Chapter Seven:

Rick, Shane, T-Dog, and Glenn all headed down to the basement to investigate. Angelina was left with the rest of the group and Dr. Jenner.

She sat down in a chair at one of the computer stations and tried to relax. Andrea approached her and pulled a chair up next to her.

"Heard you and Shane arguing last night," She began, "You okay?"

Angelina nodded, "Yeah, it was nothing. We always fight."

"We heard thuds, he didn't hit you did he?"

"God no! Why does everyone think that?" Angelina said, alarmed.

"Well when you hear arguing and then a thud it's what you expect," Andrea shrugged, "If he didn't hit you, then what were all those thuds?"

Angelina blushed bright red, "Nothing…"

Andrea's mouth dropped open, "You dirty girl!" She smacked her arm playfully, "You're so lucky though—Shane is a fine piece of meat."

Angelina laughed, "He sure is. I'm going to go back to my room, relax for a little while."

"I'll see you later."

Standing on the bed and reaching up towards the air vent Angelina was expecting to feel a cool breeze. But she did not feel anything. The air conditioning had stopped. She walked into the bathroom and flipped the light switch on, no light. The power was out.

She opened the door to the hallway and it was dark and running on the fluorescent, emergency lighting. She saw Lori poke her head out of her door as well,

"Your air conditioning out?" Lori asked her.

"Yeah, I wonder what's going on."

"Guess we'll find out soon enough."

She pointed at Dr. Jenner who was walking down the hall. All the bedroom doors opened and Daryl swung his head out, a bottle of whiskey in his hand. Jenner took it and took a gulp.

"Why is the air out in our room?" Angelina asked.

"And the lights?"

"The power is being prioritized," Jenner said.

"Air isn't a priority?" Dale asked him.

"And lights?" Daryl added.

"It's not up to me," Jenner began, walking down the hall, the group now following him, "Zone five is shutting itself down."

"Hey!" Daryl grunted angrily, "What the hell does that mean?"

Jenner did not answer him.

"Hey man, I'm talking to you: What do you mean it's shutting itself down? How can a building do anything?"

Shane, Rick, Glenn, and T-Dog all ran out of the door leading down to the basement on the floor below them, they were all looking serious.

"Rick?" Lori called down to him; he put his hand up, telling her to give him a minute.

Jenner walked down the stairs, followed by the group and they met up with Rick and the second group.

"Jenner, what is going on?" Rick asked.

"It's shutting itself down. It's designed to keep the computers running until the last possible second. We're about to approach the half hour mark," He pointed to the clock on the wall, "We're right on schedule."

He stopped walking and handed Daryl back the bottle of whiskey, Daryl snatched it out of his hand.

He turned around and looked at Andrea, "It was the French."

"What?" She asked, confused.

"They were the last people. While our people were bolting up the doors and committing suicide in the halls, they stayed in the lab until the end."

"So what happened?" Jacqui asked.

"Same thing that's happening here. The power gird ran out of juice." He stepped up onto a platform holding the main computer. "The world runs on fossil fuel, I mean, how stupid is that?"

Shane cussed under his breath and began to go at Dr. Jenner but Rick caught his shirt and pulled him back.

"Everyone, get your stuff. We're getting out of here, now!" He shouted at the group.

As they turned to head out an alarm started blaring and they all froze,

"Doc, what's going on?" Rick yelled.

"You all heard Rick, go get your stuff!" Shane ordered the group.

Angelina was closest to the door and was the first one out. Surprised she did not hear other footsteps behind her she stopped, turned, and witnessed the door shutting. She ran back but it was to late. She slammed her fists against the door in a panic.

"No!" Shane roared, running to the door.

"Did you just lock us in?" Glenn gulped.

Shane banged on the door, trying hopelessly to get through to Angelina.

"Shane!" Angelina cried, "Open the god damn door!"

Shane spun around, "Open the door, now!"

"I'm sorry, I can't."

"You son of a bitch, you locked us in!" Daryl roared, running at Jenner with a whiskey bottle in his hand. Shane ran at Daryl and tackled him to the ground.

"Jenner, open that door." Rick ordered,

"I'm sorry, that's not something I control. I told you once the doors were closed there was no going back." Looking around at all of the terrified people he said, "It's better this way."

"What is?" Rick screamed, "What happens in twenty four minutes?"

"Do you know what this place is?" Screamed Jenner, "We protected the public from very nasty stuff!" He yelled right in Shane's face, Shane's jaw tightened, "Weaponized smallpox, things that could wipe out half the country, stuff you don't want, ever, getting out!"

Jenner sat down and straightened out his jacket, smoothed his hair, and took a deep breath.

"In the event of a terrorist attack, for example, HIT's are deployed to protect anything from getting out."

"What are HIT's?" Shane asked him, Shane was having trouble keeping his cool. Especially with Angelina pounding on the door, trying to get back in to him.

"Vie, define HIT's."

"High Impulse Thermafuel explosives that have two stage, aerosol ignition. They produce a greater explosion than any other explosive known to man. It ignites the oxygen to between 5000 and 6000 degrees."

"It sets the air on fire," Jenner mumbled, "no pain, an end to sorrow, fear, regret."

Daryl charged at the door and threw the bottle at it.

"Open the damn door!" He shouted and kicked the door, everyone could see Angelina's figure on the other side, pounding on the door, trying to get back in. She had no idea what was going to happen.

"Out of my way!" Shane yelled, charging at the door with an axe. He hit it over and over again but it was no use. Daryl came at it with his axe, but two axes' didn't do the trick. It was useless.

"Can't make a single god damn dent!" Shane yelled, panting. "Open the god damn door! There is a person on the other side!"

"She'll be fine out there."

