I remember flashes of the previous night. I remember managing to get up from the table with Carol's help. I was rambling on and on about life before the apocalypse.

"You know, I didn't even drink! The world goes to shit so I do too! Isn't that some sick humor or whatever?" I breathed heavily, throwing out a drunken laugh.

"Come on, go to bed. Don't do anything you'll regret." Carol warns me, "Come on rookie." She helps me onto the sofa.

"When the world went to shit I had to jump onto my sister's balcony. Isn't that cool? I had a brother though, was visiting my parents." I suddenly burst into tears, "They're all dead now, because of me."

Carol sits next to me on the couch then, smoothing my hair back, "No sweetie, it wasn't your fault."

I lazily drape my head on her shoulder, "Then whose fault is it? Because it feels like mine. Crystal even said lets go back for them - but I was so selfish." I swear a few times, "So damn selfish."

Carol strokes my hair, "You did what was best."

"Am I a terrible person? Or am I good person that just does terrible things? Okay I don't get this - argh my head." I suddenly bitch, grabbing at my head, closing my eyes. "Argh has the world always been spinning?"

Carol stands up then, letting me fall against the couch, "Get some sleep. You'll feel better in the morning."

Damn was she wrong.

I woke up and I felt like if someone put a bullet in my brain I'd feel better than I did right now. I pulled myself out of the bed, pulling on a pair of tattered jeans, a white tank top, loosely buttoning up a flannel shirt over it. I stagger out of the room and see everyone eating breakfast.

"Well good morning!" Crystal chirps, "You were sleeping like the dead."

"I feel like the dead." I groan, "Please tell me you have some aspirin in this place."

Dr. Jenner looks up, "Top cabinet."

I make a small whiny noise as I realize I can't reach the top cabinet. Instead of asking for help, I just hop up onto the counter. Searching the top shelf for the aspirin, I finally find it and make a mental note to put these on a lower shelf.

I turn on the sink and fill up a glass cup with water. I quickly down the aspirin, tossing my head back.

"Brie, you didn't really try that hard when you buttoned that shirt this morning, did you?" Crystal suddenly asks. I realize that I missed most of the buttons in my struggle to get to the aspirin.

"Ah shit. Come on." I quickly unbutton the few buttons that managed to survive my hangover antics. I button the shirt back up, "Argh, there." I pull out a seat next to Crystal.

"I have to ask you a serious question." Crystal suddenly says in a low voice, leaning towards me.

I turn to her with an eyebrow raised, "Okay..."

"Did you sleep with Daryl?" She asks so quietly it's barely above a whisper.

My laughter is so hard I almost buckle over. "I wear flannel and you assume it's because I slept with Daryl?" I laugh harder and throw myself back in my chair. "Oh kiddo, you're really losing your touch." I pat her on the back, "Pass me the toast."

I hear Crystal's quiet sigh of relief.

"Where is he, anyways?" I ask.

Everyone shrugs.

"I'm going to take some aspirin to him." I say, pushing myself away from the table. I fill up a glass with water and grab some aspirin. Crystal eyes me the entire way as I walk out of the room.

I walk down to the room he's in. I can tell because it's reeking of alcohol. I knock on the door and a shirtless Daryl Dixon answers the door. I shall admit that it is an incredibly pleasing sight.

"Morning sunshine." I said, handing him the glass and aspirin, "Thought you'd need this."

"Argh, you're a god damn angel, you." He says, leaving the door open and walking back in the room. He leads me into the room with his hand, "If you have any cigarettes I'd consider marryin' ya."

I give him a little smile, running a hand through my hair. "I sort of have you to blame for my hangover."

Daryl eyes me, quirking an eyebrow, "You had fun though, didn't ya?"

"From what I can remember. Which is hardly anything." I say, folding my arms over my chest.

Daryl throws the aspirin into his mouth, drinking his water greedily, "I like you in flannel. Sexy."

"And this is the part where I leave." I say with light tease, smiling and turning to leave. He grabs me by the arm and pulls me back.

"Or this is the part where you stay..?" Daryl asks, a devilish glint in his eye.

I roll my eyes, leaning against the wall, "What kind of girl do you think I am?" Giving him a light shove. I walk through the small crack I created between us, "Better hurry, T-Dog is going to eat everything."

I sit back down next to Crystal and she's eyeing me again. "What is it now?" I ask, turning to her.

