"I never made things difficult for you!"
"There's no hatred between us."
The office door was blocked by patients, and the police officers had also stopped moving, so Shawn was Dawn's last straw.
She showed a fawning expression and knelt closer to Shawn.
Her clothes were disheveled, revealing a hint of fair skin, and Dawn knelt, looking up at Shawn with a forced, awkward smile.
"Do you remember when we were alone together?"
"I said I would look out for you, that's why you came. No one in the Hospital has treated you better than I have."
"I gave you a chance, now you give me one."
"...It's all because of them. They kept suppressing me, riding over me, which is why my control over the Hospital was never strong."
Suddenly, Dawn pointed at Gorman, who had died with his eyes open, and spoke with intense words.
After speaking, Dawn looked back at Shawn.
"But it's different now!"
"You've cleared out these parasites. I can regain control of the Hospital's power."
"No, no... it's us together. We'll manage the Hospital together. Whatever you say goes. Whatever you tell me to do, I'll do!"
"You can also be part of the 'system.' The protected people will do everything they can to make you happy. You can have everything in the Hospital."
"And... and the army and the government will definitely return in the future. Everyone must not give up hope."
"Alright?"
After speaking, Dawn stared at Shawn with a hint of hope, her hands clasped around his thighs.
Even now, Dawn still couldn't stand on her own. She seemed to have grown accustomed to being suppressed by others, and at this moment, she wished Shawn would replace those officers and ride over her.
Hearing Dawn's words, the patients looked at Shawn.
What did she mean by "alone together"?
Why was Dawn trying to conflate Shawn killing her with giving up hope?
Her misleading words made people ponder, and she was still playing little tricks until the very last moment.
Shawn chuckled, lowered his head, and spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"Who is giving whom a chance, exactly?"
"Dawn, you should have died a long time ago. The 'mercy' I've shown you is already more than enough."
"You've bowed your head to others your whole life."
"At least now, you can do one last thing for the Hospital in a manner befitting your status."
After speaking, Shawn pulled Dawn's clutching hands away and turned to walk out the door.
When Shawn reached the doorway, everyone instinctively retreated to both sides, clearing a path.
This included Dawn, who was kneeling on the ground in a daze, the people peeking out from the ward, and the remaining police officers. Everyone's gaze was fixed on Shawn alone.
It wasn't until Shawn reached the corridor that his voice drifted back.
"Dawn Lerner, she's yours."
The corridor was silent, only the lingering echo of Shawn's voice could be heard.
Gradually, everyone's gaze shifted from Shawn to Dawn in the office.
Dawn reacted then, her eyes filled with terror, and the shadows of the night began to obscure the world in her eyes.
The patients gathered, filling the entire office. Dawn was surrounded by them, unseen, only her screams heard.
Screams echoed from the end of the corridor all the way to the door of Room 1.
The office, which had embodied Dawn's desire for 'control' and 'power,' ultimately became the living coffin that buried her remains.
When Shawn arrived at Room 1, Doctor Steven was staring blankly at the end of the corridor.
"Are you awake, Doctor? Are you not used to not having Dawn boss you around?" Shawn said playfully.
Doctor Steven's eyes lifted, blinking more rapidly. Hearing Shawn's voice, he finally snapped out of it.
"Dawn... is dead?"
Doctor Steven spoke with an incredulous tone.
However, rather than asking Shawn, he seemed to be repeatedly asking himself, trying hard to accept the fact.
"Not just Dawn, all the police officers in her faction are dead."
Shawn said it casually.
He pulled out a cigarette pack from somewhere, leaned against the wall, put a cigarette in his mouth, and lit it.
He took a deep drag and exhaled slowly, as if the pain in his body had lessened considerably.
"I'll help you take out the bullet." Doctor Steven looked at the injury on Shawn's shoulder, didn't hesitate, and turned to get medicine.
But Shawn stopped him.
"I'll take the bullet out myself. Go find my clothes for me, the ones I was wearing when I was brought into the Hospital."
Shawn had killed many police officers, but he hadn't found the stalker suit on them, presumably it had been changed out.
Doctor Steven glanced at the bullet tail, which hadn't fully embedded itself in Shawn's flesh, hesitated for a moment, then nodded silently and turned to leave.
Only after watching him leave did Shawn pull out a knife and begin to extract the bullet.
Feeling for the bullet's position, Shawn inserted the knife under his skin and flicked it hard.
The gunpowder-smelling bullet head then clattered to the ground.
The old man in Room 1 seemed to have been woken up, his voice trembling as he spoke.
"What's going on outside? Why is it so noisy tonight?"
"Oh, nothing much, just Dawn died."
Shawn, biting his cigarette, leaned against the wall outside, bandaging himself with a makeshift bandage, and still had time to answer the old man's question.
Although Shawn spoke lightly, the old man was startled when he heard it.
"What, Dawn died?!"
"Did she die in a Walker's mouth, or was she killed by those police officers?"
Just hearing the old man's voice, Shawn could even imagine the old man's astonished expression at that moment.
Amidst the sharp pain, Shawn stifled a laugh and replied.
"Neither. She was killed by the patients."
The old man fell silent after hearing the answer, and Shawn was content to take a puff of his cigarette.
After a while, the old man continued to inquire.
"Quite a few people died tonight, didn't they?"
Shawn turned his head, looked at the police officers' corpses strewn across the corridor, and nodded honestly.
"Quite a few, yes."
"Then you must have suffered a lot."
The old man's voice carried a certain timeless quality, pausing slightly as he spoke, then trembling as he continued.
Shawn subconsciously looked at the wound on his shoulder.
He didn't know why, but when he was alone, he didn't feel anything, even when he had just treated his own wound.
But upon hearing the old man say that, Shawn suddenly felt a little nostalgic for Rick and the others.
He missed Carol's excellent cooking, Beth always clinging to him, Carl always fighting with Sophia for his lap... he even missed Shane's perpetually sour expression.
"Damn it!"
Shawn cursed with a laugh, not knowing who it was directed at.
He put the cigarette to his mouth, taking a deep drag that made the flame burn to its end.
His large hand covered the lower half of his face, and his swaying eyes were immersed in a faint white light.
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