Hi Everyone!
Here is the second chapter. Enjoy!
Warnings: violence, minor character death
Kurt Hummel was a regular boy. He was just like everybody else, like the government wanted him to be. Or so he wanted everyone to believe. Because in the reality, Kurt Hummel had a horrible secret, one he couldn't share with anybody: he was gay. Ever since he had been little, he knew that he loved boys.
He remembered his parents' faces when they had figured out. Kurt had been about three years old back then, too young to actually know who he was but there had been signs at the very beginning, so it hadn't been a surprise when Kurt had reached his teenager years and noticed the first signs his body gave every time he met a hot guy. Yeah, there was no mistake, Kurt Hummel was definitely gay.
Although he had had his fears, he had been positive. He had known that once he finished high school, he would move to New York and have a better life, where he could be happy like this, without worrying about how people looked at him. But things had taken a horrible turn a few years earlier, on a day Kurt would never forget.
He had been at home with his dad when he had heard about the new laws, watching the news with his old man. It had seemed so irreal at first, Kurt had thought that it was just a joke. But it wasn't. People like him were in real danger and Kurt had soon learnt what that new law really meant.
The first person he had lost was his friend, Mercedes Jones, a nice girl who had always smiled and supported him. One day, two men had appeared in his school, searching for Mercedes. He hadn't understood it then. He had grown up with Mercedes, she had been perfect just like that. At least for him. Because those people had taken her from the school, telling them that Mercedes had to change. She had been too fat and she had to be cured. Kurt hadn't understood what it meant at first. He had made his research later and made himself believe that it was the best for Mercedes, that her overweight was dangerous and she had to live a healthier life. But then, after months of silence, Mercedes had returned to school. She had been nothing like her old self anymore, she hadn't talked, she hadn't eaten, she had never smiled. She had been just a shadow of herself and she had never told Kurt what had happened to her in that recovery camp. A few weeks later, Mercedes had died. She had been starved for so long, her body couldn't take it anymore. That had been the first time Kurt truly saw how terribly wrong things had become.
Mercedes wasn't the only one Kurt had lost during those years. Artie Abrams, a boy from Kurt's class, another great person had been the next. Artie had been injured in a horrible accident when he had been little, losing the ability to walk and forced to live his life in a wheelchair. Again, Kurt had never thought that it was wrong. Okay, he had been sorry for Artie but it didn't change anything… At least it shouldn't have. Because one day, Artie had disappeared from school and they had never seen him again.
His friends had been followed by too many others. They had even taken Becky, the principal's favourite, because she had had Down syndrome and people like her weren't allowed to live freely in their community. That was the time when Kurt had realized that noone was safe anymore.
As if things couldn't get any worse, he had found out what those people did to parents who tried to hide their children. Once they were caught, they were forced to those camps, just like their children, to go through their own hell and be brainwashed before being released again. Kurt had seen some of those parents. Even if they were allowed to return home and were saved from death, they weren't themselves anymore. Nobody talked about what was going on in those camps but Kurt wasn't stupid. It was enough to look into those lifeless eyes to know that everyone was sentenced to death once they stepped through the gates of the recovery camps. Either their bodies were killed or not, their souls were destroyed for sure.
Kurt didn't need his father to tell him what he had to do. He figured out on his own that once people found out who he really was, they would take him away, just like so many friends of him before. Burt had a long talk with him nonetheless, too worried about his son. They cried a lot that night but they came to an agreement: they wouldn't let that happen to Kurt, so the boy had to act like everyone else. He had to change his look, his behaviour, his habits, everything. Kurt couldn't be himself anymore.
"I hate to do this" Burt said as he looked at his son with so much sorrow in his eyes. "I hate that we have to lie but this is your only chance to survive."
