The silence scared Nicole because it left her alone with her thoughts. It left her alone with the truth. After walking Lori back to her room and making sure she was all right, Nicole wandered back to the Rec room. She saw the pool table where that assault almost took place. The room was silent and dark. There were small lights that illuminated from the edges of the bookshelves. But other than that, it was darkness.
Nicole's knees quivered as she entered the room. Horrible memories flooded her with tears. She remembered his hands groping her. She remembered how his huge hand blocked her mouth as he forced himself into her. She remembered the unexplainable pain she experienced as her bareback scraped across the rough brick. She remembered her pleas and cries. She remembered how no one helped her. She remembered as he left her there broken and half-naked. She remembered going home to her husband. She remembered begging him for an extra fix. She remembered the beating she received for suggesting it.
Her knees crumbled underneath her as she bawled. Nicole pulled her knees up to her chest and rocked. She couldn't find the strength to move. She got trapped in the same memory. Replaying over and over.
As the night passed, Nicole passed out on the floor. Tears stained her cheeks and the floor. Nicole's legs were crisscrossed and her top was bent over. She was basically sleeping in half.
It was past midnight and Daryl wanted another bottle of whatever he could find. He wanted to escape this shitty reality for a night. He wanted to get hammered. Daryl walked down the hallway, heading for the kitchen. He passed the Rec room, almost missing the folded girl.
"Nicole?" he whispered. Daryl was almost surprised when he didn't hear her answer back. Daryl walked over tapping on her shoulder. She grumbled but still stayed in her crunched position. "Yer not wakin' up anytime soon, are ya?" he asked.
Nicole grumbled again. Daryl sighed and grabbed her arm. He swung it around his shoulder and scooped her up. He hoped to go that no one saw him doing this. He knew that it wasn't a secret that she was the only person he was close to in the camp. He knew it wasn't a secret that she, in her own sarcastic way, kept him grounded. He knew that it wasn't a secret that he cared for her and that little girl. He just hoped that this wasn't as soppy as he felt like it was.
Daryl cradled the clean woman. His right hand curled gently around her bare thigh and his left cradling her head. Nicole's arms wrapped around his neck while soft snores escaped her mouth. Daryl could smell the alcohol reeking off of her. He doubted it was any less for him.
The redneck opened the door and saw the makeshift beds she had made. Daryl made his way over to the couch, laying her down. He covered her up with a blanket.
Daryl lingered for a moment. He watched her shallow breaths and how her arms and legs curled at her chest. He wanted to laugh at her fetal position, but he couldn't. She looked so peaceful and he was happy for her. Daryl didn't know a lot about her, despite people thinking the opposite.
Nicole was a reserved person. She never gave more information than needed. She never let down her guard and she didn't cry out her sorrows every spare second. Daryl had figured this out after weeks on the road with her. He had pieced together some of her past based off of things he noticed and the small things she told him.
With a sigh, Daryl turned to walk back into his room. As he took a step, a hand shot up and stopped him. He looked back to the sleeping girl. Her eyes were still shut, but she held his wrist. "Please, stay…" she murmured. "Please don't leave me alone."
"I won't," he uttered. Daryl kicked off his shoes and slid off his pants. He lowered himself onto the makeshift bed on the floor and pulled the blanket over him. His blue eyes gazed over to the sleeping woman before he turned and shut his eyes.
Morning came and Nicole woke up regretting her choices the night prior. Her head pounded almost worse than her concussion did. She turned toward the ceiling, putting her hand on her head. "Jesus," she uttered, closing her eyes.
Nicole removed her hand from over her eyes. She saw the dark bruises across her knuckles. She squinted at them for a minute before she remembered the reason why. Her mind instant flooded with questions. Is Lori okay? Does Shane have a black eye? I hope he has a black eye. Did Lori tell Rick?
She deeply inhaled and sat up. Nicole turned to exit the couch but paused when she saw Daryl Dixon laying next to her. Nicole felt her face blush as she remembered the thoughts from her shower. She felt her heart pick up slightly when she looked at his sleeping face.
"Shit," Nicole whispered to herself before getting up. She walked over to her backpack and pulled out her clean set of jeans. Nicole shimmied them on and slipped on her tennis shoes. Nicole then snuck out of the room before the man could wake up.
She made her way toward the kitchen. She walked in, seeing T making some breakfast and Lori sitting alone. "Morning," Nicole announced her presence.
