They were led to the big computer room and all had gathered around, Serafina taking a seat in one of the chairs before sipping at her no longer scorching coffee. The rest simply stood behind her and Edwin as he typed some controls into the computer. "Give me a playback of TS-19." The robotic voice of Vi echoed. "Playback of TS-19." The large screen at the head of the room turned on. "Few people ever got the chance to see this." Edwin said. "Very few."

On the screen, an X-ray-like image of a head was being process. "Is that a brain?" Carl asked in awe.

Edwin sent the little boy a smile. "An extraordinary one." A frown quickly replaced the smile on his face as he looked at the screen. "Not that it matters in the end." He gave another command for Vi. "Take us in for E.I.V."

"Enhanced internal view." The image zoomed in on the brain which was lit up with activity.

"What are those lights?" Shane asked.

"It's a person's life. Experiences, memories. It's everything." Edwin explained. "Somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those ripples of light — is you. The thing that makes you unique and human."

It was not surprising that no one understood what he was talking about. "You make sense ever?" Daryl asked.

"They are synapses." Serafina piped up and that earned a surprised look from Edwin. "Electric impulses in the brain that carry messages."

Edwin nodded. "That's right. They determine everything a person says, does, or thinks from the moment of birth until the moment death."

"Death?" Rick echoed. "Is that what this is — a vigil?"

"Vigil..." Edwin said as if pondering the word, "...yes." He turned to Rick, "Or rather the playback of the vigil."

That was the moment of realization for many in the room. What they were viewing at this moment was the brain of someone who was long dead. "This person died?" Andrea asked. "Who?"

"Test Subject 19." Edwin said. "Someone who was bitten and infected ... and volunteered to have us record the process." Serafina remained quiet as she studied Edwin's face as he spoke of this person; he seemed sad. "Vi, fast forward to first event."

"Scanning to first event."

On screen, parts of the brain were beginning to turn black starting with the brain stem and it progressed to the rest of the brain, the lights slowly dying out. "What is that?" Glenn asked.

"It invades the brain like meningitis." Edwin clarified. "The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shutdown, then the major organs." There was a solemn look on his face. "Then death. Everything you ever were or ever will be ... gone."

Serafina's hands clenched at her coffee mug as she thought back to New York and to her colleagues — her friends who had been victims to this disease, who she had to put down herself. She thought about her mother and father and brothers back in Russia. They were a world away and if this thing was a global catastrophe like she believed, they could already be dead and gone; they could be turned, staggering around eating the flesh of the living.

Andrea looked as though she was close to tears. "She lost somebody two days ago." Lori explained. "Her sister."

Edwin gave her a look full of empathy. "I lost somebody, too." He told her. "I know how devastating it is." He looked back towards the screen. "Scan to second event."

"Scanning to second event."

"The resurrection times vary wildly. We had reports of it happening in as little as three minutes." Edwin said. "The longest we've heard was eight hours. In the case of this patient, it was two hours, one minute ... seven-seconds." The brain which had been completely black, now had a small red light erupt starting at the brain stem.

"It restarts the brain?" Lori asked in disbelief.

Edwin corrected her. "No, just the brain stem. Basically gets them up and moving."

"But, they're not alive?" Rick questioned.

That was a concern that could be up for debate. "What constitutes being alive?" Serafina asked although it could have been a rhetorical question as she was not looking for an answer rather she was urging all of them to ask themselves that question.

Rick looked over at her and by the look on his face he was seriously contemplating her remark. He looked back up at the screen. "It's nothing like before." He commented about the image. "Most of the brain is dark."

"Dark, lifeless, dead." Edwin said. "The frontal lobe, the neocortex, the human part — that doesn't come back. The you part. Just a shell driven by mindless instinct." After he said that a light ripped through the brain, tearing it apart.

"God. What was that?" Carol asked.

"He shot his patient in the head." Andrea said. "Didn't you?"

Edwin seemed to ignore her question. "Vi, power down the main screen and the work stations."

"Powering down main screen and work stations."

Andrea spoke up, her voice trembling as though she was on the verge of a hysterical breakdown. "You have no idea what it is, do you?"

