Chapter 19

The dusty floorboards creaked underneath his foot, forcing Pogue to freeze in his movements.

He didn't hear any movement from upstairs so hopefully he didn't wake anyone. He waited for another moment, his eyes watching the top rail of the stairs closely before he quietly made his way towards the front door. There was no way in hell he was going to stay in this house any longer, not after what happened.

He turned the doorknob slowly and made sure he didn't use too much forced when he pulled the door open. The early morning air was thick and cold and hit him in full force as stepped out onto the old brick porch. He shrugged into his jacket and wrapped it around himself as tight as he could before he set off on his long, lonely walk. He knew the smart thing to do was wait for Tyler to wake up and convince the younger boy to take him home but truth be told, Pogue honestly felt like walking the whole way.

Besides, after what he did he didn't deserve any type of comfort.

The soft earth crunched quietly under his footsteps as he started his long walk down the dirt road. He gave the old colony house one more look over his shoulder as it slowly disappeared from his view behind the long limbs of the many pine trees that grew along the dirt road.

--

Tyler yawned sleepily and snuggled deeper into the warm cloth against his cheek.

Sunlight was starting to brush against his closed eyelids but he refused to open them. For the first time in months he had a peaceful, dreamless sleep. No nightmares, no frightening images, just a warm presence that sheltered him during the night. He couldn't even begin to explain how wonderful that feeling was...even if it came from an unexpected source.

Awareness soon came to him and his blue eyes sleepily opened. The bedroom was full of bright sunlight and Tyler had to blink a few times in order to get them to focus. Reid was still fast asleep next to him; his arm was still wrapped tightly around Tyler's shoulder.

Tyler sat up and inspected the sleeping boy more closely. The color had finally returned to Reid's face and his breathing wasn't labored like it was the night before. Tyler breathed a relieved sigh; Reid was going to be okay.

He gently rolled out of Reid's grip and sat on the edge of the bed. There wasn't a clock in the room but judging from the bright rays of sunlight shining in through the room's large window he guessed it was in the early hours of the morning. The house was oddly silent; the only sound Tyler could hear was Reid's soft breathing coming from behind him and the silence was starting to make him feel uneasy.

He glanced over his shoulder at the sleeping blond before slowly crossing the room and heading towards the stairwell. His footsteps seamed to be three times louder in the silence as he reached the first floor. Even though the rest of the house was covered in sunlight, the first floor hall was pitch black, causing Tyler to feel even more uneasy. He paused at the closed door of the bedroom Pogue had occupied for the past day and a half and stared at it curiously.

There wasn't any sounds coming from the other side which suggested that Pogue was either asleep or still in his catatonic state again. Tyler felt a small tug at his heartstrings as he remembered the night before. He still had no idea what happened between Pogue and Chase but he knew it wasn't anything good.

He held his ear against the closed door for another moment, listening closely. He still couldn't hear anything and after a long moment he pulled his ear away from the door, his hand reaching for the doorknob. He felt guilty for invading Pogue's privacy like this but he wanted to make sure the other boy was alright. The door slowly swung open and Tyler stuck his head inside. The room was still dark and after his eyes adjusted Tyler was able to make out the various shapes inside of the room.

Unfortunately, his eyes weren't able to find Pogue anywhere. His fingers fumbled for the light switch and when it clicked on it became clear that Pogue wasn't in the room anywhere. A crushing weight fell into Tyler's stomach as he stared at the empty room. There was a set of soft footsteps heading up the hallway behind him but Tyler's eyes didn't move from the empty room.

"I take it you've noticed Pogue's absence." Gorman sighed a few short feet away from him.

Tyler turned his head towards the elder. Gorman's eyes were narrow and his face looked tired. It was obvious the elder had been up for hours.

"Where'd he go?"

Gorman shook his head and slowly headed towards the sitting room. "His apartment I assume, despite the warnings I gave him."

Tyler stared at Gorman's retreating frame for a moment before he followed him.

"Why did he leave?"

