❛ 'Cause I am lost without you. I cannot live at all. My whole world surrounds you. I stumble, then I crawl. ❜

SEASON 2, EPISODE 1
what lies ahead

━━━━━━ day 66.

A DAY OUT with the CDC burned down in flames behind them, the Atlanta group had become bare-bones. They'd lost too many people between the walker attack and Jacqui's decision to 'opt out.' Then, they decided to leave behind a couple cars with their small crew, but not without siphoning fuel. After that, it left them with Dale's RV, Rick's car, and Daryl's motorcycle.

⠀⠀⠀Daryl picked his brother's motorcycle over his truck. Which, to Bianca, felt like being thrown to the wolves. She no longer had the quiet space Daryl allowed her in their silent car rides. Now, she was surrounded by the others left without a vehicle and shoved into the RV.

⠀⠀⠀Dale drove, Glenn sat in the passenger's seat reading a map, T-Dog was in the back taking a nap, and Bianca was squeezed into the booth by the window as Shane sat down. Andrea came to sit with them not long after.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca held the book Daryl managed to collect—along with her things—before the CDC exploded. The dusty words beneath her fingers felt fragile, as if she'd brush them away with one flip of the page.

⠀⠀⠀While Bianca attempted to read, Shane started cleaning the group's guns on the table. Andrea watched him, eyes with no spark as she did.

⠀⠀⠀"Looks complicated," Andrea uttered after half an hour of staring. Her words came off dull in Bianca's ear. However, not because of her tone, but because of the man beside her. The shot he fired at the CDC left her ear bleeding, and later she realized it was dead, no words making it through. She worried her hearing might not come back.

⠀⠀⠀At least it was only one, Bianca had to remind herself.

⠀⠀⠀"The trick is getting all the pieces back together the same way. I could clean yours. Show you how," Shane offered, a small smile breaking out across his face as he looked at Andrea across the table.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca's attention drifted from her book to Shane and Andrea. She wanted to blame their conversation for interrupting her focus, but the book was that boring to her. She'd been reading the same paragraph for the last twenty minutes.

⠀⠀⠀Shane leaned to the side and picked up Andrea's gun from the bag at his feet. He handled the pistol, looking over it.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, yeah," Shane mused, holding the gun out to test how it sat in his hand. "It's a sweet piece."

⠀⠀⠀Andrea smiled softly, leaning forward with her hand pinching at the nape of her neck. She stared fondly at the gun and explained, "It was a gift... from my father.

⠀⠀⠀Shane looked over at her curiously, surprised by her sudden vulnerability. Bianca couldn't say she wasn't the same. Andrea had just lost her sister, but maybe where Bianca needed to clam up, Andrea wanted to remember.

⠀⠀⠀"He gave it to me just before Amy, and I took off on our road trip," Andrea continued, sounding a bit more like herself. "He said, two girls on their own should be able to... defend themselves."

⠀⠀⠀"Smart man, your father," Shane said, giving her the words she needed. "Look, it's a limited capacity. See? Only holds seven rounds," he explained, opening the barrel of the gun for her to look inside.

⠀⠀⠀Before the two could continue, the RV started to slow, and Dale exclaimed, "Oh, geeze. Aw, no."

⠀⠀⠀Bianca turned, along with Shane, to look out of the front windshield where the highway ahead was filled with totaled cars and blocked roads at least a mile ahead. Daryl came from up ahead on his bike and pulled to talk to Dale.

⠀⠀⠀"See a way through?" Dale asked over Daryl's engine.

⠀⠀⠀Daryl looked behind him, then back to Dale, nodding his head, and pulled around for Dale to follow. However, the road for the RV to fit through was a slim fit.

⠀⠀⠀"Uh, maybe we should just go back. There's an interstate bypass—" Glenn anxiously suggested, looking over his map, but Dale stopped him.

⠀⠀⠀"We can't spare the fuel."

⠀⠀⠀The RV made it a good chunk of the way through the cluster of cars when it made a wheezing rattle and smoke plumed from the engine. Dale parked the RV immediately and stepped out before they kept going.

⠀⠀⠀"I said it. Didn't I say it?" Dale asked like the tired old man he was. "A thousand times. Dead in the water."

⠀⠀⠀"Problem, Dale?" Shane asked casually, scanning the highway for any walkers while throwing his rifle over his shoulder.

⠀⠀⠀The Grimes family, Carol, Sophia, and Daryl walked over to the RV, waiting to hear the issue with the RV.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, just a small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of—"

⠀⠀⠀Dale stopped himself when he realized where they were. All around them were abandoned cars, likely to have a radiator hose that could last and other supplies they needed.

⠀⠀⠀"Okay, that was dumb," Dale finished, his words softening.

⠀⠀⠀"If you can't find a radiator hose here..." Shane said simply, speaking what they all thought.

⠀⠀⠀"There's a whole bunch of stuff we can find," Daryl added as he stood at the trunk of one of the cars, digging through a pile of junk through the open window.

⠀⠀⠀"I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start," T-Dog added, gas-can in hand.

⠀⠀⠀"Maybe some water," Carol said.

⠀⠀⠀"Or food," Glenn added.

⠀⠀⠀Lori frowned, her eyes narrowing, and said, "This is a graveyard."

