A/N: Okay, I may or may not update another story tonight. I only did this one now because I already knew what I was going to have happen in this chapter. xD I hope that's okay with you guys. Thanks for the interest and keep it coming please! I'd love to see what you all think! Anyway, here's chapter two of Photograph! Enjoy!
This was crazy. Kurt and Rachel were now both gone and all because of a camera. Blaine was pulling his hair out and it was only a few minutes after Rachel had snapped the picture. He quickly scooped the camera up off the floor and shoved it back in his bag. He headed for the door.
"Where you going white boy?" Mercedes asked, eyes still staring at the spot on the floor where Rachel had been. Blaine had grabbed both photos and shoved them in his pocket.
"I'm going to talk to the photography teacher. I think there's the photography club this afternoon," he said shortly before turned and making his way out of the room just as Mr. Schue was on his way in.
"Blaine, where are you going?" he asked. Blaine turned and looked at him briefly.
"Emergency. Rachel and Kurt won't be here. I suggest canceling today," he said before turning back around and hurrying out of the room. Mr. Schue just looked at him confused. He was rooted to the spot and lost slightly. He didn't notice the rest of the New Directions standing and gathering their things, heading out of the room until he found that it was suddenly empty.
Finn hurried along the hall and caught up with Blaine. "Hey," he said. Blaine gave him a sidelong glance. He was power walking. "Can I um…have Rachel's photograph?" Finn asked. Without replying, Blaine pulled it from his pocket, slightly crinkled and handed it to Finn. "Thanks," the taller teen said. Blaine nodded.
He hoisted his shoulder bag higher and kept his eyes on the floor. The two walked in silence, drawing ever closer to the photography classroom, where Blaine was sure the club was having a meeting. He could have waited until the next day, sure but now that the camera had taken Rachel too, he didn't think waiting was a good idea. He needed to see the photography teacher as soon as possible.
Footsteps pounding on the floor in the hallway met his ears and Blaine looked up just in time to see a boy running down the hall. He was being followed by a mass of the hockey players.
Blaine's eyes went wide and he felt Finn grab his arm attempting to pull him out of the way. He was quick enough. The boy knocked into him as he ran and Blaine stumbled backward. The camera shifted in his bag and he barely had time to notice it poking out before the hockey players shoved on by with enough force that they sent Blaine slamming to the floor.
The camera went toppling out of his bag and Blaine's ears were filled with the sounds of shouting and laughter and then he heard a shout that came from Finn. his eyes turned just in time to see the camera connecting with the floor, the shutter button being force pressed and…it went off…right in Blaine's face.
Finn wasn't sure how long he stood there staring. The camera had gone off. It had gone off on Blaine and Finn felt like he had consciously blacked out watching the scene. When he regained his composure and reality swam back into place, he found the camera lying on the floor and next to it were two photographs, which kind of confused him.
"Oh no…" Finn whispered. Glancing both ways he found that the hallway was now empty. Creeping forward, he knelt beside the two photographs on the floor. One was the photograph of Kurt and Finn wondered if the camera had somehow forced it to stay behind when it vanished Blaine. The other photograph was of Blaine.
In the picture, Blaine's face was fully of surprise and he had his hands thrown in front of him as though hoping that blocking the camera's view of him would save him somehow.
"Finn?" The boy looked up sharply to see Mercedes, Quinn, and Sam standing in the hallway.
"The camera got him," he said quietly. "The camera got Blaine." They looked at him in surprise. "Hockey players…chasing…boy…shoved…Blaine fell…camera dislodged…hit ground…went off…" he stuttered, not sure what better way to explain.
Quinn carefully approached him and knelt on the floor. She picked up the photograph of Blaine and glanced at the one of Kurt, which Finn was holding in his hand.
"I guess it's up to us now," she said, slowly standing. She held Blaine's photograph out to Finn. The taller boy took it with a sigh and nodded his head.
Sam and Mercedes approached them both. Mercedes gave Finn a reassuring smile. "Come on," she said. "Let's go see the photography teacher." Sam knelt and picked up the camera, holding it carefully in his hands.
"And find a way to make sure this thing doesn't take anyone else's picture," he said. The other three nodded. Sighing resolutely, the four teens headed on down the corridor, intent on speaking to the photography teacher.
Kurt was pacing and Rachel watched him with her arms folded over her chest. She knew that he wouldn't just sit back and watch his boyfriend and their friends try to solve this mystery. On the other hand, they really couldn't do much of anything. They didn't even know where that camera had sent them in the first place.
