(Ben: "So, when did you get your immortality?")
Ben spoke suddenly. They hadn't been talking since the night, and Ben finally broke the silence. They could hear chatter from outside of the tent.
There were a lot of people out there. You could tell just by listening. The crunching of the dirt as people walk by, the metallic clanking of guns, as well as general conversation from the outside. He heard someone ask another, "How are you?" They said "Good, you?" They walked away from the tent before he could listen to any more of their blooming conversation.
Ben had turned to Lucas for conversation, and that's when he asked the question.
(Lucas: "I don't remember. It was a long long time ago.")
(Ben: "I got mine about… five, six years ago?")
(Lucas: "How did you get it?")
(Ben: "My dad gave it to me.")
Lucas stared blankly at Ben. He thought it was a joke at first. Not an amusing one either.
(Lucas: "Your dad.")
(Ben: "My dad.")
(Lucas: "W- You- Your dad gave it to you?")
(Ben: "He passed it on to me.")
Lucas' entire perception of his ability had shifted ever so slightly.
(Lucas: "Where is he now? Is he here somewhere? Out there?")
Ben pointed up. Lucas looked at the ceiling of the tent, then back down at Ben. It took him a second, but he eventually understood.
(Lucas: "Oh. Sorry.")
(Ben: "It's fine. It was painless. I think.")
(Lucas: "Wait, so, how does that work? You can just pass it on to another person?")
(Ben: "Yup. It's actually very simple. You have to touch the person you want to give it to, and… well… that's it. At least that's all my dad did. He just grabbed my wrist and held it close. Like really close. He closed his eyes and it looked like he was concentrating really hard. Then his grip loosened and he looked up at me. He stared. He was calm. For once. And he was tired. Very tired. He closed his eyes and slumped over. He didn't wake up.")
(Lucas: "How long did you stay with him after?")
(Ben: "Um. Not long. Maybe twenty minutes at most. Hah, I figured out I had immortality pretty quickly. An apostle snuck up on me while I was next to him. I had to run.")
(Lucas: "Do you think there was a chance he could've waken up?")
(Ben: "No.")
There was a long pause.
(Lucas: "Pretty confident, huh?")
(Ben: "Yeah. I don't think he was breathing. Maybe he was. Maybe there was a chance he'd get back up. But that apostle ruined it.")
His tone was riddled with contempt for this apostle he spoke of. He never showed any outward signs of aggression, but Lucas could tell that if he ever saw the monster again, he'd tear it to shreds.
Ben looked toward Lucas. He saw the necklace he wore. He pointed at the heart shaped locket.
(Ben: "You got a girlfriend?")
Lucas looked down at it.
(Lucas: "A wife.")
(Ben: "Lucky man. I had a crush once. I was, like, six. I was such a dumb kid. I picked a rose from a bush from my neighbor's yard and brought it to her the same day. I was confident at the very least. She took it, but then she ignored me the rest of the day. That was the first and last time I've ever tried pursuing a girl I liked.")
(Lucas: "Was it that traumatizing?")
(Ben: "Heh, well let me tell you about trauma. The rapture began when I was in the fifth grade. The schools didn't shut down until it was declared an international threat. Some apostles were faster than others. We didn't see a single lurker until about six months after. We got hit with the flying apostles first. Giant man-eating bats, literal pterodactyls. Then there was the thinners.")
(Lucas: "The thinners.")
(Ben: "Yup. It was this flock of identical apostles. They looked like what you'd think an angel looks like, but they were all covering their faces with their hands. You could never see what was behind. They were quite beautiful. Attractive, in a literal sense. Something about them made you want to approach. They made these triangle formations in the sky. There would be so many of them.")
(Lucas: "Were they hostile?")
(Ben: "Um. No? Actually yes. No. Wait… Hmm. Well, they wouldn't try to attack you, but that doesn't mean they couldn't hurt you. The way they attacked, don't ask me where I heard this, I don't remember, they will rapidly destroy your body on an atomic scale. So they will literally make you thinner. One of them can't do much, but they travel in flocks. So when they're in their triangle formation thingy, they can do a lot of damage. I actually had an encounter with them once.")
(Lucas: "What did it feel like?")
(Ben: "That's the worst part. You don't feel anything. If I didn't have my angel, I'd be dead, and I wouldn't even know it.")
(Lucas: "Jesus.")
(Ben: "Yeah. Apostles are terrifying creatures.")
Lucas took a deep breath and relaxed a bit.
(Lucas: "You think people think of us the same way they think about regular apostles?")
Ben stared down at his feet for a while. He contemplated the question. Then he looked at Lucas and stared.
(Ben: "Do you think we're apostles?")
Lucas shrugged and nodded at the same time. Ben almost seemed offended by this admission.
(Ben: "You truly think that we are like those monsters?")
(Lucas: "I don't just think that. It's not my opinion.")
(Ben: "You're telling me that it's a fact. There's no hope for us? We are apostles.")
(Lucas: "I met a biologist. She studied apostles for decades. She made me realized just how similar I am to apostles. I function like them. I'm immortal like them, almost.")
(Ben: "Okay. So tell me. If I were to pass my angel onto someone else right now, would I be a human again?")
Lucas thought about it before nodding.
(Lucas: "I guess so.")
(Ben: "You realize how flawed that logic is, right? That biologist doesn't know shit. She probably doesn't even know about the angel, and to the extent it's linked to you. It's loose. More loose than you'd imagine. Did you know that there is one more way to get rid of it? Just take your hands and strangle it, and eventually, it'll fade like all other apostles do. That severs the link and you'll be free. The connection between you and it is a single thread ready to be cut at any time.")
(Lucas: "How do you know this?")
(Ben: "You think the angel is the only apostle that can link to you? Plenty of apostles can do that, and when you kill them, that link will be severed. It's the same principle.")
(Lucas: "Okay, if you are so sure, then tell me you are human.")
Ben was confused. He didn't understand why he needed to do this.
(Lucas: "Come on, tell me you are human.")
(Ben: "I'm human.")
(Lucas: "No, no, look at me. Right here.")
Ben looked up at him.
(Lucas: "Now tell me.")
Ben's mouth opened like he was going to speak, but no words emerged. Ben looked back down. Lucas was silent. Neither spoke for a while. After some time passed, Ben looked up.
(Ben: "Do you think you'll die someday?")
Lucas pondered.
(Lucas: "As long as I've got something to live for, I don't think I'll ever die.")
(Ben: "You live for your wife?")
Lucas nodded.
(Lucas: "What do you live for?")
(Ben: "Nothing.")
Ben responded quickly, and coldly. There was no emotion in his eyes. He wasn't even looking at Lucas, but he could just tell.
(Ben: "Just kidding! I live for this camp. They have me protect the people here every so often. That's what I live for. Yeah. That's it.")
Lucas raised an eyebrow and nodded. He didn't buy it.
(Ben: "Tell me, if you didn't have your wife, would you consider severing the link?")
(Lucas: "No. I've got someone else to protect now. I couldn't just leave them.")
(Ben: "Interesting.")
(Lucas: "If you didn't have this camp, what else would you have?")
(Ben: "I don't know.")
(Lucas: "Oh come on. Before you came here, what was it that you held on to? If this camp is the only thing holding you together, what kept you from cutting that thread?")
Ben was looking down with his eyes. He looked sad.
(Ben: "I had hope. That one day I'd be human again. I guess I still do.")
(Lucas: "Is this camp really what keeps you together?")
Ben shook his head.
Lucas felt a sudden wave of guilt. Though he knew he was right, he felt he had just invalidated this man's only reason to keep living.
They were right back to where they started. Complete silence.