❛ He'll show them all his power, it pulses through his ice cold blood. ❜
SEASON 3, EPISODE 1
seed
━━━━━━ day 302.
THAT NIGHT, THE group sat around a bonfire except for Daryl, Carol, and Rick. Bianca had found the head of a metal fan to make a controlled fire with, pulling apart the two frames to put wood inside then close it back to start the fire. Daryl had gone into the woods and found some bird for them to eat, and T-Dog roasted it over the fire. Now, they sat quietly around the fire, picking out bones and filling their stomachs just enough.
⠀⠀⠀"Mm, just like mom used to make," Glenn mused sarcastically, pulling a bone from between his lips and tossing it behind him.
⠀⠀⠀Bianca looked up, a faint smile at the comment, as did Maggie. Bianca wanted to laugh, but it had been harder to do so.
⠀⠀⠀"Together, we'll put all the bodies together. We want to keep them away from that water," T-Dog explained to the group, hoping to get some conversation going. Instead, however, he was stared at Lori, who worried herself over Rick. "Now, if we can dig a canal under the fence, we'll, uh, have plenty of fresh water."
⠀⠀⠀"The soil is good. We could plant some seeds. Grow some tomatoes, cucumbers, soybeans," Hershel added, having some from their travels in the palm of his hand to consider.
⠀⠀⠀"There's plenty of scraps lying around, too," Bianca added, pointing with the stick in her hand toward the fire to emphasize her point. "We could build defensives, maybe traps to keep them away from the fences."
⠀⠀⠀They grew quiet again, and Hershel turned to look at Rick walking the perimeter.
⠀⠀⠀"That's his third time around. If there was any part of it compromised, he'd have found it by now," Hershel explained simply, but they all knew as much.
⠀⠀⠀"This will be a good place to have the baby," Beth said to Lori, changing the subject with her sweet smile. Even after everything, Beth seemed to stay the same, good, kind, sweet. Bianca liked that about her, even if they didn't talk much. "Safe."
⠀⠀⠀Lori held a hint of a smile, thankful for the reassurance.
⠀⠀⠀"Bethy, sing 'Paddy Reilly' for me," Hershel requested, looking fondly into the fire. "I haven't heard that I think, since your mother was alive."
⠀⠀⠀"Daddy, not that one, please," Maggie muttered. Her distraught expression caused Hershel to pause, understanding coursing through his features.
⠀⠀⠀"How about, uh, 'The Parting Glass'?" Hershel asked Beth.
⠀⠀⠀Beth frowned deeply, her big blue eyes looking between her father and Maggie, then said, "No one wants to hear."
⠀⠀⠀"Why not?" Glenn asked, smiling to reassure her he was open to hearing her sing.
⠀⠀⠀"I haven't heard music in a long while," Bianca added on, smiling as much as she could. "It'll be nice to hear something other than old war stories."
⠀⠀⠀Beth looked between them and relaxed.
⠀⠀⠀"Okay," Beth finally agreed. She repositioned herself so her back was straight, then took in a deep breath. "Of all the money e'er I've ever done. Alas, it was to none but me and all I've done. For want of wit to memory now, I can't recall. So fill to me the parting glass, good night and joy be with you all."
⠀⠀⠀Rick walked back to them, then Daryl and Carol stood behind those sitting and listened as well. Beth turned to Maggie, asking her an unsaid question, and Maggie nodded, joining her sister to sing.
⠀⠀⠀"Oh, all the comrades that e'er I had were sorry for my going away, and all the sweethearts that e'er I had would wish me one more day to stay. But since it falls unto my lot that I should rise and you should not. I'll gently rise, and I'll softly call good night and joy be with you all. Good night and joy be with you all."
⠀⠀⠀"Beautiful," Hershel said between a breath once the sisters finished.
⠀⠀⠀And it was. Beth and Maggie gleamed a little life back into the group, filling them with something they hadn't had since the farm. Bianca couldn't place it, but she felt her cold bones waking again and a sliver of her past self return.
⠀⠀⠀"Better all turn in," Rick called, the group turning to face him. "I'll take watch over there. We've got a big day tomorrow."
⠀⠀⠀"What do you mean?" Glenn asked with furrowed brows.
⠀⠀⠀Rick paused at their questioning gazes, twirling some grass between his fingers.
