I do now own the characters from The Covenant, but I do own any OC I create and any content unfamiliar from the film.

A/N: Just so you know, this FF is set before the movie and will eventually lead into it.

"That's the funny thing about trying to escape.

You never really can. Maybe temporarily, but not completely."

~Jennifer L. Armentrout, Onyx~

Before…

It rattled everything inside of him to hear the sounds coming from the room across the hall. It had been going on for the last thirty minutes and he wished he could make all of her problems go away. Things were fine before they turned thirteen, but since then, everything had changed.

He pushed the comforter aside and climbed out of his bed. When his warm feet came in contact with the cold floor, he immediately regretted not putting on socks beforehand. Barefooted, he left his room to enter the room of his sister.

Pogue knocked against the hardwood and waited for his sister to respond. When she didn't, he knocked again and only got sniffles in response. He sighed and quietly asked her to open the door, afraid that their mother would hear them.

"C'mon, Aubrey. If you don't let me in, Mom is going to catch me out here," he pleaded from outside the door.

Aubrey was perched on the windowsill of her room, her small body curled into a ball. She did not want to see her brother at the moment, but she was tired of being alone. Her mother seldom let her outside of her room ever since she turned thirteen. It was a miserable existence to be trapped in one room and only know what resided within its four walls.

Pogue knocked again when she didn't answer his plea.

Forcing herself to move from her spot, Aubrey Parry walked to the door and unlocked it, allowing her brother to enter her bedroom. She closed the door almost as fast as she had opened it once he was inside.

The room was dark, except for the single light that was near the ornate four-poster bed in the center of the room. The walls were covered in various drawings and paintings, which Aubrey had done whenever inspiration had come over her.

Pogue's eyes landed on the easel that was positioned near the windowsill and saw beginning sketches of a yellow canary. He never got a chance to see her when she busy working on a project, but he was able to catch glimpses of her finished work at times.

"What do you want, Nic?" Aubrey folded her arms over her chest and hesitantly lifted her head so that she could make eye contact with him.

"I heard you crying and I wanted to check on you," he answered her, somberly. She was the only one to ever use his birth name rather than the name he chose to go by.

She laughed softly, wiping at the tears that had fallen earlier. "I wasn't crying."

He closed the space that separated them and pulled his sister into a hug, holding her close. She did not need to act tough in front of him. She, of all people, should know that. She was his little sister and he loved her more than anything. It was cruel the way she could never leave her room ever since her birthday. "It's okay to cry, Aubrey. I will always be here for you."

When he hugged her, Aubrey's arms hung limply at her sides, but after hearing his comforting words, she returned the hug and cried into his shoulder. "I hate this, Nic. It's been two years and nothing has changed. She promised this was only temporary. What is she scared of? Is something so wrong with me? You and the boys have the Power, and you guys haven't been locked away."

Pogue backed out of the hug and held his sister by her shoulders, looking her directly in the eyes. "Aubrey, stop that. Nothing is wrong with you. Mom…is just worried."

Aubrey forcibly pulled away from Pogue when she felt her body begin to shake as rage consumed her. Worried did not cover the extreme measures her mother took to shield her form everyone and everything. Locking her away and saying it was for her own good was the biggest lie. She was fourteen now and was no sooner leaving this room than she was a year ago.

Her brother saw what was happening. He had said the wrong thing and if he did not help his sister reign in her emotions, it could get ugly. "Aubrey, please listen to me. I will do everything I can to get you out of here. I promise. Everything will be alright."

"Promise?" The ringing she heard in her head was slowly ebbing as she registered what Pogue was saying to her. A sense of tranquility replaced the anger that had surfaced inside of her.

Pogue smiled at her and reached to hold her hand, giving it a mild squeeze. "I promise."

Aubrey smiled for the first time in a long time and hugged her brother tightly, grateful for him. She wasn't sure how she would have lasted this long without his support and love. "Thank you so much," she murmured.

When she released her brother, Aubrey returned to her usual spot by the window and brought her knees to her chest. "How are the boys? I haven't seen them in awhile."

Their mother was afraid of having the others interact with her especially since she was such a wild card.

"They're good. They do remember you if that's what you're wondering."

"Maybe one day I can see them again. You're great, Nic, but besides you, they're my only other friends."

Pogue sat in the spot across from her. "What about Saoirse? She's been over a couple of times."

Aubrey shook her head at him. "It's the not the same." Saoirse had been her closest friend growing up outside of the other families, but she could never understand this part of her life. Aubrey probably looked like the worst friend in the world for disappearing like she did.

Outside the door, they heard movement. Aubrey and Pogue shared equal expressions, afraid that it was their mother. She instructed Pogue to hide in her closet just in case their mother decided to check inside her room. Fortunately enough for them, she did not come inside.

Aubrey approached the closet. "Thanks for checking on me, but you should probably get back to your room."

Pogue agreed with her and abandoned his hiding spot and headed towards the door. Before he left her room, he turned to speak to her. "If you ever need me, Aubrey, I am right across the hall."

Aubrey nodded her head to him and as soon as he was gone, she went to stand in front of her easel to examine her artwork. She sometimes felt like a little bird trapped in her cage and like a bird, she desperately needed to stretch her wings. Nothing and no one in Ipswich would provide her the answers she needed. Her parents had no idea what to do with her and as her powers continued to mature, she needed to find the answers she needed.

"There has to be an explanation for my existence. I can't be the only girl that possess powers," she murmured to herself.

Her mind was made up. She needed to escape her cage once and for all.