Gorman was standing in front of a book shelf, looking it's contents over closely. "I expect that it has something to do with what happened the other night"

"I got that part but what happened?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I didn't get much of a chance to ask Pogue."

Tyler studied the elder closely. It was obvious that Gorman was lying to him and he was really getting sick of the elder keeping him in the dark.

"Are you going to stop lying to me sometime soon because it's really getting old?"

Gorman turned around and gazed at him with a confused look. "What?"

"You've been hiding something from Reid and me ever since we found Pogue at the Danvers house and I'm getting tired of it. I know Chase is still alive and that he was here last night." Tyler's voice turned cold as he finished. "He hurt Pogue didn't he?"

Gorman's hand halted against the spine of a book. He elder sighed and lowered his head.

"Yes..."

The familiar weight settled inside of Tyler's stomach once again.

"What did he do to him?"

"I don't know." Gorman said quietly. "But, I have a good guess."

Tyler really didn't like the sound of that. He knew Chase was a monster, the man attacked without mercy and just the thought of him being alone with Pogue again...all Tyler could think of was Pogue lying in the Intensive Care ward once more. He was drawn out of his thoughts when he heard Gorman's footsteps approach him.

"Tyler, I need you to do something for me."

Tyler blinked and slowly swallowed the lump growing inside of his throat.

"What."

"I need you to keep a close eye on Pogue, make sure you're in constant contact with him at all times. If he starts acting any differently I want you to inform me and for god's sake, don't let him wander off alone again."

Tyler stared at Gorman for a long time before he shakily answered. "Okay, I swear I'll keep an eye on him."

"Good." Gorman nodded and retreated back towards his bookshelves. "When Reid wakes up I want the two of you to go back to your dorms. You'll be safe there."

Once again Tyler nodded.

"Alright, what about you?"

Gorman pulled a few books from the shelf and tossed them onto the chair next to it.

"I'll be fine. I have some research to do."

--

(Can it get any damn colder?)

Pogue grumbled and tightened his jacket around himself, the wind brushing against him in a heavy wave. Over the past hour he managed to cover a decent distance between himself and the colony house and he was only few miles away from the edge of town. By now his legs felt like they were on fire and he was seriously short of breath but he forced himself onward.

He didn't care, he deserved this. As a matter of a fact, he deserved a hell of a lot more. He still couldn't believe he fell for Chase's trick. He should've known better! He should've seen through Caleb's advances.

He should've seen that Caleb honestly didn't want him!

The whole left side of his chest swelled painfully as the painful memories slowly came back to him. God he should've known better, he shouldn't have been so fucking stupid! Tears started to form inside of his eyes and quickly wiped them away with the back of his hand and continued walking. He's have plenty of time to drown in his misery when he was back home.

For several long minutes Pogue fought extremely hard to keep his mind clear but it didn't work. Every time his eyes blinked pieces of the previous night played behind them and although he didn't want to admit it, he enjoyed every second.

Once again the pressure on the left side of his chest came back, except this time it wasn't painful. The whole left side of his chest fluttered with a small warmth. Confused, he raised his hand and held it against his heart. The skin under his palm was warm, despite the immense cold breeze blowing down the dirt road. Something blew over in the far distance and made a loud impact as it hit the ground, causing Pogue to raise his head and look at his surrounds for the first time.

He was standing less then thirty feet away from the wreckage that had once been Putnum Barn.

A piercing shiver ran down Pogue's spine as the dark remains of the old barn stared back at him. The wood was weather torn and warped; the remains had a thick air of sorrow that hovered around them. Pogue's throat tightened as he stared at the remnants. Ever since he was little this place always made him feel uneasy but now all it made him feel was hate. This was where Chase and Caleb fought that night; this was the place where Chase took everything from the rest of the covenant.

The warmth inside of his chest fluttered again and Pogue held his hand against his heart and forced himself to move on. If he stayed there he knew he'd lose the rest of his self control and he needed the rest he had to find his way back home.