"Hey, Nikki. You want something to eat?" T questioned as he flipped some bacon.
"Yes, please. Thanks, T," Nicole said as she bent down beside her best friend. She placed a gentle hand on her arm to let her know she was here. Lori peered down at her. Both of their eyes were bloodshot. "You okay?"
Lori shook her head. "No."
"He comes near you again, Lori. You let me know," Nicole told her. Lori just nodded.
T-Dog put started walking over with Nicole's plate of food and set it down. "Bon Appetit."
Nicole thanked him again and sat down. She began to eat her food when Dale and Andrea came in. T offered them food, they accepted. Then Carl came into the room and jumped in a chair beside his mother. T-Dog placed plates in front of everyone and they all started talking.
"Nicole, what happened to your hand?" Andrea asked concerned as she took a bite out of her bacon. Nicole looked at her, shocked. She didn't think Andrea would try to be concerned about her.
"Let's just said, I'm an angry drunk," Nicole lied with a smile. "I punched a door because I ran into it."
Dale and Andrea laughed. Dr. Jenner walked in with a bottle of aspirin. "I figured you all would need these," he said, handing the bottle to Lori and walked away.
Lori opened the bottle and took some out. "Why do you need aspirin?" Carl asked as his mother passed the bottle to Nicole.
"We're hungover. That's what happens when you drink too much," Nicole explained, "never do it." Nicole pulled out three pills and threw them in her mouth. She downed it with some water. After offering it to the other, she gave it back to Lori.
"Is Dad hung over?" Carl questioned again, taking a bite out of his bacon.
"Yeah. He is," Lori told her son. Glenn made his way into the kitchen sitting down, groaning.
Nicole laughed, "Hey, T. Make this poor boy some eggs."
"You got it! Chef Douglas' egg special coming right up," T-Dog responded from the actual kitchen.
"How're you feelin', peach?" Nicole chuckled, taking a drink of water.
"I feel horrible," he complained, holding his head. "Please don't be so loud,"
Nicole held this smirk on her face as she watched her friend groan. "Next time, don't let Daryl push you,"
Glenn looked up and glared at her. "He-- nevermind," Glenn groaned, placing his head in his hands.
Nicole heard footsteps and looked up to see Rick walking in. "Morning," he greeted.
"Are you hungover?" Carl immediately blurted out. "Mom said you'd be."
Nicole noticed as more people began to flood in. Carol, Sophia, Cheyanne, and Jacqui all walked in. Chey made her way over to her mom while Jacqui walked over to Glenn.
"Mom is right," Rick agreed with his wife.
"Mom has that annoying habit," She smirked over.
Chey hugged her mom and jumped into the seat next to her. "You okay, Mama?" she asked. Cheyanne noticed the bags under her mother's eyes and the bloodshot in them. She also noticed her hand.
"I'm fine, love. Just hungover," Nicole responded, giving her daughter a strip of her bacon. "Never get drunk."
"Eggs! Powdered, but -- I do 'em good," T-Dog announced as he walked out of the kitchen. Glenn groaned from the sudden loud noise. "I bet you can't tell." T started scraping some eggs onto everyone's plates. "Protein helps the hangover," he told Glenn.
Glenn groaned, "Don't ever ever ever let me drink again."
"No promises," Nicole chuckled. Glenn glared at her before trying to eat his eggs.
Nicole watched as Shane walked in. She tensed and looked to Lori. Her best friend's demeanor shifted to closed and reserved. She refused to look up from her bacon.
"You feel as bad as I do?" Rick asked as he drank some orange juice.
"Worse,"
Shane turned around. "The hell happened to you?" T-Dog asked. "Your eye?"
"I fell off the couch in my sleep," Shane said as he sat down.
"Never seen you do that before," Rick spoke up, looking at his partner.
"Me neither," Shane said, "not like me at all." He glanced over to both Nicole and Lori. Lori avoided eye contact. Nicole rolled her eyes.
"Morning," Dr. Jenner said as he walked in. Everyone greeted him.
"Doctor, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing--" Dale began. Nicole watched as Daryl walked into the room.
"But you will anyway,"
"We didn't come here for the eggs," Andrea told him. Nicole rolled her eyes at how rude they were. This man is literally giving them free food, shelter and showers. Nicole held her tongue. No one wanted to hear Andrea and her bicker first thing.
