August, Year 4
"But we know there are infinite timelines out there," Ben asserted.
"And how exactly are you so sure of that?" Gwen argued.
"Because we've seen other timelines. Our future selves had no memory of ever meeting their future selves when they were our age. So they must have come from a different timeline. Duh!"
"That just means there are multiple timelines. 'Multiple' does not necessarily mean 'infinite.' Duh!"
Ben and Gwen were sitting across from each other at the table in the Rust Bucket. Max was driving to their next destination, and the two cousins were getting a little bored. As they were chatting to pass the time, they'd gotten into a minor disagreement. And, as was often the case with them, that minor disagreement was rapidly growing into a major one.
"But if the timeline splits every time someone makes a decision or something random happens, then there has to be infinite timelines," Ben went on. "There's billions of people on Earth, and, like, trillions more throughout the universe. That's so many decisions!"
"And who the heck told you that's the criteria that causes the timeline to split? You're making way too many assumptions!"
"Well how many timelines do you think there are, then? Just the two?"
"I have no idea!" Gwen threw her hands up before quickly dropping them back down onto the table. She seemed to have slammed the table harder than she meant to, because she immediately recoiled from the loud noise.
"Why don't we settle down back there?" Max suggested from up in the driver's seat. He was being polite, but their bickering was clearly irritating him.
"Sorry, Grandpa," Gwen apologized.
"Sorry, Grandpa," Ben said as well. He and his girlfriend stared at each other for a second.
Years later, and we're still getting called out by Grandpa.
Ben cracked an embarrassed smile, which Gwen mimicked. The two of them chuckled softly, avoiding eye contact for a moment.
"Just like old times, eh?" Ben joked.
"Yeah." Gwen sounded happy to hear that, and she absentmindedly brushed her hair out of her face. She then cleared her throat and picked her book back up, flipping it open to return to reading. It took Ben a second to realize she was reading Charmcaster's spellbook.
When did she start doing the whole magic thing again?
Ben idly wondered what that was about, but it reminded him to check something. Pulling out his phone, he did a quick search for 'aliens' and 'strange occurrences' in the area.
No. No. Dumb. No. Probably just a crazy dude. No.
Scrolling through the results, Ben didn't see all that much that looked promising. However, just when he was about to give up, something caught his attention.
"Chupacabra!" he shouted excitedly.
Gwen took her eyes off of her book to glance at him for a moment, then went back to reading.
"Hello, Dweeb." Ben turned his phone around and held it out towards his cousin. "A legendary goat-sucking monster's been spotted twelve times in Arizona this week!"
"Neat," Gwen replied nonchalantly.
"What, you don't believe it?"
"No, I believe it," she corrected, flipping a page. "We've met hundreds of different kinds of aliens, and I'm reading an actual spellbook right now. I used to be more 'Scully' about these kinds of things, but I don't think any cryptid is off the table now."
"Good point." Ben was a little let down by the fact that she wasn't more interested, so he got up to go ask his grandfather about it instead. "Hey, Grandpa. How far are we from Arizona right now?" he asked, sitting down in the passenger seat.
"Hmm, well, not far, but it's out of our way," Max answered, not taking his eyes off of the road.
"Great! So can we go chupacabra hunting?" Ben went on, ignoring his grandfather's objection.
"That's not really any of our business."
"What? Yeah it is! What if it's really an alien?"
"It doesn't really matter what it is, Ben," Max told him.
"But it could hurt someone! Or, you know, hurt some goats."
Max scratched the side of his head. "I understand helping people is important to you, Ben, but we shouldn't go out of our way to look for trouble. After all, we're supposed to be on vacation. You know, traveling across the country, visiting historic landmarks, seeing the sights!"
"Most of the chupacabra sightings recently have been in the Grand Canyon National Park," Ben offered. "That's, like, the landmarkiest place in the U.S.!"
"Don't make me come up there," Gwen threatened, clearly not liking Ben's use of a made-up word.
"Whatever, Dweeb."
Max tilted his head, seeming to consider Ben's suggestion. "Well, I have always loved camping in the Grand Canyon. Gwen, what do you say?"
