Nightmares are reality - Camp Cretaceous

Gasping breaths

Bens head lay in Darius' lap. The hands of the younger boy cradling his cold face. His skin pale and he looked almost like a living ghost. Though, it was unlikely he'd be living for much longer as blood coated his left side and slowly dripped onto the dirt beneath him, staining the white tank top red. His breaths were uneven and heavy, harsh gasps slipping through his lips as his hands weakly squeezed Darius', looking for support. 
The gash in his neck rendered him unable to speak, but the glistening glaze to his eyes showed precisely what he wanted to say. He looked scared. Exhausted. Sad. Angry. So many emotions in such innocent eyes. Eyes that shouldn't have seen what they had over the past six months. That shouldn't have shed so many tears so young. 

Despite Darius' attempts to slow the bleeding by putting pressure on his wounds, Ben continued to fall further and further into the darkness that loomed over him like a raincloud. A cloud that covered the sun and didn't let him take comfort in the warmth emitting from it. 

"Ben, please. Keep your eyes open."
Darius pleaded, one hand pressing to the wound on his neck whilst the other ran gently through his hair in an attempt to comfort him. He knew that he wouldn't be able to save the boy. Not this time. His wounds were too fatal and there were no supplies around to patch up the wounds. Even if there were, it wouldn't stop them from getting infected and killing him anyways. 

The way that Ben looked up at the younger boy made Darius' heart clench and squeeze almost painfully. It felt as if someone had forced their hand through his chest and through his ribs to grab onto his heart and squeeze with all their might before ripping it apart into tiny little pieces. Leaving the shredded pieces of the red organ to sit at the bottom of his stomach. The tears in his eyes slowly rolled down his cheeks each time he blinked, leaving his face damp and red.

"Come on, Ben. Bumpy's counting on you. You've got to be there for her."
His words were laced with desperation even though he knew that without a doubt, Bens heart would come to a stop and he'd take his last breath. Preferably in the arms of someone who truly cared about him. The hand running through the older boys hair stuttered for a minute, the soft movements faltering slightly. Ben let out a quiet, pain-filled sob at that. It seemed it was the last piece of comfort he wanted as he bled out. So, willingly, Darius threaded his hand through Bens hair once more and continued playing with the strands. It calmed him. The rhythmic pattern of his hand running through the boys hair. 
"Ben."

"Please."

The quiet pleas kept slipping from Darius' mouth were constant. Begging in a quiet whisper as if whatever god out there would listen to him and grant his wishes of healing Ben. Of keeping him alive.
He'd already lost everyone else.
He couldn't lose Ben.
Not again.
Not after the monorail.

The smell of death and rain filled his nose. He wished he had stayed home instead of spending so much time on that ridiculous video game trying to get to Isla Nublar. If he had, maybe he would be smelling his mothers delicious baking instead. The smell of her caramel cheesecake or cinnamon rolls that wafted through the house every few weeks whenever she managed to pull herself out of bed to bake. She'd had a difficult time after her husbands death, and sometimes, it was as if Brand was the one keeping the entire household together. With Darius spending so much time in his room trying to get to Isla Nublar - wanting to make it their to bring some sort of peace to himself and fulfil his fathers dreams, even if he wasn't there - and Mrs Bowman unable to pull herself out of her bed most days.
But nonetheless, Darius would rather be at home, still grieving over his fathers death and trying to maintain a healthy life even as he struggled to eat somedays, than be holding the head of his dying best friend in his hands. 

"Ben. Don't you dare close your eyes."
His words became more and more slurred the more he sobbed and cried. The more pressure he put on Ben's wounds. The more he felt Ben's heartrate slow beneath his fingers. He could taste the metallic of blood dripping from his nose on his lips and the tip of his tongue, but he didn't wipe the blood away, not daring to bring his hand away from Ben when the older boy so clearly needed comfort in the path of his inevitable death. 

An apologetic sadness shined in Bens eyes, and he raised his own hand to Darius'. Very weakly. His fingers trembling as they tentatively wrapped around the younger boys own shaking wrist. With a quivering breath, Darius moved his hand to intertwine his fingers with Bens, hope still sparkling in his eyes as his pupils dilated. 

"Please."
He begged. But it was useless. One last breath passed through Bens lips before his body lay limp and his eyes fluttered shut and his jaw grew slack. His lips parting as his head slowly fell to the side. 

"No."
When Darius saw Ben's eyes fall shut, his heartrate picked up even more than it had before. He could feel it beating throughout his entire body. Only making him tremble even more. 
"No, no, no. Ben. No."
That one word slipped through Darius' mouth more times than he could count. His quiet, shaking breaths picking up as more and more tears fell from his waterline. Streaking down his cheeks and dripping off his chin. Landing on the pale, cold skin of Ben's lifeless body. As each little drop rolled down his cheeks, it left a trail of fire in its path. His lungs felt restricted. As if they were closing in on themselves and he was suffocating. Unable to find his breath as it caught in his throat. It felt like his insides were burning. Each sob being ripped from his throat and forced through his lips. The constricting suffocation only making the sting worse. 

He stayed there for over an hour. His knees painfully bent beneath him, buried in the mud. Rain poured from angry clouds above, soaking his hair and his shirt. Watering down the blood that still seeped from Bens wounds, as if him dying in his hands wasn't quite yet enough. That he needed to bleed out more and more until his body was entirely drained of its blood. 
Despite Ben's death, Darius kept his hands in the older boys hair. Continuing that same motion of threading his fingers through the strands of wet hair. Whispering quiet pleas as if it would make him come back to life. Come back to him. 

It was only when the thirteen year old felt a hand on his back did he drop Ben's head from his hands into his lap and look up, startled. Everyone was dead. Who's hands would that be?


