A/N: What happened to me? A lot of things happened, I got sick, I had school, I had work, I lost the writing bug, and the list goes and on and on. In all honesty I actually did get sick and bogged down in work, and then something else happened. I decided I wanted to write a book, and in these past few months I've been working on that little project instead of this one, which explains my sudden drop off the face of the planet.
And the entire time I was writing I kept thinking about this story and how it was unfinished, and all the moments I had wanted to write down and of course the truth behind Eric. So I decided to come back and finish it. So I present to you the long awaited fourth chapter of Benny's Boy!
But before I let you go I wanted you to know this: I'm starting off with updates twice a week right now and from there I'll eventually get to a single update a week. And if you have any question I'll do my best to answer it, just leave me a message or put it in a review, but if it's too spoilerish then I might ask you to wait a little longer. Oh and Eric's identity will be revealed over the remainder of the story, but every chapter contains little hints as to what he is, or might be. Enjoy.
Benny's Boy
By Takarifan101
Chapter Four: London Escape
"This could almost be nice," whispered Benny as the wind rushed though his hair, as the world passed by him transforming single moments into picturesque scenery, and as the lights of both other vehicles and shop windows blurred into nothing more than lines of white. He closed his eyes and found himself at ease, in a state of peace he never had, and would probably never again experience. He thought of Erica, and of Eric, imagined a life together, just the three of them, and as quickly as he allowed the illusion to engulf him it faded when a chorus of screeches assaulted his ears. All at once the beauty of being on Ethan's motorcycle gave way to horror as the situation at hand came crashing down all around him.
"Hang on," yelled Ethan as he maneuvered his cycle from the street to the sidewalk and around any pedestrians that had the misfortune of being outside on that cool summer night. Some dove to the sides while others stood unable to move, entrapped by the sight of two boys coming at them full speed on a slim black motorcycle. Benny renewed his grip around his friend and when he felt bile at the back of his throat forced himself to look away from the obstacles that plagued their path and instead chose to focus on the mass of creatures moving across the once beautiful night sky. A mass that could easily be mistaken for a large creature, one that now blocked out all else as it rapidly descended upon the city and perhaps more importantly towards the two of them.
"How do we stop them?" asked Benny, as several Ahools broke off from the larger group in a nosedive, their black beaks flashing in the London light. The bike swerved, and moved back onto the street to avoid the sudden impact. In front of them a car exploded into debris as one of the Ahool's crashed against it's roof transforming it into nothing more than a smoldering mess. In the moment it took to pass the destruction the creature had already scrambled from one vehicle to another in an attempt to continue the chase on foot.
"We don't," answered Ethan as he watched from the review mirror as several more appeared only to glide in the air directly above them. He sped up and closed in on the double decker bus in front of them. He clutched the handles of his motorcycle tighter and with as much courage as possible said: "You might want to close your eyes."
"What are you doing?" In response Ethan turned the bike in front of the bus. Benny closed his eyes expecting some form of pain or free falling sensation; and instead was rewarded with the sound of tires screeching and glass shattering. He looked up in enough time to watch as several of the owls collided with the large vehicle before it swerved and crashed up and onto the sidewalk. "What the hell are you-?"
"On your left," yelled Ethan as he made another sharp turn. Benny looked up, caught his own reflection in the creature's milky white eyes, and reacting on years of Spellmaster training, muttered an incantation under his breath. There was a flash of bright blue light and the remaining Ahool let out a screech of pain before pulling back, slamming into a building and vanishing from view. "Sarah can you hear me?"
The earpiece buzzed to life and Benny felt his heart skip. He had forgotten about the small device Ethan had given him. "Yeah, are you and Benny ok?"
"We're fine but the Ahools are swarming on us, I don't think I can see single star in the sky right now."
"I know we can see the group from the streets. Erica, Eric, and I are making a grab for Pandora's Box. If Eric has Weir blood in him then he should be able to activate it. It's important that you keep them distracted, we're about to head into the nest."
