The Curse of Chindi Springs

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Part V

Chapter 35

Joseph wasn't sure how long he was in the small room with the mirror, but he figured it couldn't have been too long. However, even as he heard the lock on the door click, he was sure whatever was in store was not going to be good.

He turned only to see the large black bartender motioning him to follow with a movement of a forefinger. When he didn't instantly comply, the man's eyes narrowed and his brow crinkled. Figuring he really didn't have a choice and making the huge guy mad was a very bad idea, he let out a long breath and exited the room.

The second he was out, the bartender clamped an extremely strong hand on the back of his neck, "Joey, let me give you a word of advice. When you are handed over to someone, you do what they want when they want, with no fucking hesitation. Any other action will not make life any better for you. Nothing anyone wants to do is going to be stopped by you acting like a spoiled little shit. On the other hand, you screw around, even for a few seconds, things will be worse. You haven't been here long enough for me to whoop your ass, but you ever fucking pull shit like you just did again, I'll strip your ass down and let anyone in my bar who wants to take a shot at your bare ass with whatever they damned well please! Understood, boy?"

Joseph got wide eyes, "Uh huh!"

"No… boy, I expect a real answer and it damned well better end with master, sir, or whatever the fuck Bruce told you to say to those he hands you off to!"

Feeling the grip on the back of his neck getting a great deal harder he yelped out, "Yes, sir!"

"Yes, sir, what? Full answer boy!" the back man demanded even as he let up on his grip a little.

"Yes, sir, I'll do what I am told by others right away, sir!"

"Better, but keep in mind the second Bruce tells you to go with someone you belong to whoever it is. Right now, I'm it and you will do what I say, how I say, when I say it. You will not fight me in any way, or when you leave here, your ass will be as red as a stop sign!"

the bartender applied a little more pressure on the back of Joseph's neck again as he turned a corner used his other hand to pull open a door. He kept up his grip as a warning even as the boy's eyes took in the contents of the room.

Joseph cringed and let out a little hiss of pain as the pressure on the back of his neck built up again. Seeing what was beyond the open door would have certainly caused him to try to run had the hand not been there, however. For in the middle of the room, a nude boy of about fifteen who was both very thin and full of bruises and welts was setting up stocks. Only instead of the head hole being at standing level it was at kneeling level. The hand holes were way out away from the head and slanted back so wrists could be stuck through while the arms were straight out to the side. In addition there was a pedestal to kneel on and a pair of large hand cranks off to the left side of the contraption. The first controlled the height of the pedestal, the second was set to raise or lower the whole set of stocks. Finally the whole thing was on small rubber wheels

While this was terrifying to Joseph, seeing all sorts of other large and small devices along the walls, and many implements handing on every wall all but caused his knees to buckle. Most of the items he could not identify, but those he could included whips, wires with large clips on them, over two score of fake dicks of all sizes, canes, masks of all types, blocks of wood with spikes on them, collars of all sizes including some with metal studs on the inside, and even a spiked metal cage that would force whoever was in it to stand almost perfectly still unless they wanted to have the spines sticking them.

He even noticed what looked to be a rocking horse without a head hooked to a mechanical base plate, but there were places to lock feet along the rockers and rings to secure wrists all along the sides. Even more disturbing was there saddles on the wall, each with things that would make them all but unbearable to sit on. This included one with metal studs, one with what appeared to be super coarse sandpaper all over it, two with screws on them and rows of fake dicks that could be screwed in, one was covered in metal and had wires hanging down of it, two others were really shiny, one black the other metallic. Both where slick looking. He bet, just by looking, they were built to do something bad but he couldn't figure out what. The last one was by far the scariest, since it was very deep and had large lips at the front and the back with rows of screws pointing inward on both the front and back were items could be screwed in. He didn't even want to guess what those things were, but whoever was in the saddle would have to fight to stay in the middle even as horse rocked, or whatever was pointing at them would poke into their front and back including their groin and butt areas.

The bartender felt Joseph start to shake and the boy's knees giving out. To this end, he wrapped his free arm around Joseph and all but carried him over to the short stocks. "Boy, unless you want to know what some of the other things in this room do, you will kneel on the metal plate, stick your head through, and allow Six to lock your head in place. You will then let him secure your hands. Any fighting… Well, boy, look around. I am sure you can figure out nothing good will come of any kind of resistance."

"Please, sir, no…"

"Boy, there will be no more speaking. None. You will do as you are told or…" The guy reached out toward a whip.

Joseph shook his head as best as he could, which wasn't much since the hand on the back of his neck was tightening again. The realization of him having no choice and any attempt to get out of it would be super bad, Joseph allowed himself to be taken over to the stocks and he knelt, stuck his head though the opening, and let the teen lower the metal beam over his head.

It was at this point he noticed the hole was lined with some kind of cloth, but there was plenty of room to move his head around. From the moment his head was secured, all he could see was the far double doors and some of the nasty implements lining the walls. It was at this point he realized one of the shelves right in front of him had at least fifty gags on it. The bad thing was many were not just ball gags like Bruce had used on him. Some had dicks, others were metal, others were designed to put the whole head in a cage, others looked like a horse bits, and one even had a mouth opener like the one his dentist used when he had a back tooth worked on last year, only this one and long threaded screws with wing nuts to where once it was in, someone could turn the screws and force the mouth open very wide, probably wide enough to do horrible damage.

Seeing this, he didn't even try to fight when he felt the teen grab his hands and secure them in the holes. He then quickly found the contraption he was in had a few more uncomfortable surprises. First the boy locking him used a small crank on the top of each side to force Joseph's arms out to where they were all but straight out, like he was secured on a cross. Next the boy stepped on a foot peddle, inflating the cloth inside the holes of the hands to where they were very tight. Finally, he did the same to the pad in the neck with another foot peddle, but as soon as the padding inflated to the point it was cutting off air and causing Joseph to struggle, he deflated it enough to allow for full breathing, but restricting more than some basic side to side movement.

The man moved around to the front and looked down so he could check Joseph's breathing and both hands. With an angry look, the bartender moved to a wall, grabbed a long flexible stick and seconds later Joseph heard a swoosh followed by a loud crack and cry of pain. This was followed by what had to have been at least a dozen more. They stopped soon after the kid being beaten broke down into sobs

Joseph felt the pad around his neck deflate a little more then saw black guy move over to a sink, turn on the water and wash off the long stick. As he did so some red came off. Joseph's eyes went wide and he shook with terror as he realized it was blood. Hearing sobbing behind him, Joseph watched half expecting the man to move up and start hitting him with it while he was helplessly secured, but instead the guy ran some soap over the stick before hanging it back up on the wall. Even as he dried his hands the man moved right up in front of Joseph, "Six was not supposed to make it so tight it put a mark on your neck and was told to allow for decent neck movement. He has been disciplined. But I will make it up to you as well. I will get you something you want to drink and credit Bruce fifty once you are done. Now remember, there will be no talking unless you want to enjoy some of these other toys…" Seeing Joseph shake his head the bartender snickered, "Didn't think so. Now I am going to wheel you out and I will talk to those already waiting. Listen, since what I say will not only tell then what the rules are, but also what is expected of you.

"You do good and I will give you a chance to recover then take you out so you can eat with your new dad. Do bad… well, as you can tell, this room has punishments for all infractions.

The man then spun the whole contraption around and pulled it out through a double set of doors. This gave Joseph a clear view of the nude teen. The boy was on the floor with long lightly bleeding stripes on his chest, upper front legs, and a nasty looking one across the right side of his face. Tears rolled down the boy's cheeks even as he held onto his right side like his hip was badly hurting.