Serafina's eyes were downcast when Edwin looked over at her as though she was guilty or ashamed of something. "It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal—"

"Or the wrath of God?" Jacqui piped in.

"There is that."

"Somebody must know something." Andrea said. "Somebody somewhere."

"There are others, right? Other facilities?" Carol asked.

Serafina tapped at her mug, feeling her heart palpitate as self-reproach gnawed at her. "There may be some. People like me." Edwin said.

"You don't know?" Rick asked, "How can you not know?!"

"Everything went down." Edwin explained. "Communications, directives — all of it. I've been in the dark for almost a month."

Daryl looked over at Serafina. "What 'bout you? Yer military, ya haven't heard nothin'?" Serafina gave him a solemn look, "I have not received anything." She thought to her radio that was packed away in her bag. She has not turned it on within the last month after hearing nothing but static for a week straight.

"So, it's not just here? There's nothing left anywhere? Nothing?" Andrea asked trying to clarify what the two were saying. "That's what you're really saying, isn't it?"

This was not the answers that these people were looking for, Serafina could see it in their exasperated and tired eyes, but she knew that they could not keep hoping for something to drop out of the sky and save them.

"Dr. Jenner, I hate to ask you one more question, but—" Dale looked to the clock which had reached one hour remaining. "That clock, what happens at zero?"

Edwin looked hesitant to answer. "The basement generators — they run out of fuel." He said quickly, leaving it at that.

"And then?" Rick asked and when he received no answer he looked around. "Vi, what happens when the power runs out?"

"When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur."

Serafina swallowed the lump in her throat as she looked to the blank screen. The image of the darkened brain etched into her memory and she felt the pit of her stomach swirl with a wide arrangement of emotions.

This is what humanity is capable of.

Edwin had left the room swiftly after that. Serafina had remained with the group for a few moments. "You all should go back to your rooms." She told them. "Pack your belongings."

"A few of us will head to the basement and take a look at those generators." Rick said.

Serafina spared a glance to the clock and then looked back at him. "Be quick about it."

With that said she followed after Edwin who was not hard to find. She found him sitting in his office, a picture frame in his hands and he spoke to it with tears in his eyes. "I did the best I could for as long as I could." He said. "I hope you would be proud of me."

"Your wife?" She asked, startling the man and she gestured to the picture frame which was now face down on the desk.

Edwin looked at her with glassy eyes and he did not know if this woman was a blessing in disguise or not. When he had seen her nearly ten days ago, fighting her way to the building, he did not want to let her in. He did not want to let anybody in, but there was something about the way she yelled and pounded at the door with such vigor. She had a lot of fight left in her, more than he expected anyone to have at this point. He had let her in despite his want to close himself off and let the time run out. Now, she stood before him with her fierce blue eyes and her jaw set with determination.

This woman that he had only met ten days ago was the only friend he had left in this world. She had shown him how to work a gun. She had been the one to take care of him when he tried to drown himself with alcohol. She sat with him even if it was in complete silence as he continued to work.

He nodded. "Yes."

"In all this time that I have been here we have not spoken much." She noted. "You saved my life."

Edwin laughed quietly. "You would have kept on fighting no matter what."

"I am not talking about just in the literal sense." Serafina said. "I was alone. I was alone for so long and it was not easy. I would have kept on fighting had you not opened the door for me that day, but what would I be fighting for? An empty existence? A life of loneliness?" She sucked in air through her nose. "You let me in and what I found in here was not salvation from the dead walking around ... I was not alone anymore." He stayed silent as he listened. "You could have left me out there, you could have ignored me, but you didn't." She looked at him. "I think you were just as lonely as I was."

He looked as though he was pondering her words before he finally said. "Yes, I was." He looked out the glass window that overlooked the computer room. "We always think there's gonna be more time..." The lights began to power down leaving the pair in darkness. "...then it runs out."

"What does happen when time runs out?" She stared at the clock. "Does this place turn into a gas chamber? Does the air run out?" Her dreams of fire popped into her head. "Fire?" At that, Edwin glanced up. "That is it, then?" The expression on his face told her everything he needed. "You are just going to let the clock hit zero and take all these people with you?"