"How is a baby going to activate Pandora's Box? Never mind just be careful alright?"
"Have I ever been anything but?" Before he could respond the connection was cut and an eerie silence fell over them.
"Where are the police?" asked Benny as he watched the wreckage behind them get farther and farther away. He thought of the people trapped in the bus, the ones in the cars, those who had jumped out of the way. What going to happen to the people hurt during their frantic escape? As much as he hated to admit it, Ethan and him were just as responsible for the destruction behind them as were the Ahools. "Why isn't someone helping those people? What's going on?"
In the skies above them the horrendous screeching noise filled the air, and unlike them last time Ethan gunned the motorcycle before the glass could come crashing down around them. Once it stopped the creatures resumed their assault from above.
"Their screech," responded Ethan as several more dove down after them. He weaved back and forth avoiding both the small explosion the Ahools made upon impact with the ground and any other vehicles in their way. "Any non-supernatural being that hears it forgets about the Ahools and anything related to them. It creates a delay in emergency responses, after all no one remembers the cause of the destruction, or the people these things have injured and killed."
"Killed?" muttered Benny as he felt his grip weaken. In all their time fighting the supernatural together innocent people had never died, some may have been injured or hurt, but never anything beyond that. He felt the world turn unnaturally underneath him, and did his best to stifle the guilt before it could blossom into anything more and finally asked: "E… what are these things? Where did they come from? Why are they here?"
Ethan was silent for a moment and the only noise he heard was the song of the world around them: the monsters' cries, the sound of crashes, the blessed noise of sirens and then through it all Benny heard his friend whisper a single sentence:
"It all started when we found Pandora's Box."
A few weeks ago the London Vampire Council picked up signs that someone or something had been trespassing within the inner workings of Big Ben. Worried it might be part of a larger plot or perhaps something worse they sent Sarah and I to investigate and report any strange findings we might come across. We explored the area the alarms had gone off in and found nothing of interest.
But night and after night the alarm continued to go off prompting the Council to launch an all out investigation of the clock tower. While we were there I had a vision that led us to a portion of the gears that was designed to look like the wall, and after a bit of inspection we discovered it was actually a small vault. Inside was a black cube with strange markings all around it and after examining it we decided to call the mysterious object Pandora's Box.
The Council wasn't sure how to treat the newly discovered artifact and left it in my care. I used my telepathy to peer inside the cube and that's when I got my first sight of the Ahool. I did a bit of research and with some help from E. Icarus Weir's 'Creature Compendium' I discovered an entry made on them. At the time I should've have seen it for what it was, not just a simple collection of data, but a warning.
They're vermin, and they feed on any and all supernatural creatures. Vampires, Were-wolves, Seers, Spellmasters, anything at all they eat. Do not let it out.
After we discovered this we returned to the Council and begged them put the box somewhere it could be kept safe. The London Council unlike the Whitechapel one has nine lead vampires, and they decided to vote on what to do with it. Three wanted it stashed within the Council's vault, where they believed it to be safe and protected, something I agreed with. Two wanted it returned to its original confines despite the fact someone had clearly been looking for it and four debated on whether it was ethical to keep an innocent creature locked away.
No matter what way the vote went there really was no winning, after all the most dangerous thing had already happened: box had been discovered. They didn't listen to me about my warnings, and as they discussed the finer points of politics they left it in the Council room unguarded. Together Sarah and I did some research into the symbols across the cube and learned the markings were actually Spellmaster enchantments, meaning its origins had to be magical, which made protecting it in my opinion all the more important.
I don't know how it happened or why but it suddenly opened. Sarah and I had left the city for personal reasons, and that's when we got the call. The monster was free and it was not only eating but converting others to be just like it. I didn't understand what it meant at the time but our only concern was getting back into London and setting things right. That's when we learned how dangerous these things really were.