Seconds later the spring loaded doors closed and he found himself spun back around and moved to the middle of room that reminded him of a sauna. There were wooden benches on both sides with a floor drain. Being spun gave him a full view despite being locked in with a very limited field of vision. He found the room was probably a sauna since there were vents on the sides, gloomy lighting, and men wearing towels. However there was one oddity. A pair of bright lights were shining down on a spot in the middle of the room where he was being parked. Once he was in the middle of the bright light, the wheels on the stocks were locked into place. It was then he saw the looks on the faces of the five men. They were eyeing him with anticipation. All were smiling and three of the five were actively rubbing their crotches.

At this point Joseph guessed what was going to happen. He started to shake his head only to get a hard tap in the middle of back of his head. "Not a word boy, not a word. Listen, cause this is as much for you as for them."

The bartender pushed and pulled on the stocks, making sure it was indeed secure before moving to where everyone in the room could see him. "OK, you five won bidding. Many of you may have been interested enough in this one to know his name is Joseph, but Bruce only wants you to call him Joey should you want to call him anything. He is not allowed to speak, but must obey you.

"This is a face fuck only, guys. Bruce has assured me he knows how to not use teeth so you don't have to use a guard if you don't want to. Should he fuck up and bite you or even nip you, Bruce will hand him over for a full week. If he does serious damage, he will be given to you. However, I really don't think it will be a problem. Joey can handle Bruce, so I'm sure he can figure out how to take you all, even you Royce. Keep in mind this is a drinking and tasting training session, so you are expected to cum to where he can taste some of it and he is expected to drink it all. It is both his and your duty to make sure not a drop goes anywhere else but down the inside Joey's cute little white neck. You can leave no more than light red marks, but those ears sure look like they would make nice handles if you want to use them. Bruce says he is getting good at ball washing, so if you want some nut licking, fine. However, I'd like to get him out of here within the next hour, so let's keep ball washing to a couple of minutes before feeding him your cocks.

"Keep in mind he is too new to know many of the tricks you are used to others doing. This being said, once you are in, you must allow him time to breath, and it is his better interest to get you off as fast as he can by adding some tongue action. If you want something in particular, you tell him and he will do it unless he wants to spend some time with me in the back room. As for positioning, I will raise and lower him, angle him up and down as you request, but you all know it pisses me off if you can't quickly find a good setting for you."

This got some snickers and some nods from the five men.

"Sonny, you placed highest bid, so where do you want in line"

"First! I want a fresh tongue and lips!" He moved up and dropped the towel showing he wasn't wearing anything under it and was already rock hard with anticipation. "No need for ball washing, they'll be hanging up against those soft lips soon enough!"

There was nothing Joseph could do but open up the moment the man's penis touched his lips. He helplessly felt the man shove in with no real warning, burying the cock into the back of his mouth in one quick shot. He gagged for a second, only to feel the man pull out a little then ram forward again. Within seconds the man was methodically pumping his face. The man's balls bounced against his chin with each deep thrust.

"Come on you little fucker! Move that sweet little tongue around my shaft!"

In less than a minute Joseph had tears rolling off the corners of his eyes as the man become more forceful. The only good thing, if one could say anything was good about this, was the guy was nowhere near the length or girth of Bruce, so while bad and rough, his mouth was getting used to accepting bigger intruders.

After only three minutes the man slowed and pulled partially out, "Not long now, you little cock monster. Lick around the head! Oh yeah!" The man's breath picked up some before he shot a copious amount into the roof of Joseph's mouth. Seeing the boy shudder he pulled on the boy's hair hard enough to hear a whimper, "I stay in until you swallow and lick me clean, you ungrateful little fuck!"

The man looked over to black man with a great degree of deference, "Can I lick those salty tears at least?"

"Yeah, no prob, there. Just don't go sticking your tongue in his eye like I hear you tend to do. He ain't a full rental, least not yet."

Joseph endured his face getting licked, then washed thoroughly before the next man moved up. The stocks were raised and he was tilted back further to give the guy a good look at the Joseph's face even as he stuck his crotch right into the boy's face. This time it was two minutes of ball licking followed by five minutes of the guy talking him through how he liked his dick sucked before the guy unloaded in him. His jaw was already starting to ache and he had three more men to go.

Guy number there was a little dude with a small dick, but was a vicious face fucker. He demanded Joseph take the cock and balls in his mouth and lick them all for a few minutes before he pulled out, grabbed Joseph's ears and used them as handles for several minutes. This left the roof and back of Joseph's mouth feeling raw.

The fourth man, a mixed raced guy by the name of Royce, had a massive cock and gigantic hairy balls, and the guy was in no hurry. Making matters worse, the guy had to pull back several times so Joseph could breath since the man's cock moved all the way into his neck and blocked airflow. Each time the guy pulled back he seemed to soften some. Getting him to a climax left Joseph's jaw badly hurting, his tongue sore, and his mouth dry until the guy finally let loose. This was by far the largest load of cum Joseph had to deal with and definitely the bitterest as well. The whole of Joseph's mouth was filled with cock and cum and some went down the wrong way causing him to choke. This in turn caused some to shoot out of his nose.

All those in the room laughed uproariously at this, even as Royce used his fingers to wipe the creamy dribbles coming out of Joseph's nose then shove it all under the boy's lips.

Royce started laughing even harder as the boy in front of him quivered and shook. He shoved all the way in and shot the last couple of squirts straight down the kid's neck and left it there until Joseph's face was a bright red, bordering on turning blue. He then pulled back and clamped his hand over Joseph's mouth. "Drink up boy!" he whispered before sticking his tongue deep into Joseph's ear. He pulled back and whispered again, "Swallow or so help me I'll bite your ear right off. To this end he leaned in and put his mouth totally over the ear and nibbled. It didn't take long to feel the boy force a couple of swallows.

"Nice, now lick it clean like the cock lover you are!"

Joseph sucked in as much air as he could as he saw the huge hunk of man meat angling in toward his mouth. He spent at least two more minutes on it before the bartender finally stepped in. Royce pulled out, leaned forward and tongued Joseph's other ear. "Oh, Joey, how I want more of you. I bet you're going to be a world class cock connoisseur and bed boy."

The last person in line, a mean and strong looking man with rough calloused hands, either took some pity on the exhausted boy in front of him or simply liked a nice long and simple blowjob. He demanded little other than Joseph pay particular attention to the uncut cockhead. The taste was nasty, and Joseph was pretty sure the guy didn't keep the area under the foreskin clean, but after enduring the first four, running the tip of his tongue up and under the foreskin was almost a relief. The other thing was the grossness of the unclean cock head meant the taste of the cum at least took out the disgusting flavor Joseph had been dealing with. He cringed a little as he swallowed, but otherwise was just thankful there was no one else in line while wondering how much more of this he could take. He started to cry softly.

By the time the room emptied and the bartender returned Joseph's mind was in a kind of fog as it fought to understand how he had ended up where he was. It took a over a minute to realize the guy had unlocked the wheels and pushed him back into the storage room. Even then he couldn't really focus on anything.

The guy eyed Joseph with some disgust, but said nothing as he observed the kid. After a few minutes he exited the room, made a quick phone call and returned. When he did his overall demeanor was nowhere near as mean. He ruffled Joey's hair and wiped some snot running out of the boy's nose. "Joey, for a new boy, you did pretty good, so I'm going to go over a few things then unlock you and take you to the bathroom. I'll give you a toothbrush, paste, wash towel, and soap.

"But before I do, I want to remind you of why you were brought in here to begin with and what is expected even as you regain some composure."

Seeing the boy looking at him with terror in his eyes, but still trying to focus on him, the man continued. "Joey, you did great, but now you need to keep it all down." The man held up two pink tablets. "I want you to take these."

Seeing concern and even more confusion, he stroked Joey's hair. No trick here, Joey. It'll help calm your stomach. But you can't chew. It'll make your tongue black and will let Bruce know I bent the rules a little to help. The bartender put a glass of water with a straw under Joey's chin and moved the straw so the distraught boy could take a drink. "There you go. Now open up and swallow these. It'll only take a few minutes before they start to work."

