I awake on the couch, stretching and yawning, rubbing my eyes with a groan.
"Hey Carl.." I look around and the remember how Carl got shot. "...Right."
I aimlessly wander the house, looking at the pictures, anything to distract myself, I have hope Carl will be fine, but I always have a gut feeling. At least he's been breathing okay. That's a start, Shane will be back, I know it. I have faith, or maybe it'll be Otis. SOMEBODY will come back. Just got to believe, believe, believe. Glenn and T-Dog walk in the door and I wave Glenn waves back and a sickly T-Dog nods at me. I go and stand next to Lori and Rick, looking at Carl.
"We're here okay?" Glenn says. "Whatever you need."
"We might have to risk operating on your boy without the respirator if Shane and Otis don't come back soon." Hershel states.
"No... You can't." I state.
"Wouldn't it not work?" Lori says. "Didn't you say that."
"Yes, but, we may have no other choice." Hershel says.
"Sorry, I.. need some air." Lori gets up and leaves, standing on the porch, Rick follows her, I gently put my hand on Carl's head, running my hands through his short hair.
"I miss him." I sigh. "Everything seems so.. helpless and bland without him, even with how quiet he is, he can still crack you up." I smile. "Look, doctor, if there's ANYTHING I can do, don't hesitate to call my name, I would give him my lungs if I had to."
"I can tell you love Carl." I nod. "Well, for everyone who cares and is worried I'll do my best, but if they don't come back with the stuff soon... My best won't be enough." I nod again.
"Hershel, were you set on becoming a Vet? Were you originally wanting to be a doctor?" I ask.
"Well, I never had anything specific, I guess wherever I led myself down the path of medical help I was happy, helping a dog is all in the same as helping a human, you save it, the people that love it are happy, you fail, they're sad. In a sense we're not much different then a dog and a cat emotionally." Hershel got deep for a moment.
I smile gently. "I guess you are qualified to perform on a human, maybe not as qualified, but you could still do it. I... Think Rick and Lori are right to trust Carl in your hands." Hershel nods with a smile.
"You're a good kid, Joseph. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, this world, is going to be mean to you, but you will fight back, you will show the world that you are the light in the darkness, the beacon of hope in the sea of hopelessness. Never give up on them, and ALWAYS remember that they're always fighting with you, albeit dead or alive. You don't deserve to see this, but it has brought good things for you too." Hershel grins.
Carl began coughing. Waking up.
"Carl, you're o-" Lori and Rick ran in front of me cutting me off and consoling Carl. I sigh and get up, walking out. I can hear him kicking and flipping out before passing out again. must have had a seizure. I peeked in.
"I have to do a transfusion, his blood pressure is dropping fast."
"Take mine, man." Rick says.
"You could go into cardiac arrest, or just die of blood loss in general, I can't." Hershel replies.
"Just do it!" Rick insists, and Hershel does as told.
I shut the door and sit on the couch, I remembered the dinosaur toys I found and pulled them out, playing with them, Maggie joined me.
"What are you doing kid?" Maggie sat down next to me as I made a Tyrannosaurus Rex chew on a triceratops.
"Dinosaurs!" I grin.
YOU ARE READING
In the event of an Apocalyptic Love.
RomanceTW: SA, Attempted R@p3 "PLEASE! NO!" Joseph was Carl's best friend since 4, emphasis on WAS. Joseph moved away when he turned 8, but four years later he moved back, a week before the Zombie Apocalypse, the day the virus entered the world, his Mother...