Daryl walked around to where Nicole and Cheyanne sat. T-Dog handed him a plate and he sat down next to Nicole. She tensed because he got so close.
"After breakfast, I'll answer your questions," Dr. Jenner said, "but only after."
Dale and Andrea nodded. Everyone started to eat their breakfast. Small talk erupted on occasion but that was it. Everyone was so tired from the long night of partying.
"Everyone done?" Dr. Jenner asked. Most everyone nodded. The rest shoveled it in and got ready to go. "Follow me."
The group followed the Doctor into the big room. Cheyanne and Nicole held hands as they walked up the stairs. Dr. Jenner walked over to a keypad and swiped his key card. "Give me a playback of TS-19."
"Playback of TS-19."
The big screen lit up with blue. Nicole raked her hands through her clean blonde hair. Cheyanne watched in awe.
"Few people ever got a chance to see this," Jenner told the group. "Very few."
Nicole watched as the computer layered the person it automated. "Is that a brain?" Carl suddenly asked.
"An extraordinary one," Jenner replied. "Not that it matters in the end."
Daryl appeared beside Nicole. He placed his hands on his hips as he watched the screen. "Take us in through the EIV," Jenner told Vi.
"Enhanced Internal View,"
The EIV showed these a ray of blue and greenish lines leading to the brain. The person who laid there, just allowed this to happen. The EIV entered one of those lines. There were interconnected strings upon strings inside. They lit up as they sent signals to each other.
"What are those lights?" Shane asked.
"It's a person's life -- experiences, memories. It's everything. Somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those ripples of light is you--" Jenner explained. "The thing that makes you unique and human."
Daryl leaned against the desk behind Nicole. "You don't make sense ever?"
Dr. Jenner continued, "Those are synapses, electric impulses in the brain that carry all the messages. They determine everything a person says, does or thinks from the moment of birth to the moment of death."
Nicole peered down to her fascinated daughter. Rick suddenly stepped forward, "Death? That's what this is, a vigil?'
"Yes," Jenn muttered. "Or rather the playback of the vigil."
"This person died? Who?" Andrea asked as she stepped forward.
"Test Subject 19. Someone who was bitten and infected…" Jenner paused as he admired the screen. Nicole got the feeling that he knew and loved this person. "And volunteered to have us record the process."
"Vi, scan forward to the first event," he told the computer.
It repeated his command and the screen zoomed out. Nicole noticed how black veins seeped into the blue and green lights. "What is that?" Nicole and Glenn questioned almost in tandem.
"It invades the brain like meningitis." The person started to struggle with breath. "The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shut down, then the major organs," Jenner explained. The person's brain turned completely black. "Then death."
"Everything you ever were or ever will be gone." Nicole saw Andrea lower her head in sadness.
"Is that what happened to Jim?" Sophia asked her mother.
"Yes," Carol replied.
Andrea teared up. Dr. Jenner gave her a curious look. "She lost somebody two days ago," Lori told him. "Her sister."
"I lost somebody too. I know how devastating it is," Jenner tried to soothe her. "Scan to the second event."
"Scanning to Second Event,"
As the screen sped forward, Dr. Jenner began talking. "The resurrection times vary wildly. We have reports of it happening in as little as three minutes. The longest we heard of was eight hours."
Nicole stepped forward as she watched the screen. She subconsciously picked at her nails. For some reason, this made her nervous.
"In the case of this patient, it was two hours, one minute, seven seconds," Jenner said. The way he described the time -- the emotion in his voice -- confirmed to Nicole that he knew this patient personally. She felt bad for the man.
Nicole watched as a small, pink light erupted from the brainstem of the dead person. "So this thing restarts the brain?" Nicole asked, running her hands through Cheyanne's hair.
"No, just the brain stem. Basically, it gets them up and moving," Jenner answered her.
Nicole watched as the light spread slightly up the brain. "So they're not alive?" Rick asked, marching forward to the Doctor.
"You tell me." Jenner maneuvered out of Rick's way, so he could see.
"It's nothing like before," Rick said. "Most of that brain is dark."
"Dark, lifeless, dead." Jenner looked over to the man and the back to the screen. "The frontal lobe, the neocortex, the human part -- that doesn't come back. The you part."
"Just a shell. Driven by mindless instinct," Jenner continued.
Nicole watched something enter the right side of the screen and then something ripped through the skull of the newly turned walker. Nicole knew what it was -- a gun and a bullet. She heard Carol ask what that was.
