Outside in the Cold

(the prequel to Deliberate)

Written by: .writer

A/N: (PLEASE READ) So here it is. The long awaited Deliberate prequel. Would have been up sooner, but my internet has a fondness for torturing me. First of all, a WARNING: this has a lot of violence. More than anything I've ever written. I wouldn't call it slasher-flick level, but it's there. Should be tolerable, unless you have a really weak stomach (or cannot think about the precious Reid being hurt). Also, language. Sorry, but it's appropriate in the context ('goldarnit' just doesn't work).

This does not quite match up with what was said in Deliberate. It was a balancing act to write this, trying to keep the characters' actions reasonable while still keeping to the basic idea of Reid being abandoned by his friends. I may or may not revise Deliberate to be more compliant with this; let me know what you think in a review! Also, there are many point of view changes. I tried to give everyone a say, even Chase. Of course, Reid has like five times as many scenes as everyone else, but it is about him.

This is long. Like, seventeen pages and nearly 7,ooo words. I hope you appreciate the effort I put into this, including staying up 'til 4:30 in the morning so I could finish it.

Side notes: If you are a writer (even an aspiring writer) and are interested in a writers' group, drop by my profile for more information about the group I'm putting together with writersword (read her story Takes a Tragedy, it's based on a similar scenario to this). Basically, we plan on having critiques of members' work, writing challenges, and discussions about how to create really good fanfics. Even if you've never written anything before, you are welcome to join. Also, you're welcome no matter what fandom you write in.

Dedicated to the reviewers of Deliberate, as of posting time: Patron Saint of Heartache, Marah, and writersword

Disclaimer: I don't own The Covenant. I'm making zilch off this. Don't sue me.

Was this the third time he had awoken to see doctors and nurses crowded around him, bright light shooting through his eyes to scorch his brain? Or was it the fourth?

Then the drugs from the IV kicked in, and Reid didn't care anymore how long he had been in the hospital. He let the meds enfold him in sleep again, a deep, dark sleep without dreams.

Something wasn't right. The skin on his skull was itching the way it did when he spent all day under the sun, but it was winter in Ipswich, and the sun hadn't made an appearance in weeks. Someone was watching him.

Reid leaned over the pool table to line up his shot, but his concentration was ruined. He screwed it up, and with Caleb only a few feet away, he didn't dare Use to correct his mistake. Aaron Abbot crowed in delight.

Tyler gave Reid a look. It said what's up with you? Reid shook his head. He wasn't sure yet if he wasn't imagining the feeling, and even if there was someone watching him, it was probably just some guy whose girl had messed around with Reid. The blond-haired Son of Ipswich could handle jealous boyfriends on his own.

His Ascension was next week, after all. In seven days Reid would turn eighteen and get one of the best birthday presents ever: a massive power upgrade. Anticipation curled his lips into a smirk, and he banished the creeping sensation to the back of his mind.

“Looking forward to your party?” Tyler asked as they played Halo back at the dorms.

Reid snorted. “Hell no. Mother's done all the planning, which means it'll be a bunch of old guys in suits and their trophy wives.”

“It could be worse, man.” Tyler's voice was quiet. His own parents spent more time in St. Croix and Hong Kong than in Ipswich. Baby Boy was lucky if he heard from them more than once a month.

His best friend's words brought Reid up short. He took a breath and refocused on the video game. “Sorry, man. But since Dad died, she's been such a bitch.”

“Yeah.”

For a while the only noise came from the television. Then Tyler spoke. “Y'know, you could probably get away before the party's over. Skip out, I mean.”

“God, I hope so. Of course, there wouldn't be any point playing hooky alone, now would there, Baby Boy?” Reid took his eyes of the television to shoot Tyler a smirk.

Tyler scowled at him. “Don't call me that. And of course you won't be alone, dumbass.”

His predictions about the party had been right. It was a bunch of old guys in suits (and their young, pretty wives, many of whom had spent the night so far staring at the four Sons with hungry expressions). Reid's mother was in full gracious-hostess mode, surrounded by a crowd of ass-kissing groupies. All of them wanted to get a connection with the Garwin family, and Clarissa Garwin used them like toys.

Reid didn't pay any attention to them. The fact that they were fawning over his mother instead of him showed how little they knew about how the Garwin family worked. His mother preferred it that way, but he would be eighteen tomorrow and would have the legal and magical power to tell her to go to Hell.

