❛ Hello darkness, my old friend. I've come to talk with you again. ❜

SEASON 3, EPISODE 2 
sick

━━━━━━ day 302.

"WHO THE HELL are you?" Daryl demanded, crouched with his crossbow raised as he walked across the cafeteria.

⠀⠀⠀"Who the hell are you?" one of them bit back.

⠀⠀⠀"He's bleedin' out. We gotta go back!" Rick exclaimed, turning to Maggie and ushering her over to his side. "Come around here. Put pressure on the knee! Hard! Hard! Push, push!"

⠀⠀⠀Bianca turned to look at the prisoners, five of them, all in light blue jumpsuits but one. He stared directly at her, his hand entwined in the metal fencing separating the groups. Dark, abysmal eyes that had Bianca turn pale. The same pit formed in her stomach as it did the day before but tenfold now as a slight smirk hinted at the edges of his lips.

⠀⠀⠀"Come on out of there," Daryl called to the prisoners, meeting them at the open door. "Slow and steady."

⠀⠀⠀Tomas stepped out first, grating against Bianca's memory to a life she didn't want to remember. His eye darted to hers, amused that he recognized her and she the same to him.

⠀⠀⠀"What happened to him?" Tomas asked, his eyes darting from Bianca's with the more pressing matter at hand grabbing his attention

⠀⠀⠀"He got bit," Daryl answered him.

⠀⠀⠀"Bit?" Tomas asked, pulling out the gun from the hem of his pants.

⠀⠀⠀T-Dog had stepped away from Hershel to help deal with the prisoners. Too many crowding Hershel would only lead to them getting confused and allowing Hershel to die. T-Dog raised his gun, and Bianca did the same.

⠀⠀⠀"Whoa, whoa, whoa, easy now," Daryl chided them like he would to an over-anxious dog. "Nobody needs to get hurt."

⠀⠀⠀Tomas looked like a stray left on the streets too long, though, wild eyes and flitting the gun between them uneasily. It stopped on Bianca, pausing a moment, before returning to Daryl.

⠀⠀⠀"You got medical supplies?" Glenn asked, walking through the line of fire without a care in the world other than Hershel.

⠀⠀⠀"Woah, where do you think you're going?" one of the other prisoners. He was an enormous black man, not just in size but height, towering over all of them and then some. Glenn passed him into the back room with ease, hardly giving them a second glance.

⠀⠀⠀The doors the group came through started to rattle, T-Dog turning to look as the metal pole holding it closed rattled.

⠀⠀⠀"Yo, Bibi," Tomas called casually, his brows furrowed in confusion. He turned his head to Bianca, keeping the gun steady on T-Dog. "What kinda fools are you runnin' around with these days?"

⠀⠀⠀"Bibi?" Daryl muttered, glancing at Bianca with narrowed eyes.

⠀⠀⠀"Later," Bianca replied in annoyance, rolling her eyes.

⠀⠀⠀"Don't look like no rescue team," the only white man in the group commented, his arms crossed over his chest nervously.

⠀⠀⠀"If a rescue team is what you're waitin' for, don't!" Rick shouted at them, struggling to pull Hershel up into his arms. "Come on, we gotta go! Now!" he shouted at his group, putting Hershel's arm over his shoulder while Glenn pushed a cart through the room. "I need a hand here!" he exclaimed, and Glenn quickly helped him lift Hershel up onto the table. "T, the door!"

⠀⠀⠀"Are you crazy? Don't open that!" the smallest man exclaimed in exasperation.

⠀⠀⠀T-Dog left Daryl's side, doing as Rick asked.

⠀⠀⠀"Go," Daryl muttered to Bianca, and she nodded.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca re-holstered her gun and readjusted her sledgehammer back into her hands. Luckily, it was only one walker in guard gear. T-Dog slammed it against the wall and craned its head back. In his hand, he held a pole. Bianca dropped her sledgehammer, the metal ringing, and grabbed the rod. She forced it up through its throat, the blood splattering her tank top and lower half of her face before they let it fall.