Kurt understood that and was so glad for his father's help. Most parents weren't like him. Some of them were so scared of the consequences that they took their children to the camps against their wills, not risking their own safety. For Kurt, it was worse than what the government did to them. In his eyes, a parent should be like his father, always protecting their children from the world, no matter how hard it was. He couldn't understand how those people were capable of sacrificing their own blood, only to live in safety. As if safety existed in their world…
Burt took his job as the protective father of him very seriously, though. He got Kurt new clothes and taught him how to act around others. He was always very careful not to talk too much about his son and he set up some new rules, all for his son's safety. That was how Kurt Hummel became a completely different person. One that wore flannel shirts with baggy jeans, who didn't care how his hair looked, who didn't like musicals and only listened to 'real' music, mostly to his father's favourites, although he hated all those things like hell. He wasn't himself anymore and it was slowly killing him, but he also knew that it was still better than dying in a recovery camp, away from everything and everyone he loved.
So Kurt Hummel woke up every morning, walked to the mirror and repeated the same words over and over again.
"I'm just a regular boy" Kurt told his reflexion. "I'm like everybody else."
Things got more complicated when his father met one of his classmates' mother, Carole Hudson, and he fell in love with her. Before Kurt could even blink, Carole and her son moved in with them and it made everything a lot harder. Carole's son, Finn Hudson was one of the hottest boys of the school and although Kurt tried his best, it was hard to hide his body's reaction on Finn's sight, especially since they shared the same room. Kurt pulled away from everyone more than before, scared that he would be careless one day and Finn would tell everyone about him. He barely talked to the other boy, never looked at him and just tried to survive the days. It was horrible.
Once Kurt turned 16, he realized that being distant wasn't enough anymore. People asked stupid questions about him since he seemed to be the only one not interested in any girl of the school. It wasn't like he didn't try. He tried to force himself to feel something but it never happened. Girls were beautiful but imagining that he got intimate with one of them… It scared him. He didn't have a choice, though, he knew that people wouldn't stop asking questions and they would come to the right conclusion sooner or later. So Kurt decided to ask one of his classmates out.
Brittany was a nice girl. She was gentle and kind and somewhat stupid as well, so Kurt could fool her for a while, telling her that he wasn't ready for more than kisses since he wanted to wait with sex until his wedding day. Brittany seemed to be fine with that, to Kurt's relief. Kissing her was hard enough, he surely wouldn't have been capable of more. He reminded himself twice a day that he should kiss his girlfriend, he held her hand most of the time and told her how sweet she was. Never more. He didn't want to lie to her, so he never said anything that wasn't true. He never said 'I love you' or how sexy she was. He felt a little less bad this way.
No matter how careful Kurt was, though, he made a mistake. It happened when the new boy, Sam arrived to their school. Sam was a hot blond guy with shining eyes and unnaturally huge mouth, and Kurt fell for him the moment he first saw him. In that moment, he knew that Sam would cause his death one day and he couldn't have been closer to the truth. As much as he wanted to avoid Sam, it was almost impossible. The boy seemed to be everywhere and although Kurt did his best to shut him out of his life, he still wanted to be his friend. Maybe that was what made Kurt weak and careless.
One day, when he was with Brittany at their lockers, waiting for the girl to stop kissing his neck that made him sick, Sam walked down the corridor in front of them, wearing his new jacket he got when he had joined the football team. He walked to his locker and crouched down to get his things – and Kurt couldn't not watch. Sam's body was the most perfect he had ever seen and although he tried to control his body, he lost the battle within seconds. His eyes still on Sam's ass, he gasped, his cock twitching painfully in his pants. It was only a moment, nothing more, but he chose the worst moment possible. Because standing across them, there were a few more cheerleaders, Brittany's friends, and they saw everything perfectly.
Once he realized what he had done, Kurt panicked. He left Brittany without a word and flee from school, knowing that he had to go home as quickly as he could. Damn, he had screwed up everything. Now everybody knew about him and he was pretty sure that it was just the matter of time that someone from the recovery camp just outside Lima would come to visit them. He had to talk to his father to discuss everything before it happened. He still believed that they could find a good explanation but Kurt needed someone a lot calmer to help him with it. So he texted his father and agreed with him that they would meet at home soon.
By the time Kurt arrived, his father was already home – and he wasn't alone. There were two men standing in their living room, listening to Burt's heated speech. Kurt gulped nervously as he stepped inside. That was fast.
"...And just because some kids from my son's school think it's funny to say things like this about him…"
"Dad" Kurt said quietly as he took a step towards his father but the men stopped him.