"He shot them. Put them down," Nicole responded to her.
"Vi, power down the main screen and work stations." Jenner started walking away.
Vi did as it was told. Nicole walked back over toward Daryl. He leaned against one of the work stations with his arms crossed. "You have no idea what it is, do you?" Andrea asked. Nicole honestly kinda thought that the way she said it was bitchy, but she understood. She was thinking about Amy.
"It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal." Jenner listed. He didn't know what it was. Even if he had an inkling, how could he be sure all by himself in the huge place?
"Or that wrath of God?" Jacqui asked in full-fledged seriousness.
"There is that," Jenner uttered.
Nicole sighed. With this new information, she realized that there was most likely no way back from this world. She wanted to have hope for Cheyanne, for her friends. But, this news almost shredded any hope for a cure or for things to go back to the way things used to be.
Andrea started to ask about other places who would be searching for a cure. Carol asked about the other facilities. Jenner replied, "There may be some. People like me."
"But you don't know? How can you not know?" Rick asked in a frustrated tone of voice.
"Everything went down. Communications, directives -- all of it. I've been in the dark for almost a month," Jenner explained.
"So it's not just here. There's nothing left anywhere? Nothing?" Andrea asked. "That's what you're really saying, right?"
When Jenner didn't answer, Andrea scoffed. Nicole's eyes filled with salty tears. She knew there was nothing left anymore. "Man, I'm gonna get shitfaced drunk again," Daryl groaned as he rubbed his temples.
"Me too," Nicole uttered and looked down her little girl. Chey had tears streaming down her face. Nicole wiped them away.
"Dr. Jenner, I know this has been taxing for you," Dale began talking. Nicole watched as he walked forward, watching the wall. "And I hate to ask one more question, but--" Nicole turned to see what he was staring at. "That clock -- it's counting down. What happens at zero?"
Nicole paused for a moment. She mentally smacked herself for not noticing it any sooner.
"The basement generators-- they run out of fuel," Jenner responded and began to walk off.
"Hey! What happens then?!" Nicole yelled at the man. He didn't respond and kept walking. "Vi, what happens when the power runs out?" She asked the computer.
"When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur."
"Shane, Glenn, T-- come with me. The rest of you go to the rooms," Rick commanded before they raced off to try and find the basement.
Nicole ushered Cheyanne as the rest of the group started to head back to their rooms. Everyone started to question what the hell decontamination meant. Nicole and Cheyanne went into their room. "Chey, I want you to pack up your backpack, okay?" Nicole told her little girl.
"I'll be right back," Nicole said as she grabbed her backpack and headed out the door. She made her way toward the rec room. She knew that this was not one anyone's priority list. But it was on her's. Nicole marched in and made her way over to the bookshelf. She shoved in four or five books. She didn't pay attention to what they were. When she turned, she saw her book from the night before. Nicole grabbed it and shoved it inside her bag as well.
Nicole zipped up her bag and swung it onto her shoulders. It was heavier than before, but it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. Nicole made her way back to her room. Then a surge of electricity went through the halls. The lights went out.
"What the hell?" Nicole questioned. She turned around and saw the others coming out of their rooms.
"Mama, what's happening?" Cheyanne asked as she poked her head out of the room.
"C'mere, baby." Nicole grabbed her little girl. Lori and Carol began questioning the Doctor as he passed by. Nicole slipped off her backpack and left it beside the door. "Hey!"
Daryl poked is head out of his room asking the same thing as everyone else. Dr. Jenner grabbed the wine from his hand. "Energy use is being prioritized," Jenner finally responded.
"Air isn't a priority? And lights?" Dale asked. His face filled with worry and fear. Nicole wanted to scoff and say that the lights weren't. They hadn't lived with them for months, but she concluded that now was not the time to be snarky.
Jenner took a swig of the alcohol and then responded, "It's not up to me. Zone Five is shutting itself down." He kept on walking. The group followed after the doctor.
"Hey! Hey, what the hell does that mean?" Daryl called as he charged after the doctor.
"Hey! He's talking to you!" Nicole yelled as she got followed close to Daryl.
"What the hell do you mean it's shutting itself down?" Daryl was obviously getting pissed. Hell, so was Nicole. "How can a building do anything?"
"You'd be surprised," Jenner simply responded as he continued to march into the big room.
