Forever To Be Free. (Finale of That Time in 1987)

The Eyes

Freddy's POV

After the blast had cleared, Freddy walked forward and peered into the crater. It wasn't too big, but it was deep enough to reveal a wide metal platform at the bottom. Freddy stared at it for a moment, thinking about the little boy that was inside of it.

"Wow . . ." Chica whispered. "He's really here . . ."

Freddy nodded shakily. He remembered Chica's description of Ben inside of the box. From what she said, he was pale, extremely skinny, bruised and battered, and his eyes were sunken. But that was a few months ago. Freddy could hardly imagine what he looked like now.

Freddy felt a burst of wind from the side. Fred was walking past, descending into the crater. Everyone watched in silence as the man examined the metal box.

He banged on it a few times, and it seemed completely solid from what Freddy heard. Fred turned back at the group. "Foxy, Bonnie, come here," he commanded.

The two teenagers approached Fred, slipping down the smooth surface of the crater and dipping into the center. Fred looked down at the panel and stood back. "Blow it out," he suggested.

Foxy looked at him, disbelief plastered on his freckled face. "How? We just blew it up with a landmine. There's no way that we would be able to budge--"

"Just do it," Fred said.

Freddy watched as Foxy and Bonnie exchanged looks. Fred backed out of the crater and backed against a nearby tree. Freddy stood back as well, suddenly feeling his hand jolt toward Chica's. She squeezed his hand back.

Bonnie and Foxy began to glow with their different colors--Foxy red and Bonnie blue. The light glowed so bright that Freddy and Chica had to look away. The cores of Freddy's eyes were burning.

Then, after a few seconds of intense light, the ground rumbled and shook. Freddy felt the ground slip out from under his feet and nearly make him trip. He held his ground as the light was all he could see, even with his eyes closed.

All at once, the light disappeared, leaving a lingering burn in Freddy's eyes. He found it comfortable to open his eyes and look at what was in the crater.

The crater had been completely widened. It was a few feet deeper than a while ago.

To Freddy's sudden joy, he saw a small figure deep in the crater.

The figure was hunched over, and it looked like it didn't have a shirt on. After a minute, the dust had cleared. Freddy took slow footsteps toward the crater and descended into it.

Foxy and Bonnie had stood back behind him. It had to be . . . it had to be . . .

Ben.

Freddy reached his hand out to the limp boy's bare back. It was a sickening pale, veins strewn underneath the sick skin. His waist was super small and his rib cage was delicately defined. It was bad.

"Ben . . ." Freddy breathed. "It's me . . ."

The boy's head moved, the long neck slowly twisting around. First, Ben revealed tossed hair, hanging in long strands across his back and neck. Then, his cheekbones were shown. They were so defined, so skinny. Then, he revealed his face.

The face was the worst part.

His eyes had gone from a glistening blue to a dull grey. They were cloudy and lifeless. All around them, there were near black circles. It was like he had two black eyes, but they weren't swollen. His lips were crusty and bleeding. Inflammation surrounded his lips.

Then came his voice.

"Freddy . . ." he croaked weakly. "Freddy, is that you?"

Tears were brimming over Freddy's bottom eyelids. "Yes, Ben. Yes, it's me. We're all here. We're all here to bring you home."

For a fleeting instant, the two just stood there, silent. Freddy could feel Ben's sudden hope through his destroyed gaze. It was in that moment that Freddy knew. He knew that this was his friend.

Then, Ben lurched forward at Freddy, throwing his extremely bony arms around his neck. Sobs of joy erupted from the boy's mouth, and Freddy accepted the embrace.

After a few seconds, more and more arms came in. He recognized them as his friends'. They were all finally together. Together in peace.

* * * * *

(???)

The room was silent.

It was as though the old man could hear dust settling around him. But, he couldn't do anything but just lay there. Lay there ever so silently. He waited for the moment when his former would come in. The boy had promised that he would visit the old man, but he was late.

Suddenly, a dry cough heaved through the silence. The bed shook. The man settled again in wait.

Then, the door opened, and the old man filled with joy. His son walked across the room silently, as though the man had been asleep all the same.

"How are you doing?" the boy asked.

The old man felt as though he couldn't speak. Age had worn down his voice, but he made a violent effort to form words. "I . . . I am doing . . . I am doing well. Thanks--" another cough broke through the room-- "thanks for visiting me, my son."

"Dad, you will be healed again. I just know it. I've got all my ducks in a row, and it won't be long until your health is restored."

The old man's lips turned up in a small grin. "Good, good. I haven't much time left, so my wish is that you hurry."

"But dad, I just got here," the son reminded. "Can't we talk?"

The old man hesitated. "Er . . . I guess we can talk."

"Alright, then. I'm really excited for how I'm going to do this, but it may be stretching too far."

"Stretching too far? What do you mean by that?"

"You wouldn't approve of how I am willing to do this. I've been setting this up for a while, but I think that in a matter of months, I can really get this started."

"How are you stretching too far?" The old man's eyebrows drew in.

"If I tell you, will you promise not to freak out?"

After a moment of thinking, the old man gave a slow nod.

(A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates! I say this so much, but I can't say it enough. I've been really thinking about this story and the direction it's headed, and haven't had access to a computer. I've been going through a lot of homework issues and things like that, so my updates have been really slow. I'll try to speed them up because I've got a lot of ground to cover. I've been going to the library so I can type up my chapters, and I don't know how many times I'll have to visit to get done. But I think of you guys everyday, I haven't neglected this story, and I hope you enjoy the confusion I've caused you at the end. I'll tell you one thing.

It will not be explained.

Thank you and have a lovely day.)