The redhead said nothing for a moment, keeping her eyes on her book. Ben couldn't tell if she was hesitant to agree or if she just hadn't realized she'd been asked a question. "Alright," she eventually said. She'd spoken the word so neutrally that Ben still couldn't tell if she was actually against the idea or not.
"Alright, then," Max said with a smile. "Grand Canyon, here we come!"
Since they were hours away from their destination, Ben ended up with some more time to kill. After messing around on his phone for a bit, he eventually got bored and went to retrieve his 3DS from the bedroom.
When Ben returned to the dining area of the Rust Bucket, without thinking, he slid backwards into the booth Gwen was sitting in, resting his back against her side. She raised no objections, and even shifted her position a bit to allow Ben to get more comfortable.
"Learn any new magic stuff, Dweeb?" Ben asked as he started his game, noticing Gwen was still laser-focused on Charmcaster's spellbook.
"A bit," Gwen replied. "I've mostly been brushing up on the fundamentals."
"What are the fundamentals?" Ben had spent plenty of time with Gwen during the height of her magic usage, but back then, he'd never paid that much attention whenever she'd mentioned the technical aspects of it.
"A lot of it has to do with visual imagination, memory, and energy conversion," the redhead explained, flipping another page. "I mostly specialize in telekinesis, so there's a lot of physics involved, too."
"Physics?" Ben didn't like the sound of that. It sounded like science class.
No wonder I always tuned her out whenever she explained it…
"Yeah." Gwen sounded excited to talk about it, however. "Now that we're in high school, we'll be learning more physics pretty soon. I don't think I can take physics until sophomore year at my school, though. What about you?"
"Beats me. I haven't even looked at my schedule for next year," Ben answered, rapidly tapping a button.
"School starts in, like, three weeks."
"Then I'll start caring in three weeks. Well, that's a lie. I still won't care then either."
Gwen slid further into the booth. In doing so, she deprived Ben of his back rest, letting him fall.
"Ow."
"We're gonna be in high school now," Gwen repeated. "You better start taking school more seriously." She leaned over, ducking her head beneath the table to whisper into his ear. "Because I don't wanna date a moron, Doofus." With the table blocking them from Max's view, Gwen snuck a quick kiss from Ben before moving to sit upright once more.
Ben was left staring up at the ceiling with a stupid grin on his face. "Relax, Dweeb," he said after a moment, shifting positions so he could sit upright next to Gwen. "I'll be fine in school this year. Just as long as I have… motivation."
"We're here!" Max called out as the Rust Bucket came to a stop.
Ben and Gwen were both jolted awake. At some point along the drive, they'd fallen asleep in their booth, leaning against one another. Realizing immediately how bad that had probably looked, Ben quickly hopped out of the booth, getting up onto his feet and stretching.
Here's hoping Grandpa still thinks we're 'adorably close' and not 'suspiciously close…'
Through the window, Ben could see that it was dusk. Stepping closer to the window, he peered outside, taking stock of their surroundings. "This isn't the Grand Canyon."
"That's right. We're at the campgrounds," Max confirmed. "But the canyon should be just down that way," he said, pointing.
Ben smiled, stepping back towards the table. "Let's go check it out," he said to Gwen, extending a hand to her. However, he immediately put his hand down, realizing they couldn't hold hands in front of their grandfather, especially not now.
Gwen gave him an understanding nod and climbed out of the booth herself.
"Alright, but be back soon so you can help me set up the campsite," their grandfather told them. "And don't go too close to the edge now, Ben."
"Why'd you specify me?" Ben asked as he and Gwen stepped outside the Rust Bucket.
"Gee, I wonder why." Gwen shrugged exaggeratedly, wearing a smug look on her face.
"Whatever. Race ya to the canyon!" Ben abruptly took off running in the direction Max had indicated earlier, determined to give himself a head start so he could beat Gwen.
"Ben, you-?"
From behind him, Ben could hear Gwen chasing after him. He laughed, pushing his way through some bushes. As he entered a small wooded area, his view of the canyon wasn't clear yet, but he could make out the edge of a cliff in the distance. "I'm gonna win!" he called out.
Suddenly, Ben felt something grab him by the ankle, causing him to trip. He landed on his stomach with an "Oof!" Looking back, he saw a glowing blue light surrounding his ankle.
Gwen's magic!
