Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Mysterious vortex
A few hours ago...
Under the obsidian veil of night, a solitary figure raced through the labyrinthine hedges, guided only by the pale luminescence of the moon. The man’s heart pounded in his chest as he navigated the shadowy twists and turns with desperate urgency.
The figure was none other than Carlton, his face etched with panic, remorse and fear.
As he sprinted through the shadowy corridors, his voice cracked with emotion. "Malcolm... Helena... Austin... Noah... Cristyn... Cristina... Cristian..." he choked out between ragged breaths. "Forgive daddy..."
The weight of parental failure crushed down upon him. In his selfish pursuit of personal gratification while trapped in this bygone era, Carlton had neglected to consider the ramifications for his children back home. His negligence gnawed at him.
For the first time since arriving in this temporal anomaly, genuine terror gripped Carlton’s heart as he contemplated the unthinkable - what if he remained stranded here? Would his seven precious offspring ever draw breath? Or would they simply cease to exist?
This sobering realization pierced through any lingering euphoria from reliving youthful glory days without consequence. Now only one consuming desire remained: return to them at any cost. His children needed their father, and he would move heaven and earth to make things right again.
With the darkness obscuring his vision, Carlton squinted intensely, trusting his instincts to guide him towards the heart of the maze. Memories of that fateful night three days prior flooded back...
He recalled with vivid clarity the scene: his energetic triplets, Cristina, Cristian and Cristyn, bouncing with excitement as they dragged their father into this very labyrinth before theirbedtime. They were determined to recreate a "ritual" from one of Malcolm’s enchanting storybooks.
As they neared the center, the children’s enthusiasm reached a fever pitch. In a burst of toddler energy, they wriggled free from Carlton’s grasp and dashed ahead into the shadows. Panic seized Carlton’s heart as he chased after them, terrified they might get lost in this bewildering hedge maze under cover of night.
Just as he was about to snatch up little Cristyn in a relieved embrace...she deftly evaded him at the last second! Off-balance and desperate not to lose her again, Carlton lunged forward - only to collide headlong with the unyielding hedge wall.
The impact sent a jolt through his entire being, and then...a strange sensation unlike anything he had ever experienced. It felt as if an invisible vortex seized him, pulling him into an endless abyss of darkness, like drowning in a fathomless sea of night.
When consciousness returned, Carlton found himself transported back to this pivotal moment eleven years ago. The details were hazy now, but one thing remained crystal clear: he must find that specific spot on the hedge wall where everything changed. That was his path home - to his Alaric and their seven precious children who needed their daddy.
With renewed determination burning in his eyes, Carlton pressed onward into the shadows, desperate to retrace his steps and reclaim what mattered most.
Carlton’s pace slowed to a crawl as he dragged his fingers along the rough surface of the hedge wall, desperately searching for any clue that might lead him back to his timeline. His heart raced with a mix of hope and dread.
Suddenly, Carlton doubled over, clutching at his abdomen as a familiar warmth began to spread through his body. He cursed under his breath, realizing the inopportune timing of this physiological response.
"What do I do... I forgot it was already the time..." he groaned, trying to ignore the growing heat radiating from within.
The inescapable pull of arousal was already beginning to take hold, his flesh stirring with unwanted desire. Carlton knew all too well the torturous path that lay ahead if he could not find a way back - days filled with aching need and unfulfilled longing, each passing moment an exquisite torment.
"Please... I have to go back..." he pleaded with no one but himself and the uncaring night. If he couldn’t find a way home soon...
His mind raced with grim possibilities. Should he seek out young Alaric and give in to temptation? It would be wrong on so many levels to succumb to his baser instincts and take advantage of the young man. But as the fire in Carlton’s loins grew ever more insistent, he felt his resolve weakening.
Carlton’s search grew more frantic as the minutes ticked by, his hands roaming over every inch of the hedge wall in a desperate attempt to find some sort of trigger or portal back to his own time. The heat building within him intensified with each passing second, threatening to consume his very being.
He tried to ignore the growing tent in his trousers, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to focus on anything else. Carlton’s mind was consumed by a single thought: he needed to find that damn spot before his body fully took over!
Just as his legs began to tremble from sheer arousal rather than exhaustion, Carlton collapsed onto the cool grass in defeat. He buried his face in both hands, frustration bubbling up inside him like a geyser about to erupt.
