Chapter 37: The Tar Pits from Hell
I hate shameless plugging, but this time I feel it's necessary. I don't know if you've noticed, but a while ago I put up a oneshot called Faces. It's basically a hypothetical situation of Ester before she met Ben. I wrote the story in present tense, which is something I've never done before. I would really like to know how I did, so if you guys could leave a review, that'd really make my day.
Also, here's something that I should tell you about: you know that demon spawn SOPA from a few years ago? I hear it's back in an all new bill. If it passes, then not only will YouTube be taken down, numerous other sites will be shut down, including FanFiction dot net. Which means no freedom of expression whatsoever. If you're old enough, vote against this bill. If not, tell someone who is and in the meantime, protest against SOPA. We need all the help we can get.
Warning: The end of this chapter is scary. When I was writing it, I was chilled to the bone and I further questioned my sanity. Do not read the end of this chapter in a dark room. If you must, I suggest holding something soft and cuddly, like a stuffed animal or a puppy.
Now, on with the show!
Ben cursed the existence of tests with every fiber of his being. It was bad enough that he barely survived his most recent physics test-no, his history teacher had to create a last minute test. Like Ben didn't have enough on his plate already.
Whoa, simmer down boy, Ventus joked in Ben's head. Getting all huffy while riding a bike in the middle of a street won't do you any good.
I am not huffy! Ben snapped immaturely, coasting on his bike. In truth Ben was on the road the city built for bikers. He was heading home from the library on his old bike because he didn't trust Kevin to give him a ride.
Or he's busy with his girlfriend. That's always an option.
…I really didn't need to think about that.
Blah, blah, blah. You got your history book right?
Right in my backpack, dad-
"WHAT THE HELL?" Ben shrieked as a car nearly collided with him. He feinted to the side, his shin nearly touching the passenger door of the brown vehicle before it swerved past him. Ben stopped his bike trying to calm his racing heart. He glared at the car, muttering under his breath, "Student drivers."
And then he saw said car smash into a parked car down the road. He knew then something was up.
Ben immediately abandoned his bike against a light post and threw off his helmet and backpack. Before he could activate the Omnitrix though, Ventus hissed, Wait, Ben!
Hello? There's a menace on the road! I gotta stop it!
There's something wrong with the-
Silence. Something had cut off the almighty wind god.
Ventus, you okay? Ben probed his mind. What's going on?
Another crash could be heard on the other side of the road. The car had driven out of view but its path of destruction was evident. Dismissing his concern for a later date, Ben quickly turned into Big Chill and was off to save the day.
For a second he felt all right, flying through the air on his butterfly wings. And then the creeping sense of wrongness swept over him; something was off with Big Chill, Ben realized, but he didn't know what. Everything was in working order: Ben was still in control of the alien's mind, his limbs were attached to his body and moved, and his alien powers still worked fine. So what was wrong?
No time to dwell on that. Big Chill flew as fast as he could towards the beat up car, which had driven onto a highway. It was right behind a truck and for whatever reason the person driving was speeding up. And then just as suddenly the driver hit the side of the freeway, crashing into the metal rails. The old rails split apart and the car plunged toward the murky water below.
Big Chill dived into the black water just before the car hit it. He swam upwards, bursting out of the water like a shot. Ice trailed after him, climbing upward until it reached the broken side of the highway. The ice was a flat slide leading down, down to frozen island below.
The brown car was falling, the front tipped downward towards the slide. The male youths inside screamed once more as the moth alien nearly crashed into them. But then it disappeared right before their very eyes. Vaguely they could feel a cold draft go between them, and they screamed once more out of fright.
The car hit the ice slide with a skid, sliding down towards the island. Big Chill rematerialized himself and grabbed onto the mud flap, his heels against the ice. Using his immense strength he slowed the descent, straining against the large weight of the car as it slowed to a stop.
His job done, Big Chill just stood there as the youths got out. They were teenagers, frightened out of their minds over the sheer fact that they almost died. But for just one moment they stared at awe at the creature before them, not out of fear, but with respect.
Once again the feeling of wrongness washed over Ben. For a second he couldn't place it, about to push it aside again. But then he felt something gnaw at his conscious, a primal noise taking over his human mind. Ben rummaged around trying to place it. The noise got louder, louder, louder...
"What is that thing?" the driver asked his friend.