⠀⠀⠀Bianca understood the sentiment behind her words, but it wasn't the way of the world anymore. There was no respect for the dead when all they did was try to drag the living down with them.

⠀⠀⠀"They died so we could survive," Bianca said to Lori, trying to appease her guilty conscience. "We didn't kill 'em. That's all we can do for them."

⠀⠀⠀Lori's expression wavered a second, then she turned to her husband.

⠀⠀⠀"I don't know how I feel about this," she whispered softly.

⠀⠀⠀Lori's disdain towards their looting didn't change anything, as the others agreed with Bianca. They split up, took on different jobs, and gathered supplies for their journey.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca started down the road to look for supplies with Lori and Carol rather than help with the RV. Dale explained he wanted to try and teach Glenn how to work on the RV. Glenn had been given the role of runner, and Dale wanted to help him break out of that mold.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca found a hanger in one of the open trunks and used it to break into the locked cars for her, Carol, and Lori.

⠀⠀⠀Unlike the red mustang they'd torn apart like vultures at camp, these cars had more than just CDs and cigarettes in them. Instead, there were suitcases full of clothes, cans of food, and cards to pass the time. Bianca dumped a suitcase onto the ground and used it to stock her findings. She filled it with canned food first, stuffing the cards she found in her pocket. She looked through the clothes next, seeing if they'd fit her or anyone else back in their group.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca bent down, stuffing a few shirts into the suitcase, and when she stood back up, the sun was shining right in her eyes. She looked through the windows in the car and found the culprit. Dark green and gray just ahead, familiar, yet she didn't want familiar out there.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca's stomach dropped to her feet, and she stumbled away from the trunk of the car. She was sure Carol had said something, but it was fuzzy.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca's eyes stayed locked onto the Buick, and her feet picked up. She was sprinting for the car resting in the ditch, the front end smashed in, and the passenger's window shattered.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca reached inside, unlocking the door with shaking hands. She pulled the door open and sat in her seat. It held his scent—old books and coffee grinds—but only faintly with the smell of exhaust and the woods passing through the broken window for two months.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca stepped over the center console and moved to sit behind the wheel. Her hands locked around the wheel sure it was warm with him there seconds ago, but it was long abandoned.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca tried to convince herself she imagined it all. That, it was all in her head. The car was just the same model; his smell was just a memory teasing her; the feeling of his hands on the steering wheel was hope. It was like seeing her dad in Amy, her brother in Glenn, all the flashbacks coming to haunt her. It was just guilt and a sliver of hope filling her mind.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and opened the driver's side door to stand outside. She couldn't get past it, leaning her head on the frame and allowing all the bottled up feelings from not knowing to wrack through her. That was what got her. Not that this was his car. It was the not knowing; she could never be sure about anything.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey," Daryl called from beside her.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca jumped, turning to Daryl with red-rimmed eyes and a frown deeply pressed into her face. Daryl's eyebrows drew together in concern, looking over her to see if something had happened but found nothing.

⠀⠀⠀Daryl never asked, never wanted to for fear of getting close, but this time he did.

⠀⠀⠀"What's wrong?"

⠀⠀⠀"I just," Bianca muttered, turning to look at the ugly car again. Her knuckles turned white where she gripped the door frame. Her heart stopped for a second as she stared inside as a thought popped into her mind. One that she couldn't get rid of unless she checked.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca sat back inside the car, leaving Daryl with no answer. She pulled the visor down, and tucked into the mirror was a picture smiling back at her.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca knew it. She knew that photo like it was engraved into her head, and now it rested to taunt her for the life she left behind.

⠀⠀⠀Her fingers reached up, delicately taking the photo from where it rested. She laid the image in her lap and stared at the picture with wide eyes.

⠀⠀⠀Daryl leaned into the car, his arm resting on the top as he looked in, observing Bianca. T-Dog walked over, cheery with his gas can full, but Daryl turned, a serious expression on his face, and nodded for T-Dog to leave them. T-Dog nodded quickly and rushed away.

⠀⠀⠀When Daryl looked back at Bianca, there were teardrops on the photo, and her head was pressed firmly into the steering wheel, nearly about to make it sound.

⠀⠀⠀"Bianca," Daryl muttered, his words hanging in the air.

⠀⠀⠀However, him saying anything had Bianca snap into action. First, she shoved the picture into the cupholder for safekeeping. Then, Bianca went scouring. She dug through his glove box, finding a manual and registration along with dozens of fast food napkins. She reached behind, her hand scrapping against the back where he left a knife tapped. It was gone.

⠀⠀⠀Then, Bianca turned to the center console, opening it where a few CDs were left (Metallica, Faith No More, Pantera), more napkins, one of his notebooks he left in the event he had an idea. And, lastly, a ring. She threw the notebook on the passenger's seat and stuck the ring on her thumb.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca continued like a madwoman, popping the trunk and pushing past Daryl before he could attempt to say anything else. In the trunk, there wasn't much. Whatever Cal had taken with him to get to her house, he kept close and must have taken within him.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca was now convinced more than ever Cal was alive. Or, at the very least, made it away from this crash. There weren't signs of a struggle inside besides the ditch he crashed into. No body left behind, no blood, nothing. Bianca wished she had more evidence, something tangible that she knew he was alive, but all she could use was the gut feeling that told her she was right. He had to be alive.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, shit," Daryl said, his words barely there before he was running around the side of the car and stood beside Bianca. "Shut up and trust me," he snapped at her, then she was shoved into the trunk, and the door slammed shut.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca laid in the trunk of Cal's car, reeling from what had just happened. She nearly slammed her foot against the trunk, shouting curses at Daryl when she heard it.

