I'm going to start writing in third person and see how that goes. :)
This is also going to be a very long chapter. Have fun
When Lila woke up, she could feel her head throbbing. She looked over at the clock to see that it was almost twelve in the the morning.
She groaned and rolled out from under the duvet. As she hit the hard ground, she could instantly feel the coldness of the room surround her. She shivered and pulled herself up from the ground.
Lila stumbled out of the room and made her way to the cafeteria.
"Mornin." She greeted everyone with a gruff voice. To which she got a murmur of 'Good mornings' thrown back at her. Lila sat next to Glenn who groaned as he slowly looked up from his palms and squinted.
"You too?" She asked Glenn. He nodded slowly in response.
"Eggs!" T'dog called as he began to dish out eggs. He started by placing two eggs onto Rick's plate. "Powdered, but I do 'em good." He told us, putting more food onto Carl's plate before heading over to serve Glenn and Lila. "Bet you can't tell. Protein...helps the hangover." T'dog raised his voice, clearly directing his point towards Lila and Glenn. Lila could hear the smirk in his voice.
"Thanks." She mumbled. following his advice before Glenn grunted a little.
Just as Lila was about to get up for a plate, Carl sat down next to her and examined her neck. "What are those red marks on your neck Lila?" He asked. His voice was small. Lila almost didn't hear him.
Lila cocked her head to the side in confusion. Carl opened his mouth to speak again when Carol chimed in. "They look like hickeys to me. You sure you guys weren't up to something last night?" Carol winked and sat down opposite Lila.
"Honestly Carol, if I could remember I'd tell you. But I have no clue as to what happened last night." Lila lied through her teeth. She knew exactly what happened last night. If the group found out, she wouldn't know what to do.
Glenn groaned. "Never ever let me drink again."
"You two look particularly joyful this morning." A chipper voice entered Lila's ears causing her to grunt while Glenn continued to moan. That voice was just too happy for her liking.
"Shut up Andrea."
"God morning to you too Glenn." Andrea stated as I heard her plop down on the chair next to Rick. "It's not my fault that you two drank too much last night." She smiled.
"How come you're not hung over?" Rick inquired sounding very curious. Andrea sounded like the happiest girl in the un-dead world.
"Well. Unlike you four, I drank moderately." She said cheerily. "There were about 32 empty beer bottles left lying around this morning."
Andrea frowned. "Here." She proceeded to place two pills into Lila's palm. "You two could use some."
"Thank you." Glenn moaned gratefully. Lila dropped the pills into her mouth and washed them down with orange juice.
"Hey." Lila heard Rick say to someone. Raising her head, Lila saw that it was Shane who had walked into the room.
"Feel as bad as the rest of us?" She asked.
"Worse." Shane stated as he placed his plate down in the space next to Carol.
Lila closed her eyes for a second before T-Dog cleared his throat.
"What the hell happened to you?" T-Dog questioned. Unsure of who he was talking to, Lila opened her eyes to find that it was Shane. Giving him a once over but not finding anything out of the ordinary, Lila squinted at T-Dog. "You neck man!" He pointed out causing Lila to inspect the back of Shane's neck, finding 3 large gashes.
"Must have...must have done it in my sleep." He said in a wearily manner.
"Never seen you do that before." Rick pointed out. Shane fumbled around for a bit before answering.
"Me neither." Shane agreed with Rick. "Not like me at all." Shane stated as he eyed Lori who had her head low.
Too hung over to care, Lila slammed her head onto Glenn's shoulder, exposing her bare neck.
"Woah." Exclaimed Shane. Everyone stopped talking, waiting for Shane to continue.
"Is that a hickey?" He said pointing to my neck. Groaning, Lila straightened back up to meet Shane's chocolate eyes that were glued to her neck.
"Like I said to Carol, if I could remember I would tell you but I have absolutely no memory of last night." Lila lied again as she ate her eggs. T-dog was right. Lila could not tell these eggs were powdered at all.
Jenner walked through the kitchen causing everyone to straighten up and turn their heads.
"Doc." Dale drew everyone's attention from Jenner. "I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing bu-" Dale began.
"But you will anyway?"
"We didn't come here for the eggs." Andrea stated bluntly.
"VI, give me a playback of TS-19."
