The Sharpest Lives

"Dr. Jenner, I know that this has been taxing for you, and I'd hate to ask one more question, but that clock.." Dale pointed to the same large clock that Ace saw Jenner take many glances at last night. "It's counting down.. What happens at zero?"

This is a question Ace too was very curious about, but didn't feel the need to ask last night. And now she was just reminded of it by Dale. "The.. basement generators, they run out of fuel," Jenner spit out, too fast and suspicious for anyone's liking, then turned and left the room immediately. No one really got their answer, so they turned to the next best thing.

"Vi, what happens when the power runs out?" Rick asked into space.

"When the power runs out, facility wide decontamination will occur," the monotone voice stated. Ace was up and alert as soon as she hear the last few words. With her experience through her Marine's base and training, she knew exactly what that meant. And she was surprised to find that no one else did.

"Shane, T-Dog, Glenn," Rick walked over to them. "The basement, it's got to be where the fuel and generators are kept. You guys come with me, the rest of you go back to your rooms, wait."

Ace frantically ran over to them, "No," she got their attention, causing them to turn back to face her. "We have to go," she breathed out, looking to everyone's face. "Decontamination, that's-"

"How...How do we know we can listen to her? We can't trust her," a voice interrupted frantically, Ace looking to her side to see that it was Carol. Ace understood that she was scared, but still swore at her many times inside of her head before turning back to Rick. "We have to pack our bags," she breathed, ignoring Carol. She didn't talk much, so these people should know that when she does, they better listen. Ace doesn't even know why they're still doubting her. "T-The building, it's-it's going-"

"Relax. Relax." Rick cut her off, putting his hands out as he took a step forward. Ace shook her head, trying to explain to him that the building was going to blow, but no one would listen. "Just stay here. We're gona go check it out," was the last thing Rick said before him and the rest of the guys they called ran off out of the room. Ace not being able to stop them.

Ace ran her hands over her face with a frantic sigh, looking around at the group. They all ignored her, pretending like she wasn't there. "Come on Carl, lets head back to the room," Lori reached out for Carl, acting as if all was normal.

"Fuck," Ace growled. Ace didn't know what to do. These people wouldn't listen to her! She looked around, trying to catch anyone's eyes, Daryl's being the only ones who would give her a chance. Ace shot him a desperate look, but he just looked back totally confused.

Ace turned and started running out the same door Rick did, back to her room, skidding to a stop while she held onto the door frame, nearly running past it. She immediately went inside and started grabbing her backpack, it still being packed, even with some more clothes she put in there earlier. She always liked to have her bag ready, you never know when you've got to get up and run. Like now.

She threw her bag over her shoulders and tried to decided what she would do next. And before she knew it, she was off in a run again, breathing heavily as she rounded the corner of the hallway. She spotted the office with glass windows that she had walked by multiple times the past night when coming up the stairs, but this time saw Jenner inside.

Ace didn't even knock, just barged through, panting as she went over to him. He wasn't facing her, sitting in a chair, but he sensed her presence. "How do you know?" Jenner asked, a little too calmly to sit right with Ace.

She knew what he was asking. "..In the event of a catastrophic power failure, or a terrorist attack, HIT's are deployed," Ace grumbled, repeating what her drill sergeant once said during training.

He turned around to look at her with curiosity, but then sighed, leaning back on his swivel chair. "We gotta go," Ace repeated, noticing he was too chill.

He looked at her for a moment, studying her frantic face and her oddly beautiful eyes. "...Why?"

Ace didn't say anything, but had confusion and fear on her face.

"Why?" Jenner repeated, sitting up again. "One millisecond, no pain.. No more suffering, guilt, grief... Why go? Especially you should understand," He pointed to her. "Your cancer..." he stood up, going to his desk and picking up a folder, barely scanning through what's inside. "I did some research last night, tested your blood, too... The results were," he shook his head. "Insane."

"Either way.." Jenner continued, getting back on track. "Either way your cancer is going to destroy you.. No medicine, no chemo.. It's only a matter of time."

Ace was just watching him with wide eyes, shaking her head as he talked. "Frankie.." she breathed weakly. "I have a sister.. I have to find her.."

"I'm sorry. But really..what are the chances in this god awful world that you'll find her? Alive at least?"

Ace was taken aback, "I'll find her.." She mumbled, sounding so vulnerable that her voice nearly cracked. She was more of trying to convince herself that now after being shot down again.

"Do you not understand?" Jenner took a step towards Ace, who was just barely standing there. "This is what takes us down.. This is our extinction of end."

Ace didn't say anything, couldn't as she looked at Jenner with wide eyes. The point he had was so very clear, especially with her. But she can't just.. just give up. Not on Frankie. Not even on herself. She believes that she has a purpose, that there is someone, something out there.. What happens when this settles down or there is some civilization restarting again?.. She needs a chance. "How is this even an option for you?" Jenner asked. "How do you think you can survive this?"

