❛ Well, it's cold, cold, cold, cold inside. Darker in the day than the dead of night. ❜

SEASON 3, EPISODE 7
when the dead come knocking

━━━━━━ day 310.

MICHONNE HAD LED Cal to a prison, both of them limping and nearly passed out, but at least the biters weren't trying to eat them. For now, anyway. The pain in Cal's side had worsened, his head growing dizzy, and the journey felt like hours. In reality, the sun had hardly sunk down to the horizon.

⠀⠀⠀They stood at the gates alongside the other biters. Cal wasn't sure before, but he was thankful to see that Michonne hadn't misunderstood some stranger passing conversation. A few of those that resided in the prison stood outside but only walked toward them.

⠀⠀⠀He was a man in his early forties with dark brown hair curling at the sides of his face and striking blue eyes. He studied them hard as if trying to look inside their minds. He held himself like the Governor, a leader, and a quiet sadness surrounded him.

⠀⠀⠀Michonne didn't offer any kind of introduction, and Cal felt so exhausted he could hardly stand up, let alone speak. He rested against the gate, weary, watching the man see if he'd give them a chance.

⠀⠀⠀"Should we help them?"

⠀⠀⠀Cal's eyes flickered over to a boy he hadn't noticed. He looked similar to the man with dark hair and blue eyes, most likely the man's son. He wore a sheriff's hat and stared at them curiously instead of skeptically.

⠀⠀⠀Beside Cal, he heard a biter sniffing loudly. It turned slowly, and then so did the rest crowding around them. The scent of the gutted biter was beginning to fade as fresh blood continued to leak out of them.

⠀⠀⠀Cal backed away, stumbling over his feet, but he didn't fall. Michonne dropped the basket of formula, readying her sword, and Cal followed suit, unsheathing his machete. Despite the pain, the adrenaline beginning to fill his veins helped dull it out, and he was able to kill the biter on top of him. However, they all just kept coming, and it felt like he was just delaying the inevitable.

⠀⠀⠀Two shots sounded behind him, and Cal turned to see Michonne lying on the ground. The boy was still behind the fence, but he raised his gun and helped kill the biters trying to eat her.

⠀⠀⠀The man had reappeared beside the boy, shouting, "Carl!"

⠀⠀⠀Carl told his dad a set of keys, and with quick fingers, he was outside of the gate, rushing beside him. Cal had watched all of this from his peripheral vision while swinging his machete in hopes of making it in the amount of time it took the man to help.

⠀⠀⠀"Shit," the man muttered, shooting a biter in his direct vicinity.

⠀⠀⠀It took but a few minutes, and the biters were down and dead. The man rushed to Michonne's side, looking her over for any obvious injuries or bites.

⠀⠀⠀"Is she bit?"

⠀⠀⠀Cal turned, his vision swimming as he turned to see Santa Claus staring worriedly at him. Cal felt like he was going to throw up, confusion filling his brain at the sight but found the words to respond.

⠀⠀⠀"No, she's shot," Cal answered.

⠀⠀⠀"And you?" the man beside Michonne asked gruffly.

⠀⠀⠀"Cut in the side," Cal explained, lifting his shirt so he could see the wound.

⠀⠀⠀The man sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. For a moment, Cal worried he'd turn them away after seeing what trouble they were. Then he nodded, annoyed with himself for agreeing, and pulled Michonne up and over his shoulder.

⠀⠀⠀"C'mon," he sighed, and Cal followed after before he could change his mind.

⠀⠀⠀As they entered the prison, Cal realized he had been right. The man who saved them was the leader, sounding off orders to Carl and a young woman named Beth, asking for blankets and medical supplies. They listened, no hesitation in their actions following his orders. He walked around the prison-like he had been there since the beginning, which Cal knew wasn't the case. The Governor and Cal had scouted this prison a few times but always concluded it was too much of a risk.

⠀⠀⠀"Here?" Carl asked, returning with a blanket. He then took the blanket and laid it out.

⠀⠀⠀The leader rested Michonne down on top of the blanket and then directed Cal to sit.

⠀⠀⠀"They're not comin' in the cell block," the man explained to his son. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, steady now!" he suddenly said, causing Cal to jump when he noticed Michonne was awake and attempting to fight her way out. He poured water over her chest, trying to calm her down, believing her reaction might be from shock or overheating.

⠀⠀⠀"Alright, alright, thank you," the man said to Michonne calmly. "Shh. It's alright, it's alright. Hey, hey, look at me. Look at me. Who are you?"

