❛ A Band-Aid on a bullet hole that's still bleeding. Numb you up until you can't feel a goddamn thing. ❜

SEASON 4, EPISODE 3
isolation

━━━━━━ October 13, 2011

KAREN AND DAVID WERE only the beginning of the flu spreading and the panic that followed. A day after they were revealed to show symptoms, they died. Someone in the prison had done it; that much was sure. Fear was behind the motive, but also something desperate in how they were discarded. Their bodies were dragged to an alley and burned to crisps.

⠀⠀⠀"It spread," Hershel began their second meeting. A solemn note to his voice that lingered in the room. Things were only getting worse. "Everyone who survived the attack in Cell Block D. Sasha, Caleb, and now others."

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, Jesus," Daryl muttered under his breath.

⠀⠀⠀"So, what do we do?" Carol asked.

⠀⠀⠀"First things first. Cell Block A is isolation. We keep the sick people there like we tried with Karen and David."

⠀⠀⠀"What the hell are we gonna do about that?" Daryl asked.

⠀⠀⠀"Ask Rick to look into it," Carol said. "Try to make a timeline—who's where, when."

⠀⠀⠀"But what are we gonna do to stop this?" Carol asked.

⠀⠀⠀"There is no stopping it. You get it; you have to go through it," Hershel answered.

⠀⠀⠀"But it just kills you?" Michonne asked.

⠀⠀⠀She stood beside Cal by the bookshelves to keep their distance from the others. However, Cal felt like it was pointless. They were infected by being in the same room as them or Carl hugging his dad.

⠀⠀⠀"The illness doesn't. The symptoms do," Hershel said. "We need antibiotics."

⠀⠀⠀"We've been through every pharmacy nearby. And then some," Daryl said.

⠀⠀⠀"That veterinary college at West Peach Tree Tech. That's one place people may not have thought to raid for medication. The drugs for animals there are the same we need."

⠀⠀⠀Cal caught Bianca's eye, but neither spoke up. He could feel the lump in his throat. West Peach Tree Tech was located inside Fort Valley State University. The same place the couple met, found themselves and ultimately departed before the end happened.

⠀⠀⠀"That's fifty miles. Too big a risk before. Ain't now. I'm gonna take a group out. Best not waste any more time," Daryl said. He stood and grabbed his crossbow.

⠀⠀⠀"I'm in," Michonne stepped forward.

⠀⠀⠀"You haven't been exposed. Daryl has. You get in a car with him..." Hershel argued.

⠀⠀⠀"He's already given me fleas," Michonne said with a wide smile.

⠀⠀⠀Hershel chuckled and stood to his feet.

⠀⠀⠀"I can lead the way. I know where everything's kept."

⠀⠀⠀The room went silent for a moment before Daryl eventually spoke up. "When we're out there, it's always the same. Sooner or later, we run."

⠀⠀⠀Hershel took what Daryl said at face value and rerouted, "I can draw you a map. There are other precautions I feel we should take."

⠀⠀⠀"Like what?" Carol asked.

⠀⠀⠀"There's no telling how long it'll be before Daryl and his group return. Wouldn't it make sense for us to separate the most vulnerable? We can use the administration building. Separate office, separate room."

⠀⠀⠀"Who's the most vulnerable?" Glenn asked.

⠀⠀⠀"The very young."

⠀⠀⠀"What about the old?"

⠀⠀⠀"Yes, I suppose them as well."

"YOU SHOULD GO WITH Daryl," Bianca said to Cal the moment they were alone. The others had left the library to begin their plan.

⠀⠀⠀"We should both go," Cal said with a wary smile. He wasn't keen to be alone with Daryl and a few others he hardly knew. Even if one of those people was Michonne.

⠀⠀⠀"No, I need to stay back and help. I'm worried about the fence. I wanna try and find some solution for the time being," Bianca explained. Her lips twitched at the edges, and Cal saw a hint of deceit behind her mask. There was another reason she wanted him to go alone.

⠀⠀⠀"Why do I need to go? Hershel's drawn a map, and they don't know we went there," Cal argued. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the bookshelf.

⠀⠀⠀"You know that place better than most," Bianca said with a frown.

⠀⠀⠀"I hardly went to the vet college."

⠀⠀⠀"What?" Bianca asked, throwing her hands out. "We went over there all the time because Peter worked at the coffee shop."

⠀⠀⠀"See, and that's why you should go, too," Cal said and raised a brow. "You know the place like the back of your hand."

⠀⠀⠀"I don't," Bianca scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Listen, I know it's shitty, but..." she paused momentarily, mulling over her words before continuing, "They need me here, and they need you out there."

⠀⠀⠀"What if... what if this ends like last time?" Cal asked. The separation anxiety clawed up his throat and tore pain through every muscle. He would stand beside her for eternity if it meant never losing her again.

⠀⠀⠀"It won't. It won't happen again," Bianca assured him with a shaky smile. Her hands rested on his chest and fisted into the material of his shirt. "I trust Daryl with my life. I trust him to keep you safe, and the same goes for Michonne... just to a lesser extent."

⠀⠀⠀"You two are gonna be best friends one day, I know it," Cal said. His eyes narrowed, and a smile on his lips. His small way of acknowledging Bianca was right without outwardly stating it.