Joey winced as the large flat tablets went down his throat, but the guy in front of him held up the water again, allowing him to drink as much as he wanted. This helped a great deal. Finally, even though he was still crying, he nodded and managed to get out, "Thank you. Can I get out now?"

"You're welcome, but next time remember to say sir. I'll let it slide this time. If you calm down a bit more, I'll even get you a shake with your burger. That'll help your throat and stomach. But I am going to have to leave you were you are at for a bit longer. Once you are calmed down some more you need to tell me why you are here."

"Cause dad crashed the plane…"

The bartender snickered, "No, Joey, why you are in this room." Seeing a new round of confusion, the man took a few calming breaths of his own so he could keep his voice friendly even as he really wanted to take a strap to the spoiled little shit in front of him. But part of initial training was to always keep a kid off guard. "Joey, Bruce had you do this to learn to handle man milk, and as part of getting used to it, is swallowing every drop, keeping it down, and learning to like the flavor. Now, I really want to be able to take you out there and tell Bruce how good of a job you did, but to do so you have to follow through on your end." His voice took on an angry edge as he snarled, "So why are you here, Joey. Say it!"

The quick change from a nice to a mean voice further baffled and scared Joey. All the sudden he was expecting to get hit or have to suck off another man or something bad. Out of desperation he whined, "To drink sperm!"

"How are you supposed to talk to me?" The bartender roared while raising a hand. "Say it again like you are supposed to you little shit!"

Seeing the huge back hand go up, new tears rolled out of Joey's eyes, "To drink sperm, sir! I'm here to drink sperm, sir!"

The hand dropped out of sight while the other wiped at Joy's tears and then ran softly through his hair. "Much better, Joey. But you also have to keep the man milk down and not show a nasty face. It is your duty to learn to not only accept it but to like it. Now tell me again why you are here."

Joey broke down again as the thought of ever liking his mouth filled with cum revolted him, "I'm here to drink sperm, keep it down and… and… not make faces… I have to pretend to like it, sir."

"Much better, but eventually you need to get past pretend! However, I'll give it to you since it will clearly take you some time to enjoy a good mouthful of cock and man-seed. Now one last thing, Joey. When you're in the bathroom, you'll be on camera. So if you puke, I'll be forced to do something neither of us want to happen. Understand?"

"Uh huh, um, sir." Joey stated as he did his best to suck in air and calm. This was made easier since the man continued to wipe tears and snot off his face while stroking his sweat drenched hair.

"So tell me what you need to do."

"Not… not up-chuck, sir"

"Very good. What will happen if you do?"

"I… I don't know… Please let me out of this… sir!"

"Soon, kiddo, but you need to totally calm first. You also need to show me you are able to understand me and respond."

"I… I am… sir, please, I'll be good. I'll be a good boy. Let me out, sir."

The man had to turn his head to prevent Joey from seeing him roll his eyes. Hearing a fourteen-year-old say he will be a good boy was almost funny. That was normally a line he got out of a kid several years younger, and it took way more effort. This kid was totally spoiled, sheltered, and spineless. However, it was not his problem. On the other hand he decided he needed to change his view on Joey. He was not really speaking to a teenager. Instead he need to talk to him as if he were nine or ten. "I know you want to be a good boy, Joey, but I'm not really convinced you know what being good means now that you have a new dad. So I am going to take you through this and you will repeat the basics back to me. If you do, I'll get you out of this nasty contraption and if you want or need, will even help get you cleaned up. Actually, I think it would be good if you asked me to help you clean up. now, drink some more water and tell me when you are ready to really listen."

Joseph accepted the straw, took a few big drinks, closed his eyes and took several deep breaths before opening his eyes. When he did, they looked a great deal clearer and focused than they had been only a couple of minutes earlier. "I'm ready… um, sir…"

The man once again ruffled Joseph's hair. "There is the boy I was looking for. Nice to have you fully back. Now I know it ain't easy, but relax. Let your arms hand loose and turn your head a little and rest the side of your neck on the inflated pad while I talk to you."

Once the bartender was certain Joseph was at least trying to follow his commands, he cleaned the boy's face again then stated talking. "Joey, you did pretty decent for a new boy. You really did. But now comes the rest of the challenge. You need to understand I can't let you out of the bar if you barf. From now until you are back in your home with your new dad, you have to fight any rogue urge. I've done this shit long enough to know the desire to throw-up will come from one of three places. The first is you tummy." The man moved around and rubbed Joseph's stomach and chest as he continued to speak.

"It's the reason I gave you the tablets. It should have already calmed some. Taking in all those cocks and drinking what came out is not something you or your body is used to. What you just did is even harder, since you took way more in than a single shot from your new dad. Getting some food you are familiar with will also help. And I know it's not what you want and your throat hurts like all fucking hell, but you need to eat the burger I will get for you.

"Second your throat has got to be super sore. Aggravation to it, even eating, may cause you to lose what you just took in simply because of pain." The man walked around and lightly stroked the exposed area of Joseph's neck. It'll hurt, but lightly rubbing it will help calm you more and the shake I'm going to make sure you get will do wonders. If you need a second one, fine, but drink them slow."

Finally the guy started running his hands though Joseph's hair. "The hardest part might be what's in this head of yours, though. YOU know what you took in. YOUR brain is telling you it is nasty, disgusting, or whatever… Is there anything you old mom or dad made you eat you absolutely hated?"

"Uh, huh," Joseph managed to croak out even as he felt a desire to expel his stomach, but forced it back down just in time. "tripe. Dad likes tripe soup… It's so gross, sir."

"And you learned to eat it, not make faces, and keep it down?"

"Yeah… If not I'd get beat… or Lex would… Then dad would make me eat another bowl, or even two, sir."

"This is pretty much the same thing. Think of sucking cock and taking what comes out as nothing more than being handed a bowl tripe soup. You put it in your mouth and eat it because your new dad expects you to. You force yourself not to give nasty looks and keep it down so more bad things don't happen. Eventually you can learn to like it. Every time tell yourself this is better than tripe soup, it will, over time, be better because you tell yourself it is.

"Just remember, if you puke at any time between now and when you are back home, Bruce will be just like your old dad with tripe soup. He'll make me strap your ass right back in here and offer your mouth to another group of men and then, since he will blame me for not teaching you a good lesson, he'll probably make you take me. As you consider this, let me tell you something many kids in this nasty-ass town already know. My shit makes Royce's mixed-race prick look like a fucking kiddy thumb, so if you don't want to know what taking real black cock is all about, you have to figure a way to keep it all down."

"I will, sir, promise."

"And you want me to help you clean up, right?"

The tone told Joseph he needed to agree even though he didn't want to. "Yes, sir. Thank you sir."

Chapter 36

The check-in followed by an hour out on the field had been extremely hot, with the thermometer handing next to the dugout showing it was 104 [40°C] in the shade. Steven had the kids clean up in the bathroom under his and Holden's watchful eye before loading them back on the bus. Greg patted each boy on the back while handing each a large cool, but not cold, sports drink.

Ray stood as the boy found seats and enjoyed the air-conditioning. "Boys, I've convinced Coach Greg to drive this beast around a while and let you all get some more rest. This will let you cool down. We have more water and sports drinks in the coolers in the back. Take what you want, but DO NOT suck on the ice. This will also be the last chance for you all to openly talk until we are on the bus going back. The only other safe places are in hotel rooms and it best be real soft." Seeing all the kids nod, he smiled.

Steven then stood, "Guys, we play the Firestorm first game." Seeing many head drop and a few groans, he nodded. "None of us are expecting much out of this game, guys, so don't sweat it. On the other hand, since we pretty much know they are going to pound us, I'd like to move things around a little and Lex, you will get a lot of field time, so we can see what you can do. "Tomorrow is a whole different story. We got the Bandits and the Falcons. We have come close to both this year, so our best chance of a win is against one of them. Also, because we know they will be scouting us tonight, Brand, I am going to move you over to left field and not let you pitch. This will keep their focus off you. As part of that, don't show too much with your bat. A hit or two fine, and I am in no way telling you to get an out. Just don't show those watching everything."

