DYING OF THE LIGHT ➣ BEN SOLO

THIRTY - NINE

"this feels wrong," finn lamented, his head hanging low. "are we supposed to just sit here and watch her die?"

"we should leave," rey said gently, her hand moving toward poe's shoulder. but the newly appointed general shook his head, and stood up before she could reach him.

"no," he said, his voice hot and venomous with grief. "there's nothing we can do, except be there for her. she'll know we're here. she can feel it."

halo watched poe carefully. he was in so much pain, she could feel it radiating from him. deep from within, she pushed the force from her, allowing it to encompass both her, and the pilot, at the same time. waves of calm radiated from her, in a desperate attempt to soothe him. it worked as much as it could, for halo felt the force around him placate somewhat. now, the dark side wouldn't be a witness to leia's death. halo wanted the general to feel nothing but peace.

"is that true?" finn asked, his eyes now pointed at halo.

the red-head looked at him for an interval, before nodding solemnly.

"she knows we're here."

finn let out a ragged breath, and looked at the ground once more.

an uncomfortable silence encased them all for a moment longer, before halo felt something strange.

deep in the pit of her belly, an icy cool began to spread. the hairs on her arms rose to stand, and goosebumps erupted over her exposed skin. the force inside of halo, around her, and composed of her retreated, as if a fire was chasing it away. for a moment, she felt nothing at all, as if all the energy inside of her had evaporated. pupils dilated, she sucked in a sharp breath, and made frantic eye contact with rey.

from the looks of the young scavenger, she felt it too.

darkness enveloped her vision momentarily, and her grip on the wookie's arm tightened. her sudden blindness was shared by rey, who cried out in fear before they both were released from its grips all at once, and the darkness subsided.

tears welled in halo's eyes, her heart was beating frantically, muscles tense and ready to defend her. when her focus returned, she saw poe's eyes staring at her with concern, and felt chewbacca's arms holding her in the tightest grip she had ever felt. rey was in the same condition, shoulder being shaken agressively by finn as she struggled to come back to reality.

halo had never felt an evil that pure before. it was like her heart had turned to lead, and dropped like a stone into the pit of her stomach. like she had been pitched into the void, cold and alone, desperate to escape but with no clear way out. the presence was dark, aggressive, and malevolent. the kind of evil she had only heard about in stories.

her light blue eyes looked up at rey, the scavenger stared at her in fear.

"what the hell was that?" rey whispered.

before halo had the chance to answer, she felt something pulling at her mind. she knew immediately who it was.

ben, she called to him from her mind. there was no reply. instead, he manifested before her.

he was restrained, bound against a regal looking metal frame. whatever consciousness his mind possessed at the moment was not made plain on his face, for his lids were pulled tight over his eyes. blood seeped down his hairline, and bruises littered the skin from the curve of his jaw to his collarbone. his dark robes hung in tatters about him, stuck like glue to his torn flesh. the smell of blood stung halo's nose, enough to pull her from the panicked stupor she had fallen into at the sight.