Witchcraft | A Daryl Dixon Love Story

Comatose

We hold in our hearts the sword and the faith 

Swelled up from the rain, clouds move like a wraith 

Well after all, we'll lie another day And through it all, we'll find some other way 

To carry on through cartilage and fluid 

And did you come to stare or wash away the blood?

It had been weeks since the news of Rick being shot had surfaced, and if that wasn't bad enough, everything seemed to be getting worse. The time seemed to drag on and any sense of progression seemed to be slipping away. Not only did course work start piling up, but Lori needed help around the house and Carl never seemed to smile much anymore. Of course, I took all of this on as my personal responsibility. That was my sister, my brother-in-law, and my nephew suffering, and I wasn't going to stand for it. However, as strong as a front I put on for them, I always cracked once I was alone. I felt like I was going through my emo phase all over again. All I seemed to be able to do at night was listen to My Chemical Romance and cry.

Well tonight, well tonight 

Will it ever come? 

Spend the rest of your days rocking out 

Just for the dead 

Well tonight 

Will it ever come? 

I can see you awake anytime, in my head

It hadn't been too long after everyone decided to head to bed when there was a soft knock at the door. A moment later, Lori poked her head in to see if I was still awake.

"Hey, what are you doing up?" I sat up in bed, giving Lori a worried look, "Is everything okay? Any news?" I asked, trying to decode her facial expression. She shook her head lightly, making her way over to the bed before sitting down next to me.

"Everything's just... The same," she paused, giving me a pained smile, "I just don't know what to do, Mack." I could tell she was trying her best to keep it together. No matter how upset we were, no matter how obvious it was, we always tried to hide it, for fear of upsetting the other. "I could tell you were kinda in the same boat," Lori mentioned, looking to the stereo on my bedside table as I gave her a quizzical look, "Ever since you were a kid, you always listened to this song when you were upset." She smiled, wiping a stray tear from her cheek.

I smiled back, putting an arm around her as she started to cry, "Old habits die hard, I guess," I managed to get out as I started to cry with her.

Did we all fall down? 

From the lights to the pavement 

From the van to the floor 

From backstage to the doctor 

From the Earth to the morgue, morgue, morgue, morgue

"It- It's gonna be alright, you got that?" I tried to sound confident through the tears, "You've always been strong, Lori. You've got Carl and I as well," I tried everything I could to lift her spirits, "I'd do anything for you, you're my big sister, and I know I'm jackass sometimes, but I love you."

Lori hugged back, her tears now starting to slow, "Thank you, Mack," she said, a slight stutter present in her voice as she spoke, "You've been doing so much for me lately and Carl barely smiles anymore, especially when you're not here," she choked, working herself up a bit more, "And with the news reports getting even worse, I just don't know what's gonna happen," her voice dropped to a whisper.

I just sat there, rubbing her back until she stopped crying. "Hey, don't worry about that right now, okay?" I looked her in the eyes, "That's something you can't control, so don't waste energy worrying about it, yeah?" I gave her a halfhearted smile. As much as I hated sounding so hypocritical, Lori had enough to worry about, let alone the weird sickness that was breaking out all over the states. I wanted so much to tell her it was going to be alright, but all my friends from the medical school next to my university were always coming up with dead ends in research. I couldn't lie to her, so the best I could do was to avert her attention to something else.

Well tonight 

Will it ever come? 

Spend the rest of your days rocking out 

Just for the dead 

Well tonight 

Will it ever come? 

I can see you awake anytime in my head

After a few minutes, Lori and I had stopped crying and were now just talking about the past. Our childhood, embarrassing high school stories, crazy college stories, funny family gatherings, and everything in between. It was a temporary cure from the emotional comatose, we both knew that, but it was nice to get away, even for a moment.

"Remember when dad walked in on your first kiss?" Lori almost couldn't finish her sentence due to all the laughing.

"Yeah, I had Slipknot on so loud, I didn't hear the knock," I covered my eyes with my hand, almost falling back on the bed from both embarrassment and laughter.

"I'm surprised either of you even saw the door open, your bangs covered half your face and his hair was even longer than yours," she teased, putting a hand on my shoulder to help stabilize herself.

"Okay, okay, enough of my teenage angst, what about your first kiss, huh?" I threatened, starting to laugh again at the wide eyed expression she was giving me, "So romantic, under the bleachers," I said in a sing-song voice, pretending to swoon, "Until you got caught by the gym teacher, that is!"

Lori couldn't help but laugh, slapping me on the shoulder lightly as I was about ready to die from loss of oxygen. We were so caught up in making fun of each other we almost didn't notice Carl walk into the room, half asleep, wondering what in the hell was going on.

"Hey kiddo, did we wake you up?" I asked, calming down from all the laughter. He just shook his head as he walked through the room and climbed up on the bed, laying back down between Lori and I. "Well what's up, man, why are you up so late?"

"I had a bad dream," he admitted, as Lori lifted up the covers, allowing him to settle in. "It was about the thing that's always on the news," his voice uneven, "The sick people were chasing me and I couldn't find any of you guys," he finished.

"Well, we're both here now, sweetie," Lori spoke to her son softly, running a hand through his hair to reassure him, "And neither of us would ever let anything happen to you." She finished with me nodding in reply.

All fall down Well after all...