⠀⠀⠀Michonne looked uneasy by the man. Cal rested his hand on her calf. She turned to look at him, the frown carved into her features. He had tried to reassure her that she wasn't alone, but they were still both strangers to one another. It was hardly comforting.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey, it's alright," the leader continued his attempts at reassurance, but Michonne was untrusting to anyone. Even when she arrived in Woodbury. She tried to reach for her sword, but the man kicked it away as best as he could while keeping his grip on Michonne. "No, we're not goin' to hurt you unless you try somethin' stupid first, alright?" he asked her, then looked at Cal, who quickly nodded.

⠀⠀⠀"Rick," another man called, stepping into the room. Cal was blocked by Rick's body, kneeling before him and hovering over Michonne. "Who the hell is this?"

⠀⠀⠀Rick repositioned himself, and the man scanned Michonne's face, then Cal's. He was older, wrinkles fading into his skin, and sharp blue eyes permanently narrowed. His previous blank expression forged a hundred emotions all at once, startling Cal.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, hell," he muttered, catching the room's attention.

⠀⠀⠀"What? You know them?" Rick asked accusingly, furrowing his brows. His question had Cal correct himself. It was Michonne he had recognized... despite staring right at Cal.

⠀⠀⠀"Him," the man claimed, pointing at Cal.

⠀⠀⠀"I don't know you," Cal said quickly, not wanting any misconceptions between himself and the group. If he started his introductions with false information, it would only worsen. Or, it could start worse. Maybe the guy thought he was a piece of shit who killed his family.

⠀⠀⠀"Nah, boy, you don't know me, but I sure as hell know you," he said, and Cal couldn't decipher what he meant by his words or how he had said it. "Y'all come on in here."

⠀⠀⠀"Everything alright?" rick asked warily. His eyes were held onto Michonne, who was still resisting Rick.

⠀⠀⠀"You're gonna wanna see this," the man stated, his eyes flickered to Cal's. "Well, two things."

⠀⠀⠀"Go ahead. Carl, get the bag," Rick ordered, and the others shuffled out. Rick stood, staring down at them, and raised the sword and machete up. "We'll keep these safe and sound. The doors are all locked. You'll be safe here, and we can treat that."

⠀⠀⠀"I didn't ask for your help," Michonne hissed, trying to pull herself upright.

⠀⠀⠀"Doesn't matter," Rick stated simply. "Can't let you leave."

⠀⠀⠀Rick left, closing and locking the door behind him. When he was out of sight, and their voices echoed softly further into the prison, Cal relaxed. He rested his back against the brick wall and sighed. Michonne looked at him, annoyance held in her expression. Cal turned to her and shrugged.

⠀⠀⠀"At least they're honest," he muttered.

⠀⠀⠀From what Cal could hear, they celebrated on the other side of the bars. Michonne had walked over to watch, but Cal stayed back. The wound in his side was beginning to throb, and he felt the small amount of energy he had gotten from escaping the biters was leaving his body.

⠀⠀⠀After they were done celebrating, their overjoyed words became harsh whispers of the two men that had been talking to them. Then they entered the room, standing in front of Cal and Michonne (who had returned to the blanket), and continued to give them no answers.

⠀⠀⠀"We can tend to your wounds, give you a little food and water and then send you on your way," Rick told them, no further discussion allowed based on his tone.

⠀⠀⠀Cal noticed the man from the door holding a crossbow, and his frown deepened in response to his words. Even the grip on his crossbow seemed to grow tense, knuckles turning white, and Cal couldn't figure out why.

⠀⠀⠀"But you're gonna have to tell us how you found us and why you were carrying formula," Rick continued.

⠀⠀⠀Cal glanced at Michonne. She was the one conscious during the conversation and the only one able to answer his questions. She turned to Rick, and Cal was relieved she answered him.

⠀⠀⠀"The supplies were dropped by a young Asian woman with a white girl who looked close in age to her," Michonne answered coldly.

⠀⠀⠀"What happened?" Rick asked.

⠀⠀⠀"Were they attacked?" Santa Claus asked. Cal was still freaking out a little with how similar he looked to the myth.

⠀⠀⠀"They were taken," Michonne stated.

⠀⠀⠀"Taken? By who?" Rick asked.

⠀⠀⠀"By the same son of a bitch who shot me," Michonne sneered.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey, these are our people. You tell us what happened now!" Rick snarled and pressed his thumb into Michonne's gunshot wound.

⠀⠀⠀Both Michonne and Cal stood. He had reflexively stood in front of Michonne despite knowing she could quickly kill them with her bare hands. He was sure of it.

