Previously Chapter 20:
Soon, luckily, he was able to get Reid's eyes open. The blonde moaned, Pouge continuing to heal him, until Pouge felt that Reid's body wouldn't accept anymore. He put his hands down, and watched his younger Brother. He could tell that Reid wanted to sleep, but his body was coursing with the power, so he was going to be awake for awhile. "Feeling okay?"
Reid began to sit up, holding his head. "I think so... What's going on?"
"It's you, me, and Caleb against Chase and Tyler. We're going to need your help, especially since Caleb is wearing down. Come on, we have to hurry."
He helped Reid stand, but the blonde was still a little unsteady. "Can you grab your powers?"
Reid seemed to focus on the ground, but soon his eyes turned black. "Yeah, I think I can hold onto them too..."
"Good. Now, let's hurry. I don't want to imagine what Tyler and Chase have done to Caleb."
Reid nodded slowly, and then followed Pouge to where the battle was supposed to be.
/21\
Reid looked around, following Pouge. He was lost on everything that had happened, and wanted to be filled in, but kept his mouth shut. He heard someone yell and knew it was Caleb. It was two against one. It had to be him...
Pouge led him into a clearing and shot at Tyler, Reid wincing. They were to never hurt each other with the powers...but this must be a special occasion... He took in a breath and shot at Chase, anger on the rise, along with his fear. He felt rejuvenated, but his mind was having a hard time keeping the scene together. He saw Pouge turn to Caleb and heal him the best he could in the few seconds Reid had gained. Reid turned towards Tyler as Chase turned towards him, and at the same time they shot. Reid wasn't able to deflect the blow, and was hit in the left shoulder. Tyler though had been paying more attention on Pouge and Caleb, and was hit in the stomach.
Reid closed his eyes, holding in a yell as his breathing increased and his world turned white. There was too much pain to tell whether or not Chase had reinjured his shoulder. It had...sort of...began to heal, but this had to tear it back to how it was, if not worse. He opened his eyes, vision blurry from unwanted tears, and saw Chase blasted away from him, courtesy of Caleb. Pouge jumped back in as well, and the battle continued on. Pouge and Caleb teamed up against Chase, while Reid took on Tyler.
Tyler only smirked, coming closer to Reid. "Hey Brother, I see you're awake."
Reid glared at him, attempting to hide his fear. "You're going down Tyler," he said, throwing a blast, Tyler simply knocking it away.
"The color of blood really suits you well," he simply said, smiling. Reid stumbled back, images of his uncle coming back into his mind. "How does it feel to be the youngest and the weakest? I can take you away from all of this easily, you know."
Reid shot at him again, able to put a little more force behind it. Tyler seemed affected a little bit, but it still wasn't enough. "Do you like feeling the torment? Do you like people bringing you down? Are you realizing what you do to other people can ever come back onto you?"
Reid felt his heart began to race, but couldn't let it get to him. "I don't know what you're talking about Tyler. I never beat down people like you are doing right now."
He smirked, putting his hands together, Reid seeing him gather his power. "I suppose one such as you wouldn't see it. But I guess all that really matters at this point in time is your death."
He shot his blast at Reid, causing him to put up his strongest defense. "No!" he yelled, feeling his defenses rip and the remainder of the power crash through him. He fell back onto his back, breathing hard. Tyler walked over to him, still smiling.
"Why must you be so weak?" he asked, bringing his hands together, forming another blast.
"Tyler!" Reid knew this was his last chance. "Do you even remember anything? I thought I was your best friend, and then you went and knocked me out. You're trying to kill your Brothers. We've always been there for you, and you go and turn on us! Don't you remember anything?"
Tyler paused, his power dissipating. He looked at Reid, and it seemed as if his real mind was trying to push through. "Why should I compare my version of what's right to yours though? In the end, we all come to the same finish line."