⠀⠀⠀Walkers.

⠀⠀⠀They scraped by with their melancholy groans sounding off. Bianca stayed still, holding her breath for as long as possible despite being closed off from the outside world. They couldn't see her. Maybe they could smell her. It didn't seem like they passed without a second glance towards the car.

⠀⠀⠀As they continued by, Bianca laid back in the trunk, accepting that she would be trapped in there for as long as she had to be. Her hands rested on her stomach, and she stared upwards as she twisted Cal's ring, now resting on her thumb. He had worn it for as long as she'd known him until she bought him a ring for their first anniversary. But, then, that was the only one he wore.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca closed her eyes as she remembered that night, them, everything. A tear slipped down her face, and she listened to the sounds of the walkers outside to try and block out her thoughts, but they just kept coming back no matter how much she tried.

⠀⠀⠀Cal was all she could see, hear, think about.

━━━━━━ september 2009.

BIANCA AND CAL had been together for a year. It had been her first relationship that lasted longer than a month, and she wanted to commemorate it better than words or sex could express that. So she saved up money from the papers she wrote for her classmates and managed to buy a silver ring she'd seen at a pawn shop that just screamed Cal. Bianca was lucky; no one had purchased the ring in the month since she'd seen it. Now, it was wrapped with a pretty bow around it (curtsey of Elena) and sitting on the seat next to her.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca felt weird to be nervous in Cal's presence. He had grown to be so much more than some boy who laid in the grass beside her. Cal was her best friend, the person she could talk to about anything, the one. And yet, as he fluttered his dark lashes at her, she could feel the embarrassed blush come to her cheeks.

⠀⠀⠀Cal smiled sweetly at her, shaking his head, and asked, "Were you listening?"

⠀⠀⠀Bianca hesitated, her brows furrowing as she considered his question. She'd been so preoccupied with her nerves that she hadn't noticed him talking.

⠀⠀⠀"No, I guess not," Bianca admitted, sending him an apologetic smile.

⠀⠀⠀Cal's smile grew, stretching his arm between the plates on the table and taking her calloused hand in his. He squeezed to reassure her, telling her not to be nervous, but it only grew as she realized her hands were clammy. Bianca tried to move from his grip, but Cal held on tighter for a moment to reassure her he didn't mind. Then, it lessened if she still wanted to let go.

⠀⠀⠀"It's alright," Cal reassured her. "What were you thinkin' about?"

⠀⠀⠀Bianca glanced at him, then the box next to her. The movement caught his eye, and he looked with her.

⠀⠀⠀"Giving you your present," Bianca replied, looking back at him. "I'm worried you won't like it.

⠀⠀⠀"What do you mean?" Cal asked, furrowing his brow as if confused why she might think that.

⠀⠀⠀"I don't know," Bianca sighed, shrugging. "I suck at giving gifts, your always so good at them."

⠀⠀⠀"I'm sure I'll love it," Cal said, leaving over and kissing her lips gently. He pulled away an inch and whispered against her lips. "I always do."

⠀⠀⠀Bianca smiled, thankful for his sweet words. When they parted, their waiter approached and asked if they'd like some dessert. Cal slyly mentioned it was their anniversary and asked if they could split the chocolate cake.

⠀⠀⠀"Maybe he'll give it to us for free," Cal whispered to Bianca when their waiter left and then sent her a wink. "While we wait, you wanna exchange presents?"

⠀⠀⠀"You first," Bianca said, eyeing the bag next to him.

⠀⠀⠀Cal laughed, then nodded and reached for the bag. He handed it to her. She smiled warily back at him, knowing it would be perfect. Bianca let go of his hand, set the present between them, and pulled out the wooden frame. It was made of birch and burned into the wood was an elegant filigree. The picture was of them at Elena's costume party, posing like dorks together.

⠀⠀⠀"It's my favorite picture of us," Cal told her, pointing at their faces. Bianca looked up at him, watching as he stared at the photo with a bit of smile that made her heart flutter. "And I made the frame," he said off-handedly.

⠀⠀⠀"You made the frame?" Bianca asked, her tone monotone as she stared at him.

⠀⠀⠀"Well, um, yeah," Cal said nervously, glancing at her and scratching the back of his neck. "I cut it and burned it when I was up at my mom's."

⠀⠀⠀"I thought you weren't artistic, just into art," Bianca claimed, repeating what he had once told her when he told her his major in art history.

⠀⠀⠀"I don't count that as art," Cal brushed her off, waving his hand at her.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca shook her head in disappointment. He often looked down on his abilities because of his mom. A woman Bianca had once met and detested immediately. But, once they were both out of college, Bianca knew she'd get Cal out of her greedy clutches. Bianca was tired and saddened to see how much destruction his mom managed to do and hoped one day she could show him just how skilled and worthy he was.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, Cal," she sighed, retaking his hand and shaking it to catch his attention. "My beautiful idiot. Just because you can't paint a portrait or sketch a scene doesn't mean you're not an artist."

