Hunter Chapter 22: Just a Moment

This is a Skyrim/Alan Wake 2 fic. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

This chapter has been edited due to content. If you want to see the unedited version GO HERE.

JASH

I held back a sigh at Alex’s reaction. It wouldn’t calm him down at all if he saw any amount of anger from me. No matter how small of an amount it was. He had always had a hard time accepting that anything good could happen in his life. So of course he would think that I was attempting to lie to him.

“I came for you, Alex.” I repeated. “I traveled from Nirn to get to you.”

“No one would waste that kind of energy on me.” Alex replied.

“I love you, Alex. We had nine years of a happy marriage together.”

The weight and scent of his blood on me nearly made me vomit. I wanted to find the nearest lake and wash myself clean. But right now I couldn’t. Both because that would give the wrong message to Alex and my race didn’t exist in this reality. Though I could cast an illusion spell so no one would notice…

“But things didn’t work out.” Alex guessed before I could continue. “You divorced and it was messy. So now since you can’t talk to him, you came to me. What am I supposed to apologize for?”

I shook my head and tried to gather my thoughts into something he would understand.

“We were at a festival when the attack happened.” I said. “We should have known it was about to occur. But we didn’t. We were enjoying the festival when…when they attacked and he died. I took to heavy drugs and drinking afterwards. It wasn’t until someone I cared for suggested I try to find you again. When I started to search for you I…I found myself again.”

I put my hand on his chest and I heard Alex’s breath catch in his throat. It felt so good to feel him again that it was painful.

“There isn’t a life I can live without you, Alex Casey.” I said as I removed my hand from him.

“I’m not him, Jash.” Alex said with composure that I could tell took a lot of effort.

“I know you’re not him. But I look at you and I fail to see a difference. You are not him and yet, in the ways that matter, you are.”

“You just met me.”

“I’ve known you for nine years.”

“You said there are differences between your late husband and me. You might not like what is different about me.”

I nearly burst out laughing. He was too hard on himself and thought that he wasn’t deserving of love. But under that rough façade there was a man more deserving of love than most. If only it was easier for him to see that.

“You are a good man to these eyes.” I said. “These eyes could never see you as anything but a lover, uxith-beeko.”

I looked at Alex’s lips and decided to be much more forward with my affections. But as I was about to lean forward, I tensed. Something was wrong and I needed to make sure it wasn’t merely a sense of unease.

In front of me was an Alex. Not an echo, but one set to explode. What had I done wrong?

I looked at Alex holding his gun as he tried to find what had disturbed me. He turned to me and then followed my gaze.

“I didn’t time the jump correctly.” I said with a hiss. “This is the first time I used this method to get anywhere. It is safer for me to stay in the reality I call home and so it isn’t ours to have much experience in this area.”

“Did you have another way here?” Alex asked.

“When I found you the first time, I used another method.”

“Why not use it this time?”

“I burned that bridge, as they say.”

I focused on keeping my breathing steady as another Alex appeared once the first exploded. I knew soon there would be such a cacophony of death that I wouldn’t be able to focus enough to talk to Alex.

“I’m going to be pulled through time once more, my love.” I said and tried to smile at Alex. “I can’t stop what has been put into motion.”

“You love me. Don’t you?” Alex said.

“I love you and this isn’t good-bye. This method of transportation is meant to lead me to you.”

“Then why are you leaving?”

“I guess fate wanted our first meeting to be tragic.”

Before I could see his reaction, I was pulled away into an all encompassing ocean of blood, guts, and skin.