⠀⠀⠀"Daryl. Daryl!" Rick shouted, the rest of the group running out of the room.

⠀⠀⠀T-Dog waited for Daryl to edge back toward the door while Bianca retrieved her sledgehammer. She handed T-Dog back the pole, and Daryl called for them to go.

⠀⠀⠀Rick led the way back through the halls, thankful to Glenn's markers leading the way back. They had no time to think, only to follow the simple route. They nearly made it back, then stopped as they heard the sound of extra footsteps behind them. Stopping in their track, they turned around to see Tomas and the others on their tail.

⠀⠀⠀The sight of them turned Rick's movements to fire, and he sprinted through the halls.

⠀⠀⠀"He's losing too much blood!" Maggie exclaimed as they entered the waiting area between the cells and the halls.

⠀⠀⠀"Open the door!" Rick bellowed. "It's Hershel! Carl, come on!"

⠀⠀⠀Carl opened the door for them, and Rick, Glenn, and Maggie rushed inside. Carl locked the door back when he noticed Bianca, Daryl, and T-Dog staying behind.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca stood beside Daryl, her sledgehammer resting on the table and her gun raised. T-Dog hid in plain sight to give them the upper hand.

⠀⠀⠀"You know these fools," Daryl asked before the prisoners came barreling in, needing to gauge the severity of the situation quickly.

⠀⠀⠀"Just the one," Bianca stated, not sure how to further elaborate but stopped as Tomas peeked his head out first.

⠀⠀⠀He eyed the barred door separating them from the cell block, then looked over the two waiting for them. He stepped further inside but kept to the wall. The other four followed behind him, keeping cautious.

⠀⠀⠀"That's far enough," Daryl told them simply, his crossbow trained on Tomas.

⠀⠀⠀"Cell Block C. Cell four, that's mine, gringo," Tomas stated simply, staring at Daryl as he languidly walked in. When Daryl didn't respond, he let a charming smile break way and turned to look at Bianca. "Help a friend out, Bibi. Let me in."

⠀⠀⠀Bianca's veins filled with a fire she hadn't felt in a long time. The numbness in her bones leaked away at the sound of his voice, the tone at which he spoke to her like a child, and the memories piercing her mind. The fourteen-year-old kid who got into worse after worse situation until she was met with a man twice her age promising her more than she ever dreamed of. Money, rebellion, freedom. Too much for a kid to handle.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca's lip turned downwards, her eyes narrowed, and she cocked her gun to tell him this wasn't a game anymore. She wasn't some fourteen-year-old kid anymore. She had lived and died in this hell, and she wouldn't hesitate to blast a bullet straight through his head. Bianca had thought of it once before, but now she had the chance.

⠀⠀⠀"Today's your lucky day, fellas," Daryl interrupted the palpable silence. Bianca's temptation halted, and she listened to Daryl speak to them. "You've been pardoned by the state of Georgia. You're free to go."

⠀⠀⠀"What you got goin' on in there?" Tomas asked, trying to peek his head around the two blocking his way.

⠀⠀⠀"Ain't none of your concern," Daryl assured him calmly.

⠀⠀⠀Tomas pulled out his gun again, seeming a little trigger happy, as he snapped, "Don't be tellin' me what's my concern."

⠀⠀⠀"Chill, man," the giant said to Tomas. He sounded much different than Bianca had expected. His voice was deep, but he spoke meditatively, bringing his hands down as he let out a deep breath and hoped to calm the situation. "Dude's leg is messed up. Besides, we're free now! Why are we still in here?"

⠀⠀⠀"Man's got a point," Daryl agreed.

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, and I gotta check on my old lady," the prisoner who had yet to say anything, spoke up. He was a middle-aged black man that looked the most normal of the group. He seemed to be in his late thirties with a gentle face, bald head, and a five o'clock shadow appearing just a shade darker than his skin.

⠀⠀⠀"Group of civilians breaking into a prison you've got no business being in," Tomas said to him aggressively, unconvinced by the idea of leaving what he seemed to consider home now. "Got me thinkin' there ain't no place for us to go!"