⠀⠀⠀Cal gave her a weak smile and didn't argue.

⠀⠀⠀"I love it," Bianca continued, smiling wide and leaning in to kiss him.

⠀⠀⠀The kiss seemed to perk him up, his face brightening as his eyes darting to the box sitting next to her.

⠀⠀⠀"Alright! My turn!" Cal cheered, snatching the box before she could stop him.

⠀⠀⠀Cal tore through the paper, flinging paper all over the table and the seats. Bianca picked up the scraps as he went, throwing them into the bag he'd given her. Cal made it to the box within seconds, and he stared at the velvet box. He looked at her, raising a brow but not placing the question in his thoughts. He opened the box, expression blank as he stared inside.

⠀⠀⠀"Well?" Bianca asked nervously, hating how well he could make her feel when opening presents. He loved to drag out the anticipation.

⠀⠀⠀"It's... perfect," Cal admitted in a soft breath. He pulled the rings already adorned on his fingers and replaced them with just the one.

⠀⠀⠀It was plain silver, but the metal was shaped into a heart. Bianca thought no man would be able to pull it off except him. Between all of his other rings, it would look right at home. However, he didn't put his rings back on, making Bianca stare at him in confusion.

⠀⠀⠀"I didn't mean you had to replace them all," Bianca said between a chuckle.

⠀⠀⠀Cal looked at her, his eyes an ocean of emotion, and he smiled so beautifully at her she didn't know how to respond. He'd always been beautiful, but at that moment, he was downright gorgeous, heavenly, blessed by Aphrodite... every word she could use to describe beauty was him.

⠀⠀⠀"I've worn rings because they were an expression of who I wanted to be," Cal explained, flexing his hand as he stared down at his right hand, the ring resting on his ring finger then up to her. "Now, I am. You make me who I want to be."

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, what the fuck," Bianca sighed, touched by his words. "How am I supposed to beat that?"

⠀⠀⠀Cal laughed in response and was interrupted by the cake being placed by the waiter in front of them. Chocolate cake with syrup spelling out happy anniversary for them and candles glowing over their faces.

⠀⠀⠀"I've covered the bill for you two. So, you can leave whenever you're ready," their waiter said to them with a warm smile. "Happy anniversary."

⠀⠀⠀"Thank you," they called, and their waiter left.

⠀⠀⠀"Cal, that was the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me," Bianca told him, resting her hand on her heart then setting it down on his thigh. "Eat up. Second round of desert is waiting back at the dorm. Elena's with Peter tonight."

⠀⠀⠀Cal gulped, staring back at her with wide eyes.

⠀⠀⠀"Do we have to eat this one, or can we go ahead?"

⠀⠀⠀"Don't be rude," Bianca scolded him, picking up her fork and eating a bite of the cake tauntingly. "He gave it to us for free."

━━━━━━ day 66.

IT FELT LIKE hours before Daryl returned, the trunk opening to bring in the dull light of the afternoon and his grim face. Then, finally, he stepped aside, letting Bianca up on numb legs.

⠀⠀⠀"Everything alright?" Bianca asked, glancing from him to the trail of cars blocking her view from the others.

⠀⠀⠀"T-Dog got hurt," Daryl said grimly.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca turned to Daryl, the frown deepening, but Daryl managed a thin smile to tell her it wasn't bad.

⠀⠀⠀"He cut his arm on a car door," Daryl explained. "Not a bite, but he's lost a lot of blood. I need your help gettin' him back."

⠀⠀⠀Bianca glanced back at Cal's car like she was leaving him behind. Daryl rested his hand on her shoulder, and she let out a knowing sigh. His action was minimal, but it told her everything.

⠀⠀⠀"We'll come back," he said softly.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca nodded then followed Daryl to T-Dog. He was resting against a car, his eyes half-lidded as he watched them approach. The wound on his arm was bloody, but Daryl managed to make-shift a tourniquet.

⠀⠀⠀They walked over bodies lying on the ground, and now with Cal's car behind her, she was checking to make sure none of them were Cal. When Bianca was sure, she helped lift T-Dog to his feet, his uninjured arm over her shoulder, and they stumbled back to the main group.

⠀⠀⠀Everyone lingered on the highway's edge, where a barrier separated from the woods. Lori held Carol to her chest as the woman sobbed, and the rest stared into the trees, distraught.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca noticed Rick's absence, along with Sophia.

⠀⠀⠀"What happened?" Daryl asked roughly, eyes skirting around the group, but not one of them turned to look at them.

⠀⠀⠀"Carol's daughter got chased by some walkers," Shane finally said, turning to them with a locked jaw.

⠀⠀⠀"Why didn't you go over them?!" Daryl shouted, throwing his hand out toward Shane.

⠀⠀⠀Shane looked ready to blow up, but Dale shook his head, interrupting the two.

⠀⠀⠀"There's no way to know which way they went," Dale said. "It won't do any of us good if we get lost, too. All we can do is wait."

