Updated only the author's note as of 6/11/20

Hi again everyone! I'm so happy to bring you the edited chapter of Halo's chapter five after my unintentional hiatus from Fanfiction. The other version was very sloppy and quickly put together without much direction, so I made sure to take my time with this revised version. Maybe a little too much time, but better late than never.

I'm hoping and praying for everyone as we face this health crisis affecting the world in this day and time. Please try to keep yourselves and your families safe and healthy out there. Peace, Love, Sushi!

The hallways illuminated an uncomfortable silence with the exception of collective snores coming from the closed bedroom doors. Meaning everyone else was either fast asleep or passed out from drinking heavily the previous night. It was either now or never. Amy crept towards the bathroom that seemed many miles away from Daryl's bedroom. The closer she inched towards the bathroom while cradling her carry on bag against her chest, the more she cringed at the thought of being caught creeping out of Daryl Dixon's bedroom.

All the more reason Amy practically leapt the last few steps into the bathroom before gently closing the door behind her. "Thank you God for not letting me get caught." She thought feeling the door up against her spine while she tried to slow her breathing.

She turned the nozzle farthest to the left which quickly turned on water to the shower. The blonde lowered her gym shorts down her toned legs first, then pulled her wrinkled shirt over her head. Then followed the rest of her clothes: sports bra and underwear in the exact order. Amy carefully placed her discarded clothes into a separate section of the bag first, then finally stepped into the shower.

Amy stood beneath the thick stream of water, just enjoying the soothing feeling of warm water running through her hair and down her tense muscles. She rubbed her small fingers over the bar of soap a couple good times before lathering the suds over her body numerous times. Her hand twisted the nozzle until it was restricted, putting an end to the shower which she stepped out of completely nude with water dripping down the ends of her blonde locks. She reached for the large towel hanging before lightly rubbing it against her cool skin.

Now finished drying herself, she quickly threw on the fresh set of clothes and straightened up the bathroom before departing the small room and heading towards the kitchen. Amy was clothed for the most part when she started making her way towards the kitchen. With the exception of the faded red v-neck she struggled to pull over her damp hair tied in a messy bun and the zipper to her jeans unfastened.

The struggle came to an end once she realized someone was already in the kitchen, T-Dog to be exact. She took the few moments to smooth the wrinkles out of her shirt after finally pulling it over her head. T-Dog hovered above the stove where many measuring cups and unidentified packages sat untouched on the counter. He had his back turned to her while he carried on humming a gentle tune he seemed much too familiar with.

Amy cleared her throat before approaching him, just to make her presence known. "Good morning."

T-Dog's humming came to an abrupt end. His look of suprise quickly disappeared once he recognized Amy's gentle smile, responding with a friendly smile of his own. "Hey! Good morning to you too birthday girl." He said completely ceasing his humming.

Amy stepped further into the spacious kitchen. "You're in a good mood."

"I can think of a few good reasons to be in a good mood. We're alive, aren't we?" He questioned.

"Yes we are." Amy confirmed with a nod.

"Not to mention we ate real good. We drank real good. And we slept real good. Last night must've been the best sleep we've all had in weeks."

Amy grunted when she went to hop onto the kitchen counter. "Tell me about it. The wine just made it so much better. Just promise me you won't say a word to Andrea or Dale about this." She said holding up one of the bottles of wine before setting it back on the liquor display.

"My lips are sealed." He responded emptying one of the torn packages into the bowl.

Amy nodded from her place on the counter. "Yeah. Just think, if Jenner had not let us in when he did, we could've ended up..." Her face shifted to a blank expression once the image of Jim lying lifelessly against the tree appeared in her mind.

"Like Jim." T-Dog solemnly finished.

"Yeah." Amy reaffirmed, now absentmindedly chewing her lip and avoiding the serious look on T-Dog's face. The only redeeming factor was not seeing Jim die or reanimate. She slammed both eyes shut before that horrific image and those dark thoughts completely clouded her mind. She opened them just as T-Dog had discarded the empty package. "What's that supposed to be?"

He raised an unopened package enough to where the younger woman had a better visual. "Powdered eggs. About enough packets to last us the next few months. I was gonna surprise the others with some breakfast."

"Oh." Amy nodded some, her curious eyes glanced around the kitchen before landing on the stove. A gleam twinkled in her eyes once the gears in her mind started going to work, coming up with a brilliant idea that would help keep her occupied for the time being. "You know what. I think we can definitely make that happen. That is if you don't mind having some help. It's not like I've got anything else better to do."

T-Dog smiled as he nodded knowingly. "I don't see why not. What can you cook?"

"Pancakes. They're actually my specialty."

T-Dog smiled. "You know what would go good with some pancakes?"

Amy quirked an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"Bacon, perhaps some sausage too. And maybe even some fresh brewed coffee."

"Hmmm. Coffee. I can't remember the last time I had some. It's not Starbucks, but it'll have to do. I say we get started." Amy said making sure her bun seated above her head was secure.