By the time we got back the creatures had been contained within the council building. We were told that they consumed the vampires trapped inside, and anything that was left behind transformed into one of them. They went from a single Ahool to nearly a hundred overnight. When the sunset we learned the hard way they weren't trapped, instead they had been waiting. The Ahools escaped, but more than that they… they feasted. They were faster in the air than any vampire, and they moved like a colony of ants closing in on a piece of food. We tried to escape but without my motorcycle, or Sarah's car we could only make it so far on foot.
They stalked us for blocks, they can sense supernatural beings and hone in on them. With nowhere to go I had to activate the spell app on my phone. It sent out a distress call to you and Erica, created a blinding flash of light, and provided our only means for escape. We managed to get out of London, and by the time the sun rose you must've already been on your way. Sarah and I rested for a few hours and headed back to the apartment to get our equipment. By the time we were ready the Ahools had already closed in both you and Erica, and the rest… the rest is history.
"Oh my god," whispered Erica as she followed Sarah down the alleyway her hands resting firmly on Eric's shoulders. She thought of Eric's sudden appearance, and then of the Ahools. The timing was almost perfect with one another, could they have possibly been related? No… she couldn't let those thoughts to pollute her mind, not now, not ever. There was no way Eric could or would do something that would put both Benny and her in harm. Despite her better judgment she looked up at the dark mass of creature flying in the sky, and felt her heart race. Somewhere in the middle of that chaos Benny and Ethan were fighting to escape, no… not just that, they were fighting for their lives. "All those creatures are… I mean were the London Vampire Coven?"
"Yeah," whispered Sarah as peered around the corner with the Red-Light raised and a finger resting on the trigger. She gave the all clear sign and then motioned for them to follow. "They were all part of the Council, and the supernatural community, or they might have just been someone with powers who happened to just be traveling and ended up in this mess. So you can understand the sudden appearance of your thirteen year old son isn't really as shocking as it could have been."
"All those people," whispered Eric as stretched out his arms trying to ease the pain from his back. The oncoming waves had finally dulled to a simple rhythmic throb, one that matched steady beat of that single word as it bounced around his head. "They're… they're dead…."
"I wish I could say they were but they're not," said Sarah darkly as they reached an unmarked door. A quick glance around confirmed they were alone and she placed a hand against it before continuing: "We need to get Pandora's Box and according to what Ethan researched, the touch of a Weir should be enough to activate it and seal those monsters back inside. We need to stop these things before they have a chance to spread across the entire world."
"The entire world," said Erica as she sampled the words on her lips. A chill ran up her spine. No more supernatural beings, just these monsters to haunt the dreams of children and anyone who had the misfortune of being born different. She thought of the hotel room, how close had they come to becoming two more of the thousands that were already flying above? What would her parents say if she had never returned, only vanished into the night as these creatures did? A vampire worrying for her mortality, how was that for a sick joke? She thought once again of Benny and Ethan trapped with that frenzy of beasts, tightened the grip on her son and shivered.
"It's ok mom," said Eric as he looked over his shoulder at her. Though his eyes were a perfect likeness of her own, everything else about his face mirrored his father's perfectly. The strange timidness in his voice was gone now, replaced by an old and unnatural hardness. No… not a hardness but the seasoned sound of someone trying to fight away their own worries and fears. "Dad's going to be ok, I know it," then after a moment he added: "He has to be."
"Don't worry," said Sarah picking up on both their thoughts. "Ethan's got his motorcycle, a Red-Light, and more importantly Benny. There's nothing those two can't do when they're together. Besides they're not the only ones who can do something about these monsters." She pushed the door open and took a step back when the smell dust and decay suddenly rushed forward from the almost solid darkness. "Welcome to the London City Vampire Council Building."