⠀⠀⠀They waited as Dale told them. Daryl explained what happened to T-Dog when Dale noticed. They re-bandaged his arm and kept on waiting until Rick returned. Sophia wasn't with him, and he explained to them what happened in the woods. He'd tried to save Sophia by drawing the walkers off her trail then killed them, but when he returned to the place he left Sophia, she was gone.

⠀⠀⠀Speculation coursed through the group, but the one thing they did know was that she wasn't dead when Rick left her. That was all they had and all they needed.

⠀⠀⠀Rick set up a search party consisting of Daryl, Shane, and Glenn to scope out if Rick missed something. The rest were asked to stay on the highway for their own safety and the possibility of Sophia making her way back.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca and the others waited until Shane and Glenn came back on their own, Rick and Daryl tracking Sophia's trail. Then, Shane explained that if the others wanted to move once they had Sophia, they needed to prepare. So, Bianca helped Dale with the radiator hose to move on while Andrea and Lori worked to move the cars off the road to pass.

⠀⠀⠀Carol stayed at the traffic barrier, staring into the woods with a worried frown on her lips. She stood there until it was beginning to get dark before she walked over to the group to speak her mind.

⠀⠀⠀"Why aren't we all out there lookin'? Why are we movin' cars?" Carol asked Dale beside the RV.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca listened to them as she laid underneath the RV, removing the old radiator hose that didn't last as long as she hoped.

⠀⠀⠀"We have to clear enough room so I can get the RV turned around as soon as it's running," Dale explained calmly to her.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca could tell that Dale understood Carol's worry—they all did—but there were other things they also needed to worry about. When Sophia came back, they had to get moving, or else they risked another group of walkers coming across them. Then, they'd be in this same situation a second time.

⠀⠀⠀"Now that we have fuel, we can double back to a bypass that Glenn flagged on the map," Dale finished explaining.

⠀⠀⠀"Goin' back's gonna be easier than tryin' to get through this mess," Shane said, stepping beside them and slipping a bucket under the RV for Bianca.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca let out a small curse, realizing she nearly dumped radiator fluid on herself a second time.

⠀⠀⠀"We're not goin' anywhere until my daughter gets back," Carol told Shane firmly.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey, that goes without sayin'," Lori assured Carol as she passed.

⠀⠀⠀"Rick and Daryl, they're on it, okay?" Shane said, trying to sound reassuring. "Just a matter of time."

⠀⠀⠀Bianca pried the radiator hose off, the fluid dumping into the bucket. She stood as it drained and stood with the group beginning to crowd around the RV. Dale handed her the new hose to install as she waited.

⠀⠀⠀"Can't be soon enough for me," Andrea commented, tossing a bottle of water to Glenn then opening the cap to hers. Carol didn't stick around to listen to them any longer, heading back to the traffic barrier to wait. "I'm still freaked out from that herd that passed us by, or whatever you'd call it."

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, what was that? All of them just marching along like that," Glenn asked.

⠀⠀⠀"A herd. That sounds about right," Shane said with a small laugh as he nodded, turning to Andrea. "It's like the night camp got attacked. Some wanderin' pack, only fewer."

⠀⠀⠀Shane let out a sigh as they mulled it over, then he turned back to them.

⠀⠀⠀"Okay, come on, people," Shane called to them. "We still got a lot to do. Let's stay on it. Let's go, come on."

BIANCA SLIPPED AWAY from the group as they gathered supplies and siphoned fuel. She finished what she could with the RV, she and Dale both praying that the radiator hose they picked would keep them going for a good while. With that, Bianca felt that she could sit back for a while... sit in his car.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca sat in the passenger's seat, where she often would when they drove late at night together. So many memories locked away inside only for her and him to remember. A whirlwind of all the good and bad things that ever happened to them, along with everything in between.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca could almost imagine Cal sitting beside her, his hand on her thigh as street lights passed them, windows rolled down, and belting out the same songs on repeat.

⠀⠀⠀Her daydream, sweet-tasting and fulfilling, was tainted by the sudden shriek of Carl a few cars away from her. Bianca sprinted from the car and found Carl lying on his back, rolled over in pain. She looked at the corpse in the car, unmoving, then back to Carl holding a bag between his arms.

⠀⠀⠀"What'd you find?" Bianca asked, suppressing her panic as she saw he was okay. She rose an eyebrow, holding her hand out to help him up, and he took it.

⠀⠀⠀"It's an arsenal!" Carl exclaimed, his face bright with excitement as he clumsily readjusted it in his small hands. "I have to show Shane!" he continued, running away from her and toward Shane working on a car. "Shane!"

⠀⠀⠀"Carl, what happened?" Lori yelled at him frantically, only hearing his scream.

⠀⠀⠀"Mom, I found something cool," Carl continued, unaffected by her worry and kept running until he met Shane.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca left the three to themselves and returned to Cal's car. Rather than sitting back inside and tormenting herself with the pain of his memory, she grabbed the notebook and picture. She shut the door, heading back for the RV.

━━━━━━ day 67.

DUSK SETTLED ON the highway when Daryl and Rick returned, yet still no Sophia. Her trail went cold, and the group's hope fell further at the idea of Sophia returning to them.

