Monsters' Crew (Crude Hill High 1)

Strong women were rare. For as many who had a backbone and could shoot their husband down, I’d also witnessed those who slowly succumbed to the numbness of pills and drink. This wasn’t an easy life for anyone. It was hard, painful, and not in the least bit fun.

“It’s Vadik’s turn to say what we’re doing,” I said, looking toward the back.

Vadik smirked. No one ever liked what he wanted to do. Where all of us embraced our life, Vadik made sure we had some time where we were actually eighteen-year-olds. He wasn’t weak. No, to cross him got you killed. I’d seen how he fought, and his loyalty was to us four. Not to his father, or our combined fathers, but to us. One day, all four of us would take over, and it would be us running things. Until then, he kept us balanced.

Which was why, an hour later, with burgers and fries, we sat in the movie theater, watching some action film.

Gael would be pissed, but he liked to just relax as well.

River always took the opportunity to sleep. Watching a movie, with the three of us guarding his back, it was roughly the only time he relaxed. The Block family had a lot of enemies. River hadn’t been the same since he was taken for three days when he was sixteen years old. Mistakes had been made, and River paid the price. Half of the scars on his body were from that time. Three days could kill a person. It had messed River up and it meant he spent a great deal of time training. He got cut up really bad, and it was what had created his fascination with knives.

No one would ever be able to get the drop on him. For hours, we’d sit around a junkyard as River threw blade after blade at a target. Not once would he stop until every single knife he threw hit its target.

This made him feel safe.

Vadik nudged my shoulder. “Word is out that some pimps got through security and are patrolling the grounds, waiting for the opportunity to strike. My dad gave me the warning. It’s an immediate kill. Don’t ask questions.” He held up his cell phone, and I looked at the men.

I nodded. When River woke up, he’d be given the update. Gael waved his hand, letting us know he heard.

Taking a bite of my burger, I leaned back, but it wasn’t the movie I watched. No, for some strange reason, I thought about Emily Crane.

My dad had told me to watch my back, to keep an eye out. He wanted to know of any proposed marriages to her, or if she gave even a hint of what her father was like. So far, nothing. I’d known her since kindergarten. Always kept to herself. Like most of us, she had bruises on rare occasions.

There was no reason for us to question where they came from. It was like how one of us could come in with a broken bone. Everyone would know why, but nothing would be done.

To many, we were the scum of civilization. But the truth was we were the fucking kings of the underground. The monsters people were afraid of, and everyone had offspring, even those that people wished just faded into nothing. My father was responsible for a lot of pain and suffering. His name came with a sneer attached, and what was more, he embraced it. As he’d told me, fear is power, and if I didn’t learn to harness it, I was worth nothing to him. What I had to do was prove myself.

All of us had proven what we were capable of.

Each of us had a nickname. I was known as the bogeyman. I had no feelings and I struck where it hurt the most.

I liked my nickname, and I intended to live up to every single letter of it.

Chapter Two

Vadik

I hated school.

It was the single most annoying part of my life. This was pointless. I got the only education I needed at home. I wasn’t stupid. I didn’t need to know history or physical education. Dribbling a ball didn’t appeal to me. Training, math, and English, that was all I needed to take over from my father. That, and the ability to take a beating.

That was one of the first rules I was taught from the moment I turned twelve. No man in the Keller line would ever be a wimp. We had to be able to take a beating, to not break, and so, on weekends, he tortured his son. He made me the man I was today, hungry and desperate for the chance to get the hell out of here.

Yes, this was hell, but I relished it. The pointlessness of it all. The only thing I lived for was when one of these pieces of shit thought they could take us. Then the real fun happened. But learning, giggling girls, I hated it. Real lessons came in power, in fear.