Wildfire (WTS)

"Wildfire" is the fifth episode of season 1 of The Walking Dead: Willing To Survive.

Plot
On their way to the CDC, the RV's radiator hose bursts. While Shane and Merle drive ahead to find replacement parts, Rick checks on Jim, who is in agony. "My bones are like glass. Every little bump - this ride's killing me. Leave me here," Jim says. "I'm done." Rick suggests he's delirious, but Jim insists his head is clear: "I want to be with my family," he says.

Outside, Dale advocates respecting Jim's wishes. Lori agrees, and the group carries Jim to a nearby tree. Jacqui gives him a soft kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for fightin' for us," Dale tells Jim as the group departs, tearfully leaving him behind.

Elsewhere, a video monitor crackles to life. An unshaven man, Dr. Edwin Jenner, speaks in to the camera. "It's day 194 since Wildfire was declared," he says. "And 63 days since the disease abruptly went global. There is no clinical progress to report." He states that he has finally figured out how to shut down the scrubbers in the east sector of the building to save power, and he admits he's been feeling off-kilter lately, thanks to living underground and sleeping odd hours.

In a bio-hazard suit and with classical music playing, Jenner passes through an airlock into a laboratory. He opens a tissue sample labeled TS-19 and begins an experiment. He takes a nap inside his safety suit while he waits for the sample to be ready for examination.

Reaching for a beaker, he accidentally knocks a graduated cylinder of corrosive fluid on the tissue sample inside a petri dish. An alarm sounds as a voice over a loudspeaker alerts Jenner to toxic quality air, and he runs to a decontamination chamber and disrobes. From the safety of the airlock, Jenner watches helplessly as the voice announces "Full decontamination in effect." as the lab, and all of the remaining TS-19 samples, are engulfed in flames — an automatic safety protocol.

Later, a drunken Jenner speaks into the monitor: "The TS-19 samples are gone. The tragedy of their loss cannot be overstated," he laments, musing that he's sure there's no one listening on the other end of his transmission anymore, which saves him any embarrassment because he might kill himself in the morning.

Rick's caravan approaches the CDC with the sun setting, where hundreds of bodies lay dead on the ground. Another U.S. Military cordon was overrun. The group quietly approaches the building, which is locked and shuttered. Inside, the proximity alarm alerts Jenner. Stunned, he watches the group's approach via security monitor.

Outside, walkers begin to take notice of the survivors. Panicking, Shane suggests they can still turn around and head for Fort Benning. Andrea then points out that they're out of gas and they have no food, and would never make it. Lori demands a plan and Rick insists they'll figure something out as the sun sets. Jenner, quietly mumbles to himself telling them to leave.

Rick catches sight of the security camera's movement and slams his fists against the metal shutters, screaming, "If you don't let us in, you're killing us!" The group yells at Rick saying that there is nobody there, with people crying as he continues to scream. More walkers are appearing. Shane drags Rick away as he continues to scream, "You're killing us!". Suddenly a shuttered door opens, drowning the survivors in light.

A flashback starts this episode at the onset of the Wildfire Global Outbreak. Shane is visiting Rick in the King County hospital, wearing his Sheriff's Deputy's uniform. Army personnel are evacuating hospital staff and executing the infected. Shane begs a nurse for help, but she runs past him screaming.

He draws his gun and heads to the door. He watches fearfully as the military execute terrified people in the hallways. He tries to lift his comatose partner, but hesitates because of all the tubes and wires attached to the machines that are keeping him alive. Shane asks him desperately to tell him what to do, but Rick is unresponsive.

He ducks behind Rick's bed just as two army personnel arrive to sweep the room. When they leave, he begs his best friend to wake up, but the power goes out and Rick's monitors die. Fearing the worst, Shane puts his ear to Rick's chest. After hearing no heartbeat, Shane reluctantly leaves Rick in the room. However, he barricades the door with a hospital gurney before he flees.

Meanwhile; back in the present, T-Dog returns back at the camp and finds everyone gone. He goes to look for his friends until a car pulls up to him. Out steps a man and a woman who introduce themselves as Paul and Karina. T-Dog also introduces himself to them and Paul and Karina promise T-Dog to find his friends. They enter the car and drive off.

Main Cast
🇨🇴 🇨🇴
 * Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes
 * Jon Bernthal as Shane Walsh
 * Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes
 * Sarah Wayne Callies as Lori Grimes
 * Steven Yeun as Glenn Rhee
 * Laurie Holden as Andrea Harrison

Also Starring
🇨🇴 🇨🇴
 * Lennie James as Morgan Jones*
 * Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier
 * Jeffrey DeMunn as Dale Horvath
 * IronE Singleton as Theodore Douglas
 * Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon
 * Michael Rooker as Merle Dixon

Co-Stars
🇨🇴 🇨🇴
 * Madison Lintz as Sophia Peletier
 * Jeryl Prescott Sales as Jacqui
 * Andrew Rothenberg as Jim
 * Noah Emmerich as Edwin Jenner
 * Ashley Bell as Karina
 * Wyatt Russell as Paul

Deaths

 * Jim (Alive)
 * Numerous patients and hospital staff (Flashback)
 * Several U.S. military soldiers (Flashback)

Trivia

 * First appearance of Edwin Jenner.
 * First appearance of Paul.
 * First appearance of Karina.
 * Last appearance of Jim. (Alive)