⠀⠀⠀"Shut up. I like her fine," Bianca grumbled.

⠀⠀⠀"I know you do," Cal assured her, then sighed.

⠀⠀⠀He wasn't so sure of Daryl's opinion of him. Out of all the people in the prison, he was the one he wanted to prove himself to. And time and time again, Daryl seemed bemused and almost annoyed by him. However, he was close with Bianca, so he had to at least respect Cal.

⠀⠀⠀"I'll let Daryl know what's going on," Bianca said. She pecked Cal on the lips and jogged out of the door.

━━━━━━ October 14, 2011

CAL WAS CROWDED INTO the backseat between Bob and Tyreese while Daryl drove and Michonne sat beside him. It'd been three months since he and Bianca had been further than the prison without one another. The separation was already getting to him. His fingers tapped against his knee anxiously as he stared into the middle distance.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey, I know you weren't running off," Daryl said softly to Michonne as if he didn't want the three in the back to hear him. "The thing is, that trail went cold. You know that, right? If it was any different, I'd be right out there with you."

⠀⠀⠀Michonne turned to him. Her hair blocked her expression, but Cal guessed it wasn't pleasant. She had spent so much time tracking the Governor that it felt like a waste to be empty-handed. Cal was sure the Governor was gone and worried he would soon return. His anxiety didn't help him pass on that idea, as now he worried that while he was gone, the Governor would make his return. Vindictive was in his nature, and he would come crawling back.

⠀⠀⠀"Would you hand me one of them CDs right there?" Daryl asked, gesturing to the glove compartment.

⠀⠀⠀Daryl turned the stereo on, and the radio crackled static before a voice broke through.

⠀⠀⠀"... find sanctuary."

⠀⠀⠀The car immediately rose to attention. The three in the back leaned forward, and Daryl half paid attention to where he was going.

⠀⠀⠀"Was that a voice?" Bob asked.

⠀⠀⠀"Shh," Daryl muttered, raising a finger.

⠀⠀⠀"... determined to survive ... keep alive ..."

⠀⠀⠀They were all engrossed by the call that when Daryl looked back at the road, he was swerving out of the way from a biter. Down the road, the creatures filled the streets and made it impossible for their car to move past. They were forced to stop as a horde headed for them.

⠀⠀⠀The biters filled the front window with barely any sky or trees peeking through. Cal wondered if he was right to worry. Maybe he should never have left because this was what would always happen.

⠀⠀⠀Daryl turned in his seat, and his hand gripped the back of Michonne's.

⠀⠀⠀"Duck down!" he yelled at Cal so he could see out of the back window. He reversed the car and slammed against the biters on their tail.

⠀⠀⠀"Go to the left!" Michonne shouted.

⠀⠀⠀The car sputtered with the wheel popped up on a mound of walkers. Daryl pressed down on the accelerator, but they were trapped.

⠀⠀⠀"We're jammed up. Make a run for the gaps right there," Daryl directed Michonne, then turned to the backseat. "You three, you make a run for the woods, and you don't stop for nothin', you hear me? Now!"

⠀⠀⠀Cal slid after Bob and out of the backdoor. He stepped over the biters clawing at his pants and into the fray. He unsheathed his knife and stabbed any biter that came too close. Then, he moved toward the path into the woods.

⠀⠀⠀"Ty!" Bob screamed.

⠀⠀⠀Tyreese was still in the car like he was paralyzed. Cal started to run back, but there were too many biters between him and the car. He returned to the woods, meeting Daryl, Michonne, and Bob.

⠀⠀⠀Tyreese started to move after another round of Bob's desperate screams. He swung through the biters with heavy, desperate moves but hardly wanted to get to them. The biters surrounded Tyreese as they came from every angle while he screamed for them to keep coming. He wasn't looking to protect them but to enact pain onto himself for losing Karen.

⠀⠀⠀Cal realized he was looking into a future of himself if he ever lost Bianca. He would become angry and frightful. He wouldn't be afraid to die and all the more ready to take on a fight. He would be dead the second she was and would only stay alive because he was too much of a coward to kill himself.

⠀⠀⠀Daryl called for them to move on. There was no use in trying to save Tyreese. They moved through the trees where stragglers roamed. When they got to a clearing, Daryl said for them to stop.

⠀⠀⠀The trees behind them rattled, and a pair of biters appeared. As they readied their weapons, one fell.

⠀⠀⠀Tyreese survived. Guts stained his shirt and backpack straps. His hammer was clutched in a white-knuckle grip as he panted heavily before falling to his knees. The second biter turned as if sensing his weakness, but Michonne quickly killed it.

⠀⠀⠀More biters flowed from the woods and toward them. Daryl pulled Tyreese to his feet, and the group ran.

AUTHOR'S NOTE —

I've almost finished writing for season 4 (I still have 20 minutes in the last episode but it'll be easy)!! I'm really excited for the rest of this season and getting into season 5. I promise I have big plans and I know these first few episodes feel very slow. But it's not really MY FAULT is it? It's the show's. I didn't write to the original version -_-

The next chapter delves into Bianca's time back at the prison and maybe she ends up going with Rick and Carol. I wonder what could possibly happen :)

SONG: Anxiety by Palaye Royale

Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment if you'd like, they keep me motivated! 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.