Ace's whole body was shaking as she let Jenner go on.

"You have cancer during the end of the world. That makes it terminal cancer!" He shouted. "There is no medicine, no doctors anymore! The chances.." He trailed off for a moment. "You've gone through it before.. You know what it feels like. You're going to wither away! And if you do find your sister, all it's going to be is another painful goodbye."

"I can.. I can find medicine," she gulped, body quivering, slowly draining of hope.

Jenner sighed. "I don't know what else to say to make you see the rational thing to do here!"

"I'll go down fighting.." Ace breathed, trying to keep her voice strong.

Jenner took a moment to regain his calmness, then nodded, turning back to his desk, grabbing the file he was looking at before. "I thought that.. maybe.. maybe if I could convince you.. If this was something you wanted.." he looked down at the folder as Ace grew more and more confused. "It had to be your choice weather or not you wanted to try.. To fight," he looked to her only for a moment, but his eyes held seriousness "..You need to get out."

"What?" Ace's head was boggling. He just spent all that time trying to convince her to stay, but now he's doing the opposite? Why was her choice such a big deal? "Topsides locked down. If you can get out.. Run. Go. Find somewhere safe. And take this," he shoved the file over to her, Ace hesitantly taking it.

"There's a list of medicine's in there that you might be able to scavenge," Jenner pointed to the file in Ace's hands, but then remembered something. "If you ever are near a hospital, don't hesitate to go in. They might have what you need for chemo if you ever find a safe place to settle down and do it at, understand?" Jenner walked to his desk, opened the drawer, and grabbed something, all by the time he came back to Ace. She looked down what was in his hand curiously, seeing many pill bottles. "Take one of each everyday if you get out. They will help, but eventually, you'll need that medicine from the hospital."

"W-What? Why?.. How?" Ace didn't know which one of the questions in her head to ask, looking down out the glass windows that over looked the computer room, the group still not back. The clock nearly at the half hour mark.

"Don't worry about your group. Just try to get out," Jenner looked down at her while handing her the pill bottles. "..You're the key," was the last thing he mumbled before pushing past Ace and hurriedly going down the hallway. Ace was confused as all hell and stunned. She didn't know what the hell was going on and was trying not to grow frantic again, but that has been proven to be very hard.

She quickly went over to his desk and took her backpack off, setting it down on the table so she could dump all the pill bottles he gave her inside. She was about to put the file in, but stopped herself. Surely a quick look wont waste too much time..

Ace saw the list Jenner had talked about inside, along with a bunch of other printed out papers that had a ton of numbers and science shit that she could not read. But it was all about some test subject.. TS-20. There was a few other papers of information about her cancer and eye mutation. But at the bottom of one was a note scribbled out in pen:

TS-20 was tested along with the rest of the subjects, but TS-20's results came up different than the rest.
After combining the sample with the freshest samples of the last reincarnated subject, more information came to knowledge.
TS-20 came back positive.

Ace had no idea what that meant or who TS-20 was, her head still running around trying to make sense of things. But it was the loud sirens going off, echoing around the building, that made her look out the glass windows, seeing everyone was back, surrounding Jenner in the large room. "30 minutes until decontamination occurs," Vi, the monotone voice rang out.
Ace watched in fear as everyone was down there, trying to talk to Jenner who was just ignoring them. He should be helping them! Why his he not helping them?!

Ace stuffed the file into her backpack, barely giving herself time to zip it back up before she was sprinting out of the office and down the stairs to the computer room. Her heart was going to pound out of her chest, her head exploding at the same time. The constant ringing of the loud alarm only added to her frantic-ness and adrenaline.

When she turned the corner to where the doorway of the large computer room was, she could hear every ones yells and their commotion. Daryl and Rick were the only ones that noticed her running up, but suddenly a large steel wall was coming out from the ground of the doorway. Ace was only able to share a look from Daryl before the steel door shut completely.

Ace let out a yell, lunging towards the door, banging on it, the same as they started to do. He locked them in?!

She pounded on the door, searching around for a handle or a button, anything to get it open, but nothing. So she kept pounding, yelling at the group on the other side who was trying to yell to her. When nothing seemed to be working she took a step back from the door, running a shaky hand through her hair and over her face, not knowing what to do.

1....2...3...

She counted in her head, getting her fear under control, letting herself feel it for those 3 seconds only, then adapting to it, becoming one with the situation.

Once calmed down enough she stopped and breathed.

Think.

At first Ace thought to shoot the door, maybe find a weapon around here to hit at it with, but after going back up to it and feeling the cold hard steel of it, she knew that it wouldn't happen.

Ace put her ear up to the door next. It was hard, but she could hear all the yells of fear and anger going around the group, but then something else. Vi's voice came back, this time informing the whole building about HIT's. Ace listened, hearing sobs come from the other side of the door when the monotone voice stopped.