⠀⠀⠀"Look, I know we're all exhausted," Rick began, frowning, then looked up. "This was a great win, but we gotta push just a little more. Most of the walkers are dressed as guards or prisoners, looks like this place fell pretty early. Could mean the supplies may be intact. They have an infirmary, a commissary."
⠀⠀⠀"An armory?" Daryl asked.
⠀⠀⠀"That would be outside the prison itself, but not too far away," Rick explained. "Warden's offices would have info on the location. Weapons, food, medicine, this place could be a gold mine!"
⠀⠀⠀"We're dangerously low on ammo," Hershel told him. "We'll run out before we make a dent."
⠀⠀⠀"That's why we gotta go in there, hand-to-hand," Rick explained, looking reluctant to say it. "After all we've been through, we can handle it, I know it."
⠀⠀⠀They stayed quiet. No one was thrilled to go inside with only their practical weapons on hand.
⠀⠀⠀Rick turned to his son and told him firmly, "These assholes don't stand a chance."
⠀⠀⠀Carl looked up and smiled from under his hat. Rick nodded, then stood and left them with that for the night.
THE FOLLOWING DAY, Rick instructed the group on the plan. They were all exhausted but understood that getting this done faster was better for everyone. Especially Lori, who was due any minute. Bianca had been sent with the team heading inside consisting of Rick, Daryl, Glenn, Maggie, and T-Dog. The rest stood at the fence on the opposite side, rattling the gate and stabbing as many walkers through the head as they could.
⠀⠀⠀Bianca held her sledgehammer between a vice-like grip, keeping herself faced toward the incoming walkers rather than the door. They kept close together, maintaining a tight circle for as long as they could. Bianca stepped away when swinging, giving herself enough room to keep herself from knocking Maggie or Glenn out.
⠀⠀⠀"Almost there!" Rick shouted from the front, keeping them in line as they went.
⠀⠀⠀At the door, Rick pushed it open but waited a moment to check around the corner of the building into another yard. He shrunk back almost immediately, raising his hand to stop them from moving. They waited for the signal to go but noticed a pair of walkers wearing uniforms walk out from behind a dumpster. Then, another three turned around the wall Rick had peeked behind and another from the open door.
⠀⠀⠀They all wore face shields which made it more challenging to hit the brain. Daryl had tried shooting one with an arrow, but it ended up bouncing off comically.
⠀⠀⠀Bianca's sledgehammer worked well enough, at least knocking the walker coming for her down. She used her heel to press against its chest. A second started for her, but Glenn seized the opportunity and took it as his own target.
⠀⠀⠀Bianca kneeled, unclipping the helmet with shaky hands as rotten teeth snapped at her. She pulled out a knife from her boot, raised it, and sunk it deep into the eye. The sight still made her stomach roll, but at least after doing this for so long, it didn't make her throw up.
⠀⠀⠀Another walker had started stumbling towards Bianca, and she quickly rushed it. Using her shoulder to force it into the locked gate, Daryl and Rick had done moments before. Her hands were pinned, but if she moved one, she'd end up with a bite to the face.
⠀⠀⠀Maggie rushed behind her, forcing the walker's head up, and threw her machete up into the exposed area underneath. Blood spattered across Bianca's face, and she spat in disgust. The body dropped as she backed away, thanking Maggie and wiping her face.
⠀⠀⠀They managed to take the courtyard, the walkers trapped inside all dead and the rest behind a locked fence.
⠀⠀⠀"Well, it looks secure," Glenn commented, turning back to Rick as they looked inside the open door.
⠀⠀⠀"Not according to that courtyard over there," Daryl commented, pointing back at the closed gate. "And that's a civilian," he pointed out, a plain-clothed woman lying among the prison uniforms.
⠀⠀⠀"So, the interior could be overrun by walkers from outside the prison," T-Dog muttered, realization that their new home might not be home for much longer.
⠀⠀⠀"Well, if there's walls down, then what are we gonna do?" Glenn asked. "We can't rebuild this whole place."
⠀⠀⠀"Prisons are secure," Bianca stated firmly. "If we can get one part closed off, we might not have to worry about the rest. Just means we gotta find it."
⠀⠀⠀Rick considered her claim, narrowing his eyes as he thought, then turned back to the prison.
⠀⠀⠀"We can't risk a blind spot," Rick stated, agreeing with Bianca to some extent. "We have to push in."