T-Dog grabbed a second apron before he tossed it towards Amy's direction. "Well let's do it." He watched her catch it mid-air before she tied the apron's strings in a sloppy knot around her waist. With his bags of powdered eggs and Amy's ingredients deemed necessary for her signature dish, both immediately went to work in the kitchen.

The steam disseminating from the pancakes slowly cooking in the heated pan below took Amy back to earlier days in her own childhood home. She had grown to become passionate when it came to cooking for large numbers of people.

Saturday mornings were usually spent helping her mother cook enough food for the entire family. Both mother and daughter would finish setting the plates just as Mr. Harrison would enter the kitchen in time to say grace. It seemed all the prayers begging for God to allow Andrea to come home in time for the weekend often went unheard from Amy. She'd spend a majority of the meal glancing across the dining room table at Andrea's empty seat while pushing her food around on her plate. She willed the memories away as she flipped a pancake on the heated skillet.

About half an hour later an assortment of breakfast items had already been laid out by the time a few of the others made their way into the kitchen. Lori, Carol, Carl, and Sophia had been the first of the group to be welcomed by the view and aroma of freshly made breakfast. "Pancakes!" Carl and Sophia happily quipped in unison as they both jogged over towards the table, pulling their chairs out from under the table.

Lori took her respected seat beside Carl, who hungrily licked his lips and rubbed his palms. "Oh wow. Amy, T-Dog, you both really shouldn't have. This is beyond generous."

Carol nodded respectfully in their direction. She took her rightful seat beside her daughter. "Yes. Thank you both. Are you sure you don't need any help?"

"Yes we're definitely sure. Now no more questions. Just relax and eat up before it gets cold."

"You don't have to ask me again." Carl said reaching for his fork and knife. His hand jerked back in response to Lori delivering a firm smack to the back of his hand.

If looks could kill, Lori could've easily committed filicide just by the blink of an eye. "Not until we say grace."

"Yeah Carl." Sophia said playfully.

By the time Lori, Carol, and their children had been served their breakfast, it seemed the aroma prompted the others to begin gradually emerging from their bedrooms as well. Dale and Andrea were the next ones to seat themselves at the table. Then an incredibly hungover Glenn entered the kitchen, being guided to the table by Jacqui. And finally Rick who took a seat in between his wife and son.

Carl had just finished his first pancake when he finally noticed his father's presence, watching as he and Dale exchanged morning greetings. He smiled at his father. "Are you hung over? Mom said you'd be."

"Mom is right." Rick said. He took his seat and smiled painfully at his wife and son, hoping sitting still would stop the room from spinning so much.

"Mom has that annoying habit." Lori joked.

He gave a nod of approval towards Amy, who placed a couple pancakes down onto his previously empty plate. "Those look delicious. Thank you Amy."

"You're welcome. The thanks should really go to the head chef." She said motioning towards T-Dog as if she were showcasing a true culinary artist. Amy stepped aside to allow him to serve Rick his portion for breakfast.

"Dog." Rick smiled, clapping hands with T-Dog's vacant hand. "Thank you, both of you, for going out of your way to make this wonderful breakfast for all of us. We really appreciate it."

"Indeed the thanks should go to me. It definitely wasn't an easy job making all this good food."

Amy's mouth fell open in an overdramatic manner. She feigned a look of hurt. "That's the last time I give you credit for anything." The comment was met with a small chorus of laughter.

"But of course, I couldn't have done it without the help of our birthday girl. Now eggs, powdered. But I do em' good. I bet you can't tell." T-Dog's laughter blended in with the others. Glenn's only response was to unleash an exaggerated groan of pain and discomfort. Jacqui was right there beside the younger man, gently rubbing his shoulders.

Amy only slid a single pancake onto Glenn's empty plate. "Morning Glenn. How are you?"

"Hungover sweetie." Jacqui replied.

"Don't remind me." Glenn cried out in agony while Amy did her damndest not to explode into laughter.

T-Dog pushed a small amount of powdered eggs onto Glenn's plate. "The protein should help with the hangover." He finished, sharing a knowing look with Amy and the others.

Rick held up a bottle of aspirin he found sitting on the table. "Where'd all this come from?"

"Jenner." Lori answered him.

After a couple of good tries prying the stubborn lid from the bottle, Rick finally gave up on his attempts of forcing it open. He held out the bottle towards Lori, who tore a piece of her pancake apart. "Could you help me, please?"

Lori popped it open within a matter of seconds. "He thought we could use it. Some of us, at least."

Glenn groaned as he battled another wave of nausea. It was only for a short moment of discomfort, but it was enough for the young supply runner to begin doubling in pain. "Don't ever ever ever let me drink again."

Amy offered Glenn a reassuring smile. She gently began running a soothing hand up and down her best friend's upper back. "I'll try to remember next time."

"You'd better." Glenn said.

