Infinite: Chapter 2

Boots crunched and sank deep into sand. A cold but harsh wind whipped across her face, and there was a hole—immaterial, invisible, but made real by the pain it brought. This was not the sort of pain caused by any bodily injury. It was not so simple as to be categorized as physical, psychological, or even emotional. It was simply there—a wound in the Force. Death where there was once life.

Rey opened her eyes. The connection was broken, gone as swiftly as it had come. It was something beyond her control, something that she could never get rid of no matter how hard she tried. Increasingly often, it descended upon her in brief visions that were all too real, vivid and terrible. She wondered if he knew—the monster who hunted her. Had he formed the link intentionally so as to always be watching her, always be inside her thoughts? Was she doomed to share his agony?

He had chosen darkness of his own volition, chosen to turn his back on a family that loved him. He had chosen hatred. He had chosen murder. He had been given everything she ever wanted and had thrown it all away. For this reason, she did not pity him.

Rising, Rey pulled on her boots and threw the grey vest Leia had given her over her shoulders. She sighed, legs dangling over the side of her cot as she listened to the metallic groans and creaks of the Millennium Falcon. The old freighter had already become more of a home to her than her makeshift dwelling on Jakku had ever been. Yawning, Rey stood and stretched as she exited her small living quarters and made her way through ship’s circular corridors. R2-D2 beeped a greeting as she passed, and she smiled in return.

“Good morning to you, too.”

Finally, she reached the exit hatch and picked up her supply pack, which lay conveniently beside it. As she tossed it over her shoulder and prepared to leave, she heard a familiar grunt behind her. Turning, Rey gave the Wookie a sad smile.

“I don’t think he’s going to change his mind, Chewie. Tell the General that I will return when my training is complete. This is not over yet—not by a long shot.”

With a resigned moan, he disappeared into the cockpit, and Rey descended the ramp, the doors hissing closed behind her. She was met with a breath of fresh air, her boots making contact with soft green grass. Pausing, she inhaled deeply and closed her eyes for several moments before continuing on. Each day served as a pleasant reminder that she was no longer on Jakku.

Beginning her ascent of the rocky mountain path, Rey looked to the ocean that encircled the island. It glistened and glittered like a sea of glass in the morning sun, birds calling as they flew overhead. Opening her supply pack, she withdrew a nutrition bar and munched on it as she walked. The air was warm but not unpleasant, its heat offset by a breeze that became steadily more powerful as altitude increased.

It was not long before she reached the ruins, passing amongst the silent, empty huts that reminded her far more of tombs in a graveyard. Some stood completely intact, untouched by the hands of time, while others had collapsed inward into disheveled mounds of stone. Still others had been reduced to nothing but scattered remains of rocky debris. As little as she knew of the Force, Rey could still feel echoes in this place, whispers of a civilization long forgotten.

At last, she came to the particular dwelling she had been seeking. Luke’s solitary hut sat on the fringes of the ancient village, a large piece of fabric covering its entrance and concealing whatever lay behind it. Approaching cautiously, Rey heard no sound within, felt no presence.

“Luke?”

She waited for a reply, but none came. Growing impatient, she pulled back the curtain and poked her head inside. It was empty, save a cot, a bowl and spoon, and an old satchel. Brows furrowing, Rey withdrew and allowed the curtain to fall back into place. Knowing that there was only one other place he was likely to be, she headed off again, resuming her climbing of the Steps. Carved from ancient gray stone, they continued all the way to the mountain’s summit, where the ground finally leveled out into a small plateau.

It was some time before Rey reached this place, slightly out of breath and leg muscles burning. Her eyes narrowed in confusion as she strode forward into the grassy clearing, for there was no cloaked figure standing upon the cliff this time. Pillars of rock rose on either side of her, casting long shadows as the sun continued its ascent into a clear blue sky. Despite the fact that there seemed to be no one there, Rey did not feel alone. There was a presence, faint at first but growing stronger.

“This is the path you have chosen to walk, then?”

Startled, she spun to see him standing behind her—Luke Skywalker. His hood was lowered, and he regarded her with heavy eyes.

“I have no choice,” she answered steadily.

“We always have a choice,” he corrected, “just as I have chosen exile.”

The last words came after a slight pause, and Rey could not help but be frustrated by them. However, she had already made her plea, and he had refused to return with her, refused to fight with the Resistance. But she had not come this far to simply give up, and so she had continued to press him until he finally, very reluctantly, agreed to train her. If he would not fight, then she would.

“You are filled with anger,” Luke went on in a solemn voice, “anger that is deeply rooted in fear. You must learn to control it if you are to become a Jedi.”

“I will,” she declared.

He eyed her skeptically, as if he had heard it all before. “The dark side of the Force is not something to be underestimated. If you choose to walk the path of the light, you will be faced with many trials and sufferings. You have much to learn and not long to do it, I feel. Evil does not rest, and darkness follows in your footsteps. It is drawn to you like a beacon, and I sense that it has touched your mind already.”

A chilling voice whispered in her ear, visions of a dark forest invading her mind. Desperate and determined, Rey stepped forward, every inch of her imploring, pleading. “Then tell me how i can defeat it.”

The old Jedi bowed his head in silence, shoulders stooped, as if he bore the weight of a thousand worlds. Finally, he raised it again and looked her firmly in the eye, his decision made. “Very well, Rey. Your persistence may become an obstacle to you in the future, but for now, it has served you well. I will pass on what I have learned, and, if the Force wills it, you will be a Jedi.”