Reid shook his head, now worried as Tyler regained his power. He barely put up a shield in time, and even then once more Tyler's power broke through and hit Reid in the chest. He yelled, his vision darkening for a moment. He felt his breath leave him and didn't know how to regain it. He felt his body convulse as he was hit again, only this time he couldn't yell. His back arched, and his vision went black. His muscles locked and he just kind of fell onto his side, unable to concentrate on anything.
"H-help," he gasped out, knowing that his Brother's weren't going to come for him. That's how his luck ended up. He felt another blow, only this time it felt physical. As he was kicked though, his eyesight and hearing returned, and he was able to move a little more and protect himself as Tyler was kicking him across the arms, chest, and stomach. He barely grabbed his power and aimed it towards Tyler's foot, knowing he was going to hit himself as well. He aimed as Tyler kicked him, almost lost it, and aimed again as Tyler's foot approached. He shot, and hit his target. As he expected, Tyler's foot nailed into his leg, as did the remainder of his power.
He felt his femur break, and failed at trying to hold in his scream. He gasped in between breaths, trying to see where Tyler was. The other boy was on the ground, holding the area around his ankle. If Reid's plan had worked, he damaged the foot greatly, as in broke as many bones as possible. In the end, it would be worth it, as long as they were able to save the old Tyler. Reid sat up and quickly looked for Pouge and Caleb, soon finding them beating Chase for once. He smiled, for once. Chase finally seemed to be wearing out and losing.
He turned back towards Tyler and shot another blast of his powers at the teen's shoulder, trying to get him on the ground. He managed to get himself off of the ground and limped the three steps over before collapsing onto the ground, moving his leg in a direction it wasn't supposed to go.
He moved in front of Tyler, breathing quickly, managing to get out, "You are going down Tyler. Why can't you just believe in yourself and remember? Look at what you've done to us, to me. I was supposed to be your best friend Ty, and look at what happened to all of us. We're fighting each other, trying to bring the other one down. Please Ty, just remember. I know it's in the back of your mind somewhere, underneath all of the pain. Trust me, you can find it."
Reid watched Tyler shake his head, more so in a fashion that made him look guilty. "I don't want to, I don't want to..."
"Trust me, there are a lot of things we don't want to remember, but we have to. I have to remember things that I would rather not, and they can make this experience look like a spanking. Believe in yourself Tyler and you'll be with us again."
"NO!!" they heard, both looking over at Chase, who was glaring at Tyler and Reid. "He will not remember! He mustn't!"
Reid looked at Caleb and Pouge, and saw them form a ball and throw it at Chase together. Chase yelled and fell to the ground, his body undergoing spasms from amount of power he had been controlling. Reid saw Pouge hand something off to Caleb, Caleb only nodding and landing on the ground as well.
"Is there anything else you would like to say Chase? You are not about to escape this time like you have before. You may be our Brother by power, but not by law of the Covenant. Speak now, or forever hold your peace."
Reid saw that Chase began to hyperventilate as Caleb held a large knife over his heart. No, he can't kill him! Caleb can't have a death on his hands! He's our leader! "Caleb!" he yelled, beginning to lose his own breath. "What are you doing? You can't kill him!"
"I have to Reid. I'm sorry, but he has committed how many murders over the span of his life? In the amount of time that he has been here?" Caleb turned back to Chase and simply nodded. "It's either this, or will your powers to another member."
"Never!" Chase yelled, Caleb nodding once more and moving the knife into his chest. Reid watched his face more so than Chase's, and wondered how he could keep emotion of it. He...he had the same expression as his uncle did when he came to teach Reid a lesson. He had the same calm features, with the blue wintery eyes. He had the strength and the will to kill another human being, take their life away and separate them from the ways of the living.
He could vaguely hear Chase screaming in the background, and barely comprehended Tyler falling onto his side and curling up into a little ball, and gripping his head while screaming himself. He saw Pouge moving in the background, but his brain couldn't function fast enough. He slowly saw the blood seep out onto Chase's jacket, Caleb's skin already turning colors. He could always wash off the color, but the smell would stay much longer, Reid knew. It always did.
