Chapter 20
"Home sweet home." Tyler sighed as he unlocked the door to their room.
Reid grunted as he followed the younger boy inside, not wasting any time before walking over towards his bed and throwing himself down on it. He couldn't believe how great it felt to be back in their dorm room and out of the old dusty colony house.
Tyler shut the door behind him and fell upon his own bed, a deep sigh emitting from his mouth.
"Damn it's great to be back here."
"Uh-huh." Reid mumbled and curled up on his side.
His head was still spinning rapidly and his stomach felt like it was turning it's self inside out. Tyler shuffled around behind him and after a moment Reid felt the side of his bed dip as the younger boy sat down next to him.
"Still feeling sick?"
"Mmp." Reid grunted into his pillow.
The bed springs creaked as Tyler leaned over him, his warm fingers slowly massaging Reid's shoulder. "Gorman said you might be ill for a few more days. At least now you can get some decent rest."
"Yeah." Reid replied sleepily. "What the hell happened to me anyway?"
Tyler's hands stilled on his shoulder. "You don't remember?"
"No."
Tyler's fingers tightened once again into his shoulder. For a long time the younger boy didn't say a word and when he finally spoke, his voice was low and shaky.
"Chase is back..."
Reid stiffened and turned his head. Tyler's blue eyes were lowered and full of fear.
"Chase is still alive?"
Tyler nodded. "Yeah. He put a spell on you and you passed out for a few hours."
Reid gazed up at him for another moment before he laid his head back down on his pillow.
"That can't be. I thought Caleb killed him."
"I thought so too." Tyler sighed.
"Great, as if we didn't have enough shit going on and Caleb isn't even here to play the hero this time."
"I think Caleb's with him."
Reid whipped his head around. "What?"
Tyler bit his lower lip and remained quiet.
"Tyler, what'd you mean?"
The younger boy fidgeted nervously. "When you were out, Gorman said it was Caleb who was prowling around the house...then I heard him mention Chase's name later. Apparently both of them were there."
Reid stared at the darker haired boy for a long moment, letting his words sink in. He laid his head back down on his pillow and stared at the far wall. Tyler didn't say anything but kept digging his fingers into Reid's shoulder. After a short moment, the blond sighed and curled into the touch.
"Mmm, keep doing that."
For the first time in a few days Reid heard Tyler chuckle softly and the sound made his heart flutter.
"Okay." Tyler half-smiled. "Roll over."
Reid gave him a puzzled look before he slowly obliged and rolled over onto his stomach. He immediately felt Tyler's warm hands on his back, slowly rubbing the soreness out of his tired shoulders. The blond moaned deeply and felt his body slowly sink into the bedding under him. God Tyler had such good hands. It wasn't long before his eyelids started growing heavy and nestled his head against his pillow.
Tyler watched quietly as Reid slowly nodded off and soon the room was filed with the sounds of his soft breathing. The younger boy smiled and removed his hands, the tips of his fingers slowly losing their red glow as his eyes turned back to their normal blue color. Just as he predicted, Reid was out like a light. He gently slid off the edge of the bed and made his way towards his own.
He crawled on top of the heavy blankets and curled on his side, his exhaustion from the past three days finally catching up with him. His eyelids closed a quick moment later and soon the world faded away as the sweet darkness called to him.
--
Rain started pelting down on his shoulders, causing Pogue to turn his eyes towards the darkening sky with a frown.
(Perfect, bad enough that I've been freezing my ass off for the past hour.)
He groaned and the shoved his hands inside of his long coat. How long was this going to take, he'd been sitting in the same spot for hours? He gently rubbed the soreness out of his cramped legs and kept his eyes on the door in the far distance. He knew sooner or later the security guard would lock up the building for the night and he'd have his opportunity to slip inside the bank without setting the alarm off.
Pogue felt himself groan again and he blew into his hands to keep them warm. The door creaked in the distance and he immediately jerked his head up towards it.
(Finally.)
The security guard closed the door behind him and Pogue could hear it electronically lock behind. The guard then walked into the staff parking lot and disappeared from Pogue view. Something brushed against Pogue's mind and he stole a quick glance downwards at himself.