"⠀⠀⠀Why don't you go find out?" Daryl offered, cocking his head toward the exit.

⠀⠀⠀"Maybe we'll just be going now," the white man said cautiously, darting his eyes between Tomas and Daryl.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey, we ain't leavin'!" Tomas shouted.

⠀⠀⠀"You ain't comin' in here either!" T-Dog shouted back, stepping out from his hiding place and approaching with his gun raised.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey, this is my house, my rules. I go where I damn well please!" Tomas snapped at them, raising his gun right back at T-Dog.

⠀⠀⠀"This ain't your house, man. It's a fucking prison," Bianca snapped, walking around the table, so she had a better shot of him. "You like being here? Playing puppet with the guards and acting as if you weren't every man's bitch—"

⠀⠀⠀"Woah, woah, woah, little lady," Tomas said with a grin, a chuckle rumbling in his chest as he looked down at her. "Never thought you'd have the guts to stand up for yourself... let alone others," he sneered, words like a slap across the face. He noticed the hesitation, the shake in her otherwise steady grip. He rose his brows, waiting for her to do something, but she didn't.

⠀⠀⠀"You're not comin' inside," T-Dog said, his words growing louder as he pried Tomas' attention off of Bianca.

⠀⠀⠀"And what the hell are you guys gonna do about it, huh?" Tomas asked, puffing out his chest as he glared between the three of them.

⠀⠀⠀"There ain't nothin' for you here. Why don't you go back to your own sandbox?" Daryl sneered back.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey, hey, hey!" Rick suddenly interrupted them, slamming the door behind him. "Everyone relax. There's no need for this."

⠀⠀⠀Their nerves were wild, and none of them could chance to lower their guard. The guns stayed pinned to one another, but Rick didn't try to dissuade them.

⠀⠀⠀"How many of you in there?" Tomas asked, nodding his head toward the door Rick just came from.

⠀⠀⠀"Too many for you to handle," Rick said simply, his jaw tensing.

⠀⠀⠀"You guys rob a bank or somethin'?" Tomas asked, looking over them warily. "Why don't you take him to a hospital."

⠀⠀⠀They paused for a moment, considering the prisoners standing across from them. Bianca glanced at Daryl, who returned her confused stare, then they looked back at the prisoners who held the same confused look as Tomas.

⠀⠀⠀"How long have you been locked in that cafeteria?" Rick asked Tomas carefully.

⠀⠀⠀"Goin' on like ten months," Tomas answered. Bianca was surprised he didn't try to step around the question.

⠀⠀⠀"A riot broke out," the giant continued after him. "Never seen anything like it."

⠀⠀⠀"Attica on speed, man," handlebar added.

⠀⠀⠀"Ever heard about dudes going cannibal, dying, coming back to life? Crazy," the short man followed.

⠀⠀⠀"One guard looked out for us, locked us up in the cafeteria, told us to sit tight, threw me this piece, said he'd be right back," Tomas explained, gun still raised. Still, their lack of knowledge of the outside world seemed to loosen their lips.

⠀⠀⠀"And that was two hundred and ninety-two days ago," the normal man stated.

⠀⠀⠀"Ninety-four according to my calcu—"

⠀⠀⠀"Shut up!" Tomas yelled at handlebar. It sounded like they had had this conversation before. Many times.

⠀⠀⠀"We were thinkin' that the army or the national guard should be showing up any day now," the normal man finished for them, a frown plastering across his face.

⠀⠀⠀"There is no army," Rick told them flat-right.

⠀⠀⠀"What do you mean?" Tomas asked, raising a brow.

⠀⠀⠀"There's no government, no hospitals, no police," Rick continued, shaking his head. It had nearly been a year, and yet it all didn't seem real. For Bianca and the rest of the group, all there was left was them. Even meeting new people felt like a dream at times. "It's all gone."

⠀⠀⠀"For real?" handlebar asked, his eyes growing weary.

⠀⠀⠀"Serious," Rick said, nodding his head.

⠀⠀⠀"What about my moms?" the giant asked sadly, bowing his head.