Both T-Dog and Amy continued on with serving everyone their breakfast. They only stopped once Shane eventualy made his way into the kitchen. The three visible scratches on his neck and jaw stood out from his usual outward appearance. Amy had just finished pouring Dale his morning coffee when she turned around just in time to get a glimpse of Shane.

She happened to glance over at Lori, who obviously appeared very flustered from his presence. "Jesus Christ Shane." Amy barely whispered.

"What the hell happened to you? Your neck?" T-Dog questioned looking Shane up and down.

"I must've done it in my sleep." Shane quickly responded, trying to avoid the questioning looks the others were giving him.

Rick also wore a look of skepticism. "Never seen you do that before." He said placing an aspirin into his mouth before downing it with his glass of orange juice.

"Me either. Not like me at all." Shane's eyes wandered elsewhere for a brief moment before they finally landed on Lori, who tried her best not to appear shaken as she ate her food.

Amy was just about to speak up, but the silent warning Andrea gave her suggested otherwise. She casually approached Shane while holding the pot of hot coffee. "Maybe you should have Jenner take a look at those so he can patch them up."

"Maybe you should mind your own business for once." He clapped back with aggression deep in his voice. This approach first thing in the morning was just as bad if not worse than the stunt he pulled last night during Amy's birthday celebration.

"Well, maybe I will. Ungrateful bastard." Amy poured the last of the coffee into Glenn's coffee mug before retreating towards the adjacent kitchen counter to make more coffee. "Sorry." She said meeting the eyes of all three concerned parents.

Not the least concerned, Shane went for a sip of his coffee when he noticed the many glares digging into him. The short moment of tense silence was interrupted at the sound of Andrea's chair sliding across the kitchen floor. "That was so uncalled for Shane."

The last of the group to make their appearance in the morning was Daryl, rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes. He started walking towards the delightful smell of pancakes in the kitchen. His footsteps came to a standstill once he laid eyes on Amy, eavesdropping on the whispered conversation between her and Andrea.

He was able to gather a few pieces of their conversation once he started preparing his plate, placing a couple pieces of sausage onto it.

"I was only trying to help." Andrea offered her reason.

"You want to help? Fine, then don't help me. I don't need you making my business your business by fighting my battles all the time. I can handle myself Andrea." Amy said with much annoyance. Who could blame her for growing tired of Andrea's constant need to insert herself into every argument? The older blonde woman made this an unnecessary habit whenever there was conflict present in her sister's corner.

The two went back and forth bickering for a good couple of minutes when Andrea finally had a seat beside Dale at Amy's insisting. But not before promising Amy they'd finish this conversation sometime later after breakfast came to a close. Andrea gave Amy a knowing look as she downed the last of her orange juice while Amy placed a couple dollops of pancake battering onto the skillet.

Amy's hair was tied up in an adorably messy bun and she had a smidge of pancake mix on her cheek. Her eyebrows were knit together in concentration as she whisked the pancake batter in the large bowl. She must've sensed Daryl's lingering eyes on her because she turned towards him, her look of concentration replaced with confusion. "What?"

"Looking good." Daryl said approaching her. He froze once he realized his mistake. He wasn't one who spoke his most personal thoughts aloud for others to hear. But when he did, it was usually at the most inappropriate of times. Mostly in front of women he found attractive. Merle used to get a kick out of Daryl's failed attempts at picking up on women from the local bar in their hometown.

Amy looked back and forth between Daryl and the cooked pancakes she'd removed from the skillet. Surely he must've been referring to those. "Daryl, were you just talking to me?"

Daryl inwardly panicked now that Amy was outwardly panicking from his unintentional flirting. He was quick enough to think on his feet and cover up his blunder by grabbing the freshly made trio of pancakes and placing them onto his plate. "Come on now. I was talking about the pancakes. Not you girl."

"Oh." Amy said trying not to appear totally disappointed. Her face flushed at the thought of Daryl Dixon actually complimenting her so openly with the others nearby. She tried to play off the whole ordeal by feigning calmness. "I-I already knew that."

"Yeah. I'm sure you already did." Daryl said before walking over towards the table. It didn't take long for him to notice Glenn giving him the side eye. "What? What you looking at me for?"

"You. This is all your fault. How could you convince me to drink as much as I did last night?" Glenn said.

Daryl took a good chomp from one of his pancakes. "It ain't my fault you can't hold down your liquor China man." He mumbled through a mouthful of pancake.

"For the last time, I'm Korean. Asshole." Glenn whispered under his breath out of respect for the children and their parents. He groaned when he felt another massive migraine, with Jacqui doing her best to rub the pain away.

"Pussy." Daryl said aloud, earning a couple of uncomfortable coughs and groans from the disapproving adult members of the group.

Carl and Sophia giggled at the older men's bickering and name calling going back and forth. Carl leaned over into Sophia's ear, laughing into his cupped hands. "Pussy." He repeated after Daryl's previous insult, trying not to giggle at her shocked expression of him boldly repeating a curse word aloud.

