"Why are you here?" Dr. Edwin Jenner asked, slowly lowering his shotgun as he approached the group. "What do you want?"
The survivors looked at each other. Rick spoke first. "A chance." Arthur, meanwhile, casually slung his rifle on his shoulder and hopped onto a nearby desk, sitting as if the armed man before them posed no threat. "And food, and preferably a hot shower," he added. Everyone's gaze swiveled to him, speechless at his sheer casualness.
"That's asking an awful lot these days," Jenner replied, shaking his head. "I know," Rick said, his voice shaky with exhaustion and hope. A thick silence descended as they continued to stare at one another. "Are we in a staring competition now?" Arthur finally broke the tension. Rick, the others, and even Jenner let out small chuckles.
"Y'all submit to a blood test. That's the price for admission," Jenner stated. "We could do that," Rick instantly agreed.
"Alright, bring your stuff in. Once that door closes, it stays closed." As they hauled their bags inside, Jenner slid an ID for verification—beep. "Vi seals the main entrance, kills the power up here." The entrance sealed with a heavy thud. Arthur raised an eyebrow, noticing Hermione was also in deep thought. After introductions, Dr. Jenner led them to an elevator.
Daryl, looking at the shotgun in Jenner's arm, asked, "Doc, you packin' heat like that?" Jenner smiled, turning to look at the group. "There are plenty left lying around, so I'll familiarize myself," he paused, then looked at Carl. "But you look harmless enough... except you. I'll have to keep an eye on you," he joked, easing the tension and bringing a small smile to Carl's face.
Stepping out of the elevator, Jenner led them down a hallway. "Are we underground?" Carol asked, tightly holding Sofia's hand. Jenner glanced back. "Are you claustrophobic?" "A little," Carol whispered. Jenner sighed, looking ahead. "Try not to think about it."
They soon arrived at a main room. "Vi, bring the lights in the big room," Jenner commanded, and the lights automatically flooded the area. Jenner looked back at the group with a smile. "Welcome to Zone 5." "Cozy," Arthur whistled out loud.
"So where is everybody?" Arthur couldn't help but ask, finding the place desolate. Rick added, "Yeah, the doctors, the staff?" Jenner stopped at the center of the room. "I'm it."
"What about the person you're speaking with? Vi?" Lori asked for confirmation. Jenner spoke aloud. "Vi, say hello to our guests... tell them... welcome." A mechanical whizz sounded, and Vi's robotic voice came from the speaker. "Hello, guest, welcome." Everyone was shocked, except Arthur and Hermione, who had already guessed. "I'm all that's left... I'm sorry," Jenner finished.
After Jenner had taken their blood, Andrea asked curiously, "What's the point? If we were already infected, we'd all be running a fever." Amy held her hand, glancing at Arthur, who sat with his arms crossed. Arthur noticed but ignored her; he wasn't interested at her. "I've already broken every rule book by letting you in. Just let me at least be thorough," Jenner replied, placing the injection on the table. "All done." But as Andrea stood up, she felt a wave of dizziness. Amy and Jacqui rushed to support her.
"You okay?" Jenner asked. "She hasn't eaten in days," Amy replied on Andrea's behalf. Jacqui and others chimed in, "None of us have."
An hour later, laughter echoed throughout the room. At the dining table, the group ate heartily. "You know, in Italy, children have a little wine with dinner," Dale mentioned with a small laugh. Lori rebutted "well, if Carl is in Italy, he can have some" Rick smiled and told Lori, "Oh, what's it gonna hurt? Come on..." Lori smiled back, relenting as Rick poured a tiny bit of wine into a cup for Carl to taste. After Carl sipped, his face scrunched up. "Eww," he declared. Everyone laughed, including Arthur, while Hermione merely smiled. Rick rubbed Carl's hair. "Well, stick to soda pop here, bud," he said. Daryl joined in. "But not you, Glenn. Keep drinking, little man, I want to see how red your face can get," he teased, making Glenn look up and smile.
Rick noticed Jenner was silent. He stood up, picked up his wine glass, and tapped it with a spoon. "It seems like I forgot to thank our host here." The group started tapping their glasses, shouting thanks and cheers, with Daryl and the other men shouting "Bouyahh!"
As the group enjoyed this rare moment of peace, Shane, who had been silent, broke the silence. "When are you gonna tell us about what happened here, Doc? The uhh... other doctors who were supposed to be figuring this out... where are they?" He paused, twirling the wine glass in his hand. Rick interrupted. "We're celebrating, Shane... don't need to do this now," as he sat back down.
"Whoa, wait a second. That's the reason why we're here, right? This was your move... to find the answer," Shane rebutted, staring at Rick. "Instead, we found him... we found one man. Why?" he finished, pointing his thumb at Jenner, who sat behind him in the corner. Jenner explained that people left when things got bad, and some "opted out," leading to a rash of suicides.
"You didn't leave, why?" Andrea asked, the lively atmosphere completely dead. "I kept on working... hoping to do something good," Jenner replied in a low voice. The silence lingered until Glenn spoke in a low spirit. "Dude, you're such a buzzkill, man."
Arthur stood up, lifting his glass to Shane. "Way to go, dick face, you just can't keep your damn mouth shut, can you?"
Shane hearing his word being thrown back at him, instantly stood up in a furious rage and walked toward Arthur, who smiled and downed the rest of his wine. Shane threw a punch, which Arthur dodged without an ounce of effort. Shane kept throwing fists. The moment Arthur saw an opening, and ignoring Lori's shout to "Stop this," he lunged forward, planting his knee in Shane's abdomen. Although Arthur severely held back, the impact left Shane breathless, and he dropped to the floor, clutching his stomach. Rick, Glenn, Daryl, and T-Dog rushed to break them apart. Arthur stood over the gasping Shane. "Get up, Shane. We don't need another stray barking for the master's attention."
Arthur, whose Sequence 9 Hunter enhancements allowed him to detect emotions clearly, felt Shane's burning jealousy, confirming the ill intention his danger intuition had been sensing since their first meeting.
Rick placed his hands on Arthur's shoulder, looking him in the eye. "Arthur, calm down, we don't need infighting among us." Rick was in a dilemma: on one side, Shane, his best friend, who he now suspected was involved with his wife; on the other, Arthur, a new member whose skills were invaluable.
Lori, fueled by anger or perhaps a lingering loyalty to Shane, approached Arthur, who was being held by Rick. She swung her hand in an attempt to slap Arthur across the face. As an embodiment of a Hunter and a seasoned assassin, it would have been a disgrace for Arthur to allow the hit. He caught Lori's wrist, causing Rick to immediately demand in a stern voice, "What the fuck are you doing, Lori?"
Realizing what she'd done, Lori stuttered, slowly backing off. "I... I... uhh," she stammered. Arthur let out a sigh. "Alright, that's enough. I'm pretty much calm, Rick. You can let go of my shoulder now," he said, adding in his mind, 'As if anyone of you could stop me if I ever went for a kill.' As Rick released him, Arthur walked to the table, poured himself more wine, and swiftly downed it. "A bath would be nice," Arthur stated, as if he hadn't just incapacitated a trained police officer with one strike.