What Lies Between ✔

Ben Vs Thorne

38.

Ben

I don't think I ever felt so cold in all my life as I did then, when the darkness began to lift. Although it was easing, I could still feel that it had left something of itself within me, the weight in my veins. My blood was too full, my heart pumping too fast, struggling to push it through. The energy that contaminated it was like shards of ice, slicing and clotting inside of me.

"Ben?" I heard the muffled voice, wafting to me through the tendrils of blackness. I blinked once, then again, creating waves to break through the last bit of darkness. "Ben?" The voice was more insistent.

When the dark finally slipped away, back to wherever it lay waiting, a blurry vision of Berit's face stared down at me. He looked very concerned.

"Hey, Ben! Come on, man. You alright?" He gave me a shake.

I sat straight up, my spine popping. Berit yelped and jumped back a bit, hitting his head on the car roof. The motion had been too fast, my mind needing some time to process what movement I'd just done. I looked around, noticing Kanoa in the driver's seat for the first time. We were driving on a side street, beside what looked like a big graveyard. Her arms were locked against the steering wheel, a vein visible near her temple. Stressed. "What's happening back there?" she nearly barked, turning her head a fraction our way.

"Nothing! Ben's finally awake!" Berit let out a relieved laugh.

I blinked a couple times as I looked at him again. Everything was too in focus. I could count the pores on his nose if I focused on it, I could see the black freckle in his pupil if I looked at his eyes, or the peach fuzz over his lip. I looked away, trying to gather my senses, but the fibres of the seat material burst into my sight, mites crawling through them. My blood was still surging, my heart still working to pump it. And I was so very cold.

I felt...strange.

"Ben, you are okay, right?" Berit put a hand on my shoulder, trying to get me to look at him.

"I...I don't know." My voice even sounded strange, too hollow.

"Hey, how many fingers am I holding up?" he asked. I glanced his way again, looking at his fingers. I was about to answer two, when suddenly his aura sparked around him. I jerked away from him, covering my eyes against the pale blue light. It was too bright, way brighter than what I was used to expecting from auras. I looked to Kanoa, seeing a deep purple aura surround her. It too blinded me. I squeezed my eyes shut, covering them with my hands, groaning.

"Berit, what's wrong with him?" I heard Kanoa shriek.

"I don't know, pull over!" Berit instructed, then grabbed my arms, trying to pull my hands from my eyes to see what was hurting me. "Ben, you have to talk to me, what's happening?"

"Your auras...they're too bright." Berit's tugging at my arms was to no avail. I felt solid, like a rock. Unmovable.

"Turn it off, Ben. You can do that, right?"

Yes. Yes, I could do that.

Trying to gather my thoughts together, I slowly uncovered my eyes, squinting at him. I focused on his centre, ignoring the brilliance that burst out around him. Slowly the light dimmed until it was a faint hue around his body. I needed to keep my head, needed to remember how to control my abilities.