Erica took a deep breath of the cold night air, and when it hurt her lungs to take in anymore she took a step forward and into the infinite shadows. It took only a moment for her eyes to adjust and when they did she felt the world turn around her. What caught her attention first wasn't the many hallways, or strange structure of what should have been a simple apartment building, no it was the musty and rather rancid air that fouled her each and every breath. It was as if someone had simply shut the windows and left everything to rot within the building. One could almost call it a physical force, an entity that watched their each and every move. She stifled a cough and watched as Eric stepped in after her, and Sarah as closed the steel door cutting off the small glow of the London night life.
"M-mom," called Eric as his voice cracked. She turned to face her son, and watched as he walked around the darkness with his arms stretched out before him. She felt her cheeks flush red at the somewhat obvious problem, what kind of mother could forget something as simple as this? "I-I can't see."
"Sorry," she took his hand, and felt as he stiffened with fear only to relax when she gave him a gentle squeeze. She thought about their conversation earlier in the hotel room and whispered: "You're going to have to trust me, ok? Can you do that?"
"Ok…. I'm trusting you Mom." Erica felt a strange warmth in the pit of her stomach as she carefully guided her son down one of the various hallways and after Sarah.
"They turned the Council room into a nest," whispered Sarah as she carefully peered around every corner expecting the worst. "The bright light hurts their eyes, Ethan designed the Red-Lights to project a certain wavelength that stuns the creatures and renders them temporarily blind. Since they have no eyelids the darkness is pretty much their one true and blue ally. Unfortunately London is home to all kinds of underground passages, which makes these things right at home in the city."
"What do you do for a living Aunt Sarah?" asked Eric as he continued to walk through the darkness, little by little details were beginning to fall into place as his eyes adjusted. "If you don't mind me asking that is."
"Journalism. I work at a relatively popular paper and get my articles publish three times a week. It's mostly little things though; you know it helps me keep track of the strange and the supernatural around here without it becoming too obvious. Lately I've been doing a lot of editorials trying to help put the public's mind at ease, especially after the strange string of children that disappeared. They've been blowing the whole thing out of proportion trying to convince the public of a serial kidnapper, and get this the only connection between the cases is knocking. As if a kidnapper would knock, the public doesn't need that sort of thing shoved down their throats. I'm trying to show that instead of instilling fear into their kids about vanishing into the night they should focus on teaching them how to be aware of their surroundings and others."
"So let me get this straight," said Erica as a grin spread across her lips. As much as she hated to admit it, her friend's cold logic had some truth behind it. "Your basically saying your article focuses on parents being responsible for teaching their kids how to be aware of potential danger rather than creating a boogeyman to keep them from being kids?"
"Exactly! Did you know this current hype has actually created a game called 'Faceless Men Tag'? Panic is not the best way to educate the public."
"I actually read that last night," mumbled Erica as she recalled the article. She found her arms covered in goosebumps and watched as dust floated through the stale air. All at once she wished for the comfort and protection of the morning sun. "Very creepy for a kids games. That reminds me did you ever find that cure for-"
Before she could finish Sarah let out a small laugh and rushed through the open door and into the next room. Erica quickened her pace and carefully led Eric into the room beyond and stopped when she took in the sight all around her. High ceilings, shelves filled with books all around, seating for what easily could've been thousands of specters, and at the center a large curved desk with seating for nine. She saw the small black box glisten in the darkness and felt another chill go through her, it was as if she was being watched. Sarah closed the distance with a few strides, and then leaned over the desk to search for something. When she reappeared it was with a glowing lantern.
"This is for Eric," said Sarah as handed the lantern over to the boy. "And this," she held the box up. "Is Pandora's Box. Once we get out in the open, and with Eric's powers we should be able to re-seal all the Ahools within it."
"Eric's powers?" asked Erica as she glanced between the box and the boy. All at once everything fell into place, and with a groan she said: "Sarah, Eric doesn't have any powers. He's not a Spellmaster, he's just a regular kid."