"What is going on with you and Daryl?"

The whole table seems to go quiet then, I raise an eyebrow at her.

"I've barely known the guy for a damn week." I say, biting into my toast, "What kind of slut do you think I am? The first semi-attractive guy I see I'm going to let him jump into my pants?"

The table has resumed the buzz of conversation. I roll my eyes and stab my eggs.

Carol sits down next to me, "I had fun last night, lets do that again sometime."

I look up at her as if she's crazy, "You mean dragging me around while I'm drunk is fun?"

Carol shrugs, "You're a pretty happy drunk, provided you're not talking about the apocalypse."

"What did I say?"

"You said a lot of stuff about your past, ex boyfriends, that nasty right hook." Carol grins, "At least we know you can fight off humans too. You almost punched Daryl last night."

"Daryl?"

Carol nodded, "Yeah, I had to tame you both. If I recall correctly, he called you a 'pretty little thing' then you proceeded to try and choke him out. Thank god Sophia was already in bed."

I roll my eyes, leaning back in my chair, stretching, "Sounds like me."

Dr. Jenner stands up, walking out of the room, "Come." He says, as if we're trained puppies rather than people. We do as he says though, as I get up, I see Daryl sneak out of the hallway, grab a piece of toast, wink at me. Then follow us.

We follow him through winding hallways until we end up in a room full of computers.

I lean on one of the high desks, Crystal standing beside me.

"What happens to someone after they're bit. Rick asked me about this last night. We had someone in here who was bitten and we documented their brain activity." Dr. Jenner calls out to his computer, "Vi, bring up test subject number 19."

On the screen is someone's brain, the lights all seem to fizzle out, until just one major organ is working, the stem. The stem controls the body.

"Only the stem is reactivated upon reanimation. All those lights you saw before? Those are what make you.. you. Those are your memories, your emotions, everything that makes you who you are. When you're reanimated, none of that stays." Dr. Jenner says.

I cling onto every word, my heart painfully squeezing.

Dale looks over to see a countdown clock, "What's with the clock?"

Dr. Jenner turns to look at the clock.

"It's counting down." Carol says, clutching Sophia a little closer.

Dr. Jenner remains silent, sighing.

"What the fuck does it mean?" I ask, suddenly breaking the silence.

"Vi." Dr. Jenner says in a small voice.

The animated voice speaks back to him, "It's counting down to when the generators in the basement will run out of fuel, prompting an explosion set to destroy the entire CDC."

Dr. Jenner sits down in his spinning chair, "It sets the air on fire." He presses a button and the doors close. Sophia starts crying and Carol clutches her closer. There are frantic shouts of, 'what are you doing?!'.

"You can't do this!" I shout, walking over to him. "You can't just seal us in here and choose for us!"

Dr. Jenner looks up at me, "It's a merciful way to go, won't even last a second."

I look over at Crystal, she looks panicked and terrified. Her bright blue eyes are begging me to do something.

Daryl starts kicking the door, hitting it with the axe repeatedly.

"That door is bulletproof, you'll never make it through." Dr. Jenner calls.

"Well your head ain't!" Daryl shouts, storming over to Dr. Jenner. Rick catches him halfway.

I grab one of the spinney chairs, sitting in front of Dr. Jenner, "Why on earth would you think we'd be okay with opting out?"

"You've lost so many people. I can see it. You've lost your entire family, your life essentially. Now you have to band with random strangers to prolong your inevitable death." Dr. Jenner says, an eerie air to his words.

"Here's the thing, doc." I say, leaning forward on my knees, "I'm not going to die, I won't let that happen. Why do you think we've been fighting for so long? Did you really think we came here wanting you to set our air on fire for us? Did you really think we said, 'hey lets go to the CDC and let those guys murder us'?"

"It's not murder." Dr. Jenner says defensively.

"Feels a hell of a lot like it. You're willing to kill two kids, women, and a bunch of men.. just to convince yourself you're saving us?" I lean back in the chair, "Sounds a lot like murder."

I push myself off the chair, the chair goes spiraling to the floor. "I hope you realize what a pathetic asshole you are. Just because you want to opt out doesn't mean we want to also." I storm over to Crystal.

"It's going to be okay." I whisper in a low voice, hugging her, though I'm certain we won't be.

Sophia won't stop crying.

It sets the air on fire. Is ringing through my head.