Alex spoke up with confusion, "You want us to throw the game, coach?"

"No, I want you all to play your best, but the Firestorm is by far the best team we play, and they come from a community with far more kids. This means their tournament team pulls all-stars from five or six teams while we are both our league and the all-star team. Lex, I'm sure the kids will talk you though how nasty good a team you will be facing tonight."

As soon as he was sure Steve was done talking, Keith spoke up, "The Firestorm tournament team normally has us ten run ruled by the second or third inning, but it doesn't come into play until after we bat in the fourth. By then we are buried. We aren't the only ones, either. Last tournament, they ten run ruled ever team except one, and beat them 11 to 2."

Alex frowned deeply "So let's try not to let them up by ten. Make them work for it."

Stephen spoke up with a snicker, "If we manage to keep it under ten the coaches will probably even give us some extra cash, but Lex, don't count on it."

"I already am, and if the rest of you do as well, we go in with a better chance than expecting to get killed." Alex looked around and spoke loud enough to be heard by all those on the bus. "Come on, guys, this is stupid. We can't let what happens to us at home make us quit before we even take the first pitch."

Ray poked his head up, "Lex has a point boys. So Lex, you up for a challenge?"

"Sure."

"Good. We'll start you and keep you in all game tonight. But you're playing time for the rest of the games will be determined by how well you do against the best team we're going to face."

"Then I want shortstop since my brother is going to the outfield. This way I get plenty of chances to make plays and to bat right in front of after my brother so I can either try to score him or score from him."

Steven stood, "Pretty damned cocky and sure of yourself, Lex, especially after not really showing us much during our hour out on the field."

Alex's eyes narrowed, "I didn't get much of a chance standing out in center field, and only got to bat once. I also know Coach Greg turned up the heat on me after I fouled the first one off, and he tossed two of those sliders or whatever to get me out quick."

"And if you play like shit?" Steven asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What are we in some kind of bargaining thing or something?"

"We might be, depends on you."

Alex let out a long breath, "From what I can tell it really doesn't' matter what say and I can't really offer nothing, since you can do whatever you want to me."

"No, not true," Ray spoke as he stood up. "We have to stay within the confines of what Buck sets and we don't do much to any of you all until the tournament is over. However… If you are willing to forgo the normal protections we give you kids, you could offer us something. We still have to stay within the confines of what Buck will allow, but …"

"But I'll be with my current dad when we aren't playing, right?"

"Nope." Steven stated. "You are under the contract and so is Buck. You have to be with the team, or at least the coaches until the games are done. This means there is about a nine hour gap you will be with us between morning and evening games tomorrow."

Ray nodded, "Coach Steve is right, Lex. So, are you willing to bet some of those nine hours between games against you playing well when you have already been told this is the best team we will face?"

Stephen shook his head, "Lex, don't. You don't know what Buck is going to do with you and Keith tonight and we normally have the time off between games to play or rest, mostly we rest."

Keith quickly agreed, "Buck may take me between games, but it sounds like you can just be with the team. Deals never turn out good for us, either."

Alex shot Stephen and Keith a nasty glare, which caused the boys to hold up both hand and sit. Alex then took a deep breath while forcing himself to look a lot less scared than he felt. But maybe he could do something for Brandon after all. This might be his only chance to find out so he couldn't back down no matter how many butterflies he felt in his stomach, "How about a real deal where you three coaches all win a little no matter what and if I make at least five bucks tonight you have to do something I want. If we don't get ten runned because of me and Brand doing good, I get two things. If not, I get nothing and you get extra."

Greg held up a hand and spoke into the bus speaker, "hold up, guys, I want to be part of this conversation." A couple of minutes later he found a parking lot to turn into, pulled to a stop and stood. He moved to stand behind Steve and Ray while shooting a stern look at Alex. "You really are pushing your luck, Lex."

"Hey, Coach, I'm trying to deal. If I'm not allowed to…"

"Oh, you are very much allowed to," Greg snorted with a smirk, "But I'm also betting this has something to do with Brand, and you know you can't try to help him."

"The contract doesn't say I can't try to make a deal with you to help him, Coach. It says I have to do what my current dad says and Brand has to do what you want. I'll do what I'm told, but if I can really offer a deal…"

Ray and Steve both turned to look at Greg. After a few seconds Greg grinned and held up a digital voice recorder, "OK, Lex, let's hear this offer, and I am getting it on voice so Buck knows this was not our idea. Also, just so you know, we can still say no."

"Then I did what I could and if you tell me to drop it, I will."

"OK, let's hear it."

Even as he formulated the basic idea in his head into words he knew it was going to be bad for him, but he was used to bad things happening and if he could protect his brother just a little… He gulped as he saw the eyes of the three men burning into him but managed to speak without sounding too scared. "I'm not sure what you can and can't do to me, but if you agree I'll go with each of you for one hour tomorrow for whatever my current dad says you can do, no matter what. If I get at least five dollars per the rules Coach Greg told us about, then I only have to spend one hour with each of you and you leave Brand alone tonight. He can watch or whatever, and he'll follow all your rules, but you have leave him alone and let him sleep for at least eight hours. No touching. If we don't get by ten runned than you don't touch him again tomorrow night and let him sleep."

"And if you don't get five bucks tonight?" Greg asked even as Steve's eyes narrowed.

"Then you each get two hours tomorrow and split time even between the games Sunday for the whole time we don't play. If we don't have a second game you get me for as long as my current dad will let you. During the time you have me, I'll do whatever you want."

"And if you end up in the hole, owning me money?" Greg asked.

Alex shrugged, "Um, I guess you get to have me each for an hour while the rest are searching for rocks?"

While the three men turned to discuss the offer, Brandon looked up at his brother with wide eyes and whispered in Russian, "Lex, no, Coach Steve will hurt you as bad as he can cause I am staying with him and he is way meaner than Coach Greg."

"Brand, I don't want you hurt when I might be able to stop some of it. He can already do whatever he is going to do anyway. We can't stop it. The offer really will help the whole team, cause if I do play bad, they will be busy with me tomorrow and the next day and be more likely not to do anything to the rest of you. If I do decent, then you get the nights off."

A couple of uneasy minutes, including a quick phone call to who Alex guessed was Buck, Steve gave a reluctant nod while Ray patted him on the back. The three men all turned and looked right at Alex, causing many of the other boys to cringe.

Greg spoke with a smirk, "Lex, you make a very tempting offer, and Buck is all in on this and has set boundaries, but we want to tweak things a little."

Alex signed, not likeing the looks in the men's eyes. In particular Steve's told him the man's thoughts were prety dark. Hover, he could still back out since they were changing what he put out. "I'm listening, but not agreeing yet."

Greg let out a little chuckle, "You're a tough little bastard, I'll give you that. So here is the counter offer. You earn six dollars, we get you for an hour each between games tomorrow and and hour each on Sunday regardless of if we have a second game, so two hours each and you will do everything without fighting us, and we'll have Buck sit with all of us and tell us what we can't do, so you can hear it too. You agree and Brand gets sleep and doesn't get touched by anyone tonight and nothing until tomorrow night. We play all six innings without being hammered by ten runs or more than he stays untouched until Sunday night. If we win a single game, he stays untouched until we get back, and we'll even give him Monday night off and a free day to play all day Tuesday until after practice is over. Back has also agreed to give you the day on Tuesday since he needs to tend to the brewery, so youKeith and Brand can play from seven in the morning until practice, but you need to stay hyudrated and we'll work out someone to keep control of you and where you can go. Brand still has all our rules, and will have to watch and learn a few things as Coach Steve enjoys Scott and probably one of the others for a few hours before he gets to sleep for eight hours.

