Thanks for the reviews…granted, this chapter would be here even if I got no reviews, but that's not the point, now is it? I know you all just want to get to the story, so I'll make this quick and painless. If I'm taking too long, feel free to skip ahead…I'm sure that's what you're all doing anyway…lol. I don't own Reid or any of the other characters that show up throughout the fic, so don't even bother asking. The plot, however, is my own. Now, if you're still reading this, you deserve a cookie. Or a reward of some sort. However, all I have to give you is the next chapter, which works, I guess. So by all means, continue on to the story.
Reid Garwin, stop using, or I swear I'll…
That's just it. I can't. He hesitated, thinking whether or not to continue, then plunged on. You remember when we turned thirteen and got the Power? Do you remember what we promised to do if it ever got this bad?
Caleb nodded.
Reid continued. You have to do it. That's the only way this will stop. I don't want to end up like my father; it's the only way.
Caleb shook his head. "Don't say that," he whispered vehemently. "Don't you ever say that." Reid's mother looked at Caleb intently, trying to figure out what he was talking about, but Caleb waved her away. This was a personal thing. She didn't need to know what her son was asking of him. If she knew, it would break her heart.
Sorry, quick recap, just so the moment is in place. Back to the story.
Reid was slumped against the wall, breathing heavily, his eyes closed. He didn't want to look at Caleb, or his mother. He couldn't. How had things gotten so bad? He could remember when it all started, when they were all thirteen and carefree, oblivious to the futures laid out for them. When they had first gotten the Power, it was like Christmas; suddenly they were different, special. Even the lectures their parents gave them about how they had a responsibility to keep the Magyk hidden and Use responsibly couldn't dull their excitement. The years had passed, and they had experienced firsthand the consequences of Using too much as Reid's father aged prematurely, and Caleb's father, trying to stop the older Garwin from losing connection to the world completely, blocked his Power. Reid's father died anyway, being too far gone to survive without Using, and Caleb's father ended up becoming addicted from his attempts to save him, and suffered the effects of overusing himself. Reid had refused to accept his father's death, believing that he would never share his father's fate; he was different. Yet here he was, on the brink of becoming what he had sworn he would never be. He should have seen it coming; given the way he Used, it was inevitable. Caleb had warned him of it often enough. But, being the stubborn son-of-a-bitch he was, he hadn't listened, believing that he was immune. He laughed bitterly. And now it was too late.
"Reid? You still here?"
He nodded, jolted out of his thoughts. "Yeah."
"I meant what I said; I'm not giving up on you."
"I know."
"Open your eyes."
"Why? You know what they look like," Reid said, scowling. He didn't even have the energy for a biting comment. He was just so tired…
"Yeah, but that's not the point. Just open your eyes. I know it doesn't matter to you, but it does to me."
"Fine." He opened his eyes, looking up at Caleb. His eyes were black as night still, being the same color they had been since he had gotten home. "Happy now?" He lowered his head, not sure what the point of the exercise was.
"Reid, you have to make it stop." Caleb sounded apologetic; it was as if he really did realize how little control Reid really had over the mini whirlwind whipping around the room. It was more a nuisance than destructive; it may have wrecked something if there was anything left to wreck, but Reid's first two storms had managed to damage anything in the room that could be damaged, so this one ended up just moving the debris around.
Reid looked up at him, looking as if he might collapse at any moment. "I told you, I can't. I'm sorry; it's beyond my control." It hurt him to admit this, but now was no time for lies. The Power was slowly draining him, and he was having enough trouble staying focused on what was going on right now, let alone lying to Caleb.
"No, you can stop it. You created it, you can stop it."
Reid shook his head. "I've tried. Nothing."
"Then I'll help." He sat down next to Reid, grabbing his hand. Any other time Reid would have pulled his hand back as if it were on fire, but not today. He nodded. "Okay," he whispered.