Carol coughed uncomfortably into her napkin. Lori on the other hand sat with her mouth agape, actually at a loss for words. She soon found her voice once Daryl and Glenn began getting creative with their insults, some bordering on the line of down right offensive on Daryl's part.

"Somebody say something. Rick?" Lori whispered to her husband, who was going for another bite of his dry toast. She indiscreetly kicked her husband's leg from under the table, with those nearby hearing the audible contact of Lori's foot hitting Rick's leg.

"Glenn. Daryl. You boys behave yourselves." Rick reprimanded both men in a non-threatening tone that didn't fit the situation.

Daryl pointed across the table at Glenn. "He started it."

"Did not."

"Did too!"

Before he sat down with his breakfast, Daryl made sure to "accidentally" slam the cabinet doors. The sudden slamming startled T-Dog and Amy, who ended up dropping the empty plate onto the floor. Glenn's hands instinctively went to his aching head, crying out loudly in pain.

"Daryl." Everyone except Carl and Sophia scolded.

Jenner finally appeared in the kitchen, barely meeting the eyes of the others as he walked into the kitchen. His face still carried the same exhausted and joyless expression as yesterday. He forced himself to wave at Carl and Sophia, who both made it a point to politely greet the doctor.

Dale had just finished his portion of eggs when he noticed Jenner having just come into the kitchen. He tossed his napkin down beside his plate before turning around in order to properly face Dr. Jenner. "I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing-"

"But you will anyway." Jenner dryly replied.

"We didn't come here for the eggs." Andrea said from her place at the table, confirming the doctor's suspicion.

Everyone instantly stopped whatever they were doing, whether it was eating, talking, or cooking. They all looked up to Jenner standing before them looking more unenthused than the previous night.

Ten minutes later, Jenner herded everyone into a large room surrounded by plenty of equipment and large screens hovering above them. Once he called upon VI to bring up an image on the massive monitor everyone focused on the horizontal image showing the upper shoulders and head of what appeared to be a human body. The magnification of the image increased greatly when Jenner instructed VI to enhance the view, making the image more detailed than before.

"Is that a brain?" Carl asked looking up in awe of at the image before his young eyes.

Amy too was in awe of the bright blue threads flashing on the screen, blinking repeatedly while watching them traveling throughout what was obviously a brain. Shortly after Jenner commanded VI to scan forward to the first event, the once bright lights traveling along the screen completely stopped before becoming engulfed with complete darkness. She began chewing the tips of her fingernails out of nervous habit once she realized that the test subject was an actual person.

Just before Amy could muster the courage to ask an extremely difficult question, Glenn blurted out a question of his own. "What is that?"

"It invades the brain like meningitis. The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shutdown, then the major organs. Then death. Everything you ever were or ever will be...gone."

A shy yet curious Sophia looked to her mother for a troubling question. "Is that what happened to Jim?"

"Yes." Carol answered with sadness.

It was exactly what happened to Jim. Along with everyone else they all had lost along the way. Their families, close friends, neighbors and acquaintances. It felt as if a massive weight had placed itself upon Amy's chest. Her breathing quickened to an unsteady pace to where she placed a trembling hand on her chest, trying unsuccessfully to will the tears away. Muffled sobs barely escaped her trembling lips once Andrea and Dale went to her side. Both stood on each side as they offered Amy some assuring words.

Andrea was doing everything she could to comfort her little sister. "It's going to be OK." She said softly into Amy's ear.

"I apologize for upsetting your daughter Dale. Is she alright?" Jenner questioned Dale with a hardened yet concerned expression.

Some of the women in the group winced at Jenner's poor choice of words while many of the men seethed with anger. Daryl was doing the best he could to keep his emotions in check. Jenner couldn't have known any better, but still some things shouldn't be assumed so suddenly. Especially when these assumptions were making Amy even more upset. Her hushed sobbing became far too much to cover, causing her to unknowingly brush past the comforting arms of Dale and Andrea in the moment. Her knees buckled more with each step she took.

Daryl reached out just in time to grab Amy before she could collapse to the ground. He leaned against the control panels while rubbing comforting circles into Amy's back as she silently wept into the crook of his neck. "You happy now? You made her cry."

Jenner took a couple of steps forward. "I'm sorry. I didn't know-"

"Daryl! He didn't know." Lori said.

The room filled with a series of gasps when the barrel of a gun on the screen appeared in front of the forehead, firing a single bullet into the brain which caused the lighting to become completely dark. Amy stopped crying just in time to glance upwards at the screen, sniffling occasionally. Her hands remained firmly planted onto Daryl's chest which rose and fell with each breath he took.

"God. What was that?" Carol asked looking upwards at the figure lying motionless on the large screen.

"He shot his patient in the head. Didn't you?" Andrea asked looking at Dr. Jenner.

"So if it's something like meningitis, then there's a possibility it can be cured? Or maybe even prevented in people not infected yet?" Amy questioned as the others looked at Jenner with hopeful looks.