His sudden smile earned him some looks from a nearby gaggle of honest-to-God desperate housewives. Laughing, Reid turned to Tyler. “You ready to get out of here?”

The cliffs were deserted, the combination of night and snow keeping wanderers away, the exception being the four Sons, Sarah, and Kate. The two girls were wrapped in thick winter coats, but the guys wore only their suits from the party. The cold didn't bother them much.

Pogue had brought a bottle of whisky and was passing it around. Everyone, even Caleb, had taken a few sips.

Reid put the bottle to his lips and swallowed a few ounces of the chilly golden liquid. He preferred his Scotch warm, but in this weather it couldn't be helped. Briefly he considered Using to warm the alcohol, but then he shrugged and passed the bottle to Tyler. In a little over three hours he would Ascend, and for once in his life, he could take a break from Using. Maybe show Caleb just how responsible he could be, he thought with a slight smirk.

Snow fell heavily over the teens, who laughed and talked, bound together by love and brotherhood. Soon the Scotch was gone and the cold began creeping in past the boundaries of fabric and magic and youth.

The cliffs were blanketed in white, and the wind was picking up. Caleb and Pogue stepped close to their respective girlfriends, embracing them. Tyler looked at his watch. It was nearly one in the morning.

Reid stood alone at the very edge of the cliff, looking down at the beach. He could barely see it through the snow...

“Reid!”

The blond started at the call. He looked his shoulder at the group over by the Hummer. “Come on, man, we're tired of freezing our asses off,” Pogue called, tightening his arm around the shivering Kate.

Reid smiled at his friends, then turned back for a final look out at the sea. “One min--”

His words were cut off when the rock under his feet tore away from the ground, sending Reid tumbling over the side of the cliff.

“REID!” Five voices screamed as they watched the boy disappear. In seconds the other Sons had sprinted towards the edge, only stopping when Caleb skidded to a halt and shouted for the others to do the same.

“The entire area could be unstable,” he explained. His eyes flashed to black, and his feet lifted several inches off the ground. Pogue and Tyler did the same, and together they hovered out past the end of the cliffs.

Over by the Hummer, Kate and Sarah stood closely together, shaking from the cold and fear for their friend. They watched with wide eyes as the three Sons lowered out of sight.

Caleb, Pogue, and Tyler flew down to the base of the cliff, where a large pile of rock was strewn over the beach. Landing next to it, they began searching for Reid.

Ten minutes later, they stopped their frantic activity. Looking at each other with dark eyes, they stood silently for a moment before Tyler spoke. “He's gone.”

Reid wasn't in the pile of rubble, and he wasn't anywhere else on the beach. “He wouldn't have just left,” Tyler said to the others. “Not even if he could walk. He would have let us know he was okay.”

Pogue looked at the frantic young man, then at Caleb. The eldest of the three was the one to voice the thought running through all their minds.

“Someone must have taken him.”

Holy hell, he hurt. His body felt like someone had used him as a target for shotgun practice after running over him with a cement truck.

Reid groaned as he regained consciousness. Opening his eyes—dammit, even his eyelashes hurt—he was met by an unexpected sight. Instead of cliffs and snow, he saw nothing. Total blackness.

Reid reached for the Power, snagging a tiny piece of it to make a light with...but before he could, someone beat him to it. A light flared, Reid blinked as his vision adjusted, and then the world stopped making sense.

Chase Collins stood above him, holding a witchlight in one hand, a smirk on his face.

“What the fuck?” where the first words out of Reid's mouth. “You're supposed to be dead!”

The smirk on the fifth Son's face spread wider. “Caleb must have exaggerated. Obviously, I'm alive, and kicking.” His foot shot out and caught Reid in the ribs as if to prove his statement.

The kick spiked pain into his body and pushed a gasp through Reid's lips before he could stop it. He resisted the urge to curl into fetal position. “That's great, dude. Care to explain what's going on?” The bravado fell flat, the words coughed out of a raspy throat.

“I'll give you a clue, Garwin,” Chase replied. He raised the witchlight higher and gestured with his other hand. Reid followed the movement, then froze.

A few feet away were Sarah and Kate, their wrists, ankles, and mouths bound with tape. Their eyes glittered in the dark with frightened tears.

Reid felt rage rising up from inside him, and his Power rose with it. His eyes went black, and he sat up, ignoring the pain. “You son of a bitch--”

“Watch your mouth, Garwin.” Chase skipped back a few steps and knelt by the girls, pulling a switchblade from his pocket. He flicked it open and yanked Sarah's hair, pulling her head to the side to reveal the skin of her throat. Reid imagined that he could see her pulse beating as Chase placed the blade of the knife next to her carotid artery. “Here there are consequences for what your words and actions.”