Shane lifted the axe and came at Jenner, Rick, T-Dog, and Dale had to force him back. Giving up with trying to kill Jenner he went over to the door and sat down next to it. He knocked on it and asked if she could hear him. She said yes.

"So you know what's going to happen?" he asked her.

She choked out a yes, "I just wish it didn't have to be like this."

"I know, Angel, I know." Shane had to stay strong for her, "We'll get out of this."

"This isn't right, you can't just keep us here." Carol sobbed on the other side of the room. They were still trying to get Jenner to open the doors, but he would not budge.

"Shane," Angelina wiped her noes, "If we don't make it out of here I just wanted to let you know that I love you."

Shane smiled sadly, "I love you too, Angel."

"And that I'm really glad we met because I love you so much."

Shane smiled and stood up. He grabbed his gun and walked back over to Jenner, he cocked it where no one could see and then aimed it at Jenner's head.

"Shane?" Angelina called through the door, unaware that he had left.

"Shane!" Rick shouted.

Shane shoved him off, "Get outta my way! You open that door, now or I will blow your head off!" Shane growled at Jenner.

"Shane this is not how we do things, if he dies we all die. If he dies, Angelina dies." Rick whispered furiously, "And I know you don't want that."

Shane yelled in anger and fired five shots into a computer next to Jenner.

"Shane!" Angelina yelled through the door, pounding on it with her fists, "Shane what's going on!"

Rick grabbed the gun and they struggled, it ended with Shane on the ground and Rick standing over him. The end of the gun in his face,

"You done now? You done?"

"Yeah, I guess we all are." Shane spat back.

Angelina continued to pound on the door, "What's going on!" She shouted angrily, "Somebody fucking answer me, god dammit!"

Rick looked at the door where he could see Angelina pounding on it, and then he looked around at the group

"I think you're lying, about there being no hope."

"What?"

"If it were true, you would've taken the easy way out like the rest of them. You didn't, you chose the hard path, why?"

"It doesn't matter."

"It does matter, it always does. You stayed when others ran, why?" Rick repeated.

"Not because I wanted to, because I made a promise." Jenner stood up from his seat and was now taller than Rick.

"To her," He pointed at the big screen, "My wife."

"Test subject 19 was your wife." Lori breathed.

"She begged me to keep going as long as I could, how could I say no."

In the background Daryl and Shane were going at the door again with the axes'. Angelina on the other side, waiting for death's arms to welcome her.

"She was dying—it should've been me on that table." Jenner continued, "It would not have mattered to anyone. She, she was the greatest loss we could have. She owned this place, hell I just worked here! She was an Einstein in this field, me, I was just Edwin Jenner. She could've done something about this, not me."

"Your wife didn't have a choice, you do." Rick said softly, "That's all we want is a choice, a chance."

"Let us keep trying as long as we can," Lori pleaded with tearful eyes.

"I told you, topsides locked down, I can't open those." Jenner said, moving over to another computer, away from the one Shane shot up. He typed a code in on the computer and the door opened.

Shane grabbed Angelina and kissed her forehead quickly. They did not have a lot of time for hello's.

"C'mon, lets go! Hurry!" Everybody was shouting and screaming at each other. Angelina, Shane, and Daryl were at the front of the pack as they ran down the hall towards the front doors.

"Let's go Jacqui," T-Dog said as he ushered her out of the room.

"No, I'm staying."

"What?"

"I'm sorry," She said as she backed up into the room.

"I'm staying too," Andrea said.

"Andrea, don't do this. Amy wouldn't have wanted this." Dale said.

"Amy's gone Dale!" Andrea said tearfully.

"Hurry up you guys!" Glenn yelled, "Move your ass's!"

"Go on without us!" Dale shouted at Glenn and T-Dog.

Everyone ran down the hall, up a few flights of stairs and then into the main lobby. The sun streamed in and it was beautiful outside. Daryl and Shane tried to break the windows with the axes' and then they tried to shoot it but it was not working.

"Rick," Carol said, "I think I have something that might help." She was digging around in her purse.

"I don't think a nail file is really going to help," Shane said flatly.

Carol ignored him as she pulled out a grenade, "I found this while washing your clothes on the first day."

Rick's eyes widened as he took it in his hand. "Look out!" Rick yelled, "Everyone get down!"

Everyone got down and Shane laid of Angelina's body to protect her, Rick set the grenade down, pulled the notch, and ran for cover. Boom. The grenade exploded and created a huge hole in the window. Shane helped Angelina up and everyone ran out to the cars.

The front lawn was flooded with walkers, Shane handed Angelina a gun and told her to shoot. She fired at walker after walker, either hitting them in the head or in the neck. Daryl decapitated one of them and Shane and Rick shot a bunch in the head.

People filed into the RV, the truck, the van, and Shane and Angelina got into their jeep. Angelina spotted Dale and Andrea running out of the building,

"Look!" She pointed at them, "Run! Hurry!"

"Get down!" Shouted Rick out of the RV window, "Everyone get down!"

Shane and Angelina crawled under the dashboard and Shane draped his body over hers. He held her tight and they both waited.

This blast was much bigger than the blast of the grenade. First there was a horrible high-pitched noise, then a giant boom, and the sound of a collapsing building, and then a final boom and a crash. The air smelt of fire and smoke, the air was thick with ash and the dust of a building that was no more.

Shane looked over his shoulder and saw that the building was fully collapsed. Angelina sat up next and took Shane's hand in her own. Dale and Andrea ran to the RV and jumped inside. Shane kissed Angelina and whispered I love you; then they all drove away.

Unsure of where they were going and what they might find. They were just driving as far away from the city as possible. None of them planned on ever coming back.

A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short. Please review! I'm trying to reach at least 30 reviews. For now that is. Sorry it took so long to upload.