"Playback of TS-19"
Jenner had lead the group into the control room to answer Dale's question. At Jenner's command, VI pulled up brain scans of 'TS-19' to which everyone began to squint at out of confusion.
"Few people ever got the chance to see this..." Jenner explained to the group who's eyes were glued to the large screen before us. "Very few."
"Is that a brain." Sophia questioned her mother and Jenner answered. "An extraordinary one." He replied bending down to the child's height. "Not that it matters in the end." He spoke grimly as he stoop back up.
"Take us in VI." He commanded which caused the scan to enlarge.
"Enhanced Internal View."
Blue strokes of light began to fly around the brain scan causing everyone to gasp in delight.
"What are those lights?" Rick questioned eagerly.
"It's a person's life." Jenner answered. "Experiences...memories...it's everything." Jenner spoke with complexity.
"You ever gonna make sense?" Daryl interrogated rudely.
"Those ripples of blur light." Jenner started. "Those are called synapses. Synapses are a junction between two nerve cells, consisting of a minute gap across which impulses pass by diffusion of a neurotransmitter. He spoke before realizing no one understood a word he was saying. "They're pulses in the brain that carry all of the messages. They determine what a person says, thinks or does. Like right now, they are determining what you're doing and what I'm saying. "They do this all the way from the moment you're born until the moment of...death." Jenner finished, summing everything down.
"Death?" Rick questioned whether he had heard them right. "That's what this is? A visual?"
"Yes Jenner responded. "Or rather the playback of the visual." He corrected himself.
"This person died?" Andrea asked, stepping closer to the screen. "Who?" She demanded turning to look at the doctor.
"Test subject nineteen." He informed her. "Someone who was bitten and infected.." He took a pause for a breath. "And volunteered to have us record the process."
"VI, scan to first event."
"Scanning to first event."
The scan of the brain was much different now. Those blue swirls were now beginning to be replaced by a group of black clouds.
"It invades the brain...like meningitis." Jenner made the clarification clear, realizing that he had to simplify his words for everyone. "The adrenal glands hemorrhage." The group was silent. "The brain goes into shutdown, the major organs, then...death." He continued on as the group finally got the idea. "Everything you ever were and everything you will be is gone." He stated blankly.
"Is that what happened to Jim?" Sophia whispered to her mother. Carol nodded. Tears formed in Andrea's eyes causing Jenner to look around in confusion before looking back at Andrea.
"She lost somebody...two days ago." Lori explained to Jenner him to look in her direction. "Her sister."
"I lost somebody too." Jenner informed the group. "I know how devastating it is." He stated, looking away.
"VI, scan to second event."
"Scanning to second event"
"The resurrection times vary widely." Jenner informed them. "We've had reports of it happening in as little as three minutes."
This made Lila think back to when the virus first broke out. It was pretty much just a normal day. Her and her brother Scott were watching cartoons like they would every Sunday afternoon. Scott had gone to get some lunch when Lila head a thump coming from upstairs, followed by moaning. Feeling curious, Lila slowly stood up and made her way up the stairs. She walked around the hallway, following the thumping noise as it got louder and louder. Just as she was about to open the door to her parents' bedroom, the door burst open. Standing there was her father. He was covered in blood and breathing heavily.
"Don't...don't look in there Lila." He breathed. "Pack your things. I'll tell your brother to do the same. We can't stay here anymore" He quickly shut the door and ran down the stairs as fast as he could. Lila listened to her father's words and entered her room. She grabbed the biggest bag she could find and started packing almost everything she could find. She ran out of her room and down the stairs, making sure to pack some non-perishable food along the way. just in case. As she rounded the corner she hear a blood curdling scream coming from her brother.
"Earth to Lila." Rick called, waving his hand in front of Lila's face. Lila shook her head and looked up at Rick. "What?" She questioned in a daze.
"You sort of blanked out for a minute."
Lila looked up at the brain that was now fully dark. Lifeless. Dead. But the was moving.
Suddenly a line shot through the head, causing the test subject to stop moving."What was that?" Carol asked Jenner, not understanding. "He shot his patient in the head." Andrea stated blankly. "Didn't you?"
"VI." Jenner called, not answering Andrea's question. "Power down the main screen and the work stations."
