Subjects

28- You Will Always Be A Part Of Me

"Ben!"

A pat on the back makes Ben turn around to see his new friend.

"Hi, Jeff, what's up?" Ben thanks his good timing, this is not a conversation that he wants to have alone with Angie.

"How was the weather deck?" Jeff asks.

"It was awesome!" Ben hopes to distract Angie from his slip of the tongue. "Here's your key," he takes it out of his pocket and gives it to Jeff.

"Nobody saw you, yeah?" Jeff puts the key back on the ring and prepares to leave.

"No, I was careful," Ben says. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure, what is it?" Jeff sits down next to Ben.

"I mean, alone," Ben glances at the now suspicious girl.

Ben and Jeff leave the table and walk aside. "So, why the secrecy?'

"It's nothing, really," Ben starts, not sure how to ask. "I just need to talk to the group alone and I need someone to keep an eye on Angie."

"Something wrong?" Jeff asks.

"No, no, I just don't want her to know for now," Ben realizes how strange he sounds but he honestly has no better way to ask Jeff.

"Okay, but you know you can trust me, with anything, yeah?"

"Of course, it's nothing that you need to worry about," Ben looks back at the table where Angie sits and watches him.

"Do you want me to take her now? I have some things to do in the lower deck, she can come with," Jeff offers.

"Yes, that's great, I need an hour, at most. I'll come get her after," Ben says. "Thanks, Jeff."

"Anytime."

Alone this time, Ben goes back to their room, or storeroom, whatever you want to call it. He hopes that the others are awake, or maybe that they're not awake, so he doesn't have to talk to them. He turns to the corridor that leads to the room when he sees Emily and Roger heading towards him.

"Morning," Roger says.

"You didn't wake me up!" Emily doesn't look too happy.

"What?" Ben still tries to decide whether to tell them now or later.

"You didn't wake me up to go stargazing!" Emily puts on her offended face. Seeing as she isn't big with drama, her face convinces no one.

"Oh, right, sorry about that," great apology, Ben. "We weren't there that long anyway, I forgot my camera."

"First time in history," Roger points out.

"I forget things sometimes," Ben argues.

"Things, not your camera," Roger says. "Yesterday you forget your shoes but not the camera."

"I left my shoes on purpose," Ben defends. He wonders if Eva is awake already. He should talk to them before he chickens out again.

"Hey, where's Angie?" Roger asks.

"She's with Jeff," Ben knows that it's now or never. Well, maybe not never, nut now or later. "Is Eva awake? There's something I need to talk to you all about."

"No, she actually almost poked my eyes out when I tried to wake her for breakfast," Emily answers.

"I'll wake her," Ben walks to the room and Emily and Roger follow.

"It's your funeral," Emily sighs.

Eva, as expected, is not thrilled to be woken up at a single digit hour. She tries to take her blanket and cover her face but Ben doesn't let her.

"Come on, Eva, I need you," he says.

Eva opens her eyes to see Ben's pleading face. "I didn't mean that we do it this early," she complains.

"I know, but Jeff agreed to watch over Angie for now," Ben says.

"Fine, fine," she sits up in her bed. Ben is sitting next to her and Roger and Emily sit on Ben's bed across from them. Eva puts her fingers through her hair to try and comb it.

"What do you want to tell us, Ben?" Emily asks.

Ben takes a deep breath, this time it is harder for some reason. They have no clue how bad it is, they just look at him with curiosity, maybe a little worry, but no fear. Eva takes his hand and lets him know she's there, with him.

"Leo is dead," Ben says. Their faces reflect their shock, how, why, why now. "He was shot, when we were going inside the ship. You were under the influence so you can't remember. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before."

The silence is heavy, dark. They all think about how bad, how awful this is, but have nothing to say.

"Are you sure?" Roger is the first to speak. "Are you sure that he wasn't just injured?"

"I'm sure," Ben says. "He fell and there was so much blood..." Ben looks down, ashamed. "He told me to take care of you, all of you. I should have done something, anything, I just..."

"Leo told you to take care of us?" Eva asks.

"Yes, right before the alien told me to go and I was so shocked that I didn't try to resist. Maybe I could still save him."

"He didn't want you to save him," Eva says. "He told you to go to us, to take care of us."

"This is why you influenced Eva!" Roger suddenly realizes.

"Wait, what?" Ben is not following.

"He's right," Emily gets it too. "You are under Leo's influence, this way you can tell us to do things if you think that you are helping us."

"But it's impossible," Ben doesn't believe it.

"It... Actually makes sense," Eva says.

"But isn't the influence supposed to pass after a while?" Ben asks.

"Only after you finish your task," Emily says.

"But I will never be done," Ben says. Does he even want to be done? "I will always want to take care of you."

"Then that's it," Emily say. "Leo will always be a part of you."