Hard Trials (Book Five of the Into the Fray series)

Chapter Six

      "Let me come with."

"No."

Ben moved over to his wardrobe, threw open the doors, and grabbed all of his clothes. He moved back to the bed and began cramming them into his backpack.

"Do you even know where you're going?" Rey asked.

"No."

Rey walked over, looking up into Ben's face. "Let me help you--"

"I don't need help. What I need is to find my boyfriend."

Rey puckered her lips.

"It shouldn't be that hard," Ben continued, angrily shoving things into his bag. "I'll just hone onto his mind through the Force and track him down. And then I'll kill whoever took him."

Rey rolled her eyes. "What if it's not that easy?"

"I can take care of myself."

Rey sat on the bed. "I don't doubt that. But I just don't know what you're getting yourself into."

Ben paused for a minute with his arm in the bag. He then turned to Rey, holding her gently by the shoulders. "I know. Which is exactly why I don't want you to come."

Rey furrowed her brow. "I can take care of myself."

Ben chuckled, thinking of her as an ewok. "I don't doubt that."

Rey smiled.

"But I also know if anything happened to you, I could never forgive myself."

She looked despondent. Ben briefly touched her cheek fondly and then went back to packing. Rey got to her feet. "What about Poe then?"

Ben outright laughed at her. "Oh, so now you're offering up sacrifices on your behalf? That's rather Dark Side of you, Rey."

She crossed her arms. "I doubt anything bad would happen. But I also know how little you care about Poe, so..."

Ben clasped his backpack and then shouldered it. He looked down at her, smirking "Nice try. I'm going alone."

"When will you be back?"

"When I find him."

Ben took Rey by the shoulders again. She looked on the verge of tears. Ben bent over, planting a long kiss on the top of her head. When he was done he looked down at her. She held a stubborn expression, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Rey...I'm sorry. You're like a sister to me, and I refuse to let anything happen to you."

"You can't stop me," she replied angrily, her voice shaking.

"You and I both know that I could."

"Did you forget the fight over your uncle's lightsaber? We're evenly matched, Ben."

"Be that as it may, I don't want it to come to that Rey."

She didn't respond. Ben walked to the door then and opened it. Rey started. "Does your mother know? Did you tell her goodbye?"

He looked at her. "Not directly. We discussed me leaving the base a little while ago. I'll be back, don't worry."

~

Armitage looked down at his hands. Every fingernail had turned a gross color, either from dried blood or from some sort of bruise. She had taken the ice pick to them.

This had this done to him before in the Academy, just so he knew what it would feel like. But back then it had only been one finger. She had even gone the extra step, removing his boots and doing the same thing to his toenails. He hadn't expected that. When she was done she left his socks and shoes off so his feet would be cold.