The group followed in suit. Nicole and Cheyanne were hand in hand; Daryl walked right beside them. Rick turned the corner and demanded to know what was happening. "The system is dropping all the nonessential uses of power," Jenner began telling him. "It's designed to keep the computers running to the last possible second. That started as we approached the half-hour mark." He pointed to the clock, "Right on schedule."
Jenner gulped another drink of wine before handing it to Daryl. He grabbed it, angerly. It splashed right next to Nicole's feet. Jenner turned to Andrea. "It was the French," Jenner said before turning to start walking up the stairs. "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 until the end."
"They thought they were close to a solution," He finished and started to up the stairs.
"What happened?" Jacqui questioned.
"Same thing that's happening here. No power grid. Ran out of juice," He answered and then pointed toward the computers. "The world runs on fossil fuel. I mean, how stupid is that?" He asked rhetorically before walking off.
Shane began storming up, but Rick stopped him. "Lori, grab out things. Everybody, grab your stuff. We're getting out of here now!" Rick yelled. Everyone began turning around. Daryl nudged Nicole's back, and then an alarm went off.
"Mama? What is that?" Chey cried out.
"I don't know, baby," Nicole said. She saw the big screen jump on and a timer appears on it.
"Thirty minutes until decontamination,"
"What the hell is going on?!" Nicole yelled.
Jenner walked over to something. Nicole couldn't see it. "Everybody, Y'all heard Rick. Get your stuff and let's go! Go now! Go!" Shane commanded. Nicole immediately grabbed Cheyanne's arm and started for the door.
But then it shut.
"He just locked us in!" Glenn yelled. Cheyanne instantly began crying in fear. Nicole could feel her nerves start to shake. Anger and fear flooded her. Overwhelmed her. She wanted to shut down.
Everyone ran to the deck where Rick and Shane stood. Daryl went over to Nicole. He saw the fear in her eyes. He saw the fear in her little girl's. He turned around and charged, "You son of a bitch."
"Shane!"
"You locked us in here!" Daryl yelled, grabbing the doctor's chair. Shane grabbed Daryl pulling him away. T-Dog blocked the doctor.
"Jenner, open that door now." Rick marched over to the man.
"There's no point. Everything topside is locked down. The emergency exits are sealed," Jenner said.
"Well then unseal the goddamn things!" Nicole yelled. Her voice filled with tears and fear. She didn't want to die. A long time ago, sure. But now she had something to fight for. Nicole wanted her daughter safe. All of these people, safe. She wanted her family safe.
"That's 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," Jenner lectured as he pointed his finger toward the group.
"We didn't think that you meant this! We don't want to die in here!" Nicole shouted at the man.
"It's better this way," Jenner said. He had no concern that he was about to kill thirteen people.
"What is?" Rick asked. "What happens in 28 minutes?"
Jenner turned away from Rick. Shane kicked his chair and Rick repeated his question. This time, however, he yelled it.
"You know what this place it?!" Jenner snapped as he stood up. "We protected the public from very nasty stuff!" He started getting into people's faces. Nicole only hoped that he would get in her's, so she could punch him. "Weaponized smallpox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half the country! Stuff you don't want getting out! Ever!"
Nicole stood still. She questioned why the hell she brought her daughter in here. Jenner sat back down. "In the event of a catastrophic power failure-- in a terrorist attack, for example -- HIT's are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out."
"HIT's?"
"Vi, define," Jenner said.
"HIT's -- high-impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosives,"
Nicole slid down one of the desks and cradled her little girl. She began bawling while holding her daughter close. Cheyanne started to cry into her mother's shoulders.
"Consist of a two-stage aerosol ignition that produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other know explosive except nuclear,"
Everyone began holding their loved ones. Daryl walked over and stood beside Nicole. He wiped his face as he watched them bawl.
"The vacuum-pressure effect ignites the oxygen at between 5,000 and 6,000 and is useful when the greatest loss of life and damage to the structure is desired."
"It sets the air on fire," Jenner muttered. Nicole peered up at him. Streams of tears ran down her face as she stared at the man. "No pain. An end to sorrow, grief…" Nicole buried her face into Cheyanne shoulder again. "Regret."
Nicole wanted to scream. She wanted to punch the living daylight out of this man. She wanted everything that was happening to end.
"Everything."
Daryl crouched down to Nicole and Cheyanne. "I'm getting ya outta here," he angrily muttered.
