Chapter Twenty-One: Intermission II - Smoke and Mirrors
"This is my word, this is my way,
show me a sign, sweep me away,
this is my word, heartbreaker, gatekeeper,
I'm feelin' far away I'm feelin' right there.
Deep in my heart, deep in my mind,
take me away, take me away…"
She watched the cops cart them in and it was like a slap to the face.
First, Carol; she was beaten and bloodied and Beth almost didn't recognize her. They brought her into exam room two, Edwards ran in afterwards. And then, then came him.
Michael.
She'd been on her way to kill him. Not Michael; Edwards. She had a shiny pair of scissors down by her side and she was ready, she was going to do it, but then her past caught up to her in the most unsuspecting of ways.
Michael, like Carol, was equally as dirty; not as beaten, but still bloody and delirious. Half awake, half asleep, mumbling about walkers and gunshots and Carol. He didn't see her as they carried him into the room across from Carol's and despite the shock of seeing him, seeing both of them after all this time… she was glad.
He didn't know what these people were like. Use everything you can use. A motto, a mantra, words they lived by. They were manipulators.
Dawn was a manipulator. And she didn't want her anywhere near them.
Beth snuck into his room that night.
She'd heard Edwards talking earlier; he'd gotten a puncture wound to the left side, along with other scrapes and bruises and bumps littered all over his body. She sat down beside his bed, in the dark, and she held his hand. He'd been given a sedative so Edwards could patch him up.
The room was quiet; there was no hum of the hospital machines because he was deemed unworthy of them. He could breath fine on his own, only needed an IV drop and some bandages and he should be fine in the morning. That's what Edwards said.
Not like she believed him. She had to go see for herself.
And there he was. Lying in that bed, asleep, almost peaceful. She hoped his dreams were allowing that, but she doubted it. Sleep for him was either dreamless or filled with demons.
She pushed his bangs away from his face. There was a gash on his temple, bandaged up but still there. His face was so weary, crinkled by his dreams, and she hated it. Hated how hurt he was, how he'd been through hell and back probably looking for her…
He laid there and she made a promise to herself. That she'd be strong; be the best she could. Michael was hurt, Carol was hurt. They were in no condition to fight.
But she was.
So she'd fight. For them, for her father, her sister. For herself.
An hour after Beth made her promise, Michael woke up.
"Dream maker, dream taker,
open up my mind,
all I believe, is it a dream,
that comes crashing down on me?
All that I hope, is it just smoke and mirrors...?"