❛ I will not die, I'll wait here for you in my time of dying. ❜
SEASON 3, EPISODE 7
when the dead come knocking
━━━━━━ day 310.
BIANCA SAT IN a wooden chair, her arms duck taped to the armrests, but her legs were free. She raised her brows to herself, staring down at her lap, surprised Merle would trust her enough to allow her movement. More likely, he thought he was that much better than her.
⠀⠀⠀She raised her head, looking around the small back room. It was dank but electricity hummed in the lights over her. That was a noise she thought she'd never hear again, not after the CDC. The access to electricity had her mind whirring. Merle was an idiot, and she doubted a few guys would figure out how to get electricity out here. There had to be an entire group behind them, more than Bianca's group tenfold.
⠀⠀⠀Bianca had forgotten Merle had been talking to her the entire time her thoughts were roaming. She had completely tuned him out, keeping her eyes vacant and anywhere but at him. She was waiting for the right time to figure out their move sets, the positions, a way to get Maggie out.
⠀⠀⠀"You don't even know why you're here, do you?" Merle drawled, his words leaking through, and he scrapped his knife hand across the table. "I didn't mean you no harm. I lowered my gun, but you raised yours."
⠀⠀⠀Merle stood in front of her, peering down with a sick smile as he nodded to himself. She didn't even grant him a glance, her stare piercing through his chest where the wall had been. It seemed to frustrate him how once before they could have a screaming match within seconds of him talking, and now she was a mute.
⠀⠀⠀"Oh, Yellow, you were always an odd one," Merle sighed, shaking his head. "We saved your ass, but you were ungrateful. We protected you, and you abused me when you could. You got a mouth on you, too, and now, I can't even get you to open that pretty little thing."
⠀⠀⠀Bianca's fingers twitched, wanting to clench them from the anger rising in her chest. She stopped herself before Merle could notice.
⠀⠀⠀"C'mon, now, I know we never did get along, but why don't you tell me where my baby brother is, and we can let bygones be bygones," Merle assured her. "I know you're smart, Bianca. Smarter than this. You gotta give me something, or else your friend in there, the farmer's daughter will be the one in your place."
⠀⠀⠀Bianca's eyes snapped towards him, and he grinned.
⠀⠀⠀"Are you goin' to tell me where my brother is?" Merle asked, his voice lowering to soft, soothing tones.
⠀⠀⠀"No."
⠀⠀⠀"You're such a stubborn little bitch," Merle sneered, standing. His back faced hers, then he stepped around the chair and stood behind her. His knife rested underneath her nose. "I wanna know where my brother is," he whispered softly, then began to pull the blade back, so the blunt surface smashed against her teeth. Finally, he let go, coming back to stand in front of her. "I wanna know where the sheriff is."
⠀⠀⠀Merle put his face right up to hers. She concentrated hard, twisting her lips, and Merle watched in amusement, believing she was cracking. Then she spat right in his face. Merle stepped back in disgust, wiping the spit from his cheek, and glared with rage behind his eyes.
⠀⠀⠀"Now, Bianca, you ain't the one with the protection all around," Merle scolded her, taking the back of her chair and forcing it onto two legs. He hunched over her as she tried to keep herself balanced while glaring back at him. "You wanna play like this, we can. You ready?"
⠀⠀⠀Bianca reared her head back and slammed her head into his. Merle stumbled backward, dragging her chair with him. She tottled on the floor, nearly falling to the side but righted herself before she could. Merle cursed, staring at her with a bloody nose. He let out an annoyed grunt before slamming his head against hers, then swung a punch across her face.
⠀⠀⠀"Forgot to say, I'm not afraid to hit a girl," Merle said while Bianca took a moment to regain her rattling mind. "Now, I wanna know where they're hiding, where your camp is, and I wanna know now. I wanna know now!"
⠀⠀⠀Bianca laughed.
⠀⠀⠀The sound filled her head and bounced off the walls. For once, Merle looked unnerved to be standing in the same room as her but quickly adjusted himself. Her eyes narrowed into slits, smiling with all her teeth, and said, "Your day's come. Today."
⠀⠀⠀Merle scowled, surely remembering that rooftop promise she had given him. However, he wasn't amused, reeling his fist back and punching her.
⠀⠀⠀"Where the hell are they?" he screamed, spit freckling across her cheeks, but she continued smiling, closing her eyes tiredly. "Tell me!"