Just as he expected, he was Caleb once again.
A quick moment later he forced himself to keep his head clear. Chase wasn't aware of his presence yet and he wanted to keep it that way. Once the guard's car drove away down the street, Pogue rose to his feet and stretched his sore limbs before making his way towards the door. He used his powers to unlock the door and he cautiously pushed it open.
Like he expected, the bank was empty but he still kept his guard up. If he was going to do this right he couldn't afford to be seen. He closed the door as quietly as he could and disabled the security camera with a quick flash of his eyes. His eyes slowly roamed lover the vast room, looking for the entrance to the vault rooms. A quick moment later he found it and wasted no time heading towards it.
The many doors scattered along the hallway sprang open upon his command. None of them were what he was looking for. He waved his arm and the last handful of doors near the end of the hall slammed open. The one on his left looked promising and he stuck his head inside of the room. A grin came towards his face as the large wall of deposit boxes stared back at him.
(Here we are...)
He stepped into the room and started reading the numbers across the small silver deposit boxes. He growled, none of the damn boxes had names on them, only numbers!
Pogue chuckled mentally when he felt Chase's frustration touch his mind. After a long moment, Chase growled and violently waved his hand, sending the small boxes out of their holders and across the floor. Their contexts spilled all over the floor, money, Jewry, none of them were what he was looking for. He yelled and kicked the box near his foot.
"Damn it all! Where the hell is it?"
Pogue laughed again before he could stop himself. Chase paused, his powers reaching around him. Pogue felt it wash over him and braced himself but much to his surprise Chase didn't respond. His limitless power was still feeling the air around him and even though Pogue felt it touch him numerous times, Chase never found him.
Pogue was taken back. Every time he was linked with Caleb, Chase always found him. Why was this time different?
After a long moment, Chase kicked another box out of his way as he left, however, Pogue's presence still lingered inside of the room. His eyes were looking over the remaining boxes that were still in their holders. One of the boxes on his left grabbed his attention, his eyes firmly glued on the small black numbers printed on its edge.
16487
He repeated the numbers inside of his head. He knew those numbers, at least he felt like he did. He'd seen them before...somewhere. He didn't have long to dwell on it because he felt himself being pulled out of the room back towards his slumbering body.
--
Pogue's eyes slowly opened and the walls of his bedroom soon came into focus.
A thin sheen of sweat covered his bare shoulders and the side of his head was throbbing painfully. He sat up gingerly, brushing his sweaty bangs from his brow and waited for his headache to pass before he thought about his recent dream.
16487
What did those numbers mean? He'd seen them before but where?
His eyes wandered towards the alarm clock near his bed and he decided he might as well stay up. He only had an hour until he needed to get up for his class anyway. He untangled himself from the bedding and took a few steps towards the bathroom. He ran the tap and splashed some cold water on his face, trying to cool his overheated skin. He was in the middle of drying his face when he felt it, the left side of his chest swelled with a small flutter of warmth once more.
(Again...?)
Confused, he raised his hand and pressed it against the skin, it was hot but not enough to burn his skin and its source seamed to be coming from inside of his body. He held his hand against it for another moment and waited, seeing if he could locate where the strange warmth was coming from. It felt like it was coming from his heart. Just as quickly as it came, the warmth disappeared and Pogue slowly removed his hand.
(What the hell was that?)
The skin around his hart was pale and Pogue stared at it for a long time. This was the second time today he felt that weird sensation, where was it coming from? The first time he felt it was earlier in when he passed by the remains of Putnum barn. He never felt it before that time though, so where was it coming from?
Pogue sighed and rested against the sink. If he never felt it before today then that left only one possible reason where it came from...his night with Caleb.
(Is this punishment for what I did?)
A dark weight settled in the pit of Pogue's stomach and he forced the memories of that night away. He didn't need any more proof of how weak and useless he really was, Chase already showed him.
Anger started rising inside of him and shut the light off. Chase may have manipulated him like the pathetic puppet he was but there was absolutely no way in hell he was going to let him get off without paying for it.
He was going to kill Chase even if it meant he had to drag the bastard to the gates hell himself.