He saw Chase's body relax, the life fully leaving him with the last pump of his heart. Reid could almost see it in a play by play view. It made him sick. He wanted to move, to run away and hide under a rock, to leave his Brother's and his family behind. He didn't know why, but this simple act of violence, of protection, brought back a lot of his memories from his early teenage years he thought he lost. That had been his goal, over the years, to forget about everything that had happened, but like the blood seeping out of the wound, his memories began leaking out of the book he had thought he threw away.
He saw Caleb slowly pull the knife out, blood splatters falling back onto Chase and himself. Reid still couldn't move. Time had slowed and his body refused to listen to him. He saw Caleb drop the knife, but didn't hear anything. He saw the knife bounce on the ground, saw the drops fly up and off of it, falling slowly in perfect little spheres, but didn't hear the deafening clatter as it hit the dirt and rocks. Then, his mind could function. Not very well, but it began to process the words "Move. Get out. Run."
And he did. Not very successfully due to his broken leg, but he was determined to run and hide. He had to. How else was he supposed to get over something such as this?
He almost fell more than once, but his mind's persuasion and the double-dose of necessary adrenaline and pain killers that his mind provided, he ran the best that he was able to, his leg beginning to go numb rather quickly with what he soon realized was pain. When his body comprehended the broken bone and screaming nerves, he fell onto the ground, unable to yell with how out of breath he was. He attempted to roll over, but the dirt stayed on his face. He couldn't tell why it wasn't coming off. Was he crying? He didn't think so. Was there a puddle? No, he didn't remember one. Was it raining? No, but it should've been.
He opened his eyes a little and found that he was crying, and that someone was near him. He couldn't tell who though; the pain was becoming too overpowering. Someone touched his shoulder, and he thought asked, "Where are you hurt?"
He shook his head, trying to calm down, but the pain never left. Gentle hands quickly searched over his body, noting the scream he gave when they touched his leg and shoulder. He wanted it to go away. He needed to be on his own and away from society.
"We need to get him straightened out so we can at least correct his leg," someone said, Reid shaking his head.
"Don't touch me! Its fine, I, I swear. Just, just don't touch me!"
"We have to Reid. It'll help the doctors and you, and the pain will go away sooner. How you have your leg bent... It wouldn't surprise me if you ended up needing some surgery to correctly place it back together. Please, Reid, allow us to do this. It'll be for the best."
"No!" he yelled as they rolled him onto his back, his tears stopping for the time being.
"Ready..." he heard, Reid's heart pounding and his breath quickening. "One, two, three!"
He twisted his upper body to the right, as whoever twisted his left leg to however it was supposed to be. The tears didn't come back, but he began to hyperventilate and couldn't stop. Luckily the blackness that he was always welcomed to began its descent upon him.
XXX——X——XXX
He remembered bits and pieces of what happened after his leg had been "corrected." He remembered the voices and the quick words. He thought Tyler helped out as well, though he couldn't see what was going on. And he had lost sight of Tyler after he got up and ran. Who knew whose side he was on now. Maybe Caleb knocked him out to deal with later...
He grunted, feeling a shift in his body position. He was so disoriented...
"A few more minutes and we'll be at the hospital Reid. Just hold on."
"No...more... Go away..."
He didn't have the concentration or will power to fight though. He felt his strength leave and he passed out again as the pain in his leg became more noticeable.
XXX——X——XXX
"Mr. Danvers, I'm not quite sure why you allow your friends to do stupid stunts such as jumping off of a porch onto a trampoline, but you are quite lucky that he ended up the way he did. A few of his bruises and injuries confuse me as to where they came from, but maybe you know?"