"However, if you don't get six dollars from your play tonight, then we each get you two hours tomorrow, equal split on Sunday for the duration of the break, and an hour on the bus with each of us at the geo beds. Brand still gets eight hours sleep each night, but can be touched or whatever else Coach Steve wants out of him outside of the eight hours."

"And if I happen to end up owing you?"

Steve took over, "Then you pick one of the others on team and you both spend the time with us Tomorrow and Sunday. AND…" A mean looking grin crossed the man's lips "On Monday you will spend an hour with each of us and the teammate with you will be Brand."

Alex turned pale

At the same time 'Hector' spoke to Brandon

Brandon looked up and spoke softly in Russian again, "Hector says to agree, but make sure they aren't going to set us up to lose big…"

Alex looked down at his brother and spoke in Russian with a quivering voice, "But they may make me hurt you…"

"He says they already can and if you back out they are probably going to take you for a few hours anyway, since you offered. He also says never to do this again."

Alex blinked back some tears and looked at the three men, all of whom had smirks.

He swallowed hard a few times and even grabbed what was left of his sports drink, "No, not during the geode hunt. You can't take time away from what my brother wants to do the most… But…" He couldn't help himself. He whimpered slightly as he added, "If I end up owing money, I'll do what you want, even with Brand, but I'm not going to hit him or really hurt him. No way. Just kill me if you think I ever would! And again, not during the geode hunt, and only for one hour each."

Hearing Brandon warn about them not throwing the game again he quickly added, "Oh, and you can't try to make us lose big tonight and have to be fair about money earned for any good plays I make. What fair is… I guess I just have to trust you."

Greg scratched his chin. "Lex, we never try to lose bad, never. Nor would we deny a reward for a good play. It would make any bets with you all less interesting and pretty much insure none of you would ever attempt to bargain with us ever again. Although, this is a first for us… and I have to admit, this opens up a whole new realm for us which we could enjoy, since it brings in a level of challenge both for us and you all.

Anyway, we'll always coach you all as best as we can. You never have to worry about us fudging a bet by being so shitty. We're not like that. Don't get me wrong, many in town are, but not us. I also think we are getting real close to a deal, too. So, last counter offer, kiddo. If you end up owing us, we get everything else and both you and Brand for one hour with each of us, and we add in Buck, so four hours total with the two of you. We'll let Brand spend the whole day looking for geodes and do it after we get back from the Geode hunt at Buck's house if he agrees, or at Ray's if he doesn't AND one of your teammates is there to keep the rest of us entertained while we wait for our hour. This means you may have to barter with one of the other parents to snag a teammate for a few hours."

At this Keith decided to go for broke and try to get Alex on his side since he was told he was supposed to make friends with him and knew Audrey would take it out on him if he failed. "Coaches, I've been given to Buck until Wednesday, so I'll be there. You can have me while you wait. I'll be super good and do whatever you all want."

Alex glanced down at Brand, "I'm not going to owe them money, promise."

"I know, and so does Hector, but even if you do, it's OK. I love you, Lex."

Hearing this caused a momentary smile, He looked back up with as strong and serious of a look as he could manage. "Deal."

Greg gave a single nod "OK, boys we got a couple of hours. I am going to take us one town over so Steve and I can do some shopping. Good time to get more liquid and rest.

While several of the boys told Alex he was nuts and warned him even if he did win, he was going to regret the guaranteed time with the coaches, especially Steve, Brandon defended his brother.No matter what was said, however, Alex stuck with the same answer, saying they could do all the bad things anyway so it didn't really matter.

It didn't take long for the bus to quiet down. Most of the kids on it were more than content to sprawl out and get some extra rest.

The only exception was Graham. Before Greg even left the parking lot, Steven stood and walked down the length of the bus eyeing the boys. Even though Brandon and Alex didn't know what it meant, the uneasy expressions of the other kids told them whatever was going on wasn't good. After only a minute Steven focused in on Graham and motioned for him to stand.

Graham lowered his head, sighed, and stood.

Steven reached out and played with the boy's wavy brown hair for a few seconds before speaking, "Lex really got our blood flowing, so we need a toy." He reached down and ran his fingers over Graham's lips for a few seconds, "And you, lucky boy, got to ride with us this time instead of the back of your dad's van. Fortunate for us too, since we don't get to see you as much as we'd like."

Steven wrapped his arm around the boy and turned Graham so he was pointed toward the front of the bus while sticking his hand down the front of Graham's shorts. "You think you can keep both Ray and me happy or do I need to pick someone else too?"

Graham's shoulders sagged, but he made no effort to resist and didn't even look embarrassed even though most of the kids on the bus could see what was happening. "I'll do my best."

"Well, if I have to come back here and get someone else, it's going to far less pleasant on both of you than if I just select another one now… and it's going to be your fault."

"You won't need to, coach. I can make you both happy."

Steven looked down at Stephen with a smirk, "It is either your lucky day, or very unlucky. It's all up to Graham."

Stephen cringed, "Graham, you sure."

"You know what I can do, Steph. Get some more rest. We need you for the game way more than me. Lex is going to be our shortstop tonight, so I'm not really needed as bad."

Seeing both Brandon and Alex stare as Graham was pushed to the front while Steve pulled off the boy's shirt, Keith spoke up softly, "Don't watch. If the coach sees you, he will come back here and say you must be interested and you will join them. And , dude, you're already going to get way more than you are ready for the next couple of days, which is why he didn't even really look at either you or Brand."

"But…" Alex managed to gasp out as he saw one of Graham's shoes get tossed into the seat behind where Graham was taken. This was quickly followed by the other and a sock. "it's my fault…"

Scott got up and moved to where he was one seat up and opposite of Alex, "No, he is using you as an excuse, Lex. Just don't. There is nothing you can do about it, just like there was nothing Brand or any of the rest of us could do when you and Keith had to kiss Buck. Now you're awake and I know you're brother has been dying to talk to you and you have to be ready to play the best game, cause you really are going to find the team we are going to play tonight is awesome. They have won almost every tournament since I have been here. If it's not them it will be the Marauders. They alwys play for first between them. At least this time we don't have both in our bracket!"

Keith nodded, "Besides, no matter what Coach Steve said, he was going to come back and get one of us. He always does. Also, don't worry. He isn't going to do more than fool around with him and Ray won't do much if anything, at least not when we have to play a game tonight."

"But what if someone sees what they are doing to Graham?" Brandon asked.

Scott shook his head, "No one can see in through the tinted windows and the front divider makes it impossible for anyone looking in the front window to see more than the driver and the first two seats behind him. Now if we get clobbered on all four games like normal, Sunday afternoon, night and Monday on the way to look for rocks is going to be a whole different story since our next game isn't until next Friday night under the lights at the park. Then the trip back from the rock hunt is going to be even worse. Help us look halfway decent, and it'll be a lot easier on all of us. Help us win a single game, and what is happening to Graham will be as bad as it'll get after the tournament is over. At least that's what Coach Greg says, and he's always been straight with us."

Alex clenched his fist and took a deep breath only to see Brandon staring at him. With a shake of his head me slid over to sit next to his brother. "Brand, I know they have done bad things to you. What have they done?"

"I… Lex, let's talk about something else.

"Brand, I need to know how bad it is."

"Nothing we can do, and I don't wanna talk about it… But you know who, says I should talk about it, but I don't want to, Lex."

"Brandon, it helps to talk." Keith spoke up from the seat behind the brothers, hoping to get something to relate back to Buck while also knowing having others to talk about some of the stuff really took some of the weight off. At least it did when he could chat with others.

It took several minutes of both Alex and Brandon continually cringing as they heard Graham whimper and once yelp, but finally, Brandon broke down and talked to Alex for a few minutes about being touched, having to dress in a nightshirt, getting Steven's fingers pushed down into his throat, and hating all of it. Having Alex's arms around him as he pouted about it gave him some strength. He tried to get Alex to reciprocate, but could tell his brother really didn't want to talk about what he had been through. It was also clear Alex was still very tired and wanted to get some rest, so Brandon finally backed off only to find Scott wanting to talk to him.

