✓ | SPITFIRE ¹ ✶ the walking dead

⠀⠀⠀𝒙𝒙𝒙𝒙𝒊. vicious cycles

⠀⠀⠀It didn't change what Rick had done in her eyes. Even when Cal assured her it was okay, he still received the cold shoulder. It would never be okay. Rick was the reason Cal was almost taken away from her a second time. That trust between them had been lost.

⠀⠀⠀Daryl came back even later. Merle wasn't barking behind him, and he explained morbidly that his brother was dead. He'd given himself up, trailing walkers after himself to crash into Woodbury before he was later shot and allowed to turn.

⠀⠀⠀The following day they prepared for the attack. Hershel, Beth, Carl, and Judith would go into the woods to keep safe while the rest hid inside the prison from the Governor and his merry band of soldiers. They came in blazing, the cannon shaking the concrete walls, and the gunfire rattled Bianca's ears.

⠀⠀⠀She lay in wait down in the alarm room, ready to pull the signal. Cal stood beside her when she asked if he'd go with her. Bianca didn't think she could do it alone. Not when it was the room Andrew had snuck into and forced them all to suffer. Lori and T-Dog died so the rest of them could live.

⠀⠀⠀It got quiet for a while, and Bianca kept the alarms the same for ten minutes. She held Cal's hand in one hand and stared down at her other, holding Dale's pocket watch. She'd hardly bothered with it since his death. She wasn't sure if it was wound right anymore because she didn't do it every morning.

⠀⠀⠀Then, she had the alarms blare without thinking. The prison turned into chaos as the Woodbury people screamed in fear, their feet trampling through the halls until they got outside. Then gunfire sounded again before it dulled and became quiet.

⠀⠀⠀They were safe for the moment, but it wouldn't be long before Woodbury came back again with more guns and more men until both sides were put to dust. Most of her people went, but Bianca, Hershel, Carol, Carl, Beth, and Judith were asked to stay behind due to injury or age.

⠀⠀⠀It was hours of waiting, worrying, and wondering if this was the end. If her family had left and would never come back and all that was left was the five of them. Her nails were chewed down to bloody nubs, and her eyes were bloodshot. It felt hopeless as the night rolled in. The air growing chilly. Bianca couldn't sleep, and neither could any of the others, it seemed.

⠀⠀⠀Through the night, both kids were growing weary and tired. Bianca had taken Judith reluctantly in her arms when she noticed Beth dozing in and out of sleep. She cradled the bundle of innocence and fondly stared at her pale skin and chubby cheeks. She could understand why Lori wanted to protect such a precious thing despite having to die herself.

⠀⠀⠀Beth had grown comfortable, lightly snoring on Bianca's shoulder. At the same time, Carl sat beside her with his hand resting on the table. Hershel had taken some time to rest, but he was up and refreshed again when dawn cracked. Especially when the low rumble of an engine grew louder and louder. One Bianca knew belonged to Daryl.

⠀⠀⠀The kids both perked awake, and they walked outside to greet them and see what the damage was.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca worried that Cal was dead. A knot in her stomach wanted to convince her of the fact. However, he stood healthy with a broad smile on his face as he stood at the doors of a bus. People flooded out of the front doors, tens of them, all new to Bianca's eyes. She didn't recognize one of them, but they all seemed to know Cal fondly.

⠀⠀⠀Their hands patted him gratefully, warm smiles pleased to see him, and he was just as happy to see them. He looked radiant, like that first day they had met under the blinding blue sky.

⠀⠀⠀The Woodbury people were escorted inside, and Cal came to meet Bianca. He didn't say anything at first, holding her tight. He breathed in her hair, a smile pressed against the side of her head, and her feet were lifted from the ground. He let out a relieved laugh, and Bianca couldn't help but follow as he shook her with all the anxious energy in his body before setting her down.