3:30am

The night was dark, starless and wet. Gusts of rain whipped the trees effortlessly in the empty park that they all stood in. Tyler clenched and unclenched his sweaty hands as he tried to get his wits together, humming a soft song under his breath to calm himself.

There was no sign of Chase. Caleb, Pogue and Tyler all waited with unease. The eldest of the group gripped the Book of Damnation in his hands, while keeping his senses sharp. Caleb knew that if anything happened to Pogue or Tyler, he could only blame himself - and he would not let that happen.

"How much longer should we wait?" Tyler's uncertain voice cut through the now dead air.

Caleb lifted his shoulders, staring into the open fields, "As long as we need to."

Pogue started rubbing his hands together in an attempt to regain some warmth, "I don't know, Caleb... maybe - "

"Caleb?"

Caleb's head snapped in the direction of the voice, feeling chills creep through him once he recognized the figure. Reid stood slumped against a large oak tree, looking extremely fatigued and out of breath. He was soaking wet; hair plastered against his forehead and cheekbones, and his clothing dripping with water.

"Reid!" They all took a rushed step towards him, but the blonde's eyes suddenly widened - almost falling over as he reeled backwards.

"Don't," He said, his eyes wide and wild. He grasped at another tree, legs threatening to collapse on his own. It was only then that they all noticed a band of thick metal wrapped around his neck. Tyler's eyes creased with worry.

"Reid…" As perplexed as Caleb was with the situation, he knew that he had to keep the younger boy talking as he tried to think of a plan out of the park. Maybe there was a chance he could get Reid out without notice. But, in the back of his mind, he knew Chase lurked somewhere in the distance, and it was only a matter of time before he appeared, "Talk to me, buddy. What's going on?"

"G-Get Tyler o-out of here." Reid said with urgency, holding the tree tighter when his body seemed to suddenly lose energy.

Caleb looked towards Tyler, who raised his shoulders with confusion.

"Why does Tyler need to leave, Reid?" Caleb asked, as he slowly approached the blonde.

Reid's eyes flashed from Caleb to Tyler, then began wildly searching the area around them.

"Reid, look at me, buddy," It took a moment, but Reid's eyes slowly met Caleb's, "Why does Tyler need to leave?"

"H-he's here."

"Who's here?" Tyler asked, stepping forward.

"H-he's here." Reid repeated, looking everywhere except their faces.

"Is it Chase?" Caleb said, "Is Chase here?"

Reid jerkily nodded, "P-please…get Tyler out of here."

Caleb felt a sudden anxiety build in his chest, "Does Chase want him?"

"G-go." Reid cried out, looking directly at Tyler. Tyler took in a sharp intake of breath, finally taking in the appearance of his best friend. For the first time, his blue eyes were weak and pleading. His body sagged with surrender. He looked so…broken.

"Pogue," Caleb said sternly, "Get Tyler out of here."

"No!" Tyler yelled. Immediately, he turned back to Reid, "I'm not leaving without you, Reid. We'll get you out of here."

"J-just g-give me the book…b-before he comes."

"We can get you out of here," Tyler repeated, "Just come with us."

"I c-can't. J-just go…" He was losing energy fast, and in order to keep standing he slumped completely against a tree.

"Reid…"

Without warning, Reid jerked upwards, his face, screwed up in pain, pointed towards the sky. He was struggling against something whole-heartedly, breath coming in short, sharp gasps, and his friends seemed to seize up with surprise and fear. Then, with a small gasp, he dropped to the muddy ground, completely unconscious.

"Reid!" With pounding hearts, Tyler, Caleb and Pogue regained their senses, and all launched towards him. But suddenly, without warning and with incredible speed, they were pushed back by a darkened figure.

"Chase!" Caleb snarled, his hands clenching at his sides. The fifth member of the covenant stood smirking, his eyes black as night. He took a menacing step forward,

"Uh, uh, uh, boys. I wouldn't get near him if I was you."

"What did you do to him?" Tyler near-bellowed.

"Ah, that?" Chase laughed, "Well, you see, it's simple, really. I just inject some serum into his collar and I can get him to do anything I'd like him to. I can make him so weak that his knees tremble, I can cause him to hallucinate the worst of demons, I can make him shriek with fear, scream with pain…or, simply make him lose consciousness," He shuddered with pleasure as he kicked the still body below him, "It's beautiful, really."

"You bastard!" Tyler would have lunged at him if Pogue hadn't jumped and caught him around the arms.

Chase took a seemingly cleansing breath and his smile disappeared, "Now…onto other matters... Where's my book?"

Caleb shoved the book into Pogue's now free hands, who took it protectively, "We're not giving you anything until you tell us why you need it."

"That is none of your concern!"

"It's my concern if it involves Reid!"

Chase suddenly stepped backwards, hauling Reid up by the metal collar, all the while keeping an uncanny calmness to him, "Give me the book or I'll kill him."

Tyler was shaking now, absolutely terrified for the sake of his friend, and he shouted, voice cracking, "Get away from him!"

Chase grinned, tightening his grip on Reid's throat, "Nice threat, baby boy. But why don't you just let the big boys have at it, okay?"

"Pogue, get Tyler out of here." Caleb said, grinding his teeth with anger.

"No - " Tyler began, but Chase cut him off.

"They're not going anywhere until I get the book!" Chase grabbed something out of his pocket with incredible speed and jammed it into the back of Reid's collar, "Now give me the damned book or he dies!"

Caleb's eyes flashed to black in warning, and was about to Use on Chase, when he started screaming.

"Don't Use, Caleb!" Chase was sounding almost frantic now, "I'll fucking kill him!" Then he lowered his voice, regaining his poise, "This stuff will slowly eat him alive once it's inside his body. And then the agonizing, burning pain sets in..." He started smiling, taking on a crazed look, "Once he wakes up, he'll be crying for you, pleading, 'Caleb! Pogue!…Tyler! Save me! It hurts!' … And his last thought will be that he died over your selfishness. Do you really want that, Caleb? What about you, Pogue? Tyler?"

Tyler flinched, looking desperately from Chase to Caleb and back. His voice was choked when he pleaded, "Give it to him, Caleb…give him the book, please."

Caleb watched as Chases' thumb inched closer and closer to the plunger on the syringe.

"Pogue," Caleb said, holding out his hand, "Give me the book."

Slowly, Pogue handed it to him, glaring towards Chase the whole time.

Chase was still grinning when Caleb handed him the book. He looked at the cover, and seeing the authenticity, he said smugly,

"Thank you, boys."

And then he and Reid completely disappeared.