~You Give My World Color~ Jlaire

Chapter 8: A New Direction?

Jim

He was swimming in darkness. He felt like himself, but not himself.
An object appeared before him, and it was in the shape of a mirror. It stood up in a wide, oval shape, with the material being black and stony. Where the glass would be, swirls of blues, purples, and even some pinks stirred and glowed.
It grew closer.
The light grew brighter.
Jim could see himself. But then he was gone.
He waited, until he appeared again. But when he did, he wasn't the same.
He stood before the mirror looking at what appears to be himself. But, he was shorter, skinnier. His eyes were a little more livelier than his.
He wore the Trollhunter armor.
Jim stepped back, startled, while the other him did a similar move.
The mirror shattered and it was black once more.

"-im?"
He now felt like he was rising out of the depths of his subconscious. Reality was coming back to him.
"Snap back to reality, won't you?"
Jim blinked, but even he felt like that simple action was stiff and robotic. His tongue was useless against his mouth and the light around his was harsh.
Jim felt so, so tired.
"Master Vendel, I do believe we have overloaded young Jim with information. The boy has been through quite a lot in his lifetime-"
"Oh hush. Just keep him here. I'll be back to him later." Vendel grumbled, turning to leave with the amulet in his hand and his large head shaking.
It was then Jim realized he was in the arms of the big troll ARGGHHHHH, with Blinky looking over him.
"Master Jim, are you well? Can you speak?" Blinky asked.
Speak? I can barely feel my tongue.
Jim posed a look as his response.
"Jim sassy. Funny." ARGGHHHHH heaved a small laugh.
"I am afraid I'm not sure what happened to you, but rest assure we have faith you'll recover." Blinky smiled warmly, like a father would to his son. It made Jim feel more at ease.
"Jim special." ARGGHHHHH muttered, patting Jim's head in approval.
When he felt like he could finally feel his tongue again, he spoke the one word he knew would explain almost everything. "Visions."
This captured Blinky's attention, judging by the way his six eyes lit up and he sat up straighter. "You were having visions, young Jim?" He nodded, still a little loopy but slowly regaining his senses.
"Do you remember anything? What did you see?" Blinky wasted no time asking. It was ARGGHHHHH who put his hand on Blinky's shoulder to stop him.
"Jim tired. Jim need rest. Ask later." He said. Blinky composed himself, looking ashamed, and nodded.
"You're right my friend. Jim, we'll give you some time alone. However, ARGGHHHHH must wait at the door, orders from Vendell. We'll come back in a little bit. Rest well." Blinky briefly rested a hand on Jim's shoulder and then left the room, ARGGHHHHH following behind but staying just outside the stone door.
Jim smiled, a very small one, before it fell and he collapsed to the floor, his head in his hands.
What do I do now?

Claire

She heard a knock at the door.

Claire frowned in curiosity, her spoon pausing in mid air as her head turned to her front door. She was just eating breakfast, going over the chores she had today when the doorbell rang.
It was unusual, but not that unusual. She got up, glancing at the small mirror they had in the hallway as she passed to check herself, subconsciously wondering if it was Jim at the door.
The thought made her walk just a little faster.
But when Claire opened the door, it wasn't Jim she was greeted with, but Mr. Strickler instead.
She was startled, and it showed. "Mr. Strickler? What are you doing here?"
He cleared his throat and looked down to her. "Good morning Miss Claire, please excuse my interruption. I was just wondering if you knew the whereabouts of Jim."
At the mention of his name, she could feel a light dust of blush on her face, but she ignored it. "Jim? I haven't seen him. Why do you ask me?" She raised an eyebrow.
"I sent Jim over yesterday to drop you off the homework you missed when you left early. He hasn't been home since around 6 pm, when I last heard he left for your home. Didn't you see him yesterday?"
Claire felt like she swallowed a drum with the way her stomach dropped and her heart beat rapidly increased.
Her dreamed played out that way, with Jim coming here to drop off her homework. The time matched up too. But that was impossible, right?
Claire put a pause to her thoughts before they could get out of hand. "I've been asleep since around 6 pm yesterday, Mr. Strickler. If Jim came by, I wouldn't have heard him."
"Do you have your homework?"
"No." She lied.
Mr. Strickler frowned, and she could see the concern in his eyes.
"Mr. Strickler, if I may ask, what is your relationship with Jim? You seem to care about him quite a lot. Are you his father?"
Mr. Strickler's gaze became calculated for a second, before his mind came to a resolve.
"Stepfather to be exact." Mr. Strickler assumed the shock on Claire's face was because of that fact. "I married his mother when he was a young boy, I love her very much, as do I love Jim like my son. We're aren't open about it in class because I don't want Jim to suffer any scrutiny, with his classmates thinking he has an unfair advantage above the rest. He works just as hard as the rest of you, and I hold no bias."
Claire took a deep breath. "Well Mr. Strickler, I'm sorry to say this, but I haven't seen Jim since school yesterday. I'll contact you if I see him around. I hope he's okay."
Mr. Strickler nodded, his gaze betraying a handful of emotions besides the usual that Claire could describe. There was fear, concern, anxiety. But there was also anger.
Claire knew something deeper was going on, and now she was made a pawn into the story. She wasn't backing out anytime soon.
She watched Mr. Strickler thank her, and depart with a friendly goodbye. She shut the door and turned on her heel, walking up the stairs to get dressed for the day.
Her goal? Find Jim and figure out just what the hell is going on.
Jim, you have a lot of explaining to do.