The Light Fades

The light fades but the wick still burns.
The world moves slower but it still turns.
You fight the current of a thrashing sea.
You fight for a stronger will to be.
Holding on to those who hold you tightly back.
Surrounded by love, something you'll never lack.
Whenever you feel the flame give way to darkest night.
Reach out your hand and step into our light.
We will always be here to brighten your day.
To offer you strength in any way.
Even the bravest soldier has moments of doubt.
You are not alone. If you need, call out.
We give to you, no more than you give to us.
You'd offer your flame and expect no fuss.
So accept the fact that we are here.
We give you support because to us, you are dear.

Blink

Life is but a blink of the eye.
We are born and we will die.
No one knows how long the blink will last.
If it will be long.  If it will be fast.
Don't waste a moment on regret or doubt.
Live in the moment. Never forget what life is about.
Our time is undetermined.
Waiting for tomorrow is unwise.
You go to bed thinking Someday.
But someday you won't rise.
So take hold of each moment and cherish them today.
For tomorrow isn't guaranteed.  The end could possibly be, only a blink away.
                                   - V. Blood

Merle Dixon Fan Fiction: The In Between: Part 2

The pain was excruciating as the saw tore into the flesh of Merle's wrist.  The only thing keeping him attached to the conscious world, was his desire to exact revenge on those that had forced him to disfigure himself in such a way.  "I'll fuckin tear him to pieces." he yelled as the saw began to scrape against the bone.  "I'll rip him limb from limb"  Merle paused for a second as another wave of nausea emerged in his throat.  Taking a deep breath and releasing it with an agonizing growl, he continues with the tortuous mutilation needed to free himself of his restraints.  "I'm gonna find Daryl and we'll mess that cop up. And his pet Afro-American"  A jolt of pain shoots through him as Merle manages to crack through the first of the two large wrist bones.  So far, the belt was keeping the blood loss to a minimum but that didn't matter to the hungry mob on the other side of the stairwell door.  As soon as the first drop of Merle's blood hit the rooftop, it was like a dinner bell had gone off.  Any second now that chain holding them in the stairwell was going to snap and Merle was determined to not still be there when it did.

His head started to spin as he feverishly fought with the hand saw to finish his task.  Staring down at his half attached hand, Merle started to feel detached from what was taking place.  His mind started to drift as visions of the pre-apocalyptic world started to flow in as quickly as his energy was flowing out.  Young Daryl looking up at him whenever he was about to head out on the road again.  "Stupid kid.  I ain't got time for your little snot nose followin me around."  He recalled yelling back as he would walk out the door leaving his younger sibling alone.  Weeks would go by, sometimes months before Merle would swing back home and Daryl would be right back up his ass again.  "Go away" he'd shove his brother down on the floor.  "I'm not here to play with you."  No matter how hard he'd push that little shit away, he'd keep after Merle whenever he could.  And just like every other time, Merle would leave.  It wasn't until their mother went and burnt herself up smoking in bed that Merle had to deal with his little brother more.  As the only living relative, Merle was all Daryl had left.

SNAP...went the second bone and the new wave of agony reels Merle back to the present.  "GOD DAMMIT!!!!!"  With one more violent shove of the saw, Merle's hand falls to the rooftop and he is free. "Hallelujah" Merle's eyes immediately look up toward the sky "Not giving you any thanks"  Oh hell no.  I did this without your help."  He waves the bloodied saw at the sky. "I did this.  I ain't owing you nothin!!"    He throws down the saw and pulls himself up shakily to his feet.  Quickly he grabs a few tools and a rag from the tool bag and presses it tight over the wound before making his way to the stairwell on the other side of the roof.  The door opens and Merle looks back to the other door where the rotted arms were still fighting to get at him.  "Kiss my ass freaks!"he yells over.  "Nobody is eatin Merle Dixon."  He steps into the stairwell and moves cautiously down the steps as the door closes behind him.