Despite everyone's looks, the doctor's head shook at the young woman's hopeful question. "It's more complicated then that. We could spend days, weeks, even months producing and modifying a cure believed to be effective in combatting the disease. But all those efforts would be pointless without identifying the causative agent responsible for bringing all this about. Whatever this is, it would have to be identified before being treated properly. It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal."

"Or the wrath of God?" Jacqui asked.

"There is that." Was one of the better options Jenner could think to list as a possibility.

Amy swallowed the lump forming in her throat as a more serious question sat at the tip of her tongue. She really didn't want to ask with Carl and Sophia being present, but she had to say this. Or how else would they know? "You don't know what it is. You don't even have a cure. If what all you're telling us is true, then there really is nothing you or anyone else really can do. If that's the case, where do we go from here?"

"That is a question I have yet to answer myself. Where do we go from here?" Jenner solemnly finished shoving both hands into his coat pockets. At this point everyone stood wordlessly in shock at the thought of an uncertain future lingering in the air.

Daryl had released Amy just so he could pace the small area. "Man, I'm gonna get shit faced drunk tonight."

The only other person to seal the silence with his words was Dale, looking upwards towards the large clock planted on the wall across them, with bright red numbers counting backwards. "Dr. Jenner, I know this has been taxing for you and I hate to ask one more question, but.. that clock. It's counting down. What happens at zero?"

Jenner barely glanced upwards towards Dale. "The basement generators - they run out of fuel."

"And then?" Rick asked stepping forward. He stood rocking on the balls of his feet impatiently for Jenner to offer them something closest to the correct answer as he possibly could. Instead of outwardly answering the question, the doctor chose to ignore it and simply walked the opposite direction, leaving the entire group's question unanswered. "VI, what happens when the power runs out?"

"When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur." The voice of VI said through the speakers.

Daryl grimaced at the familiar burn of the wild turkey sliding down his throat. He pulled his mouth from the opening of the bottle before lowering it onto the nightstand. He'd stopped listening somewhere during the revelation of Dr. Jenner's findings. All that complicated scientific crap was incomprehensible to him, so he just sat back and tried his best not to fall asleep on the spot.

It wasn't until Amy summarized Jenner's unfortunate findings that he finally understood the troubled looks on everyone's faces. In other words there was no possibility for a cure and zero chance the world would even return back to normal.

Everyone's faces fell once Jenner confirmed the truth none of them were hoping to hear.

Keeping his word, Daryl locked himself in his bedroom and where he started helping himself to an entire bottle of wild turkey. The only good news was once he finished with his current bottle, there was more than enough alcohol to go through in the kitchen.

Daryl raised the bottle to his lips to take another sip just as the lights in his room had shut off. He looked up towards the dimmed lights in alarm and confusion. He immediately went towards the door and flung it wide open. He peered his head into the hallway, feeling somewhat unsteady once the sobering reality of the situation slowly began to sink in. Also standing outside their respective rooms were Lori, Carol, Dale, Andrea, and Amy.

Lori too stood outside of the bedroom she shared with her family. Both arms were crossed protectively over Carl. "Why is the air off?"

"And the lights in our rooms?" He heard that woman, Carol, also question the elusive doctor. Trailing close behind was Sophia, who held onto her mother's arm with one hand, her stuffed doll with the other.

"What's going on? Why is everything turned off?" Daryl questioned. He looked down just as he felt the bottle of alcohol had been ripped from his hand, looking back up in time to witness Jenner helping himself to a massive mouthful.

Despite being bombarded with a series of concerning questions requiring immediate answers, Jenner didn't seem the least bit of concerned with them or Daryl's repeated threats. He just continued to drink and mutter incomprehensibly as Lori, Carol, Amy, and the others followed him onto the steps leading to the work station.

"Glenn? Glenn, what's happening?" He heard Amy call out to Glenn, who looked just as concerned with the sudden turn of events. Flashlight in hand, Glenn had managed to squeeze past Rick and T-Dog, putting himself in the lead of their small group. The blonde brushed past Jenner in order to descend the stairs, allowing herself to fall into her best friend's arms while the others did the same with their loved ones.

Just as the doctor said, the building had finished shutting itself down without Jenner having to lift a finger. The lights hanging above their heads had been switched off one by one, temporarily submerging them all into sea of darkness before VI turned on the emergency lighting. Unlike Daryl and the others, Jenner appeared to be more accepting of whatever was in store for them. The doctor's facial features remained undisturbed while his demeanor went from calm to involved with whatever was occupying his attention on the computer.

Everyone froze at the alarm sounding off loudly in the background, glancing around with their eyes filled with fear. "Thirty minutes until decontamination." Came VI over the intercom, temporarily drowning out the overlapping voices.

First the air conditioning went out, then the lights, and now an alarm. Daryl felt a familiar chill run down his spine now that the picture had become more clear something terrible was happening. "Doc, what's going on here?" He still questioned, hoping for the best case scenario. Watching Jenner scanning his badge at the computer caused Daryl's feet to begin moving towards the security door.