He took a deep breath and pulled together all his reserves. He began to throw it out in a net, trying to catch hold of the Power controlling the storm. His attempt was weak, but Caleb added his own Power, much as Tyler had done weeks earlier, and Reid accepted it, adding it to his own. He harnessed in the Power, calling it back, claiming it as his own. He stuffed it down, silencing it, and the whirlwind died down until, finally, the room was silent.
Reid was left gasping for breath. He put his head against his knees, focusing all his attention on stopping the room from spinning. He was shaking, not surprising considering what he had just done.
"You okay?" Caleb sounded concerned.
"Yeah, I think so," Reid answered. "As long as the damn room stops spinning. God, my head hurts."
Caleb chuckled. "Yeah, I can imagine it would."
Reid still had his eyes closed. He was afraid of what he would find when he opened them. He wasn't Using, but then again, over the past few weeks that hadn't mattered much. Caleb picked up on his worry. "Alright, enough delaying. Open your eyes."
Reid reluctantly did, revealing the black orbs that they had been for the past few hours. Caleb sighed. "What, you expected them to be normal?" Reid asked sardonically.
"Hold on, I have an idea." Caleb wasn't ready to give it up as hopeless yet. Reid may be addicted, sure, but that didn't mean he was a lost cause. He thought.
"Okay. Close your eyes." Reid did, and Caleb put his hands on the sides of his head. "Now don't think about anything. Just breathe with me." Reid snorted, unconvinced that it would work. But Caleb was insistent, so he played along, breathing in when Caleb did and exhaling when Caleb did. After a few minutes, Caleb said "Alright. Now, when I say so, open your eyes." He waited a minute, then said, "Okay. Open your eyes."
Reid did. "Well?"
"See for yourself." Caleb handed him a shard of mirror.
Reid cautiously took it, and brought it up to his face. He looked at his eyes. They were blue, the blue he had feared he would never see again. He sighed in relief. Maybe he could beat this. He looked at the face the eyes were in, and was surprised to see that he hadn't aged all that much. Maybe a couple of years, if that. He had half expected to see the face of an old man looking back at him. But it wasn't; it was still his own, if a little older.
His relief didn't last long. "You do realize this isn't the end of it, right? I'm okay for now, but how long will it be until I lose it again? I know you don't want to, but you're going to have to do it. I don't want to die an eighteen year old boy in a hundred year old body. I don't want to go having absolutely no control over my own life. If you won't I will, I swear." Reid's voice was intense; he meant every word he said.
Caleb shook his head. "I told you; it's not going to be that way." Five years earlier, when they had first gotten the Power, they had made an agreement, the four of them, after seeing what it was doing to Reid's father. If it ever got bad, if it ever got to a point where one of them couldn't control it anymore, they agreed that death would be better than the life left to that person. They had shaken on it, sealing the deal with Magyk, and left it at that. It had never been spoken of again, until now.
"So, you're telling me you're going to go back on your promise? Come on, we agreed that it was the only option." He looked up, to see his mother crying silently. "Don't cry; please. It's okay, really." He spoke quietly, trying not to upset her further. She shook her head. "I lost your father, I don't want to lose you too."
"You won't," Caleb said. "Reid, you're not using now, right?"
Reid shrugged. "I guess not. I don't see what that has to do with anything though." His words were hollow, emotionless. He looked defeated; he had dark circles under his eyes, and his eyes were dull. He kept dozing off, and kept shaking his head, trying to stay awake. Falling asleep now would be disastrous, since he was barely keeping the Power under control while he was conscious.
"Okay, so we're making progress." As Reid dozed off again, Caleb shook him gently. "Reid, you have to stay with me. Don't fall asleep now."
"But I'm so tired…just a few minutes?"
"Sorry, I can't let you. I promise, when this is all over, you can have all the sleep you want. But right now, you have to stay awake. Alright?"
"'Kay," Reid said vaguely.
