Author's note: I wouldn't blame all of you for hating me, I kind of hate myself for not updating too. I was having trouble figuring out how I want this story to end, and yes it is almost over. I'm still not entirely sure how things are going to work out in the end. If you have an opinion on it you should review and let me know.

Chapter 12

Riley stood at the rubble that was Putnam barn. She'd been here several times since she'd gotten back. Power was constantly rolling through her at this point, the thing that had brought her back saw to that. It was dark and had tapped into the deepest recesses of her mind. It knew deep down that Riley wanted revenge, it was going to get it for her, it was going to destroy the covenant, slowly driving the members apart.

Tyler was already at his breaking point with Catherine, Caleb, and Tristan. Reid had started to doubt Caleb as their leader, which caused tension between him and Tristan. Pogue and Caleb argued constantly, Caleb didn't trust Addyson and Pogue felt they could trust her. It was only a matter of time, a few well placed lies, and she might have to sleep with someone to really get the ball rolling. At this point, anything was possible. The only thing the monster wanted was revenge and destruction. But trapped deep within her own mind, Riley was fighting for everything she was worth to get free, the real Riley didn't want to hurt the people she cared the most about. Unfortunately the real Riley was running out of time, this body was only going to last for so long.

Reid pounded on Caleb's front door, Catherine huddled close behind him. The weather had gotten completely insane since they had left the dorms. It was the wildest thunderstorm to ever hit Ipswich. Reid had a feeling he knew who was behind it.

The front door swung open revealing Tristan. She took one look at him and attempted to slam the door in his face. Reid used and pushed it open, stepping inside.

"I know you are pissed at me, but we think Caleb is right about Riley. Something is wrong with her," Reid said quickly. "And I'm sorry."

Tristan smiled slightly and led him and Catherine into the living room. "Caleb," she said gently as they entered the room. Caleb sat in a chair staring blankly out the window his chin propped on one of his hands. "Caleb."

He looked up at them in surprise and shook his head. "What? You came to start another argument? You want to see how quickly we can let things fall apart," he asked in a low voice.

"They believe you Caleb," Tristan said quickly.

Caleb stood up and made his way to the stairs. "It doesn't matter now, I've already lost her. Riley's not coming back, she's gone forever. Whatever that is in her body isn't her."

Reid had never seen Caleb look so broken and hurt before, not even when they lost Riley the first time or when Catherine had "died". "So you're just going to give up," Reid demanded.

Caleb stopped halfway up the stairs and turned to look back at him. "What else can I do Reid? I know that's not Riley, but it still looks like her and I could never hurt her. I don't know what to do anymore. All we ever do is fight, not just Riley and I, but all of us! Tyler is moving back in with you, he's fighting with Catherine. Tristan is pissed off at you for siding with Tyler about the leader for this generation. Pogue is pissed because no one trusts Addyson. Everything is falling apart!"

"You sound like a whiny girl," Reid snapped.

Caleb sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm tired of trying to hold everything together Reid. I already dealt with losing her once and now I'm going to have to go through that again. I can't handle much more. You do what you want, but I'm not getting involved."

With that Caleb made his way up to his bedroom and shut the door. Reid turned and looked at Catherine and Tristan in exasperation. "He has given up," Reid cried in frustration.

"Can you really blame him Reid," Catherine asked. "He loves Riley and thought he had gotten a second chance with her! Now he has to deal with the fact that whatever is walking around in her skin isn't really Riley. Can you even imagine how hard this is for him?"

Reid met Tristan's gaze and put himself in Caleb's position. What if this had happened to Tristan instead of Riley? He would be the one walking around like a broken man. "I know what it would feel like Catherine, but he's our leader! He can't just give up."

"Maybe he just needs some time to deal with what he has to do," Tristan suggested.

"What he has to do," Catherine asked.

"Caleb is the only one with powers strong enough to stop her," Tristan replied.

"You mean kill her," Reid said with a glance up the silent staircase.

