Without A Voice

Chapter 9: Countdown

~word count: 1276~

~ Author's POV ~

When Jane woke up the next morning her head was pounding. Last night was a blur. She shoved her head back into the pillow and groaned. Never drinking again. Someone tapped her on the shoulder and when she looked up she was surprised to see Carl. A look of confusion was plastered across her face before he signed.

"Breakfast is ready."

It was a little sloppy but Jane smiled anyway. She nodded and sat up, nearly vomiting due to the wave of nausea that passed over her. After getting dressed she made her way to the dining room. Most of the group were sitting around the table as T-Dog began serving up what looked to be eggs onto everyone's plate. Her eyes focused on the lone wolf. Daryl was sitting on a bench with a plate of eggs while the others sat around the table eating.

"You look like shit." Dale signed as he held up a glass of orange juice towards her which she gladly took and sat down beside him.

She looked over at Glenn noticing he was holding his head in his hands. He looked worse than she did.

"Don't ever, ever, ever, let me drink again." Glenn mumbled glancing up before dropping his head again.

The group laughed as Jane drank her glass of orange juice and shook her head when T-Dog offered her some of the eggs. But she wasn't hungry. She was sure it would make her sick. After breakfast everyone followed Dr. Jenner to another room. He wanted to show them what they came for. Jane stared at the large screen in front of her. She immediately recognized it as a human brain.

"What are those lights?" Shane asked.

"It's a persons life- experiences, memories. It's everything. Somewhere in all that organic wiring, all those ripples of light, is you-" Jenner pointed back to them. "The thing that makes you unique and human."

Jane watched as the blue lights were replaced with black sludge. An infection destroying the brain. It plundered until there was nothing left.

"It invades the brain like Meningitis. the adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shutdown, then the major organs."

"Then death." Jenner looked down. "Everything you ever were or ever will be... gone." Dr. Jenner gazed at a crying Andrea.

All Jane could focus on was the screen. She felt eyes on her, looking around noticing Daryl immediately look away. Suddenly there was a large ripple shooting through the brain. They were dead, shot in the skull. His patient.

"You have no idea what it is, do you?" Andrea asked after her eyes tore a way from the screen that went dark.

"It could be microbial, viral, parasitic, fungal."

"Or the wrath of God?" Jacqui asked in frustration.

"There is that."

Nobody else seemed to notice or care about the clock at the bottom of the screen. Jane pondered but she knew it couldn't be anything good.

She turned to Dale, "Ask him about the clock."

"What's the countdown for? What happens when the timer runs out?" He stared at Dr. Jenner.

"Umm the basement generators... they run out of fuel."

Her heart began to race. What did he mean? Her stomach knotted knowing he was keeping something from them.

"And then?" Rick questioned knowing something wasn't quite right. But Jenner didn't answer. He just walked away.

"Vi, what happens when the power runs out?" He quickly questioned, not taking his eyes off the clock.

"When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur." The computers voice answered.

Jane looked around at the worried faces. A computer doesn't have lips to read. She grabbed Carol and quickly signed.

"What did it say?"

She looked scared, "Decontamination will occur."

Rick pulled some of the guys together to check out the basement while the rest of them remained where they stood. They disappeared leaving the rest unsure of what to do. Everyone decided to go back to their rooms while they waited for answers. Jane returned to the room she had slept in, just now noticing the crossbow sitting on the bed across from hers. Instead of going to her room last night she entered the one right next to it. She instantly felt embarrassed as soon as Daryl walked in.

"Sorry about last night. I guess I was too drunk to notice I walked into the wrong room." She bit the inside of her cheek.

He smirked, "Don't worry about it."

They sat across from each other in what seemed like a never ending silence.

"It's a shame we never found anyone to fix your hearing aid." He signed looking disappointed.

Jane shrugged, "It's fine. I don't need it anymore."

"I'll be on my way soon." She admitted.

He looked her up and down, "What do you mean?"

"Before all this I was staying in the woods hunting and bathing in creeks. It was quiet. I was alone. I liked being alone but now I have this group. My family. Without my hearing I put everyone at risk. I don't want to watch the people who've given me so much get hurt because of me."

Daryl scoffed and shook his head, "So what you just gonna leave after this?"

Jane felt ashamed, "It's better that way. Safer."

Suddenly she could feel the air on her neck stop. Daryl looked towards the hallway, standing up and walking out. Then the lights started flickering. She followed him, everyone was looking around nervously as Jenner brushed past them. He had a bottle of whiskey in his hand. Something was wrong.

Rick came out of nowhere, "Jenner, what's happening?"

"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." The doctor explained taking a sip from the bottle as he nodded towards the countdown on the wall.

Shane nearly got into an argument with him but Rick stopped him. Everyone started running to get their things. Suddenly red lights started flashing and everyone started panicking. Jane watched as Sophia and Carl covered their ears. Some kind of alarm was going off. Shane shouted in agreement but before anyone could step into the hallway Jenner swiped his card and the doors shut. They were trapped. Rick was losing his temper and everyone was scared. Jane just kept her eyes on Jenner, forcing herself to read his lips.

"No pain. An end to sorrow. Grief. Regret.
Everything." Jenner said softly.

She glanced around at the others who stood there shocked, tears threatening to spill from some of their eyes. Lori was hugging Carl as he cried and Carol grabbed her and Sophia. Jane didn't even bother asking. She knew something bad was going down. It was the end. Shane and Daryl were hitting the door with metal axes while Rick pleaded with Dr. Jenner. Daryl nearly took one to his head. It was utter chaos. After a moment Jane watched as the doctor swiped his card. Rick told him something. Convinced him somehow. Everyone was running to get their things. Jane followed back into Daryl's room glancing over at him as he grabbed his stuff.

"I think I'm going to stay"

He looked at her like she was crazy, "What?!"

Tears threatened to escape her eyes as her hands shook. She didn't want to die but she didn't want to end up like Amy or Jim.

"I don't want to end up a walking corpse." She shook her head.

She spoke softly, "I'm sorry."

He grabbed her wrist, pulling her closer, "I won't let that happen".