[center][h3][color=FFDEAD][img]https://i.imgur.com/jNIUrv2.gif[/img] B E N J A M I N[/color] [color=white]★[/color] [color=7B68EE]G E O R G E T T E [img]https://i.imgur.com/bp1EFTW.gif[/img][/color][/h3][/center] [COLOR=gray][INDENT][B] [SUP][SUB][H3]H O P E R E S I D E N C E[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR] Moving to a new country was difficult. Having no friends was difficult. Losing his father was difficult. It seemed to be an accumulation of these things and other factors that perpetuated the discontent within Ben's heart. He had believed in some kind of cautious optimism when he started his first day of school, but according to his standards, it had all but proved to fail him tremendously. Before he left school for the day, he had been approached by Mr Lehrer about volunteering to search for the missing girl that night, the man presenting it as his duty to the community if you will. A way to potentially meet others as well. Ben was not too keen on the idea of venturing into the dark forests of night with random strangers, but when his mother caught word of the search, she had favored a different perspective from his own. When she had arrived home that evening, she found Ben's younger brothers gorging on pizza at the kitchen table. And he himself...well..he was curled up in a ball in front of the fireplace, surrounded by opened books, the gentle sounds of his weeping echoing off the flames that danced to warm his frosted heart. Georgette's face resonated with motherly concern as she kissed Danior and Malachi, took off her coat, and sat her purse down on the dining table. [color=7B68EE]"What's wrong with your brother?"[/color] Georgette murmured to Ben's younger brothers. She began to slowly approach him, his frame feebly stirring against the flames. Malachi only shrugged, his mouth still stuffed. Danior looked up to his mother and shook his head, [color=f7941d]"Not sure. I think something happened to him at school today, but he wouldn't talk to me. He's been like that for about an hour now."[/color] Georgette gave him a fleeting nod as she turned her attention back to Ben, kneeling down to the floor once she reached him. She gently began running her hands through his soft curls, [color=7B68EE]"Sweetie, what's wrong?"[/color] Ben didn't turn to look at her, he was still facing towards the fireplace, [color=FFDEAD]"It's nothing...."[/color] he whispered miserably, the soft sobs more audible now that she was near him. She continued to caress his hair; wiping away the tears that had formed and semi dried upon his nose and cheek. Somehow she managed to convince him to aid in the search that night. Something about it being [i]Cathartic[/i]. [hr] [center][h3][color=FFDEAD][img]https://i.imgur.com/jNIUrv2.gif[/img] B E N J A M I N[/color] [color=white]★[/color] [color=7B68EE]H A K E E M [img]https://i.imgur.com/wEcXHPH.gif[/img][/color][/h3][/center] [COLOR=gray][INDENT][B] [SUP][SUB][H3]M A T H E R P A R K[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR] Even amongst the crowd that had gathered, Ben was essentially alone. He meandered through the crowd as he looked for any familiar faces that he felt even remotely interested in seeing, the only one coming to mind was Esther. But, even she was familiarly unfamiliar enough that he probably wouldn't know what to say if he were to run into her. Not to mention their bathroom interaction earlier that day left him feeling awkward and embarrassed. The shy wallflower didn't make any effort to talk anyone as he headed towards the forest's edge. He was more afraid to talk tot these strangers than he was to find a missing girl. Tapping his flashlight against his hip to turn it on, he took one last glance at the crowd behind him, before slowly entering the dark forest. It didn't [i]seem[/i] like anyone noticed him entering alone... The winds whistled and rustled the leaves as he proceeded deeper in, the lights of the park fading in the distance. Only shadows of his surroundings glimmered by the moonlight that peaked through the canopies. He gulped, wondering if he should have found someone to go in with. But at this point, thoughts like these only served to distract him from the primary objective at hand, and Benjamin was a very goal-driven type of individual, the type to jump right to it. He had a grave proclivity to get things done by himself. He hated having to rely on others to take action and he hated having to wait on others. Wasteful. 15 minutes in and the sounds of the crowd had all but faded at this point. The owls brought a strange serenity to the relative darkness of the forest with their songs. Ben wasn't quite sure what he was looking for frankly. Maybe the girl or perhaps a fragment of her presence. A relic known to her. Anything remotely related to her would suffice for now. The sudden crack of wood and dried leaves caused his body to stiffen and swivel, his flashlight focused towards the direction from which he heard the sounds. Seeing nothing of note, he continued his search, looking behind large boulders and in deep crevices of trees. Anywhere that a body or a girl might lie in hiding. It didn't take long before a strange sound was heard again, a misplaced rustling of branches echoing from behind him. Yet again, further investigation proved fruitless. At that moment, he swore he had heard the howling of wolves in the distance. Were there wolves in the forests of Crestwood Hollow? Certainly not right? Having