Rachel opened her mouth to say something when both teens were distracted by another yell. Kurt raised his eyes to the ceiling to see someone – a very familiar someone – come falling into their prison.
"Oh God no!" Kurt cried, rushing over to the figure. Rachel's face had paled.
A groan broke the air and Blaine blinked, looking up at Kurt's worried face. "Kurt?" he asked suddenly. Kurt held back tears. Rachel approached them both and Kurt stuck out his hand, the China casing having grown just a little more down his fingers. When Blaine grasped it to be helped up, he let out a gasp of shock. "Kurt, your hand!" he shouted. Kurt sighed and pointed to one of the statues in the room. Blaine didn't need an explanation to get what his boyfriend was trying to tell him. "That's going to happen to us, isn't it?" he asked.
Rachel was the one who replied. "Unless our friends can solve this and free us, than yes," she said, staring at her own right hand, the very tips of which were starting to turn the white of the China. "How?" she asked Blaine. He didn't need any clarification.
Kurt wrapped the shorter boy in his arms as Blaine let out a shuddering breath. "Finn and I were heading to the photography classroom. After the camera got you Rachel, I decided further information could not wait until tomorrow." He paused and looked at them both. Kurt placed a gentle kiss to his forehead. "Out of nowhere, a boy came running down the hall, the hockey players hot on his heels. They all shoved passed us. Finn tried to pull me out of the way but he wasn't fast enough. I was knocked to the floor. The camera fell out of my bag and the shutter button made contact with the ground. It…it went off."
The three of them elapsed into silence. Blaine clung to Kurt who held him tightly. "Oh God," Kurt whispered. "That means it's up to Finn." Though Rachel loved Finn very much, Kurt did not miss the doomed expression on her face.
After a moment, Rachel plopped on the ground. Kurt mimicked her, pulling Blaine down with him. "Don't worry," Blaine said quietly. "Finn can do it if he puts his mind to it."
They didn't mean to be doubtful of their friend but Finn was such a clueless boy sometimes that they were almost doubtful. But Finn had always been a leader too and Blaine was right. If he put his mind to it, he could do it and though he didn't seem like, Finn had this way of knowing what had to be done to set things right. They just had to stay positive and hope to God that Finn would pull through, that all their friends would.
Rachel looked over at the two boys. "Let's just hope that camera doesn't claim anymore victims." All Kurt and Blaine could do than was nod.
When Finn, Mercedes, Quinn, and Sam reached the photography classroom they didn't bother knocking. They barged in and all the students in the club looked up in surprise.
"Can I help you?" the teacher said in surprise, a hand to her chest.
Finn surged forward, grabbing the camera from Sam's hands. "Sorry to bother you Mrs. Avery," he said. He glanced at the other three for a moment and they all nodded. "But this is kind of an emergency and we wondered if we could talk to you…in private." Finn nervously glanced between the teacher and the students.
For a moment she looked taken aback. But than her eyes saw the camera Finn was holding and she paled, almost as though she recognized the object. Quickly, she turned back to the club. "The rest of the meeting has been canceled, I'm sorry. Something has come up and I must handle it immediately," she said.
The students were very confused. They glanced at each other, shrugged, and made their way out of the room. Mrs. Avery closed the door behind them, resting with her back against it. The four teens looked at her.
"Where did you get that camera?" she asked shortly. Finn furrowed his brow.
"My brother Kurt and his…friend Blaine bought it at an antique store yesterday," he said. "Why?"
Mrs. Avery approached the four of them and held her hands out. Finn reluctantly handed it over and she stood there examining it for a minute. The four teens glanced at each other.
"Do you know something about that camera Mrs. Avery?" Mercedes asked after a few moments of silence. The teacher looked up, a sorrowful expression on her face. She set the camera on her desk and folded her arms.
"Has it taken any pictures?" she asked. Finn and Mercedes looked at each other before the former cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. He sighed sheepishly. "Well?" she prompted.
"Three," he said. Her eyes went wide. "The first one, Blaine took of Kurt yesterday. Kurt was drawn to the camera. The second just this afternoon in Glee Club by my girlfriend Rachel. She snapped a photo of herself before we could stop her. And the last one, just a few minutes ago in the hallway but it was accidental. Blaine had the camera in his shoulder bag. Some hockey players ran by chasing some boy. They shoved Blaine to the floor. The camera fell out and went off when it made contact with the floor. Blaine and I were coming to talk to you when it happened." His voice had fallen to a whisper by the end of his rant.
