Nightmares

Ben was in a damp, grimy cell with half a dozen other kids. The fear in the room was so thick you could choke on it, and the terrified children were huddled together in small groups. Some of them were only seven or eight years old.

The same age as Matt. Man, I hope everyone's safe, Ben thought, desperately wishing that his family was alright as he looked around the tiny cell for the millionth time.

His father and mother would keep his brothers out of danger. They wouldn't let anything happen to Hal or Matt.

The kidnapped teen felt his eyes sting with tears as he remembered the last things he and his older brother had said to each other.

"Why don't you grow up? If you hadn't noticed, we've got a pretty big alien problem to deal with!" Hal shouted at his younger brother, clenching his fists as he took a step forward.

"Oh really? I didn't notice! Thank you for enlightening me, Hal. Since you're so smart all of a sudden, why don't you try and solve the worlds problems?" Ben spat back, never backing down from his older brother's scathing glare.

Hal shoved his younger brother, and that was when their mother stepped in.

"Hey! You two need to cool off!" She ordered, separating the arguing siblings with a gentle yet firm push.

"Fine," the younger Mason growled, turning on his heel and stalking out the door.

Sarah just sighed, assuming that her second child would stay on the porch.

"Hal," she began calmly. "I understand that you and Ben don't get along, but..."

His mother's soft voice faded as he stepped off the porch and headed away from his house. Ben hoped they didn't wake his dad up. He remembered his mom mentioning how exhausted their father was, which was why she was going out to get food today instead of him.

The second Mason child had no idea that he was about to be captured by aliens.

Ben wished he had just stayed on the porch. He wouldn't have been cornered and shot by giant robots if he had.

What if the last thing me and Hal did was fight? He thought in dismay.

The sandy-haired teen brought his scraped knees to his chest at the thought, trying to block out the screams of other children as goodness-knows-what was done to them. Someone said the aliens dissected the kids they brought in. Another guessed they would be eaten. A different kid surmised that worm-like creatures would be attached to their bodies.

Ben thought that was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard.

The frightened boy was brought back to reality when the cell door swung open, revealing one of their guards.

Ben's heart skipped a beat as a bug thing with six legs crawled over the threshold and strode over to him. The fourteen year old took an immediate step back, and he panicked when his back hit the cold wall behind him.

The disgusting creature reached one of its hands out and brought it to Ben's face, causing the terrified Mason to cringe away in horror. None of the other children dared to move as Ben was led out of the small holding cell by the six-legged monstrosity.

He started choking on fumes and steam the moment he left the tiny cell, and he wanted nothing more than to go back into the cramped prison. Ben's hazel eyes widened in shock when he saw three other creatures like the one behind him in the large room.

The creature behind the scared teen pushed him toward a flat berth with restraints on either side. Ben panicked again when he realized that it wanted him to lie down on the filthy slab, and he started struggling against the strong tentacles that wrapped themselves around his arms and waist.

"Let me go! Let me go!" Ben screamed, kicking out with his legs.

Another creature came over and assisted the first. Together, they tied the flailing boy to the table.

Ben strained, but he only succeeded in chaffing the skin of his wrists and ankles.

Where was his dad? Didn't his father always say he would never let anything bad happen to him?

The fourteen year old froze when he felt a slimy liquid dripping onto his lower back and soaking through his shirt. The liquid was followed by a squelching sound behind him. Ben jerked on his restraints until he started bleeding, but he still couldn't budge.

Ben froze when one of the creatures put its large, rough hand on the back of his head, effectively holding him down even more. The poor, distressed teenager almost had a heart attack when something slithered onto his back and crawled toward his neck.

The second Mason child barely had time to scream before the worm-thing plunged something hard into the back of his neck.

Ben had never been more scared, and he felt like crying out in terror and pain and frustration.

Strangely, someone was calling his name. They sounded worried, but who here would be worried about him? Then, something grabbed his shoulder and shook him hard and-

Ben shot straight up in his cot, gasping and sweating. Hal's hand was on his shoulder and his brown eyes were filled with concern as Ben untangled himself from his nest of blankets. The younger Mason was still distressed from his dream, and it was obvious by the expression on his face.

"Hey. Ben. Are you okay?" Hal asked, his hand still on his younger brother's shoulder.