Tristan exchanged a glance with Catherine and nodded silently. Caleb was the only one who could stop her, the question was would he be able to stop her when the time came or would his broken heart prevent him from doing what was necessary?

Caleb threw himself into bed without undressing. He laid on top of all the blankets staring at the ceiling until sleep claimed his mind. He didn't have the strength to fight anymore, he just wanted everything to stop. He wanted Riley, the real Riley back.

"Caleb," a voice said softly.

Caleb's eyes fluttered at the familiar voice. He was no longer in his room, but in the woods, the dells. He looked around in confusion, this was obviously a dream, but why was he here?

"Caleb," the voice said again as she stepped out from in between the trees. Caleb remained frozen in his spot as she came closer. He wasn't sure if this was the real Riley or the one that was simply pretending. "I don't have a lot of time."

Caleb didn't speak as he stared at her. Her hair was loose around her face, tumbling down in wild waves, her green eyes were shining as usual. She wore a white, halter dress and was barefoot. She stared back at him waiting for him.

"Please say something," she said urgently.

"You're not real," he said swallowing hard. He was getting tired of this, he couldn't handle seeing much more of Riley. He was losing his mind to the grief.

Riley blinked and smiled sadly. "No, I'm not real. I've been trapped within my own mind, possessed by the monster that is pretending to be me. It wants revenge, it thinks that is what I want," Riley explained.

"Do you?"

Riley sighed softly and stared at him. "When I first got caught in limbo I did, I was furious with all of you for doing that to me, you took my powers and I died. I don't want this though, she's trying to destroy the covenant and all of our relationships."

"What about our relationship," Caleb asked meeting her gaze for the first time.

"I love you Caleb," Riley said firmly, "I'm sorry that this has made you doubt that, but I never stopped loving you. I need you to kill her Caleb, you're the only one strong enough."

"I can't kill you," Caleb replied turning away from her.

Riley stepped behind wrapping her arms around his waist. She rested her head in the center of his back close to his heart. "It's not me Caleb, I need you to kill her to set me free. The others will help you, if you don't act quickly she'll destroy everything."

"If I do this… will you be able to come back?"

Caleb felt Riley tense behind him, he twisted in her arms and stared down at her. Her green eyes filled with tears as she looked up at him. "I don't know," she whispered brokenly. Tears rolled down her face as she looked down guiltily. "I don't know if I can come back to you."

"It's not fair," Caleb shouted as he pulled out of her arms. He stormed away from her his anger bubbling over. "You died to soon! There was so much that you missed! You didn't get to graduate, go to prom or college, you didn't get to get married or have kids, you died a virgin. You're going to miss so much and yet I have to go on without you, like everything is fine, like I'm not hurting like hell and falling apart on the inside! It's not fair!"

"I know," Riley said when she saw a tear run down the side of Caleb's face. "But I got to have you Caleb, I loved you for the first second I saw you. It didn't matter what happened after that because I knew you would always be there for me, I knew you would always love me. You made me happier than anything else, and that's all that matters. If I don't come back from this, you have to move on. You have to find someone to love you the way you loved me, completely, without question."

"I only want you," Caleb replied. Riley tried not to cry as she stared at him. Without a word Caleb closed the distance between them and kissed her hard. She immediately responded pouring everything into that kiss. "Please," Caleb pleaded. "Don't leave me yet."

Riley pulled away from him gasping. "Caleb, I don't have enough energy," she said weakly.

"Let me help you," he said taking her hand. "How do I bring you back with me?"

Riley turned and met his desperate gaze. "Caleb you can't, if I leave this dream it could ruin what is left of me," Riley explained. She leaned into him and closed her eyes. She breathed in his scent, it had always made her weak in the knees. "Tell me you love me."

"I love you," Caleb said surely, closing his eyes as well. When he reopened his eyes, they were back in his bedroom. "Are we still in the dream?"

"Yes," Riley said as she looked up at him. "This is the best I can do."

