When they entered, what received them was a Caucasian man pointing a rifle straight at their faces.
"Any infected?" Asked the man firmly, although from his posture, it was clear he was not a soldier.
"No, we are all fine." Responded Rick with a strained voice lowering his weapon.
"What do you want?" Asked the man without lowering his weapon.
"A chance, that is all." Responded Rick with a hoarse voice.
"That is asking too much these days." Said the man, but his gaze softened noticeably.
"I know." Responded Rick, aware of the magnitude of his wish.
The man's gaze moved over the people behind him, Carol hugging Sophia, Glenn covered in dust, Andrea and Amy clinging to each other, Dale, an old man and even Carl, a helpless child, all of them looked dirty and exhausted.
"Everyone must undergo a blood test, that is the price of admission." Said the man finally.
"No problem!" Nodded Rick without hesitation and the man finally lowered his weapon.
"If you need to bring anything, do it now, once the door closes, it stays closed." Ordered the man.
Everyone let out a sigh of relief upon hearing his acceptance, they immediately got moving, only Carl gave him a subtle glance, but said nothing.
"VI, seal the main entrance, cut the power up here." Said the man to the central computer.
With a loud crash, the metal shutters behind them slammed shut.
"Rick Grimes." Rick extended his hand for a handshake, but the man did not take it.
"Dr. Edwin Jenner." Said Jenner introducing himself, no one else spoke as they crowded into the elevator.
"Are all the doctors here armed like you?" Asked Daryl looking at the assault rifle.
"There were plenty of weapons around, I got used to them, but I think it was not necessary, you all seem quite harmless, except you, I will have to keep an eye on you." Replied Jenner calmly, looking at Carl with a smile.
"You should, Doc.." Murmured Carl in his mind while smiling like an innocent child.
When they got out of the elevator, they followed Jenner through a long white hallway, although it was quite spacious, it still felt oppressive.
"Are we underground?" Asked Carol visibly uncomfortable.
"Hm, are you claustrophobic?" Asked Jenner returning the question without turning around.
"A little." Nodded Carol.
"Try not to think about it." He advised simply trying not to give it importance, the bigger you imagine a problem, the bigger it becomes.
"VI, turn on the lights in the room." Said Jenner upon reaching the end of the hallway.
The room responded with a hum as the lights turned on, illuminating the entire futuristic looking space.
"Welcome to Zone 5." Said Jenner turning to look at them.
"Where is everyone, the other doctors, the staff?" Asked Rick stepping forward, confused.
"It is me, I am the only one here." Responded Jenner.
"What about the person you were talking to, VI?" Asked Lori.
"VI, greet our guests, tell them.. welcome." Said Jenner out loud.
"Hello, guests, welcome." Greeted a clearly digital female voice.
"I am all that is left, I am sorry." Said Jenner looking at them, tired.
After the reality hit, Jenner guided them to a small lab station where there were several syringes to perform a blood test, as agreed.
"What is the point, if we were infected, we would have a fever." Grumbled Andrea while her blood was being drawn.
"Do not get upset, besides, if there are other problems besides the virus, it can also help us know." Said Carl who had just had his blood drawn as well.
Andrea thought about it and nodded, after all, even a child like Carl agrees, so it would be pathetic to be afraid now, while Andrea was thinking that, Amy's stomach suddenly growled.
Everyone turned to look at her as the girl's face turned red with embarrassment, however, no one laughed and they simply looked at Jenner.
"It is fine, I am done collecting the samples, let us eat." Said Jenner carefully storing the samples.
A while later, they were all gathered around a round table surrounded by plates of steaming pasta and glasses of wine, the atmosphere felt truly alive with everyone's laughter.
Carl ate quickly, after all, in a few moments, Jenner would tell everyone how the CDC fell, by then, no one would be in the mood to eat.
By the way, something he noticed was how Jacqui and Jim seemed closer, but that is also good, maybe he will not have to do anything and will be able to complete the mission easily, Carl gave Jim a subtle thumbs up.
Clink ~
"I think we have not properly thanked our host." Said Rick tapping his glass with a utensil to get everyone's attention.
The conversations slowly died down and several gazes turned toward Jenner, who held his glass with one hand but did not seem particularly comfortable.
"He is more than just a host, he is our savior, by the doc!" Exclaimed Morales raising his glass.
"By the doc." Repeated the others in unison, only Shane shifted in his seat playing with the wine in his glass without drinking it.
"When are you going to tell us what the hell really happened here, doc?" Asked Shane in a dark tone, clearly not trusting him.
"We are celebrating, Shane, we do not need to do this now." Said Rick frowning.
"No, I think he is right, we need to know what is happening here, why is Dr. Jenner alone?" Replied Andrea, this time her sister is alive, so she is full of hope and caution.