Reid struggled to open his eyes. He couldn't move though from whatever drug they had placed him under. He heard Caleb reply with, "Sir, you know us. We've been on so many adventures through these woods, been in so many fights that it's hard to remember what came from where."
There was a thoughtful "Mmmhmmm..." and then silence. Reid wanted to wake up and look at Caleb and see why he was here. Shouldn't his own parents be here, being, well, parents? And Caleb should be with Pouge, trying to get Tyler back on their side, unless he went psycho as well and Caleb had to kill him off...
No, I'm pretty sure that wouldn't have happened. It's Tyler; he's easy enough to pull around... Only Chase would be able to corrupt someone as easily as he did Tyler... Reid mentally shook his head, confusing himself. Whatever they put him on was stronger than he normally received. Maybe while he was here they could fix up his shoulder... That would be the best of all.
"Well, I must go check on my other patients and I'll allow you to stay here with your friend for the time being. He should be waking up anytime now."
"Thank you, doctor."
Reid heard the door open and shut, and found whatever strength he had to turn his head and open his eyes, even a crack. Everything was blurry beyond recognizable, which caused him to shut his eyes and manage a groan. He heard shuffling besides him, and wanted to know what was going on. "Caleb?" he managed, voice fading out in the middle.
"It's fine Reid. Don't bother speaking. Tyler is in a room nearby, doing fine. When you ah, broke his ankle and foot, he seemed to come around, especially before and after you attempted to run off. As I thought, you had more of an effect on him than Pouge or I did. You only had to speak a few words to him, and when he had lowered his shields enough, we were able to get him down and get his head straight. He's very silent right now with guilt, but Pouge's keeping an eye on him."
Reid made a noise. He wanted Caleb to go away. It had only been a few minutes but the brunette was already getting on his nerves. "Other than that...you might be healed up fairly quick... But after all of that, I couldn't think of your body not wanting a few days to rest from the use of power."
Reid nodded. Caleb was rambling. Apparently something was wrong. Reid decided he wanted the dosage of the medicine upped so he could ignore all of this and rest. Sleep sounded highly amusing... Even though he was in a hospital, he'd rather stay here than figure out what Caleb was trying to get at. He wanted to speak but his throat felt a little constricted. He settled with a mangled grunting sound.
Caleb sighed and said, "Sorry. I was just thinking of what the doctor said about your other injuries that I had to cover up for. Are you ready to tell the story, or will we have to go to your family?"
Oh, he's a fucking bastard... I will get payback for that...
"Fkoff..." he mumbled. "Mmbe."
"Okay. Pouge's ready for it, and Tyler...will need his space. I figure if we give him time though—"
Reid didn't care. He interrupted Caleb this time, surprised at himself even when he managed to yell "Shut up!" He gathered his breath, and managed to say, "Leave him alone." A long deep breath. "You're rambling, you're scared, and you're not yourself. You're not our leader right now. You're being a wuss."
Caleb sighed again. "Sorry. The past two days have been more difficult than I had imagined. Only Pouge has been able to help me out while we were waiting for you wake up and for Tyler to speak or look at us. He's been a lot harder to take care of. But, he knows suicide is basically a sin in our families..."
"What?" Reid breathed out, mentally groaning. He knew something like this was going to happen. He needed to see his Brother and reassure him everything was going to be alright. After all, Caleb said it himself. Tyler did seem to trust Reid a little bit more than the rest of them.
"Yeah... It's kind of upsetting. You were worse though than we imagined. We only thought your leg had been the worst injury, but your brain had been pushed too far. Tyler gave you a mild concussion, and I guess you were supposed to be dead by the time I came and found you. I healed part of it though, and when Pouge found you, it had become worse, and he only healed most of it since he deals with more physical than mental. I thought you were going to die on the way here... I don't know if you remember, but you were rambling, and kept hitting your head to the point where Pouge had to restrain your hands. Then you began screaming about your head hurting.