"Who cares? It saved us!"
Ben was being pulled away- claws were severing him in half, ripping him apart and breaking his bones- the guttural noise echoed through his ears as he was plunged headfirst into a tar-like darkness-
One of the boys went up to him and said, "Thank you."
Ben was pawing his way out of the tar-fingers grabbing air-he was screaming-something latched onto his foot-face below surface-
"How can we ever thank you?"
Evan bolted awake in his chair, the musty smell of Ben's garage hitting his nostrils tenfold. He could hear Kevin underneath his car, fine tuning it. Sam was next to him, a history textbook in her lap. She and Ben had a history test soon, which explained why the girl was studying it. Ben was in the bathroom adjacent to the garage, and Carter was picking up her cousin for…something.
"You okay?" Sam whispered to him, her eyes flickering over to him with concern before moving back to the text in front of her.
"I…I don't know," Evan admitted quietly. A deep sense of foreboding filled his head. Shadows were licking at the edges of his brain. Darkness was permeating through the sunny afternoon.
We have a problem, Erda said in Evan's head. There's some sort of problem with the Omnitrix. Last night Ventus was temporarily cut off from communicating with Ben. He believes some sort of power surge severed their link. He's trying to repair it now.
"We have a problem," Evan whispered grimly. Sam gave a small nod, having heard from her respective goddess. Ben then walked into the garage and said jovially:
"I will never stress enough the importance of flossing."
Kevin got out from under his car and fixed Ben a glare. Evan gave him a confused look. Sam blinked at him before resuming her reading.
Ben held up a chewed up piece of metal. "I found this in my teeth. I think there's something wrong with my powers."
"Uh-huh," Kevin hummed before going back under the car.
Evan stood up and held out a hand. "Let me see." Ben handed it to him as his eyes glowed green. For a second Evan held the metal in his fingers and then his eyes returned to normal. "This came from a car," he concluded.
"Hey, Kevin, did Ben recently take a bite out of your ride?" Sam called out to her boyfriend, eyes never leaving her textbook.
"No!"
"So where'd it come from, Ben?" Sam asked him.
"That's just it; I don't remember," he confessed. "All I remember is Ventus cutting me off and having to use my Omnitrix."
"That god guy cut you off?" Kevin asked from underneath his car. "What, did you make fun of him and he hung up on you?"
"Actually, no," Evan said. "Last night something severed the link Ben had with Ventus. He was forced to go to the astral plane and try to repair the damage."
"What's the astral plane?" Kevin's voice rang out.
"It's where the Slayer gods go when they get bored of bugging us," Sam answered back.
"But I thought Ventus was a part of me," Ben said. "Like, he could never totally leave my head."
"He's a god; he can probably split himself up into fragments or something. Anyway, this is a lot like when you first got the Omnitrix," Evan explained. "Ventus couldn't contact you because the Omnitrix was blocking him. He thinks there was a surge of power that temporarily severed your mental connection."
"But he'll be back right?"
"What, do you miss him or something?" Sam deadpanned.
"No!" Ben protested. "It's just weird not having him bugging me all the time."
"Fibber," Kevin cracked.
"Shut up!"
"Carter I have a problem," Ben whined through her phone. Carter pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation before exhaling through her mouth. Newt eyed her curiously leaning on the couch's seat to hear more.
"Ben, if you have a problem, do not use that tone of voice," she said bluntly. "Next time I'll hang up."
"Okay," he mumbled. Carter could picture him on the other line, a childish pout taking over his features. She softened a little at the mental image.
"I know already," she said more civil-like. "There was a power surge in the Omnitrix and it cut off your connection with Ventus. He's fixing it right now, don't worry."
"It's not just that," Ben said seriously. "A few minutes ago I found a piece of steel stuck in my teeth. I think there's something wrong with my powers."
Carter blinked in surprise. If something like that happened, Ventus would surely know about it. He was always there for Ben…except last night, when the connection was destroyed. Carter said into her phone, "That sounds serious. What do you want to do about it?"
"I don't know, maybe do an experiment?"
"Sounds like something Evan would come up with."
"Yeah, well, he's too preoccupied with some girl to care!" Ben had shouted that last part out. Most likely Evan was nearby and texting said girl at this very moment.
Carter raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What number is she?"
"What do you mean?"