⠀⠀⠀However, Rick wasn't like them. He held out hope for everything: the refugee center, getting Merle back, the CDC, and now, Sophia. Only one of those had found them luck for a moment before rotting. Bianca didn't like their chances.

⠀⠀⠀The following morning with light on their side and a new day of possibility, Rick answered Carol's wishes and had them all going out to look for Sophia. He laid out the arsenal Carl found the day before so everyone could take a weapon if they didn't have one.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca held onto her sledgehammer, resting the end down between her feet. She leaned against the RV and waited for further instruction but instead got Andrea's bitching.

⠀⠀⠀"These aren't the kind of weapons we need. What about the guns?" Andrea asked, her eyes narrowed at the men standing ahead of her holding guns.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca understood Andrea's sentiment; she was being denied her own gun. Still, Bianca also felt Andrea wasn't accepting the whole picture. Shane, Rick, and Daryl were all trained and licensed with firearms in their previous lives. Andrea's dad had given her a gun while she went on a road trip. Things weren't the same, and it wasn't because she was a woman that she was being asked not to carry.

⠀⠀⠀"We've been over that. Daryl, Rick, and I are carrying. We can't have people poppin' off rounds every time a tree rustles," Shane told her, muttering his last words condescendingly towards her.

⠀⠀⠀Maybe it was because she was a woman for Shane. However, Rick was calling the shots, and Shane was just running his mouth. Bianca rolled her eyes at Shane.

⠀⠀⠀"It's not the trees I'm worried about," Andrea told him with a frown.

⠀⠀⠀"Say somebody fires at the wrong moment, a herd happens to be passing by. See, then it's game over for all of us. So you need to get over it," Shane pressed back, scowling.

⠀⠀⠀Andrea didn't continue on her need for control, closing her mouth. Instead, Daryl filled the silence by explaining what they needed to do.

⠀⠀⠀"The idea is to take the creek up about five miles," Daryl announced. "Turn around and come back down the other side. Chances are, she'll be by the creek. It's her only landmark."

⠀⠀⠀"Stay quiet and stay sharp," Rick said after him, looking around the group. "Keep space between you but always stay within sight of each other."

⠀⠀⠀"Everybody, assemble your packs," Shane ordered.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca stayed beside Dale, pack ready, and made the night before when she couldn't get her mind quiet. She had probably annoyed everyone in the RV trying to sleep, but no one said anything about it.

⠀⠀⠀"Dale, keep on those repairs. We've got to get this RV ready to move," Rick called to the man, then glanced at Bianca. "You need her to stay and help?"

⠀⠀⠀"No, I'll be alright," Dale assured him with a smile, standing. "She may be a mechanical engineer, but me and this old thing have been friends for nearly two decades now. I know how to get her moving again."

⠀⠀⠀"Alright," Rick said with a nod, returning Dale's smile.

⠀⠀⠀"Good luck out there. Bring Sophia back," Dale said to Rick, supplying the support Rick needed without saying.

⠀⠀⠀"Keep an eye on Carl while we're gone," Rick asked of Dale, leaning over to pat his son's shoulder.

⠀⠀⠀"I'm goin' with you," Carl told his dad before he could argue. "You need people, right? To cover as much ground as possible."

⠀⠀⠀Rick let out a tired sign, turning to Lori at his side for an answer.

⠀⠀⠀"Your call," Lori told him simply. "I can't always be the bad guy."

⠀⠀⠀"Well, he has all of you to look after him," Dale commented. "I'd say he's in good hands."

⠀⠀⠀"Okay, okay," Rick gave in, raising his hands in submission. "But always within our sight, no exceptions."

⠀⠀⠀The Grimes family left the side of the RV to pack their things, and Bianca soon joined with Andrea storming toward Dale. She gave Dale a quick wave goodbye before making her way toward Daryl.

⠀⠀⠀"You're gonna kill me for askin' but—"

⠀⠀⠀"I'm alright," Bianca cut him off, barely reassuring him that she was. He looked up, narrowing his eyes as he stared at her, no words coming from him, and it made her crack. She let out a breath of annoyance, turning away. "We just need to focus on getting Sophia back."

⠀⠀⠀"Your head bein' all scrambled won't get Sophia back," Daryl told her bluntly, staring down at her. "You gotta tell me that our head is here and not back there," he said sternly, pointing behind his shoulder.

⠀⠀⠀"I'm here," Bianca assured him, looking him in the eye.

⠀⠀⠀"Good, don't want you dyin' over some crush," Daryl told her with a teasing smile, and it brought a smile to her lips. "And just a picture at that? Some weird kid I picked up, huh?"

⠀⠀⠀Bianca grinned; the escape from the truth allowed her to breathe for a moment. He wasn't looking for reasons why she was upset. He just wanted to know she was okay and show that he was there for her.

⠀⠀⠀"I can't explain it. His picture just got me fallin' in love," Bianca explained, pulling the photo from her pocket, feeling like a little piece of herself had returned. She turned it toward Daryl so he could look. He stared at the image for a long moment with no expression until he snorted, darting his eyes up to her.

⠀⠀⠀"You look like a dork," Daryl told her, smiling softly at her.

⠀⠀⠀"Thanks," Bianca laughed, rolling her eyes and stuffed the photo back for safekeeping.