He felt his heart actually skip a beat at the sight of the massive security door sealing shut and blocking their only passage to freedom. The son of a bitch had actually trapped them inside with him.

"No. Did you just lock us in? He just locked us in!" Daryl looked back just in time to witness Glenn yelling out towards their group.

With nowhere else to run, everyone dispersed in various directions. Amy allowed Andrea to guide her towards the work station where Dr. Jenner sat before his monitor speaking into it. Trailing close behind the sisters were Lori and Carol with their equally frightened children clinging to their mothers. Despite the screaming and alarms sounding off around Amy, Daryl's cursing and threats managed to reach her ears. She looked up just as Daryl shoved past Glenn and charged towards Dr. Jenner, who continued broadcasting from his monitor.

"You son of a bitch! You locked us in here!" Daryl yelled aloud, grabbing a fistful of Jenner's lab coat with one hand while holding the liquor bottle with the other. He struggled against Rick and Shane, who were trying their best to pull Daryl away from the doctor. Seeing the two fighting to contain Daryl caused T-Dog to run over and do everything he could to help despite the intense hold Daryl had on Jenner.

Once Daryl got the idea to use the liquor bottle as a bludgeon, Amy too rushed over towards the group of adult men yelling amongst one another. "Amy! No, come back here!" Andrea cried out to her sister running towards the work station.

Dale also screamed. "It's too dangerous!"

Rick had somehow managed to hold Daryl back against the control panel, with Daryl still swearing to end Dr. Jenner's life through gritted teeth. The partially empty liquor bottle flailed about dangerously close to Rick and Shane. Daryl's efforts in struggling against both officers came to a pause once he felt a gentle set of hands cupping his face. Fingernails barely grazed his flushed cheeks when he felt his head forcibly turning from where Jenner sat panting by his monitor. He slowly lowered the bottle and stopped resisting once his eyes had now locked onto Amy's gentle yet firm features. "Pay attention to me. Don't look at him, just look at me."

He struggled against the hold Amy had on him. "I wanna kill him." Daryl snarled.

"No. I can't let you do that." Amy responded.

Rick stealthily approached the doctor from the side. "Hey Jenner, open that door now." He commanded the doctor.

"There's no point. Everything topside is locked down. The emergency exits are sealed." Dr. Jenner responded breathlessly.

Daryl still stood leaning against the control panel with Amy acting as a barrier between himself and Dr. Jenner. She continued to run her hands soothingly across Daryl's face and upper arms. "Well open the damn things." Daryl yelled over Amy's shoulder, refraining from charging the doctor again.

"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. It's better this way." Jenner finished.

"What's better this way? We don't want any trouble. Just let us out already. Please." Amy pleaded.

Still recovering from Daryl's previous attack, the adrenaline caused Jenner to rise from his chair as he launched into an aggressive rant against the group surrounding him. About the purpose of the CDC and how much time and effort was dedicated to protecting the public from a range of deadly diseases. Daryl's muscles remained tensed throughout Jenner's words. "Son of a bitch thinks he's doing us a favor. I'll make him open those damn doors. Just watch me."

"You can't." Amy whispered to Daryl.

Daryl felt his grip tighten around the neck of the bottle. "Oh yeah. And why the hell not?"

"Cause if he dies, so do we."

After a lot of hounding from Rick, the persistence finally seemed to dampen Jenner's conscience. He blurted out something about the H.I.T.S, which lead to the disturbing truth behind the building's shut down and just why all exits were sealed. At first no one in the room other than Dr. Jenner understood what the H.I.T.S were and how everything would be contained. It wasn't until VI came on the loudspeaker and explained in vivid detail what this meant for the survivors. Once the word "explosives" poured out of the speaker, some of the members became overwhelmed with emotion.

Daryl held his breath as he locked eyes with Amy, who appeared just as terrified at the revelation if not worse. Her eyes quickly overflowed with fresh tears that began sliding down her face, which she buried into Daryl's chest. "No." She muttered bursting into tears now that everyone's fate had been sealed without their approval. She took a brief moment to remove her face from Daryl's chest to glance over at Dale and Andrea. Dale's figure remained frozen in place along with his jaw still hanging open. Andrea's face on the otherhand remained stoic although her eyes were visibly filled with fear.

Amy absentmindedly walked across the work station towards Dale and Andrea. Once she wrapped an arm around them both, all her grief just came out of her trembling body.

Family members and close friends were now hugging each other. Like Rick, who held onto his family as if this would be the last time. Others sobbed in response such as Carol and Sophia, or Andrea who now held onto a tearful Amy. The oldest sister stood on her knees rocking her younger sister back and forth.

And then there were a handful of others who refused to crumble so easily. Daryl being the first one to charge towards the door and then toss the liquor bottle at the closed door. The bottle exploded on contact before Daryl turned towards Dr. Jenner enraged. "Open the damn door!"