"But Benny's a Spellmaster…." She noticed the way Eric turned to face the ground and felt a sudden wave of stupidity wash over her. "Sorry I didn't know… I mean… it's not bad but this changes things…. We need to get to Benny and Ethan as soon as possible."
Erica watched as some dust fell from the ceiling and nodded in response. Something about being within the dark confined space had resurrected some serious childhood fears. She turned to look up and without turning away took Eric's wrist tightly in her hand. With a slight quiver in her voice she stated: "We need to go. Now."
Sarah followed her friend's gaze up and felt her heart stop, on the ceiling far above them hidden in the shadows several Ahools appeared, their milky white eyes glowing in the darkness and their heads rocking back and forth as they continued to watch the prey below. She held up the Red-Light and motioned for the others to head towards the exit. All at once, and with no warning the creatures lunged straight at them.
Erica pulled Eric close to her and closed her eyes as Sarah fired the device. She felt something warm against her body and when she opened her eyes it was to find a dozen, perhaps more of the owl like creatures lying on the ground twitching and hissing in pain. Eric looked at them, shuddered and then buried his face back into his mother's arms.
"Follow me," ordered Sarah as she ran out the large doors and into the maze of hallways. They turned down several halls, and as they did the world around them seemed alive with the sound of their footfalls and the heavy breathing of the trio. "Once we find Benny and Ethan we can-"
Several more Ahools appeared from the shadows and without even thinking about it Erica picked up her son and quickened her pace. All at once the air filled with their screeches, an almost endless chorus of shrieking.
"What are you doing?" asked Eric as he was uncomfortably thrown over his mother's shoulder. He watched as the eyes closed in all around them. "I-"
"Don't question it," answered Erica as she followed after her friend. "Vampire speed, go, run!"
As they neared the exit Erica heard Sarah's earpiece buzz to life, and turned once to watched as the owls continued to get closer and closer. Sarah hit the door first and kicked it open, stumbling after her Erica threw Eric forward and then together with her friend's weight and strength began to press against it. On the other side the Ahools crashed against the metal with their beaks snapping and tongues flicking in the nighttime air.
"Sarah can you read me? Are you there?"
"I'm a little busy," managed Sarah as she continued to push against the door. It began to open, and the next thing either of the girls knew Eric appeared at its side and drove his foot into the monster's eye. It stumbled backwards into the others and together the vampires managed to shut it. Through her gasps she asked: "Whats… up?"
"We have a problem, they're-" There the screech of tires followed by the unmistakable sounds of someone screaming. "They've got Benny!"
It happened so fast. One moment Benny was sitting on the motorcycle hanging onto to Ethan casting a spell at anyone of the Ahools that dared to get too close and the next he felt the tarot card in his pocket once against heat up and a dull pain exploded across his back. It had only taken a moment to register what had happened, but turning over to see the creature's talons wrapped tightly on each shoulder was something else. He felt the world go out of focused and forced the pain away, if he passed out now then that would be it. Game over, no redos, thank you for playing.
The Ahool began to flap its wings harder and Benny let out a cry as he felt a fresh wave of pain surge across his shoulders, it was trying to take off with him in tow. He felt his body lift up slightly and then against the immense fire that was going through his back did his best to weigh himself down. He held onto Ethan as a dark realization suddenly dawned on him.
There would be no choice; he knew what he had to do.
The Ahool was going to lift him, that much was fact, the only thing he wasn't sure of yet was if Ethan himself was going to be taken as well.
"Benny hang on," yelled Ethan as he casted one quickly glance over his shoulder and attempted to out speed the monster. "Just hang on!"
Benny gave his friend one last look, and though he couldn't see his eyes through the motorcycle helmet he knew there was fear in them. He could sense the worry radiating off of his friend, and without even thinking about it he loosened his grip and felt his body pulled backwards and then upwards. The earpiece tumbled free, and vanished into the street below. It wasn't even a question, and as he watched the motorcycle get farther away he ran the scenario over once more in his mind.