⠀⠀⠀"Alright, let's get goin'!" Shane called to the group, waving his hand to head into the woods.

THEY DIDN'T HAVE much luck in the woods. All they found was a tent, speculating Sophia might be inside, but there was no sign of her. The only thing inside was a dead man.

⠀⠀⠀They moved on, keeping close to one another and silent other than the crunch of leaves beneath their feet. Then, suddenly, a church bell rang through the woods. The bell was a strange thing to hear in the woods in the first place, but with the state of the world sent a chill down Bianca's spine.

⠀⠀⠀"What direction?" Shane asked, whipping his head side to side as he tried to pin where the echo originated.

⠀⠀⠀"I think that way," Rick called to him, pointing ahead. "I'm pretty sure."

⠀⠀⠀"Same, it's hard to tell out here," Shane sighed.

⠀⠀⠀"If we heard them, maybe Sophia did, too," Carol interrupted them, hope filling her chest.

⠀⠀⠀"Someone's ringing those bells, maybe calling others," Glenn speculated.

⠀⠀⠀"Or signaling they found her," Andrea added on.

⠀⠀⠀"She couldn't be ringing them herself," Rick told them, waving his hand for them to follow. "Come on."

⠀⠀⠀Rick led the way through the woods until they made it to a clearing where the church sat. The church was painted a pristine white with dark green scaffolding, and gravestones littered the front lawn. The bells had stopped chiming by the time they arrived, which wasn't odd except that there was no steeple for them to reside in.

⠀⠀⠀"That can't be it," Shane huffed as they stopped on the edge. "Got no steeple, no bells."

⠀⠀⠀Rick kept on, not listening to Shane.

⠀⠀⠀"Rick!" Shane yelled after him, following as did the others.

⠀⠀⠀Rick sprinted across the church's front lawn between the gravestones, and Shane came up right behind him. Bianca held up the back with the rest between before reaching the front doors.

⠀⠀⠀Daryl shot to the front, standing beside Rick as they paused at the front door. Shane stood at the bottom of the steps, his gun at the ready while Rick held his hand up to tell the others to keep quiet.

⠀⠀⠀Then, Rick opened the doors with a creak to reveal three walkers sitting in the pews as they listened to the word of God. At least, it looked like they were. They stared ahead, peaceful in their Sunday clothes while the crucified Jesus resided at the front.

⠀⠀⠀With the disturbance, the walkers turned their heads and glared back at the group, interrupting them. Bianca felt that their expressions were suitable for church because she was sure she'd seen them before.

⠀⠀⠀Lori pulled out a knife from Carl's arsenal and handed one to Rick. Glenn gave his machete to Daryl, trading him for his crossbow. Rick, Daryl, and Shane entered the church while the rest stayed back.

⠀⠀⠀Rick made his way to the first, slashing the knife clean through the brain, and the walker was down. As it fell, he continued to cut his blade into the walker, letting out his frustration.

⠀⠀⠀Shane walked down the aisle, approaching the second walker and cut clean through its eye. He let the walker drop to the ground. He followed in Rick's footsteps and beat the walker until he felt better.

⠀⠀⠀Daryl crept around the side of the pews towards the walker with the veil. He made kissing sounds to catch its attention, and it turned toward him. He sliced through the front of its face, and the walker fell forward in a lump. Daryl jumped out of the way before it could touch him and left it, keeping himself from beating the walkers like Rick and Shane.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca and the others walked inside the room now that the walkers were down. Carol rushed to the front, looking through the pews in hopes that Sophia was cowering within one of the rows. Rick screamed her name and opened a side door to see if she'd run outside, but there was nothing.

⠀⠀⠀Bianca kept to the back of the room, walking to the bulletin board and reading over the things about to happen at the church. Her eyes trailed upwards, and noticed a strip of wires heading outside. She followed them, wrapping around the building, and stopped at a speaker sitting on the corner of the building. Bianca looked down, finding a breaker box below it, and opened it. Inside, she noticed a faded label that read 'bells.'

⠀⠀⠀The same chime started to play again, and the door to the church slammed open as the others ran outside. She turned the dial, cutting the bells off short, then walked to the side, catching the group's attention.

⠀⠀⠀"It's a recording," Bianca explained, pointing to the box.

⠀⠀⠀They stared back at her, mouths agape in the realization that they'd come up with nothing.

⠀⠀⠀"I'm gonna go back in for a bit," Carol said wearily and stepped back into the church.

CAROL PRAYED THEN they were ready to leave the church with Sophia growing heavy on their hearts. The sun was setting past the trees, and soon it would be dark.

⠀⠀⠀Rick and Shane stood a few feet off from the others. They argued for a few minutes before Shane finally came to tell them the plan.

⠀⠀⠀"Y'all are gonna follow the creek bed back, okay? Daryl, you're in charge. Me and Rick, we're just gonna hang back, search this area another hour or so just to be thorough," Shane explained.

⠀⠀⠀"You're splittin' us up," Daryl pointed out. "You sure?"

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, we'll catch up to you," Shane sighed, unable to look him in the eye.

⠀⠀⠀"I want to stay, too," Carl said, stepping forward. "I'm her friend."