Caleb fell silent, thinking, trying to find a way to get Reid out of the situation he was in. The rational part of his mind told him that Reid was right, and that there was nothing Caleb could do for him. But the rest of it was screaming that there had to be a way, if he could only think of it. Suddenly he had it.
He thought back to when his father, along with Tyler and Pogue's fathers, had blocked Reid's father's Power. It had worked in the beginning; they had thought he was getting better, since he seemed to be dealing with it better. It was only in the last few days of his life that he had gotten exponentially worse, and that was from years of addiction. Reid had only been addicted for a week or so; maybe he would fully recover if he had no access to the Power at all. Of course, he could get better only to return to his current condition once they unblocked it, but that was a risk that had to be taken. If it didn't work, then he would follow through with their promise.
"Reid?"
Reid looked up. "Yeah?"
"I've got an idea, a way to help. It might fix this whole problem."
"Great." He didn't sound overly enthusiastic. Personally, he felt that whatever it was was a complete waste of time, but if it would make Caleb feel better, then he would do it.
"I'm going to call Pogue and Tyler; once they're here, I'll tell all of you." He didn't want to have to explain it more than once, especially since Reid would probably try to put up a fight when he heard what Caleb proposed to do.
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All the sons of Ipswich were now standing in Reid's room, waiting expectantly for Caleb to tell them all what he proposed. Reid's mother had left, being unable to be in the same room with them without bursting into tears. She was a strong woman; after all, she had gone through this once before. However, the fact that it looked like she was going to lose her only child the same way she had lost her husband was proving to be too much for her.
"So, what's the plan, Caleb?" Pogue asked. He and Tyler had been briefed on the situation, and now were interested as to why Caleb had called them.
Caleb hesitated. Would this even work? He had no idea, but he had to try. "You remember when our fathers blocked Reid's dad's Power when he got really bad?"
They all nodded. "Well, I think we should try that on Reid." Reid tried to interrupt, but Caleb continued, ignoring him. "I think it will work this time; Reid's only been addicted a week or so, which I'm hoping will mean that he'll be able to beat it if we do this. I know, Reid, you don't like it, but it's the only thing I can think of that might actually work."
Reid sighed. "Fine. If you think it will work, fine, I'll do it. But if it doesn't…"
"Yeah, I promise."
"So, how do we do this then?" Reid brought up a good point; none of them had actually been there when it had been done, and their fathers never talked about it, so they had no idea even of how to begin.
Tyler thought. "Well, it's just like anything else, right? Just imagine doing it, want it to happen, and it will. Right?"
They all agreed, and got to work. The others pooled their Power while Reid sat up against the wall, waiting. They made a net, as they had before, only this time they sent it into Reid instead of around him. They found his Power, and threw the net around it, turning the net into a box once the Power was secure. Then they let go. It was done.
Reid sat there, his eyes closed again. "We're done," Caleb said. Reid nodded. He began to take inventory of himself. Shakiness – gone. Tiredness – still there, but it wasn't getting any worse. He tried to use, just to see, but nothing happened. Power – gone. Or, at least, inaccessible to him. Which amounted to the same thing. He opened his eyes and looked up at his friends. "It worked." He sounded surprised; he hadn't expected it to be that easy. "Now what?"
"Well, now we wait and see how you do. If you're still addicted you'll go through withdrawal again-"
"Great. Can't wait for that," Reid interrupted.
Caleb rolled his eyes. "And if you get through that okay, you should be fine."
Reid nodded. "Okay, I can do that. But first, I need to get some sleep; I feel like I haven't slept in a week."
Caleb agreed. "Go ahead; you're going to need all the rest you can get now."
Reid got up, walked over to what remained of his bed, lay down, and within seconds was asleep.
It's not over yet! At least one more chapter. Does Reid get better? Or will the Sons of Ipswich be forced to follow through with their promise? Wait for the next chapter and it will all be revealed! Please review; I need to hear your input or I will cry (well, not really, but I do enjoy hearing what you all have to say).