"Evan's been texting around ten different girls the last few months," Carter explained. "I have the sneaking suspicion he wants to put himself back on the market."
"Why does he need ten girls for that?"
"…I don't know. Because he's Evan?" she said weakly. She mentally shook her head. "How about Sam? Does she have any ideas?"
"No, she said you and Evan were the idea people."
"True. And I think she's got a date with Kevin or something. And Newt's taking Gwen to the spring formal…" Newt light up a bit at that.
"Newt's taking Gwen to the dance?" Ben parroted, surprise coloring his voice.
"Yeah, he came to visit a few days early to prepare and everything," Carter said happily, since she got to monopolize her cousin for a bit.
"No one told me," Ben admitted sheepishly.
"I didn't know about it until just last night," Carter told him in a reassuring tone. "Anyway, I'll help you with your Omnitrix problem."
"You will?" Ben said happily. "Thanks! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to ask Evan why he has so many girls on the backburner." He hung up, leaving Carter to entertain Newt. Not that she was complaining or anything.
"So, tell me again how you convinced your parents to let you come here during a school week," Carter told her cousin, leaning against her couch.
"Well, I had this long speech planned out about how you were in trouble and desperately needed emotional support from me," Newt began. "But then the art department accidently burned down a good chunk of my school, so classes were called off for the rest of the week. So I tweaked my speech and said that I needed emotional support from you. They bought it hook, line, and sinker."
Instead of congratulating Newt like she usually did, Carter blurted out, "The art department burned down your school?"
"Only a small chunk," Newt explained quickly. "It was only the gymnasium and a few of the surrounding classrooms. But since it's Washington D.C. and all the kids have politicians for parents, the school decided to let everyone off for a week so the kids could get all the 'therapy' they deserve." Newt had curled his fingers to imitate commas around the word 'therapy' and now he shook his head in mild disgust. "More like they'll take apart their mommies wine coolers and drown their daddies Mercedes into the pool."
"Harsh," Carter told her hypercritical cousin before taking out her phone.
"Who're you calling?" Newt inquired politely.
"Sam owes me a few favors."
At night, we'll meet up somewhere not too far from human population. You turn into an alien, and I'll keep a log of everything you do. That way, once you read it afterwards, you'll know what's going on.
Carter's idea was pretty sound on the phone, but on the flight over to the rendezvous point, Ben was having some serious doubts. They were going to be close to humans-what if he hurt them? Carter was going to be nearby-what if he hurt her? Ben wished he could go to Ventus for advice, but the god was still offline.
It was strange; after all this time, after Ventus used every possible means to annoy Ben, he missed him. It was disconcerting, not having him around to talk when he desperately needed it. He was so used to calling out to him and him answering that the separation made his heart ache. Every time Ben tried to now, it was like grasping for the ghost of a loved one.
Ben descended onto the parking lot, his green and blue wings flapping quietly in the air. Landing softly his mismatched wings folded into his back and disappeared. He then slipped his jacket back on and waited for Carter to appear.
The sound of a motorcycle running filled the air. For some reason it was coming closer, the engine roaring and the headlight blinding Ben's eyes as it entered the parking lot. The motorcycle circled around him, the engine turning into a purr before shutting off completely.
The motorcycle was an old Harley-Davidson, a red creature that despite its age had been well taken care of. The rider was wearing combat boots, jeans, a thin black Linkin Park t-shirt and a thin red jacket with a black 'X' on the heart. The rider took off her red motorcycle helmet and shook her black hair out of her face.
Carter smirked at Ben's stupefied expression. "Got something to say, Tennyson?"
Ben opened his mouth and said, "That…is hot."
Carter's smirk grew wider. "You can tell Sam that. I borrowed the bike from her."
"And the matching jacket?"
"I may have swiped it from her closet when she wasn't looking."
"She's got good style," Ben noted appreciatively before turning serious. "You ready for this?"
Carter held up a notepad and a pencil. "You know it. But first things first; do you remember what alien you turned into last night?"
He shook his head. "No. Why?"
"I thought that we could experiment with the same alien, see if whatever happened last night happened again," Carter explained. "But if you can't remember, we'll just go with something random."
Ben turned the dial on his Omnitrix and revealed the holographic form of Jetray. "How's this?"
"Haven't seen him in a while," Carter noted. "Go for it."