"So Brand, what is the coaches' house like?"

"You've never been there?"

"None of us have other than Reece and Pasha… You heard about Pasha, and Reece didn't last very long. Coach Greg really didn't like him… I mean he liked him, but not how he acted… From what I hear you need to make sure Coach Greg stays happy. If he does, and you do what Coach Steven wants, even if you aren't as nice to him, you'll be fine… Coach Greg's the real boss, but Coach Steve will get mean, well, he is mean."

"Coach Greg is the money guy and helped put this town together." Freddie stated from a few seats back. "Don't piss him off Brand, cause he can pretty much do whatever he wants from what I've heard. He got rid of Reece right in the middle of practice."

"He shouldn't have tried to throw a ball at Coach Greg." Scott rolled his eyes. "What a dumbass, and he wasn't a good player at all, so he didn't even came very close. But man, was Coach Steve and Coach Greg super pissed when Holden shouted out a warning just as Reece tried to hit him with a second baseball."

Brandon's eyes went wide, "What did they do to him?"

"Coach Greg hit him with the shock patch, and in case you are both wondering, Seven and Greg can pull up each of us and activate the patch. It ain't fake, It shocks hard and from what we saw with Reece, it's so far up on our legs it acts like a punch to the nuts when the fire it off. Anyway, Coach Greg ripped off all of Reece's clothing and shoved him into the stands, saying he was fair game. He then told Holden to find someone to give Reece some extra training. Reece was passed around about a dozen times before Holden came back with a couple of men from Old Town. They ended up sending him off to this guy by the name of Raul." Scott shrugged. "We only see him on the big holidays now, the ones Sherriff Eaton makes everyone bring all the kids to. Even when we see Reece, we never talk to him cause the coaches say if we do, we'll get in trouble. So all we can really do is say 'hi' and then ignore him. He looks super tired when we see him now, and has some bruises, but isn't as bad as most of the kids in Old Town."

Keith made gave a little shrug. "Real dumbass move, and he had it good compared to most of us. Giving himself to the Coaches… Wish they had shown interest in me. So is the coaches' house really nice or what?"

"I guess…" Brandon started to turn to look to where Graham made a rather loud hiss followed by a bark of pain"

"Don't worry, Brand. He'll be fine, really." Scott stated with certainty. "You're the only one who can tell us what the inside is like and we all want to know."

"It's pretty nice, um, I mean it is super clean. They have a really new kitchen, but I'm not allowed in it. They have a small snack bar in the dining room. I have to ask permission, but so far they've always said yes when I asked if I could grab something. It's mostly fruit, and water, but it has like a whole bunch of different flavors of vitamin water. The watermelon was nasty, but I liked the…"

"Grape?" Alex asked with a voice telling the others it wasn't really a question.

At this Brandon managed a little smile, "Yeah, the grape." He then talked about the rest of the upstairs before talking about lower level. "They have a big telly and the basement, a huge bar, and it's like being in a old ship with a pool table. Uncle Greg, that's what I'm supposed to call him…"

"Then you better do it. We get in trouble if they hear us use their name without saying coach even when we are not talking to them. "I kind'a guessed… But other than Uncle Greg being a super good cook and wicked when playing pool, mostly it's boring. I don't have any toys and… you know… they touch me…"

"Get used to it, Brand. They touch all of us…" Keith responded. "Just do what they want and be nice to them. From what we heard from the kid who lived with them before Reece, they are way better to live with than most in this damned town, and if you just learn to deal with it, it really will get easier, even when they do more. Also talk to us. There's nothing we haven't seen, heard, or probably done."

"But it's bad…"

"Brand, as long as you keep them happy, you will never see real bad," Scott stated with a bit of annoyance. "Hell, you may not even make it past kind'a bad. It will seem like it, but not if you stay with the coaches. Even Steve's worst is nothing compared to what it you would deal with at other places."

"But they made me… I… they touched me with nothing on…"

"And they will do more," Scott warned, "lots more. If you don't believe me take a look up the aisle. Graham's pants and boxers are on the floor. But you got it good, dude. Shit, if you don't believe me, come over to my place when they let you out to play."

"I don't know if I'm allowed. Um, I not sure what or if I will get anything to play with let alone go to where I can't see the house… Um, can I ask…"

"No," Scott warned, "Don't ask. Just do what they want and get used to it all. It'll take a couple of weeks or more, but as you do more and get used to this hellhole, they'll expand what you are allowed to do. Each time they let you do more, they will demand more out of you in return. You do it, they give more, and take more. It's the game almost all of us play with those we gave ourselves to. Anyway, once you make them happy enough, which will suck in more ways than one…"

Keith took over as Scott tried to decide how much to say, "Yeah, but you have to do it. They will make you and it will be worse on you if they have to force you to do what they want. Besides, you may not believe it, but Scott is right. You have it good compared to most."

Scott nodded as he re-found his voice, "So, Brand, just do whatever they want. After they start trusting you, you will get a watch and they will set it so you can go further. Once you make them happy enough, they'll let you do more a couple of times a week. As soon as they will let you out to play with us during the day and junk come over to my place. I'll show you what REAL BAD is all about…"

Alex's eyes narrowed, "If you hurt him…

"He won't and he won't take him anywhere he will get hurt, Lex. there are places we can show you both where you can see real bad though, but from a distance" Tommy stated with certainty.

Keith nodded, "We ain't like gunna set up a team member, no way. Most of us won't set up anyone else. Hell, I'd be willing to take you around and do the same thing, but I don't get near the time out as Scott does. But be careful. There are kids who will offer only to set you up for really awful things to happen or may even do stuff to you themselves. We'll point them out as soon as we see them. But anyway, as long as we are on the bus or in the hotel room, or wherever, ask whatever you want."

"Yeah, but once we are out in public you best not say nothing." Tommy warned.

"We won't." Alex stated forcefully.

"We still have to warn you, and will do so several times this weekend," Scott countered. "You're way to new, so we've got to make sure. Remember, if you fuck up, we pay, and that is where things go straight to shit for all of us."

Brandon took a deep breath, "I won't say nothing, promise."

"Good, but every one of us are going to tell you a few times over the next few days just to make sure. You follow the rules, and you'll have more friends than most in this town ever see." Keith managed a smile, "You're both one of us."

Alex sighed, "Wish I wasn't…"

"Pretty much the same feeling we all have," Scott stated with a snicker. "I also know it really sucks for both of you. You're time with them between games will get you a better idea, but even then… They won't do as much, not yet… But dude, making deals is a bad idea. You always have to give something up."

Alex hardened, "I had to try to help Brand, and I'll do it again if I see a chance."

"I hear ya," Scott sighed, "But be real careful about the deals. If you try that shit with my dad, he'll try to add in a few outs to where you lose no matter what.. Anyway, it'll get better once you get used to what you have to do, but we'll also help where we can. If you want us to focus more on helping Brand then we'll try."

"Don't worry about me at all. Protect Brand when and if you can."

"OK…"

Brandon frowned, "How if the… um, my uncles won't let you come over?"

Scott reached over and patted Brandon on the shoulder. "There are ways, Brand. Just do what the coaches want and play hard for and with us. As long as you do, once you get more or less used to this shit-vill, you'll see we can do a few things to help."

"OK… But I don't want you getting hurt…"

"We all get hurt in different ways, so no reason to even wish it. Don't worry, Brand. We all know it sucks in more way than you probably know yet. But you help us look better and not get killed every game, then we'll all chip in and do what we can to help. I also bet you got made fun of a lot for talking to something no one else can see or hear. You play hard, and you want to talk to your friend or ghost or whatever, none of us are gunna give you any shit. It if helps you play better, and it can tell you ways to make us play better, than I'll make damned sure to make whoever it is listen to whatever you pass on!"