"Are you Kurt Hummel?" one of them asked.
"Yeah, that's me…"
"You have to come with us" the man told him.
"Why?" Kurt asked, his voice shaking with fear.
"A student from your school reported that you are sick" the man explained.
"Sick?" Kurt asked with wide eyes. "No, that has to be a…"
"Are you telling me that you aren't gay?" the man asked.
Kurt looked at his father for help. These men scared him to death.
"I already told them that it was a mistake" Burt lied easily as he turned to the men. "My son has a girlfriend for God's sake! He can't be gay."
"That's right" Kurt nodded in agreement. "I-I'm in a relationship with a girl. I'm not gay."
"You hid it well, kid, but we know who you are" the other man said.
"We have witnesses" the other nodded.
"Witnesses for what?" Kurt asked.
"You know exactly what we are talking about" the first man replied.
Kurt shook his head. Was it really that easy to send someone to that camp? Because if it was, he could have reported the whole football team and stopped the bullying way earlier...
"That's enough!" Burt said angrily. "I'm not listening to this craziness any longer. Leave my house, immediately."
"Your son has to come with us" the other man replied.
"He won't go anywhere with you" Burt said.
"You are protecting him" the man nodded. "So you know about him."
"This is crazy! You can't send me to that place because some kids made fun of me!" Kurt said desperately.
"Tell us the truth. Are you gay or not?" the man asked impatiently.
"I'm not!" Kurt said quickly. A little too quickly.
To his surprise, the man reached out and grabbed his father's arms, twisted them behind Burt's back and forced him to his knees.
"Are you gay?" he asked again, tightening his grip on Burt's arms. The man cried out in pain and Kurt tried to go to him but the other man held him back.
"I am!" Kurt said. "I am gay, I swear. Just don't hurt my father!"
"Kurt, no!" Burt shouted in fear.
"That's what I wanted to hear" the man holding Burt down said. "Pack your clothes. You are coming with us."
"If you think I will let you take my son…" Burt fell silent again as the man pulled on his arms painfully.
"You too" he hissed into Burt's ear. "You kept your son's sickness secret. You know the laws. You need therapy as well."
"He didn't know about it" Kurt said desperately. Not his dad. He would do whatever these men wanted but he couldn't let his father get hurt.
"I did" Burt replied.
"He's lying!" Kurt shouted in fear, trying to save his father.
"You are coming with us. Both of you" the man holding Kurt back said. "We heard enough. You have five minutes to get your things. Separately."
He let go of Kurt and pushed him forward, towards the stairs. Kurt hesitated for a moment but a quick look into the man's eyes behind his father was enough to know that he would better be quick if he didn't want his dad to get hurt. So he ran into his room, grabbed his bag and pushed some clothes in it, not really seeing what he got from the wardrobe. He tried to block his thoughts because he was so scared that he could barely make his hands move. But he had to hurry, for his father. Whatever was waiting for him, he had to keep his dad safe.
Once Kurt returned, he was restrained by the man from before and it was his father's turn to pack his things for the camp. Burt returned quickly and walked straight to his son to free him. He pushed Kurt behind his back as he faced the men again.
"You will regret this" he said.
"We will see about it" one man said. "To the car."
As Kurt peeked out over his father's shoulder, he saw a gun attached to the man's belt. His eyes widened when he realized what would happen to them if they didn't do as it was told. He grabbed his dad's arm from behind, hoping that he wouldn't do anything stupid. This situation was scary enough without worrying about the possibility of being killed in their own home.
They were forced onto the backseat of the car and within moments, they were on their way to the camp. Their new home for a while, if not the last one they had. Suddenly, Kurt remembered all of his friends he had lost in the past few years. Now there was a chance that he wouldn't return either, on the top of that, he dragged his father with him, only because he had been careless for a brief moment.
"I'm so sorry, Dad" Kurt cried as he threw his arms around his father.
"It's gonna be okay, Kurt" Burt said gently. "It's gonna be okay."