Merle Dixon Fan Fiction: The In Between-Part 1

The hot Georgia sun beat down on Merle's back as he stretched and struggled to reach the small hand saw just beyond his fingertips.  The sound of hungered groans forcing him to push himself harder to the point that he literally felt his shoulder begin to dislocate.  Looking up toward the door, he could see the rotting fingertips wedging their way out onto the scorching rooftop.  "You ain't gettin' me!" he yelled. "You hear me?  I'm nobody's dinner!"
The growls grew louder at the sound of Merle's voice and he jumped  propelling his body the small distance needed to latch his fingertip over the handle of the saw.  "Alrighty now, that's it.  Come to daddy"  Merle's face lights up victoriously as he maneuvers the saw toward him.  "No dead freaks gonna get me."  He grasps the handle and slides back out from under the water pipe he was handcuffed to.  "Wait til I get my hands on that pig." he growls as he sits up and moves the saw over the chain of the handcuff. "Leave me here like an animal tied on a leash? I'll put him on a leash and tie it to the back of my bike.  A nice drive through downtown Atlanta will show him not to mess with me."  He smiles at the thought and begins to move the blade of the saw back and forth across the chain. 
After a few moments, Merle's smile fades away when he realizes the chain is unaffected.  He glances back up at the stairwell door and a set of deadened eyes peer back through the still chained doorway.  "What are you lookin' at?" Merle yells as he tries even harder to cut himself free of the handcuff.
The sun's heat combined with the extra effort begin to take its toll on Merle as his vision blurs for a second.  With his free hand, he rubs his eyes until his vision clears.  "I told you freaks.  I AIN'T SUPPER"
The door rattles loudly as even more of the undead begin to press against it from the stairwell.  Merle's eyes race around the rooftop and then back over to the contents of the tool bag spilled on the ground.  "Think Merle"  He bangs the palm of his free hand to his forehead as he tries to think of an escape plan.  "Think Dammit!  You ain't going out like this....THINK!"
The saw still in his grip, knicks across Merle's forehead and gashes a small line into his skin.  "SHIT!" he scowls and drops the saw at his side.  He rubs his hand against the warm trail of blood he feels rolling down his face and laughs.  "Stupid piece of shit saw"  He looks at the blood on his hand and then down to the saw. "Sure.  Now you'll cut." he shakes his handcuffed hand causing it to rattle against the pipe.  "You won't cut the god dam cuff but you'll cut me."
The growling from the stairwell intensifies in response to the added noise from the rattling chain.  Merle looks at the nearby threat and his eyes move over to his hand locked into the cuff before looking down to the saw.  "You'll work on me...but not the cuff"  He shakes his head as he looks back up at the doorway again. "No" still shaking his head as he looks around the rooftop desperately as the idea formulates in his head.  "What else choice do I got?"  he questions himself out loud.  "Sit here and be a freak buffet?"
As if on cue, a loud bang comes from the doorway as it is pressed aggressively from within the stairwell.  Several arms grabbing wildly into the free rooftop air as the increasing crowd of undead tries to force down the barrier between them and their meal.  "Ah hell no!" Merle exclaims as he quickly unbuckles his belt and begins to pull it from the loops of his worn jeans.  He runs through his plan in his head as he tries to remember all the survival skills he's learned in his lifetime. 
He takes one last look over at the doorway before solemnly nodding his head with defiance in his eyes.  "You aren't finishing me"
Swiftly, Merle wraps the belt around his forearm and straps it tight to cut off the circulation to his restrained hand.  Reaching into his back pocket, he pulls out a small wallet and puts it into his mouth before biting down hard.  He laughs insanely to himself when he notices the discoloration of his fingers and realizes the similarity to the fingers trying to claw their way through the stairwell door and into his skin.  "Ain't that a bitch?" he chuckles through clenched teeth as he lifts the saw and presses it to his numbing wrist.

The Visitor

When first I felt the icy chill
I moved away from the window sill.
The coldness followed me across the floor.
Perhaps a draft from yonder door.
But something inside me knew I was not alone.
I felt a shiver down to the bone.
My eyes darted from left to right.
Expecting to see something in my sight.
Down the hall I heard a sound.
My heart jumped as I turned around.
The room down there had been so long shut.
A distant memory that had been cut.
The door knob turned all by itself.
My knees were shaking.  I doubted my health.
No one was in there. Not since he had passed.
Memories long forgotten were returning fast.
A whispered voice rang through my head.
I tried to tell it that he was dead.
 But he kept talking as the door gave way.
And my eyes watched as I began to sway.
 The brightest light blinded my eye.
When I hit the ground, I thought I would die.
When I came to, I was in my bed.
 Not the one I've been using but the one we had shared instead.
I never mentioned what happened to a single soul.
But from that day forward, my heart no longer had a hole.
                                     -V. Blood

Sorry

A simple word.
   Yet often misunderstood.
An easy word.
   Not always used when it should.
A meaningful word.
   It makes you think.
What brought it about.
   What event does it link.
A hopeful word.
   When it is believed.
A desperate word.
   When something lost needs to be retrieved.
A helpless word.
   When nothing else can be said.
An unforgiving word.
   When what you love is dead.
                             - V. Blood

The Reflection

As the girl looked into the mirror
All she could see
Was the world and everything
Around the reflection.
Even though the reflection was me.
                             - V Blood

The Mist

The Mist swept up around the room.
It's sense was eerie. It warned of doom.
I felt it's grasp around my soul.
Pulling me down into a darkened hole.
Urge to run. Urge to take flight.
Yet it drained my energy and took away my fight.
My being cried and screamed in vain.
My struggle was ending as my body gave into the strain.
A voice then echoed throughout my mind.
The last coherent thoughts it did find.
This can't happen, it started to scream.
It was vaguely familiar, or so it seemed.
It suddenly became clearer than when it began.
Crying, You can't leave. We had a plan.
You promised to love me til death do us part.
You said nothing about leaving right at the start.
If you leave me now, what will I do?
I shall become nothing if I lose you.
Slowly as your tear rolled down my cheek,
Other senses I began to seek.
For if I could feel your tear and hear your voice,
Then with Life or Death I may still have a choice.
I focused on you, on every word.
You were the sweetest sound I've ever heard.
You took hold and pulled me through,
The darkest Mist I ever knew.

                       - V Blood 1998