28th October, 2006

For the third time that night, Caleb chastised himself as he walked on the side of the road heading to the estate. Tyler had offered him a ride home earlier and he refused.

"You sure?" the youngest son asked.

"It's a ten-minute walk to the mechanic, man. I'll be fine."

He had his car serviced in the shop Pogue worked part-time in and it was due to be picked up that afternoon. Ten minutes later he found out that the work wasn't done. Danny, one of the mechanics assigned to the task, caught the stomach flu which had been going around town. His supervisor, Victor, did what he could but ran short of time. The earliest he could have it finished was the day after, much to Caleb's chagrin.

And so he started the thirty-minute walk back home. Less then a mile in, it began to pour. A couple of profanities later he began to run, both to reach the estate as soon as possible and to stay warm. He only had his school uniform and a leather jacket on. If the temperature dropped further, he could get in trouble. As he jogged past a bend in the road, his face lit up with delight. He forgot about the small shop and gasoline station there and was more than happy when he saw it. He burst through the front door and shivered as the warm air hit his face.

The store was empty save for the guy behind the counter and one customer, a heavily bearded man with a greasy-looking ball cap. He didn't look familiar. Caleb thought he was most likely one of those truck drivers stopping by to stretch their legs and have a toilet break. He mumbled a "Good afternoon" at the two and made a beeline for the hot drinks counter.

"Are you calling me a liar, punk?"

"I said no such thing but even if you look here -"

"You didn't punch it in so fuck your receipt. If I say it's paid, then it's paid."

Caleb took a step back to look at the commotion on the counter. The cashier, a young boy who couldn't have been older than him, raised his hands in defence. It was easy to see that he wanted nothing more than to get away from there.

"Come on man, we both know that's not true."

The older man snorted at him, took all the items from the counter and stormed off.

The cashier jumped out of his seat.

"Excuse me sir-! Hey you haven't paid for that drink!"

A loud slam of the entrace door was his only response. The young man's shoulders slumped in defeat. He dragged himself back to his spot to tend to Caleb's purchases.

"Asshole," he mumbled.

"You did the right thing. A bottle of whiskey isn't worth breaking your face over."

"Well that's only because I can't break his face. If only I had the guns to put up a fight."

His words made the itch at the back of Caleb's mind intensify. He knew it was the Power begging to be released no matter what the reason was. The warlock took a deep breath, doing his best to curb the craving but it was too hard. The young man's frustration radiated towards him and it became his anger. And like a fan to a glowing coal, this emotion intensified his desire to use even more.

Not bothering to collect his change, he stepped out of the store and into the freezing rain, rounding up to the corner where the man from earlier disappeared into. Caleb found him seated in one of the trucks, taking a sip off the bottle that he had unashamedly stolen from the store. The 18-year old glared at him until he caught his attention and rolled his window down.

"What? Your faggot friend sent you to do what he's too chickenshit to do?"

"You need to be nicer to people you know nothing about."

"Or else what?"

The truck driver didn't hear Caleb's reply. An invisible force came over his head, making his face collapse into itself. Before he could scream in pain, a piece of broken bone lodged itself deep in his brain killing him instantly.


"Caleb! Caleb wake up!"

Evelyn's screams jolted the younger Danvers awake from his incredibly vivid dream. The initial disorientation turned to alarm when he saw the state of his room. All around him, pieces of furniture, clothing and all other loose items were suspended in mid air. He watched, speechless, as his swimming goggles floated past him. Evelyn, while she stayed rooted in shock near the door, had all strands of her hair waving around her face as though she was underwater. She could feel it, the overwhelming amount of Power in the room which thickened the air and bent the laws of gravity.

"Honey...Please, stop it," she squeaked.

Almost immediately, everything dropped down to the floor. The chest of drawers smashed as it came in contact with the cold hardwood. Amidst all this, all Caleb could do was sit still. His forehead glistened with sweat and he breathed heavily over the palpitations.

"I didn't mean to... I didn't know-"

"I know you didn't," Evelyn cut him off. She crossed the length of the room and hugged him, trying to convince both her son and herself that he did not terrify her.


"Tyler. You felt it too?"

"I did."

Pogue could hear the fear in the other boy's voice over the phone and his heart sank. Of all three Sons, their youngest was the most sensitive to the Power. Only he could pinpoint with relative accuracy who was Using and where.

"It felt like Caleb but it can't be...I don't want to be sure. That surge of energy was too dark to come from him. He would never..."

"Damn right he wouldn't!" Pogue replied indignantly. "God forbid, maybe we have another Chase. Someone who is just as powerful as Caleb. Hence the similarities."

"Maybe." Tyler didn't sound too convinced. "Pogue, there's one more thing."

"What is it?"

"I think someone died."


AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Two years later and here it is. Not much of an update I admit but it's a fairly good start. I haven't done much writing-wise in all those times I've been gone either so I'll be the first to admit that I'm more than a little rusty. I didn't want to do a chapter too big for fear that I'll be biting off more than I can chew! Not sure if people are still keeping tabs on this story but if any of you are, I'd be more than happy to hear from you guys. I need to hear what you have to say now more than ever. Two years has been the longest hiatus I've taken. And while I do miss writing, I admit I struggled with content. So...yeah, I'll drink up any feedback from you guys. Cheerios!