under the willow tree - glenn rhee

part 9

" doctor 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?" dale's words were what caught doctor carter's attention.

jenner looked at her with guilty eyes as she looked at him with ones of interest and concern.

something was very wrong and she knew it from just the look on his face.

"the basement generators they run out of fuel." jenner vaguely told them before beginning to walk off, leaving carter to figure out what that meant.

"and then?" rick was ignored.

"doctor carter, what happens when the power runs out?" rick questions the girl.

and then it hit her.

"decontamination." she begins, the group looking betrayed. "i- i didn't know, he didn't tell me." she assured them with a panicked expression.

glenn came up behind marcella and put a comforting arm around her shoulder. "we believe you." he assured her.

"decontamination? what does that mean?" rick asked the young doctor.

"the fuel runs out meaning that our time does. it sets the air on fire, blows this place up and all of us in it." carter explained in simple yet effective terms as jenner spoke to a picture of his wife in another room.

"the system is dropping all of the nonessential uses of power." carter explained to the worried group of people as air conditioning began to shut off.

"it's designed to keep the computers running as long as possible, it starts as we approach the half hour mark." jenner had now arrived back with the group and the female scientist. "right on schedule."

there wasn't long left.

"why didn't you tell me what that clock meant? i asked you so many times and you- you just shut me down like it meant nothing." carter was angry as she spoke to jenner, fear and betrayal fuelling her words.

"the world runs on fossil fuel, i mean how stupid is that?" jenner almost laughed, ignoring marcella's words.