The door opened, and Dr. Jenner walked in holding a tablet.
"Dr. Jenner, have a seat." Calista nodded to him, then introduced him to Abraham and Rosita. "This is Dr. Edwin Jenner, a senior research specialist from the Atlanta CDC.
"Before the apocalypse, he was assigned by the government to work with CDC agencies around the world on an antidote for the walker virus. He's also the head of Rock Fortress's research team."
She continued, "Besides Dr. Jenner, our team includes Martin Sorensen, a biochemistry professor at UTK, and Dr. Milton, who has compiled extensive and detailed observations of walker behavior."
In just a few words, Calista outlined a small but highly specialized research team.
"Their work is one of Rock Fortress's highest-level secrets. Anyone not directly involved is forbidden from approaching the research area or asking about it."
Her words were like a bucket of ice water. They cooled some of Abraham's rage while crushing Eugene's last shred of hope.
Compared to a genuine research program like this, his lie barely even qualified as a joke.
Dr. Jenner glanced at Eugene, then turned to Abraham.
"I heard what happened from outside. A physics teacher pretending to be a virologist and wasting your time and trust."
He looked at Abraham and Rosita and gave a regretful shrug.
"We don't have miracles here. No country managed to develop an antidote before the apocalypse, and doing so now is even harder.
"But our research hasn't stopped. If you're still interested in the walker virus itself, this is probably the best place you'll find for real answers."
Having said that, Dr. Jenner apparently felt he had more than fulfilled the social obligation Calista had given him. He gave her a slight nod.
"Calista, if there's nothing else, I'll get back to work. We've made some progress on what you mentioned last time."
Calista nodded, and Dr. Jenner left the conference room, leaving silence behind him.
Eugene slumped on the floor.
Dr. Jenner's appearance and Calista's introduction had finally made him understand just how pathetic his lie was, and just how much Rock Fortress already knew about the walkers.
He was no longer "humanity's only hope."
He wasn't even "a liar who might still be useful."
He was nothing but a completely worthless burden.
In a place as organized and well-equipped as Rock Fortress, what possible use was a physics teacher who had falsely claimed to be a scientist?
"I... I..." Eugene sobbed, tears and mucus running down his face. His survival instinct quickly overwhelmed his shame, and he began desperately selling himself as though grasping at his last lifeline.
"Commander, I... I may not be a virologist, but I'm useful! I really am!
"I know radios! I can modify them, encrypt communications, extend their range!
"I... I can work with ammunition too! I know how to reload cartridges and mix propellant. If I have the equipment, I can optimize a production line!
"I... I can also prepare certain chemicals. Strong acids, corrosives, even... even some toxic compounds. If you need specialized weapons or... or protective equipment..."
He rambled on, blurting out every survival-related skill he could think of. His eyes darted desperately between Calista and Abraham, searching for even the slightest sign of approval.
Calista listened in silence.
Only after Eugene had nearly exhausted himself did she finally speak. Each sentence landed like a small hammer, snuffing out the tiny flame of hope he had just managed to kindle.
"Radio communications?" she asked calmly. "Rock Fortress, Blackberry Ranch, the Industrial Park, and the prison all have stable relay stations and trained communications personnel.
"We use military-grade encryption protocols, and the base has dedicated electronics engineers responsible for maintenance and upgrades."
She continued, "Ammunition production? The Knoxville Industrial Park has a semi-automated ammunition reloading line.
"Its output is limited, but it's enough to supply our current armed forces and routine training needs. We also have combat engineers who understand propellant mixtures."
"As for chemicals..." Calista watched Eugene's face turn ashen. "We have a basic chemical processing area capable of producing disinfectant and simple soap, as well as purifying certain necessary reagents for laboratory use.
"The specialized substances you mentioned aren't currently on our priority production list, and we don't encourage people to mix them privately."
For every skill Eugene took pride in, Rock Fortress already had a more professional and organized department handling it.
He had imagined himself becoming a rare technical specialist. Instead, he discovered that his scattered knowledge of a little bit of everything was almost redundant in a post-apocalyptic fortress that had already begun restoring specialized labor and cooperation.
Eugene finally collapsed completely.
He lay on the floor, barely even having the strength left to cry. All that remained was endless fear and confusion.
In his mind, he could already see himself being thrown outside these sturdy walls like garbage, with endless hordes of walkers and despair waiting beyond them.
Calista looked away from him and turned back to Abraham.
He had fallen silent.
Dr. Jenner's appearance, along with everything Calista had revealed about Rock Fortress's capabilities, had shaken him deeply. The mission that had given his life meaning suddenly seemed hollow and unreal.
"Abraham," Calista said, her tone softening, "you're angry because your loyalty, your blood, even your reason for staying alive were all built on a lie. You feel like you were completely fooled, don't you?"
Abraham's throat moved, but he said nothing.
That was answer enough.
"But what about before that?" Calista continued, guiding him carefully. "Before you met Eugene, what were you like?
"What made you willing to believe such an obviously flawed story and risk your life for it?"
Abraham's massive frame swayed slightly.
For a moment, it was as though he had been dragged back to the point where everything inside him had broken.
The apocalypse had been a meat grinder, slowly destroying everything he treasured.
Once, while fighting another group of survivors over a small amount of food they desperately needed, a conflict broke out.
His anger, despair, and nerves worn raw by constant pressure finally snapped.
Like an animal, he beat the other man to death.
No.
He beat him to a pulp.
When Abraham finally came back to himself, covered in blood and gasping for breath, he saw his wife and two children standing nearby.
They were staring at him in horror, as though he were a monster.
They screamed and ran.
Abraham wanted to chase after them, explain himself, apologize, but his legs felt as heavy as lead.
By the time he finally pulled himself together and went after them, all he found were their mangled bodies.
He had lost them.
Not because of the walkers.
He had frightened them into running, and that had indirectly gotten them killed.
At that moment, Abraham wanted nothing more than to die.
Then Eugene appeared.
The heavyset man looked terrified himself but was desperately pretending otherwise. He stopped Abraham with a string of explanations Abraham couldn't understand, yet which sounded impossibly important.
"The world's hope."
"The only scientist."
"The key to Washington."
"Saving humanity."
Those grand, intangible promises were not lies to Abraham at the time.
For a man only one step away from ending his own life, they were salvation.
Eugene needed protection. He needed a shield strong enough to keep him alive.
And Abraham needed a reason to keep living.
In their own way, each had given the other the lie they needed to survive.