⠀⠀⠀Their sudden reaction caused the rest of the room to grow defensive, and the man with the crossbow now had it trained on them.

⠀⠀⠀"You better start talkin'!" the man with the crossbow shouted, a shock of pain running through his words. "You're gonna have a much bigger problem than a gunshot wound.

⠀⠀⠀"Find 'em yourself," Michonne snapped at him.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey, shh, shh, shh," Rick called, raising his hands in surrender, and signaling his friend to put the crossbow down. "You two came here for a reason."

⠀⠀⠀"There's a town. Woodbury. About seventy-five survivors. I think they were taken there," Michonne explained.

⠀⠀⠀"A whole town?" Rick asked, unconvinced.

⠀⠀⠀"It's run by a man who goes by the Governor," Cal stated, catching Rick's attention.

⠀⠀⠀"Pretty boy, charming. Jim Jones type," Michonne tacked on.

⠀⠀⠀"He got muscle?" crossbowman asked.

⠀⠀⠀"Paramilitary wannabes," Michonne sneered.

⠀⠀⠀"They have armed sentries on the walls, a few patrolling the streets at night," Cal explained.

⠀⠀⠀"You know a way in?" Rick asked.

⠀⠀⠀Cal sighed, unsure if he should confide everything to these people. Rick stared expectantly, but the second he said that he was one of them, there would be an arrow shot through his head.

⠀⠀⠀Michonne glanced at him, noticing his reluctance.

⠀⠀⠀"The place is secure from walkers, but we could slip our way through," Michonne explained to him.

⠀⠀⠀"How'd you know how to get here?" Rick asked.

⠀⠀⠀"They mentioned a prison, said which direction it was in, that it was a straight shot," Michonne said.

⠀⠀⠀Rick nodded, frowning as he mulled it over. Then he composed himself and introduced Santa Claus to them.

⠀⠀⠀"This is Hershel, the father of the 'white girl' who was taken," Rick explained, waving his hands toward the old man. "He'll take care of your injuries."

MICHONNE LAID ON the table with Hershel sitting beside her, stitching up her would. Carl watched over them, his hand hovering over his holstered gun as he waited for one of them to slip up.

⠀⠀⠀Cal had been surrounded by men with guns his entire life. The concept wasn't that foreign to him. Kids going to the shooting range with their dads wasn't even that hard to think about. However, in this world, where it was life and death, Carl being so comfortable with a gun hurt worse than anything Cal had seen yet.

⠀⠀⠀Daryl, who claimed to know Cal, walked over to the bars and opened them. He peeked inside and nodded at Hershel when he looked at him.

⠀⠀⠀"Is he good?"

⠀⠀⠀"Stitched him up just a few minutes ago," Hershel said, then turned to Michonne.

⠀⠀⠀"C'mon," Daryl called, waving him into the cell block.

⠀⠀⠀Cal stood, the blood rushing to his head and the room falling sideways. He waited awkwardly for the feeling to pass, then turned to Michonne. She watched him with confusion in her expression, but neither were in the position to argue. Cal turned back to Daryl and followed him inside.

⠀⠀⠀Daryl led him to a table and sat beside Rick, waiting for them. Cal followed his lead and hesitantly sat across them, looking anxiously between them.

⠀⠀⠀"You know more about this town than your friend does," Rick said confidently, folding his arms over the table. "I'm gonna need you to tell me why."

⠀⠀⠀Cal sighed, knowing he wasn't fooling anyone. He ran his hand through his hair, growing tense, then sat up a straighter.

⠀⠀⠀"Of course, um, well, I helped found it," Cal stated bluntly, staring at his twitching fingers rather than the glares being pinned into his skull. "I run the town while the Governor keeps his head down and handles the external scouting missions."

⠀⠀⠀Cal looked up, knowing already the expressions he would receive. Rick's face had hardened, distrust forming into every crease in his skin, and his hands clenched into tight fists, no doubt ready to strangle him. On the other hand, Daryl was calmer as he watched Cal with a questioning gaze. Unfortunately, that didn't make him feel any better.

⠀⠀⠀"Why didn't you tell us before?" Rick seethed.

⠀⠀⠀"Because I knew this was the reaction I would get!" Cal exclaimed, flinging his hands out at Rick. "I understand, but I'm also the only person you've got that knows that place inside and out."

⠀⠀⠀"Alright, so why should we trust you," Daryl asked.

⠀⠀⠀"You can't, but I can prove it to you guys," Cal said, his tone leaning toward begging. It felt so weird to beg for trust, but the world wasn't so considerate anymore. They all had to earn their place with one another. "I know Woodbury like the back of my hand, I tried to keep my people safe there, and I would've left..."

