Chapter 15: Countdown
Following Jenner's hope-shattering presentation, the group's morale had plummeted. The facility's sterile corridors no longer felt like a haven, but like a prison. And they soon learned that was literally true.
On the giant screen in the main operations center, the countdown timer Jayden had noticed earlier was now clear for all to see: 00:58:17.
"What's this?" Lori asked, her voice trembling.
Jenner answered calmly. "Time until all power goes out. The generators are running out of fuel."
"And then what?" Shane snapped. "Isn't there backup power?"
"When the power goes out," Jenner said, a strange, messianic expression on his face. "The facility will decontaminate itself. A high-yield thermobaric explosion. A painless end. A way out."
It was as if a bomb had dropped in the middle of the room. Jenner had locked them inside. He had offered them not shelter, but mass suicide.
Panic erupted instantly. Shane and Daryl attacked the steel door with all their might. They pounded it with their rifle butts and shoulders, but the metal didn't budge an inch. The others were screaming, crying. It was a trap.
Rick, instead of panicking, turned to Jenner. "You can't do this! We have to have a chance! Let us go!" he pleaded, trying to appeal to Jenner's conscience.
Jayden, however, remained calm amidst the chaos. He had been waiting for this moment. He knew that pounding on the door in panic wouldn't work. His eyes were fixated on a spot he had been analyzing since he first entered the facility: the massive, bulletproof glass windows separating the lab from the outside world.
He walked over to Rick and Shane. "The door is useless! It's solid steel and filled with hydraulic locks. But the glass…" he said, pointing at the windows. "This is just blast-resistant laminated glass. They're very thick, yes. But they're not unbreakable. It's our only chance."
Jayden's calm, reasoned voice stopped everyone for a moment in the midst of the panic. Rick looked where Jayden was pointing. It was a plan. A desperate one, but a plan. "He's right! Everyone over here! Bring whatever you can get your hands on!"
The group organized themselves hopefully. Chairs, metal trays, sledgehammers—they began pounding on the massive glass with anything they could find. Each blow created a small crack in the glass, but it wouldn't break. Time was ticking. Only a few minutes remained on the countdown timer.
Just then, Carol reached for Rick. "This...this fell off your uniform. Maybe it'll work." A grenade lay in her palm. The same grenade Rick had retrieved from the tank in Atlanta.
This was their last chance. Rick grabbed the grenade and pulled everyone back.
Just as he was about to throw the bomb through the window, Jenner grabbed Rick's arm. The group thought he'd decided to give them one last chance. But Jenner pulled Rick aside and whispered something in his ear. Jayden couldn't hear the words because of the distance, but he knew what was being said. That was the moment the terrible secret weighed down on Rick: We're all infected. The bite only triggers the fever. We all carry the real virus. When you die, for whatever reason, you come back.
Jayden saw Rick's face go pale, the last shred of hope in his eyes fading, replaced by a terrifying understanding.
Jenner stepped back and signaled for them to leave. Rick, still in shock, threw the bomb through the massive window. The explosion was deafening. The glass shattered into a million pieces, scattering into the darkness outside.
"GO! NOW!"
The group raced to jump through the broken window. Jayden helped Carl and Lori escape safely. Rick was the last to leave. The moment they stepped outside, the CDC building behind them erupted into the sky in a massive fireball. The shockwave from the explosion knocked them to the ground.
When they rose, there was only burning rubble behind them. Their hope, their shelter, their answers… all reduced to ashes. A profound silence hung over the vehicles as they boarded their convoy and drove away from the fiery ruins. They had nowhere to go now. Only the unknown.
Jayden glanced through the rearview mirror at the exhausted, hopeless faces of his friends. His mission wasn't over yet. In fact, it was just beginning.
[System Profile Update - End of Chapter 15]
[Name: Jayden Mendoza]
[Level: 3]
[Hit Points (HP): 120/120]
[Stamina (STA): 120/120]
[STATISTICS]
Strength (STR): 12
Agility (AGI): 12
Stamina (END): 12
Perception (PER): 11
Intelligence (INT): 10
[Assignable Points: 0]
[Skills:]
Basic Cold Weapons (Level 2)
Basic Archery (Level 2)
Basic Parkour (Level 2)
Basic Melee (Level 2)
Basic Hunting (Level 2)
Basic Throwing Knife (Level 2) 1) Basic Firearms (Level 1)