"Powering down main screens and power stations." VI spoke as the screen switched off.
"You have no idea what this is." Lila pointed out in disbelief. "Do you?" She demanded.
"Well..i-it could be-"
"Viral." Lila put up a finger. "Fungal, microbial." She ticked off all the possibilities and showed them on her fingers. "That scan shows narrows down nothing." She stated with gritted teeth. "Not a damn thing."
"What about the wrath of God?" Jacqui told Lila causing her to turn and look in Jacqui's direction
"There is that." Jenner stated from his seat.
"Somebody must know something. Somebody has to know something." Lila said quickly. "Somebody. Somewhere."
"There are others..." Lori spoke up. "Right?" She said to no one in particular. "Other facilities?"
"There may be some..." Jenner agreed. "People like me."
"You don't...know? Rick squinted at Jenner
"Everything went down. Communications, directives, all of it." He explained. "I've been in the dark for almost a month now."
"So it's not just here?" Andrea questioned. "There's nothing left anywhere?" She went on to ask. "That's what you're really saying right?" She interrogated.
"Jesus." Jacqui exclaimed. Lila ran a hand through her hair pacing up and down, not knowing how to react to something like that.
"Man." Daryl placed his hands on his head. "I'm gon' get shit-faced drunk again." He stated.
"Doctor Jenner..." Dale spoke up. "I know this had been taxing for you and I hate to ask one more question but..." Dale trailed off before pointing to the digital clock that was slowly counting down. "What happens when it gets to zero?" He questioned.
"The basement generators...they run out of fuel."
"And then?" Rick asked for him to continue but Jenner walked away. "VI!" Rick yelled. "What happens when the power runs out?" He demanded.
"When the power runs out, facility decontamination will occur."
"Okay..." Lila shouted above the group's muttering. "Rick, Glenn, Shane and T-Dog." She asked for their attention and they nodded. "You go locate the generators." She instructed, taking control of the situation. "Everyone else go back to your rooms and stay calm." Everyone stared at her in confusion. "Now!" She yelled, causing everyone to disappear back to their rooms.
Lila sat on her bed and tried to relax. She sat in silence, enjoying the moment as much as she could. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Suddenly the lights shut off, flooding her in darkness.
Lila stuck her head out the door to see the many confused faces of the group.
"Why're the lights off?"
"And the power in out room?"
"What's goin' on?" Daryl poked his head out of his room while taking a swig of whatever alcohol he had found. "Why'd everything turn off?" He questioned before Jenner took the bottle from his hand.
"The building needs to prioritize." Jenner advised the group. "The air isn't a priority? Dale questioned him from his doorway.
"It's not up to me. Zone five is shutting itself down." Jenner continued down the hallway causing the group to follow after him.
"Rick?" Lori called for her husband as everyone followed Jenner down the stairs and re-join T-Dog, Shane , Glenn and Rick.
"Jenner." Rick said sternly. "What's happening?" He demanded as everyone followed like lost sheep
"The system is dropping all non-essential uses of power." Jenner told them. "It's designed to keep the computers running 'till the last possible second. We're now approaching the half hour mark." Jenner glanced up at the red numbers of the digital clock which read '33:46'. "Right on schedule." Jenner stopped watching and offered the bottle to Daryl who snatched it out of his hand.
"It was the French." Jenner mumbled.
"What?"
"They were the last ones to hold out as far as I know." He explained. "While other people were bolting out the doors and committing suicide in the hallways, they stayed in their labs 'till the end. They thought they were close to a solution." Jenner continued.
"What happened?" Jacqui asked.
"Same thing that's happened here." He stated. "A power grid ran out of juice." He elaborated. "The world runs on fossil fuel. I mean, how stupid is that?" He questioned no one in particular.
An alarm blared, causing little Carl and Sophia to jump and cover their ears.
"What's that?" Shane questioned looking around at everyone.
"Thirty minutes to decontamination."
"What's going on here, Doc?" Shane demanded. When Jenner didn't answer he turned to the group. "Y'all heard Rick! Grab your stuff!" He ordered. "C'mon let's go!" He urged them. Lila along with everyone else began to sprint to their rooms, not knowing that Jenner was about to close their only way out. He typed a code into a computer, causing the door to come crashing down, shutting everyone inside the room.
