We all stood in an elevator and I was standing between Glenn and Ryan. It was quite packed but we all managed to fit. Although everyone was a bit too close for comfort.

"Doctors always go packin heat like that?" Daryl asked.

"There were plenty laying out there for me to familiarize myself with them. But you look harmless enough. Except you. I'll have to keep my eye on you." Jenner told Carl.

I rolled my eyes at his lame joke. It doesn't make me dislike him any less. The doors opened and we stepped outside. He led us through the corridors as I looked around.

"Are we underground?" Carol asked.

"You claustrophobic?" Jenner asked.

"A little." She admitted.

I smirked at that and she noticed. She nudged me and my smirk turned into a smile. Her mood seems to have brightened since Ed's death. Now that her abuser is gone, she can finally live a normal life. Well, relatively normal.

"VI, bring up the lights in the big room." Jenner staid.

The lights turned on and revealed a huge room. It reminded me of a hotel lobby because of its size.

A bunch of computers were lined up at every desk. However, it was too white and too empty. Like it was meant for ghosts.

"Welcome to zone five." Jenner said.

"This place is deserted. Where is everyone that worked with you? The other doctors? The staff?" I questioned.

The suspicion in my voice could be detected from a mile away. Something was off about this guy and I'm not taking any chances. He turned to face us.

"I'm it. It's just me here." He replied.

"What about the person you were speaking with? VI?" Lori asked.

I raised my eyebrows at her while she wasn't looking. Really? Even I know that. Not from personal experience though. Movies taught me that no human talks like that.

"VI, say hello to our guests. Tell them Welcome." Jenner ordered.

"Hello, guests. Welcome." A robotic voice replied.

It's a virtual intelligence, I believe. Something like a talking computer. You give it commands using your voice. It's kind of cool, really.

"I'm all that's left. I'm sorry." He apologized.

He then led us into a infirmary. I quickly got my blood test done then waited for the others to be done. Abby wasn't that good with blood so Ryan held her hand until it was done.

"What's the point? If we were all infected, we'd be running a fever." Andrea said.

"I've already broken every rule in the book by letting you in here. Let me just at least be thorough." Jenner replied.

He finished taking out her blood and she got up from the chair. Only to almost fall down. Jacqui helped her stay on her feet as I rolled my eyes. It was her own fault. After Amy, she hadn't eaten or drunk anything.

"Are you okay?" Jenner asked.

"She hasn't eaten in days. None of us have." Jacqui explained.

That's all it took for Jenner to welcome us into his kitchen. One good thing about scientists is that they come prepared. Jenner has tons of food and alcohol which we helped ourselves to.

"You know, in Italy children have a little bit of wine during diner. And in France." Dale told Lori.

"Well, when Carl is in Italy or France, he can have some then." Lori retorted.

I leaned towards Ryan. Both he and I have had more than one glass of wine. When there's no tequila, I guess wine will have to do. Not my drink of choice but Ryan liked it.

"Buzzkil." I mumbled.

He stifled a laugh as I smirked. Lori glanced our way and I burst into a quiet laugh. Ryan nudged me with his elbow to calm me down. I stopped laughing yet the smirk remained on my face.

"What's it gonna hurt? Come on, come on." Rick encouraged.

They all laughed as my smirk turned into a genuine smile. I took my glass in my hand and took another sip. I wanna enjoy this moment while I can. T-Dog cheered as Dale poured some wine in a plastic cup.

He gave it to Carl who took a sip only to immediately stop. He let out a loud 'ew' and everyone laughed. Abby tried to reach for one of my glasses but I pulled it away from her grasp.

"Oh no. Dakota would kill me if I let you drink that. Stick to water." I said.

She pouted but did as I told her. Saying Dakota's name only reminded me that she wasn't here. Wine could've helped her move on from Merle. Glenn glanced at the bottle in his hands as Shane told Carl to stick to soda.

"Not you, Glenn." Daryl told him.

"What?" He asked.

A small smile tugged on his lips. It was clear he was already in a drunken daze. He must be a happy drunk and we all need a little happiness right about now.

"Keep drinkin, little man. I wanna see how red your face can get." Daryl retorted.

An involuntary giggle escaped my lips. The alcohol must be taking effect if I find Daryl Dixon funny. Rick clicked against his glass with a spoon and got up.

"It seems to me, we haven't thanked our host properly." He stated.

"He is more than our host." T-Dog said.

Everyone cheered as Daryl raised a bottle in the air. So far he was the most drunk person in this room. I think that's the first time I've seen him genuinely smile. It was surprisingly pleasant to see him happy.

"Booyah." He exclaimed.

My lips curled up into a smirk as everyone repeated it. His eyes found mine. But no sign of a glare nor disgust, just amusement. I raised my eyebrow expectantly at him but he just smirked.

"So when are you gonna tell us what happened here, Doc? All the, uh, other doctors were supposed to be figuring out what was happening. Where are they?" Shane questioned.

I glanced at him at the same time as everyone else. Typical of him to ruin the little fun we had. I leaned against my seat as I couldn't help the scowl directed at him.