"The doctor's found the concussion fairly quickly, but they couldn't seem to gather why there was blood and no mark on your head. I covered that as well, but they gave you some medicine that calmed you down, and they reset your leg to how it's supposed to be. You'll heal fine, except they are worried about your shoulders and a lot of the scars you seem to have that I can barely explain. The doctor's are smart, and will ask questions. We are polite, and will wait, though I will say we have waited far longer than we had hoped."
Reid nodded, hoping Caleb was done with his speech. "So?" was all Caleb said next.
"Fkoff." Reid repeated, beginning to fall asleep again. He was done listening Caleb, and would explain when he felt like it. Caleb knew the details, more than he wished for him to know, but there was nothing he could do about that. He'd be lucky if Caleb didn't tell the Brother's anything. Of course, there probably hadn't been any time to say anything, which he didn't have a problem with.
He felt the remainder of the medicine beginning to kick in again and felt himself slip off once more, thankfully.
XXX——X——XXX
He was strapped onto a chair, not wanting to open his eyes. He knew what awaited him across the room. He attempted to keep his breathing calm, but he didn't know how long he could hold this pace up. At one point or another he was going to start freaking out. He heard a shuffle across the floor and flinched, feeling his heart begin its race. He squinted out of his eyes, and saw his uncle's feet a few feet away. He snapped his eyes shut, and heard the soft chuckle before the footsteps came over.
"Air, what are you worried about now?" he was asked, Reid ensuring that his eyes were closed. He was old enough to fight back now, but he still felt three years younger. "Everything will be okay very soon. Don't worry."
That was the last thing he wanted to hear. Don't worry...ha. I don't have to worry about my death? That sounds appropriate...
He heard his uncle begin walking around him, and he still kept his eyes shut. If he opened them, that would be admitting once more that there was no escape, and he was trapped in this basement for the rest of the summer. He supposed he could try to use his powers to get out, but his uncle was fast and strong, and Reid was only sixteen; he didn't think he was strong enough to escape.
"What shall we do this time? You have been keeping up with your lessons, which is excellent and better than expected, though you are sort of a nuisance." Reid held his breath, feeling his uncle breathe on the side of his neck, coming close to his ear. "But that doesn't bother me in the way you hope it does. It goes much further down."
He laughed, Reid's breathing finally increasing. "Do I scare you?"
Reid kept his mouth shut, knowing that whatever he said could be twisted into his uncle's own pleasure. He heard his uncle laugh, next saying, "I figured you would keep your mouth shut. You should learn to not be so disrespectful and to answer when adults are speaking to you."
He felt his uncle's fist across his mouth, and he let out a grunt of pain. "So, Air, do I scare you?"
Reid chose to keep his mouth shut, only causing him to get him once more. He could feel his lip split and his jaw bruise. He went to shut off his mind, but didn't get there fast enough to not feel the next few blows.
He finally went into the hiding spot in his mind, huddling. He had gotten quite good at running from his uncle's abuse. It did have its drawbacks though. Whenever he came out of hiding, he would feel the pain almost twice as bad. But, whatever spared him from the wrath of his uncle at that moment. He could escape the pain, escape from the questions, and most importantly, escape from his lust filled eyes.
Reid let his mind drift, occasionally wondering how numb his body was, and what his uncle was or surprisingly was not doing to it. He would know when to come out though; he always did. His uncle always had a way of showing that he was done.
Reid felt the pull back to his body, and wondered what was wrong. He hadn't ever felt a pull that was this strong and it didn't have his uncle's touch to it. Was it his power pulling him out? If so, why? Reid knew the answer would appear soon as he entered the physical of his body, yelling. What the hell did he beat me with? His mind screamed, feeling whiplash after whiplash, every exposed nerve, and the blood that was cooling on his skin. He thought a few bones might have been fractured and he prayed that they weren't. He really didn't want to explain that to his parents and friends.