Part of Reid wanted to burn the bastard's face off, but his other side could see the naked terror in both of the girls as well as the manic glee in Chase's gaze. Reid pushed the magic away and fought for control.

Satisfaction glowed in Chase's black eyes, and he lowered his hand, but the knife remained floating by Sarah's throat. Standing, Chase strode over to Reid and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, lifting him off the ground. Chase was several inches taller than Reid, and when he held the blond at eye level, Reid's feet barely brushed the ground.

The stared at each other for several minutes. Reid took the chance to get a good look at the enemy. Chase was looking older than Reid remembered, but the most unnerving fact about the older boy was his feral appearance. He had dirt on his face, his clothes were filthy rags, and his gaze glimmered with insanity.

In the months since Putnam Barn, Chase Collins had lost whatever hold he had on reality and had descended into true madness.

“Like what you see?”

Reid smiled, though it hurt. “You're not my type.”

Chase smiled too, then threw him into the wall. Reid hit with a thud, then dropped to the ground with a choked cry of pain. Dirt smeared over his face, some getting in his mouth and eyes. He coughed. Drops of blood fell from his split lip to the filthy cave floor.

For the first time since his dad had died, Reid felt alone. Part of him knew that the other Sons would come for him and the girls, but the part covered in blood and dirt wondered how much damage Chase would do before they got there.

Almost as if he had heard Reid's mental question, Chase strode over and placed a booted foot on Reid's back, then reached down and grabbed the blond's arm; a hard yank nearly pulled it out of the socket. Reid's scream drowned out Chase's laughter, and as he lost consciousness, Reid caught Sarah's eye. She was shaking and sobbing. Beside her, Kate was whimpering and shaking her head.

But then, the darkness swallowed them.

A single thought swam to the surface of Sarah's chaotic mind. This is much worse than last time. Spider nightmares and kidnapping were bad enough, but now she was watching Chase as he broke Reid's fingers one by one. She had tried shutting her eyes, but the snap of breaking bone echoed like gunshots in the cave, and not seeing what was happening made her imagine worse possibilities.

When Reid passed out for the third time, Sarah prayed with all her being that Chase wouldn't wake him up again. If he didn't stop soon, he would kill Reid.

Chase snorted and stood, stepping away from the unconscious boy. Sarah went boneless with relief. Chase wouldn't kill Reid, she realized. Not until he Ascended. She shivered as she thought that Reid only had a few hours left. Two at the most...but she didn't know how long they had been down here. It felt like Hell.

Then the Devil turned towards her, and Sarah froze at the look in his eyes. Next to her Kate started screaming, the sound muffled by the tape around her mouth. As Chase began walking to them, Sarah shut her eyes again. Please God, oh please, make him stop, send Caleb and the others to save us, don't let him hurt me, pleaseGodpleaseplease...

Tyler wasn't quite certain how they had made it off the cliff and to the Hummer, but he didn't care. All he could think about was Reid. He knew that whatever was going on, it was bad; ordinary crises didn't apply to the Sons of Ipswich, and considering that it was Reid's birthday, it was too much of a coincidence.

And the only person who could possibly have done this was supposed to be dead.

Caleb was driving. He was the only person capable, but even so, he was pale. In the passenger seat, Pogue was talking quickly, anger and fear making his voice unsteady. “It has to be him, Caleb. No one else could have taken Reid and then gotten up in time to get the girls.”

“I know!” Caleb snapped. Pogue shut up.

“Look, I know it's Chase. But we have to figure out what he's doing.” Caleb sounded like he could barely talk for all the guilt. Tyler met his eyes in the rearview mirror, then looked away.

“It's obvious. He wants Reid's Power, and he's using the girls as insurance. He knows we won't risk them getting hurt.” Tyler said what the older two needed to hear, but he wasn't being entirely truthful.

He liked Sarah and Kate, but if it came down to them or Reid, Tyler honestly didn't know what he would do.

Up front, Caleb nodded. “Yeah. So, we need to find out where he's hiding.”

Tyler sighed and looked out the window at the dark Massachusetts night. Caleb and Pogue were still talking, discussing plans and brainstorming where Chase could be, but Tyler didn't have the heart to listen to them. He wasn't a planner. That was Reid's job.

