Last On: Ben's mood improved as he experienced more of Holiday Week's traditions with Rey for the first time again. Leia and Ben have their talk, opening up again about many emotional issues.
If any of you are the type of reader who becomes confused easily, and hates reading out of consecutive order chapters, than I apologize for the beginning of the next chapter. I promise, if you keep reading, by the end it should make sense. If not, then leave me a note in the review box and I'll see what I can do to improve it.
Chapter 25
Ben wiped the sweat from his brow, as he looked across the desert horizon. There he saw smoke in the distance, and knew that's where he wanted to go. As he walked, the sand seemed to get deeper, and was harder to walk through. But walk through it he did.
By the time it was getting past his kneecaps, he was having a hard time picking up his feet. He bent his knees and attempted to push the sand out of his way, but something shoved him and he lost his balance, falling backward. He was quickly covered in sand. Ben struggled there, batting at the sand as a drowning person bats at water. The sand seemed very deep and covered his face. He could feel sand getting into his mouth and going down his throat. He was going to drown in the stuff.
Some time later Ben woke lying on top of the sand again. Remembering what just happened, he frantically coughed, but there was no longer sand in his throat. Beside him was the still smoking wreck of a crashed cruiser. It clearly would never fly again, though there might have been something of value inside. So Ben crawled in through an open gash on the side.
An hour later, or so Ben thought, he pulled several pieces of junk back to his residence, an old AT-AT Walker wasting away on the desert floor. The place, he remembered, used to belong to Rey, but where she was now, and how he got here he couldn't remember. He went to a wall and carved a notch in it to mark the day, amongst countless other notches. He knew it was how Rey used to keep track of the days, in this place, but he wasn't sure how many of the notches were his alone.
Then he heard a noise, which made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. There should not be anyone in his own residence. Not here, not now. Ben reached for his weapon, but it was gone. Frantically he searched among the belongings, but there was neither a staff, nor a lightsaber anywhere.
From behind him he heard an evil chuckle, then he felt an elbow come down to clobber him over the head. This took the wind out of Ben. The unnamed assailant grabbed him by his shoulders and dragged him outside. His assailant shoved him in the side, causing him great pain, when he tried to struggle. Ben felt helpless, as he gave up fighting back and allowed himself to be dragged away.
It wasn't until later that night that Ben was able to get up again. As he rolled over in the sand and pulled himself up all of his muscles felt sore. Even ones he didn't remember being injured in the encounter. When he walked back inside he noticed the pile of salvaged parts from the previous day were gone. Alarmed, Ben walked to the back, where there was a hole in the floor. He frantically dug in the sand, to where an old metal box was buried. This box, he knew, kept his only stash of portions, rations the old junk dealer trades in place of credits. When the box was up, Ben opened it with trepidation. Empty, the box was empty.
Ben felt hopeless as he walked outside, throwing the empty box away as he walked. He felt a sudden pang of hunger in his chest, while his throat felt dry and chapped. He looked down at his chest, pulling up his shirt to reveal his ribs were beginning to show. Suddenly his body lost what muscle he had, as it began wasting away in front of his very eyes. He saw worms begin to eat what remained of his body, then he saw the wind cover his bones in sand.
"It's time to wake up," Ben felt like he was being nudged. He opened his eyes to see his mom standing over him in the dim light of the room. The pangs of hunger were gone, and replaced by the satisfaction of a filled stomach.
Rey awoke next, sitting beside Ben on the couch. She realized immediately that she had laid her head on Ben's shoulder and pulled away from him in a sudden jolt. "I'm sorry," she said.
"No problem," Ben replied, and turned to the holo to watch the release.
There was a clock in the corner counting down the time, now it was just a few minutes. The Pelikki was still locked in a crate, but was now placed on location in a swamp. There was a Veterinarian discussing the Pelikki's healing. He said he wasn't sure if the bird would fly away immediately or come out slowly, but he was sure it's bones were healed and it would be able to fly away and survive in the wild.
When the timer counted down to zero, the mechanical seals on the box released, and the box opened. The Pelikki took a few timid steps out. It seemed to be looking around, examining the ground near where it was released. Then it opened up it's wings and took off. Images of it in flight were projected on the holo-broadcast. As it flew up and away, off into freedom, the anthem of Naboo was played. When the camera came back to a room of news reporters, they all had their hats off, and were holding them over their hearts.
"How beautiful." Leia turned off the holo, then she turned to the others. Rey was yawning again, as she stretched getting up. Leia then yawned in turn. "Ok, off to bed now. For real this time." Rey and Ben obeyed and walked back to their rooms.
"Did you have any dreams, earlier?" Ben asked Rey on the way there.
"No, none that I can remember. Why?"
"No reason." Ben then turned and walked into his bedroom.
I wrote a very long chapter, then ended up dividing it up into two. After the next chapter it should get very exciting...That's all I'll hint about.
