Drowning
Ben woke up to lights shining in his face, blinding him. As his surroundings faded in, a face started forming in the corner of his vision.
He recognized the face, but he wasn’t sure how he knew it.
Oh.
It hit him.
Oh fuck.
Fuck didn’t cut it. There wasn't a strong enough word for this situation.
Staring at him from outside of the tube he had woken up in was Miles Warren.
“Welcome back to the land of the living.” Warren laughed, sending chills down Ben's spine.
Ben closed his eyes. This is all just a nightmare. I'll wake up, and I'll be at Peter's place, and Kaine will be there, and everything will be-
Once again, Warren's voice cut through his thoughts, causing him to shudder involuntarily. “Oh, come on, don't you recognize me?”
Ben started shaking. He couldn't help it. He tried to respond in some witty and confident way, but it just came out as a whimper.
“Aww~ you do know me. No need to be scared, Benny… it'll be over soon. Then you'll be back!” Warren pressed a button, and water started rising from the bottom of the tank.
Ben wanted to scream for help, but he couldn't even open his mouth before the water reached it. It was freezing cold, so much so that he was in agony. His skin felt like it was going to peel off. Once his nose was also submerged, he tried swimming higher, but the tube was so small that it was already full. He started punching and kicking at the glass, trying as hard as he could to break out.
His motions got slower and slower until he finally stopped fighting it. He embraced death like an old friend.