Lost in his thoughts, Tyler almost missed it. The snow had stopped five minutes before, or he would never have seen it. In the trees by the road was a white splotch that looked like snow, except it was on a tree at about head hight. Using to sharpen his eyesight, Tyler recognized what it was.

“STOP!” he screamed.

Caleb slammed on the brakes, then had to Use briefly to stop the Hummer from sliding on the icy road. He twisted around, but Tyler was already jumping out of the truck and running into the woods. Exchanging a look, Caleb and Pogue followed. When they caught up, they saw Tyler staring at something on a tree. Moving closer, it became clear what it was.

A white scarf, stained with dirt and reddish-brown blood.

Caleb went white as the snow under their feet. “No,” he breathed. “Sarah.”

It was her scarf. The oldest Son watched in shock as Tyler stepped forward and carefully untied it from the tree. As he did, a piece of paper fluttered to the ground. Handing the scarf to Caleb, Tyler bent down and picked it up, stepping back from the tree to catch a meager amount of moonlight.

“It says 'When he gives me his Power, I'll give them back to you',” he said softly. Looking up from the paper, he saw pain and fear flicker over Pogue and Caleb's faces.

The three boys stood without speaking for minutes that crawled by like the clouds in the winter sky. Tyler's thoughts were racing, though. If Caleb and Pogue decided that the only way to get their girlfriends back was to let Reid die...no. They wouldn't do that. Reid was like their brother. They would find some other way.

He needed to be focusing on breathing, but he couldn't stop thinking about how much time he had left. There was a watch on his wrist, but he was pretty sure his arm was broken, and it hurt too much to move anyway.

He could see Sarah and Kate out of the corner of his eye. They looked bad, but he couldn't see any real physical damage on them. He wanted to say something, anything, to let them know that it was going to be okay, but he couldn't talk, and it would be a lie anyway. For the life of him, Reid couldn't think of a way that they were going to make it out of here. Even if the others found them, there was still Chase to deal with.

Thinking of the brutal Son made it harder for Reid to breathe. He coughed, his mouth full of blood from where he had bitten the inside of his cheek. He managed to turn his head to the side so the blood would stop choking him, but that allowed his eyes to make contact with Kate's. As they stared at each other, Reid dimly recalled Pogue telling him that Kate still had nightmares about being bitten by spiders.

Reid closed his eyes, retreating from the sight of brown-eyed fear. He couldn't save them, no matter how much he wanted to. He couldn't even save himself.

Finding the scarf had galvanized the boys into action. They stormed into Caleb's home and sprinted to his father's study. There they pulled out the old maps of Ipswich that had notes on them, written by their fathers decades ago. Nearly every hiding place in Ipswich had been recorded here, including dozens of caves down by Marblehead. Tyler remembered that the notes in red where the ones that were nearly impossible to reach without the Power. Hunching over the desk, the three looked at those first.

Fifteen minutes later they had a list of half a dozen places where Chase could be hiding; they were spread all over the cliffs and the Dells, as well as the forest in between. Then Tyler thought to look at his watch.

“Less than an hour,” he murmured. “There's no way we can search all of these places, not without splitting up.”

“And we can't do that,” Caleb replied. “It's too risky. Chase would pick us off one by one.”

“There has to be some way to narrow it down,” Pogue argued. “Or to track them.”

Caleb thought about it, taking long, deep breaths. After a moment, he answered. “We could try using Sarah's scarf to find her. Chase will have them all in one spot, so he can keep an eye on them. But I've never done something like that before, and I don't know how well it will work.”

Tyler swallowed. “We'll have to try it. And, if we run out of time...” Gods, it killed him to say this. “We'll be able to feel Reid Ascending. That should be enough to find them.”

Sitting still and focusing usually came easily to Caleb, but not tonight. To find Sarah using the Power, he had to let go of everything, including the mind-numbing terror he felt whenever he thought about the girl he loved being held captive by a murderer. The lesser fears for Kate and Reid weren't helping.

But he knew that this was the only way to find them in time, so he pushed the emotions away and concentrated. This was a different side of the Power; precise, delicate, subtle—much more difficult than their normal approach of blunt force. Caleb closed his eyes and breathed, letting his body relax, slowly reaching a state of calm determination.

The tiny splotches of blood on the scarf glowed like fire when he opened his eyes. Holding his purpose—finding Sarah—in his mind, Caleb looked over to the map. His eyes drifted over it without slowing, just wandering...until they stopped.