If he had held on then either Ethan would've been lifted or the cycle would've lost it's balanced and crashed, or equally as bad lost speed and been unable to outrun the other Ahools. Simple as that, at least this way his friend could-
He heard the screech of tires and watched as Ethan quickly turned and followed after him. Little by little the cycle got smaller as the monster lifted him higher into the sky. He ignored the pain and searched for a way to escape, anything at this point would do, and then he saw his target. He grasped the Ahool's legs in his hands and said:
"Let's see how you deal with magic when you can't eat it." He thought of the spell and then looked down, only one chance, no room for error. "Calidum manibus."
He heard the creature screeched as his hands began to burn against its legs giving off a sizzling sound. It zoomed back and forth through the sky and the next thing he knew he was plummeting through the cool night air. Against the rushing wind he opened his eyes, saw his target and then braced for the inevitable impact. He felt his body collide with the cold glass and odd metal polls, and felt the breath forced out of his lungs. He wanted to turn or move to ease the pain but the slightest movement could throw him off the edge of his platform. Instead he weakly grabbed the metal polls with each hand and did his best to catch his breath.
When he was numb to the agony of his body he carefully turned over and got to his knees. The wind howled around him and he wasn't the least bit surprised to find what seemed to all of London in his view. He struggled to his feet and let out a maniacal laugh, he was standing atop one of the various capsules that made up none other than the famous London Eye. The wind picked up, he dropped to his knees and looked wildly around for a way down. He pulled out his cellphone and was surprised to find text from both Erica and Ethan.
We're on the way, stay still!- E/E
Benny turned back to the sky. Moving across the darkness he could make out the large flock of Ahools as it continued to flutter about. A few moments later he caught sight of Erica as she landed with Eric, both looking noticeably pale and worried. The carriage rocked, and in that single instant they simply stared at one another, unable to speak, and unable move. Then Eric scrambled as fast as he could across the small roof without the slightest regard for safety, and threw his arms around him. It took Benny a moment to realize the boy's whole body was shaking with sobs.
"D-dad, I-thought… I thought l'd lost you a-again!" managed Eric through his tears. He squeezed him harder, and began to hiccup. "I-I c-couldn't do it, not again."
"It's ok," whispered Benny as he returned the boy's embrace, patted his back and ruffled his hair. "I'm ok, a little sore maybe, but I'm still here." He looked up at Erica. "How are you holding up?"
Before she could respond he heard someone call out: "Benny! Are you all right?" He looked up. Ethan was standing hand in hand with Sarah atop one of the higher capsules. Their hair whipped about in the air and above the howl of the wind Ethan called: "We don't stand a chance against them in the sky! We have to get down before-"
As if drawn by the mere statement, a screeching sound echoed throughout the sky, and together the five of them looked up at the cyclone of Ahools flying above. Moving lower the flock easily engulfed the entirety of the London Eye, leaving no room for escape or descent. Benny stood up, pulled Eric close to him and watched as Erica bared her fangs, and took to his other side.
"Stay between us," said Benny as he clenched his fists and maintained his balance. He casted one quick glance up at his friends and watched as they too took up a fighting stance. He caught Erica's eyes and smiled when he saw the same burning determination within them. "We're going to keep you safe no matter what."
"Be prepared to fight," said Erica as she felt her heartbeat increase and the strange but familiar rush of adrenaline through her body. "And no matter what happens I want you to know we both love you."
Eric turned pale and nodded. "I trust you both."
Benny casted a spell the moment the first Ahool touched down on their small platform. He heard Erica grunt as she kicked one to the side and blocked another as it attempted to bite her. The carriage jolted and he looked over the edge to see several of the monsters crawling along the side their small black tongues flicking about, as if they could taste them already.
"I'm not going to lie," said Benny as he drove his foot into one of their eyes. It tumbled backwards with a strange and feral scream. "I kind of missed this a lot."