"Oh my god, Ben!" Gwen stopped as soon as she caught up to him, dispelling her magic and kneeling by his side. "I'm so sorry, I didn't think that through at all! Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"
"Ooh, ow, I think my leg is broken," Ben said, climbing to his feet.
"What?" Gwen asked.
"Not!" As soon as he could, Ben took off running again, still wanting to beat her.
"Dammit, Ben!"
Ben merely laughed.
A minute later, he had won. The edge of the Grand Canyon came into view, and he skidded to a halt in front of the fence that had been put up in front of it.
Gwen caught up to him soon after, stopping a few feet away from him, panting. "You… absolute… Doofus."
"Hey, you're the one who tried to cheat," Ben pointed out, smirking as he turned around and leaned back against the fence.
"You're lucky I don't push you over that cliff," Gwen said, advancing on him menacingly.
Ben chuckled nervously. "Hah, Gwen, it was just a joke-"
When Gwen reached him, she pulled him in for a kiss. "There's your prize for winning," she told him afterwards, giving him a smirk of her own.
"I gotta win more often, then."
"Dream on."
The two of them stood side by side and looked out over the canyon together in silence for a moment. Gwen moved her hand to place it on top of Ben's.
"The view is incredible," Gwen said aloud. "And don't you dare say the obvious line."
"What?"
"Nevermind." Gwen gave him another kiss on the cheek. "We should go back and help Grandpa now."
Ben grabbed her arm. "One sec." He leaned in and kissed her again. "Can't have you winning at that, can I?"
Gwen laughed. "Hey, if that's losing, I wouldn't mind losing more often." She took Ben's hand in hers and began leading him back towards the campsite.
However, just before they reached the treeline, Ben noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Far in the distance, he spotted movement. "Gwen, look!" he shouted.
It was difficult to make out much detail, but Ben could see two figures hopping towards the cliff's edge. His first thought was they reminded him of Ripjaws, although they were smaller and more reptilian. But, before he got a great look at them, they hopped over the cliff, down into the canyon.
"Did you see that?" Ben asked.
"Yeah," Gwen said with a nod.
"Let's go after them!"
"No." Gwen held firmly onto his hand. "Let's go tell Grandpa first."
"Grandpa, Grandpa!" Ben called as they made it back to camp.
Max had already set up a campfire and was in the middle of making a stew. "Welcome back, kids. How was the view?"
"We saw them! Chupacabras! They're here!" Ben explained. He and Gwen were panting as they came to a stop in front of Max. "They went into the canyon. We gotta go after 'em."
Max turned to Gwen. "Is that right?"
Gwen nodded, although she did not seem nearly as enthusiastic as her cousin.
"Were they hurting anyone?" their grandfather asked.
Ben furrowed his brow. "Well, no. But they will if we don't stop them!"
"Aren't chupacabras supposed to drink goat's blood?" Gwen asked. "We don't really know if these things are dangerous to humans."
"That's a good point, Gwen," Max said, stirring his cooking pot as he spoke. "They're probably here to hunt the bighorn sheep in the area. Those would be more to their liking."
"Goats, sheep, whatever. Can we just go after them?" Ben asked impatiently.
"I don't think now's the time for that." Max scooped a helping of stew into a bowl. He then turned and held the bowl out for Ben. "Why don't we sit down and have a nice dinner under the stars?"
Ben was speechless, so Gwen took the bowl instead. "Thanks, Grandpa!" she said, taking a seat in one of the camping chairs.
"But… but…" Ben stammered. Max held another bowl in front of him, and he reluctantly took it this time. "Fine."
"So, when do we go hunting? What kind of Plumber gear do we get? Can I have a real laser gun this time?" Ben asked.
"Hmm." Max placed his empty bowl beside himself on the log he was sitting on, then put his hand to his chin thoughtfully. "Well, technically, we're still not sure what those things you saw were. There are lots of aliens that could get mistaken for a chupacabra, and some could be more dangerous than others."
"So you should give me your deadliest weapon, just to be on the safe side," Ben eagerly suggested.
Max laughed and shook his head. "Maybe a shock-net launcher will do well for something like this."
To Ben, that sounded about a thousand times less cool than a real laser gun, but it still sounded kind of cool regardless. "Awesome! Lemme see it," he said, standing up. His grandfather sighed and led him into the Rust Bucket. Gwen stayed where she was, opening up her laptop.
