~*~

   Ben stared after her until she rounded the corner.

   Her steps echoed softly, and he knew when she neared the staircase and began to ascend.

   He had a lot of questions to ask her. But he had been so relieved only to see her, he hadn't known what to begin with.

   And now he was free. It felt like something that had happened in another life, something so distant. For almost two weeks, all he had known were those three white walls, and the iron bars that caged him inside.

   He wanted to tear along the corridor, and break into the daylight. But he hesitated.
   Rey had left him with few instructions to none. What if there were patrols walking the prison? What if they'll catch him and blame it on Rey?

   Ben was about to step back into the cell, suddenly afraid, when he remembered the vow he had made to himself. The vow to make her happy no matter what.

   His hand hung in the air, a mere inches away from the iron door, his eyes concerned about some invisible spot on the grey floor, when he heard the voice that gave him strength.

   I'm waiting for you, Ben.

   His head jerked up, as if a blaster shoot just whistled past his ear.

    I'm coming, he said back through the bond.

   There's nothing to worry about. Your way out is free.

   How can you be so sure? He asked her as he turned around and took the corridor she had instructed him to go on.

   I know what I'm doing when it comes to you, Ben.

   He could feel her voice a bit edgy. Yet it made his mouth stretch in a smile.

   Rey's tone accompanied him all the way until he rounded another corner.

   There was one prisoner on my way to you, she said. But I dozed him off with the Force.

   Ben was too anxious now to think of a reply. And he knew that Rey's words were just her attempt to ease his fear, to know she was with him. He had begun to run, the large cloak billowing behind him, when he heard three voices echoing off the walls.

   His breath hitched in his throat, his legs stuck in place. Desperate, he would have called Rey. But there was no reason to freak her out for his situation.

   The paces of the guards thundered on the floor, and Ben's heart continued to drum faster and harder against his ribs.

   He drew around a corner in time, when the merry voices reached him.

   His brows and hair were drenched in cold sweat, and his hands were trembling as he stood with the back pressed hard against the wall, waiting for the men to pass. Silently, he was praying to the force they would go on the other side.

   And they did.

   He closed his eyes, and a sigh of relief escaped his lips. His lungs relaxed from the hold of fear, and his head slammed softly against the wall. Thank the Force..., he began. When, to his horror, he heard one pair of steps stop.
   A lump formed in his throat and stomach, and he thought he would be sick right there, at the feet of the three men almost discovering his escape.

   Slowly, and full of dread, he tilted his head to the right.

   The man who had turned around was a pilot. And he must have heard the noise of the steps Ben had made when he had started running.
   He peered across the main corridor, but Ben pressed harder against the wall that gave way to another one.

   He was holding his breath as if the mere sound of it would give him in, when the pilot started to walk in his direction.

   Damn it! He clenched his teeth and the words almost tore free from his mouth.

   They didn't, though. But somehow, he must have opened the bond, for an answer came from Rey.

   Use the Force, Ben, she said.

   He wanted to ask her how, for as much as he could remember, the last time he had tried to use the force, it had been but a ghost of what it used to be.

   I'll give you my help, she persisted. And he tried not to let the panic that the approaching steps brought along take hold of him entirely.

   His fingers splayed slowly in the air, in the direction of the pilot. And he tried something he thought he had forgotten; he groped for the Force.
   But the Force did not answer him in return.

   He bit his lip and was about to curse, when something like a wave of power reached for him instead. He almost flinched when he felt his slightly outstretched hand stiffen out of his will, his eyes widened with fear and confusion.

   Had he done something wrong? Had he unlocked some door that desperately needed to stay shut?

   His breath was sharp and sudden when he heard the thrash bin that rested by the wall hit the ground and roll across the corridor.

   The pilot froze in his tracks. And his head snapped back to the rumble that came from behind.

   "What was that?" he rasped at the other two. But they shook their heads in bewilderment. Eyes narrowed, he looked one more time to the corner Ben was hidden behind.

   For a moment Ben held his breath. All he could do was pray that the pilot would just follow the sound, and leave him be. But once free from the cell, he had taken this risk, of being found. He knew this could happen. And yet the creeping numbness of it froze him in place. He could outrun them though, he was sure about that. And by the time they were out, he would already be able to lose himself into the deep forest. But his legs that were melting slowly and painfully in terror beneath him would not carry him too far.

   And... They would find him wherever he would go.
  
   "It was just a whistle of wind... I suppose." one of the pilot's comrades spoke.

   "Hmm..." he went to put it back in place, but not before glancing one more time in Ben's side.

   Ben heaved a breath when he heard the steps retreat farther and farther down the corridor, his shoulders slumped down. All he wanted to do in that moment was slid down the wall, and let his heart relax, let those hammer falls against his ribs ease. But a different voice echoed in his head... It does not matter. I'm a murderer, his soul wept. I deserve to be kept here... For what I've done.

   But someone was waiting for him at the lake. And it was a person he would never let down, not if he had to walk through saber blades and blasters.

   So he glanced once more down the corridor the three men had taken, and then tore i the opposite side, up the slight ramp that led to the exit.
   He never looked back once. Not until he could make out the faint light that spilled on the floor through the little glass square in the door.

~*~

A/N: Okay, this was a short one. It was meant to be longer, but I added more things to this escape scene, thereafter resulting in a whole chapter 😁.
   
   And yeah... I can't quite restrain myself from developing any scene...

   Now, I have a few questions. When do you think Ben will be able to fully forgive himself?

   Hope you enjoyed, anyway :)