⠀⠀⠀Rick led them up a set of stairs, surrounded by a rusted fence to keep any prisoners running. Rick stepped back, readying his knife while Daryl took his place and opened the door. Nothing screamed and jumped out at them, so they proceeded.
⠀⠀⠀The prison was dark as they entered. Bianca looked around, thinking how the silence felt eerie anytime she met with it. Silence seemed like a luxury these days, but it haunted her. There were worse things out there, the ones she couldn't hear keeping to the shadows. Walker didn't know better. They were loud and made their presence known. Bianca feared what might be waiting for them.
⠀⠀⠀Bianca followed behind Maggie, the door creaking, filling the silence, and then it returned. They entered a small cafeteria first, paper towels and other debris littered the floor, but no bodies were left behind. They waited in the room, Rick heading up the stairs to the guard tower, and found the keys.
⠀⠀⠀They entered, checking every grimy cell and any corner a walker or survivor could be hiding within. There was a lot of shit inside, paper towels, blankets, blood, dead bodies (not walkers), and a few behind bars that were walkers. It felt easy when Daryl killed the walkers with an easy stab to the head. Too easy that something stirred in the pit of her stomach, worrying something might jump out and kill one of them.
⠀⠀⠀However, none did. Everything was as good as it could get, and Rick felt satisfied that the others could follow in. Bianca helped gather the supplies, stepping back into the cell block as T-Dog dropped a walker from the upper level. She stepped out of its way and looked up at T-Dog, who grimaced and waved his hand in apology.
⠀⠀⠀Bianca didn't bite, continuing with the bags to set them down, and listened to Rick introduce their new home to the others.
⠀⠀⠀"What do you think?" he asked.
⠀⠀⠀"Home sweet home," Glenn mused, trying to lighten the mood.
⠀⠀⠀"For the time being," Rick was quick to say, knowing that none of them were keen on sleeping in cells.
⠀⠀⠀"It's secure?" Lori asked breathlessly. Her eyes had widened significantly with wonder, and her lips opened just a bit in her shock.
⠀⠀⠀Rick smiled, "This cell block is."
⠀⠀⠀"What about the rest of the prison?" Hershel asked, furrowing his brow as he heard the words between what Rick had said.
⠀⠀⠀"In the morning, we'll find the cafeteria and the infirmary," Rick assured him.
⠀⠀⠀"We'll sleep in the cells?" Beth asked warily, her soft voice holding a quiver in its tone.
⠀⠀⠀"I found the keys on some guard," Rick explained, all of his answers direct but not necessarily answering what anyone asked. "Daryl has a set, too."
⠀⠀⠀"I ain't sleepin' in no cage," Daryl called down from the upper level, a scowl on his face. He turned to the guard's tower and pointed at it with a jut of his chin. "I'll take the perch."
⠀⠀⠀With that settled and a roof over their head, the rest scattered to find the rooms they wanted. Bianca went up the stairs, taking the furthest one from the stairs. She settled her stuff on the top bunk and laid down on the bottom. Bianca was so exhausted but felt like she couldn't sleep. She was so used to hearing Daryl's snoring or Carl talk in his sleep that the silence kept her wide awake. Not even the sound of breathing filled her ears. So she laid, waiting for something to sound between the running thoughts in her head, but none came, and neither did sleep.
CAROL HELPED BIANCA put on the vest taken from the corpses of the walker guards. At least those weren't coated in dead man goo. Carol clipped her vest and smiled lightly at her. Bianca smiled back, it hardly met her eyes, but the bags underneath weren't helping. It had been a long night, and they were already back to doing something.
⠀⠀⠀Bianca didn't complain, though. If she wasn't helping them cut through the hundreds, possibly thousands of walkers inside the prison, then she'd be lying in her bed, unable to sleep again.
⠀⠀⠀Everyone was ready, including Carl. However, Rick asked Carl to stay with the others in case something went sideways. He'd be the last man standing. Even Hershel was going with the group, so Carl relaxed in his argument of needing to go with them. He felt important, needed, even if he was staying behind.
⠀⠀⠀With that resolved, Rick called for them to move, and they did, leaving Carl with Lori, Beth, and Carol.
⠀⠀⠀Daryl led the way to the halls between cell blocks, unlocking it and creaking it open for the others to follow in after him. They advanced carefully, a flurry of nervousness surrounding them. Especially Bianca, the sound of silence following them again. Glenn broke it time and time again as he shook a can of spray paint to point their way back, but then it bled back into their natural tense state.