With that he slapped down the dial and changed into the red alien. His oversized green eyes blinked. And then, for whatever reason, green light washed over him, and Jetray turned into Big Chill.
Carter flipped open the notepad and jotted down, 9:45 PM- Jetray turns into Big Chill without Ben's consent. Standby for further analysis.
Big Chill flew through the night air, his midnight blue wings blending in with the sky. Carter jammed her borrowed helmet back on her head and followed. How Big Chill could ignore the roaring sound of the motorcycle was beyond her.
The alien landed in front of the Burger Boy restaurant, a futuristic domed fast-food joint that was an obvious rip off from some other famous restaurant. Big Chill's wings folded over his body into its usual robes and he walked up to the drive-thru window. He then started banging his fist on the intercom.
9:48 PM-Followed Big Chill to Burger Boy. Alien appears to be hungry. Standby for further analysis.
A pretty blonde waitress wearing roller skates angrily walked up to Big Chill. "What is your-AAAHHHH!" She screamed after she got a good look at the alien's face. She threw the metal tray she was holding and ran away.
The square tray was thrown high into the air, spinning slightly as it began to fall. Big Chill opened his mouth and swallowed it whole. He didn't even chew the metal.
Carter stared in disbelief and wrote, 9:50 PM-Big Chill accidentally scared off waitress, who threw a metal tray in the air. Big Chill ate it. Would explain metal piece found in Ben's teeth yesterday.
Big Chill leaned over the intercom and bite off a chunk of the metal. After chewing, he ripped out the rest of the machine with his teeth and swallowed it all whole.
9:51 PM-Big Chill ate drive-thru intercom. Has obvious cravings for anything metal. Standby for further analysis.
Big Chill spied the teenaged male a bit away from him. The boy was eating while listening to music through his silver headphones. The alien stalked over to him and stood over his shoulder silently. For a second the boy didn't notice him, but when he tried to take a sip from his glass he saw the moth man through the reflection. He twisted his abdomen to get a better look.
"Scram!" Big Chill hissed, leaning over and spitting in his face. Frightened the boy ran away with a whimper.
9:52 PM-Big Chill intentionally scared away eating customer. Proceeded to then eat the metal support for the outside eating area. Standby for possible physical intervention.
9:53 PM-After taking a bite out of pole, Big Chill used his ice powers to freeze a part of the outdoor area. It fell apart. He then continued eating it. Ben's suspicions of problems with his powers fully realized.
9:57 PM-Flew up to Burger Boy roof and ate part of the statue. Some humanity is obviously intact, since Big Chill ate the burger instead of the human part of the statue.
9:59 PM-Ate head off of Burger Boy statue. Possible threat detected. Standby for intervention.
"More," Big Chill croaked in his ghostly voice. He then flew off, passing over buildings at top speed. Carter revved her bike and drove after him, trying to keep the alien within her sights.
For a second she allowed herself to ponder what she was going to do. There was obviously a problem with Ben; she just took notes on him eating metal. But so far Ben hadn't hurt anybody. Yes, Carter said she was on standby for any possible threat, but from what she'd seen so far it hadn't come to that. It probably wouldn't. But Ben obviously wasn't in his right mind. If he started hurting innocent people…
Big Chill then sped up his already quick flying, and Carter went after him. All this time he'd been ignoring her, as if whatever was going on with him was more important than dealing with some girl. While Carter was thankful that she could gather notes on the phenomenon, it unnerved her to think of what was going through Big Chill's mind at the moment.
"Hey Big Chill!" she called out. No response. "Ben, stop flying so I can talk to you!" Still no response. "Don't ignore me!"
But ignore her he did. Big Chill turned a sharp corner with Carter on his tail, going faster and faster until she spied the giant wall on the outskirts of town. It was a gigantic brick monster, built in Bellwood's early days to protect the water pump that held the town's water supply. Only now it served as a literal roadblock for Carter. She turned sharply, tires screeching on the asphalt, leaving black streaks on the road. She gritted her teeth against the grating noise, eyes involuntarily scrunching up.
She almost didn't notice Big Chill turning intangible to go through the oversized wall. Almost.
Throwing off her helmet and jacket, Carter summoned her wings and flapped them. With a sound like a small sonic boom she flew upward, going higher and higher as she reached the top of the wall. She then flapped her wings and stayed still, trying to stay upright.
