The first thing he tasted was metal. Like blood— though not his own.
No, it tasted like Darius’s, don’t ask him how he knew, but he does. He shook his head ignoring the taste, hoping for sleep to come.
It never faded—it lingered, reminding him of something he couldn’t fix.
Something that could’ve been prevented,now playing on rewind like a record in his mind.
Darius’s death.
That stupid assholes death, the same person he loved till his heart stopped.
The same who was now dead. No body to bury, no one to have memorial for—it was too risky. The Government could find them at any moment.
He opened his eyes slowly, watching the ceiling swirl in colours, the colours that didn’t belong there at all.
Sitting up, he rubbed at his eyes, bits of crust falling down onto his lap and vanishing into the beige sheets.
Wait.
This isn’t his bed. He and darius had dinosaur sheets.
He head snapped up and he looked around. The room was unfamiliar—but familiar all the same.
Darius’s old room. Before he and Ben moved in together.
The walls were covered with movie posters—Spider-man, Batman even bloody Superman, worst of all he, had the old DNA guy from the VR game.
Taking a deep breath, he got off the bed and walked towards the door. Shouting came from the other side—loud and obvious.
One voice was Kenji’s, but the other…? He couldn’t recognise that.
Whoever it was—hopefully not a threat— was yelling about moving houses.
“Ben? What are you doing out of bed?”
A muffled voice stopped him in his tracks.
It was soft.
He knew that voice.
Darius.
Slowly, he turned his head.
The soft image of Darius lying on his stomach, face squished into the pillows and one eye squinted up at him.
“Just going to get a drink. Don’t worry” A faint smile hovered on his lips before vanishing.
Ben turned back towards the door, hand reaching for the knob.
“Are you going to leave me again?”
It was so soft.
The tone sent a chill through his veins—cold and unrelenting.
He looked back.
Darius was sitting now—blood slowly dibbling down his lips. The light gone from his eyes. Dark stains spread from various points on his chest. Bullet wounds.
“What?” Bens voice wavered, just only a whisper.
Darius— or what he believes is Darius —tilted his head, His empty gaze narrowing into a glare.
“Are you going to let me die Benjamin?” His voice was a whisper, but it sliced through his chest like a blade
“No… no nono. Y-you, you went off without us! You sacrificed yourself!”
He was trembling now, voice breaking into a pleading whisper.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he turned away, keeping the tears at bay.
“Why didn’t you stop me?”
5 words.
He sounded so close. Too close.
He snapped his head back—only to find Darius standing right infront of him .
Breath fogging the air
Dead eyes looking up at Ben.
The words got caught in Bens throat, when they did come out it was weak and shaky.
“W-why… why are you doing this!”
Darius just stared.
Voidless eyes staring into mix-match blue and brown.
Then, slowly, a smile crept across his face—sinister and wide. His eyes scrunched up, almost as if he were truly happy.
“Because. It's what you wanted right?”
Then—the creak of a door opening.
And pain.
Pain exploded like fireworks behind his eyes.
.
..
…
With a gasp, he bolted upright and vomited over the side of his bed.
“Fuck…” his chest wracked with coughs, the taste of bile making him gag even more.
Outside, the screech of tires and blaring of car horns filled the morning air.
He looked around the small apartment. The dinosaur posters. The dinosaur figures on a shelf.
He could hear the shower running, the TV playing the news—silently, like a low murmur.
“Darius…?”
His voice was hoarse from the burn of vomit.
No reply. but a second later, the shower stopped.
“Hey, Ben! Since you’re up, can you grab my clothes please!”
Sammy
Fuck right, they’re here.
He scrambled off of the bed, spotting Sammy’s travel bag on the floor. He grabbed some clothes and placed them outside the bathroom door
“Clothes outside the door! Grab them when you’re ready!” he called through, hearing some kind of country music muffled from the door.
“Thanks!!” was shouted back and he walked away before he could be traumatised by his friend.
Grabbing a towel, some disinfectant spray, and a mop, he returned to the bed, tossing the towel over the mess to soak it up.
The bathroom door creaked open, and there stood sammy, fully clothed.
“You alright Benjamin?” Concern laced her voice, some worry burning in her eyes.
He nodded focusing on the task at hand.
“Yea just vomited, don’t worry sammy” He flashed her a smile.
Her gaze burned into his back.
She didn’t believe him.
Sammy watched him carefully but sighed “If you say so Ben. Just… I am here to talk if you need”
She turned towards the door
Then—a thud.
A heavy weight or a good old kick had slammed into the wood
Both Sammy and Ben stood frozen, waiting silently if something else was gonna happen.
Then—
“CAN ONE OF YOU LAZY TWATS OPEN THE DOOR PLEASE!”
Kenji.
Of fucking course it was Kenji.
Sammy rushed to open the door, knowing her girlfriend was gonna be right outside with Kenji.
The door swung open and Kenji strolled in, arms full of groceries. Yaz followed behind, with just a single bag.
“You alright there Pincus? You look a bit worn out?”
Yaz, always the observant. Mostly blunt.
Ben shrugged, walking towards Kenji and picked up a couple bags.“Kinda light here Kenji, think we ended some more?”
Kenji huffed, his cheeks getting a pink tint. “Hey! This shit’s heavy man! Not everyone has biceps as big as yours!”
He mumbled the last part, that got the others laughing.
For a few minutes, everything felt… normal.
But it never lasted long.
“So…” yaz broke the silence, “we have to get back on the road. Get away from… the area .”
Ben’s breath hitched
No matter how many times they mentioned it.
No matter how many times they tried to phrase it differently.
He would always remember.
The Warehouse.
“Let’s—lets just not mention it at all and go. please.” He mumbled, desperation and sadness lace his voice.
He grabbed his travel bag from the bed
Everyone else had collected their stuff, travelling bags with either a grocery bag or just some essentials.
“I’ll lock up, you guys head to the car.” he mumbled.
He saw sammy nod her head how yaz sighed.
“Okay lover boy!”
Kenji yelped when yaz elbowed him.
As the others left, he noticed how Yaz hesitated.
She looked around the apartment, gaze lingering on the photo’s.
“You and Darius chose a nice place. Cozy.” She exhaled softly. “I’m sorry we have to leave it like this.”
she then walked away, giving him his space.
His small amount fo time to mourn was short.
Never was going to be long.
Taking a deep breath in, he glance around one last time.
Then he followed yaz and locked the door right behind him.