⠀⠀⠀"Why didn't you?" Rick asked, demanding to know why he didn't just leave.

⠀⠀⠀"Anyone who leaves, dies," Cal stated ominously. "Someone tried leaving back in the beginning and was killed by the Governor's orders. No one in the town knows except for him and his closest comrades. I didn't want to die and all those people... I-I don't have anything there—"

⠀⠀⠀"You got a girl?" Daryl asked. Cal looked at him, and his expression, the way it looked like he knew the answer put him on edge.

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah," Cal muttered, furrowing his brows. "How did you—?"

⠀⠀⠀"How can we know you're not lying?" Rick interrupted.

⠀⠀⠀"I don't know. I helped Michonne get out... well, really, she helped me out, but she was stuck there like me and got out. Then I went on the mission to watch one of our guys because he was being a little more antsy than usual. Anyways, I was away from Woodbury so she could help me, and if that guy went back to tell them I ran away, he'd be killed for letting me get away," Cal rambled quickly, feeling himself getting off track. He stopped and took a deep breath. He looked at Rick, hoping that his pleading would work on him. "Please, let me prove myself to you. You don't have to let me stay, but at least let me do something good before I end up dead."

⠀⠀⠀Rick narrowed his eyes, leaning back. Cal was already on-edge, and Rick's stare only made it worse.

⠀⠀⠀"Alright," Rick muttered, waving his hand. "Show him."

⠀⠀⠀Cal was confused by the statement but waited as Daryl nodded and shoved a sheet of paper toward him. He raised his brows, looking up at the two men. It was surreal like he was doing one of the money deals on TV, and written on the back would be six figures for this job.

⠀⠀⠀When Cal picked up the paper, he didn't expect the surge of emotions to rip through his body. He nearly dropped it but scrambled to hold it between his fingers as tightly as he could before it disintegrated.

⠀⠀⠀It was a photograph and not just any stock photo that came with picture frames, but one he knew well. It was him and Bianca the night of Elena's birthday party. The image was grainy and blurry, but he could make out Bianca's bright smile and high cheekbones. Her freckles and sparkling eyes. He could hear her devilish laugh in the back of his head and remembered Elena taking a picture of them together.

⠀⠀⠀It was a whole lifetime ago. Cal never thought he'd see her face again. The tight feeling in his chest twisted into a ball and made it hard to breathe. Tears shot to his eyes and streamed down his face as he clung to that photo like he was there with him, about to disappear.

⠀⠀⠀"How did you—why did you?"

⠀⠀⠀"Bianca is one of the girls that got taken," Rick explained, the words still cold as he spoke. "We expect that this might further incentivize any ideas you might have had to betray us."

⠀⠀⠀"I never thought to betray y'all, but, she really...?" Cal asked, rubbing his hand over his mouth. He nearly felt like screaming from the influx of emotions. "She's alive?"

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, she's alive," Daryl assured him, a hint of a smile appearing at the edges of his lips.

⠀⠀⠀"C'mon," Rick grunted, nodding for them to follow him. "We need to get moving."

CAL HELPED LOAD the cars when Carl approached him. For a kid, he seemed a lot older and tougher for his age. Carl lifted his head when he stopped beside Cal, narrowed his eyes, and held a tight frown on his face.

⠀⠀⠀"My dad told me you're Bianca's boyfriend," Carl stated simply. His hand was still hovering over his gun like a habit.

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah," Cal muttered, not sure what that meant to the boy. Bianca hated kids.

⠀⠀⠀Carl nodded and held his hand out to Cal.

⠀⠀⠀"Bianca's my friend. Bring her back safe," Carl told him.

⠀⠀⠀Cal stared at the kid with wide eyes, stunned he had called Bianca a friend. He worried Carl might shoot his hand off if he didn't shake his, so he quickly threw his hand out to Carl.

⠀⠀⠀"I plan to do so," Cal assured him.

⠀⠀⠀"You better, Caliburn," Carl said, but it sounded more like a threat. Then he nodded and turned on his heel to walk away.

⠀⠀⠀Cal's head was spinning. Carl had called him by his full name, he was friends with Bianca, and he was about to reunite with Bianca. It felt like a flood of weirder and weirder things that kept on happening.

⠀⠀⠀"You're with me," Rick called, interrupting Cal's racing thoughts. He jogged after Rick, sitting in the passenger's seat of a green Tucson, and then they were off to Woodbury.

RICK PULLED OFF the side of the road as Cal instructed him, and the group filtered out of the cars. Woodbury wasn't much further, but they'd be caught in seconds if they came up in cars and motorcycles.

