The four boys piled out of the car, Calum hesitating and waiting for someone to let him out. He wanted them to show them he wasn't going to run.

Luke opened the door and held out his hand, offering it to Calum. It gave him the choice to trust them (even though he technically didn't have any other options).

"You swear you're going to be good?" Ashton asked, standing in front of him so he was blocked between the taller brunette and the car. He put both hands on Calum's broad shoulders, looking into his eyes with a serious expression. "This is your last chance to back out of this. There won't be as bad of consequences if you tell us now."

Calum took a deep breath.

"No, I promise I will be good,"

This made Ashton smile. He leant down and pressed his lips to Calum's forehead, causing the man to turn bright red.

"That's the answer I wanted. Now let's go,"

They walked off the tarmac and onto the cobblestone path that weaved in and out of the park. Michael was a bit confused as to why Ashton brought them to this park in particular. It was on the outskirts of town, right on the edge of the city, and it was known to be a place for druggies and the homeless to gather. If you looked closely in the bushes or under bridges, you'd find little nests of things and sometimes people if you weren't lucky. But Ashton seemed to have a plan, so he didn't say anything.

"Is it okay if we just walk around for a bit?" Ashton asked, walking on Calum's other side. Luke was still clutching his hand, and Michael was meandering behind them all, keeping a close eye on things.

Calum realized Ashton was talking to him.

"S-sure, I don't mind. I'm just happy to be out here," he breathed in deep. The fresh air was amazing, it wasn't too chilly so his jeans and quarter length sleeved shirt (that really was Luke's) was perfect.

He also realized he liked walking around so much because he was with them. He couldn't believe he was feeling at peace and happy with the other three, which was still concerning to him, (because they were murderers). But they were doing it with the right intention, so was it really bad? Maybe they were right and these people did need their help. He knew for a fact some patients were wrongly suffering because people still living wanted them around, or life had just dealt them an unfair hand. Maybe it would be good to help them move on to the next place.

Maybe Calum could be useful, in a different way now.

Calum knew that was wrong, but he didn't know what to do about it. He could try to escape; he knew if he stayed with them he was going to go further and further into that way of thinking and never get out.

But then Luke squeezed his hand and looked down at him with a smile, and he knew he was a goner anyway. Being without them would be even more wrong. He would do what it took to stay with them.

"Are you ready for your test, Calum?"

"Yeah, I th-think so." I just don't want to have to hurt anybody, Calum thought. They would be helping people move on, that's how he had to think about it, but he didn't want to torture them while doing it. They deserved to go peacefully, not with pain and chaos.

"You're so cute, my precious little baby!" Luke cooed, reaching up to cup his cheek. Calum blushed, unsure how to respond to that.

"Okay, Cal. Your first test is simple." Ashton took Calum's hand from Luke, guiding him to the top of the small hill next to them. It overlooked a large area of the park. Calum saw one person lying on a blanket huddled up, so he probably lived there, a pair of kids riding bikes on the path towards the city—they probably used this as a cut through—and in the darker corner, he saw the homeless people who made camp there. His heart clenched for them. "You're going to walk up to one of the homeless people's camps and take something important from them,"

Calum paused a second and looked at him in shock.

"Wh-what?"

Ashton gave him a hard look.

"Go up to a hobo, and take something important. It has to be important, otherwise it won't count."

"Ash, th-that's terrible, wh-why would I do that?" Calum asked, innocence shining through his eyes.

"To prove that you have what it takes to roll with us. The things we do might not always seem like they're right, but when we want to achieve the Ultimate Goal, we have to do some things we might not always want to do," his voice got a little soft when he spoke about the Ultimate Goal. Outside of his panic, he thought Ashton was kinda cute. Then he remembered what he'd just been asked to do.

"B-but what if he n-needs the thing I take? He p-probably doesn't have the money to replace it,"

Ashton shrugged.

"These people are all washed up drug addicts, Calum, it doesn't matter what we do to them. They do nothing for society, and for all we know, they could be awful people who try to hurt others. We get so many druggie patients who end up being on one to ones because they try to hurt people."

Calum bit his lip. Ashton had a point.

"B-but this is mean, I d-don't..." And then the tears started. Once a small one slipped out the corner of his eye and he tried to brush it away, more came and then he was hiccuping and sobbing into Ashton's chest.

The older man held him closely and looked at his two boyfriends with a shrug.

