Monsters' Crew (Crude Hill High 1)

Clearly, the bastard deserved it.

“Are we out of here?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’ve seen enough.”

We left Gael’s house and made our way over to Caleb, who sat out on the porch, scrolling through his cell phone. Vadik already sat on the porch steps, his cell phone out as well. They both pocketed them as we approached.

“I think it’s time we paid Drake a visit,” I said, looking at my friends. They were more than friends. As far as I was concerned, we were blood, brothers. One unit. Nothing could come between us.

They were the ones who refused to give up on finding me, and now, they had my loyalty and my love for life. We’d always been like that, but being near to death, it changed you.

I knew I was changed. There was a time I’d been like Gael. Fun-loving. Happy to have a laugh. To do anything that would risk our lives. Street racing, dressing up, and going to illegal gambling games, just to get a kick out of seeing their fear when they realized who they were playing with.

Now, for fun, I liked to watch movies. It probably helped that most nights, I couldn’t sleep, not for long. I spent way too much time sitting in my window, looking out at the night sky, waiting for the time to pass.

Occasionally I’d pass out from exhaustion, but it happened so very little. The only chance I really had to sleep peacefully was when I was surrounded by my boys. They knew, of course they did.

It was why we’d have nights of hanging out. I’d sleep, and they would watch over me.

This was what made our pact unique.

“And what exactly are we going to do?” Caleb asked. “Tell him he can’t be a petulant dick anymore? I think he already knows the score on that front.”

“We can’t have him continuing to be a prick,” Gael said.

“Today he fucked with the cafeteria staff. How much longer will we stand before he tries to take us out? We need to be clear about it,” I said. I hated Drake.

He was an unwanted son. A bastard. We all knew it, and because of that, he had a temperament. It pissed him off that no one wanted him.

Poor baby.

“Let’s go,” Caleb said, getting to his feet. Vadik didn’t say a word. Together, in our pack, we made our way out of Caleb’s yard and headed toward the main town. All it took was a simple text to discover where Drake was.

He’d settled for the diner.

I liked the food at the diner, so this worked for me as I hadn’t eaten since school.

We arrived, finding Drake calmly sitting there and eating his food. There were a couple of guards outside, clearly waiting to delve into any problems.

Caleb took the lead, as he always did, getting us a booth near to where Drake sat.

Picking up the menu, I decided on some burgers and fries. I didn’t want anything else.

The waitress came to take our order. I’d noticed long ago that civilians kept a wide berth, even those who worked for us. I always found it funny how scared a lot of people were of us. They had a right to be. Especially after what I just saw. That was child’s play compared to some of the other torture methods I’d witnessed.

I’d seen my father so angry, he’d threatened to saw a guy apart, piece by piece, keeping him alive as he did. He was so pissed off, he actually went through with it. There had been a lot of blood, a doctor, and well, it had been an experience I didn’t want to repeat any time soon. There would come a time I’d have to do the same thing, or risk someone thinking I was soft.

I shoved my fingers through my hair and glanced at Drake. He shoved at least a forkful of six fries into his mouth, not closing it as he chewed.

At least we had a little more respect.

“What did you guys think of Lauren then? Do you think it’s time to take her out for a test drive?” Gael asked.

“No,” we all said in unison.

“Oh, come on. Seriously, are you guys going to get that fucking pissy about this?”

“She’s fucked half the school. If you want to have an infected dick by the end of the day, be my guest,” Caleb said. “For me, it’s a no.”

“And me,” Vadik said.

“I’m not interested either. I’ve heard what some of the guys have said about her.”

“Yeah, and it means she will know her place. Don’t you want to just have a quick and easy fuck?” Gael asked.

We all stared at him so he got the message. Gael groaned and nodded. “You’re right. I can still have my fun, though, right? Without pissing you guys off?”

His fun would consist of him stringing the poor girl along, allowing her to believe she had a chance with him, when the truth was, she didn’t stand one. She was nothing to him.