There was a dime-sized spot of light on the map, right over scribbled red ink. Caleb reached out. When his finger touched it, it flared then faded into nothing.

Caleb blinked once, then again. He looked up to see Pogue and Tyler staring at him, their curiosity evident in their eyes. Licking his lips, Caleb answered their silent question.

“I think I found them.”

“Get up.”

Kate looked up, a sharp motion that made her neck pop. She flinched, not from the movement but from the look in Chase's eyes.

He looked almost happy. He waved a hand, and the duct tape binding their ankles and mouths disintegrated.

She inhaled, then exhaled, then scrambled to her feet before his eyes became angry. Sarah stood up beside her. Kate shifted closer to her best friend until their shoulders touched. They said nothing.

“I left your boys a message, and if they aren't complete morons, they'll try to track us down. They'll be here soon.”

Kate felt a surge of complete relief. Pogue was coming. He would come and save her, and everything would be okay again.

But why did Chase look so happy?

He answered her unspoken question. “I know, three-to-one seems unfair, but when you think about it, I have the advantage. Y'see, your boyfriends have everything to lose.”

The glee in his eyes had transformed into something darker. Kate shivered as her stomach twisted.

“Last time around, I made a mistake. I relied too much on sheer power. Well, I know better now. I'm not even going to fight your precious boys. I don't need to.”

He stepped forward, looming over them. “All I have to do is hurt you two, and they'll do whatever I say.”

Sarah spoke. “You did that last time.”

Kate almost screamed when Chase moved, but he was just stepping closer. His jaw had tightened, though, and Kate hoped Sarah wouldn't say anything else to make him angry.

“I did. And it would have worked, but I was a lot nicer than I should have been. I stuck to threats,” he paused as a ghost of a smirk twisted his lips, “mostly, but I didn't cause any real damage.

“This time, I will.”

Kate looked past the monster to where Reid was crumpled on the ground, motionless and covered in blood. She thought about last time, the hospital stay and pain medication, Pogue's accident—things Chase said weren't real damage. Then, she looked back at Chase.

He smiled.

The Hummer was flying down the roads, and Pogue was staring at the clock, watching the minutes tick by faster and faster, his fear that they wouldn't make it in time growing with every change of the glowing numbers.

Reid would Ascend around 3:15. It was now a quarter 'til. Half an hour to find Chase, rescue Kate (and Sarah and Reid), and stop Chase for good.

He wanted to scream. It wasn't enough time. It was killing him to just sit, even though the Hummer was pushing 100 miles per hour.

A movement in the rearview mirror caught his eye. Pogue looked over his shoulder at Tyler, who was twisting the sleeve of his jacket around and around. Baby Boy looked away from the window where trees flicked by to meet his eyes.

Pogue was surprised by the expression of hopelessness in the younger boy's eyes. Then he realized that even though Tyler didn't have a girlfriend for Chase to take, he had Reid. Reid and Tyler were closer than brothers. And if Chase got what he wanted, Reid was going to die.

Looking away from his friend, Pogue returned his attention to the clock, praying that they would make it in time to save everybody.

They were coming. Chase imagined that he could smell them.

With a few gestures, he moved Reid to the center of the cave, laying him flat on the ground, limbs spread in interesting new angles that others would call unnatural.

Chase thought they looked more like art.

The two girls he positioned next to the blond boy (though he didn't look blond anymore, no, more like auburn with the dirt and blood staining his hair). The girls were shaking. Chase didn't need to pretend in order to smell the fear radiating off them like perfume.

Finally, Chase took his place in between the girls, slinging his arms over their shoulders. They cringed away, but he just slid his hands to their throats and pulled them closer. He stroked his thumb over Sarah's pretty pale skin so he could watch her shiver. Holding them like this, he could snap their necks like dry branches.

He grinned. This was going to be much more fun than last time.

They abandoned the Hummer on Marblehead, taking to the air. As they glided down the side of the cliff, Caleb looked over at his friends. Pogue and Tyler were both pale and thin-lipped with fear, much like he probably was.

A gnawing feeling crowded his stomach. If only he had made sure Chase was dead last time, this wouldn't be happening.

Wrenching his thoughts back to the present, Caleb scanned the cliff face for the marker described on the map. He found it; a pentacle carved into the stone, etched by the last generation of Sons. He waved to the others, who darted over.

Under the pentacle was a jagged tear in the rock: the entrance to the cave. It was just over a foot wide, the edges sharp.