"Really?" Brandon asked with a mixture of hope and disbelief.

"Hell yeah! We NEED to win a game. A couple of us may not be allowed to continue to play if we don't and without this team… this place is bad enough with being able to see each other and have a few hours a week to have some kind of real fun with others. Plus, I'm not shittin' when I say I wish I had a secret friend I could talk to when I'm sitting in my room waiting for Lloyd to get home."

Hearing 'Hector' talk to him Brandon cringed slightly, but decided to go with what Hector told him. "OK, well… Um, he says you need to get ready to field after each pitch. He says when you come out of the pitching motion your glove is down on your leg and you don't bring it up. It takes the team down to eight players since you don't even try to be a infielder. If you got you glove up faster you could have had a chance to go after a couple of those line drives hit back up the middle during the last practice. He also says if you focused on helping, you would have more fun in the long run cause you are part of every play after you throw the pitch." Brando stopped and wilted as he saw Scott frown. He fully expected Scott's demeanor to turn angry. He was certain the older boy would tell him off or make fun of what 'Hector' had just pointed out.

However, neither happened. Instead Scott's frowned deepened and he made a couple of practice throws. After the second one he eyed Brandon for a second, "Well, shit! You're right. After I throw a pitch my glove goes down to the side of my left leg until I see the catcher throwing the ball back to me or I watch where the ball goes. I hardly move and I'm not set to help at all unless it goes to the outfield, then I look to be a backup to the cutoff. How about we play some catch and you can help me work on it so it becomes part of how I throw. I don't want to try to change it up during a game… I'm not terribly good at pitching as is."

"Maybe he can find some ways to help you pitch better too."

"If he does, then tell me. I'll give it a shot. Maybe Coach Steve will not be quite as rough when he takes me to his office…"

Brandon cringed and waited for more, but when Scott went silent, he decided to figure out more of why all this was happening. "Why doesn't he let you over to the house when… when… um… you know."

Before more could be said, Keith moved around and slid into the seat in front Brandon then looked back between the seats, "Oh, all of us have spent a few nights with them, but when the coaches spend time with us, it's at these trips, Coach Steve's clinic, or in Coach Greg's downtown office. But normally Coach Steven is the one who wants us… alone… When he does and get permission, we go to the small bedroom below his dentist practice."

Scott seemed to cringe, "Not a fun place. Hope he doesn't take you down there."

"He seems more mean than Coach Greg…"

"Brand," Keith spoke in a warning tone, "they better never hear you call them anything but what they told you to call them, and from what you just told us, that's uncle."

"But…"

Scott quickly spoke up, "Brand, even it if is just around others, you call them by what they want. There are some kids in the town who get special treatment if they narc on others."

"Yeah, like Tanner." Keith spoke with some anger, "When you meet him, don't say anything he can tell on you about. He snitched on me and got me sent over to Todd's place for a few days cause I let it slip I was thinking about running. It had to be either Tanner, Danny or Nick, and there is no way it was Danny. And Nick was handed over to Todd as well, since he didn't tell, so it had to be Tanner."

"Tanner's weird anyway," Scott added in. "All he wants to do is get Jess to let him keep desert animals as pets. I heard he even has a Tarantula now."

"Yeah," Freddie snickered even as he yawned and spread out on the seats to take another nap, "thanks to Sherriff Eaton… I heard Tanner helped scare a girl at the shelter super bad."

"Heard the same thing," Scott snorted. "But Keith, you've got to cut Tanner some slack."

"He narced me out…"

"Yeah, probably, but you don't know it for sure and I have been given to Jess…" Scott stated with a real shiver and nasty cringe, "The guy's got to have the biggest slong in the town, if not the fucking state!"

"No, no way," Derek spoke from a couple of seats back. "The black bastard at the bar and grill has got to be the biggest hung asshole around. And do you mind? Master Neil kept me up all night…"

"Yeah, keep it down," Tommy stated, "This is the first long break I've had in days… But for the record, Derek, you're wrong. I've been handed over to both and Jess has a damned bazooka. Until you have a night with him, you just don't get it."

Alex couldn't help but stick his head up, "Are you guys really talking about their peckers?"

"Peckers…" Scott giggled, "shit never heard a cock called that before. But, yeah. Won't be long till you will join in as you get to know a few."

Alex wiped at his eyes to hide tears, "How can you laugh about it?"

"Lex, dude," Keith looked over, "first off, cry. Fuck, all of us have. You're new and hiding tears will eat you from the inside. Let it out when allowed, cause sometimes you can't. If you can and if you need to cry on someone, have me over and once we are allowed some sleep you can bawl your brains out on me. There was a kid who did it for me. If he hadn't, I think… I don't even know, but when I can come over, use me. I'm not kidding, we've all done it and were used to this crap enough to make it a little easier on new kids. Same for you Brand.

"Second, you got just a few choices. First you can hate it so much you kill yourself like a few have done. Should you try, you best get it right, cause if they save your ass, you will be sent to Old Town to be passed around to make up for medical bills before being sent back to your new dad. You can try to run, like several others… A few die out in the desert, since taking the main road will get you brought back before you even have a chance to get hot. But even those who do try the deep desert don't tend to make it far. Most of them have to spend a week or two with Maggie and Norm then are sent down to Old Town for at least a few weeks and you really don't want nothing to do with Old Town. Um, yeah, anyway, you can let it eat at you until you walk around like a fucking zombie waiting for the next round… Oh, and if you do that, it won't take long before no one wants you. Once a kid goes zombie, it is a permanent room where rent is paid by taking a never-ending parade of whoever wants you for an hour or so. The other thing is once declared a zombie, and are moved in the Bar and Grill, your name becomes a number…"

"Jules," Tommy joined back in, "now Fourteen. He never leaves the bar, man. Even at the big holidays when he can do shit he just has a blank stare and don't talk no more. We came at same time. I got lucky and was allowed to play, he went with Merle and… who he was is just gone."

"Just like my sister, Jackie." Derek sighed, "Their brains broke, or some shit. There ain't no one home upstairs even if there is a light on, and last time I saw Jackie, I can't say for sure there is a light on inside her no more…" He shook his head sadly, "Look, Lex, You can come cry on me, and crying helps. Or you can watch when Master Neil pulls on my nipple rings so you can see it could get worse, whatever… Also, bein' on the team is the shit. We ain't heavily marked up, we get to play and be around each other, most of us have more freedom than most kids in the town, and even go over each other's houses. Shit, I'm the only one on the team with piercings."

Scott nodded, "Sure it ain't all fun, but at least part of the time it is. Also, what Graham did, by going up there alone was for the rest of us. Had Coach Steve picked someone else, we would have tried to do the same thing. We'll make it up to him the rest of the day and tomorrow when he is around us. We are in this together when most in the town are on their own or only have one or two friends. When my dad lets me have one of you over to spend the night, there will be popcorn, a movie and maybe even pizza if your dad allows it. There will be bad, too, but most kids where we live never get a chance to see good beyond the seven holidays and look forward to school, since even if home schooled, Sheriff Eaton makes sure everyone is given time to learn and study."

"Plus look around. We are going to a tournament, getting away from this hellhole for a couple of days, and while I am still wandering if it is really going to happen, it really sounds like we are going on a rock hunt of some kind. This may be the best trip in years. But even if they are lying about the rock thing, we get to do five or six of these trips a year. While it might not seem like much now, keep in mind Derek's sister gets out seven times a year, for one fucking day. She hasn't been beyond the park in four years and only sees others on the seven holidays. Mort is all she sees, all she knows for the other 358 days a year. All things considered, she's lucky Mort keeps her, cause no one would want her now, no one."

Derek shook his head sadly, "Hell, I don't even think she knows who I am when I talk to her during holidays… Well, talk at her, since if she responds it doesn't make much sense anymore."