"We're celebrating, Shane. No need to do this now." Rick retorted.

It got quiet around the table. Everyone could sense the tension in the air. You know it's serious when those two are on opposite sides. Although Shane has a point, he could've asked later.

"Wait a second, it's why we're here, right? This was your move so we were supposed to find all the answers but instead, we found him. One man. Why?" Shane asked.

I brought the wine filled glass to my lips awaiting Jenner's reply. He's been suspicious to me since the start.

Every person dies yet he remains? Why him? What's so special about Edwin Jenner?

"Well when things went bad, a lot of people just left. To be with their families. And when things got worse, the military got overrun, the rest bolted." Jenner explained.

"Every last one?" Shane asked.

"No. Many couldn't face walking out the door. They... opted out. There was a rash of suicides, that was a bad time." Jenner explained.

I shifted uncomfortably at this new information. Andrea asked him why he stayed. His repose was that he wanted to continue working in hopes of doing some good. Glenn got up and looked at Shane.

"Dude, you're such a buzzkill, man." He retorted.

------

"Most of the facilities power down, even housing so you'll have to make do here. Couches are comfortable but there are cots in storage if you'd like. There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy. Just, don't plug in the video games or anything that draws power, okay? The same applies to if you shower, go easy on the hot water." Jenner explained.

My eyes widened in surprise. So not only does he have food, but power and hot water? This would be a perfect place to live in. We wouldn't have to worry about walkers at every corner.

"Hot water?" Glenn asked in disbelief.

"That's what the man said." T-Dog replied.

I smiled at their excitement and led Abby into a room. It had two beds and another door that I assumed led into the bathroom. From the room, I heard Ryan and Glenn talking.

"Hey, Glenn. Mind if I room with you?"

"No problem, dude. We can make a bro cave."

A chuckle left my lips as I closed the door. The room was spacious enough for two people. I set our bags down as Abby immediately went for the bathroom.

"Can I take a shower first? I'll be quick." Abby said.

"You better leave me some hot water, young lady." I replied.

She stuck her tongue out at me and I grabbed a pillow before chucking it at her head. The door to the bathroom closed before the pillow came. I smiled before picking up the pillow.

It was nice here. Dakota would've liked it. Yet instead of being with her family, she chose a racist asshole who never did anything for anyone. God, I'm so angry with her.

Everything I do is for my siblings. I would do anything for her and she just... left. Like we were nothing. She didn't even say goodbye. Just wrote a fucking letter and left us to fend for ourselves.

-----

I walked down the corridors of the building silently. My fingers went through my damp hair as a sigh left me. Abby was fast asleep while I can't even close my eyes. Too many thoughts were swirling inside my head.

My bare feet carried me to the rec room. I stepped inside to see it was empty. Just like I like it. If I'm being honest, I don't actually dislike the group that much.

Yes, they get on my nerves but they're not all bad. I pulled out a book from one of the shelves. The tales of George. I snorted at the name and put it back.

"Doing some light reading?" A voice asked me.

I jumped a bit at the sound. I turned around to see Shane sitting on the floor. I narrowed my eyes as I noticed red scratches on his neck. Did he fight a rabid raccoon or something?

"What the hell happened to you?" I inquired.

He shrugged and didn't reply. I shifted uncomfortably as I realized this was the first time that Shane and I were all alone. It made my skin crawl, like it wasn't safe.

"You know you're really pretty, right?"

"Are you drunk?"

"Probably, yeah."

I smirked as he tried to get up. His legs weren't listening to him that well. However, he managed to stand and lean against the wall. He looked me in the eyes before speaking.

"Why are you so mean to me? I never did anything to ya." Shane said.

"I'm mean to everyone so don't go around feeling special. The truth is that I just don't like you." I replied.

I expected him to be more fun when drunk, like Daryl was. Shane is just sad to look at. He stepped closer to me and I clenched my jaw not liking where this conversation was going.

"Well, I like you. Sure, you hate my guts but still." He said.

A chuckle escaped his lips as if though what he was said was funny. It never occurred to me that Shane might like me. Hell, there's absolutely no reason for him to feel that way.

"Last time I checked, it was Lori who had all of your attention." I said.

He tensed and looked at me in disbelief. I took a moment to enjoy having the upper hand. This is excellent blackmailing material for the future.

"How do you know about that?" He asked.

"Saw you two in the woods, didn't feel like interrupting. If it makes you feel any better, I don't think anyone else figured it out. Yet." I replied.

His eyes narrowed as I turned to head back to my room. The others aren't stupid. If I figured it out, accidentally, then they will too. For the sake of his friendship with Rick, he should really give up on Lori.

Perhaps professing his undying love for me was Shane's way of doing that. Too bad I'm not interested in being his anything. He might as well focus his attention on someone else.

"You're not gonna tell Rick, are you?" He asked.

I stopped by the doorway before turning to look at him. The last thing I want to do is get involved in their stupid little love triangle. If Rick's as smart as I think he might be, then he'll figure it out on his own.

"I don't care what happens between the three of you. Just keep me out of it." I snapped.