It took a lot for Caleb to squeeze into the opening. He was waiting for a trap, for death, but somehow he made it in without damage. Tyler and Pogue quickly followed.

The cave had been described on the map, so Caleb knew that past this short passageway was a turn, then it would open up. He swallowed and began walking as quietly as he could, though Chase probably already knew they were there.

Reid wanted to scream when he felt Chase's Power dragging him from unconsciousness yet again. He didn't, though. He didn't have the strength.

He opened his eyes, knowing how pointless it was to pretend. Maybe this was it, maybe it was time for his Ascension. One way or another, this had to end.

His vision was blurry and the cave was dark, but he could see Chase standing next to him with his hands wrapped around the girls' throats. The monster looked down.

“Good, you're awake. I was worried I'd gone too far.”

Reid had over half a dozen broken bones, including an entire hand of snapped fingers. He wanted to make a smart-ass reply, but that would be asking for more. And anyway, Chase was sort of right. He could be dead, after all.

He probably would be within the next few minutes.

At first he thought he had imagined it, but then he heard it again. Footsteps. Reid looked up at the girls, who were both wide-eyed and shaky. For a moment, the physical pain was overwhelmed by Reid's guilt over Sarah and Kate. They were here because of him. But then, he heard the footsteps come closer, and the girls both made tiny sounds of relief. Reid tried to fight back the siren call of unconsciousness as he understood what was happening.

The others must have arrived.

Chase was a lot scarier than he remembered. Tyler entered the cave after Caleb and Pogue, and his eyes landed on the man who wanted to kill his best friend. Chase was thinner, his skin pale and dirty. He looked more thirty than eighteen. But most of all, he looked hungry. Not for food, but for power. And revenge.

For a moment, Tyler panicked, not knowing where Reid was, but then he saw the dark form on the ground, and his heart stopped. People weren't supposed to look like that.

Then the figure moved, and Tyler's heart beat again. Reid was alive. Of course, he told himself. Chase wouldn't have killed him before he Ascended. There were still ten minutes before Reid turned eighteen.

Tyler looked over to Caleb, hoping he had a plan. But Caleb and Pogue were both staring with white faces at Chase. Following their gazes, Tyler realized what had frozen them. Chase was holding Sarah and Kate by their necks, ready to snap them.

The screaming that had started in Tyler's mind when Reid went over the side of the cliff grew louder. He knew what was going to happen. Chase would threaten to kill Sarah and Kate if Reid didn't will over his Power. And when Chase and Pogue were faced with a choice of the women they loved or the asshole who was almost addicted anyway...

“No,” Tyler whispered. “No!”

This earned him the attention of Chase, who gave him a slow smirk. “Yes, Baby Boy. Your buddy's going to die.”

“Chase,” Caleb growled. “Let them go. Sarah and Kate have nothing to do with this.”

“Oh, they do. Y'know why? You got them involved, Caleb. You and Pogue.” Chase looked delighted by his own words. “If you hadn't fallen in love with them, they would be perfectly safe. It's your own fault.”

Sarah's eyes darkened and she opened her mouth to speak, but she closed it again when Chase's hand tightened around her throat. Caleb took half a step forward.

“I won't let you hurt them.”

Chase laughed. The sound echoed around the cave. “You can't stop me. But, if everyone does what I tell them to, I won't need to hurt them. Like I did Reid.”

For what Tyler thought might have been the first time, Caleb and Pogue looked at the broken body of their fellow Son. Their horror was clear on their faces, and it seemed to give more light to the twisted gleam in Chase's eyes.

“Well, I had to do something while I was waiting, didn't I?” The way he said it, so matter-of-fact, made Tyler want to hurl.

“You bastard,” he said. “You sadistic son of a bitch.”

Chase's eyes sparked. “Your families started it when they killed John Putnam and left his descendants to a hell of ignorance.”

No one had a reply for that. Chase looked down at his scratched watch. “Six minutes. Anyone care for a game of I Spy?”

“Please.” Pogue was begging, something Tyler had never witnessed before. “Please, Chase, don't do this. Don't hurt anyone.”

Chase was unaffected. “Why shouldn't I?”

“More Power won't stop the aging,” Caleb said. “Nothing will.”

“Well, I've obviously got nothing to lose, then.”

Caleb's voice was desperate and angry. “Why are you doing this? It was our ancestors that abandoned your line, not us! We never did anything to you!”

This was not the best thing to say. Chase's eyes went black and both his hands squeezed. Sarah and Kate gasped. “You tried to kill me, Caleb. You left me to die in the fire. I think that counts as grounds for revenge.”