He felt something splash across him, burning anything that was open to the air. His yells turned into tormented screams, and he felt himself beginning to black out. "I see you finally came back," a voice said to him, rumbling with hidden excitement. "I guess I figured out the trick to make you come back. You're a fun one, Air."
Reid rolled his head, unable to open his eyes. His jaw felt swollen, along with his eyes, his arms and legs were limp, and he couldn't feel the majority of his chest. "But," he heard, "you seem to be suffering just fine. Now that I know the trick to call you back, don't bother trying to run away to wherever it is in your mind. I'll be back in the morning."
Reid felt his uncle hit him in the chest, square on, and felt his lungs release all of the air. He began choking, and couldn't take another breath. He heard his uncle laughing as he left as Reid struggled. Finally, after gagging and wheezing, he was able to get a full breath in, and that brought an even stronger round of coughs.
Finally, he was able to calm down, and could feel the tears sliding down his face that he reluctantly let loose. He laid his head on the back of the chair, wondering what had gone wrong. He figured out how to get me out of my own mind? What did he do? I know before it was always that stupid kiss he'd give to me; that seemed to work. But he found something more effective? How? How?!
He began panicking, and couldn't calm down. He began to hyperventilate, unknowing why this fear would know show itself now. He's always had it, but very rarely did it cause him panic attacks. He just sat there, hyperventilating, wondering when he would ever get better and be allowed to rest. Probably never, but he could dream, couldn't he?
Uncle would probably take that away from me too, if he could. If he could...he'd do far worse. I don't know what's holding him back. It can't possibly be my dad or friends. Maybe it's the fear that he'd kill me?
That didn't help Reid calm down at all. He felt the tears flow again as he tried whatever he could to calm himself down. Only, this time it wasn't working, and he didn't know what would.
XXX——X——XXX
Reid woke up, hearing a clunk and looking around almost hysterically. He saw his IV, seeing the little bag swaying back and forth. Whoops... he managed to think, grasping that he was still in the hospital and that no one was there around him. He dropped back down onto his pillows, moaning.
Great. I'm still having the nightmares. Chase is...dead, Tyler I believe is back with us, and I'm stuck here in the hospital still fearing my uncle. Everything is back to normal. He opened his eyes once more and looked around, wondering how hurt he had been, and still was. He remembered Pouge healing him a lot, and wondered how everyone was doing. He seemed to be the one who was always in the hospital for one reason or another, and the one who everyone had to look over.
The memory of Tyler though throwing him into the metal racks crossed him mind, causing him to shudder. A voice in his head asked, are you always thrown into the hospital for a reason though? You don't do everything to yourself; part of it is because of other people as well.
It feels like I do everything to myself though.
He closed his eyes, wanting to move around and get the hell out of here. He had been in here too many times, and he was sure his parents were going to be really pissy when they came to get him. He'd be lucky if they even let him go back to the school. Maybe though...I don't remember what dad said about Chase... We all thought that he was dead, but it was kind of obvious he wasn't. Maybe they won't mind as much this time...
He close his eyes, sighing. It was going to be a long night if the nightmares had come back again. He blamed the battle though. He had been getting over them, sort of, and now because of Caleb killing Chase, and everything else, they were going to progressively get worse. Again.
Hey everyone!! Sorry, this came out waaaay later than i wanted...on account i've been done with it for a week or so... my bad. So yeah, here's chapter 21, and i hope you guys enjoy it. I think there's going to be two, maybe three more chapters left to this story, but i'm thinking about two. So yeah, thanks to all of you who still have faith in me and have continuously reviewed and commented, and gave me ideas of what to do for the next chapter. :) you are seriously the best. So yeah, i'm gonna go off and right the next chapter i think, cus i'm really not in the mood to deal with my spaztic roommates... i have a lot on my mind, and i'm really not in the mood to fucking deal with anyone, unless it's three specific people...yeah. So. I'll reply to reviews once more, and thanks again!! :D