Better off dead

Chapter 13: Wildfires Pt3

CDC Headquarters Wildfire MSB3417 Active - Begin Transmission: A video monitor crackles. An unshaven man, Dr. Jenner, speaks into the camera. "Jenner here. It's day 194 since wildfire was declared and 63 days since the disease abruptly went global. There's no clinical progress to report. Item... I finally got the scrubbers in the east sector shut down to save power. Wish I could have done it a month ago, but it took me that long to figure it out. Too bad I never studied engineering. Could have saved a lot of amps. Item... I'm still not sleeping well. Can't seem to keep regular hours. Living underground doesn't help, not knowing if it's day or night. I'm just feeling very off-kilter Wildfire MSB3417 Active - End Transmission."

In a biohazard suit, Jenner passes through an airlock into a laboratory. He opens a tissue sample labeled TS-19 and begins an experiment. Reaching for a beaker, he accidentally knocks corrosive fluid on the tissue. An alarm sounds as Jenner runs to a decontamination chamber and disrobes. A computerized voice says "Alert status. Air qualifiers indicate corrosive fumes. All personnel must clear the room. Corrosive element is deemed poisonous if inhaled. All personnel clear. Full decontamination in effect. From the safety of the airlock" Jenner watches helplessly as the lab, and all of the remaining TS-19 samples, are engulfed in flames an automatic safety protocol "No!" Jenner yells in frustration while the computer voice says "Full decontamination complete."

Later, a drunken Jenner speaks into the monitor. "The TS19 samples are gone. The tragedy of their loss cannot be overstat. They were our freshest samples by far. None of the other samples we gathered even came close. Those are necrotic, useless dead flesh. I don't even know why I'm talking to you. I bet there isn't a single son of a bitch out there still listening, is there? Is there? Fine. Saves me the embarrassment. I think tomorrow I'm gonna blow my brains out. I haven't decided. But tonight, I'm getting drunk!" He pours drink "Speaking of which, how far do you think I can chuck this, huh? Pretty far I bet!" He throws the bottle away, shattering glass "Oh! It is out of the stadium!"

Outside of the CDC the caravan arrives outside the compound. Surrounding the building are a lot of corpses, as well as swarms of flies. Rick's caravan approaches the CDC, where hundreds of bodies lay dead on the ground. The group quietly approaches the building "All right, everybody. Keep moving. Go on. Stay quiet. Let's go. Okay, keep moving. Stay together" Shane whispers along with Rick "Keep moving. Come on."

Delilah stays close to Daryl with her knife drawn and her eyes scanning the area with her nose twitching from time to time as she smells the rotten flesh. Daryl keeps a close eye on her as does Rick. Carl tries to go over to Delilah as fear begins to creep into his head, but Lori stops him and whispers out "Stay close to me!"

Inside the CDC, Jenner's proximity alarm sounds. Stunned, he watches the group's approach via a security monitor "No" he mutters.

Outside they reach the building which is locked and shuttered "Keep it together. Come on" Shane says while Carol whispers to Sophia "We're almost there, baby. Almost there" "Nothing?" Shane suddenly asks then pounds on door "There's nobody here" T-Dog says dejectedly "Then why are these shutters down?"Rick questions "Walkers!" Delilah alerts first with Daryl following "They're here!"

Daryl shoots the walker in the head "You led us into a graveyard!" Daryl accuses Rick while Shane defends him "He made a call!" "It was the wrong damn call!" Daryl snaps "Just shut up. You hear? Shut up. Shut up! Rick, this is a dead end" Shane says in frustration "Both of you knock it off!" Delilah's voice cuts in and they look over to see her holding a frightened Carl close to her and giving them a look of disappointment and anger.

Carl had managed to break free from Lori's grip and run to the only person whoever successfully comforted him and drove away his fear since the entire apocalypse started. Carl cling to her waist seeking her warm comforting and protective embrace. Delilah had an arm around Carl's shoulders as she glared at the bickering men. Her other arm hung limply at her side with the knife clutched in it's grasp.

"Where are we gonna go?" Jacqui asked hoping that someone would answer. Delilah ended Daryl and Shane's disagreement with "Do you hear me? No blame!" Before answering Jacqui "I don't know, but we can't be here, this close to the city after dark" Shane suddenly pipes up "Fort Benning, Rick... Still an option" while Andrea incredulously asks with a frightened Amy in her arms "On what? No food, no fuel. That's 100 miles!" and Glenn corrected her "125. I checked the map" Lori suddenly snapped "Forget Fort Benning. We need answers tonight, now!" "We'll think of something..." Rick mutters looking at the CDC building dejectedly.

"Come on, let's go. Let's get out of here. Let's go. Please" Shane starts to usher everyone back to the cars. Rick catches sight of the security camera's movement "All right, everybody back to the cars. Let's go. Move!" Shane continues but Rick suddenly says "The camera... it moved" "You imagined it!" Shane says exasperated "It moved! It moved!" Rick insists making Delilah look back at him and gaze at the camera in curiosity "Rick, it is dead, man. It's an automated device. It's gears, okay? They're just winding down. Now come on!" Shane tries to persuade him.

While inside the CDC Dr. Jenner is muttering "No, just go away" back outside "Man, just listen to me!Look around this place! It's dead, okay? It's dead! You need to let it go, Rick" Shane urges while Rick slams on the shutters. Delilah approaches the two men with Carl still clinging to her "Rick, there's nobody here!" Lori calls "I know you're in there! I know you can hear me!" Rick yells at the camera. Daryl notices Delilah's approaching them and curses before following her with the intent to drag her back.

Shane tries to drag Rick away, with the help of Lori. "Everybody get back to the cars now!" Shane orders "Please, we're desperate. Please help us. We have women, children, no food, hardly any gas left" Rick pleads with the camera as he's dragged away "Rick, there's nobody here!" Lori cries outs as Rick continues his pleading "We have nowhere else to go!"

Delilah suddenly pounds on the door and the camera turns to her. It scans her face before the computerized voice says to Dr.Jenner "Experiment D3L1LAH is outside the facility" Jenner's eye bulge "What?!" He looks at the girl standing outside who whispers out as Daryl catches her arm and starts to drag her back along with Carl "It moved" Daryl looks at her then at the camera that is now filling the three of them.

Upon seeing the camera move even more Rick runs back and starts pounding on the door "Keep your eyes open. If you don't let us in, you're killing us! Please!" He yells as Shane runs back "Come on, buddy, let's go. Let's go" "Please help us. You're killing us! You're killing us! You're killing us!" The group is just about to leave when the door to the CDC opens, drowning the survivors in light.