Ben tensed at the question, still breathing hard, and answered pitifully, "Fine."

The older Mason's eyes darkened, and he growled, "Would you stop lying to me for once?"

Ben swung his legs over the side of the cot and started heading out of the tent, but Hal stopped the teen soldier by grabbing his bicep and swinging him around. The younger Mason was forced to look his older brother in the eyes, even though he wanted nothing more than to leave the tent for a little while.

"Hal-" He started in annoyance, grateful that his cold mask was back on.

It was impossible not to let his guard down when he was asleep.

His older brother cut him off, threatening, "I swear to God, Ben, if you lie and say you're fine one more time, I'll throttle you! I meant it when I said I just want to help, but I can't if you keep pushing me away!"

"We have bigger things to worry about, Hal. It's not big deal, so just drop it and back off!" Ben hissed, trying to break free of his older brother's grip.

"I'm not asking you to cry on my shoulder and tell me everything. I know it's a lot, but when you're screaming in your sleep, even I know you need help!"

Ben felt his resolve cracking, but he couldn't tell Hal about his nightmares. He could hardly think about it without wanting to curl into a ball and cry. If his brother kept pressuring him, Ben knew he'd spill, and he already promised himself he wouldn't talk about being harnessed unless he had to.

"I told you that I was fine!" The sandy-haired teen snapped, finally shaking his brother's hand off and stomping out of the tent. He made sure to grab his gun and weapons belt before he left.

Ben rushed out of camp as fast as he could, ignoring the distrustful glares most of the 2nd Mass sent his way. Why couldn't Hal understand that talking about what happened would only make things worse? The younger Mason hadn't been exaggerating when he said that half of the people thought he killed Jimmy. Thanks to his improved senses, Ben could hear most of the hateful comments people were too afraid to say to his face.

I wonder who's next on that half-breed's kill list!

Jimmy probably caught him trying to sell us out to the Skitters, so he killed him. You know what they say: dead men tell no tales.

Hal never should have brought that filthy razorback to camp!

It's only a matter of time before he shows his true colors and turns on us all.

Ben tried to ignore what they said, but sometimes he felt like punching a wall. Everyone was wary around him nowadays. That was one of the reasons he kept to himself: he didn't want the 2nd Mass to treat his brother any differently just because he had spikes in his back.

Spikes that glow, the traumatized fourteen year old added.

It only got worse when his father returned from the alien ship with that thing in his head. The whispers became louder and bolder, but Ben still ignored them, calmly acting as if he hadn't heard a thing.

The teenage soldier could still hear them whispering, and their words made him walk even faster.

"I wonder where he's rushing off to," a man muttered, glaring at the Mason boy.

"He's probably going to visit his Skitter buddies!" Another replied, straightening his grimy jacket.

A group of teenage civilians tried and failed to be discreet as they coughed 'Razorback' a few times, and Ben resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

The sandy-haired teen breathed a sigh of relief as he finally made it out of camp, and he quickly took a familiar path to a small grove of trees. Ben had accidentally stumbled upon it when he was taking a walk one afternoon, and now he came to the shady alcove when he needed to think or cool down.

He started to relax a bit, the terror of his nightmare slowly receding. The cool morning air and the comforting weight of his assault rifle on his back helped to calm his nerves.

Ben thought about what Hal had said about wanting to help, but the younger boy just couldn't bring himself to talk about what had happened. It had been hard enough telling everyone about it in the meeting yesterday, and that wasn't even everything that had happened. Besides, if he thought about it too much, let alone fully confide in someone else, he would lose the careful composure he spent three months building up. One wrong move, and it would all come tumbling down on top of him.

He couldn't let that happen.

Maybe one day he would be able to tell someone about it, but today wasn't that day. Especially after what happened at the harness facility.

Ben knew it wasn't a good idea to go on the mission, but Matt had been taken and the others would need someone who actually knew what happened to the harnessed children to go along on the mission.

The teen soldier sighed as he leaned against a tree trunk, the smell of bark and earth surrounding him. Hopefully, he'd be able to talk about what happened.

Maybe one day.

Just not today.

A/N

I think all of the angsty Ben plot bunnies are attacking me. He's just been gushing angst lately, so it's hard not write about it. Not that I'm complaining because, trust me when I say, it's been super fun! Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed that little Fic. Please review!