"Daryl, you can't promise that," Nicole whispered, glancing up to the redneck.
"Well, I am." He got up and stormed over to the door. Rick and Shane followed him. They tried to push it open. When that didn't work, Daryl threw his alcohol at the door. "Open the damn door!"
Shane spotted a fire hazard ax on the wall. He went over and started to beat on the door with it. T-Dog tossed another ax to Daryl, who joined Shane in beating on it.
"Please don't do this," Nicole pleaded to the Doctor. "You can't do this."
"You should've left well enough alone," Jenner responded. "It would've been so much easier."
"Easier for you! Not us!" Nicole cried. Cheyanne wiped her tears off her face but buried it back into her mother's after.
"You know what's out there -- a short, brutal life and an agonizing death," Jenner tried to persuade. Jenner turned to Andrea and started talking about how Amy died brutally. Andrea knew this first hand.
"Do not try and manipulate Andrea by bringing her sister into this!" Nicole shouted. "Stop trying to make it seem okay! It's not! You are going to murder us!" Nicole felt tears slip from her eyes. "God is going to damn you to hell for doing this!"
"Is that really what you want for your wife? You all's children?" Jenner asked Rick and Nicole.
"We don't want this," Rick emphasized.
Shane came over and leaned against a desk. "Can't make a dent," he panted.
"Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher," Jenner stated matter-of-factly. Nicole didn't hear any scraping and looked over. She saw Daryl marching over.
"Well, your head ain't!" Daryl charged, trying to bury his ax into Jenner's head. Nicole shielded Cheyanne from the sight.
The men managed to push him away and disarm him. "You do want this. Last night you said you knew it was just a matter of time before everybody you loved was dead," Jenner retold.
Nicole glanced up at her friend -- their leader. "What?" she murmured in shock.
"What? You really said that?" Shane asked. "After all your big talk?"
"I had to keep hope alive, didn't I?" Rick asked rhetorically.
"There is no hope. There never was," Jenner spoke. His voice was starting to get on Nicole's nerves.
"There is always hope." Rick paced forward. "Maybe it won't be you, maybe not here, but somebody somewhere--"
"What part of 'everything is gone' do you not understand?" Andrea snapped.
"Listen to your friend. She gets it. This is what takes us down. This is our extinction event," Jenner said.
"It's not extinction if we are still here, asshole. We are alive," Nicole spat out. "We aren't dead. There more people out there, there has to be."
"This isn't right," Carol cried. "You can't just keep us here."
"One tiny moment-- a millisecond. No pain."
"My daughter doesn't deserve to die like this!" Carol cried.
Nicole watched as Shane stormed off. Carol got up and walked away as well. "Wouldn't it be kinder, more compassionate to just hold your loved ones and wait for the clock to run down?"
Nicole's head shot up when she heard a gun cock. She tensed as Shane stormed over and aimed it at Jenner's head. Nicole scrambled up and moved out of the way. Rick tried to convince him. Shane started to scream. And then shots fired.
Nicole ducked and cradled her daughter's body with her own. Shots continued to fire then they stopped. Nicole stood back up and saw Rick standing over Shane. Threatening him with his own gun.
Everyone stood silent as Shane recovered. Nicole saw Daryl pace as he weighed his options. Stand here or beat the door. She knew that that door wasn't going to budge. They were going to die here.
"I think you're lying," Rick stated as he turned back around. Jenner perked up and stared at him. "You're lying about no hope. If that were true, you would've bolted with the rest or taken the easy way out. You didn't," Rick panted. "You chose the hard path. Why?"
"It doesn't matter," Jenner uttered.
"It does matter. It always matters. You stayed while others ran. Why?" Rick asked again. Nicole watched the doctor carefully. His demeanor shifted.
"Not because I wanted to. I made a promise…" Jenner stood up. "To her." he pointed to the screen. "My wife."
"Test Subject 19 was your wife?" Nicole questioned. Everything clicked in her head.
"She begged me to keep going as long as I could," Jenner explained. "How could I say no?"
Nicole flinched when she heard Daryl banging at the door again.
"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." Jenner teared up. "Me? I'm just Edwin Jenner. She could've done something about this. Not me."
"Dr. Jenner, she didn't have a choice. You do," Nicole spoke up, walking up to the two men. "Your wife would want us to have this choice. She would want us to have a chance."
