End of CDC

"I would tell you more about it, but first I want to show you guys something... VI, give me a playback of TS-19", he ordered.

(Playback of TS-19), robotic voice said and up on the wall an oversized display shows varying 3-D views of human skulls.

"Is that the brain?", Carl asked and Jenner replied, "An extraordinary one. Not that it matters in the end. Take us in for E.I.V.".

(Enhanced Internal View)- the voice said.

The main screen changed to show the upper shoulders and head of the subject. The screen skewed to a horizontal view then increased the magnification. The image became more and more detailed. The magnification showed the Inside the skull. It appeared to be lit with bright blue threads of energy. Some areas were denser with light than others but there were lighted threads throughout the skull. The detail zooms in until the threads became closer and pulses of light could be distinguished.

"What are those lights?, Shane asked. "It's a person's life—experiences, memories. It's everything. Somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those ripples of light, is you—the thing that makes you unique and human", Jenner said.

"Doesn't make sense to me', Daryl said. "Those are synapses. Electric impulses in the brain that carry all the messages. They determine everything a person says does or thinks from the moment of birth to the moment of death", Jenner explained again.

"Death? That's what this is, a vigil?", Rick asked. "Yes. Or rather the playback of the vigil", he said adding further, "This was test subject 19. Someone who was bitten and infected… and volunteered to have us record the process. VI, Scan forward to the first event".

(Scanning to first event)

The screen showed a message "Scanning Forward" The brain had lights still flickering in the outer areas but the center had become dark as if black roots were growing inside.

"What is that?", Glenn asked.

"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. Scan the second event", he told them.

(Scanning the second event)

"The resurrection times vary wildly. We had reports of it happening in as little as three minutes. The longest we heard of was eight hours. In the case of this patient, it was two hours, one minute… seven seconds", he said as A red glow flickered at the base of the brain. The rest remained dark. Random sparks shot out into the larger area of the brain but no further lights grew.

"Did the brain just restart?", Amy asked.

"No, just the brain stem. Basically it gets them up and moving. Tell me, do you think they are alive?", he asked everyone.

"It's nothing like before. Most of the brain is dark", Rick said.

"Dark, lifeless, dead. The frontal lobe, the neocortex, the human part—that doesn't come back. The you part. Just a shell driven by mindless instinct", he explained.

Next, the subject moved, its mouth opened and closed. The head moved side to side, the shoulders moved as if the arms were being lifted. The barrel of a gun appeared at the forehead pointing down. A bullet entered the brain and tore through the red cluster of embers. The brain went completely dark, the subject stopped moving.

"God, what was that?", Carol asked. "He shot his patient in the head. Didn't you?", Andrea asked.

"VI, Power down the main screen and the workstations", he said as the power went down.

"Before you came here, everything went down. Communications, directives—all of it. I've been in the dark for almost a month. Sorry but I had to turn off all the power in living area to save power. You know I almost gave up yesterday and was about to shoot myself, until you guys came", he looked at them, particularly at Damian. Last night, I got some hope and decided to work a bit more for the last time. Maybe I would be able to get some results", he announced.

"So? What did you find?", Daryl asked suspiciously.

"Nothing much", he replied, looking at Damian for a moment. "There is no cure to it", he revealed.

"How can you say that? There must be. It may take some time, but you can find one. I believe you", Dale asked.

"Have you given up?", Amy asked.

"I have. I don't want to give you guys false hopes. This is the end", Jenner said.

"There must be others finding the cure?", Carol asked him to which he shook his head. "I lost communication from others quite a while ago. The last, to be working on it was France".

"What happens now?", Rick asked looking at Jenner. Suddenly, everyone heard the robotic voice.

(Energy levels down. Decontamination will begin in half an hour)

"What? Did it say decontamination? What's that?", Daryl said.

"What is it saying, Dr?", Rick asked Jenner who just sat there taking a sip of beer in his hand.

"VI, what do you mean by decontamination?", Rick asked.

(In the event of a catastrophic power failure, H.I.T.s are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out)

"H.I.T.s? What's that?", Andria asked.

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

"It means that this place will explode", Jenner said.

Everyone looked frightened. Carol and Sophia hugged each other, crying.

"We have to get out of here", Rick said to everyone, "Guys, go get your bags, we are leaving". Everyone ran towards the living area. "Damian. Damian, let's go man. Let's hurry", Glenn said but seeing Damian not flinching from his place, he ran away alone. Damian was there with only Jenner and Jacqui.

"What happened, dr. Jenner?", Damian asked. "What did you find out?", he asked.

"You were right. You are immune. In a way", Jenner answered. "What do you mean? Isn't that a good thing then?", he asked. "Yes. It is for you. You won't become a walker", he answered. "What are you saying doctor? Can't you make a vaccine then? Or maybe make everyone like me. Please, don't give up", he requested. 