"Ace! Ya hear me?!" It was Daryl.

"Yeah!" She yelled loudly back, putting her ear back up to the door after, waiting for a response. She heard crying and more yelling in the back, then a few grunts from Daryl before he talked again. "Can ya find a way to open it?!"

Ace shook her head, but then realized he can't see her. "No! It's sealed automatically! Jenner did somethin!" Ace shouted, putting aside her quietness.

She heard Daryl shout out some curse words angrily, but then some more talking being done to Jenner. Maybe they can convince him? He did let her go... Ace agreed in her head that there was nothing else she could do for them here so she took off in a run, this time going all the way up the stairs to where the actual exit to the building is. She had to do whatever she could to help save these people.

"Ace?!" Daryl's gruff voice yelled to the wall. "Ace?!" He called again when she didn't respond.

"She left! She left us!" Carol cried, clinging on to Sophia.

Everyone grew even more angrier than they already were. Ace left them here to get blown up. That's what Daryl was having a hard time processing in his head. It made him angry that she did, even though he was going to suggest to her to get the hell out.

Daryl let out a loud grunt, chucking his bottle of whiskey against the door. "OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!" He yelled, starting to run back to Jenner. He was the only one that could open it, not the axes that Shane and Daryl started hitting against it. Daryl not stopping. He was angry. He wanted to get out. Angry that Ace did and left him.. Left them.

But Jenner wouldn't open it. He didn't listen to the cries of the children, or the pleads of the adults, even the constant threats he was getting. "Wouldn't it be kinder, more compassionate, to just hold your loved ones and wait for the clock to run down?" That was his only words on the thing so far.

People were writhing with fear, becoming frantic with their anger. Especially Shane who started shooting at the monitors, freaking out. Enough for Rick to tackle him down.

Everyone was on edge.

But Rick gave it one more shot. And with 4 minutes 31 seconds left, Jenner opened the doors.

Daryl was in mid swing when the door slid down, shocked. Ace was on the other side of that door, sitting on the ground, arms wrapped around herself. Daryl and her looked at each other for a moment in awe, but then his senses came back in and he grabbed the top of her arm, pulling her up. "C'MON!"

Ace was able to catch one last look from Jenner before she put herself into gear, her and Daryl running as fast as they could, the group following behind. The sound of feet thumping, yells to hurry, and huffs were all that Ace could hear over her beating heart.

They flew up the stairs, and right back out to the room Ace was just in. She had tried so desperately to get out, even shot at the glass windows, only to find it was bulletproof. She knew that she couldn't do anything down by that door, so she thought that maybe she could get a head start for the group, finding a way out, then catch up with them when they got out, but she couldn't. Barely a minute ago she thought she was going to die alone right outside that door..

She heard a cry come from her side to see Sophia standing there alone, Carol running up to go over to Rick. Ace quickly moved, letting the little girl cling onto her side and cry while the guys attempted to get past those bastard bullet proof windows. But chairs and axes and guns wouldn't work, making them fail just like Ace had.

But Ace's eyes widened when Carol held out a grenade in her hand to Rick.

"Look out!" Shane yelled and Ace making a swift movement to push Sophia back, throwing her body over the little girls like a shield. Ace made sure Sophia was covering her ears and safely guarded before putting her own head down.

A loud bang rang out, but thankfully the sound of glass shattering did too. Ace's ears were ringing and her body was frozen at the familiar feeling of a grenade going off near her.
Her mind started going through a slideshow of what happened in Germany, the feeling of this grenade reminding her so dearly of the one back then. It scared her.

But Ace was jolted out of her fearful trance when more yells came, and didn't hesitate to help get Sophia up, letting her run to her mom, Ace following behind. The sunlight was blinding, making her aim to shoot the biters that came over difficult. But soon enough they had ran to the cars, everyone jumping into a random one, Ace not noticing she grabbed the handle to the door of Daryl's truck until he was behind her, yelling. "Get inside! Hurry!" He ran to the drivers side, both of them diving in, slamming the doors shut after.

They looked at each other with heavy breaths and frantic eyes once sitting in the leather seats, still having remaining seconds until the explosion. Once Dale and Andrea apparently came out of the building and Rick's horn honked, Daryl shoved Ace down. "Duck!" He yelled, both of them diving down, his body coming down second, shielding hers.
An earth shaking, ear piercing explosion rang out, winds of heat being shot over the vehicles, making instant beads of sweat roll down Ace's skin. It was so much like the explosion she experience in Germany again that it chilled her bones.

She was shaking from the harsh and vivid memory that it seemed she was living again. And as the noise settled down, she still couldn't get her body to move, her brain too busy remembering the bad days to tell her body to sit up.

Daryl noticed this and decided to help her sit up, meeting each others eyes before looking to the building that once was the CDC.