⠀⠀⠀The tension seemed to not only affect Bianca but Maggie as well, as she ran into Glenn and screamed in fright. Everyone turned to her, and Maggie quickly apologized under her breath.
⠀⠀⠀It seemed like the anxiety was beginning to suffocate them at every corner. Nothing coming, and then it came all at once. A flood of walkers stalled in a corner until they noticed the warm flesh in front of them.
⠀⠀⠀Rick jumped, throwing his hands wildly, and shouted, "Go back, go back! Go back! Move! This way!"
⠀⠀⠀In their panic, the group split into two. Maggie and Glenn weren't with them anymore, and they were still trying to keep out of sight of the walkers. Hershel called Maggie's name a few times in hopes they would hear them. Bianca stared intently down each hall they passed, waiting to see movement, but none came.
⠀⠀⠀Suddenly, Hershel began screaming bloody murder. Not from his missing child, but the walker sinking its teeth into the flesh of his ankle. The blood spattered from its mouth, and Hershel fell to his stomach from the sudden shock of pain. Bianca turned to stone, staring with wide eyes at the man flopping along the floor.
⠀⠀⠀Rick was quick on his feet, running past her, and shot a bullet through the walker that killed Hershel. Glenn and Maggie found their way back to them, hollering in grief at the fallen man.
⠀⠀⠀Rick and Glenn helped Hershel to his feet. Bianca wasn't sure for what, but maybe allow Maggie and even Beth their last moments with the old man. Returning to the situation, Bianca rushed over to Maggie. The latter was sobbing and struck still in the middle of the hall. There were still other walkers that could come for them at any minute. Bianca tugged on Maggie's wrist, pulled her to her side, wrapped her arm around her shoulder, and led Maggie behind Rick and Glenn.
⠀⠀⠀Daryl took the front, and T-Dog held up the back as they rushed through the halls to find somewhere to stop. Daryl weaved his way to a door, but not one to their cell block. T-Dog ran to the front at Daryl's call and snapped the lock with his bolt cutters. They swarmed inside the room. Hershel was laid out on the floor, Maggie left Bianca's side and held her father's face, and Daryl locked the door while T-Dog held it closed.
⠀⠀⠀Hershel was moaning in pain as Maggie cried over him. Rick was quick, as he had been before, cutting Hershel's pant leg away. He pulled off his belt and wrapped it halfway down Hershel's calf as a tourniquet. Bianca watched in amazement as Rick didn't even hesitate, picking up a hand ax with white knuckles.
⠀⠀⠀"Only one way of keeping you alive," Rick claimed gravelly. Then, he raised the ax and forced it down again and again and again while Maggie, Glenn, and T-Dog held him down. Bianca stood back again, feeling useless and unsure of herself, as Rick tried to save Hershel's life in a way she didn't think any of them had thought of before.
⠀⠀⠀Before, it might not have been plausible anyway. Amy and the rest of the camp got bit but didn't have this kind of time to save them. Jim got bit on the abdomen, Sophia on the shoulder (if they had found her before turning), Dale in the stomach... It just never occurred because it wasn't something they could accomplish.
⠀⠀⠀However, Hershel was lucky. Bit on the leg, something they could just amputate.
⠀⠀⠀"Oh..." Rick groaned, leaning back as he stared at the severed leg in disgust. "He's bleeding out."
⠀⠀⠀Bianca took off her jacket in haste, wanting to be helpful, and held it out to Rick. He took it with a short nod and stuffed it against Hershel's stump.
⠀⠀⠀"Duck," Daryl suddenly said his words just under his breath to express the urgency.
⠀⠀⠀They paused, then Bianca ducked as he said while Daryl stood. He pointed his flashlight to the other side of the room, illuminating five faces hidden in the shadows.
⠀⠀⠀"Holy shit."
AUTHOR'S NOTE —
Hello! I'm still so excited to keep this fic going!!! With my new job, I'm very tired when coming home since it's a change in my schedule (and a big one at that) so I'm hoping to keep my update schedule. Although, obviously, I didn't do that this past Wednesday.
However, I'm double-updating since I was unable to. Will I be able to do this every week? Not sure, but I'm hopeful for one or the other.
SONG: Among the Living by Anthrax
Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment if you'd like. However, this is an all kind of reader safe space. So even if you ghost read or comment every chapter, I hope you know it means the world to me that you've come into this fic ♡ I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and until the next one.