Kurt almost fainted as they got through the huge gates of the camp and the car finally stopped. He heard as the gates were closed behind them. Now there was no way out of here. They were officially prisoners. He held his father's hand as they were ushered out of the car and to the crowd standing in a huge circle in the middle of the camp. There was a man standing in the middle, motioning for them to step forward.
"Kurt Hummel" he read from his papers. "Therapy for now. We will see if you can be cured."
Kurt was shaking with fear. What was that supposed to mean?
"Block 9" the man said in a bored tone. "The father to block 2."
"I will stay with my son" Burt said determinedly.
"No, you won't" the man said. "You will stay with the other parents and be released as soon as you are finished with your therapy."
"What about my son?" Burt shouted as two guards grabbed his arms and led him away, to a few dozens adults on their left.
Burt didn't get an answer at all. Kurt was dragged away as well and led to a few boys about his age. Then the guards turned him around, so he was facing the man in the middle now and left. Kurt wanted to move, to run to his father but the boy beside him grabbed his arm before he could move.
"Don't move" he said.
Kurt was about to ask why they had to stay when he saw them. There was a young couple coming their way, surrounded by about a dozen guards. Kurt didn't understand it at first but as they came closer, he saw what the woman was holding in her arms. A baby. Maybe a few months old, barely visible in her mother's protective arms.
"She is healthy. I swear!" the woman cried.
"Take the child" the man in the middle ordered.
Kurt's heart broke in that moment as the baby was torn from her mother's arms and brought to the man who had to be some kind of leader here. He was barely able to stand on his shaky legs as he heard the desperate cries of the parents and watched as the baby was placed onto the ground in front of the leader.
"They-they can't…"
"Shh" the boy beside him said. "Don't watch. Keep your eyes on the ground."
Kurt had a bad feeling that he better did as he was told. He looked down at the grass in front of him but he still couldn't shut the voices out.
"She's just a baby!" the little girl's father shouted.
"Please, don't take her away from us. Please" the mother begged beside him.
Kurt started crying. It was too much for him. The boy beside him must have seen it because he reached out to grab Kurt's hand and squeezed it.
"It's gonna be over soon" he whispered. "Just hold on. You can do this."
A loud bang echoed through the camp and for a few seconds, everything went silent. Kurt couldn't hear the cries of the desperate parents or their scared child anymore. For a few brief second, nothing moved. But then, at the same time, all the voices returned.
No, Kurt realized. He couldn't hear the baby's voice anymore.
"It's over" the boy beside him said, his voice full of sorrow and anger – just how Kurt felt. "We are allowed to return to our room."
There was so much Kurt wanted to say but he was still in shock. Those men had just killed a baby… A small, innocent child. Although he didn't see the body, too scared to move at first, he was pretty sure that the baby was dead. How could the others act like nothing happened? How could they think about leaving that poor family when something this horrible happened to them? Why didn't they fight? Kurt's head already hurt from the unanswered questions.
"What about…"
Kurt finally gathered his strength to look up but the boy reached out and forced him to look away before Kurt could see something horrible.
"You don't want to see" the boy said quietly.
Kurt looked straight into his hazel eyes instead and for a brief moment, he forgot about his fears. There was something in those eyes that made him believe that everything would be alright, although his mind knew that it was a huge lie. He believed his heart this time, though. The reality was too painful, too much for him. He had avoided this for so long, he didn't want to accept that he had failed and now he was in great danger, just like everyone else in this camp. He could end up like that baby...
"I'm Blaine" the boy said.
"Kurt" Kurt said shakily, surprised that he could form a proper word.
"Welcome to the camp of hell, Kurt" Blaine said.
Camp of hell… From that little time he spent in there, Kurt already knew that the name suited the place perfectly. No matter how people called it, it wasn't a recovery camp. It was prison. Probably the last place Kurt saw in his life.
He closed his eyes as Blaine led him away form the others and towards a wooden house nearby. It was so hard to leave without making sure his dad was alright but Kurt was scared that he would see more than he was prepared for. He definitely wasn't ready to see the terrifying truth, so he kept his eyes closed until they reached the house, trying not to collapse too soon. A strong voice in his head told him that he didn't want to do such thing in front of the guards.