"Did he just lock us in?" Glenn turned and questioned everyone before realizing that doors had been locked. "He just locked us in!" He yelled, his voice cracking as Jenner sat down in his chair and switched on a camera.
"Within the thirty minute window, I'm recording." Jenner spoke into the camera.
"You son of a bitch!" Daryl yelled at Jenner as he turned away from the doors. "You locked us in here!" He began to run for Jenner.
"Shane! Shane!" Rick shouted pointing at Daryl. Shane sprung into action, grabbing Daryl before he could so Jenner any harm.
"No! No! No!" T-Dog yelled, pushing Daryl back until he finally gave up.
"Jenner. Open the door now."
"There's no point." Jenner snapped at Rick. "Everything top side is locked down, the emergency exits are sealed." He claimed.
"Open the damn things!"
"That's not something I control." Jenner shot back at Daryl. "The computers do." He spat. "I told you. Once those doors close, they won't open again." He reminded Rick. "It's better this way." Jenner claimed in an attempt to comfort everyone. Lila sunk down next to Glenn who wasn't taking the situation very well.
"What is?" Rick questioned him. "What happens in twenty-eight minutes?" Jenner ignored Rick and turned back to his computer. Rick turned to Shane and nodded, causing Shane to turn Jenner's chair around for him to give an answer. "What happens in twenty-eight minutes?"
"You know!" Jenner yelled causing the group to jump in shock. "You know what this is!" He continued to yell as he shot up to his feet. "We've protected you from very nasty stuff!" Jenner roared in Shane's face. "Weaponized small pox!" He shouted. "Ebola strays that could wipe out half the country!" He bellowed at everyone. "Stuff you don't want getting out ever!" Jenner took a deep breath to calm down before continuing.
"In the event of a catastrophic power failure... a terrorist attack for example. H.I.T's are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out."
"H.I.T's?"
"VI! Define!"
"High-Impulse-Thermobaric fuel-air explosive consists of a two-stage aerosol ignition which produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum pressure effect ignites the oxygen between 5,000 and 6,000 degrees."
Everyone lost it and began to break down. Rick, Lori and Carl clung onto each other while Sophia cocooned herself into Carol.
"It sets the air on fire." Jenner stated softly. "No pain." He assured them all. "An end to sorrow, grief, regret."
"Open that damn door!" Daryl roared at him, throwing a glass bottle at the door in a fit of rage.
"Out of my way!" Shane yelled, making his way to the door, axe in hand. T-Dog tore another axe from the wall and threw it to Daryl.
Shane gave up, giving the axe to Lila who began to slam it on the door.
"Should have left. I would have been left alone. It would have been so much easier."
"Easier for who?" Lori growled at him, holding onto Carl tightly.
"All of you. You know what's out there. A short brutal life and agonizing death." He reminded them. "Y-Your sister, what's her name?" He looked over to Andrea.
"Amy."
"Amy." He said clearly, looking into Andrea's eyes. "We know what this does, you've seen it." He spat before whirling around to Rick. "Is that what you really want for your family?" He questioned, hoping that he would understand.
"I don't want this."
"I-I can't make a dent." Lila breathed
"Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher." Jenner informed him.
"Well your head aint!" Daryl roared, running for Jenner yet again. This time hoping to do some damage.
"Daryl!" Rick yelled pushing Daryl back once more. T-Dog, Glenn, Lila and Shane had to help Rick keep the crazed man away from Jenner.
"You do want this." Jenner disagreed with Rick. "Last night, you said...you said you knew it was only a matter of time before everyone you knew was dead."
"You really said that?" Lori questioned Rick, hoping that he would tell everyone that Jenner was lying. But he didn't.
"I had to keep hope alive didn't I?"
"There is not hope. There never was." Jenner denied.
"There is hope." Rick Rebuked him. "Maybe it might not be you, maybe it might not be here but... somebody, somewhere." Rick preached.
"What part of everything is gone do you not understand?" Andrea asked him, shocking the entire group.
"Listen to your friend." Jenner advised everyone. "She gets it." He nodded. "This is what takes us down. This is our extinction."
Well that's chapter four. It took about three days to write this because every time I started writing it, I would just give up and leave it for the next day...