come to a brief halt, Ben rested upon a large rock, a bottle of water in hand. He took several sips as he looked around, caressing some of his curls behind his ear. Strangely enough, he found that he could see better if he just utilized the natural light provided by the moon. Something about the ambiance was soothing. [i]Cathartic[/i] his mother mentioned. He let himself rest upon the rock, laying on his back, head on his arms, eyes looking up at the sky. Not long after, his mind began to drift, suddenly dozing off into darkness. .... .... .... He hadn't fell asleep long, maybe 5 minutes. When his eyes cracked open again, a dark figure lingered over him, causing Ben to shriek and jump away off the rock in his frenzy. When his gaze finally acclimated to the figure before him, he sighed deeply, his hand resting upon his palpitating chest [color=FFDEAD]"Hakeem? What are you doing here?"[/color] The much taller jock, Hakeem, stepped forward, brushing off his pants, [color=7B68EE]"Did you have to scream? Scared the shit out of me."[/color] Ben frowned, folding his arms across his chest [color=FFDEAD]"You shouldn't sneak up on me like that. It's unsettling."[/color] Hakeem walked closer to Ben, a look of penitence on his face, [color=7B68EE]"My bad. I didn't mean to sneak up on you. I saw you enter the forest alone, so, I just don't want to see you get hurt. It was hard to keep up with you."[/color] The sincerity in his voice was stirring to Ben, but then feral howls could be heard, much more immediate this time than before, causing them both fall silent and look around their surroundings. [color=7B68EE]"See?"[/color] Hakeem protested, pacing steadily behind Ben, who had already began walking away deeper into the forest, [color=FFDEAD]"I'll be fine."[/color] he assured the jock, his flashlight zipping about the shadowy landscape. [color=FFDEAD]"You should go back and wait for the others. I can do this on my own. I'm not afraid."[/color] [color=7B68EE]"I never said you were, but I'm not leaving you out here alone."[/color] Hakeem declared, resting his gloved hand on Ben's shoulder. Ben paused, letting out a deep uncomfortable sigh, [color=FFDEAD]"Please don't do this."[/color] he whispered softly, turning around to face the taller jock. [color=7B68EE]"Do what?"[/color] Been stared at him, his eyes showing a peculiar pain that Hakeem immediately understood, [color=FFDEAD]"This..." he mumbled.[/color] Hakeem suddenly jerked his hand off of Ben's shoulder, [color=7B68EE]"I'm really sorry man. I've actually been wanting to talk to you about that. I...[/color] But without warning, Ben stepped closer to Hakeem and placed his finger to the jock's lips, the warmth of his mouth cascading on his fingertips. [color=FFDEAD][i]Shh...[/i][/color] Ben mouthed, his eyes focused behind Hakeem's muscular frame, which had suddenly gone stiff like a plank of wood. Ben's gaze twisted in horror as two red eyes hissed and radiated from within the brush. He had never seen something so horrifying in his life and instinctively, he grabbed onto Hakeem in a tight hug as the red-eyed wolf-shaped creature lunged forward. Ben's power activated, causing the beastly creature to pass through them and crash into the opposing tree, dispersing into what seemed to be a goop of acidic black sludge upon impact, causing the tree to suddenly catch in flames, illuminating the surrounding area to reveal more of these red-eyed black wolves. Up close, their howling now sounded more like a strange hiss. Hakeem fucking jumped out of his skin, grabbing onto Ben in an even tighter embrace than the one Ben had initiated to save their lives with his power. [color=7B68EE]"What the fuck!"[/color] [color=FFDEAD]"I don't know but run!" [/color] Ben grabbed Hakeem's hand and they were off, running as fast as they possibly could to avoid being, from what he imagined, melted piles of bone and flesh. The beast kept on their tails as Ben and Hakeem jumped over logs and ran under winding limbs, scratches appearing on their arms, legs, and faces as they ran without a care for anything they brushed up against. Much better than being caught by these freaky red-eyed, flame inducing, acidic skin-melting, wolf-shaped black-furred hissing beasts. Up ahead, Ben spotted what appeared to be a cave, the entrance blocked by a large boulder. Ben affirmed his grip in Hakeem's hand as the the wolves and the cave simultaneously got closer. [color=FFDEAD]"Run for the cave!"[/color] Ben exclaimed. [color=7B68EE]"But it's blocked![/color] [color=FFDEAD]"Trust me!"[/color] With only a few seconds difference between the wolves and the cave, Ben and Hakeem managed to make it, Ben using his power to phase them through the boulder and into the dark leaky cave on the other side. The hissing red eyed wolves could be heard on the other side, Ben and Hakeem breathing too heavily to pay attention to that at the moment. Ben was slopped on the floor. Hakeem was standing and heaving against the wall. They both then looked towards the boulder between them and certain death. [color=7B68EE]"What are we gonna do? What are those things out there?"[/color] Hakeem asked between deep breaths. Ben was heaving too, though his mind much more focused on how they were going to get out of here. [color=FFDEAD]"I don't know..."[/color] he said calmly, looking around. The cave looked like it went in deeper. Much deeper. They weren't getting out the way they came in anytime soon. That's for sure.