Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter Two

TW: GRAPHIC MURDER, GRAPHIC VIOLENCE, CANNABILISM

There was a ten-year-old killing a woman on the other side of the camera.

Look, BEN Drowned had seen a lot of weird things on the other side of a camera - murders, suicides, some questionable sex things, to name a few - but that didn't mean he actively sought them out. In fact, he was merely trying to do his own job when he stumbled across what he had.

The device was on, the owner was online, and BEN decided to do what he was made to. But instead of some gullible middle-aged mother trying to navigate her laptop, BEN saw a child plunging a kitchen knife into a woman three times his size.

The woman was screaming, frantically flailing around in an attempt to get the child off of her. The child however had wrapped his legs around her large stomach firmly and was completely focused on the task at hand, making it surprisingly difficult to dislodge the small body from her. 

BEN watched with rapt attention as the child removed the knife from where it was lodged into the woman's chest. The deep red liquid on the knife glinted in the light as the child brought it up as if to admire it. 

The woman had resorted to sobbing, realising that her screams were not going to be heard. As she cried a mantra of why's escaped her mouth. 

The child looked away from the knife and gave the woman a flat look. "'Why?'" He asked. He said it as if her words had confused him, as if he couldn't fathom why she would ask such a thing. He gave his knife a considering look then licked it. "Perhaps the gods will be merciful and explain it to you once we're done." He gave her a grin that was stained red and in a motion that was so swift that it took BEN by surprise he stuck the knife into the woman's eyeball. 

The woman screamed again, and the boy laughed. 

It was a short laugh, cut off by the boy himself sticking the knife into his mouth and chewing on the eyeball that was impaled on it.

It was not as if BEN was unfamiliar with cannibalism, most of the people he lived with had dipped their toes into that particular food group before - Hell, their local doctor was often scolded for attempting to eat the residents' kidneys - but BEN was taken by surprise with how little hesitation there was from a child to eat an eyeball as if it were a marshmallow.

"That's wuh-one fucked up - cut a bitch - movie you-you're watching BEN."

BEN instinctively reached out to give Toby a smack from where he hovered over the blonde's shoulder. Toby gave a loud laugh at the action and BEN was reminded that Toby hadn't even felt the sting of flesh hitting flesh.

The woman screamed again as the boy removed her other eyeball. As the child took a bite of this one the woman went limp beneath his body. Not dead but definitely unconscious. 

"It's not a movie," BEN murmured not taking his eyes off the screen. 

"Wuh-one fucked up kuh-kid then," Toby amended after a moment.

Toby and BEN watched as the boy finally seemed to get bored and swiftly slit the woman's throat.

He licked his knife and fingers as he got off the corpse then approached the chair in front of the computer that Toby and BEN were watching him from. The boy opened Internet Explorer and typed in 'Talking Tom' letter for letter with his index finger. 

"Wuh-what's he doing?" Toby asked, staring at the screen with rapt attention. His question was followed by rapid clicks of his tongue. 

BEN took a moment to respond. "Downloading a game." 

Toby groaned then clicked his tongue again. "That's bor-boring. Make him duh-do some - cut a bitch! - thing fuh-fun."

BEN hated taking orders from his fellow proxies, especially Toby, but the boy had a point. Watching a child, no matter how bloody, play a game was one of the least entertaining things BEN could think of. 

Which is why BEN decided to open a chat box. They watched the boy blink in confusion as the animated cat he was slapping disappeared behind a white text box. 

Going for a different approach from what he usually did BEN typed a message to the child.

User 1: I saw what you did to her. 

The boy took a long moment to read what was written to him - BEN had tried to keep his message simple - then he paused as if processing the situation before he responded. Out loud. 

"She deserved it."

It was said with utter conviction. As if his argument, vague as it was, was an acceptable rebuttal to murdering a woman. 

User 1: What did she do?

When the child didn't respond and instead moved to the settings button on the chat BEN sat forward and Toby vibrated with excitement. This wouldn't be the first time one of BEN's victims had tried to block or report him. It also wouldn't be the first time that they'd regret their actions.

Another message pinged onto the screen.

[User 2 has changed their username to Harry]

"She deserved it," the boy, Harry apparently, repeated. 

"The kuh-kid's smart BEN, respond as you wuh-would normally." Toby's eyes didn't leave the screen even as his hand made a fist and started to hit his thigh repeatedly, seemingly out of its own. 

"Why do you say that?" BEN asked. 

"Huh-his response to the luh-lady wuh-was very puh-poetic."

Sometimes Toby made good points. Rarely, sure, but sometimes.

[User 1 has changed their username to BEN]

The boy narrowed his eyes. "Is your name really Ben?"

BEN: Yes.

The proxies watched with bated breath as Harry scrunched up his nose. 

"I once met a snake named Ben, he wasn't very nice."

Toby laughed and BEN cringed at the obnoxious noise. "Huh-He compared you-you to ah-a lizard!"

"Snakes aren't lizards!" BEN snapped as he typed his response. 

BEN: Well, I'm not a snake. 

Harry puffed some air into his cheeks. "Well, obviously, snakes don't have fingers." His shockingly green eyes sharpened and he sat forward in his seat. "That does beg the question, though, what exactly are you?"

BEN was momentarily thrown by the jump between the childish response and the vaguely threatening question. BEN decided he did not like talking to this child. 

"Answer!" Toby snapped. His leg hitting had finally stopped but his fingers kept clicking in a manner that deeply annoyed BEN. 

"What do you want me to say to that, genius?"

"Wuh-well what do you-you-you you-usually tell your victims?"

BEN's response was cut off before it started by Harry loudly announcing, "I need the bathroom, you'll still be here when I get back, right?" 

BEN: Yes. 

"Good, cause then you can answer my question."

Then he disappeared. 

"If your-your jobs are you-usually this fun then I'm go-going to bother ya-you more often to watch them."

BEN gave an annoyed sigh. "I don't usually have nine year olds killing people on my jobs, Toby. Would you stop that!"

Toby glared at him. "Ya-you know I can't just stop it!" He snapped as his fingers continued to click. 

BEN returned the glare. "Would breaking them help?" He demanded aggressively. 

Toby snorted and rolled his eyes. "Ya-you know it-it wuh-won't - stupid bitch! - buh-because I won't fuh-feel it!"

BEN's retort was cut off by Harry returning with a bat in his hands. Harry grinned at the camera then sat down. 

"I'm back!" He announced. 

BEN: I can see that. Why did you bring a bat?

BEN watched as Harry tapped at his blood stained lip lightly as if debating something. The boy then spoke. 

"Do you like playing baseball, BEN?"

BEN: I've never played to be honest with you. 

BEN saw Harry smirk at the screen. "That's okay, I can teach you." BEN leaned in closer to the screen, unsure as to what the child had planned. Would you hit the woman's body with the bat? Actually play baseball of all things?

The boy was unpredictable. 

"Wuh-what is he - kill yourself - doing?" Toby asked, also leaning closer to the screen.

BEN wondered the same thing.

Harry raised the bat staring at the camera. His had a deranged look on his face. BEN'S eye widened. 

BEN: What are you doing?

That was the last thing to pop up on Harry's screen before the child started to destroy the computer. BEN listened to him beat the computer for a moment before pulling up a display of all the technology that was in the house.

There wasn't any. Just the computer that was being destroyed by a child that apparently decided he wouldn't be playing Talking Tom any longer. 

There were a few more crunches of metal and Harry shouted a loud "strike!" before the sound cut off completely and the last piece of technology in that area disappeared.

What the actual fuck?