dead upon arrival || ben hargreeves

//10: the white violin//

 2006

The sun was hot, waxing it's strong rays all across the city. Summer was just starting to end, the August heat reaching its prime before leaves started to turn orange and yellow, welcoming in Autumn.

Ben loved this time of year.

Two weeks ago they had snuck out of each other's houses and got dinner, they even went to go see a movie. They spent the rest of the night standing on the fire escape near Pandora's window, muffling each other's laughter not wanting to wake anyone up as they talked about what the future had in store for them.

Now Ben had been replaced with a statue that stood in the courtyard of his home. The courtyard that occasionally was filled with laughter as everyone ran and did cartwheels during time between lessons. The benches where they used to sit for hours reading assigned classic literature and discussed the subtle meanings the author left behind were cold and gathering dirt.

The courtyard sat empty, quiet. Pandora sat at the bench closest to the statue of her closest friend. The sun had set just behind the tall walls around the estate, giving her the perfect amount of shade while the statue was stark bathed in the orange light.

The black metal glinted off the sunlight, the phrase, "May the darkness within you, find peace in the light," inscribed on a plaque at the foot at the statue's feet.

There wasn't enough of Ben to put him in a casket, Allison was gracious enough to spare Pandora from the details of the mission, especially his death.

Had Pandora done enough? If she was there on the mission, would he be holding her hand in his room laughing about the mission? Would his siblings still have their brother? Would she have been able to save him from his doom? Or would she have been helpless as she watched him die?

All thoughts had cleared her mind as a hand touched her right shoulder, Grace settling down on the bench next to her.

For the years that Pandora had known Grace, she looked as though hadn't aged a day. Sure, she was a robot, but she felt real. There were days where Pandora's mom had been working late so Pandora and Marin would go over to the academy after school. Grace always had fresh baked goods ready for the kids to tear into and patched Pandora up after every mission and training session (even if all the aid that was required was a simple bandaid).

"Dinner is ready now, the siblings and I would love for you to join us if you're hungry," Grace smiled.

"Yeah, of course Grace," Pandora nodded, then paused. "Grace, I know I never talk to you about the missions, but do you think it would have been different if I was there? That maybe..... Ben would still be alive." It hurt getting the words out, her throat tightening as tears threatened her eyes.

Grace's manufactured eyebrows knitted together, processing the question. "I don't know, sweetie. Maybe it would have been, maybe it wouldn't have been," She paused, calculating an answer. "I can tell that this question has battled you all week, and you feel guilty. But I don't think if there was an answer that it would give you closure, or any rest."

Pandora nodded again, "Is it alright if we go inside now?"

"Of course, sweetie."

They both walked back to the house, Pandora holding the door for Grace as they entered the kitchen. The siblings and Marin had already taken their spots around the table.

"No, no, no, no. Dad is a goddamn bastard for this. At least there's a chance that Five's coming back but Ben just died," Diego slammed his palms on the top of the table.