Inside, Max went to his console at the front of the RV and pressed a few buttons. A whirring sound could be heard, and then a compartment opened up in the floor. A box rose out of it, which Max opened. "Here's what I was talking about." Reaching inside the box, Max withdrew a cylindrical tube with a trigger on the end of it. It reminded Ben of a tiny bazooka. He also grabbed something that looked like a handheld grapple gun. Ben eagerly held out his hands, expecting his grandfather to hand the tools to him.
"Now hold on, sport," Max said. "I gotta show you how to use it first."
"Sweet! Let's go." Ben immediately hopped back outside. "Hey, Gwen. We're gonna try out the shock-it launcher."
"Shock-net launcher," his grandfather corrected him, following him outside.
"That's nice, Doofus."
"Here. See that cluster of cacti over there?" Max pointed towards some nearby flowery, spiky plants. He then lifted the weapon, aimed it at the cacti, and pulled the trigger. It made a relatively quiet noise, like a firecracker going off. As the name implied, a net was launched from the tube, spreading out until it was several feet in diameter and moving quickly. When it landed on the cacti, it seemed to wrap around the cluster, securing itself.
"You can activate the taser with this." Max held a button and turned a dial on the end of the launcher. As he did, the net lit up with a yellow light, and it made a crackling noise, like the cactus bush was being electrocuted.
"Cooool!" Ben said, impressed with the spectacle.
"The launcher holds ten nets. You can't control the voltage of individual nets, but it'll only activate the ones that are out of the tube already," Max explained. He then turned off the voltage. "Now, let me show you how to remove the net and repackage it."
While he and his grandfather retrieved the net, Ben kept an eye on Gwen. She was still focused on her laptop, but he noticed she wasn't typing or scrolling very much, and she kept trying to subtly glance at him.
Maybe she needs to tell me something that she can't say in front of Grandpa.
Now that they were dating, it was common for them to have to hold off on saying certain things until they had a moment away from Max, so that wasn't unusual.
Guess it'll have to wait a bit.
"Alright," Ben said excitedly once his net launcher was repacked. "So, we saw the chupacabras heading into the canyon, so what's the best way down? That grapple gun? Jetpacks? Anti-grav boots?"
"We're not going hunting for aliens in the Grand Canyon in the middle of the night, Ben," Max told him, checking his watch. "It's getting late, and it's pitch black out there. Why don't we all get a good night's sleep, and we'll check on the situation in the morning?"
"What? Oh, come on!" Ben whined. "We went after that Ectonurite in the middle of the night, and I didn't see you complaining then."
"Ectonurites are known to be dangerous, and that one was hanging out in a populated area," Max explained. "A couple of lizard aliens out in the wilderness could just be living their lives, posing no threat to anyone. We're in no rush, so it's best to approach this as carefully as possible."
Ben was ready to complain again, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Gwen close up her laptop and head inside the Rust Bucket. "Ugh, fine," he relented. "Good night, Grandpa." Turning around, he headed into the RV, placing the shock-net launcher on the table as he walked towards the bedroom.
Although Ben had already said goodnight to Max, he ended up saying it again along with Gwen just a few minutes later once they'd both finished brushing their teeth and getting changed. Then, as had become the routine that summer, Ben climbed into his bunk, ready to wait until he was sure Grandpa was asleep.
Not long later, Ben was just about ready to climb down from his bunk and climb into Gwen's. However, before he could, he heard rustling from beneath him, and Gwen soon appeared at the top of the ladder.
"Mind if I come up here?" the redhead asked.
Ben grinned, moving over to make room for her. Gwen accepted his silent invitation and slid up beside him. They embraced for a moment, but Ben noticed the obvious look of discomfort on Gwen's face.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Gwen hesitated. "Ben… I know I'm being stupid," she said in a voice a bit above a whisper. "I know we faced something more dangerous than these chupacabra things every other week during our other summer trips… but, back then…" Her hand traced its way down Ben's arm until she gripped his wrist, upon which sat the ordinary watch she'd given him for their birthday. "And I know you're strong even without the watch. But even knowing all that, I still worry about you whenever you go off chasing danger like this."