⠀⠀⠀"How much further?" Rick asked, looking up at the sky. "Night's coming."

⠀⠀⠀"A mile, maybe two," Michonne answered him.

⠀⠀⠀Cal led them into the woods, keeping his footsteps as soft as possible. He stared at the tree line, waiting for the front gates to show.

⠀⠀⠀"Y'know, what you did for me, for my baby, while I was..." Rick said to Daryl. Cal didn't mean to listen, but they were all so close. "Working things out—thank you."

⠀⠀⠀"It's what we do," Daryl assured him.

⠀⠀⠀From that short, uninterrupted interaction between the two men, the ones that the group seemed to look to for answers, Cal knew they were good people. Maybe they couldn't trust him right now, but Cal was overjoyed to know that Bianca had been in the likes of these people rather within Woodbury. Rick and Daryl had shown more vulnerability in two seconds than he had ever seen come out of the Governor. Even as they walked into a sure death, thanking one another for looking out for the other, being confident enough to not need gratitude because they were more than people surviving together. They were a family.

⠀⠀⠀"Rick," Daryl hissed suddenly.

⠀⠀⠀"Down!" Rick called for the others, and they all dropped. "Get in formation. No gunfire."

⠀⠀⠀A biter came from the tree line, then another and another until dozens came from all sides. Cal unsheathed his machete and stabbed the biters coming for him. His side still burned from where Michonne had sliced him open, but he forced himself to keep moving.

⠀⠀⠀"There's too many of them," Daryl muttered.

⠀⠀⠀"This way," Rick called to the rest of the group. He led them back the way they came and into an abandoned cabin in the woods they had passed. "Through there, c'mon!"

⠀⠀⠀Cal went through the door last and slammed it shut as Rick ordered. But then, the smell hit him. His face screwed up in disgust while Daryl voiced his own concern about the smell.

⠀⠀⠀"What the hell is that?" Rick asked.

⠀⠀⠀"It's gotta be a fox or what's left of one," Daryl claimed. The group walked through the room and found a dead dog lying in his bed. "I guess Lassie went home," he muttered, turning away.

⠀⠀⠀The biters outside the cabin grew louder, screaming in Cal's ears as they tried to claw their way inside. Daryl and Rick found a bed comforter laid on top, but the lumps in the blanket made it hard to tell if someone was underneath.

⠀⠀⠀"Ah! Who the hell are you?" a man screamed, jumping from the bed with a gun in hand as he looked over the group.

⠀⠀⠀"We don't mean any harm," Rick assured him calmly, raising his hands.

⠀⠀⠀"Get outta my house!" the man screamed back.

⠀⠀⠀"Okay, okay, okay, we will, but we can't right now," Rick explained.

⠀⠀⠀"Now!"

⠀⠀⠀"Shut him up," Michonne hissed as the biters grew more desperate.

⠀⠀⠀"Get out right now!"

⠀⠀⠀"There are walkers outside," Rick explained, but the man didn't care.

⠀⠀⠀"I'll call the cops!"

⠀⠀⠀"I am a cop," Rick retorted, and they all realized this man was out of it. "Now, I need you to lower the gun. Don't do anything rash. Everything's fine. Let's just—let's just take this nice and slow, okay? Look at me. Hey, hey."

⠀⠀⠀"Show me your badge," the man demanded.

⠀⠀⠀"Alright," Rick agreed, lowering his hand but paused when the man grew fretful by his sudden movement. "It's in my pocket. It's in my pocket. Now, I'm just gonna reach down nice and slow."

⠀⠀⠀Rick lowered his hand and then switched trajectory. He used his arms to push the man's gun away and caught him in a chokehold. The man screamed at Rick to let him go and then bit his hand. Rick let out a startled shout, holding his hand as the man-made a beeline to the door. They were all stunned by the suddenness of everything. Rick shouted to not let him outside, but Michonne's sword had stabbed through his heart before anyone could move.

⠀⠀⠀Despite the off-putting scene of Michonne's attack, Daryl and Rick took it as best as they could. It allowed them an advantage, taking the man's body and throwing him out the front door. As they escaped through the back, the biters were oblivious, distracted by the old man, and allowed them to keep moving.

AUTHOR'S NOTE —

Hello! Here's the next chapter you have all been waiting for! Well, almost, we're not to the reunion just yet. Still have a little bit to go for that.

I really want to know, what zodiac signs do you think Bianca and Cal are? I know, but I'm curious if they give off that kind of energy.

SONG: Cold Cold Cold by Cage the Elephant

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.