Shane and T-Dog raced alongside each other both wielding fire axes. T-Dog tossed the first one off to Daryl, who caught it and started swinging at the steel door in an attempt to damage it. Shane delivered his own set of blows alongside Daryl's, the contact of both axes colliding with the steel door rang aloud. Carl and Sophia outwardly cringed each time the sound of metal scraping against steel reached their ears.

Amy too would cringe occasionally from the sound of blows constantly landing.

Andrea must've picked up on Amy's sudden distress, assuming it was a direct result of their current predicament. "I'm not leaving you. Not now, not ever. No matter what happens, we're going to be OK."

Her eyes landed on Jenner, who kneeled down next to them all. "And you will be. It won't be long now. You should've just left well enough alone. It would've been easier."

"Easier for who?" Lori asked.

"It's easier for him. Isn't that right?" Andrea angrily questioned from her position on the floor beside her younger sister. She gently combed a curtain of blonde hair out of Amy's eyes in a comforting manner.

"But it's not just easier for me. It's better for all of you. You know what's out there. A short brutal life and an agonizing death. Your - your father - I apologize for having jumped to conclusions earlier on. Do you really think this is what he would've wanted for you both?"

Hearing him reinforce his defeated beliefs was exhausting. And quite frankly it was beginning to agitate Andrea more so now before. To tell them what their father would've wanted was an insult to his memory. "You really think this is the better option? Our dad wouldn't want this for us."

"What about what we want? Who are you to make us choose?" Amy questioned.

"You know what this will do. You've seen it. Is this what you really want?" Jenner asked with his eyes full of sincere facing everyone. Those eyes soon landed on Rick.

Rick took a few good steps towards the doctor. "I don't want this."

Shane leaned on a nearby piece of machinery, his chest continuously rose and fell in response to the exhaustion. "Can't make a dent." He said breathlessly

"Those doors are designed to withstand a rocket launcher."

Daryl tightened his hold on the axe. He raised the axe above his head, charging towards Jenner once again. "Well your head ain't!"

Luckily, T-Dog, Rick, and Glenn were able to properly restrain Daryl without themselves or Dr. Jenner receiving any injuries in the process. Jenner gradually began lowering his legs towards the floor from their previous defensive stance. He adjusted his lab coat from the uncomfortable position of his back pressing deeper into the chair.

"You do want this. Last night you said you knew it was just a matter of time before everybody you loved was dead." Jenner announced while rising from his seat.

Shock washed over everyone's once the realization of Jenner's words had been placed out there. Some faces such as Lori's were frozen with disbelief while the looks on the others faces molded into ones of anger and betrayal. It seemed their usually hopeful leader had crumbled under the pressure and unknowingly placed them all in the very predicament threatening their lives. "What? You really said that? After all your big talk?" Shane growled towards Rick.

Amy uncovered her ears just as she listened to multiple voices maliciously bombarding Rick for his choice of words. It came as no surprise to hear Shane light into
Rick out of all people. It was more than likely his brief affair with Lori played a part in Shane's aggression towards Rick. That along with the anger and desperation boiling past his already cracking surface of calm and collected. Amy and Andrea covered their ears just as a massive roar was released from within Shane, followed by Rick's attempts to plead for Jenner's miserable life, and finally ending with a single gunshot blast from the shotgun.

The terrible sounds of electrical equipment exploding in the background were replaced by a single blow connecting with flesh. She glanced over where Shane was now lying with a pained expression, with Rick towering above him with his chest rising and falling. "Are you done now? Are you done?" Amy heard Rick questioning Shane.

Shane was lying on the ground trying to catch his breath. "Yeah. I guess we all are." He sighed, watching Rick hand the gun off to T-Dog.

In spite of all the chaos surrounding him, Rick was able to approach the situation with a calm demeanor and make another attempt at bargaining for the lives of the group. Sure, he stumbled a little, but the man's words had more meaning to them as opposed to the bullets Shane wasted. Even Dr. Jenner appeared moved by what he heard.

"Let us keep trying as long as we can." Lori offered a final plea to go with her husband's powerful words.

"I told you the topside's locked down. I can't open those." Jenner said. He approached the keypad to the security door where he clicked on some of the buttons in a particular order.

Multiple sighs of relief were released the moment the massive security doors leading to the outside simultaneously spread open. Daryl lowered the axe slightly. "Come on!" He yelled towards the small group, who didn't hesitate to react to his demands. Lori and Carol practically dragged the children towards the security door while the remaining members full on sprinted towards freedom, except for Jacqui. T-Dog practically dragged her towards the entrance, only pausing in his attempts upon Jacqui pulling away from his hold.

"No no. I'm staying. I'm staying sweetie."Jacqui announced T-Dog and the others, who looked on with disbelief.

T-Dog went to grab her arm a second time. "But that's insane." He argued.

"No, it's completely sane. For the first time in a long time. I'm not ending up like Jim. There's no time to argue. And no point, not if you want to get out. Just get out. Get out." Were Jacqui's final words to the group while they remained frozen in place. She proved her final point by pushing T-Dog towards the doors before gently cupping his face in her hands.

