War of the World (Book II)

Two

Recap from Chapter One - (Carl's P.O.V)

"Dammit! This is the third episode she's had this month! What happened?!" Daryl yells.
"I..uh.. I was trying to make her feel better because we were talking about Negan and Debb-"

"-Why would you talk about Debbie?!" He cuts me off.
"It's complicated okay! Now can we please help (Y/N)!?" I yell back.

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(Carl's P.O.V)

How did you calm her down last time?!" Maggie asks panicking.
"Dad forced her to pass out but I don't think it's good for her!" I reply.

"How would you know what's good for her right now?!" Daryl yells back at me.
"Because she probably wants to get OUT of her head not make her be in her head for longer than she already is!" I yell.

"OH MY GOD WILL YOU PLEASE SHUT UP AND MAKE HER STOP HAVING HER EPISODE." Beth screams at the top of her lungs, alerting a few more people around us.

Daryl immediately blocks her nose and covers her mouth. It kills me to watch because it looks like we are killing her but it slows her heart rate so she calms down. I guess it might just be a very bad panic attack but we still don't know for sure what it is.

She says she doesn't remember what triggers them or what she thinks about when having her episodes, but I know her too well. And I know what she looks and sounds like when she's lying to me. I guess we will just have to wait until she wakes up. It's time we get answers so maybe we can help her as much as he's helped all of us.

She stops shaking and her chest falls, but doesn't rise. Daryl instantly releases his grip on (Y/N)'s nose and mouth and her breathing begins to regulate once again. Sighs of relief wash through the air as we watch (Y/N) breathing slowly. Dad, Glenn and Abraham join us as they must have heard the commotion.

"Another episode?" Abraham asks. Dad nods in response
"Looks like it." Dad replies.

Daryl sighs as he wipes his daughter's blood off his hand and her face. He stares at her with nothing but sadness in his eyes. He brushes a strand of her hair out of her face and stands up. He kneels down and picks (Y/N) up out of my arms.

"Are you gonna be okay Daryl?" Glenn asks.
He turns to us and signals to follow him. I stand up and dust myself off.

"I'm gonna go sit with Daryl." I state.
"I'm gonna go finish helping Carol farm. Let us know when she's awake." Beth says. I nod in response and she walks away with Maggie and Glenn.

"Rick, come help me finish making that new sword." Abraham says, slapping dad's arm. Dad looks over to me and places his hand on my shoulder.

"You let us know when she wakes up. Try get answers as well. Surely we can figure out how to stop her episodes." Dad explains.

"Yeah we need her." Abraham replies. I nod I'm response and chase after Daryl.

(Y/N)'s P.O.V

Can't.. I cant breathe. I open my eyes and see white. Ugh again?? For some reason I can't seem to get up off whatever I am laying on. Something is holding me down. I look at my chest to see Debbie laying on my chest with her chin in her hands.

"What's the matter big sis? Can't breathe?" She asks. I nod my head.
"Please get off me." I croak. I then see another blurry figure coming towards us. The closer they got, the more clearer I could tell who it was. It's mom.

She comes and sits on my chest with my sister. She stares at me. Lifeless. Literally.
"Get.. off!" I scream.

"We will never forgive you." Both mom and Debbie scream demonically before melting in front of my eyes. I quickly close my eyes and open them a few seconds later to notice immediately that my feet are chained to the white floor. Maybe 4 meters in front of me is a key, probably to take the chains off, but it's way too far to reach.

I try to scream for help but it's no use. In the distance is a grey building. It looks like my lab back in Alexandria.. maybe over there has the answers I'm looking for! All of a sudden I am pushed back by an unknown force.

"If you want the questions answered, you must let go of the past that is keeping you from them"

I wake up almost immediately after those words were spoken. I jolt up and find myself in my bed with Carl sleeping peacefully beside me with his hand in mine. He wakes up as soon I do and sighs in relief.

"Thank god you're awake." He yawns. I smile and grip his hand a little tighter.
"How long was I out for?" I ask.

"A few hours maybe? You had another episode. They're getting worse." He explains.

"I know. I'm sorry." I sigh as I rest my back against the backboard of the bed. Carl sits up and holds both of my hands.

"You have to tell me what it is that's inside your head. I want to help. We all do. We need you. Don't go rogue like Dad did after Mom." He pleads.
I begin to shake again, but I manage to keep it together by breathing slowly.

"Take all the time you need. I can tell how hard it is for you to talk about. Squeeze my hand if you feel another one coming on, I'll try my best to calm you." He adds, stroking the back of my hand with his thumb.

"This was different from the rest of the dreams I've had. The others were just Debbie and Mom yelling things, making me feel guilty about their.. passing." I explain. I grip Carl's hand tightly. Don't panic. Keep going.

"This one I was on the floor of a white place. I couldn't breathe. Debbie was on my chest and I couldn't get up. Then Mom came and put more weight on my chest. They said that they would never forgive me, and melted in front of my eyes." I begin to tear up and shake a little at this point.

Carl wraps his arms around me and pulls me into a warm embrace, calming me down almost immediately.
"Keep talking, you're doing amazing." He whispers.

"I couldn't watch them melt for long so I closed my eyes, and when I reopened them, I was chained to the floor by my ankles in a white place that looked endless. There was a key a few meters in front of me but the chains were too small for me to walk over and grab the key." I explain as I rub my ankles, still feeling the cold metal trapping my ankles.

"In the distance I saw my lab." I add.
"From Alexandria?" He asks, to which I nod in response.

"I heard a voice say 'If you want the questions answered, you must let go of the past that is keeping you from them' but I'm not sure what that means. I think my dreams might be telling me something." I say.

"Maybe they aren't dreams. Maybe they're visions." He replies.
"I don't think so. I'm not a superhero." I roll my eyes.

"You don't need to have superhuman abilities to have déjà vu. Your self conscious might be telling you something." He explains.

"Yeah but what is it trying to tell me exactly?" I ask him.
"Maybe that's just for you to figure out for yourself." He replies. I smile and look out the window and notice that it's dark outside.

"Jeez you weren't kidding on how long I slept for." I laugh.
"Let's get some sleep, maybe you will be able to get an idea on what you're supposed to do next." He smiles, to which I nod in response.

We lay back down in the bed and Carl wraps his arm around me, making me feel so safe. I feel like we could stay like this forever. I wish we could. But it's not gonna happen. Not yet anyways. With those thoughts, I slowly close my eyes and fall back asleep, hopefully into a dreamless sleep.

~ We come to the strange conclusion, that in madness lies sanity.. ~
- Alan Watts