"I can’t believe this is happening!" he groaned aloud. "I’m trapped here with no way back and now my wanton body has decided it’s time for some action! This is so unfair!"
Carlton knew all too well about the potent effects of the fruit - Wombata Blah Blah or whatever its name was. That thing turned him into an insatiable beast once a month, his libido raging out of control until he found release.
He was like a wild animal in heat, pacing and prowling with no outlet for his pent-up desires. Carlton felt utterly powerless against the onslaught of lust coursing through his veins. There was only one thing that could quench this fire - and it wasn’t something he could do alone.
Carlton’s resolve finally shattered under the weight of his raging libido. With a heavy sigh, he came to the grim conclusion that he would have to seek out young Alaric and give in to his base urges. Perhaps, in this time, he could teach his innocent husband the pleasures of the flesh.
"I’ll just tell him I’m teaching him something new," Carlton muttered under his breath. "He’s my husband after all... It’s not like I’m taking advantage of an innocent..."
Gritting his teeth, Carlton attempted to stand on shaky legs. The effort proved more challenging than anticipated as his body trembled with barely restrained lust. He took a stumbling step forward before losing his balance completely and toppling backwards into the hedge wall!
As he collided with the prickly foliage, Carlton squeezed his eyes shut tightly. To his surprise, instead of slamming into the unforgiving foliage, Carlton felt himself enveloped by a familiar sensation - like drowning in an endless sea of darkness. Even when he dared to peek through slitted lids, there was nothing but boundless void surrounding him.
He quickly closed them again, assuming he must be losing consciousness at last. If only Carlton had kept them open for just a moment longer...
At that precise instant, another figure drifted past him through the swirling vortex! The two men, unaware of each other’s presence, were both engulfed by the inky blackness. Their eyes remained shut tight as they vanished from sight, leaving behind only a shimmering portal that winked out of existence mere seconds later.
***
"....ton.....!!!"
"....press!!!!"
Carlton’s fuzzy mind registered the distant shouts, but they sounded muffled and distorted, like he was submerged underwater. He wanted to call out, to signal his location to the approaching voices, but his tongue felt thick and clumsy in his mouth.
The world spun around him as if he were trapped in a dizzying merry-go-round. Carlton blinked rapidly, trying to clear the haze from his vision. When he finally managed to focus on what lay before him, he found himself staring at an otherworldly sight.
A swirling vortex hovered mere inches from where he lay sprawled on the ground. Tendrils of dark energy pulsed and writhed around its edges like grasping tentacles. Electric sparks crackled along its surface intermittently - now bright as lightning, now fading into shadowy oblivion.
Carlton had never witnessed such a bizarre display of magic in all his years! It was both terrifying and mesmerizing all at once. The strange phenomenon seemed to be drawing attention from afar; excited shouts rang out louder than before:
"Look there! In the center of the maze! Something’s happening!"
"Your Majesty, I see it too! There’s definitely some sort of disturbance occurring!"
The voices grew closer and more urgent with each passing second. Carlton knew he should try to stand, to make himself known, but his body refused to cooperate. He could only lie there helplessly as the vortex pulsed and churned before him.
As the fog in Carlton’s mind began to lift, a single word from the distant voice cut through the haze: "Your Majesty." His heart leapt with joy and relief. Alaric! His husband was here, searching for him!
But it was short-lived as his gaze remained fixed on the anomalous vortex before him. Dangerous? Certainly. Mysterious? Undoubtedly. But Carlton found himself paralyzed by curiosity. The swirling abyss pulsed with dark energy, electric sparks dancing along its edges like malevolent fireflies. He shuddered to think what horrors might lurk within that yawning chasm.
As he watched in awe, the swirling portal began to shrink rapidly, its electric sparks fading away like dying embers. The darkness that had once pulsed with malevolent energy now dissipated into nothingness, leaving only an empty expanse of night sky behind.
Carlton blinked in disbelief as he stared up at the luminous moon overhead. The sounds of approaching footsteps echoed through the maze - a welcome distraction from the bizarre occurrence he had just witnessed.
Alaric’s handsome face burst into view around a corner of greenery moments later, golden eyes wide with concern and panic upon discovering his husband prone on the ground. He cried out desperately:
"...DARLING..!!!"
But Carlton’s consciousness slipped away once more, the world fading to black as he drifted into oblivion. The last vestiges of sound reached his ears like distant whispers - Alaric’s anguished cries for help and the frenzied shouts of those rushing to their aid.
