A Simple Virus - BEN Drowned X Reader

Level 14

There's not even a sliver of time for you to gasp awake, as you've been screaming for much longer than you had been conscious. You thrash around in your bed, yelling out as if you had been skinned alive. The unbelievable amount of fear you felt was unbearable, your skin crawling and a burning sensation bubbling through your throat.

It took no longer than twenty seconds before your parents ran into the room, one grabbing ahold of your thrashing body as the other cradles your head soothingly. They coo into your ear, whispering reassuring words: it was just a dream.

You, now hysterically crying and whimpering, latch onto your parent's arm, legs still kicking against your bed. Your mind races, all you can do is cry and cry until the fear subsided, if it ever did. No matter what you did, you knew the dreams wouldn't stop. You knew you'd feel everything as if it were real life, and nothing could help you. He said it himself, you wouldn't be able to escape him.

Whatever he had in store for you was obviously much worse, and that's what scares you the most. You'd be in fear up until even your last moments, his face being the last thing you see.

The rest of the night, you didn't sleep. Your parents offered to stay with you, but you refuse, telling them it wouldn't help much anyway. There was only a few hours before daylight would begin to stream in from your window, so you lay awake, mind racing. All your thoughts led to BEN, his methods of torture already taking a toll.

Before you could try to calm the thoughts, a familiar noise came from your laptop. He was here, standing at the foot of your bed.

"Having fun yet? I know I am." He laughs with an accompanying electric crackle. BEN walks closer to you, dancing his fingers along the side of the bed. The smile fades when he reaches you, and he tilts his head to the side. "I'm sure you can tell this is only the beginning, right? It won't be over for a while, and," his fingers ghost across your jawline, and trigger a chill up your spine, "it definitely won't get better." He tilts your head up to him, his smirk deepening at the fear oozing from your features.

When you don't respond, he grabs your jaw, bringing you closer. You whimper, squeezing your eyes shut while your heart beat faster. At this rate, you were sure it would stop from the overwhelming stress. His grip starts to bruise, and you desperately try to push him away. In a final attempt to free yourself, you kick BEN in the gut. Watching him fall to the ground, you gasp. Why was he was using enough energy to solidify his form?

Shoving your thoughts away, you run out the door. "Ah, ah, ah," you yelp when the floor is swept beneath you, "you can't pull a move like that and ditch me." The tears are beading at the corners of your eyes at this point, but you quickly turn to kick his grip off of your ankles. "Now, now, (Y/N)," your kick flows straight through his apparition, "that's not very fair of you. I just wanted to have a little fun!" His laughter floods your ears, almost as if the source was in your head.

You slam your head into the floor, feeling frustrated tears finally leave your eyes. "Please..." you whisper, ignoring the burn against your back as BEN drags you back into your room. The door slams shut, silencing your pleas to the outside world.

"What's that, hon? I can't hear you when you whisper like that." He laughs again, digging a heel into your stomach.

With a painful lurch, you feel yourself curl into a ball to push his foot away, but he merely slams your head back with the other. "Ah...please...what do you even want from me?" You frantically reach out to his legs, trying to fight back, but actions you make are in vain due to his apparition form.

BEN steps off of you, giving you a moment of relief, before he kneels onto your chest, and leans further to you. "I thought I made myself clear," he brushes your hair behind your ear, "I want to see you break. I want to see you suffer like I did."

"How is that my fault that you suffered? I'm literally just trying to live."

"So was I." He growls, slamming a hand beside your head in anger. You cower in on yourself, closing your eyes once more. "But some people don't get the option to live, do they? Some people die, unexpectedly." He laughs, placing another hand gently across your neck. "Some children-"

"Please don't kill me," you open your eyes, gripping onto his, once more solidified, body. Your bottom lip quivers, but BEN's face contorts into an expression you hadn't yet seen.

"Shut up!" You gasp, horror sending a shiver up your back. His hand is coiling around your neck, tightening by the second. "Some children don't get a say in whether or not they drown." His sinister expression bore into your own terrified one, and a laugh resonates from within your mind.

"...BEN...please—"

"I truly despise beggars like you,"

Your confusion questioned in place of words, as his knee dug further and grip bore into your flesh.

"Now now, if I expose all my little thoughts to you, that would only reassure you. You wouldn't quiver in fear and dread. How could I willingly throw away such an enticing view?"

BEN devoured such an expression, watching terror absolutely consume your eyes. A smirk pulled at a corner of his lips as he felt the warmth of your energy fill his spirit. Truly, he could hold this position for decades, had he the patience of a much more vengeful spirit.

When he realized your eyes had begun to water, and breath began to falter, he released you. Gasping for air, you could only close your eyes and hope your strength would return. BEN watched your chest rise and fall rapidly, monitoring just how little you could handle. Kneeling beside you, he used a single finger to raise your chin. Your could only squeeze your eyelids shut further than before, hoping he had no means of prying them open again. You could hear a scoff, and a softer voice escaped him.

"I hope you understand just how meaningless it is to run, fight, or hide. You can do nothing but submit, and slowly slip out of humane thought. You are nothing but prey to me, and I will be with you until your last breath." 

With those final words, his presence faded, and you were left in terror that perhaps he would return the moment your eyes opened. Not even the singing of the early morning birds would comfort you. It was nothing but torturous to be alive, and you could do nothing but maintain that frozen position for the last hour of the night.