The giant expanse of the desert greeted her, from the tumbleweeds to the cacti to the jutting cliffs. But there was no Big Chill to taunt Carter with his enigmas. There was no sound of flapping wings or the noises of ripped apart metal.
Ben had disappeared.
Turning into Jetray hadn't been a problem. Ben knew from the start. Everything felt fine, unlike last night. But then phantom pains coursed through him, tingling sensations that shouldn't have been there. Ben had blinked from the suddenness before he was forcibly turned into Big Chill.
That had caught Ben off guard. He tried to take control of the alien part of him again, trying to force it to do what he wanted. It was supposed to be easy; he had done a million times, and he never had a problem back when he was ten.
But the alien part of him refused to obey like all the other aliens. It was screaming at him, unintelligible words pounding at his subconscious. A roaring sound filled his ears, and Ben could feel the oddly familiar sensation of something nibbling at his subconscious.
It hit him like a ton of bricks. He had felt this way before. Last night, when he had turned into Big Chill. The alien part of him had somehow taken control and did…something.
Whatever it was, Ben couldn't let it happen again. In his own brain he fought for dominance, forcing his will against the Necrofriggian. But the alien was screaming at him, the volume racketing to inconceivable levels as Ben was pushed back, far back into the recesses of his consciousness.
Barely, just barely, he could he see a black tar pit. No, a swirling vortex. A swirling vortex that was coming closer and closer to him, serrated edges cutting into his consciousness. It was pulling him toward it-a hand was pulling Ben's leg-he was struggling-he was screaming-he was clawing at the edges of the pit-
Ben! The holy voice, the savior was coming for him, rescuing him. Ben could see a bright spot just above the abyss. Ethereal light was flowing into the blackness, blotting out the evil that was pulling him in. A hand reached out of the hole, followed by an all too familiar face. He was shouting, reaching out an arm-
Ben, grab on! Ventus was yelling, all traces of humor swept away. Ben was crying, a hysterical laugh erupting out of his smiling mouth. He reached out a hand, using the other to cling to the edge of the pit. He was so, so close-the thing pulling him in tugged harder-he could just touch his friend's fingers-
Gotcha! Ventus said triumphantly, though he wasn't smiling just yet. He was pulling at Ben's arm, one hand latched onto the portal for support. Ben let go of the edge of the pit and grabbed his friend's arm. With incredible strength he was pulling the boy out. The darkness clung to him like a stain but then slid away. He was waist deep, then he was thigh deep, then he could just move his knees-
Ventus screamed out in pain as his arm broke apart, bone severing itself from its cartilage. For just one moment Ben was suspended in the air, the arm of the god in his hands. He stared numbly at the nub on his shoulder, golden blood flowing out of the wounds. He looked at the arm in his hands. It was disappearing, flesh being eaten away, revealing muscle tissue, golden veins, and then finally white bone. Even that was eaten away, leaving Ben with nothing.
Ben stared at Ventus, who stared back in shock. The golden blood had stopped flowing, leaving a half-sealed hole in the god's arm. For a moment they were suspended in mutual surprise before the portal began to close.
Ben cried out, reaching a hand out. Ventus held out his good hand, but then the portal sealed itself faster and faster until the god had to retreat the arm. Ben screamed, tears of anguish running down his face.
I'll be back, Ben, don't worry! Ventus said as the portal door closed. Ben hollered and thrashed as the abyss tugged him back into the blackness. He didn't want to go back-he wanted to be saved-he was so close-why-
Something tugged at his leg, making him sink faster. He screamed louder, his throat giving out. He let out a whimper, staring at the place where Ventus was just moments before. Black tendrils roped around Ben's shoulders as he fell. He continued to struggle, reaching for the edge, arms splayed for the serrated ends of the pit. The tendrils pulled him deeper, deeper…
-Falling, falling, always falling-
His mouth was below the surface, and yet he continued to struggle. The tendrils had abandoned him and Ben tried to swim upward. The blackness was thicker than tar-swimming was impossible-no, no, he couldn't give up-he wouldn't give up-
-Falling, falling, always falling-
His arms slackened, his legs dead weights-lungs filled with tar-eyes bursting with salty tears-defeat clinging to him-
-Falling, falling, how the mighty are falling-