Amy followed in Dale's lead of gesturing for the middle-aged woman to follow them, only for Jacqui to shake her head and fold her arms over her chest. Both sighed visibly with defeat while watching Jacqui moving away without allowing them another opportunity to voice their opinions. The blonde felt herself jump at the surprise of a hand on her shoulder, looking up at Andrea. "Just let her go." The older sister said with the shake of her head.

Jacqui took several steps backward as the tears fell down her face, doing her best to keep a shaky smile. She nodded knowingly towards the others for what would be her final goodbye to the group. Amy's lips quivered some while she waved her hand before being guided toward the security doors. "Bye." She said barely above a whisper before Jacqui's figure left her view completely.

Everyone but Jenner and Jacqui ran up the many flights of stairs in the dark towards the ground level. The frantic sounds of multiple footsteps connecting with stairs and panicked breathing echoed throughout the stairwell. Daryl and T-Dog had taken the lead by the time their group reached the lobby, both men struggling against the doors. T-Dog jammed his fingers onto the electronic keypad while Daryl and Shane tried making an exit using the axes. Despite both men's best efforts, they couldn't make as much as a crack in the glass. It seemed to have become a deadly barrier, one which the survivors were trapped in.

Amy looked back and forth between both sets of men trying to set them free. Carol and Sophia both stood beside her, with Carol whispering some assuring words to her daughter. Amy happened to glance upon Sophia, who seemed more defeated witnessing the men struggling. Amy leaned in somewhat before lightly tapping the girl on the shoulder, feeling her jump in response to the contact. "We're almost there." Amy assured Sophia. She felt her heart hammering in her chest watching T-Dog then delivering a blow to the glass with a chair.

Shane raised the shotgun to shoulder level prior to approaching the glass. Everyone surrounding him quickly ran for cover. "Dog, get down! Get down!" He pressed the trigger causing a bullet to launch from the barrel and towards the direction of the glass, barely making as much as a dent. "Jesus."

"The glass won't break." Sophia said in surprise from her position on the floor.

Carol had already risen to her feet, feverishly digging around for something in her purse hanging from her shoulder. "Rick, I have something that might help."

"Carol, I don't think a nail file's gonna do it." Was Shane's response.

Carol continued digging in her purse. "Your first morning at camp, when I washed your uniform I found this in your pocket." Everyone's, including Daryl's eyes, widened when they watched the usually timid woman remove a grenade from her purse.

"Woah." Carl said, breaking the brief silence he and his fellow group members found themselves in.

Daryl's choice of words were the next to be announced. "Goddamn woman!"

Everyone save for Rick scattered to take cover from afar while the middle-aged husband and father reluctantly removed the grenades' pin before placing the weapon of mass destruction on the window sill. "Oh sh-" He managed to place enough distance between himself and the window just as it shattered in response to the grenade exploded, creating an exit large enough for them to pass through.

Once they all leapt onto the ground below, everyone made a break for their unharmed vehicles parked on the curb. Walkers nearby growled, only to be taken out with a bullet to the head from Rick and Shane's firearms. Daryl settled for the axe he'd held onto for the duration of their escape, successfully beheading one of the walkers accosting him. Rick ascended the RV's steps just as he collected the keys to the massive vehicle and inserted them in the keyhole, bringing the RV to life.

He and Lori looked up just as Amy and Andrea helped Dale jump from the building. His eyes widened at the watch on his wrist. Nine, eight, seven, six. Both sisters and the older man had not quite made it to the opened doors of Dale's RV awaiting the trio's arrival. Rick pressed on the horn just as Lori leaned out of the RV yelling in a panic. "Dale! You guys get down!"

"Get back! Everyone get down!" Rick yelled for all the members of his group who took cover just as a massive ball of flames gradually started spilling out of the makeshift opening created by the grenade. The flames extended past the walls, engulfing everything closest by it. Walkers and nearby vehicles abandoned, setting everything ablaze in his proximal path.

Next came the explosion that sounded off greatly, to the point where some walkers limping nearby had been thrown to the ground from the force. The remaining structure keeping the building stationed to the grounds below crumbled, causing it all to topple over into a massive, fiery heap.

Andrea stood up from the sand bags lined up, speechless at the scene before her with her mouth agape. Amy covered her trembling mouth, crying as she outwardly mourned for the loss of Jacqui. Dale was frozen in place, looking back and forth between both women. He offered a look of genuine sympathy for Amy before going to engulf the sobbing young woman into his arms. He then reached down to Andrea and took her smaller hand into his, gesturing for the blonde to follow as he guided the sisters towards the RV.

Shifting the RV into drive, Rick focused his attention onto the undisturbed roads before them as he guided the RV away from the CDC. The remaining vehicles trailed close behind as they all drove towards the road they previous travelled from, heading towards the unforeseen road ahead of them. Amy watched the wreckage from one of the windows fade into the distance as the RV pulled away, allowing a single tear to fall down her face.