Sorry, Pogue

Now…

The weather had already begun to change as the end of summer approached and the beginning of the school semester inched closer. Around this time of the year, parties sprung up around the area of Ipswich in attempt at a last hoorah before things got serious with classes again.

The usual crowd at Nicky's had the small building packed with young adults. There were a few couples on the dance floor, people sitting at the scattered tables eating various items off the menu, and patrons ordering drinks at the bar.

Pogue Parry leaned his leather-clad arms across the bar as he waited to retrieve his drinks and food from Nicky. He had a long day at the garage and was in desperate need of a hot meal. The boys wanted to meet at the local bar like they always did, even though he desperately wanted to head to his place and sleep for the next five hours.

To his left was a girl who reminded him of his sister. He knew that it was not Aubrey. Though she was not an exact ringer for her, he pictured the girl with his sister's long, ash brown hair and chartreuse eyes. His sister had been gone for three years. He thought he was enough to make her stay. Pogue promised her that he would be there for at all times and never let her feel like she was alone. That was what siblings did for each other.

Searching for her proved to be useless because she vanished without a trace and did not leave any sign as to where she went.

Before he could get too lost in his thoughts, Reid Garwin's voice rang out from the crowd as he cheered on his partner-in-crime, Tyler, for sinking a pool ball into a pocket.

Once he was handed his basket of fries and burger, Pogue went over to greet his friends, eating fries with every step he took. The basket was short half of the fries by the time he reached the pool tables. He clapped Reid on the back with his free hand. "Staying out of trouble, boys?"

"You know we're always on our best behavior," Reid remarked, his eyes focused on the game before him. He briefly lifted his eyes away from the pool table to make eye contact with Pogue. "Until we're provoked that is."

"Just don't get us kicked out this time, Reid," Pogue warned him, lightly. "Caleb and I do not want to bail your ass out of trouble again."

Reid scoffed at that, before moving into position to take his turn.

Tyler turned to face Pogue. "Like we would get into trouble. Besides, we can handle ourselves just fine."

Pogue did not believe that in the slightest, but if they wanted to believe in their little fantasy; he would let them and not feed into it.

He left the pool tables and made his way to one of the empty tables near the dance floor. Pogue set his basket on top of the wooden surface, and then reached for the ketchup bottle to drizzle his fries with.

Before he had the chance to take a fry into his mouth, his phone vibrating in his pocket interrupted him. Pogue produced the phone in his palm and read the display, which informed him that Caleb was running late.

'Great. Now, I'm stuck to watch over the knuckleheads by himself for a while longer,' he thought to himself.

Caleb reached the bottom of the stairs when he heard the faint pop of a bottle from the living room. He dragged a hand down his face to compose himself. His mother did not deserve this. With every drink, she seemed to retreat further and further into herself, and it was Caleb's responsibility to pull her back.

"Mom, what are you doing?" He asked from the threshold.

Caleb moved in closer to her when she did not respond. "I thought you were in bed."

She brought the glass to her deep red lips and let the warm drink burn down her throat, then set the glass on top of the table on her right. Evelyn adored her son with every fiber of her body, but hearing his voice and seeing his face only reminded her of the loss of her husband. Drinking ebbed her of her pain and eased her into sleep without the torturous nightmares of what was.

Caleb knelt in front of his mother and took her cold hands into his much warmer ones. "Come with me. I'll help you upstairs."

Evelyn removed her hands from Caleb's, turning her head away. "You don't need to dote on me, Caleb. I am capable of taking care of myself."

He sighed. She was never going to make this easy for him.

Caleb was about to convince her to let him help when he heard a rapid knock at the front door. He was not expecting company and he was sure his mother was not either. Reid and Tyler were at the bar, and so was Pogue, but maybe he wanted to stop by before he went.

He left his mother's side to answer the door and to his surprise, it was not anyone he recognized.

Standing on the other side of the door was a tall female, a few inches shorter than he was. She was dressed in a tight, black dress that clung to her curvy figure due to the pouring rain. Her bare arms were wrapped around herself as she looked imploringly at Caleb with her bright, hazel eyes.

"Hi, I'm sorry to bother you, but I need help. You see, my car broke down and I have no idea where I am," she said to Caleb.

She appeared harmless, but people were not always easy to read by first glance. Caleb's gaze dropped down to her feet and noticed they were missing shoes, which left her feet dirty and slightly bruised.

"What happened to your shoes?"

The girl gestured behind her with her thumb and had a weary smile on her face. "Back at my car. Heels aren't exactly my first choice when it comes to walking long distances."

Evelyn appeared behind Caleb after hearing the commotion. "Caleb, what's going on?" Upon seeing the girl, Evelyn drew her eyebrows together and regarded the girl with concern etched over her features. The girl relayed the same story she told Caleb prior. "You must be freezing. Caleb, let her inside."

Caleb grimaced as he opened the door wider so that the girl could enter the home.

She said her thanks as she hurriedly stepped inside, taking an effort to not make tracks on the carpet.

Evelyn guided the girl towards the living room and offered her a seat on the couch, but she politely refused.

"I wouldn't want to make more of a mess. You've already been too kind by letting me inside," she said.

"Caleb, why don't you show her to the bathroom so that she can get cleaned up and then go from there."

Caleb nodded his head and then sent a quick text to Pogue telling him that he would be late.

"Follow me," he said, and then began walking towards the stairs.

They continued up the stairs in silence and it was not until they reached the bathroom that Caleb decided to speak. "Do you have a name?"

The girl laughed softly, tucking a wet strand of her blue, black hair behind her ear. "I guess you should know the name of the girl you let into your house."

She held out a hand for him to shake. "I go by Laurel. Laurel Lacoste."