"Cally," Luke walked over and started gently rubbing his shoulder. "If you just do this, we can go home and have ice cream and relax. You don't have to think about it again, and you're one step closer to being a part of us! Just think of it like that," the blonde encouraged. Calum couldn't breathe, how was he supposed to be so mean to someone for no reason at all? And why?

A few minutes later, the dark haired boy still hadn't calmed down. Ashton was growing concerned that maybe this wasn't the best idea, when Michael sighed, pulling Calum from the comfort of Ashton's arms and squeezed his biceps tight. His eyes blazed as he looked at the younger man.

"They tried the nice guy routine, now you've gotta listen to me, Cal. You can do this, okay? You want to be with us?" Calum nodded, his eyes puffy and red as he blinked up at Michael. "Then do as we say, because otherwise we're going to just leave you here all by yourself, and if you try to tell on us, it'll be your word against ours, and guess who they're going to believe? Three well known hospital employees who have clean records, or a travel nurse who fell off the grid?"

Calum choked his sobs back. Why was Michael being so mean to him now? He glanced pleadingly at Luke and Ashton, but they were ignoring his gaze. He knew he needed to do this, or his entire life was over.

"O-okay, I c-can do it," he nodded. Calum walked away sadly, head hung low.

"That was harsh, Mike," Luke frowned as he walked over to hug Michael.

The man only shrugged. "He needed to hear it. Babying him only works for so long. And it got the results. Let's see what he brings us,"

Calum dried his tears on his shirt sleeve and took a deep breath.

He had to do this if he wanted to stay. He could find something small that no one would miss, and then he could go home and try his best to forget about this.

Was this really what he wanted? He peeked back at the others, seeing Ashton nod encouragingly, Michael staring with his arms crossed over his chest, and Luke with a grin and a thumbs up. They believed in him. They wanted him, accepted him, loved him, and he'd never felt that before.

He could do this for them.

Calum walked around the long way, hoping that he wouldn't encounter a human being there, or at least not to disturb them. He really hoped he wouldn't encounter any people. That would make it easier.

He came upon a seemingly empty nest. It was filthy and smelled like a person who hadn't showered in weeks, but there was nobody sitting there, so he started rifling through stuff.

It was all basically garbage. A lot of it actually was trash: empty wrappers, wadded up napkins and broken containers, but there were some things sort of valuable. There were a few pieces of canned food, a hair brush, some blankets wadded up. With just his first two fingers, Calum carefully picked up the hairbrush. Hopefully Ashton would be satisfied with that. It didn't seem too important, the person might miss it, but it wasn't something like food where they could get hurt without it. He hoped it would work.

He quickly ran back and stood in front of Ashton, holding the treasure out to him. He sniffled, looking at him with wide eyes, praying this was enough.

Ashton sighed, shaking his head, a crestfallen look crossing Calum's delicate features.

He plucked the comb from Calum's grasp.

"What is this?"

"A h-hairbrush."

"And what did I tell you to get?"

Calum inhaled sharply.

"Y-you said to take s-something important," he looked down at the ground, letting the tears fall unchecked. "But maybe the comb is the only—"

"No, Calum." Ashton interrupted. "You broke the rules, you aren't playing the game right. And that means, there needs to be a punishment."

"P-please," Calum begged as Ashton started walking towards him. "D-don't h-hurt me, I d-don't—" Ashton passed him by.

"Shh, Cally, don't cry, baby," Luke comforted, running his hands through Calum's hair. They watched Ashton walk away, and Luke urged Calum to follow. "We're not going to do anything to you, come on, you'll see."

Calum let Luke lead him over to another little nest someone had made up. Calum sighed, thinking they were going to make him go through this pile and find something more important, like the food or clothing to take. He didn't want to do it, how did this help anyone?

They caught up to Ashton who was standing by the pile, arms clasped behind his back, looking at them like a school teacher who was standing at the chalkboard ready to teach a lesson. Maybe he was.

"You didn't do what we said, Calum. I specifically told you it needed to be something important to these people, and what did you bring?" Calum opened his mouth, but nothing came out. "A comb, which is not vital is it?" He shook his head. "Just know, you did this." Ashton slipped something out of his back pocket. All Calum saw was a glimpse of metal catching on the fading sunlight before whatever it was was thrust into a pile of blankets.

Ashton lifted his hand, bringing a crimson knife with it, blood dripping off the blade.

