AWAKEN ; benny weir [2]

six

"Let's do this."

Preparing himself for what felt like the vision of a lifetime, Ethan grasped Benny's shoulder to brace themselves into Ellie's mind. 
He couldn't help but hesitate at the thought of poking around in Ellie's mind again. What if something went wrong?

"Go ahead," Ms. Weir insisted.

The seer huffed, squeezing his eyes shut and quickly thrusting his palm onto Ellie's forehead. Struggling to find the pathway into her brain, Ethan grunted.

"C-Come on!"

Suddenly, Ethan and Benny took a harsh breath of air as they stared into the distance. Their irises shifted to white as Ethan guided them both into Ellie's mind.

The two boys felt the propulsion of the vision lead them into a world of mist and fog. Ethan and Benny circled around themselves, looking for any sign of their witch.

"Ellie!" they yelled, desperate for her to answer. 

"Benny, this looked like what was in your head, but there was..."

He stopped himself as he looked into the distance, seeing what he saw in Benny's mind. The silhouette of their best friend. She was extremely far away, slowly making her way to the boys.

"Ellie? Can you hear us?" Ethan asked.

Benny was just in shock all around, not even knowing what to say to anything. 

"...Guys?" they heard her speak. The two flinched a little at the surprise of her voice. It sounded like she was right next to them, even though she was so far.

"How did- How did you two get here?" Ellie asked them.

Benny couldn't even speak. Hearing Ellie talk was so jarring to him that he was speechless for the first time in years.

"El, we don't have enough time right now," Ethan explained, panting. "Do you have any idea how we can wake you up? This whole thing is exhausting."

"I don't know, but Stern is looking for my bracelet," Ellie said. "He thinks that I'm hiding it from him and he won't believe me."

"Wh-What would he want that for—?"

"—Guys... you have to go," Ellie interrupted. Her voice suddenly flipped from desperate to terrified like a light switch. "What? Why?"

"You have to go now! It-It's Stern! He can— AH!"

Ethan and Benny gawked at Ellie's silhouette, watching the witch drop to her knees with her hands on her head. 

"Stern can hear everything! He's in here! GUYS, GET OUT! GET OUT NOW!"

Ellie was screaming at this point, with her voice so loud in the boys' ears that it could make their blood boil.

"Yes, boys..."

"Oh, shit."

Ethan and Benny frantically combed around the fog to the disembodied voice that boomed in their eardrums: Stern's voice.

"You heard Prince... GET OUT!"

Ethan and Benny were thrown out of Ellie's mind, stumbling backwards as they appeared back in the magic room. 
Once they came back to their senses, Ethan couldn't help but notice Sarah's anxious gasping for air. Something was wrong.

"E-Evelyn?" the vampire stuttered. "I- uh, I can't hear Ellie's heartbeat."
"...What?"

Ms. Weir rushed to Ellie's side, untangling her fingers from her pocket to feel Ellie's pulse. Flat line. "Oh, my goodness..."