⠀⠀⠀"My kids, and my old lady!" the normal man added. His words quickened with panic, and he took a few steps towards them. "Yo, you got a cell phone or somethin' so we can call our families?"

⠀⠀⠀"You just don't get it, do you?" Daryl asked snidely. The world turned them more bitter to the people who hadn't yet experienced the grief that comes with it.

⠀⠀⠀"No phones, no computers," Rick was sure to explain to them. He had been like them once. Waking up weeks after the outbreak, after all the death, only to learn all of this from them. They weren't so bitter back then, heartbroken and trying to survive, but they still had hope. Rick still had hope. "As far as we can see, at least half the population's been wiped out. Probably more."

⠀⠀⠀Tomas lowered his gun. Daryl and T-Dog followed. Bianca couldn't risk it, holding her gun at Tomas. He didn't seem bothered by it, but Daryl gave her a look telling her to lower her gun. She hesitated but did as told, keeping it in a tight grip by her side.

⠀⠀⠀"Ain't no way," Tomas breathed out.

⠀⠀⠀"See for yourself," Rick offered, holding his hand out for them.

⠀⠀⠀Rick escorted the men outside. Bianca kept to the back as they walked, warily watching Tomas at the front. Handlebar introduced the prisoners to them quickly, but none of his words slurred together. He was Axel, the giant was Big Tiny (fitting), the normal-looking man was Oscar, the short man was Andrew and, as Bianca knew, the ill-tempered one was Tomas.

⠀⠀⠀"Damn, the sun feels good," Oscar sighed, rolling out his joints contentedly as they strolled out into the yard.

⠀⠀⠀"Good, Lord. They're all dead!" Axel exclaimed as he noticed the bodies littering the yard.

⠀⠀⠀"Never thought I'd be so happy to see these fences," Tomas stated, ignoring the bodies as he walked ahead of everyone.

⠀⠀⠀"You never said," Andrew commented, turning to the four with a skeptical gaze. "How the hell did you get in here in the first place?"

⠀⠀⠀"Cut a hole in that fence over there by the guard tower," Daryl explained, motioning towards the fence.

⠀⠀⠀"That easy, huh?" Andrew mused, nodding his head but didn't seem entirely convinced.

⠀⠀⠀"Where there's a will, there's a way," Daryl muttered, not looking to go into full detail of their strategy with the man he hardly knew.

⠀⠀⠀"So, what is this? Like a disease?" Big Tiny asked, poking a body with a stick.

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, but we're all infected," Rick said with a frown, turning to look away.

⠀⠀⠀"What do you mean infected?" Axel asked, bewildered eyes skittering across everyone. "Like AIDS or somethin'?"

⠀⠀⠀"If I was to kill you, shoot an arrow in your chest, you'd come back as one of these things," Daryl explained for him. "It's gonna happen to all of us."

⠀⠀⠀"Ain't no way this Robin Hood cast is responsible for killing all these freaks," Tomas claimed, glancing at Bianca up and down, then shook his head.

⠀⠀⠀"Must be fifty bodies out here," Andrew agreed.

⠀⠀⠀"You from Roswell?" Tomas asked, pursing his lips as he turned to Rick.

⠀⠀⠀"Atlanta," Rick corrected him but didn't question his assumption.

⠀⠀⠀"Where you headed?" Tomas interrogated.

⠀⠀⠀"For now, nowhere," Rick admitted, turning to look back at him.

⠀⠀⠀Tomas looked across the yard and pointed across it.

⠀⠀⠀"I guess you could take that area down there near the water," Tomas told them casually. "Should be comfortable."

⠀⠀⠀"We're usin' that field for crops," Rick corrected him with ease, unwilling to bend to Tomas' grasp for power.

⠀⠀⠀"We'll help you move your gear out," Tomas continued, ignoring him.

⠀⠀⠀"That won't be necessary," Rick assured him. However, anger filled his tone and made sure that Tomas heard him clearly. "We took out these walkers. This prison is ours."

⠀⠀⠀"Slow down, cowboy," Tomas chuckled, unintimidated by Rick.

