REWRITING calamity → the walking dead ¹

nine.

CHAPTER NINE,
lost cause.

Aiden's bag stayed packed.

Daryl stood suddenly and lifted his hand to the vent. "What?" Aiden asked.

"The air conditionin', it stopped." Daryl turned to her with furrowed eyebrows. Aiden stood and lifted her hand. The AC had indeed stopped.

Everyone was outside their rooms when Jenner entered the hall. "Why is the air off?" Carol quizzed the man. "And the lights in our room?"

Daryl and Aiden's heads popped out of their room. "What's goin' on? Why is everything turned off?" Daryl asked.

"Energy used is being prioritized." Jenner said.

"Air isn't a priority? And lights?" Dale interrogated. Everyone legged their rooms and followed after the man .

"It's not up to me. Zone 5 is shutting itself down.

"Hey, hey, what the hell does that mean?" Daryl raised his voice. Jenner didn't reply. "Hey man, I'm talkin' do you. What do you mean it's shuttin' itself down? How can building do anything?"

"You'd be surprised." Jenner said to him.

They walked down the stairs and joined Shane, Glenn, T-Dog, and Rick. "Jenner, what's happening?" Rick asked him.

"The system is dropping all the nonessential uses of power. It's designed to keep the computers running to the last possible second.  That started as we approached the half-hour mark. Right on schedule." Jenner explained. He held out his wine to Daryl who snatched it. "It was the French."

"What?" Aiden asked, her brows furrowing.

"They were the last 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 till the end. They thought they were close to a solution." Jenner told them.

"What happened?" Jacqui asked.

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

"Let me tell you-" Shane started at the man but Rick grabbed ahold of him.

"To hell with it, Shane. I don't even care." Rick said. "Lori, grab our things. Everybody, get your stuff. We're getting out of here now!"

Everyone turned to get their things when an alarmed blared.

"What's that?" Everyone panicked.

"Thirty minutes to decontamination." Vi's robotic voice danced into their ears.

"Doc, what's going on here?" Daryl asked.

"What the fuck is happening, dude?" Aiden asked the scientist, her eyes glittering with panic.

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

Aiden hearted dropped. The doors shut. She turned to Jenner with wide eyes, her jaw slack.

"Did you just lock us in? He just locked us in!" Glenn yelled.