MERLE DIDN'T HOLD back. Not one punch he sent held any sort of softness. Bianca's face was bruised, skin breaking at the seams with cuts littering her face, and one of her eyes had swelled closed. Blood filled her mouth, and she awkwardly held it, waiting for Merle to get back in her face.
⠀⠀⠀"I always knew you were one of the survivors. Even if you have grown soft," Merle mused as he stood across the table, eyeing her. "Although I figured the way Officer Friendly abandoned people, he would've left you behind by now. But he didn't do that, did he? Hm, so tell me, where y'all be at?"
⠀⠀⠀Bianca didn't respond. The blood she held in her mouth helped her from mouthing off. Merle edged closer, his face residing in front of hers as a smile contorted his lips, waiting for her to crack. She opened her mouth slightly, hiding the blood to pose as if she would answer him. Then, she closed it again before spitting in his face. Blood and saliva coated Merle's face, and he stumbled back in disgust.
⠀⠀⠀Bianca laughed loudly, amused that he had fallen for it again. Merle glared at her, wiping his bloody hand down the length of his shirt.
⠀⠀⠀"They'll come for me and my friend," Bianca stated firmly. "And even if they don't, I'll find a way out of this and kill you myself."
MERLE HAD NEARLY killed Bianca, leaving her alone with a walker while still tied to a chair, but she was better. She had broken the chair and killed the walker before it killed her, and now she was ready for Merle.
⠀⠀⠀Bianca held one of the broken chair legs in her hand, the pointiest one, and stood behind the door so Merle couldn't see her coming. Bianca kicked it promptly closed when the door swung open as both Merle and another man walked in.
⠀⠀⠀Bianca jumped Merle, his brittle bones giving way, and the two fell to the ground. She sat behind Merle and held him in a chokehold hoping to knock him out. However, he took advantage by rearing back and flipping her over his shoulder. Bianca slammed against the floor, coughing and turning onto her side from the pain.
⠀⠀⠀"We're through with games," a deep voice rattled the room.
⠀⠀⠀Merle stood then forced her to stand. Bianca slowly opened her eyes to see the tall man glaring at her. He had soft features, but the stare was dark. He had seen things, done things. It was the same kind of look Shane had.
⠀⠀⠀Beside him, he held Maggie, who wore no shirt and was frowning deeply. Bianca felt a rage fill inside her, but she held herself firm in her spot.
⠀⠀⠀"Now, one of you is gonna give up your camp," the man said simply, staring between them. He waited a few seconds before pulling out a gun. He raised it, the barrel turned toward Maggie, but halfway through, he paused then redirected it at Bianca.
⠀⠀⠀It seemed the man knew how to crack them. Bianca would watch Maggie die for the sake of their people, and Maggie would never want someone to die because of her. He had figured them out within seconds.
⠀⠀⠀"The prison," Maggie blurted out.
⠀⠀⠀"The one near Nunez?" Merle asked.
⠀⠀⠀"That place is overrun."
⠀⠀⠀"We took it," Maggie said.
⠀⠀⠀"How many are you?" the man asked, steely eyes boring into her.
⠀⠀⠀"Ten, we have ten now."
⠀⠀⠀"Ten people cleared that whole prison of biters?" the man asked but seemed to accept their answer. He re-holstered his gun and stepped away from Maggie.
⠀⠀⠀The man walked over to Bianca, a smile rising to his lips and his hand rose to caress Bianca's cheek. A shiver ran down her spine, and if it weren't for Merle and her aching body, she would've bit his finger off.
⠀⠀⠀Then, he leaned down and whispered, "You're feisty. I like that in a woman. I wish we had met under different circumstances."
⠀⠀⠀The man tossed Maggie across the room, and Bianca caught her. Maggie bent down into Bianca's arms as she was a few inches taller. The men left the room, Merle being the last to leave as he stared at the two before closing the door behind them.
AUTHOR'S NOTE —
Honestly, I thought I added more to this chapter with Merle and Bianca but not really. She's a lot more stubborn and unwilling to talk to him unlike Glenn which I tried to portray.
Now, the scene where the he throws the walker in... literally couldn't think how to do it differently and fight scenes are hard to write. So maybe go on YouTube and watch that scene with Glenn but imagine it being Bianca, alright?
SONG: Time of Dying by Three Days Grace
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.