Mrs. Avery glanced at them for a moment before holding out her hand. "You have the photographs?" she asked. They looked surprised but Finn nodded and handed her the pictures. She looked through the three of them and sighed.
Setting them on the desk next to the camera, Mrs. Avery went around to the back of her desk and opened a drawer. She pulled a rather old looking leather bound book out and sat it on the desk. The four teenagers looked at each other and she beckoned them closer as she threw the book open and searched for a page.
They closed in around the desk as she continued flipping pages until her finger finally landed smack on an image. "There," she said. They all looked down at the old photograph. It was a picture of a very stern looking woman. She had dark hair pulled into a tight bun. But the thing that caught all there attention was what was in her hands. A camera. One that looked exactly like the camera sitting on the desk. Finn glanced from the picture to the camera.
"Oh my God," he whispered, eyes shining. "You think it's the same one?" he asked.
Mrs. Avery looked up. "It has to be. Your friends vanished when the pictures were taken, right?" she asked. Finn nodded. "This is Iris Bellevue, a reported Scottish witch from the 1800s," she said. No one said anything. "It's believed that she put some sort of magic on the camera that she considered her most valuable possession. What little is known about it states that apparently, the camera traps the souls of its subjects in photographs," she went on.
Sam was the one who spoke up. "Souls? But if that's true, shouldn't we have three lifeless bodies rather than three missing people?" he asked. Mrs. Avery looked at him.
"Apparently, it did more than souls. It trapped their whole bodies I guess. I don't know how that camera made it to Lima after nearly one hundred and fifty years but if we don't act fast, your friends may be gone forever."
No one said anything. Fear gripped them all. They could lose Kurt, Rachel, and Blaine permanently? It was Quinn who finally spoke. "What happened to her?" she asked in a quiet voice.
The teacher shrugged. "Nobody knows. One day she just vanished, the camera too. Which is why I can't figure out how it got to Lima."
The four teens looked at each other. Finn took in a gulp of air and gave his head a short nod. "We have to fix this and save Kurt, Blaine, and Rachel. And somehow keep the camera from taking anyone else's picture. Mrs. Avery, will you help us?"
A small smile crossed her face. "I'd be happy to," she said. "Come on, I don't know how much time we have. But we might want to start with the public library," she said. She grabbed her keys and bag and headed for the door. She looked back at the teens for a moment before seemingly thinking quickly. "Go get the rest of your Glee Club. We need all the help we can get. And I warn you, we may have to go to Scotland at some point," she said.
She pulled open the door and headed out of the room. Finn stuffed the camera and photographs into his backpack and followed suit, Sam, Quinn, and Mercedes on his tail.
In an antique store somewhere in Lima, Ohio a little old woman sat huddled in her office. There was a closed sign on the door. Her piercing blue orbs stared into a glass globe sitting on the table.
"Yes Avery, do try and solve this case," she snarked out. A smirk pulled at the corners of her lips. A hand reached up and pulled the gray wig from the top of her head, revealing sleek black hair pulled into a tight bun. A wipe of the face with a towel and smooth pale skin emerged. Finally, the pink of the lips was rubbed free to reveal red lips and her eyes continued to stare into the globe.
Iris stood from the table after a moment, crossing the small room to a shelf. She pulled down a box and propped open the lid. Inside was full of pictures. Old photographs piled on top of each other. On the very top laid one of a blonde girl wearing an apron smattered with dirt.
"Soon Allison, you will be accompanied by three new statutes." A small laugh broke from her lips as she ran fingers over the photograph. "Not that you'll realize that."
Replacing the box's lid, she crossed back to the table with the globe and sat down again. She waved her hands over the glass. "Silly boys, wanting the precious little camera. Well, I tricked you good," she said staring down into the glass that showed two teenaged boys, a teenaged girl, and several statutes in pitch dark, surrounded by foggy clouds. "Too bad I don't have a way to speed up the process," she spat. "Otherwise I would snap my fingers and the three of you would be lost forever." A laugh ripped from her throat.
Folding her hands easily over the table the woman muttered something softly under her breath.
"Hello my children," she said. Immediately, the pale boy looked up.
