Me: I'm going to take an undetermined hiatus from writing.
My Muse: There's another challenge.
Me: Where are we going?
As anyone who has read my stories knows by now, I love these challenges...especially the shorter ones. I'm excited to present the first chapter of "Eight" to you. You *might* want to read at least the first and last chapter of "Nine" to understand what's going on. I'm sure at some point in time in this story, I will explain what's going on (I honestly have no idea what's going to happen besides the first chapter of this).
Today's word prompt is DECISION: the act or need of making up one's mind.
Without further ado...
"Are you alright?" he asked gently and then gasped when he really got to see the woman. "I know you."
"You do," she answered. It was a statement.
"He misses you," Kurt said.
"I know," the woman said. "And I'm not away from him in every reality, just the one you visited."
"What happened? Can you tell me?" Kurt asked.
"Can you be more specific?" she asked. "A lot of things happened while you were gone."
"During the song we danced to after we fished," Kurt clarified. "The one about only you and dreams and magic and destiny."
"'My One and Only You?'" she asked, though she knew that was exactly the moment he was asking about.
Kurt nodded.
"What do you think happened?"
"Well, it felt like something inside of us connected," Kurt explained. It was another one of those things he and Blaine had never talked about and just believed in. "Something… Not magic or anything like that. Something like it though. I'm not explaining this very well."
"I think it means that, if you choose, you can keep finding him if you want," the woman said.
"How am I back here?" Kurt asked after a few moments, trying to wrap his mind around what she was telling him. "The last thing I knew we were going to sleep, and the next moment I was standing there on the bridge."
"Look under your cuff," she said with a smile.
Kurt unbuckled his cuff, and there, on his wrist—was the number 8.
"So, the question is, are you up for another adventure?" she asked, holding the vial of blue shimmering liquid.
He sat there, looking at the vial of liquid, knowing exactly what it would do. Was he ready to leave again? Without it being a conscious decision, he nodded his head.
Before he grabbed the liquid, though, a thought came to him. "I have a question. Well, two, actually."
"I will answer if I can," the woman said.
"First, was my mom really okay while I was gone?"
The woman smiled. "She was. Your note soothed her worries. And, if I'm not mistaken, she was able to sense that you were alright, wherever it was you went."
Kurt smiled, too. "I felt her, too. I wasn't sure, at the time, if what I was feeling was real or if it was made up in my mind."
"A wise man once said—and I'm paraphrasing—that even though you imagine something, it doesn't mean it's not real. Our imaginations are wonderful things, and if what happened you did imagine, did it help you at the time?"
"It did," Kurt whispered, in awe of the wisdom the woman had just spoken. "I never really thought about it in those terms. Even if my dad in that world imagined I was there—which I really was—but even if he had imagined it, it made him happy."
Kurt was quiet for a few moments, and the woman allowed him to gather his thoughts. "Okay. My second question is… Is there a Blaine in this world?"
"What do you think?" the woman asked with a smile.
"Well, I don't know," Kurt said, a little frustrated. "I mean, you're here. So, that would make me believe that there might be. But then, if there is, why do I need to drink a vial of liquid to find him? I could just go travel. Do I need to go travel? Is that the lesson I need to learn? Is he always going to be the one I find when I drink it? Are there others? I don't want there to be others. I always want it to be him on the other side."
"Kurt, take a breath," the woman said firmly. After Kurt had calmed down, the woman spoke again. "I cannot answer any of those questions save one. You said your heart connected with Blaine's, correct?"
"I felt it," Kurt whispered.
"I would trust that connection, then," she said. "You do not have to drink this liquid. It is yours if, and only if, you want it. You have the choice to stay here and see if maybe there is a Blaine in this world. You are welcome to drink the vial and go see if there are other Blaine's out there, wherever it takes you. You are in control of this, Kurt."
I know in my heart that if I drink this, I'm going to find him. And I don't want the chance of staying here and him not being here. He took the vial from the woman and kissed her cheek. "Thank you. I'm running home, and then I'm off to find him again."
"Good luck," the woman said, the slightest sparkle to her eyes. "I'll see you later."
Kurt was up and off the ground before either of them could say anything else. He ran home, took a shower, wrote a note to his mom, and packed his bag. It felt almost like last time, only different, more frantic even. He wanted to get to Blaine right now. He didn't want to do this part, though he knew he had to. Well, not necessarily had to. It was important to him that he do this, though. He wanted his things with him. He wanted to be clean when he got to wherever he was going. As he put his clothes on and buckled his cuff over the new number, he sighed.
Kurt was lost in thought and didn't realize how much time had passed until he heard fireworks booming outside. The festival must be getting ready to end, he thought. I need to get out of here before Mom gets back. I think she'd understand if I told her, and maybe one of these times, I will. This time, though, I'm just ready to get back to him.
He penned his note to his mom, much in the same manner he'd done before, and made sure everything was how he wanted it. His pack was strapped to his back. His note was in plain sight for his mom to find. His cuff was securely around his wrist.
Kurt took a breath and unstoppered the vial.
"Here I come, Blaine," he whispered and drank the contents down.
Just like last time, it happened in the blink of an eye. Unlike last time, when Kurt found himself atop a hill and looking down on an unfamiliar city, this time, he was looking out over a body of water and storm clouds were overhead.
Before he could gather his thoughts, the clouds above opened, and rain was downpouring. He looked around, panicked, the rain so hard that it made it hard to see anything. He thought he heard a voice behind him, though he couldn't be sure where exactly it was coming from.
Kurt was terrified. Within a matter of seconds, he had gone from being hopeful and optimistic to being drenched and lost with absolutely no visibility to even begin to find shelter. That's when it happened.
There was a strong hand on his shoulder, and when he turned around, he started sobbing. The person with him looked very concerned for the wellbeing of Kurt and was trying to speak to him, though with the rain and Kurt's crying, Kurt couldn't hear him. He did, however, understand that he was being pulled from where he was standing, and Kurt followed, trying to calm himself down in the process.
The person who had found him must have known where he was going because, within a couple of minutes, they were standing inside a building, the lights flickering from the storm.
"Are you okay?" Kurt's rescuer asked.
Kurt nodded that he was.
"Can you talk?" the rescuer asked.
"Yes," Kurt said, his voice somewhat hoarse from the sobbing he'd done.
"Good," the rescuer said, and his features became hardened. "Can you please tell me, then, what you're doing on my island?"
Kurt was caught off guard by the rescuer's harsh tone. Have I just made a huge mistake? he thought.
A/N: Who was it that found Kurt and why are they being so mean? Find out tomorrow…