𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐔𝐌 (𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑦𝑙 𝐷𝑖𝑥𝑜𝑛)

𝑆𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛

The next morning, I came into the mess area to find Glenn, Dale, Rick, Andrea, Lori, and Carl already seated at a table. I took advantage of being early and sped over to the empty seat next to a hunched over Glenn.

"Rough night?" I grinned and pat his back. Glenn only managed a groan in response, everyone at the table chuckling at his current state.

"Eggs!" T-Dog called out as he exited the small kitchen area, "Powdered, but I do 'em good."

I grabbed an empty plate and fork from the middle of the table.

"Protein helps with the hangover," T-Dog said to Glenn as he dropped a scoop of eggs onto his plate, sending me a wink as he did the same to mine.

"Where'd all this come from?"

"Jenner."

I listened to Lori and Rick converse next to me as I silently ate my eggs.

"Don't ever let me drink again," Glenn muttered to me.

"No promises," I bumped his arm with my elbow. I heard a couple more pairs of footsteps come through the door.

"Hey."

Shane's voice sent a drop to my stomach as I remembered the events from last night. Rick greeted him back and I watched as Shane wandered over to the coffee pot to pour himself a cup.

"The hell happened to you?" T-Dog pointed to the bright red scratches that ran along Shane's neck.

"Must've done it in my sleep," He answered and shot a look towards Lori. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and turned back to her breakfast. His eyes flickered over to me and stopped, traveling to the different corners of my face. I stared back at him, engaging in silent warfare with his dark eyes.

"Morning," Dr. Jenner's voice carried out through the mess area. Shane was the first to glance at him, and only then did I look away.

"Hey, Doc," Shane greeted back.

"Doctor," Dale spoke up, "I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing."

"But you will anyway," Dr. Jenner spoke from his spot at the coffee pot.

Andrea turned in her seat to face his back, "We didn't come here for the eggs."

✯✯✯

We all followed Dr. Jenner into the control room after breakfast.

"Give me playback of TS-19," Dr. Jenner spoke out loud as he pressed a button on a keyboard.

I followed Jacqui and Andrea up the steps of the raised platform where computer lined rows stood spread out across the floor. The large screen mounted on the wall across from where we were lit up and showed smaller screens working to retrieve data. I pulled out a swivel chair from one of the empty stations and sat down.

"Few people ever got a chance to see this," Dr. Jenner referenced the screen where a series of brain scans had appeared.

"Is that a brain?" Carl asked from a few feet away.