"Well, when things got bad, many people simply left, they went to be with their families." Began Jenner, he paused before continuing.
"And when things got worse, when the military cordon was overrun, the rest fled." Said Jenner calmly.
"Every single one of them?" Asked Shane unconvinced.
"No, many did not dare to leave, they gave up, there was a massive wave of suicides, those were hard times." Said Jenner with a distant look.
"You did not leave, why?" Asked Andrea curiously.
"I simply kept working, hoping to maybe do something good." Responded Jenner without hesitation, silence settled over the group.
"Man, you are a buzzkill!" Murmured Glenn looking at Shane.
After dinner, Jenner gestured for the group to follow him and led them through a wide hallway with dim lighting.
"The upper levels are without power, even the living areas, so you will have to manage like this." Said Jenner during the walk.
"Try not to plug anything electrical in and if you shower, do not waste hot water." Warned Jenner before leaving.
"Hot water?" Asked T-Dog forming a smile.
"That is what he said." Said Glenn and then both laughed, it is strange how something as simple as hot water can bring so much happiness.
One by one, the members of the group took turns showering, clean clothes, fresh skin, hot food and the illusion of safety gave them a happiness they had not felt since the beginning of the outbreak.
...
Pov Carl ~
After making sure everyone had gone to bed, I opened the door of my room and stepped out, walking toward Zone Five.
The hallway was almost completely silent, broken only by the constant hum of the ventilation system, it did not take long for me to reach my destination, Jenner was alone, sitting in front of a screen.
"Hello, Mr. Jenner, how is that blood." I said approaching him.
"Well, no surprises, although, how curious.. your father just asked me the same thing." Said Jenner frowning.
"Oh, I see." I replied simply pretending not to care, although in reality a wave of unease washed over me.
This is because I have been in Minecraft and I have consumed the food from that world, according to logic, the virus should have been eliminated, but the fact that Dr. Jenner did not find anything unusual indicates that is not the case.
This leaves two possibilities, the first is that the virus cannot be eliminated even if my health is at maximum, the second is that the virus is everywhere, so I got infected once again, whatever it is, neither is good news.
"Are you worried? You should not be, the truth is you are quite healthy, unusually healthy I would say." Said Jenner trying to encourage me, although with some doubt.
"That is good, I guess, but I did not come just for that, honestly, I am not worried about my blood, Mr. Jenner." I said calmly, Jenner raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued, but said nothing, urging me to continue.
"The truth is.. I am worried about you!" I said raising my gaze to look at him directly.
"Excuse me?" Asked Jenner confused, I paused before speaking.
"The CDC will run out of power soon." I said finally, Jenner froze completely, his frown deepening.
"Little Carl, I do not understand what.." Jenner tried to persuade me thinking I was just scared, but I interrupted him.
"The main generator has a fuel counter, when it reaches zero, the automatic decontamination protocol will activate." I continued with the same calm tone, Dr. Jenner stopped breathing for a moment.
"When that happens, all the doors will seal and the entire building will be incinerated to prevent any biological agent from escaping."
Silence filled the room again, Jenner looked at Carl as if seeing him for the first time, completely confused.
"Who told you that?" Asked Jenner finally.
"That does not matter, doctor, I also know that everyone is infected, when someone dies, no matter the cause, they come back." I continued, Jenner stood up stunned.
"Who are you?" He asked in a low voice.
"Someone who wants to survive, but to do that, I need you doc, I need your skills, your knowledge and experience."
"But I am also worried, I am worried that you will decide to give up like the rest of the scientists before you!" I said looking at him firmly, at that moment Jenner lost strength in his legs and sat down again, defeated.
"I am sorry, little Carl, I would like to help you, but there is nothing left, there is no hope, maybe.. maybe she could have done it, in our field, she was Einstein, but I am not, I am just.. Edwin Jenner." Murmured Jenner feeling defeated while looking at the screen in the distance.
"Then do not be Einstein, be Edwin Jenner." I said, keeping my gaze on him, Jenner slowly lifted his eyes, as if he did not expect to hear something like that from a child.
"I do not need someone who solves everything tomorrow, I need someone who does not give up today." I continued without giving him space to hide again behind despair.
"You are still here, that means that even if part of you already gave up, another part is still working, still trying and still looking for answers, otherwise you would have shot yourself days ago." I said bluntly.
Jenner did not respond immediately, his jaw tightened slightly and his gaze drifted back to the screen showing the recreation of his wife's death.
"Besides, I think you are wrong doc, there is hope and here is the proof!" I said pulling out a knife, Jenner opened his eyes confused.
"Wait, no!" Shouted Jenner trying to stop me, but it was too late, a deep cut appeared on my left arm.
