Ben hears Pratt, but he doesn't want to stop. The anger feels clean and good and sharp as a knife. Anger is an easy feeling, for Ben. But as soon as he stops, acknowledges the fight is over (it was a slaughter, never a fight to begin with, they hadn't stood a chance) he is going to have to stop being angry and start feeling everything else. Fear, guilt, paralyzing helplessness.
But his throat is raw from screaming and the pain is awful, so, by sheer force of will, he pulls the creatures back and forces the portal closed once more. It's impossible to say if his legs are shaking from exhaustion or from fear. There is not a small amount of blood splashed on Ben's face, but he doesn't worry about that. The bodies of the men who had hurt Kieran are lying strewn around in pieces, but he doesn't worry about that, either.
At least he knows Kieran is still alive, because he can hear the sounds of his sobbing. Every one of those sobs sticks in Ben's chest like a knife, and he buries his hands in his hair, pulling it harshly.
"Oh god, oh god—"
He can't make himself look at Kieran's face, or move, or do anything. Ben does his best to stamp down on the rising swell of panic inside him. It's a struggle for a few seconds, his breaths coming fast and thin, close to hyperventilating. But this isn't the time for him to be weak, to be himself. There will be time later to fall apart, to think about how he had failed to live up to his promise never to let anyone hurt Kieran again. What good is he, if he can't even keep his friends safe? Keep them from having their eyes- his eyes-
The time to be sick to his stomach and horrified is later. He has to be the practical one. He has to make sure he helps to keep Kieran alive.
"We need t-to slow the b-bleeding and get him to the medbay."
It seems an impossibly long distance away, and when Ben glances at Kieran's face, there is so much blood. He finally can move, staggers over on unsteady legs and then drops down onto the earth, reaching for Kieran's hand and feeling his heart break all over again when he seems to flinch away. But Ben takes his hand and holds it between his own, tight and reassuring, and says:
"We're here. They're- gone and we're here and we've got you, okay? Just hold on."
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But his throat is raw from screaming and the pain is awful, so, by sheer force of will, he pulls the creatures back and forces the portal closed once more. It's impossible to say if his legs are shaking from exhaustion or from fear. There is not a small amount of blood splashed on Ben's face, but he doesn't worry about that. The bodies of the men who had hurt Kieran are lying strewn around in pieces, but he doesn't worry about that, either.
At least he knows Kieran is still alive, because he can hear the sounds of his sobbing. Every one of those sobs sticks in Ben's chest like a knife, and he buries his hands in his hair, pulling it harshly.
"Oh god, oh god—"
He can't make himself look at Kieran's face, or move, or do anything. Ben does his best to stamp down on the rising swell of panic inside him. It's a struggle for a few seconds, his breaths coming fast and thin, close to hyperventilating. But this isn't the time for him to be weak, to be himself. There will be time later to fall apart, to think about how he had failed to live up to his promise never to let anyone hurt Kieran again. What good is he, if he can't even keep his friends safe? Keep them from having their eyes- his eyes-
The time to be sick to his stomach and horrified is later. He has to be the practical one. He has to make sure he helps to keep Kieran alive.
"We need t-to slow the b-bleeding and get him to the medbay."
It seems an impossibly long distance away, and when Ben glances at Kieran's face, there is so much blood. He finally can move, staggers over on unsteady legs and then drops down onto the earth, reaching for Kieran's hand and feeling his heart break all over again when he seems to flinch away. But Ben takes his hand and holds it between his own, tight and reassuring, and says:
"We're here. They're- gone and we're here and we've got you, okay? Just hold on."