"You're not being stupid," Ben assured her. "But it's okay. I already promised you I'd be careful. Plus, I've got Grandpa's Plumber gear. And, more importantly, I've got the hottest sorceress in the known universe to back me up. This'll be a cinch!"
"Shh!" Gwen shushed him, nervously glancing towards the bedroom door. When she looked towards Ben again, she had a cautious smile on her face. "You're right. This'll be a cinch," she repeated. "Just make sure we stick together on this mission, okay?"
Ben kissed her. "I wouldn't want it any other way."
"So, now it's time to go monster hunting, right?"
It was early in the morning. Ben had been the first to awaken, and the first to take a shower and get dressed for the day. Now that Max and Gwen were up, he figured it was finally time to quit stalling.
"Not until after breakfast, Ben," his grandfather told him. "It's the most important meal of the day."
"And I still need to shower," Gwen insisted, heading back into the bedroom to grab a couple things.
Ben groaned. "Come on, people! Why am I the only one worried about this? There are probably dangerous creatures out there. They could hurt someone."
"They could hurt sheep," Gwen corrected, walking by to head into the bathroom this time. "Not that I don't care about the animals, of course, but still," she added before shutting the door.
"Ben, why don't you go gather up some firewood while I get things started here?" Max asked, opening some cabinets to begin assembling ingredients.
Ben groaned again. "Whatever. Can I at least take the shock-net launcher with me in case I run into one of them?"
"No, it's not safe," Max told him.
"What about the grapple gun?"
His grandfather furrowed his brow. "What for?"
Ben shrugged. "It's cool. Maybe I can use it to grab some better firewood from up in the trees?"
"That doesn't seem necessary."
"Oh, come on. I'll be careful, I swear!"
"Hmm…" Max looked at him sympathetically. Ben could tell his grandfather was starting to feel bad about stifling him so much, and perhaps that was why he gave in. "Alright, but no going into the canyon just yet."
Ben smiled excitedly. "Awesome! Thanks, Grandpa!" As soon as Max handed him the grapple gun, he charged outside, eager to mess around with it.
By the time he made it to the woods at the edge of the campgrounds, Ben had pretty much forgotten the task his grandfather had given him. Instead, he took to shooting the grappling hook up into the branches above and swinging from tree to tree. He found it fun, and the feeling was familiar to him.
I used to do this as Wildvine.
After another swing, Ben let himself land on a tree branch, and he took a moment to sit down.
If I had Stinkfly, I could fly down into the canyon and take out all those chupacabras. If I had XLR8, I could search the whole park in a second. If I had Ghostfreak…
A bitter smile came across Ben's face as he looked down at the ordinary watch on his wrist. He knew the Omnitrix was gone, and he wouldn't be getting a new one any time soon, but nothing could stop him from remembering the good old days. His life was different now. He had Gwen, and he'd never once regretted trading the Omnitrix for her. But few things could ever be as exciting as transforming into all different kinds of superpowered aliens.
Not to mention how nerfed I am without it.
If he was going to become a Plumber like his grandfather, he'd have lots of high tech gear at his disposal, but all of it would pale in comparison to the genetic arsenal he once wielded.
Maybe if Gwen becomes a Plumber scientist, she can invent a way to transform me into aliens again…
Ben was broken out of his daydreaming by the sound of a scream. He couldn't tell how far away it was, but it had come from the direction of the canyon. Without more than a second's hesitation, Ben jumped down from the tree and sprinted in that direction.
When he came out of the woods, he didn't see anyone. He stopped for a second to look around, but he heard another scream. This time, it was definitely coming from over the cliff's edge, somewhere down in the canyon. Moving quickly, Ben hopped the fence and peered over the edge. He saw movement. Whoever was down there, they needed help. All he had was the grapple gun his grandfather had left him, but that would have to be enough to get him down there.
Before he leaped into the canyon, he thought of Gwen. She didn't want him going off into danger alone, but he sure as hell wasn't gonna waste time running back to camp to get her. So, he pulled out his phone and sent her a quick text. "Trouble in canyon. Get here ASAP." Satisfied, Ben fired his grapple gun to secure it to the rocks, then stepped over the edge and began to lower himself down.
