Here we go with episode 4 of my "Complete" Series! I just couldn't wait to start publishing it! I'm not anywhere close to being done with it, so any suggestions are very welcome!

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The residents of Oxford, Georgia were all tucked away warmly in bed, snoring away the hours. It was way past midnight on that particularly cold winter night. Suddenly, the silence of the night was pierced by the sound of three distinct footsteps, all running, headed down an abandoned street on the other side of town. Their target had disappeared behind a three-way alley, leaving them all confused and very out of breath.

"Which way did he go?" James asked, panting.

"There are three alleys," Matthew said. "What's your bet?"

"Three alleys," Wesley commented. "How convenient. You know, this would have to happen right before Christmas Break… Where does each one lead?"

"I think they all open up to the same place further down," Matthew guessed.

"So we'll each take one and meet up at the other end," Wesley suggested.

"There's not really any other choice," Matthew said as he and Wesley set off in opposite directions.

"Wait," James said. "I think it would be better if we all went down one together. It's pretty dark and neither of y'all have any offensive powers to fight with."

"You're joking, aren't you?" Wesley asked. "Listen, Jimmy. I know you're the oldest and all, but I think you might be throwing yourself into the role just a little bit too much."

"Agreed," Matthew said. "And, the more time we sit here and convince you that we're right, the harder it's gonna be for us to find this demon. So, we'll meet you at the other end."

"Don't worry," Wesley added, while walking, "We'll see you on the other side in two minutes."

James sighed as he watched his two younger brothers disappear into the two side alleys before he headed into the middle one. He realized that they were right, of course. It hadn't been that long ago when Wesley decided to reunite himself with him and Matthew. It was then that they began to realize the importance of being brothers. Since then, just over a month ago, they started to bond as brothers.

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Wesley slithered through the left alley as quickly and quietly as he could, looking in every direction possible. His fear of the dark, combined with his fear of just about everything else, gave him a sense of ubiquitous paranoia. Everything he saw was a potential threat to him, waiting until he least suspected it to pounce upon him. He walked even faster. He felt that running was way too loud; he didn't want to chance anything at this point. After what seemed like an eternity, he noticed that the light was becoming brighter; the exit was quickly approaching! He sighed at the thought that he would be safe, but quickly changed his attitude when he realized that it meant that one of his brothers wouldn't be so lucky. Suddenly, he heard a commotion and heard someone shout an obscenity. It had happened; either Matthew or James had been attacked. He broke into a run, hoping that he could make it to the exit in time.

He finally reached the end of his alley, which formed a large area that also connected with the other two alleys. He was just in time to see James hurtling through the air on a collision course with a brick wall. At that point, Matthew had just arrived from his own alley. They had to think of something quickly or else James' head would shatter upon impact with the wall. Wesley instinctively gestured toward James, but nothing happened; he forgot that his power to stop time did not work on family. He not-so-silently cursed his power. Matthew, on the other hand, also reached out a hand towards James, with no particular idea of what he was going to do. As if it were planned all along, the wall suddenly began rippling and soon became transparent. James passed right through it! Wesley looked at Matthew puzzlingly, while Matthew only returned the expression.

"Did you do that?" Wesley asked.

"I don't know," Matthew said. "I mean, I think so…"

"Where did he go, then?" Wesley asked. "What building was that?"

"I don't know," Matthew said. "I don't plan these things!"

Their conversation was interrupted by the demon, who wasted no time in attacking. He grabbed the nearest object to him, a large wooden crate, and hurled it at the two brothers. Not paying any attention, the crate almost struck both of them before it magically veered off course and crashed safely on the ground. Wesley, Matthew, and the demon all turned around to see James standing back in the alley. He made a rigorous backhand motion with his right hand and the demon was swept off his feet and thrown into a dumpster. James rejoined his brothers.

"Where did you go?" Matthew asked.

"It was weird," James said. "I thought I was dead for a minute, but then I saw that I was in some old tampon factory. What happened, anyway?"

"I think my powers advanced or something," Matthew answered. "I don't know how else to explain it."

"You ended up in a tampon factory?" Wesley asked, laughing. "I always wondered what that building was… HEY!"

Wesley panicked and shot his hands out, freezing the demon in his tracks, right before he could attack again. The three brothers backed away slowly, acting as though the demon was going to unfreeze at any moment.

"It's about time we got him," Wesley commented. "I think he's been the hardest one so far to get."

"He's definitely the only one who's been bold enough to keep us up all hours of the night," James said. "Let's vanquish him and go to bed."

"Amen," Wesley agreed as Matthew pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket.

"Abolish his powers.
Banish his hours.
Within this time and space,
Send him away forever from this place."

Upon completion of the spell, the demon unfroze and twisted in his own fate. Fire appeared from nowhere and consumed his body until he exploded into pieces that scattered on the ground before eventually dissolving away into nothing. Satisfied with the outcome, the brothers left the scene, adding another victory to their score.

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I can't do the horizontal line thing, so the dashes will have to do for now... Such is the life of a witch: always having to chase demon after demon after warlock after warlock after who knows what! Coming up in the next chapter: James makes a far-out suggestion to his brothers, who don't exactly take it the way he hopes they will…