"Who's there?" he asked. She couldn't help the delighted smile at the sound of fear that crossed her face as she watched the pale boy's nose turn up to the ceiling. His eyes were gorgeous and she almost decided that she wanted to take them for her own. The piercing blues she still had after all these years were a bore and these were so much more fastening and they would change her appearance. But she decided against it. Her motive was not to steal other's eyes, or rather switch them with her own. It was to keep these kids long enough that the China would capture them forever.
A tiny smile crossed her face. "Do you not remember me?" the pale boy's face turned to one of confusion.
"No," he said. The shorter boy, who had been with him in the store the day before, gripped a hold of his arm. The pale boy turned to look at him. A small look of disgust crossed the woman's face.
She kept that out of her voice as she spoke. "You bought my camera from me yesterday."
The pale boy's eyes turned dark. "You don't sound like that kind old lady!" he spat. The other boy looked worried and the girl looked downright confused.
"Kurt?" the girl questioned. The pale boy turned to look at her briefly.
"Not now Rachel," he said. The woman was watching this exchange pleasantly. Oh yes, how could she forget. She knew the two boys' names already. They'd both stated them when speaking to each other the day before. Kurt and Blaine. But the girl was new. Kurt's eyes went back to the ceiling. "Who are you? What do you want with us?"
A laugh ripped from Iris' throat. "My name is Iris Bellevue. And I want to capture you…forever. In due time that little China substance spreading your body will swallow you whole and you will never move or speak again, trapped forever in a mere moment," she said.
She could see now the genuine fear that wrote itself across the three teens' faces. Kurt was the first to regain his composure.
"Not if our friends figure out how to solve this first!" he shouted. She couldn't help it. She laughed.
"My dear boy, your friends would be lucky to even find the first clue to solve this and rescue you. Even with that Avery helping them." She spat the teacher's name with disgust. "Good luck. And enjoy the rest of your short lives," she spat. Just as Kurt opened his mouth to respond, she waved her hand and the image in the globe went out. "Yes, you will need it."
Kurt was now pacing with his arms folded. He didn't know who this Iris was but he was quite sure now that it was because of her the three of them were stuck there. He was scowling and he only hoped that no one else ended up in their lovely little captivity. Though he'd be lying if he said he wasn't grateful that he wasn't alone. And he was even more grateful that he had Blaine there with him now.
Said boy approached him and carefully wrapped Kurt in his arms in an effort to get him to stop pacing. Kurt let a sigh fall from his lips and he carefully shook his head, staring down into the fog and relaxing into Blaine's embrace.
"I miss Finn," Rachel said, rubbing her arms as though she were cold. Kurt looked at her.
"I kind of do too. He is my brother." Rachel suddenly got just a tad bit angry with him. She stamped her foot. "What's wrong with you?"
"He's my boyfriend! And you have yours! I want mine!" Kurt stared at her in surprise. She was getting selfish. Finn wasn't his brother by blood but they were family and didn't Rachel know that family came first? He had every right to want Finn just as much as she did. "I wish he would take a picture of himself with that stupid camera!" she shouted.
Horror crossed both Kurt and Blaine's faces and Kurt furrowed his brow, gently sliding from Blaine's grasp. He marched over to where Rachel was standing and in one swift movement, he slapped her harshly across the face.
"Get a hold of yourself Rachel! We don't want anyone else stuck here with us! Now is not the time to be greedy!" he spat. Rachel stared at him wide-eyed, hand pressed to her still stinging cheek. Finally, a sigh left her mouth.
"You're right, I'm sorry," she said. "I don't know what came over me."
Blaine looked at her for a moment. "Maybe it's the prospect of knowing we might not get out of this," he said quietly, approaching the two of them and wrapping Kurt up in his arms again.
The three of them just stood there, realizing than how real the end seemed to be. They only hoped that their friends would find a way to solve things. And judging by what that woman had said, Mrs. Avery might be more help than some people might have thought to begin with. She obviously knew more than the average photography teacher.
Everything became that much more real.
But the damage of Rachel's wish was already done. Iris had been listening and to the darkened globe she said. "Your wish is my command dear." And she punctuated the statement with a long drawn out laugh.
A/N: So there it is! Let me know what you think! And if you want anyone particular to "have their picture taken" let me know! :) We'll see if the others can keep the camera from fulfilling Rachel's wish, yeah? Reviews make me smile so please leave them! I'll probably be updating another fic tonight. I'll be writing it in an hour or so! See you soon!