Tyler had driven around the town twice, and still he hadn't seen a glimpse of Maddie. However, he had seen a copy of today's newspaper, and the obituary that was published in it for William Sparrow. He had stopped to pick it up, and skimmed through it briefly. Suicide. It only added to the guilt of how he hurt Maddie.

When he drove back to school a few hours later, defeated, he was shocked to see her there. She was sitting against the same tree she had been when they had first spoken to each other, staring off into space. She didn't notice him until he was a few feet behind her.

"Hey." He said softly. She simply looked up at him. "Look." He started. "I'm really sorry, and I take back everything I said, I was wrong, you're the most amazing thing that's ever happened to me and I cant believe I hurt you… please I just need to know that you forgive me… even though I don't deserve it." He finished lamely.

Maddie didn't reply. But her eyes didn't once stop staring right into his. Her eerie, almost white eyes.

"Tyler!" Caleb and Pogue ran up behind him.

"Don't run anymore. I need to finish this." Caleb said sternly. When he noticed Tyler looking at the both of them curiously he added, "Reid went off to the barn. He's ascending soon."

Tyler didn't reply, he just sat on the ground beside Maddie, who didn't react, and looked into space.

"What I was trying to say before you left is that since Maddie was cursed by our ancestors that means that technically now, since they are dead, we're the ones that hold the responsibility of her curse… and the consequences."

"Consequences?" Pogue asked.

"Yeah. See the problem with curses is that until the cursed asks for forgiveness and the one that cursed them accepts they stay put, and keep sucking power from us."

"Well can't we ask her ask for forgiveness?"

"It doesn't work that way, Pogue. It has to be the original people that cursed her, and the originally cursed. And since both are dead-"

"So what do we do?"

"There's nothing we can do exce-"

"Well what's the point of having this talk then?"

"Tyler, shut it. I wasn't done. The only thing we can do is stop the curse before all of us ascend, and the only way to do that is by killing her…"

Silence reigned for a few long minutes, until Tyler spoke up.

"You're fucking kidding me."

"Sadly, no." Tyler stood up now, and was facing Caleb, although a few inches shorter.

"There is no way in hell that we are killing Maddie."

"Tyler, we don't have a choice-"

"Why not? What will happen if for some reason we decide to be good people and not kill her?"

"We'll suffer. All of us. Because it sucks power, and it will keep doing so until we're dead."

"I don't care. I'm not killing her." Tyler said firmly.

"Well, you don't have to, because I'm prepared to do it myself. With or without your consent." He glanced over at Pogue, who was just as shocked as Tyler but quieter.

"So if you can just step back baby boy and let me do what I have to do I would appreciate it." He shoved Tyler out of the way, to get to Maddie, but Tyler just shoved him back, and stepped between him and Maddie.

"I can't let you kill her." He hissed.

"I don't care." Caleb shoved Tyler roughly, and he almost fell backwards, but was on his feet again in seconds. He lunged for Caleb, who moved out of the way in time but an edge of his sleeve got caught in Tyler's hand and ripped cleanly off. All the sons of Ipswich that were present gasped.

"See?" Caleb said through gritted teeth. "See this? This is whats going to happen to all of you once you ascend. Because of her." He stared right at Maddie. He took a menacing step forward, taking advantage of the fact that Tyler was in total shock, and knelt beside Maddie. "I'm sorry. But it has to be done." He said to her.

Then his eyes went black, and a look of extreme concentration was plastered onto his face. But nothing happened.

Maddie smirked. Caleb was taken aback, because he had never seen her smile like that. It was a smirk filled with evil, filled with selfishness, filled with I-told-you-so.

And she started to disappear. First her hands, who were resting on her lap, became more and more transparent, until they disappeared altogether. Then her feet, her legs, her arms, her chest, her head, until all that was left was her smirk and the glow of her eyes.

Then nothing. Caleb blinked and his eyes returned to normal.

Tyler panicked, and rushed towards the tree, running his hands on where she had been seconds ago. The bark and ground weren't even warm, as if she had never been there.

"What did you do?" He hissed at Caleb. "What the hell did you do!"

"I didn't do anything." Caleb said grimly.

"A friend of ours got to her first. And made an illusion so we wouldn't bother searching for the real one. And now she's in his hands." "What? Who?"

"Chase." Pogue said. He looked at Caleb. "I thought he came back for us, not for her?"

"He did. She's just a way of getting to us. Too bad it only works for one…" He glanced at Tyler.

"What? Chase has her?" He stood and looked around the park.

"Yeah. And although I do want her dead I don't want her tortured. So I'm off to go kill her before he does too much damage." He looked at Pogue. "You coming?"

Pogue stayed silent. Caleb sighed. "Whatever. I'll see you two later."

And he coolly walked away.

I'm sick. And consequently, on a writing binge. I might post a few more chapters today, actually. Review! (and check out the character visuals on my profile, if you havent yet, and comment on those!)