Erica rolled her eyes and drove her elbow into the nearest one before turning to the next and sending it over the edge. "I will admit it does feel good to be fighting monsters again."
They turned to look over their shoulders and gave each other a smile. And in that single moment they enjoyed the sight of one another, hair flowing in the wind, battle scared, and a smile that easily bypassed all that and brought forth memories of the quiet nights they had spent both together, and alone.
"Look out!" called Eric as he saw several Ahools rush forward. They two turned at the same moment and knocked their opponents away. Eric watched as his mom and dad continued to fight. He found both the pain in his back gone, and the uneasy knot in his stomach faded. Here atop a London Eye capsule, in the midst of the Ahools, and despite the fear that and taken hold over the past few days he felt safe, and why wouldn't he? After all he was with parents.
Above them Ethan placed a hand on the monster and flashed a painful memory forward, the owl yelled and fell sideways off and into the darkness beyond. He watched as Sarah caught a beak with her hand and gave it a sharp twist followed by the sound of cracking. She threw it to the side and watched as several more took its place. Back to back with Ethan she let out a laugh before saying:
"You know the entire year we've lived here this is the first time we've actually been on this thing?"
"Hey in my defense we've been busy," began Ethan as he pressed his hand against another before forcing it away. "Besides I'm not the one working the crazy job schedule that has her going in and out at all sorts of odd hours."
"I knew you were going to bring that up." An Ahool crashed in the space between them and together they knocked it off the capsule. She flashed him a smile. "Well someone needs to pay for the other's rather expensive electronic hobbies. Besides we were supposed to ride it last week, and it was your idea to leave town and get-"
He laughed. "Whoa it takes two to tango dear, and if I'm not mistaken you wanted it more than I did." All at once he placed a hand against his head and cursed. "Why are we talking about this now? We need to seal these things, where's Pandora's Box?"
Sarah reached into her bag and produced the small black box and as she did the lights of the London Eye sprang to life. The capsule began to move and as she stumbled sideways she called out to her friends below them.
"Benny catch!"
Benny looked up, caught sight of the box, and using as much strength as possible shouldered an Ahool out of the way and held up a hand. The moment he felt the object make contact he tightened it and stumbled forwards towards the edge only to stop when he felt someone grab him from behind. One quick glance confirmed it was Eric, and with a determination familiar to his mother's burning in his eyes, the boy pulled him to safety. Benny took a step back towards the center, gave him a warm smile, and then turned to look down at Pandora's Box.
"Behind you!" screamed Erica as an Ahool surged forward from the darkness and straight towards them. It knocked Benny into his son and the box skirted passed their feet. Erica grabbed it and swung against another monster. She turned to Benny and before she could hand it off was knocked straight down and against the glass of the capsule. The box stumbled once more towards the edge and using the last of his strength Benny darted after it.
Eric knew what was going to happen before it did and cried out: "Dad don't!"
Benny grabbed Pandora's Box and with it in hand tumbled right off the edge of the capsule. Eric dove after him, and Erica pinned against the side watched, as the single moment illuminated by the light of the London Eye, seemed to stretch on forever.
Benny, his hair waving wildly about in the wind, the box held in one hand, while the other stretched out towards the carriage, and the cold look of fear across his face. Eric, his dark green eyes focused, his arms stretched out towards his father's, and look of determination as his hand attempted to close in around Benny's.
She felt the creature bear down on her and as she fought against it, time seemed to suddenly catch with them. With tears in her eyes Erica watched as both Benny and Eric plummeted from the top of the London Eye and into the darkness beyond.
A/N: There you have it, two weeks will resolve this cliffhanger, (it wot be another three month wait I give you my word) and bring about a close to the first story arc. Can you find the three massive hints to the overall plot? Was it a mistake that I wrote Eric's eyes as green? And what will happen to Erica's boys now that they're on a crash course with certain death? Only time will tell, and as I mentioned before I'd be more than willing to answer any questions you may have. Take care, and stay safe!