Chapter Seven

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She immediately pulled away from him with a frightful look in her eyes. "Ben, we have to go. Now."

He furrowed his eyebrow. The First Order would find them anywhere they went. Escape was useless. But maybe this time he would try to follow Rey and hope.

Even if the hope was miniscule. He had to at least try and help her.

"Alright," he agreed.

"Finn," she realized. "And Poe. They need us now," Rey raced out of the room. "Follow me," she commanded as they ran out.

It had been a while since Ben had actually walked around, let alone run. Let's just say he had some difficulty breathing. A lot, actually.

"Keep up," Rey shouted, a few feet ahead of him. She stopped when she realized how hard he was inhaling. She took a few steps toward him and grabbed his hand.

He looked up confused but barely had time to register any words, as she had taken off running, thus dragging him behind her.

They had reached the camp. Luckily enough, there were no Stormtroopers in sight. It appeared that they hadn't landed yet. Still, they didn't have much time. Everyone was running around, obscuring Rey's sight of Finn.

"Finn!" he called. His voice echoes through camp and everyone stopped what they were doing and stared. They had forgotten that to everyone else, Ben Solo was still Kylo Ren.

"Rey," a voice called from a few feet away, eerily calm. "Remove your hand from his."

Rey looked around and saw Finn. He had a blaster trained on Ben's chest. She let go immediately.

"Why did you let him out?" Finn asked, his blaster still ready. His expression showed that he was angry and disappointed.

"He's one of us, now," she held her hands up showing that she was innocent. "We need to all get ready for an attack. Immediately."

Finn shook his head. "Rey, I don't know what he's been telling you, but none of it's real. The alarm went off because the camera's caught him escaping," he hesitated, then spat the next words out. "With you."

Rey kept her expression steady. Ben glanced at her. He was amazed at the sacrifice she was giving for him. Rey could easily turn on him and then go with her friends, but she didn't. She just kept on amazing him.

"He confessed to me, Finn. You have to believe me, he's different now," she looked to him for support.

"It's true," his voice rung out through the camp. "I want to-"

"I won't believe a word you say," Finn snarled. "Now, are you going to go back willingly?"

Ben clenched his fists. His temper was beginning to flare up. "Listen to me," he almost growled. "I am not part of the First Order anymore. I can't go back to them."

"Finn, they will be here within hours," Rey pleaded. "He's not lying about this, I swear. They're coming for him and they'll destroy everything and everyone here. You have to believe me."

As if on cue, the skies darkened above. A very large ship was in sight now. People screamed and ran. Finn dropped his weapon, and his jaw.

"Now," Rey shouted. "We have to go! Get Dameron!"

A large blast into the forest rang out and screaming echoed throughout the camp. Poe came running beside Finn and we all took off into the woods.

They ran for at least twenty minutes, only stopping to breathe once. We were deep amongst the forest. Nothing looked at all familiar. Ben slumped down against a tree. "I can't run anymore," he whispered, trying to take in air.

They all stopped. They knew we couldn't run forever. They had to think of a plan.

"Does anyone want to explain what's going on?" Poe asked, eyeing Ben and Rey who were sitting next to each other.

"This was all planned," Ben confessed. "You guys capturing me was to the First Order's advantage. They tracked me here with the help of a spy. You might know her, Rosa Gardencia? Anyways," he paused taking in a big gulp of air. "Now, they're here for me and they'll kill everyone."

"Oh." Poe swore, rubbing his temples. "And here, I actually thought it was serious."

"How do we know you're not just cornering us and once we trust you, you'll lead us right to them?" Finn asked and gave him the stink-eye.

Ben frowned. "You don't. But as of now, I'm your best bet, alright? I'm not asking you to trust me, I'm asking you to save Rey and yourselves. I'm your best way of accomplishing that."

Finn started to speak up, but Poe interrupted. "Rosa?" he asked, looking at Finn. "Rosa?"

Finn's face was a mix of shock and disgust. He looked at Ben, who nodded. "Good thing I never did really ask her out," he admitted. "I was too scared."

Rey looked up at Ben as Poe and Finn talked. "Do you think we'll make it out alive?" she asked. She knew that any sensible person would admit their defeat and answer no, but they were not sensible people. If anyone could survive this, she thought, it was them who could.

"Maybe," Ben replied. He knew that it wasn't likely. "We just have to try, right?" he asked. She had taught him to never give up. Now was the time for him to put it into practice. This was where it mattered most.

She gave a small smile. "You have changed."

He gently grabbed her hand. "It's all because of you."

She blushed, but didn't pull away. If she were going to die that day, at least she would be with the people who she cared about most.

A surge of danger came over her. She grabbed her lightsaber from her belt. It was the same one Luke had used before her. "We need to move," she announced as she stood up. "Someone's coming closer.

They heard scuffling from a few yards away. A muffled voice said, "I think we're getting close." That was all they needed to get a sprinting start. As they ran, a Stormtrooper emerged from the trees and began yelling.

Ben was falling behind. He tripped over a branch and fell. As he was getting up, a strong hand grabbed at his back. "We've assessed the situation, Kylo. We'll get the runaways. You head back to the ship."

He nodded as he watched them all turn around. "Run!" he yelled at them. Finn and Poe took off, but Rey stayed behind. She knew that there was no way that he could defeat them without a weapon.

"Rey, go!" he yelled as the Stormtrooper took in the situation. Of course, Rey didn't comply. She took off sprinting towards Ben and drew her lightsaber.

"Sir?" One of them asked. They were confused.

"Leave now," He demanded. They did as he instructed, most likely because he was using the Force. He wanted destroy them, that would be the best way. They wouldn't bother them. But they weren't attacking and Ben didn't think killing anyone would be the best on his way to the light side.

"C'mon," Rey said taking his hand in hers. "We've got to get away."

"Oh great," Ben mumbled as he took off. "More running."