FREE FALLING ━━ p. dameron ✓

seven

The next day, or what I assume to be the next day, Ben walks into my cell.

"Up." He says. He juts his chin towards the seat. I do as he says, slightly shaking.

"What are you going to do to me?" I whisper.

"Nothing...yet." Ben says.

"Take off that stupid mask." I ask him. Ben seems to ignore my question. "Please." I beg.

Ben lets out a sigh, and presses a button on the bottom of his mask. It comes apart, and he takes it off, shaking his hair out of his eyes.

I stifle a gasp. He looks the same. Long dark hair. Brown eyes. His birthmarks.

"You see him don't you." Ben says. It's not a question. "You see your brother. You see your best friend."

I'm silent.

"He is dead Wren. Ben Solo is gone. He was weak. And so are you. The Resistance makes you weak. Wren," Ben steps towards me, and holds out his hand. "Join me. We can burn down the Resistance and build something better."

I stare into Ben's eyes.

"I'm sorry-" I finally say, my voice watery. "We failed you Ben. I'm so sorry."

Ben's eyes flash, and in that instant I see Kylo Ren. His anger, his pain. Fear grips my stomach at the same time Ben forces my head backwards. My neck painfully hits the back of the seat.

"If you will not join me, you will die." Ben says. He begins to dig through my mind. I'm breath heavily and sweating. This is pain.

"Get...OUT!" I scream at him. I try and resist him, but it's no use. After all, I'm all Han. No powers, just pilot.

Ben finishes digging through my mind, finding nothing of value.

"I...will make you suffer." He spits out.

As soon as he finishes his sentence, images fill my head. I let out a cry.

Bam. There's mom, splayed out against the docking bay pavement. She lays in front of the burning Resistance base. There's other bodies scattered around, but my focus is on her. As I kneel down to hold her, the scene changes.

Bam. Now I'm in the Falcon. Dad is in the pilots seat slumped forward. I turn the seat around, and see a bloody lightsaber wound in his stomach. His eyes are open and glassy, staring at nothing. My hands leap to my mouth, and I can't tell whether I want to throw up or cry.

Bam. I'm on Hoth, and Chewie lays in the snow, face down. Blood soaks the ground around him. He lets out one last growl before going silent. I sob breaks free from my throat, and my cries mix with the wind.

Bam. This time, I expect to see Braiden. Instead, I'm watching an X-wing battle. One familiar black and orange ship soars around, shooting TIE fighters out of the sky. Soon, there's too many. The X-wing explodes in a burst of green, red, and orange. I let out a scream. "Poe!"

My head slams against the chair again. Tears stream down my face. I sit like that, crying and dry heaving.

"Pain." Ben says. He forces me to look at him. I do so, and see Ben's face. He looks...sad. "It is what made me who I am today."

"A monster!" I scream at him. "You are nothing but a monster!"

Ben gives me a long look, and then turns on his heel and leaves the room. The door slides shut behind him.

I'm left alone again. Well, except for BB-12.

The droid rolls up to me, and lets out a sad whir.

"BB. He'll be back. I need to get out of here." I say.

I don't know how to open the door. The droid beeps.

I wipe at my eyes, trying to pull myself together. Even so, the images still flash behind my eyes. I shut my eyes, and take a few deep breaths.

"They have to feed me right? Ben wanted me to die, but I'm still here. He's still holding out hope that I'll join him." I say, formulating a plan.

Right. So?

"So, a stormtrooper will come in to bring me food. We can take him over, and then we can leave." I say. "We'll look for Poe, and then steal an escape pod." I say. It's not a good plan, but it's the best I have.

Ok. Whatever you do, I'll follow. The droid says. I flash him a smile, and then sit in the floor. The linoleum is freezing.

I do the lotus position pose I used to see Ben in. He said it was to meditate. I don't know what that means, but I sit like that anyways.

For Force knows how long, I sit and think. I miss my mother and father, though I'll never admit it out loud. I miss my R3-S4. I miss my X-wing. And most of all, I miss Ben.

Quick footsteps approach my room. I can hear them from awhile a way, seeing as the sound reverberates.

I stand up quickly, and stand right beside the door, fists up. BB-12 rolls next to me, and gets his tazer ready.

The door opens, and I see a stormtrooper walk in, a tray of food in his hands. I spin to face him, and slam the tray into his helmet. Food covers his eyes, and I take that time to kick the troopers legs out. BB-12 tazzes him. Soon, the trooper lays on the floor, arms up in defeat.

I grab his gun, and point it at him.

"Where is Poe Dameron?" I ask him.

"I-I-"

I jab the gun into his chest. "Where is he?" I ask again, more forcefully.

"I swear I don't know! All I've heard is that he's escaped!" The trooper says quickly.

I glance at BB-12.

I think he's telling the truth. The droid says. I shrug. Turning to the guard once more, I glare at him.

"Stand up. And open this door." I order. The trooper does so quickly. The door slides open, and I scamper outside. BB-12 follows me.

"They'll find you." The trooper says.

I give him a smirk. "I don't doubt it."

The door shuts, and I turn to BB-12.

"Come on. Let's go." I say. We begin to creep down halls. It's silent.

We turn a corner, and are met with stormtroopers. One of the, slams a button on the wall, and an alarm starts to blare.

"Dammit." I curse under my breath. I crouch down. "BB-12 where's the docking bay?" I ask.

Follow me. The droid says. We run in the opposite direction of the troopers. For the first time since I've been in Starkiller, I'm free.

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This chapter is kinda short compared to the last two :(

word count: 1146