This is a double shift day. There will be one more upload today: This Little Light of Mine, chapter 4.

"Let Me Tell You A Story"

4. As Far As The Eye Can See

Kurt had looked around the faces handy. He hadn't been sure if he'd even end up participating, but then the idea had come to him and he thought 'why not.' He wasn't completely sure the whole experiment wouldn't crash and burn or degenerate before long, so he might as well fit in his story first.

"Alright, other passengers shipwrecked… Mercedes, Tina… Finn… Santana, and… Puck," he decided and announced.

"Okay, wait, was Puck driving, because he's a crap driver," Santana pointed. Puck threw his hands out as though to protest.

"No, you are," Mercedes confirmed, with nods following from Quinn, and a few others. He frowned and sat back.

"It wasn't his fault," Kurt decided. "There was a storm, torrential rain and waves slinging the small vessel around like a toy… and then it crashed against a rock, everyone was thrown free, into the water… to drown, to live… who knew?"

X

Kurt's story

He broke the surface of the water with a gasp and a desperate gulp for air. The water was not calmed yet, and he was having to deal with waves and current carrying him, rain still blinding him, wind, thunder, lightning… chaos. He had no bearings, no idea if he was even near land of any kind, and then… a scream.

It gave him a shock, enough to get him to look around, and then he thought he saw something. With so much happening all around, he couldn't tell where the scream was coming from, so what he saw was all he had to go on. His limbs were already water logged and exhausted but he was spurred on by adrenaline and the need to survive, so he made himself swim, looking constantly to make sure he didn't lose sight of…

"Tina!" he screamed, recognizing her now. She wasn't hearing him, but he continued. He just barely caught her in time, keeping her from sinking. Now it was two of them bobbing in the water, and nowhere to go… Maybe they were better off sinking now…

He didn't remember much, only that at one point he opened his eyes and he found the sun, blue skies… He stared at it for some time, like his mind was not awake yet. But then he could feel sand sticking all over him and under him, and he began to look.

A beach… He was on sand, a long stretch, but ahead there was the water and behind him trees and foliage, and… and he was on land.

He pulled himself up, legs needing a couple tries before he could stand on them. He batted blindly at the sand on him to it would fall off, but he kept looking, and up the beach he saw them. A couple were starting to stir and rise as well. Puck, Mercedes… both worse for wear as he was, but alive. And then there were the three forms lying motionless in the sand.

He had dashed to Tina immediately, having to see she was alright, after he'd pulled her from the water. When he had her coughing and blinking, he looked to the others. They had done the same, and soon Santana and Finn were also awake.

They had all gathered after that, and they had done their best to piece together what had happened, where they were, but one thing was clear: they were shipwrecked, with no way to call for help. They would go searching for food, wood to build a fire, and people. The first two they would find, but of the third there were none that they could see. More than that, they couldn't discern any sort of man-made structures… The island was deserted.

Days began to pass. They built fires in hopes to be seen, but there was a slim chance of that. And so the talk among the group turned to building a raft, a boat, something to get them off the island and back home… All but one.

Once the trauma of the wreck had worn off, Kurt had begun to feel… at ease. Life here, he found, was so stripped of all the stresses which had once weighed heavy on his shoulders, and he also found that any mention of going home met his soul with discomfort. By the fifth day he knew… he didn't want to go back, so he wouldn't.

The others had declared him a fool, coward, insane… Once he had assured them he would still help them build the raft so they would go if that was what they wanted to do, that had stopped, and instead they would ask him to come along. But his mind was made up.

It took them a few more days to gather the materials and assemble the raft. The day the thing was ready to hit the water and the task turned to gathering food for the journey, it became clear they would be gone soon, and he would begin his life alone. He helped them sail off, watched the raft grow smaller and smaller until it was a dot, and then… he blinked and it was gone.

The day was a peaceful one, and he was at ease. The island had breathed life into him the way the city never could. He could be happy here… even alone. Only he wasn't.

He had heard a branch snap and he turned to see the figure emerge from the woods. The young man's hair was dark and fell over his head in curls. His clothes were tattered and worn, and he had no shoes. Kurt was surprised by his appearance, but he wasn't afraid; he approached him.

"Who are you?" the man asked.

"My name is Kurt. My ship wrecked and I found myself here," he explained. "Is that what happened to you, too?"

"A long time ago. But I'm the only one left, I thought I was alone. I saw you and your people, but I couldn't…" he bowed his head in shame. Kurt came nearer.

"What's your name?"

"Blaine," he introduced himself, looked around. "Your people?"

"They're gone. It's just me now… and you." Blaine looked back to him; he had missed companionship. "I guess we can be 'alone' together. That is if you would like that," Kurt offered. The boy looked at him and smiled, offering his hand.

"Let me show you the island."

X

Kurt couldn't get over the smile on Blaine's face as he finished his story, and he returned it.

"Alright," he looked to Rachel, the others. "I'm done, now who's next?"

"I can go," Sam raised his hand.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)