For a few horrible moments, all Calum could do was breathe while his brain tried to connect what had just happened.

Then he heard a low groan of pain and he wobbled. His head felt really light and floaty. Luke and Michael were there to catch him before he fell. They held him under his arms to keep his feet on the ground.

"Y-y-you just..." Calum trailed off. He couldn't breathe. Calum would have dropped to the ground and curled into a ball if he could, but the others held him up. "Let me—" but he couldn't form the words, all he could do was hyperventilate because all his mind could think was that Ashton had just killed someone in front of him. And it was all because of him.

"You need to calm down, Cally," Luke said, struggling to keep him standing. He was dead weight now, his face pale, eyes rimmed red as he took shallow, labored breaths.

"This needed to be done, Calum. Rule one, you must always listen to us. You knew there would be consequences if you didn't follow our commands." Ashton told him, but he was barely listening. It all sounded like roaring in his ears.

He killed someone. It was his fault someone innocent had died.

"Maybe we should take him home," Luke suggested as he and Michael lowered Calum to the ground to continue his meltdown. Luke cradled his head in his lap as they awkwardly sat down together. "He doesn't look so good, I don't know if this was the best idea,"

"I could have told you that," Michael muttered. He hadn't spoken much all day out of protest, because he didn't agree with any of this. It was too much, too soon, but Ashton had his own ideas.

"It's fine, he'll get over it. He's so close, you guys. We're so close to being complete, to being the four of us. Doesn't that sound nice?" he whispered wistfully. The other two reluctantly agreed. "Then let me continue, I swear, it'll work. Just trust me," Ashton had a plan. He needed to break Calum completely, then they could rebuild him just how they wanted; he was so close. It's what worked for Luke, and it would work for Calum as well.

"Okay, I trust you," Luke told him.

"Me too, obviously," Michael rolled his eyes when Ashton grinned happily.

"Right. Let's get him calmed down, then he has one more thing to do and we can leave."

It took quite a bit of coaxing, a few sips of water, and some breathing exercises to get Calum to relax enough to speak to them and listen.

"Cal, we can't leave until you complete your task. I told you to do something, I need you to listen," Ashton told the boy, his heart lurching at the tears in his eyes. Calum truly didn't want to do this, but he knew he had no choice. He needed to listen to them, it would just be easier. He would actually cause less hurt if he obeyed.

"Okay," he stood up with assistance, and walked over to a nearby lump. There didn't seem to be anybody there, thankfully, so he rummaged through and found a mostly intact blanket and two shirts. He hesitated, knowing this was something Ashton would accept, especially since it was going to get cold later in the week. He started to turn when someone screeched, grabbing his wrist.

Calum screamed, slapping the hand and running. He didn't turn around, hoping the person wasn't going to pursue him. He just needed to get back to Luke; Luke would protect him. The person whose home he invaded continued to yell and hiss  after him, but didn't make any moves to go after him.

With sobs wracking his body, Calum handed Ashton the items.

"What a good job, baby! I am so proud of you," Ashton smiled comfortingly when Calum handed him the items. "You finally listened, and now we can go."

He wiped his still bloody knife on the blanket and wadded it up, throwing it in the trash with the clothes. He figured someone would go through the garbage later and find it, maybe they could use it. This was only a test for Calum, Ashton still wanted to help people, so he left it for them. With a smile, he pocketed his knife and started heading back towards the car.

"Wanna go h-home," Calum told Michael as the man reached down to lift him onto his back. He knew Calum probably couldn't make it all the way back to the car on his own. Calum allowed himself to snuggle into his warm embrace.

"We're going home, baby, I promise we'll get there soon," Michael murmured, watching the ground to make sure he didn't trip. He felt bad for Calum, he did. But he knew the sooner he accepted things, the easier it would be.

"N-no, I wanna go t-to my hou-use," he insisted.

"You live with us, Cally, that is your house,"

He shook his head, eyes clenched shut.

"No, no, no, wanna go home,"

Luke and Michael shared a look. They knew he was spiraling, they just hoped Ashton was right and they'd be able to build him back up again.

"Let's just go," Ashton said as Michael buckled him into the car.

***

Well hello there friends. Sorry it's been a while. We're getting somewhere now. Who's got thoughts lol

I haven't been motivated for a while. Not sure what's going on, but I'm gonna try to keep writing !! There's only a few chapters left of this book, so I want to finish it. I have so many ideas for other projects !

~ashtonfortherwin