Nicole glanced back to her little girl, who nervously held her arms across her chest. "Please."
"Let us keep trying for as long as we can," Lori pleaded. Dr. Jenner sighed and Nicole motioned for Cheyanne to come over. She ran over and engulfed her mother's legs.
"I told you topside's locked down. I can't open those," Jenner said before walking over to a small keypad. He scanned his ID and typed in a number.
The door came down. "Nicole, come on!" Daryl yelled. Everyone began making a b-line toward the door. Cheyanne ran toward the door with Lori. Nicole was honestly shocked that he opened the doors.
"There's your chance. Take it," Jenner told the two. Nicole looked over to him.
"We're grateful," Rick spoke on both of their behalves.
"The day will come where you won't be," he told them. Jenner pulled the two closer and whispered, "No matter how you die. Everybody turns."
Nicole was taken aback. She looked at Rick with shock. "Nicole! What the hell?! Come on!" Daryl's voice yelled. Nicole and Rick met each other's eyes. They stumbled forward as Lori ran up and grabbed both of their hands.
"We've got four minutes left! Come on!" Glenn yelled.
Nicole stumbled up the ramp and met with Cheyanne. She instantly pulled her into a hug. Jacqui and T-Dog were yelling. T was trying to convince her to come with them but she decided she was going to stay.
"There is no point in trying to argue. Not if you want to get out," Jacqui pleaded. "Get out." Shane went forward and pulled T up the ramp.
Daryl grabbed Nicole's hand and began pulling her away from the door. They paused when Dale wasn't coming.
"I'm staying too," Nicole heard Andrea's voice.
"Andrea, no," Dale pleaded. When she didn't listen, Dale turned to the group. "Just go! Go!"
Everyone scrambled and ran into their rooms. They grabbed their things and started running again. Daryl took off with Nicole's hand. Nicole held tightly onto Cheyanne's as they began running up the stairs. They ran up three flights before reaching the top. Daryl let go of Nicole's hand and ran forward toward the doors.
The men were yelling at each other to get the doors open. The doors weren't budging. Nicole walked beside Carol and Sophia. Rick tossed an ax to Daryl and him and Shane began beating on the windows with them.
T-Dog grabbed a chair and started to beat it. "Dog, get down! Get down!" Shane yelled before he shot the glass with his shotgun.
"Why won't the glass break?" Cheyanne cried, clutching her mother's legs in fear.
"Rick, I have something that might help," Carol said as she dug through her purse.
Shane said something snarky, but Nicole couldn't hear it over the sound of her heart beating in her chest. Carol pulled out a grenade. Rick had forgotten about that.
Nicole pulled Cheyanne down the small number of stairs. "Get down!" Daryl shouted at the two. Nicole covered her daughter's body before the glass shattered from the blast.
Everyone scrambled up and rushed out the window. Nicole held Cheyanne close as the men shot the monsters that were drawn by the blast. Daryl swung at one, swiping his head clean off. "Nicole, hurry up!"
The group ran as fast as they could. Daryl, Nicole, and Cheyanne jumped into Daryl's truck. Daryl grabbed his keys from the glove compartment. "Mama, look!" Cheyanne pointed at Dale and Andrea as they climbed out of the shattered window.
Daryl started his truck before they heard a horn honking. "Get down," Daryl shouted as he pulled down the two. There was a sonic blast that shook the car. Nicole could hear the explosion and things falling apart. When the wave stopped, Dale and Andrea ran into the RV.
They all began driving away from the explosion. As they did, Nicole couldn't help but think about what Dr. Jenner has said. She didn't know whether or not to believe him.
She didn't want to believe that they were all infected.
and that's a wrap of season 1! I barely ever see people that write their ocs knowing about the infection (undoubtedly they're out there tho.) this chapter is so long but you definitely got to see a more vulnerable side to nikki and you got a peak into her past. wasn't it sweet that daryl took care of her? do you guys ship dacole yet? i do, then again, i wrote it xD season 2 is gonna take a twist and stray from the show just a bit. hopefully you guys will like it. i know i definitely had fun writing it because nicole's character development is primest in these next chapters and i'm so proud of her. anyway, I will see you all monday with the first chapter of season 2. say hi to a stranger and tell your parents you love them. please vote and comment, i'd love to see what you guys think about nicole's story :) i love you all so much, have a great day/night. peaceeeee -erin