"I told you. There is no time. It would take years to research your body and find out the answers let alone getting results", Jenner told him. "But why?", he asked. "Your case is unique. Look here", Jenner said as he opened his computer and showed some images. 

"See, this is Rick's blood test result. This is Jacqui's. This. This. This. These are all the same. They are all the same. Look at this. It's my blood test result. Same as everyone. This, this is your blood test result", Damian saw that his were slightly different from others but couldn't figure anything else out. "Damian. I am telling you this because you should know. You are the only person in this world who is not infected", Damian felt like a thunderbolt had hit him. "What do you mean by that?", he asked looking at Jacqui, who didn't react.

"We are all infected. Rick, Shane, Carl... everyone in the world. Except you", Jenner said.

"Why? Why am I not infected?", Damian asked. "Maybe because you were in isolation. Or because of the tests done on you when you were there. You never got infected", he said. "But how can everyone else be infected and not me? I have been out for quite a while, so why am I not infected yet", Damian asked. 

"Your blood. The cells in your body. They kill the virus", Jenner said. "That's a good thing right. That's what you needed. Kill the virus", Damian said hopefully. "It not only kills the virus but also destroys the infected cells. If someone uses the vaccine, he will definitely not turn into walker, but die regardless as the vaccine will destroy his body", Jenner explained.

"We can find an answer. We just need time. Right? Let's leave here. There must be other places. We can go there and-", Damian said. "Time. We always think there is gonna be more time. And then it runs out", Jenner said while shaking the beer and added, "I am done. I can't do it anymore. I can't", and he took out an injection filled with some serum and injected it in his arm. "What was that?", Damian asked with a worried face. "The vaccine", Jenner replied. "But you said, it-", Jenner interrupted Damian, "It's better", he said. Jacqui stepped forward and said, "I want it too".

Damian looked at Jacqui in disbelief, "What? didn't you hear him just now? This'll kill you", he said.

"At least I would die on my terms. I don't want to become those things", she said while Jenner helped her with the injection. 

"How can you give up?", Damian asked with a broken heart. "Guys like you are the last hope in this world", Damian said. "I am nothing. I am just Edwin Jenner. It was my wife. She was the one who would have found a cure. It should've been me who was bit, not her. She asked me to keep going. I did it for her", Jenner said in somber voice looking at the picture frame in his desk. "TS-19. That was your wife?", Jacqui asked him and after he nodded, she patted his shoulders to console.

Jenner pulled out his tape recorder and a hard drive from his drawer. "This place is going down. But you don't have to. Take this. Maybe if you find someone who is still working on the cure, you can give it to him. This will be helpful. And this tape has all the information about the infected that I recorded in this lab. It'll help you".

"Guys let's go", Rick shouted loudly as everyone ran out towards the exit gate.

Glenn came out with two bags and called out to Damian. "Hey man let's go".

"Damian, let's go. We have to leave. Jacqui?", Rick said, putting his hand on Damian's shoulder.

"I am staying here, dear", Jacqui said smiling. "What? You'll die here", Andrea said.

"I will die on my terms. I prefer to die here inside when I'm still human", Jacqui said as she hugged everyone present. 

"Run people, run", Shane said as he quickly prompted everyone to start running. Damian looked at them both, grabbed his bag from Glenn and ran away with the others. They soon reached the exit, but it was closed. "Break the glass, there", Shane commanded, as everyone started striking the glass with their weapons. T-Dog fired some shots from his gun but that did not even make a dent.

"Get away", Shane said, as he brought out the shotgun. *Bang*. The fire still didn't break the glass. 

"Rick", Carol called Rick showing him the Granade from her bag. Rick quickly took it and said to everyone, "Everyone, go back and cover yourself". Everyone ran back and hid behind something as Rick went towards the large glass window and pulled the plug of the grenade while putting it near the glass. He ran back and immediately jumped and laid down covering his head. *Boom*. The glass blasted open, and everyone came out of their places. Rick rose up from his place and prompted everyone to leave the building, "Let's go guys. Let's go", he said. Everyone jumped out of building and ran towards their vehicles. They saw walkers turning towards the blast and approaching but they were slow so, the group didn't engage and just ran.

Shane, Rick and his family sat in their police car. Andrea, Amy, Carol and her daughter climbed up in Dale's RV while Damian, T-Dog, Glenn and Daryl sat in the van. "Let's go", Glenn said, as T-Dog drove away the van and everyone followed them. Soon, they had just reached a little far, when they heard a loud blast in the direction of CDC. Everyone looked back in the van at the fire and smoke rising in the sky. "Damn. We got lucky getting out or we'd be dead right now", T-Dog said as everyone nodded. "Where are we gonna go now?", Glenn asked looking at everyone, but met with silence. "Let's figure that out once we get out of this damn city first", Daryl replied with a scorn.