“Killing Reid won't change anything, Chase!” Tyler shouted. “You'll still be addicted.”

Chase's reply was interrupted by a hoarse mutter. “Tyler?”

Tyler's breath caught as he watched Reid shift on the floor. He began to step forward, but Chase shot him a glare, and he stopped. “It's me,” he said instead. “I'm here, Reid. It's going to be okay.”

“No, it's not,” Chase argued. “Don't bother lying, Baby Boy. Now, Reid,” he said, looking down. “You're going to Ascend in about three minutes. After that, you're going to will me your Power. If you don't, or if your buddies try something, I'll snap Sarah and Kate's pretty little necks. Understand?”

Reid groaned in reply.

The next few minutes were beyond hell. No one tried to persuade Chase to stop his plan; they all knew it was pointless. The cave was silent except for the rasping sound of seven people breathing.

Throughout every second, Tyler was praying that this was just a bad dream, that he would wake up and go to Reid's party and everything would be alright. He chewed on his lower lip as he stared at his best friend, wondering if this really was it.

Was Reid going to die?

As he stared at the blackness above him, Reid listened to the seconds going by, marked by inhales and exhales. He was waiting, full of the anticipation that comes as you watch the heroine of a horror movie go down the stairs to the basement where the serial killer waits with a chainsaw. He knew what was going to happen. His friends would save him, or he would die.

But as the final minutes ticked by, nothing happened. No one moved, no one spoke. Reid's anticipation slowly shifted to confusion. Weren't they going to do something, anything, to save him? Were they even going to try?

He had accepted that he might die, but he thought it would be because his friends couldn't get there in time, or because they failed. Not because they stood there and watched him die without lifting a finger to help him. And if they didn't do something he was going to die without a doubt, because he wouldn't let Sarah and Kate die when he could save them. Reid almost wished he could, but no matter what Caleb said, he was not completely selfish. And Chase was right; Sarah and Kate were only in danger because of their involvement with the Sons.

His thoughts were brought to a conclusion by the growing humming in his bones. His Ascension was coming, and with it came a numb feeling of resignation. For whatever reason, his brothers-in-all-but-blood weren't going to act, so he was going to die.

He. Was. Going. To. Die.

Just as the full realization hit him, he heard Chase whisper: “Happy Birthday, Garwin.”

Then everything exploded.

“REID!”

His best friend was screaming in pain, so Tyler screamed too. He was distantly aware of Caleb and Pogue holding him back, of Chase's smug grin, of the girls' terrified expressions. But what held his attention was the glowing blue light encircling Reid's body.

He needed to get to him. Reid was screaming and screaming, like he was on fire, and all Tyler knew was that he had to help him. “Let go of me!” he shouted, but the hands gripping his arms just tightened. So, Tyler kicked and struggled like a mindless creature, consumed by the need to protect his best friend.

And then it all stopped. The blue light faded, Reid's screams stopped, and Tyler went limp. A strange feeling crept over him as he watched Chase lick his lips.

Everyone in the cave was watching Reid with an eerie intensity. He hadn't moved yet, and they all feared that he wasn't going to, that Ascending had been too much for his battered body...

Then Reid coughed. Once, then again. Then, he did something nobody expected.

He sat up, spat out a mouthful of blood, then turned to Chase with eyes blacker than pitch and an expression his friends recognized.

“Go to hell, you son of a bitch.”

Almost too quickly to see, Reid's hand darted forward to clutch Chase's ankle. The older boy stumbled back, confused, but then Reid's hand erupted into blue flames.

The flames spread up Chase's leg much faster than normal fire would, and it distracted him long enough for the other three Sons to act. Caleb and Pogue ran forward to get their girlfriends away from the fire that was quickly engulfing Chase...and Tyler went after Chase.

The rage spreading through him burned like acid, but it felt good. The feeling of his fist slamming into Chase's face felt even better. The punch knocked Chase to the ground, and Tyler almost tackled him, but Caleb caught him by the collar and shouted at him.

“Forget about Chase! Get Reid out, now!”

This brought Tyler back to his senses. He shook Caleb off, realizing that Reid had used Hellfire to attack Chase. Already the blue flames were spreading across the floor of the cave; the magical fire would burn anything it came in contact with.

