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

𝟻. 𝙶𝚒𝚟𝚎 & 𝚃𝚊𝚔𝚎

Kenji gets in the driver's seat, pulling the vehicle up under the ladder so their two friends can safely land on top. The sound of the men landing on the car startles the predator, causing it to jolt back up and come towards them.

Darius and Y/N slide off the roof and into the back seat, slamming the door in an instant.

"Go, go, go!" Darius cries and Kenji is quick to peel off. The tear down the path, no one taking a real breath until they're sure the Quetzalcoatlus isn't in pursuit.

"He's okay." Ben smiles, stroking Smoothie's head.

"So, you got Bumpy's location?" Kenji asks.

"Yeah..." Ben looks down at his phone, "She's at a vet facility just up... huh?" He trails off at the sound of heavy wings flapping in the wind.

The car shakes and its occupants scream as the Quetzalcoatlus returns, sinking its talons into the front of the truck. Kenji tries to slam on the breaks, but it's of no help. The winged creature lifts them up off the ground and soars into the sky.

They scream as they dangle in the air, the predator going higher and higher until its wings suddenly start to flap slower, the tranquilizers finally catching up to it.

The beast flaps twice more before its talons lose grip on the vehicle and the group is sent plummeting backwards and to their doom. They scream all the way down until the truck crashes into something, whipping the car around an effectively knocking everyone out.

When Y/N opens his eyes, he's met with ringing in his ears and the sight of Kenji staring out his window with wide eyes.

"We're... not dead?" Y/N mutters, groaning at the pain in the back of his head.

"Nope." Kenji sighs, "This might actually be worse."

Y/N jolts when he feels the truck shift slightly. He looks out the window, his breath catching in his throat. They're lodged between two trees and slowly shimmying down every time someone so much as blinks.

All at once the others slowly regain consciousness, each of them screaming when they realize the situation they're all in.

Kenji takes a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut, "Everyone okay?"

He's met with a varied array of responses that all generally mean, 'Yeah, but at what cost?'

"Good." Kenji nods, "We're getting out of this car, okay?" He glances at the rearview mirror where he spots Darius slowly raising his hand in the backseat, "Yes, Darius?"

"Uhm... How, exactly?" The other man mumbles, his voice trembling.

"I go first and asses, you all follow me to safety. Piece of cake." Kenji slowly unbuckles his seatbelt and reaches for the driver's side door. He pushes it open and worms out, climbing the truck and crawling onto the roof, causing it to tilt a little.

"I guess there are worse people to be stuck in a tree with than Climbing Man Kenj." Brooklyn comments, seemingly trying to lighten the mood.

"You think this is funny!?" Sammy claps back, "We could plunge to our death any second!"

"I know, Sammy..." Brooklyn frowns, "I'm just--"

"Well, don't." Sammy folds her arms.

"Hey." Kenji calls, looking down at them through the skylight, "Eyes on the prize, yeah?" He gets to his feet, stepping forward and causing the truck to lean to the side. He then steps backwards, making it lean back the other way.

"How we doing?" He looks back down at his friends.

"Still in a tree!" Yaz comments with a tight, nervous smile.