Chapter Text
"Oh no…" Ben waved his stick frantically, extinguishing the fire, rendering him defenseless. They looked at the tiger fiercely, their mouth opened. They began hyperventilating and couldn't seem to move.
"Darius? Yaz? Kenji?" Ben said desperately, hands on the rock behind them and tears threatening to spill from their eyes.
Yelling and screaming echoed through the ravine as the gang raced to Ben. Kenji leaped off the cliff and landed on the tiger, distracting it as Yaz and Darius raced in and grabbed him. Rocks rained down on the tiger as they ran up the cliff, joining the rest of the group.
"We need to get out of here!" Yaz screamed, struggling to keep Ben running.
"It's gaining on us!" Ben yelled, clutching their bleeding side.
"Ben can't keep running! Where can we go?" Darius asked.
"I think I saw a cave up ahead. If we split up, maybe we can get the cat to stop chasing Ben," Sammy suggested.
"Okay, let's split up on my count!" Brooklyn said.
"One… two… three! Go!" They scattered, leading the cat away and letting Ben get into the cave with Darius' help.
"Oh no. I am not going out like this. I've outran multiple dinosaurs on a sprained ankle and I've survived too long to die now!" Yaz screamed, voice raspy and dry as the tiger followed behind her. She nearly felt a claw on her thigh when she heard a shout coming from behind her.
"HEY! Listen here you big jerk." The tiger turned around when it felt rocks repeatedly falling on its back.
"You've hurt enough of my friends. You hurt Ben and now you're going after my girlfriend. If you don't want to be grounded for a month, mister, you'll cut the crap and apologize," Sammy snapped. Her stern expression was quickly swapped for fear when it started chasing her instead.
Sammy scanned the nearby terrain and headed for the ravine where she spotted Kenji and Brooklyn.
"Yeah that's right! Come over here kitty!" She ran through the ravine and signaled up to Brooklyn and Kenji, who dropped the boulder on the tiger.
Ben's side throbbed, sending a wave of anguish through his body and thundering cries from his throat.
"Ben, Ben! Are you okay?" Darius asked frantically as he entered the cave, laying Ben down on the floor, whose heart was pounding in both of their ears. His eyes widened when he saw the blood covering his arms and he stiffened at the screams echoing through the cave.
Ben screamed and laughed in pain, eyes fixed at the cave ceiling as tears fell to the floor. He grabbed his abdomen to avoid the feeling of blood exiting his body and into the pool on the floor.
"Darius, Darius please I can't-" He choked on his words, trying to swallow and slow his racing pulse but he couldn't get the words out. He cried out with a wet laugh, gasping for air.
"Ben, I'm so sorry, I don't know what-"
Ben's breathing was shallow, not being able to inhale long enough before the searing pain stopped him. He thrashed around, trying desperately to breathe and his wound dripping blood by the second.
"Ben, breathe, please…" Darius begged him, his voice cracking. He bit his lip and ripped his shirt off, kneeling next to Ben.
"Please, please stay still for me. I really need to help you," Darius said shakily. Ben managed to catch his breath for a brief moment, glaring unblinkingly into Darius' eyes as if pleading for help. As soon as the makeshift bandage was secure, Ben squeezed his eyes shut and dug his nails into the skin on his hands, screams reverberating through his raw throat.
Darius stared at him, rooted to the spot on his knees. His eyes were fixed on Ben's tormented face and he forgot to breathe as a silent tear fell onto his knee. His mind screamed at him to do something more, to help Ben. To take his pain away.
His vision blurred and his head felt heavy, too heavy to move. He memorized those screams, echoing through his mind and vibrating through his body. His lungs stung but he didn't even notice.
His eyes didn't serve him, as he couldn't tell what was and wasn't blood. He didn't know how long it had been or what he was even doing. He simply watched as his best friend's soul rattled and shook from continuous waves of agony and he could do absolutely… nothing.