Blood gushed out instantly and began to run down my forearm, Jenner jumped to his feet with his face completely shaken.
His hands trembled so much that for a moment it seemed he did not know whether to yell at me, take the knife away or run to get something to stop the bleeding.
I had been thinking for a long time about how to convince Jenner to live, but the truth is it is not easy, that man had already lost hope.
But then I realized, the only way to save a man without hope is precisely that, to give him hope back.
But to achieve that, I must first break his mental defenses, make him realize his despair and then give him a solution.
While Dr. Jenner tried to stop the bleeding without success, a golden apple appeared in my right hand, under his confused gaze, I took a big bite.
Suddenly, the open wound began to close at a visible speed, the flesh fused, the blood stopped flowing and in just a few seconds only a red mark remained fading before his eyes.
"Impossible!" Exclaimed Dr. Jenner completely stunned.
He is a man of science, but what he just saw is nothing less than a miracle, something that completely shatters everything he believed was possible.
But that state of confusion did not last long, Jenner is still a strong man, the only reason he seemed so defeated before was mainly due to the death of his wife, Candace Jenner.
Therefore, after the initial shock, he fixed his gaze on me, approached quickly placing his hands on my shoulders and asked urgently.
"Carl, tell me what that is!" Asked Jenner urgently.
"Calm down doc, let me explain, this is a golden apple, it can accelerate cellular regeneration and heal wounds that would normally be fatal, it is amazing, right?" I said waving the apple in front of the stunned Jenner.
"It is absurd, but I certainly cannot deny what I see with my own eyes, if I could get a few more to experiment.." Murmured Dr. Jenner to himself before being interrupted.
"I know what you are thinking Mr. Jenner, I had the same idea after discovering what they were capable of, unfortunately, I am not a scientist, but that is also why I need you, to give hope back to humanity." I said firmly.
"Hahaha, Carl, do not underestimate yourself, although I do not know how you do it, I can tell you are far more capable than all the adults in your group." Praised Dr. Jenner after calming down.
"By the way, Carl, I hope I am not being rude, but can I know where you got it? Even though I am a scientist, that looks more like a divine fruit, I understand if you do not agree." Asked Jenner pointing at the golden apple in my hands.
"I am sorry Dr. Jenner, I cannot tell you how I got them, but I can get more, so there is no problem with you running some experiments." I said pulling out another apple with my left hand.
Jenner fixed his gaze on the second golden apple as if afraid it would disappear at any moment, his fingers trembled slightly before extending his hand, but he stopped halfway.
"May I?" He asked in a low voice, almost pleading, I nodded and gave it to him.
Jenner observed the apple with fascination, he only snapped out of it after a few minutes, but immediately headed to the lab to run experiments, so I decided to join him.
The reason I am revealing all of this is because I need an ally who allows me to help the camp without revealing all my abilities to everyone, although eventually I will, the later the better.
For example this golden apple, it is impossible for me to simply give it to someone injured without exposing myself, but if Dr. Jenner could synthesize some medicine using the apple, we could say it is an experimental CDC serum.
Even if it sounds like science fiction, at least that is far more believable than it being a magic apple in the hands of a ten year old child.
The same in the future when I want to use bone meal to accelerate crop growth, when the time comes, I could simply say it is a super fertilizer developed at the CDC.
Even if some key figures know the truth, the common people will not, which will prevent me from becoming a target of envy.
As for choosing Dr. Jenner as my first confidant, it is because I know a bit about this man's character, at least I know he will not tie me to an operating table to perform inhuman experiments.
Although in the original story he was willing to take everyone to the grave with him, this was mainly because he had no hope for the future, not out of malice.
Jenner took a minimal sample from the surface with a scalpel which fell onto a plate to analyze it under the microscope.
"The plant tissue seems normal, intact parenchyma cells, cell walls without visible alterations, but..." He said almost thinking out loud.
"There are clusters of metallic nanoparticles in the cytoplasm, probably gold, what is truly unusual is the abnormally uniform geometry, the cells look like perfect cubes!" Exclaimed Jenner astonished.
Although cells normally tend to have rectangular or square shapes, the cells of this particular apple are perfect cubes, something normally impossible due to entropy.
"The metabolic activity is abnormally high, the cell membranes are intact, there is no visible oxidation, it is as if each cell remains at its optimal point at all times!"
"If I could isolate the active compound, I could stabilize it and concentrate it to try to enhance its regenerative effect.." Murmured Dr. Jenner writing in his notebook forgetting everything around him.
"That is enough Mr. Jenner, you will have to postpone the experiments for later, we still have something to deal with." I said pointing at the countdown in front of Dr. Jenner's apathetic eyes.