8 Ben

Ben had stayed in his room for hours. It was dark and he had no idea what time it was, or how long he'd been laying here. He wanted to see Ivy, but it was pointless. She was probably asleep and he didn't want to disturb her. He had been drifting in and out of consciousness for hours, every now and then jerking awake out of fear for no reason. The last time he'd woken up, an insanely loud alarm had done it. It was screeching and constant, no beats or pulses to mark it. He didn't know what it was but he didn't like it. He had slammed his pillow over his head and plugged his ears but it seemed like the sound just kept coming and coming.

He had heard shouts and wanted to get up, to see what was going on and to find Ivy, but he was too weak. The sound made him sweaty and weak and nauseous. He wanted to vomit on the floor but didn't have the energy. Eventually, the yelling stopped and the noise was terminated, much to Ben's relief. He was asleep for good soon after that.

**********

The next morning, Ben felt terrible. His head ached and he felt sick to his stomach, and every single muscle in his body was sore. The feeling felt terribly familiar and he wasn't sure why, which frustrated him, bringing on another wave of nausea.

He forced himself out of the luxurious bed and stumbled to the bathroom, dry heaving in the expensive looking toilet. Finally, he managed to get up and shower. The steam made him feel slightly lightheaded, but it did help. Once he was finished, he silently walked into Ivy's room. To his surprise, she was sitting on the floor. There were expensive pillows strewn about the lofty space.

"Ivy?" Ben asked in a shocked voice. She looked awful. Her strawberry blonde hair looked stringy and terrible. Her summer green eyes were bloodshot and decorated with deep circles. Her skin looked oddly pale which made her freckles stand out, and the way she was clinging her hair in one calloused hand made her look completely and entirely exhausted or insane. "Ivy, what happened?"

He sat down next to her, looking on in horror. Was that a bruise on her cheek? What had happened last night?Had she heard that awful sound too? Had she slept at all?

"Ben," her voice was hoarse and cracked.

"Ivy what -" he was cut short as she twisted his head violently, running her fingers over where he knew the three zeros were imprinted. Her breathing hitched and her eyes found his.

"It says zero zero one now," she whispered. Ben stared at her, then quickly brushed his fingers over it. It didn't feel any different to him. Ivy lifted up her hair and tilted her neck slightly to show her numbers to him, and sure enough, it said zero zero one.

"What does it mean?" Ben murmured, staring at the black ink until she dropped her hair back.

"I don't know. I saw it in the mirror this morning," she answered with a weak voice.

"Why don't you shower and get dressed. You look like a zombie," Ben helpfully told his friend. Ivy rolled her eyes and poked him in the shoulder.

"You don't look much better," she grunted as she got up and stumbled towards the bathroom. Ben smiled as she walked away.

************

A few hours and a large breakfast later, Ivy and Ben were given new clothes and supplies for their upcoming trip. Ben didn't know why he had to do this, but it felt right and going by the cards and what Lily told them, this was their only option. Besides, it was better than sitting by that stupid creek and doing nothing.

It wasn't long before they were leaving the agency. Ben was relieved. He didn't like the tall building with glaring glass eyes, and he was grateful to leave the air conditioned lobby and step into the baking hot sun. The heat seemed to bounce off the dull grey sidewalk and fry whoever was walking on it, but Ben found that he didn't really care, or rather that he was used to it. He was more concerned about Ivy.

Even after her shower, she had the same haunted look about her, like something terrible had happened. Did something happen? Ben hadn't gotten the chance to ask yet. She had barely eaten anything during breakfast, and her eyes remained fixed into the distance with the same deep circles imprinted beneath them. She seemed awfully distant and hard to read, and Ben noticed that she kept looking to her side as if someone was supposed to be walking next to her. Did she want him next to her? He didn't know. He found that suddenly he couldn't tell anything about her. She was completely closed off.

What happened to make her like this? What was wrong? It frustrated Ben that he had no idea. He needed to ask, and soon. Maybe she had information, and he didn't like the idea of her holding stuff back from him.

Lea and Ezra walked a little ways ahead, leading the way. They seemed to be locked in an intense conversation, something Ben couldn't overhear. Ezra still freaked Ben out a little, and every time they made eye contact Ben could feel his heart racing a little faster. Was it possible that he knew whoever this person was? That seemed unlikely. When he had met Ivy, he had felt a pang of familiarity so strong that he knew right off the bat that they were friends. But with Ezra, he didn't feel that at all, not even slightly.

"Ben," Ivy suddenly whispered. Ben tore his eyes away from the back of Ezra's head and turned them on his friend, who had slowed her pace.

"What's up?" He asked, suddenly feeling excited and worried at the same time.

"Did you hear anything last night?" She wondered, keeping her gaze locked forward. "Like an alarm?" Ben's eyes widened at her mention of the alarm.

"Yes! You heard it too?" He demanded a little too loud. She silenced him with a look. Maybe the alarm was the reason she was so on edge today. It was pretty bad.

"I think... I think I triggered it, Ben," she muttered. Ben wrinkled his nose.

"Triggered it? What the hell are you talking about?" He scorned her. She sighed, drooping her shoulders a little in an exhausted way.

"It's patchy, but last night I - I must have snuck out of my room. I was wandering the halls. I remember counting my steps and dragging my hand along the wall, and feeling like - never mind. That part isn't important. But I went to Clare's office, I'm pretty sure. I just don't know why. But I woke up... I woke up with some papers," she said as quietly as she could. Ben stared at her in shock.

"What kind of papers?" He pressed her.

"I think it was a file... about me. They had a file about me. Why would they have a file about me?" She shuddered as she said it, the thought apparently making her wildly uncomfortable. "Not only that, but then this alarm thing went off, and it made me super weak and sick. Some people came and found me, and I couldn't even lift the file anymore. It was scary. They called it... The Sound," she emphasized the title, and Ben shuddered, a chill creeping down his spine. The Sound...

"What did it say? The file," Ben implored. Ivy glanced up ahead nervously, then pulled some papers out of her pocket. They were haphazardly folded.

"It's just general information on me. My height, name, age, eye colour and so on. It's weird. There's just one part I'm concerned about," she explained as she handed him the paper, making sure Lea and Ezra were still distracted.

Ivy Charlotte Fox

Age: 13

Height: 5'4

Eyes: Green

Hair: Strawberry blonde

Weight: 120 lbs

Date of birth: August 1, 1984

Date of death: 1997, August 1

Level at submission: 000

"Date of death?" Ben wondered in shock. The rest of the paper was torn off. Ivy nodded.

"Whoever set this up, they didn't just plan what we're going to do. They took the time to wipe our minds, set up a future that we're supposed to follow, and they set up our deaths. We have only a few weeks until I die. Whoever did this is powerful. And I don't know if we can defeat them."

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