in a still burning inferno. Emma climbed to her feet as well, stepping closer to hold her sister's hand. Ash floats down from the air, coating the surrounding in a fluffy, white film, a stark contrast to the glowing orange flames that created them.
Glenn, Rick, Lori and Carl rose up from the R.V. floor and stared at the remains in silence. Dale and Andrea peered over the sandbag wall as T-Dog's shaking form rose from his own seat. Carol and Sophia watched the flames rise up from the Cherokee, crying while the smoke billowing up from the building painted the sky an inky black. Daryl exhaled as he looked around. He seemed surprised to have survived. Shane popped his head over the door as well, his fluffy hair flying in all directions from when he'd shoved himself down as deep in the car as possible. Everyone stared in shock at the destruction. Behind the sandbags Dale reached down to Andrea, pulling her to her feet.
"Come on. Come on."
Glenn opened the R.V. door, waving his hand as he called for everyone to get in.
Laying down with Emma on the bed at the back of the RV, Rachel released Kuzco from the death grip she'd had on him. He leaped across the bedding and stretched out his legs. He shook his head, wapping his floppy ears around his face. Emma released Gidget from her carrier as well, a small smile on her face as the dog pounced on the wrinkles of the bed. It was good to see a little bit of joy amidst all the trauma. The dogs began chasing each other around the bed, their teeth snapping playfully while tumbling over each other. Trying to escape the larger pup, Gidget bounced across the mattress. Her paw caught on the threads of the frayed comforter, however, and she tripped, her momentum sending her tiny body rolling off the mattress and down into the crack between the mattress and the back wall.
Emma squealed in concern as her precious baby tumbled over the edge. Looking back at her sister, it was obvious she'd be no help in retrieving the dog as she herself toppled over and off the bed, clutching her sides in laughter. She rolled her eyes and crawled across the mattress, laying down on her stomach to lean down and grab Gidget by the ribs. The retrieval was made more difficult when Gidget started thrashing in her grasp, unintentionally burrowing deeper into the crevasse. She finally pulled the writhing rat up from the crack and set her back in her lap. Rachel had not yet risen from the floor, still wheezing weak peals of laughter while Kuzco pounced his paws into her chest as he tried to save his seemingly tortured human.
The belly laughs slowly decreased, going from giggles to the eventual chuckle before stopping completely. Rachel wiped the tears from her eyes and crawled back onto the bed. She tried to pull Emma close to her but the girl kept herself stiff as a board, still clinging to her annoyance over Rachel laughing at her baby's distress instead of helping.
"Come on, Ems. You'd have laughed yourself sick if it had been Kuzco."
Emma continued to pout, refusing to be cheered.
She sighed. "What do I have to do to make it better?"
Emma whipped around, nearly clocking her sister in the face with her head and held the shaking dog out to her.
"Say you're sorry."
Rachel looked from Emma to the dog and back again, not believing her. The dog herself didn't seem to care either way, lifting the corner of her mouth in a smirk to reveal her bottom canines. Emma pushed the dog closer to her.
"You're actually serious?"
Emma nodded.
Letting out a dramatic sigh, Rachel took the shaking animal from her sister and held her in front of her.
"Gidget," she began in the most serious voice she could muster. "I apologize for not rescuing you from certain death and humbly ask for your forgiveness."
The dog launched herself at Rachel's face, slurping over her face in a series of drooly kisses. Now it was Emma's turn to cackle as her sister was attacked by the toothless dog.
Lori remained in the passenger seat in a stone-faced silence, speechless at the destruction and oblivious to the odd scene taking place at the back of the RV. Andrea sat on the couch and pulled her knees into her chest. Her back was rigid, her shoulders pulled up almost to her ears as she cried. She looked at Dale in absolute loathing. Dale looked back at her for a moment, but soon had to look away. Although she didn't share his belief, he felt sorry for her grief. He understood it well. He'd almost let the same grief consume him when his wife passed away. It had taken him a long time to heal. But he knew Andrea was strong. She might hate him right now, but he hoped she'd live long enough to understand.
Rick shifted the RV into gear and pulled onto the highway, once again leading the caravan of survivors back out into the unknown. He looked shaken, his mouth pinched tight in stress and grief. His expression frightened Lori as she looked over, creating cracks in her own composure. Seeing her fear, Rick took a few deep breaths to collect himself and concentrated on driving, his face a mask of determination. The five car train turned around and drove back up the same road they'd come down on.
Behind them, the burning building of the CDC continued to send a column of black smoke high up into the Atlanta sky. Rick hoped that like the darkness of the smoke, they could leave the grief and sadness behind and find hope in the clear skies stretching out before them into infinity.