1994~Kai Parker

Stuck

   My eyes adjusted from the glaring white that had blinded them just moments earlier as I slowly registered my surroundings and gathered my bearings. It was Mystic Falls, completely empty save for a breeze rustling the leaves of the gently waving branches of the trees overhead. Well shit.

   Noticing a branch down by my feet, I uttered "Motus!", and I was pleased to find that it promptly shot backwards. I still had my powers here, wherever here was.

                                                                       ***

   "What are you doing?"

   I sighed in frustration as my eyes popped open to see Michael standing in front of me, his brow furrowed in confusion.

   "I was meditating, and you just broke my concentration."

   "But you were muttering."

   "I was reciting an inner peace mantra. What's with the third degree?"

   "Jeez, sorry. You just seem kind of...off lately. I've known you since birth so I'm pretty sure that I'm qualified to tell you that you've been acting weird."

   "Well, thank you for enlightening me to my strange behavior. I've just been feeling stressed out with school and such. I'm fine, I promise."

My answer didn't appear to satisfy him, but he seemed to realize that was all he was going to get from me.

   "Alright. Well, I'm leaving to go back to Whitmore but Mom and Dad aren't back yet. Are you sure that you're ok staying here by yourself until I get back?"

   "Michael, I've been staying home alone since I was 14. I can handle it. Just hurry back to Whitmore and Maaaaddiiiee."

His face flushed slightly at the mention of his girlfriend's name.

   "Fine fine fine. I'll go. Lock the door behind me."

   "I will!"

I followed him out and waved goodbye before I shut and locked the door. Perfect. I have the whole house to myself for at least another hour. I smiled in anticipation as I gathered all of my candles onto the hardwood floor of the foyer and arranged them into a circle.

   "Phasmatos incendia."

Each candle was instantaneously lit alight, casting eerie shadows that shifted with their flickering onto the wall.

   "I'm going to find you V, I swear."

I laid in the middle of the circle as I started to recite the incantation. My heart began to race at the thought of what I was about to do, but I took a deep breath to try and ease its rapid pace. This is for Viv. Do it for her. Soon, I felt my pulse become increasingly slower, and I gripped Viv's necklace before it stopped completely.

                                                                        ***

   "VIIIIV!" I shouted into the quiet. To my great disappointment, I was only answered with unsettling silence.

Shit shit shit. Remembering Viv's necklace in my pocket, I grabbed it and frantically searched for the glow that I had ached to see for months. Nothing. She wasn't here.

    "AHHHH!" I screamed into the empty air.

Tears stung my eyes and ran down my face as I remembered the moment she had given it to me. You'll never lose me as long as you have this, she had told me. It had been my 13th birthday, and she had gifted it to me with the proudest look on her face- at first glance it was a friendship necklace, but she had spelled it so that, no matter where we were, we could always use them to find each other. Now, as I stared at it sans-glow in my palm, I felt truly lost. I had known that this spell was risky -messing with death always was- but I had felt so sure that it would work. Gathering myself back up, I wiped the tears from my face as I shakily drew in a breath and stood upright. I needed to figure out where the hell I was. I sniffled slightly as I walked, angrily swiping my sleeve across my running nose as I cautiously wandered through the town. Soon enough, I was at my house, but it was different; the shutters were painted a strange cornflower blue instead of the stark white they usually were, there were toys scattered all over the yard, and the oak tree that had gotten struck down by lightning 7 years ago was right where it used to be, fully intact. That's...weird. Taken aback by the peculiar circumstances, I slowly made my way to the front porch and swung open the door. The house looked strange, and I backed away from it all as waves of unease ran over me. Something's not right. I need to go back. I quickly recited the return incantation and waited for the bright light to flash around me, but I opened my eyes to find myself unmoved. My stomach turned in fear as panic began to set in. I couldn't understand what had gone wrong, and I tried again. Nothing happened. Oh fuck, fuck FUCK. I felt myself begin to hyperventilate, and before I could calm myself down, my vision began to swirl and swim before everything went black.