Although Ben wasn't going to the deepest part of the canyon, it still took him some time to reach the level he was aiming for. At several points, he had to land on a relatively stable, rocky ledge in order to pull the grapple back to him, then launch it again to keep going. On his way down, he tried to keep an eye on what was going on below him. The situation became more clear as he got closer. One of those hopping green reptiles he'd seen the previous day was attacking a hiker, who was fending it off with a long metal pole. Ben himself had no weapons aside from the grapple gun, but he figured it would be enough to do something to this monster.
With that in mind, as soon as his feet hit the ground level, Ben sprinted towards the chupacabra, grapple gun drawn. The man noticed him and called for help again while he swung the metal pole. The reptilian monster didn't seem to notice him, however, so once he was close enough, Ben aimed the grapple gun at it and fired.
The grappling hook hit the creature in the back, piercing its flesh. It made a noise of pain and anger, spinning around to see its new attacker. Ben's previous assessment that it looked somewhat like a small reptilian Ripjaws was pretty accurate. It stood hunched over on two legs, with large claws on its hands. A ridge of spiky protrusions trailed up its spine and up to the top of its head. The spiky structure was also slightly webbed, looking somewhat fin-like. The creature's face had big red eyes and a protruding, circular, sucker-like mouth filled with sharp teeth.
"Whoa, you are ugly." Ben sounded happy as he said those words. Despite being in the middle of fighting a strange beast in an attempt to save a person's life, he couldn't help but feel the innate excitement that always came with hero-ing.
Before the monster could attack him, Ben yanked on the rope that was connected to the grappling hook. Doing so caused the creature to stumble and lose its balance, giving the man it had been attacking the opportunity to smack it on the side of its head with the metal pole. The creature fell to the ground, and after struggling for a moment, it managed to yank the grappling hook out of itself. Ben quickly retracted to hook, ready to fire again, but the chupacabra evidently decided it was no longer worth the effort to attack them. It took off hopping like a kangaroo, disappearing further into the canyon.
"Are you okay?" Ben asked the hiker.
"Yeah," the man replied, nodding his head but looking quite shaken. He had cuts and bruises all over his body, and there was a crack in the right lens of his glasses. "There's still someone in there," he said, pointing behind Ben.
Ben turned around, noticing the mouth of a cave behind him. It was about ten feet in diameter and in the shape of a semicircle, but the cave itself was too dark to see how deep it went into the canyon wall. "Were they with you?" Ben asked.
"No," the man replied. "She showed up to help me, like you. Thanks, by the way."
"Don't mention it," Ben said, although his proud smile and heroic pose were less humble. "Come on, let's go help her."
The hiker shook his head. "I ain't going back in there. But don't worry, she had guns. I'm sure she's fine." Clutching one of his bloody injuries and leaning on the metal pole like a walking stick, the man turned around and headed in the opposite direction.
Ben was torn. He wanted to make sure this guy made it out of the canyon safely, but apparently someone else was now trapped in a chupacabra den. Even if the trapped person supposedly had guns, she was probably in more immediate danger.
Without thinking much more beyond that, and perhaps hoping to save the damsel in distress, Ben headed straight into the cave, taking out his phone to use as a flashlight. In doing so, he noticed missed calls and messages from Gwen. "Shit," he said aloud, checking his texts. He expected to see a bunch of angry messages telling him not to run into danger on his own, but instead, Gwen had just informed him that she and Grandpa were on their way, and she'd asked him to send more details when he had the chance.
"Saved a hiker from a chupacabra. He said there's a girl with guns fighting them in a cave. I'm checking it out," he texted back. Satisfied, he proceeded further into the cave.
The cave was narrow at first, but after a few yards, it opened into a wider chamber. Ben could see three different tunnels that led further in, which made him think he'd need Gwen and Grandpa to help him search the whole place.
"Hello?" Ben called out, hoping whoever was in the cave would hear him. He listened for a moment, but heard no reply, nor did he hear any gunfire or anything.
Intending to try the first tunnel, Ben stepped forward, but his foot hit something. Shining his phone light downwards, he noticed he'd walked into the body of a dead bighorn sheep, and several more were scattered around him. "Guess Grandpa was right," he said aloud.