⠀⠀⠀Lori walked over to her son when neither Rick nor Shane answered him. She gave in surprisingly easily as she said to her son, "Just be careful, okay?"

⠀⠀⠀"I will," Carl assured her as she pressed her hands on his face in a motherly fashion.

⠀⠀⠀"When did you start growin' up?" Lori asked him sweetly, then pulled him towards her and kissed his head.

⠀⠀⠀Rick walked towards his family and hugged Lori while Carl stepped out of the way.

⠀⠀⠀"I'll be along soon enough," Rick told her softly. "Here," he said, pulling his gun out of its holster and letting her go. "Take this. Remember how to use it?"

⠀⠀⠀Lori glanced at the gun, then at him as she shook her head, and told him, "I'm not takin' your gun and leavin' you unarmed."

⠀⠀⠀"Here, got a spare," Daryl offered, handing his gun over to Lori. "Take it."

⠀⠀⠀The two groups started to split, but before they could leave, Bianca caught Carl.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey, be careful out there, little man," Bianca told him, smiling as she held her fist out to him.

⠀⠀⠀Carl smiled back, fist-bumping her and made his hand explode. She was quick to follow.

⠀⠀⠀"I will," Carl assured her with a wide smile. But then, he gave her a mischievous look and told her, "Don't beat anyone up out there."

⠀⠀⠀Bianca rolled her eyes and said, "No promises. Have you seen Andy today?"

⠀⠀⠀Carl watched as Andrea trudged past them with a scowl. He snickered and nodded, understanding what she meant. Bianca smiled, ruffling his hair, then the two split and set off into the woods once again.

BIANCA WALKED BEHIND Daryl as they made it through the woods with exhaustion beginning to settle. They didn't get very far until Carol started to wane, stopping the group as she sat down on a log.

⠀⠀⠀"So, this is it?" Carol asked them, Bianca turning to look at her. "This the whole plan?"

⠀⠀⠀"I guess the plan is to whittle us down into smaller and smaller groups," Daryl commented in annoyance.

⠀⠀⠀"Carrying knives and pointy sticks," Andrea noted with laced aggravation that had also consumed her every step, breath, or sideways glance the whole trip from the church. She hadn't said a word, but Bianca could feel it radiating from her. "I see you have a gun," she said to Lori pointedly, glaring at the woman with pursed lips.

⠀⠀⠀"Why, you want it?" Lori asked as she looked up from her pack she'd been rummaging through. She stood to her feet, set the bag aside, and held the gun out for Andrea to take. "Here, take it. I'm sick of the looks you're givin' me."

⠀⠀⠀The way Lori handled Andrea impressed Bianca. Lori had made Andrea into the bad guy by calling her out on her bullshit. Andrea's need to be 'one of the guys' wasn't getting her anywhere. She was pushy and obnoxious, putting the other women down for doing chores and glorifying the men for wielding and protecting them.

⠀⠀⠀They all needed to do their part, in Bianca's opinion. It wasn't just for Shane to hold a gun or Carol to do the laundry. It was all of their jobs, and they should be rotating.

⠀⠀⠀That was what Lori pointed out, and Andrea didn't seem thrilled by the turn of events. Her jaw dropped, and she stared at the gun now loosely resting in her hand. Lori ran a hand over her face, eyes wide with frustration after.

⠀⠀⠀"All of you," Lori continued under her breath, turning to Carol. "Honey, I can't imagine what you're goin' through, and I would do anythin' to stop it. But you have got to stop blamin' Rick. It is in your face every time you look at him.

⠀⠀⠀"When Sophia ran, he didn't hesitate, did he? Not for a second. I don't know that any of us would have gone after her the way he did or made the hard decisions that he had to make or that anybody could have done it differently."

⠀⠀⠀Carol's head bowed, keeping her words to herself. Lori stared at her, waiting, then raised her head to look at the rest of them.

⠀⠀⠀"Anybody?" Lori asked them, but they were silent. Bianca knew she was right. She wouldn't have. "Y'all look at him, and then you blame him when he's not perfect. If you think you can do this without him, go right ahead! Nobody is stoppin' you!"

⠀⠀⠀Lori took a swig of her water, and when she finished, the gun was held back to her.

⠀⠀⠀"We should keep moving," Andrea told her softly.

AUTHOR'S NOTE —

I am so excited to be back. I skip one update day and I feel like I haven't updated in years lol.

So! Kicking off season two with a very long chapter. For this season, I've seen in my chapters that a lot of the episodes are 2k - 3k words long. I've decided to make all the episodes one chapter because of this so some of them will be a lot shorter but a few may be longer, like maybe 2x13 since it's the finale??? A few of the episodes were even shorter than that so a couple are two episodes in one :0 but I felt that the scenes were still important that I wanted to keep them.

I hope you guys enjoyed, a little hint on Cal's whereabouts. Not even a hint, just a little taste of him in the present time heehee. Anyone have ideas on where he might be? I'm curious to see what you guys think! Or maybe I'll just steal the ideas you guys give me... just kidding! I already have it planned out >:)

Oh, and I updated the playlist for this book with this next acts set of songs! Check it out in the link in the comment if you like hard rock from the early 2000s and earlier.

SONG: Blurry by Puddle of Mudd

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.