Hoax // Benjen Stark

17. Mine

 ''My boys.'' Wanda declared floating down to them.

''This isn't what your children would want.'' Donna shouted

''They'll never know.' Wanda corrected

''Maybe not. But you will.'' Donna spat. She held back a sob, she didn't know where Benjen or Stephen were, she didn't know if she could get them back, the only thing she did know was that Wanda was going to kill her.

+

'' It's like, this reality collapsed in on itself.'' Christine remarked as they got back out of the gap junction, everything was upside down, morphing and demented around them.

'' Yeah. Two realities collided. Come on. Donna doesn't have long.'' Stephen told her.

'' So where are we going?' Christine asked

''Well, if there's still a Sanctum in this universe, then there might be another, other, "other me", and that's our best shoot at getting back to her. Well, I can see why you guys were so worried about incursions.

'' Whatever happened... this universe's you didn't do a very good job of stopping it.'' Christine remarked

The sanctum was crumbling away before them. it was dark and intimidating. Stephen stepped forward staring up at it.

"I'll tell him you said that." Stephen told her as he headed inside

Stairway to nothing it seemed as he entered the sanctum, the building slowly faded away before his eyes.

"Hello?" Stephen called out.

''Stop where you are. How did you get here?'' the sinister stephen demanded.

"By accident." Stephen remarked.

'prove it.' He demanded. Stephen stared back at a morphed version of himself 'PROVE IT!' Stephen 2 demanded.

'we had a sister.' Stephen told him. 'she died when we were young.'

'How?' Stephen 2 questioned getting closer.

''We were... playing on a frozen lake, and... She fell through the ice. I couldn't save her.'' And now he was going to lose her all over again.

'sounds about right.' Stephen 2 admitted. 'Christine Palmer?' Stephen 2 questioned looking down out the window where Christine stood waiting, confused and nervously waiting for death.

'you have the dark hold.' Stephen noted, the dark hold at his hip, then he noticed the black hands.

'Great can I borrow that?' Stephen questioned taking a step forward but Stephen 2 sent him shuffling back with a wave of his hand.

''Are you happy, Stephen? It's the question that... Christine Palmer asked me at her wedding. I said, yes, of course, I'm happy. I'm a sorcerer with the power of gods. What man wouldn't be happy? Then I, came back to this god darn haunted house. Sat down... and wondered why I'd lied. I never meant for any of this to happen. I was looking for a world where things were different. Where I had Christine. Where I was... happy. But I didn't find it. All I found were more of us. So I did those Stephens a favor. You ever had that dream where you're falling, as if you've been pushed off a tall building? That was probably me. The Darkhold exacts a heavy toll.'' Stephen 2 informed him

" Okay. All the more reason to give it a rest, so let me have it." Stephen offered

'Christine Palmer,' he repeated. 'you know in every reality I found she wasn't ours.' Stephen 2 remarked. 'she always said I had to be the one holding the knife. That I could never be happy. None of us could truly be happy.' Stephen 2 informed him. ' I only found more of us. More miserably Stephen Stranges alone and unhappy. So I helped them.' Stephen 2 told them. 'You ever have that dream when you are falling? That was me.'

'Give me the dark hold.' Stephen demanded.

'I will give you the dark hold if you me your Christine.' Stephen 2 bartered.

'I dont think shes gonna go for that.' Stephen told himself.

'Didnt think so.' Stephen 2 agreed. A wicked gleam in his eyes as he shot a spell at Stephen, sending him backwards, flying into a piano.

+

Heavy snow was falling as Meera was dragging Bran through the forest. Bran's eyes are glazed white. He experienced many visions of the past all at once. Meera staggered tripping over the ice and fell against the base of a tree. She put all her weight into pulling the sledge Bran was on, but it didn't budge. The sounds of creatures, walkers getting closer and they were trapped. She fell to Bran sobbing, cradling his head.

Bran was oblivious to the dangers though as he continued to have rapid fire visions, a group of wights running through the woods, coming right at them, Meera sobbed out she didn't want to die, if she died if Bran died that meant her brother died for nothing.

Bran woke a deep breath in his lungs as he looked to Meera.

" Meera. They found us." Bran informed her. Meera looked out into the woods and saw the group of wights.

"I'm so sorry." Meera sobbed hugging him. The wights converged on them and Bran thought this was the end, he closed his eyes accepting his fate. But moments before they reach them, a cloaked rider appeared. The rider's horse kicked one of the wights out of the way, then the rider extended a chain which lit on fire at the end. Two wights charge, and the rider hit them both with the chain, setting them on fire. Bran and Meera watched in amazement.

A third wight tried to attack his horse, but the horse's bulk rebuffs it into a tree and it crumbled before them. The rider plunged a chain sickle into the chest of another wight, then rode forward, dragging the wight behind his horse. He set another wight on fire with the chain, launching it into the air, before looking to Bran and Meera, they stared at him, hearts racing, pounding in their chest.

''Come with me, now.'' Benjen told them looking to a large group of wights approaching. ''The dead don't rest.''  Benjen couldnt save Donna, he had no clue how to get back but he could save his family. He knew that much.