Ben knew from the stories that chupacabras were supposed to suck the blood of goats, like some sort of goat-vampire. Curious to see if it was true, Ben examined the sheep he'd walked into, and quickly found teeth marks on its neck in a pattern that matched the round shape of the mouth he'd seen on the creature outside of the cave.
"So these are real chupacabras, then," Ben said excitedly. That didn't rule out the possibility that the creatures were extraterrestrial in origin, but at the very least, they looked and behaved the way chupacabras did in the stories. "So cool."
Suddenly, Ben heard a noise coming from the third tunnel, so he shined his light down it. Listening closer, he heard what sounded like gunfire, but not normal gunfire. It sounded like a laser gun of some kind. Then, he heard footsteps, and they were coming toward him at a very rapid pace. "Hello?" Ben called out.
The light from his phone did not extend very far, so it still came as a surprise when a person suddenly emerged from the mouth of the tunnel and collided with him. Ben grunted with pain as he was knocked to the floor. As soon as he could, he scrambled to pick up his phone, stand back up, and shine the light on the other person. At the same time, the one who'd collided with him stood up and pointed a gun at him.
"Whoa!" Ben shouted, holding his hands up in surrender. However, after a moment, he recognized the girl pointing a gun at him.
Kai?!
The Navajo girl looked older than the last time Ben had seen her, which he realized was about four years ago at that point. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail. She wore a red shirt and green shorts, along with two gun holsters on her waist.
When Ben recognized her, she seemed to recognize him too, and a look of surprise came across her face. However, rather than greeting him, she instead reached out and pushed him back towards the cave's entrance. "Get outside, now!" she shouted.
Ben could hear more movement coming from the tunnel Kai had emerged from, which he assumed meant danger. Rather than arguing with her, Ben took off running back down the tunnel. He heard Kai running behind him, along with a couple of blasts from the laser gun she carried.
It didn't take long before they were back outside in the daylight. When Ben emerged from the cave, he saw Gwen only a few yards away.
"Ben! Are you-?" His cousin began to speak, but she cut herself off at the sight of Kai. Ben and Kai kept running, staying along the canyon wall, so Gwen ran over to join them. "What's going on?"
"Look!" Ben turned around and pointed towards the cave. Just then, about a dozen chupacabras hopped out of it, and Ben figured there were probably more behind them. Gwen responded by conjuring a shimmering blue wall of magic, then slamming it into the pursuing monsters. It successfully knocked them back, buying them some time.
Kai pointed to the grapple gun on Ben's waist. "Can that thing carry us?"
"Not all three of us," Ben replied.
"I'm covered." Gwen waved her hand, and this time, a magic disk appeared at her feet. She hopped onto it, and it rose upwards into the air.
"Get us out of here, then." Kai holstered her weapon and wrapped her arms around Ben, latching onto him tightly. Ben drew his grapple gun and fired it upwards at the canyon wall. It latched onto something, and he pulled them both upwards, leaving the swarm of ravenous chupacabras behind.
On a ledge about halfway up the canyon wall, they bumped into Max, who had been in the process of lowering himself down with his own grapple device. He seemed surprised when he saw them, but he smiled. "Is that you, Kai? What a coincidence! So good to see you." He turned to Ben. "What's going on, sport?"
"Look." Ben pointed downwards.
"...Oh. That's a lot of them," Max remarked. "So, we're going back up?"
"Yep." Ben fired his grapple gun again and continued upward. His grandfather soon followed.
When they made it to the top, Kai let go of Ben and stumbled forward, catching her breath. Gwen was already waiting for them there. She stood with her arms crossed, looking pretty peeved.
"Was Kai the person who needed help?" Max asked, joining the kids once he made it to the top.
"No," Ben shook his head. "It was some hiker. He made it out okay."
"Ah, that's good," Max said. "Kai, is your grandfather here as well?"
The Navajo girl nodded her head. Her gaze flickered between Ben and Gwen, but she seemed reluctant to make eye contact with anyone other than Max. "Yes. I came here with him. I need to call him so I can tell him where I am."
Max gestured back towards the campground. "Well, we're set up right over here. Why don't you join us, and you can tell Wes to meet us here?"
Kai gave another uncertain glance towards Ben and Gwen, but she quickly looked back towards their grandfather. "Sure," she accepted.