This time, Ben was able to prepare for being unconscious. As soon as the doctor slipped the anesthesia into his IV line, he gritted his teeth. While last time hadn’t been too bad- he’d gotten to meet his grandmother, after all- Ben wanted to be prepared in case he ended up in that strange dream-like world again. The last time he’d almost died, though. This time, he was aware that he was going to lose consciousness. Maybe the whole between-life-and-death thing only worked when he didn’t know when it was going to happen. As he felt his eyelids grow heavy, he couldn’t help but wonder if he would come back this time.
When he opened his eyes, he was back on that strange, ruined planet, but he wasn’t in the bombed-out wreckage of the medical bay like he had been the last time. Instead, he seemed to be standing on the outskirts of what remained of a city. People eyed him warily from the remains of doorways, glared at him from the flaps of makeshift tents, and glared at him as they picked through the rubble. None of them seemed like they intended to attack him, though, which was more than he could say about the last time.
Suddenly, a young boy- he couldn’t have been much older than six or seven years old- ducked out of what seemed like it had once been a storefront and accosted him. Ben tried not to recoil at the boy’s appearance- he was wearing a small military-style uniform not unlike that of the First Order itself, but that wasn’t the disturbing thing. The left side of the boy’s body, including his face, was covered with burn scars and his throat bore ligature marks. If this was still the strange afterlife Ben had found before, and this child was dead, it seemed whoever had killed him had tortured him first.
And it was the strangest thing, but Ben could have sworn he’d seen the child somewhere before. But that was impossible- the boy’s uniform looked like it was from the First Order, but it clearly wasn’t. That meant he must have been attending the Imperial Academy for his early schooling- he would have died before Ben was born. It wasn’t possible for him to have seen the boy before.
But the boy didn’t seem to notice, or care, about the state he was in. He hurried up to Ben, dirty-blond hair bouncing as he ran, revealing a blaster-bolt wound in the boy’s head. “Are you Ben Solo?” he asked.
“Yes…” Ben replied hesitantly.
“Please come with me,” the boy said. “My elder sister wishes to speak with you.”
Re: FILL: Ghost in the Machine [15/?]
When he opened his eyes, he was back on that strange, ruined planet, but he wasn’t in the bombed-out wreckage of the medical bay like he had been the last time. Instead, he seemed to be standing on the outskirts of what remained of a city. People eyed him warily from the remains of doorways, glared at him from the flaps of makeshift tents, and glared at him as they picked through the rubble. None of them seemed like they intended to attack him, though, which was more than he could say about the last time.
Suddenly, a young boy- he couldn’t have been much older than six or seven years old- ducked out of what seemed like it had once been a storefront and accosted him. Ben tried not to recoil at the boy’s appearance- he was wearing a small military-style uniform not unlike that of the First Order itself, but that wasn’t the disturbing thing. The left side of the boy’s body, including his face, was covered with burn scars and his throat bore ligature marks. If this was still the strange afterlife Ben had found before, and this child was dead, it seemed whoever had killed him had tortured him first.
And it was the strangest thing, but Ben could have sworn he’d seen the child somewhere before. But that was impossible- the boy’s uniform looked like it was from the First Order, but it clearly wasn’t. That meant he must have been attending the Imperial Academy for his early schooling- he would have died before Ben was born. It wasn’t possible for him to have seen the boy before.
But the boy didn’t seem to notice, or care, about the state he was in. He hurried up to Ben, dirty-blond hair bouncing as he ran, revealing a blaster-bolt wound in the boy’s head. “Are you Ben Solo?” he asked.
“Yes…” Ben replied hesitantly.
“Please come with me,” the boy said. “My elder sister wishes to speak with you.”