He stared at her. "What would you have me do?"

"You could come with me and leave this place behind you." He would not come with her, she knew that, but she hoped he would. "But you will not do that." She was aware that he was lightly shaking his head. "Do not drag these people down with you." She told him. "Do not drag me down with you."

"What is left out there for you?" He asked. "There is nothing." He was frustrated now, his eyebrows furrowing and a frown marring his face.

Her lips set in a line, "I am not looking for anything. I am not hoping to somehow be saved from this horrible life, but I am not looking to end it all, to take the coward's way out. Even if somewhere down this road I die, I will die knowing that I at least tried."

Edwin did not say another word about it and instead walked past her knowing she would be following after him. The others were emerging from their rooms, asking why the lights were turning off.

"What's going on?" Daryl asked when he poked his head out of his room. "Why is everything turning off?"

Edwin plucked the bottle of liquor from the redneck's hand. "Energy use is being prioritized." He took a long swig from the bottle.

"Air isn't a priority? And lights?" Dale asked.

"It's not up to me. Zone 5 is shutting itself down." The lights in the hall began to turn off and everyone trailed behind Edwin as he led them to the computer room.

"Hey! Hey, what the hell does that mean?" Daryl questioned and when he didn't receive an answer from Edwin he was at the man's side in a millisecond. "Hey, man I'm talkin' to you! What do you mean it's shuttin' itself down? How can a buildin' do anythin'?"

The rest of their group who had gone to the basement returned.

"You'd be surprised." Edwin muttered.

"Rick!" Lori called out.

Rick quickly approached Edwin. "Jenner, what's happening?"

"The system is dropping all nonessential uses of power. It's designed to keep the computers running until the last possible second starting at the half-hour mark." He pointed to the clock which was at thirty-one minutes. "It's right on schedule." The man took another sip from the bottle which was snatched from him by Serafina who set the bottle down away from him.

Silence took over as everyone stared at the man with a mixture of incredulity and disgust.

"It was the French." Edwin finally said.

"What?" Andrea asked.

"They were the last ones to hold out as far as I know." Edwin told them. "While our people were bolting out the door and committing suicide in the hallways, they stayed in the labs until the end. They thought they were close to a solution."

"What happened?" Jacqui questioned.

"The same thing that's happening here. No power grid. Ran out of juice. The world runs on fossil fuel. I mean, how stupid is that."

Shane tried to go after Edwin. "Let me tell you somethin'." But he was pull back down by Rick. "Shane, I don't even care right now." He turned to his wife. "Lori, grab our things. Everybody, get your stuff. We're getting out of here, now!"

They scrambled to head to the door, but an alarm blaring caught them off guard. "What's that?"

"Thirty minutes until decontamination."

The screen powered on showing that the clock had reached thirty minutes. "Doc, what's goin' on here?!" Daryl shouted and Edwin walked over to one of the computers, scanning his I.D. card.

"Everybody, y'all heard Rick! Get your stuff and let's go!" Shane shouted.

"Come on!"

As they made for the exit, they were cut off by the heavy metal door flying down blocking their escape. Everyone looked in disbelief and then their expressions changed to fear. "Did you just lock us in?" Glenn asked. "He just locked us in!"

"Edwin, what are you doing?" Serafina questioned as she followed him to one of the consoles. He ignored her questioning as he typed in some commands and spoke into the camera. "What are you doing?!" Serafina shouted.

"You locked us in here!" Daryl shouted, his voice resonating above all the other frantic ones and he made for Edwin, only to be blocked by Serafina who grabbed him by the collar of her shirt. "Get outta my way!" He ordered.

She shook her head and grunted as she tried to keep the muscular man at bay. "I cannot do that."

"Why ya protectin' him?!" He yelled and pushed her with more force nearly sending her over.

T-Dog was the one to grab hold of him and pull him from the Russian soldier who was doing her best to keep calm. "If you kill him then there is no hope that we will get out. He is the only one that can open the door."

Edwin looked shaken by the redneck's aggression, but he was grateful for Serafina's intervention.