Moving quickly, Tyler knelt beside his best friend. Reid was unconscious, his skin a pallid grey. Calling up Hellfire was a difficult thing on a good day, and now Tyler could see all the bruises, cuts, and broken bones that covered Reid's body. Seeing the injuries on Reid convinced Tyler that if the blond didn't get to a hospital soon, he wasn't going to make it.

But first, they had to get out of the cave. Already Caleb and Pogue had carried Sarah and Kate over to the passageway.

Taking a deep breath, Tyler reached for the Power and pulled it out, carefully wrapping it around his best friend like a cocoon. He had no idea if Reid had broken ribs or internal injuries, but he had no choice but to move him. He manipulated the Power into a cushion to keep Reid's body from shifting. Then, with another deep breath, he gestured, and Reid rose, hovering in the air at about waist hight.

The Hellfire had consumed Chase's body, filling the cave with heat and the stench of burning flesh. Sweat dropped from Tyler's brow into his eyes. He blinked it away as he maneuvered Reid out of the cave.

Outside the cave, the air was ice cold, hitting Tyler like a slap. It took all he had to lift both himself and Reid up to the top of the cliff, where the others waited.

As his feet touched the ground, Tyler immediately began moving towards the Hummer, Reid hovering in front of him. As he passed Caleb, the older boy began to say something, but Tyler interrupted him. “He needs a hospital, now.” He didn't wait for a response, just kept moving.

There wasn't room for everyone in the Hummer. No one dared to ask Tyler if he was going to the hospital with Reid; the look in his eyes clearly conveyed his attentions. Surprisingly, Sarah volunteered to go too, but when Caleb offered to go with her, she shook her head. “I'll be okay,” she told him before sharing a look with Tyler, who relaxed slightly. She understood.

Tyler positioned Reid on the backseat, and Sarah sat on the floor next to the blond so she could hold him steady. As Tyler walked around to the truck, his eyes met Caleb's. The older boy was on the phone, calling his mother for a ride, but they exchanged a look. Caleb's eyes were pleading, apologetic.

Tyler looked away. As he climbed in the driver's seat and inserted the key, he looked into the rear view mirror to see Sarah looking at him. She offered him a sad smile, her eyes shadowed.

Baby Boy sighed once, then turned the key and drove away.

Three weeks later, a small crowd was gathered outside the hospital waiting for Reid to be released. Caleb and Sarah stood close together, as did Pogue and Kate. Off slightly to the side, a distance between himself and the others, stood Tyler. All five of them had curiously flat expressions and dark eyes. Evelyn Danvers was there also, watching the scene with her cool gaze.

When Reid walked out of the hospital doors, his blond hair catching the rare winter sunlight and reflecting it back, everyone's breath caught. Reid looked bad. Real bad. He was covered in ugly, half-faded bruises, and plaster encased his entire left arm from shoulder to fingertips. Even his hair had suffered, part of it shaved to allow for stitches.

His appearance would not have been so surprising if they had seen him since that night, but they hadn't. Only immediate family members were allowed to visit, ostensibly under doctor's orders. Tyler had a feeling that it was Reid's request, though.

Clarissa Garwin walked beside her son, impeccably turned out in Armani. As she noticed the crowd of her son's friends, she laid a motherly hand on his shoulder. Reid shrugged it off and stepped to the side, widening the space between them. Tyler would have noticed the brief flicker of anger in Clarissa's eyes if he was watching her, but he wasn't. He was looking at Reid.

No one said anything when Reid walked right past the group without looking at them. They watched him limp to the waiting car, expressions pained. Tyler hesitated, then turned and jogged after him.

“Reid! Reid, wait!” Tyler called. “Please.”

His best friend paused after hearing the last word, but then he continued walking. Tyler pushed away the fear that Reid wasn't going to listen and kept talking.

“Reid, please. You have to understand. They didn't have a choice. Reid, why won't you talk to them? Why won't you talk to me?”

Reid stopped completely, but he didn't turn around. Tyler waited, staring at his back. Finally, Reid spoke. “I can't. I just—look, I'm sorry Tyler. But I can't do this. It's too—” he broke off and sighed. “Sorry.”

Tyler's insides felt empty, like they had been ripped out. He tried one last time. “Reid. Please.”

But then Reid was disappearing inside the Lincoln Town Car, his mother following behind him. The car door closed and it slowly pulled away from the curb. Tyler watched it leave in silence, the stares of his friends behind him heavy on his spine.

THE END

A/N: Review please! I'm planning a series of drabbles related to this, also. Reviews will persuade me to fast-track them. Hint. Hint.