⠀⠀⠀"You snatched the locks off our doors!" Andrew hissed, stopping Tomas from whatever he would say, and pinned a stern glare to Rick.

⠀⠀⠀"We'll give you new locks if that's how you want it," Rick offered him.

⠀⠀⠀"This is our prison. We were here first," Tomas continued to press.

⠀⠀⠀"Locked in the broom closet?" Rick asked, now the one to chuckle down at Tomas. "We took it. We set you free. It's ours. We spilled blood."

⠀⠀⠀"We're moving back into our cell block," Tomas stated.

⠀⠀⠀"You'll have to get your own," Rick told him.

⠀⠀⠀"It's mine. I've got personal artifacts in there. That's about as mine as it gets!" Tomas shouted, growing heated as he pulled out his gun.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca raised her gun, as did T-Dog and Daryl, ready to shoot if the need arose. Tomas' guys had a similar approach, all four moving between the Atlanta group and Tomas to keep them away from one another.

⠀⠀⠀"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Axel exclaimed, waving his hands in the air wildly. "Maybe let's try to make this work out, so everybody wins!"

⠀⠀⠀"I don't see that happening," Tomas admitted.

⠀⠀⠀"Neither do I," Rick agreed. The only thing they could agree on.

⠀⠀⠀"I ain't coming back into that cafeteria for one more minute," Tomas hissed.

⠀⠀⠀"There are other cell blocks," Axel said, trying to find the solution between the hostility.

⠀⠀⠀"You could leave," Bianca offered, glaring at Tomas.

⠀⠀⠀"Try your luck out on the road," Daryl added.

⠀⠀⠀"If these three pussies and a punk-ass kid can do all this, the lease we can do is take out another cell block," Tomas claimed, trying to appear tough with the thought of taking out as many walkers as they had.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca rolled her eyes. Tomas was tough but in a different way. He knew how to take care of things that were alive, that had thoughts, fears, motivations. He knew what he had to do with people, but walkers. They were a whole other ballpark.

⠀⠀⠀Big Tiny seemed to have a similar thought as Bianca did, as he asked, "With what?"

⠀⠀⠀"Atlanta here will spot us some real weapons. Won't you, boss?" Tomas asked, nodding his head at Rick with a smirk, knowing that he would.

⠀⠀⠀"How stocked is that cafeteria?" Rick asked, stepping around Tomas' question. "Must have plenty of food. Five guys lasting almost a year?"

⠀⠀⠀"It sure as hell don't look like anybody's been starvin'," Daryl agreed, looking Tomas up and down, then rose a brow.

⠀⠀⠀"There's only a little left," Tomas answered defensively.

⠀⠀⠀"We'll take half," Rick said. "In exchange, we'll help clear out a cell block."

⠀⠀⠀"Didn't you hear him?" Andrew asked loudly, darting forward. "There's only a little left!"

⠀⠀⠀"Bet you've got more food than you've got choices," Rick commented, leaning toward him then falling back on his heels. "You pay. We'll play. We'll clear out a block for you, then you keep to it."

⠀⠀⠀"Alright," Tomas agreed.

⠀⠀⠀"Well, let's be clear," Rick stopped him, stepping forward so that he and Tomas were nose to nose with one another. "If we see you out here, anywhere near our people. If I so much as even catch a whiff of your scent. I will kill you."

⠀⠀⠀Tomas stared at Rick, a slight smirk coming to the edges of his lips as if the idea amused him. The games he might play with Rick playing around in his head before he nodded.

⠀⠀⠀"Deal."

AUTHOR'S NOTE —

I just want to reassure everyone that Tomas had no romantic/sexual interactions with young Bianca. I know it might seem implied but I swear, he's just like a shitty older brother. It'll be explained in the next chapter!

Anyways, yay! I like this chapter a lot with the prisoners. In reality of the show, I wish at least Oscar or even Axel stuck around. I feel like the naivety of the prisoners would be interesting within the context of the show. Plus, I just liked Oscar...

Okay, that's all. Soon, Cal will be with us. I'm ready, are you?

SONG: Sound of Silence by Disturbed

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.