Suddenly, the sight of his bed came into view. The warmth of his blanket over his legs, but the chill of the night air on his forearms that held him up on the uncomfortable mattress beneath him. It was only when he finally talking a gasping breath that he felt the hand on his back. The same hand that had startled him out of the scarily realistic nightmare that he had been having. 

"Hey, there we go. That's it."
The familiar voice of Bens filled the air and his hand gently ran up and down Dairus' back, bringing him back to reality. Though very slowly. His throat still felt like it was enclosed on itself, and it was extremely difficult to breathe, but he was trying to steady himself.
"Deep breaths. In, one, two, three... Hold... Out, one, two, three." 
Gently guiding the boys breathing, he held his other hand on the boys chest. Feeling the way it rose up and down with each struggling breath. 

Looking up at Ben, he nervously grabbed the hand on his chest, seeking a pulse. When he found one, a shuddering sigh escaped his lips. Ben's eyebrows knitted together, but he kept his questions to himself. Darius often found himself seeking out Bens pulse whenever they held hands or hugged. Never once after waking up from a nightmare, though. Meaning that it was probably something bad. Ben could guess that it was likely about death. Well, most of them were anyways. But this one had to be different. 

"I'm right here, D. Still breathing and living.."
A sweet laugh rumbled in his throat and the mattress sunk beneath the weight of him as he shifted to sit on the edge of the bed beside the younger boy.
"Another nightmare?"
Sure, nightmares were common, but it was uncommon for Darius to have two in a row. Especially ones so bad that he woke up gasping for air as if he'd been deprived of it all his life. When Darius nodded, Ben softly sighed. His hand still gently stroking up and down Darius' back in a comforting manner. 

"Did I wake you?"
Darius asked. His voice shaky and raspy as he tried to whisper his words. It was a bit difficult to keep quiet when he was still trying to catch his breath. 

Considering whether or not to be honest, Ben hummed to fill the silence before properly replying. His hand still not coming to a halt even as it occasionally got caught in one of the many holes in Darius' shirt. 
"Yeah. But it's alright."
Ben whispered. He slept in the bunk across from Darius, making it far more likely that he'd be the one to wake up if anything was wrong with the younger boy. Darius shifted his gaze from Bens blue eyes to his hands, shame washing over him.
"Hey, I can hear your thoughts."
The older boy scolded - though his voice was still gentle.
"It's fine."
He assured him, moving his hand up from Darius' back to Darius' hair, gently threading his hand through it in the same way that Darius had to Ben during his nightmare. 

Inhaling a sharp breath, Darius moved to hug Ben, wrapping his arms tightly around the other teenager. Without hesitation, Ben reciprocated, squeezing the younger boy almost just as tight. They only pulled away from each other when the cheerful, familiar voice of Sammy broke the comforting silence.

"Is everything okay?"
She asked, her head tilting to one side and her hair falling over her face before she lifted her hand to her head and tucked the strands behind her ear. Ever patient, she waited a few minutes for her response. Watching closely as the two boys seemed to silently communicate. Ben's gaze said everything it needed to in Darius' mind, and it was only when he shook his head did Ben turn back to face Sammy.

"Yeah, everything is fine."
Ben stated. Speaking for Darius. He knew that the boy most likely didn't want to speak. Not right now. Sure, he had asked that one question earlier, but he was comfortable with Ben. Far more comfortable than he was with the others. The two just understood each other in a way that the other four didn't. That wasn't a jab at Sammy, just a true statement. The two teenagers had something with the others that they'd likely never have with anyone else. 

"Are you sure?"
The girl inquired, wanting to get the truth out of them. But Ben kept with his answer. Nodding his head and offering her a small smile. One that she quickly shot back before taking a step backward. She was going to go back to where she was before - looking out at the forest as she was on watch that night - but was stopped by Bens voice.

"You can go to bed, Sammy. You seem tired. We'll stay up."
Darius looked over at Ben and furrowed his eyebrows. Was Ben really willing to stay up the entire rest of the night for Darius? Feeling Darius' slightly confused but mostly shocked gaze on the side of his face, Ben turned to him and only smiled. A genuine smile that Darius had grown used to. It was a sight that he'd give almost anything to see. 

"But it's my night to watch. I'm good."
She said, but the yawn that followed those words betrayed her. The poor girl did seem more tired than usual. Perhaps she was having nightmares too. Darius tucked that away in his mind to check on later. He wouldn't let someone in his camp-fam to go without help.
The same unconvinced look burdened Bens face. The same look that Ben had given Darius not too long ago. 

"Sammy, you're tired. Get some rest."
Darius chimed in, his voice still a little raspy. He was a little bit nervous about speaking - as he always was after a nightmare or a scary situation - but he pushed through it anyways. 
After hesitating a bit, Sammy nodded her head thankfully and smiled at Darius and Ben before moving away to her own bunk, crawling into it and tucking herself underneath her covers. Her hands curling into her chest as she shut her eyes and tried to get some sleep.

Once she was gone, Ben turned back to the younger boy and gently tugged on his shirt sleeve to get his attention once more. 
"Do you want to stay here or sit on the couch?"
Ben asked, giving Darius options so that he didn't make him uncomfortable. He knew that sometime ushering someone to do things could do more harm than good. Especially for someone like Darius. The boy was rather fragile. Even though if he didn't show it. 

"Here."
He replied, shifting to lean against Ben as he looked out at the trees. His eyes practically locked onto the branches that swayed in the gentle wind. Ben just nodded and allowed the other boy to lean on him. The two just breathing in the comfortable silence as the hours ticked by. Occasionally, Darius would reach for his wrist and press two fingers against his pulse point, searching for it. He did it so many times that Ben just left his wrist on Darius' knee with his palm facing up. Just to make it easier for the other.