⍟ Broken Strings {A Chaos Theory x Male Reader Story - Ben}

𝟷. 𝙰𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚌𝚔

"Wait, what?" Ben interrupts him, the mood in the room shifts drastically.

"Darius..." Y/N mutters, standing up from the couch.

"Brooklyn is dead..."

Darius pauses for a while, his back to Ben and Y/N.

"I know, of course," He turns to face them, "I know that."

"It's just that... I guess her dads never deactivated her voicemail, so... sometimes I call her. To... hear her voice, to tell her stuff... to say I'm sorry."

"It wasn't your fault." Ben frowns.

"We all know that isn't true, Ben." Darius looks down, "If I met her that night, like I said I would, then she might--"

"No," Y/N sighs, stepping forward to stand beside Ben, "That's why we're here."

"It wouldn't have mattered," Ben nods, "Brooklyn's death was no accident. It was targeted. That Allosaurus--"

"Is a wild animal, Ben! A mindless killer!" Darius shouts, cutting off Ben's theory.

"When I finally got there, when I saw..."

"It was a random dinosaur attack. Happens way too often these days." He leans up against the counter, crossing his arms in a guarded manner.

"It wasn't random!" Ben argues, "There's too much coincidence!"

"What was Brooklynn even doing there that night? She never told you, did she? And how did she and the Allosaurus end up at the same place at the same time?"

"How did the DPW truck respond so quickly? Why wasn't her phone recovered from the scene?" He rambles.

"Something's off. I've been reading some stuff on Dark Jurassic--"

"Dark Jurassic!?" Darius scoffs, "That website where all those randos share their weird dinosaur conspiracy theories?"

"Darius," Y/N sighs, "Please, just listen. I know it sounds crazy, but I wouldn't have come here if I didn't think this all meant something."

"If you can't trust Ben and the internet people, at least try and trust my better judgment."

"Come look at this," Ben requests, pulling out his laptop and taking a seat.

Y/N and Darius both look over his shoulder as he types hastily.

"I was reading all about Allosaurus migration patterns and looking at leaked crime scene photos. All of a sudden, someone anonymously starts asking me if I was a member of the Nublar Seven."

"I figured it was a goof, but then I started getting DMs, hostile DMs, asking why I was so interested in the night Brooklyn died."

"Look!" He presses enter and opens up his DMs, but there's nothing there.

"What? They're not here. Someone must have deleted them."

"Look, Ben." Darius sighs, "It's been tough on all of us since we got back."

"Darius, he's not--" Y/N starts.

"Don't patronize me, Darius!" Ben slams his laptop on the table, "Something is going on!" He stomps over to the wall and flicks the lights off.

"Why do you keep turning off the lights!?" Darius scoffs.

"Because we're being hunted!" Y/N finally shouts, tired of the back and forth.

"Those messages I got," Ben goes on, "They were threats! Whoever killed Brooklyn is coming after the rest of us, too."

"We're all in danger. We have to find out why, and who's after us, before it's too late."

"How do you know!?" Darius flicks the lights back on, "Where's your proof?"

Y/N wants to say something, but he holds his tongue.

"I... don't have any." Ben sighs.

"So, you show up here, prank call me, then go on and on--"

"What?" Y/N cuts Darius off, "We didn't prank call you. We didn't call at all. We don't have our phones."

The room goes silent and a faint tapping sound can be heard outside the door. The three men all hold their breath, and Darius slowly flicks the lights off with wide eyes.

Y/N and Ben turn around to see what's got Darius so shocked and instantly freeze when they see the silhouette of a raptor outside.

The three of them duck down tot he ground with their backs to the wall. Y/N looks at Darius expectantly.

"Random dinosaur." He shakes his head.

"Why didn't your fence alarm go off?" Ben counters.

"We closed the gate behind--"

"Shhh..." Y/N cups a hand over his boyfriend's mouth.

"If we stay quiet, they'll just move on and--" Darius whispers.

As if right on cue, the raptor leaps through the window, smashing the glass and tearing the blinds, making its way inside.

Darius leaps for his shock prod, snatching it up off the wall and swiftly avoiding the dinos grip. The raptor slams into a bookshelf, which falls on top of it.

Another raptor smashes through the back window, cornering Y/N and Ben by the steps. The creature jumps at them, causing both of them to fall over the railing.

Ben snatches up a wooden chair and smashes it over the raptors head, causing some rather minimal damage.

"Jesus, Ben!" Y/N swiftly grabs the small wooden table and uses it as a shield from the raptor charging at them, the dinosaurs head breaking through the wood.

Darius jumps over the bookcase and tosses Ben the shock prod, which he uses to incapacitate the raptor.

With both dinosaurs down, the three men rush out of the house, falling into a heap on the porch as their rapidly beating hearts begin to calm. The three of them share a nervous glance.

Before any of them can speak, another raptor slowly begins creeping out from behind the trees. The three of them rise to their feet, their heart rates picking right back up.

"Oh, crud." Darius holds his breath.