"It's perfect," Caleb whispered before kissing her again. He backed her toward the bed, quickly joining her on top of it. Her hands clutched the back of his t-shirt as his lips traveled down her neck. "How long do we have?"

"Not long, maybe an hour, maybe less," Riley whispered as she arched against his body. Caleb kissed her again as he undid the knot holding her dress in place. He slowly pulled the straps down revealing her collarbone, bra, and toned stomach. Caleb kissed her again, deepening the kiss as her fingers tugged at the hem of his shirt. He pulled back allowing her to remove his shirt and toss it to the floor. She sat up enough to allow him to unhook her bra. They both wanted this, Riley didn't want to waste any time. She pressed her bare chest against his, enjoying the warmth of his skin and the broad muscles.

They wasted no time removing the rest of their clothing, before she realized it Caleb was hovering above her staring into her eyes. "Are you sure," he whispered.

She leaned up and caught his lips in a kiss. The feel of his bare skin against hers made her stomach tighten wonderfully. She felt closer to him than ever before, if they got any closer they would be one. Caleb slid forward slowly letting her grow comfortable with each delicious inch. She tensed for a moment, but the pain passed quickly and Caleb began to move again. She angled her hips to better match his, deepening their pleasure. She moaned softly as Caleb pushed into her again and again. She could feel herself getting closer. Riley pulled his body closer to her.

"I love you," she whispered before tipping over the edge. Her eyes squeezed shut as Caleb pushed into her again and followed her over the edge. The remained locked in that embrace for several moments, neither wanting it to end. Caleb slid away from her and rolled onto his back. Riley rested her head against his chest listening to his steady heartbeat.

"How long," he asked softly.

Her fingers traced lazy shapes on his toned chest as she answered him, "I would love to say forever, you've given me so much that I wish more than anything that I got to say forever to you, but we've only got a few minutes."

"How will I know?"

"Know what," Riley asked. She stared up at him wishing he would look at her but understanding why he couldn't. This was incredibly difficult for him, he'd never been with her in this way and now he had to say goodbye to her.

"If you're going to come back to me," he asked. She could hear the pain he felt in every syllable of his question.

"You'll know Caleb, the second you end it, you'll know whether or not I'm coming back. No matter what happens remember that you saved me though, you have given me more love than I could ever hope to find. Now I need you to do something for me."

Caleb closed his eyes, not wanting to hear her request. He knew he would do it, he would do anything for her. Riley pulled the sheet around her body and sat up so she could look at his face. Caleb opened his eyes and watched as Riley memorized every detail of his body. The scar on his leg, the freckles across his shoulders, the slope of his nose, the way his hair fell across his forehead, the muscles of his chest, she didn't want to forget a single detail of him.

Caleb ran a hand up her arm as she met his gaze. "I need you to take care of the others, make sure they know this isn't what I wanted for them. They have to go on, you have to go on with your life," Riley said softly. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the sun raising slowly over the trees. "I have to go Caleb."

Caleb sat up quickly following her gaze. He pulled her into his arms not wanting her to leave him again. "I love you," he said strongly.

"I love you too," she whispered tears slipping down her face and mingling with his. She leaned up and kissed him one last time. They both poured every drop of love they had into the kiss, it was one neither of them would ever forget. "Goodbye."

With that last word she disappeared from his arms, leaving him alone in his room. Caleb's eyes flew open and he sat up in the bed. It had felt so real. He stared out the window at the rising sun and looked around the room. His clothes were crumbled on the floor, his bed had obviously been shared with someone. She'd made it real for him, she'd risked everything to be with him one last time.

First let me say that this is the first time I've included a lemon in any of my stories, I know its short and lacking in a lot of detail, but you get why it's happening and hopefully understand the emotion behind it. Anyway I don't know if Riley is going to survive what is coming next or not. As I said at the beginning of the chapter if you have an opinion on it please review and let me know one way or the other. I'm really torn, I'd love to do another Riley story, but I would love to write another Caleb story where he moves on too. Ugh its a tough decision so I'm leaving it up to you guys.