"Hey, Jenner, open that door now." Rick said as he made his way over to the doctor who shook his head. "There's no point. Everything topside is locked down. The emergency exits are sealed."

"Well, open the damn things!" Dale chimed in.

"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." Everyone looked around at each other having clearly remembered Edwin's cryptic words when they arrived. "It's better this way."

"What is?" Rick asked. "What happens in twenty-eight minutes?" Edwin sighed and turned away from him and began clacking away on his keyboard. "What happens?!"

Abruptly, Edwin stood up. "You know what this place is?!" He shouted. "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!" Taking a deep breath in he composed himself and sat back down. "In the event of a catastrophic power failure in a terrorist attack for example, H.I.T.s are deployed to prevent anything from getting out."

Rick looked confused. "H.I.T.s?"

"Vi, define."

"H.I.T.s — high-impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosives consist of a two-stage aerosol ignition that produces a blast wave of significantly higher power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum-pressure ignites the oxygen between 5,000 and 6,000 degrees and is used when the greatest loss of life and damage to structures is desired."

"It sets the air on fire..."

"No pain." Edwin said. "An end to sorrow, grief, regret ... everything." He was murmuring softly to Andrea who seemed ready to give up while the others in her group weren't going to go down without a fight. Daryl was shouting and banging on the door and Edwin just shook his head. "Those doors were designed withstand rocket launchers."

"Your head ain't!" He was once again stopped from assaulting the doctor by Rick and Serafina. "Back up! Just back up!" Rick told him.

Serafina shook her head. "Acting like rampant children is not going to solve anything." She said from beside Rick and he gave her a sideways glance. Between Shane and Daryl she couldn't decide who was more temperamental as they took turns throwing fits and shouting at Edwin.

Carol sniffled as she held a tearful Sophia. "My daughter doesn't deserve to die like this."

"Wouldn't it be kinder, more compassionate to hold your loved ones and wait for the clock to run down?" Edwin asked her.

"Open that door or I'm gonna blow your head off!" Shane shouted as Rick tried to reason with him and hold him back.

Serafina breathed in through her nose as she stared at the broken man in front of her. "Do not do this, Edwin." She said as she knelt down in front of him, grabbing his hand as some of the others continued to scream and bang on the door to no avail. "This is not compassion." Staring up at him she asked. "Would your wife have wanted this? Would she have wanted you to do this?" Edwin's nostrils flared and his throat clenched as he listened to her. "Your wife didn't have a choice."

"You do..." He muttered when the realization struck him.

"That's — that's all we want — a choice, a chance." Rick pleaded.

Edwin looked around at the people around him before his eyes settled on Serafina, her eyes begging him to allow her the chance to live once more. "I told you topside's locked down. I can't open those." He relented and began to type some commands into the computers.

"Come on!" Rick shouted. "Let's go!" The door flew open and everyone took the chance to make a run for it. Edwin stopped Rick from leaving, whispering something into his ear and Rick looked at him incredulously.

Edwin looked over at Serafina wasted no time pulling the doctor into a hug. "Thank you, Edwin." She muttered and was about to draw away but on a second thought she leaned in and in the same fashion as him with Rick, whispered into his ear.

"That's it, then?" He asked her when she drew away.

She nodded. "That's it."

Edwin looked down at the floor. "All this time..."

Serafina spared a glance at the clock and knew it was time to leave, "Goodbye, then."

He nodded. "Goodbye."

She ignored the clenching of her heart as she trailed after the group, noting the few who had chosen to stay behind. She knew that not everyone wanted to continue on in this world. This life was not for everyone.

Hey! Here's a fairly long chapter for you guys! I'm so happy everyone is liking it so far and I can only hope I do a good job to keep your interest! Please leave a review and let me know what you think and if there's anything you would want me to change/add in/etc.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and added this story to their story alerts :)

FloodFeSTeR: Thank you so much! Yes, this is going to be a Rick/OC although it's going to be a bit slow paced which I hope you don't mind!

walking primrose: Thank you! I'm trying to keep a lot about her character in the dark because I find I usually give away so much about my characters right from the get go. It's really fun writing this story though because I'm doing things so differently. Hope you liked this chapter!