CHAPTER 33

Kori staying the night with me wasn't even debated by anyone; she didn't feel comfortable leaving me for my sake. It's an interesting sleeping arrangement with Kori in pain and me not able to touch her without hurting her which left me in the awkward position of being in bed with her but not being able to hold her. I get to sleep at some point and wake up Saturday morning with Kori wrapped around me for a change keeping me on the bed. The majority of the day is me wanting to run out and bring hell with me but Kori keeps me grounded at my house and plays nurse to her requests for most of the day. Her parents give me a reprieve from duties and I get to chat with Liz as a distraction and find out that all communications from her about what happened have gone dark. Apparently Kori spoke with Katy at one point and wanted everything kept quiet.

It's Saturday evening with Kori and I just talking about nonsense when my Dad decides to drop in with his thoughts on what to do about the Moralists.

"Okay you two, you've been resting against Guy's need to go beat up someone so let me explain how to get into the heads of these little shits," Dad starts in.

We sit quietly as he lays the whole thing out for how everything can go down, Kori doesn't like the idea of fear until Dad explains a 'family/pack' mentality. We go over all the bases and Dad lets me in on the most difficult part of the whole thing for me, letting others do the work.

"Okay I'm not good with this," I say with a little anger," You don't want me to go on the offense at all, I have to trust a giant teddy bear and June to wage a freaking war."

"Boy everyone has learned that you can break most people your age in a fight. You need to make them fear everyone near you, you let the alternative message that you're bringing be heard," Dad explains trying to placate me," Heather recruited by playing on people's fear of being different, you give them freedom and they'll flock."

I don't fully understand what he's trying to sell me on but it's sounding more like a screwed up plan but Kori seems to be interested and I let the two of them discuss some of the how's and when's as I sit and watch them plot, after Dad leaves I try to speak with Kori about Dad's ideas.

"Baby I want them badly but this seems a little too goofy, I just let everyone else go out and attack but I stay back and do nothing," I say frustrated.

"No honey, we get them to finally attack you then you tear them up. But everyone in this group needs to pull weight," Kori says, calming me down.

"Well if this is what you want then I'll do it but baby it'll be much simpler just to let me do what I seem to do best and go all out on revenge," I say sitting down with her on the bed.

"Yeah well when you do that I seem to only see the effects after it happens and I want to see the fear and watch them run," Kori tells me with a little bitterness in her voice.

While it occurred to me that she might want to get somewhat involved, everything has been about me in the past up until now with Heather deciding to isolate me from my friends. Now it's Kori who had to deal with the attack and where I would want blood in her place she wants something different. I relent with her request with the planning but I come back to one problem, Ben.

"Where was Ben," I finally ask," Ben didn't show up to group and you said you were with him so where the fuck was he when you got dragged off?"

"I don't know where he was but it'll take me about a minute to find out tomorrow," Kori says with a little grim determination," We're calling everyone together at the stone field, nobody is talking about what happened and as far as anyone knows you and I have been quiet for a day."

I try to sleep that night but I'm not relaxing at all and having my girl next to me but I can't really touch her is straining me more than I can deal with. I don't know when I fell asleep but I woke up alone and after stumbling out of my bedroom found the rest of the family along with Mary and Carl sitting around eating breakfast.

"Hey sleepy, it's almost noon," Katy says trying to cheer me up.

"Yay, I wasted time sleeping," I mock happiness as I get some food.

"He's not a cheerful person in the morning," Mary says, trying to lighten my mood.

"Boy has a mindset for something else honey," Carl says, explaining my sour mood.

I get fed up and find that while I slept Katy and Kori got messages sent out to everyone including Ben to meet at the stone field. Everyone responded that they would be there and apparently my sleepy ass has kept us from getting there first. I throw on clothes from yesterday and my coat before leading the way on my bike with Kori and Katy following in the car. Arriving at the field is an interesting thing for me considering all that has happened here the past year and a few days. Everyone is assembled and expectant as I get off my bike while Kori and Katy sit in the car and wait while I address everyone.

"I know that we've been pushing the 'moral' majority around a bit and it's been fun up until Friday. Something happened and I've decided that I'm done playing games with these shit bags," I start in getting nods," Now while most everyone here has been down this road with me save for a few of you we have a problem, I don't think anyone here has the stomach to do what comes next."

"What the fuck are you talking about," Natsuko asks a little shocked.

"We do what you need us to do so that you can get a hold of people involved and beat the shit out of them," Jun adds, trying to justify his position.

"No you all need to fucking step the hell up and do some damage for a change," I say loud enough to quiet the back talk," Every time something happens you all look to me well with this it's going to be I point you smash."

"I'm not much of a fighter Guy," Devin says a little sheepishly.

"Bullshit Devin, you are a fucking giant. You don't flock to me because I stood up once and made enough noise that people backed off. You stay because we're a family of fucking monsters," I raise my voice on the last word," They may see me but they run from us and now it's time you all follow my lead."

"He's right, we've made him our crutch," Katy says getting out of the car," the way things stand either you are with this family to the end or you're out. That doesn't mean you come back when it's over either. Personally I'm in after Friday."

"What happened Friday," Ben asks, confused.

"Ah Benny boy, I was wondering when you'd chime in," I say, going from angry motivational to sinister," where the hell were you during final class?"

"I was at the glee club with Kori, I got distracted and when I looked for her she was gone," Ben says matter of factly.

"Ben I saw you leave then a couple of guys came and told me that you were being backed into a corner and when I got to the parking lot to find you, you weren't there," Kori says stepping in front of me," Now why did you leave me to Heather's people?"

"I didn't, I was talking to a girl and she wanted to talk in private," Ben says on the defense," we chatted and when I came back to the club you were gone."

"So some random girl comes around and you just walk off and then conveniently Kori gets dragged out here by five guys and stripped down to her panties before they take belts to her back, legs and stomach," I say covering the distance between Ben and I.