Keith looked over, "Yeah, she doesn't look good anymore, but I really don't see the rock trip being a lie. Cause I wasn't going to be allowed to go on it, but now I am thanks to Lex's dad taking me in for a few days…" He looked back at Lex, "And dude, if you're worried about what he might do to me, don't be. If getting to know his cock in exchange for not being confined to a hotel closet while being fully restrained and in diapers for a few days, its one I'm happy to deal with."

"But…" Brandon looked around at those listening, "You… don't want to be touched and stuff… Do you?"

Derek yawned, "What I want is for you all to shut the fuck up so I can get a nap. Cause there's not shit I can do about the coaches, Master Neil, or no one else doin' whatever the fuck they want with me. I belong to Master Neil and he can hand me over to whoever wants me when he decides to. At least with you all I can tell you what I want, not ask if it is OK."

Scott snorted, "Yeah, no doubt. Lots of time we are not even allowed to ask. At least while playing, the coaches have to pretend we are like other kids, so they are basically nice, and if you play good, you even get extra spending money. Last trip I made seventeen dollars!"

Alex patted the seat next to him as he saw the look of fear in Brandon's eyes. "Come on over, Brand. I can sleep against the window and you can lean against me."

"I'm fine." Scott spoke up. If you want to join me, Brand, we can talk about whatever you want and let your brother sleep."

"After listening you all talk, and hearing Graham getting hurt up there, I'm not sure I can sleep."

"It'll take some time, Lex." Keith stated as he moved to sit next to him. "But we'll help you as best as we can. How about this…" Keith patted his shoulder, "You sleep on me. I know it helps to have someone else you can at trust to be close to, especially at first. Use my shoulder or even my lap if you want. Let Brand and Scott talk. Focus on Brand's voice not Graham's. You know it and if they talk about stuff other than cocks and being with adults, you can let your mid go to where they talk about. We call it tuning out. Then tonight, I'll do everything I can to have Buck focus on me so you can get some more rest."

"Why…" "Because I can handle it… Because I have a couple of years of practice sleeping under far less comfortable positions than anything you could possibly do by leaning on me." Keith snickered, "Besides, I can stay as still as you want or need me to and having you sleep on me is one of the few times in the last month or so I have been touched in a good or nice way. It'll make me feel good too… As for the overall reasons why… First, you are sticking your neck way out for your brother and he's the best chance we have of winning a game. I'll do whatever it takes to help both of you in hopes we win a single stupid game… and… well, because… like it or not, Buck is clearly interested in me and Mistress Audrey in you, so we will be spending a whole lot of time together."

Scott looked over, "Lex, what he's sayin' is you two need be friends. This way when things get rough, you'll trust each other."

"What do you mean?"

Keith put his arm over Alex's shoulder, "You don't want to know, at least not yet. It'll be bad enough with the stunt you pulled making a deal with the coaches. But Scott's right. If we learn to like and trust each other no matter what happens it will be easier."

Even as Brandon and Alex exchanged worried looks, Scott spoke up, "Brand, me and you will be with Coach Steven for the next three nights. Even if Lex gets you out of being touched on this trip they'll still make you watch what they do to me. Coach Steve is going to get us together at some point after this, too. Like your brother and Keith, we need to be friends too, and like Keith I can take a whole lot of Coach Steven's attention so you will not have to do as much."

Seeing his brother reluctantly nod, Brandon let out a disappointed breath, "OK… But I really don't have many friends. Just… just Hector…"

"Your secret friend's name is Hector?" Scott asked without showing any sign of the teasing Brandon was fully expecting the moment he said the name.

"Uh huh…"

"Any friend is a good one in my book, Brand." Scott stated seriously. "And he is right about how I hold my glove, so I like him even if I can't hear him or talk to him… Um, can Lex talk to Hector too?"

"No, just me. No one other than Lex even believes in him."

"Doesn't matter as long as you do, and I'm betting if he keeps giving us suggestions and they work, we could all have some belief."

"You're really not going to make fun of me, are you?"

"No way. First off I saw you talking at practice and it really helped you. I want you to be able to do the same thing at the games. Second, all you have to do is take a look around at the hills surrounding the town. Indians have all sort of legends about powerful spirits and this is ancient Indian lands. Sheriff Eaton sometimes brings in a old medicine man to talk at the school. He says the spirits around where we live are very strong and can speak to us. He says some are very bad and wish us harm, but others are the opposite. The good ones want to help and protect us, but we have to open ourselves up to them first. I'd like to believe him and I have tried to figure out how to several times, but can't. Maybe you figured it out and can teach me. At the very least you can talk to Hector and pass on to me and the others ways we can all do better. If it wins us a game or two, we'll all be trying to figure out how to talk to 'Hector' or something just like him."

Stephen moved up a couple of seats, looked to make sure none of the adults were paying any attention, and spoke real softly, "Guys, keep it down. The last thing I want is to have the coaches or any of the other adults find out about the path. That's what Ivan and Cecil were trying to do when Ivan got bit by the rattler the day you were first taken to the park, Brand. They were trying to find magic or spirits or whatever."

"How would you know?" Keith softly asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Cause I was trying to help them. We've all heard the medicine man's talks and it is a hope many of us have, even if we don't really believe it." He looked over at Brandon and then Alex, "I don't know how much you've been told, but once you get settled in and if the coaches and your new dad let you go out and play, they will change out the patch for a watch. It shocks harder and can be programmed with a time waning you when you have to go home… Um, anyway, the patches lose geo-fencing close to the edge of the park, so when you go there on your own, you have to wear the watch. Even the watches' GPS screw up as soon as you get above the twelfth hole. It shows you are somewhere along the rocks but bounces around so they can't really know where you are. I've heard Dad and Sheriff Eaton talking about it, but they don't want to spend the money to fix it since as soon as you get off the rocks your signal shows right where you are again. So even if you go up the path, there is nowhere to run to beyond the rattler infested rocks.

"The thing is, there is a small path that goes back into the rocks. Cecil says he saw the medicine man up there a few times and Ivan said he saw the sheriff up there one night. They wanted to check it out, so I pretended to lose my ball up there so I could keep watch. As long as I kept saying I can't find it, Cecil knew no one was coming and kept his mouth shut as he pretended to look for it further up the path. As soon as I shouted out, 'I found it', it was a warning someone was coming. He was then supposed warn Ivan and Ivan would run back. But Ivan got bit before anyone even noticed he went up into the rocks.

"I thought for sure Cecil would tell on me to spread some of the blame, but he didn't. He took all of it."

Scott cringed, "You took a big risk, Steph. You have one of the best places to live in this whole damned place… But I'd like to check out the path something too. I've seen Sheriff Eaton up there a couple of times. But those snakes scare the hell out of me."

"Me too!" Keith stated with a cringe."Hey Steph, I haven't seen Cecil since Ivan got bit. What happened to him?" "My Dad said he was handed over to some dirt-bags down in Old Town when I asked last night. I guess Chad was super pissed at him and was offered lots for one on one time. Seven Old Towners get him for a full day each."

"Aw, shit," Keith whispered softly. "Any protections?"

"Don't know. I could tell even by asking I was treading on dangerous ground since Dad knew I was playing with Cecil before it happened. I'm pretty sure he guesses I know more, but he doesn't want to give me up to the bar or worse Old Town, so he isn't saying anything and isn't asking since even he has to take lie detectors when his name comes up on the random list. He's been really rough with me though, which sucks."

Scott's lips rolled up into a smirk and gave Brandon a playful nudge, "I'll take Mayor Carson's worst over Lloyd's normal shit any day."

Even though he kept his eyes closed, Alex spoke. "You're dad's the Mayor, Stephen?"

Stephen snorted, "He is now. He's been Dad for the last three years, almost four. I got separated from my mom and dad during a wildfire in Oklahoma. I still don't know what happened to the rest of my family or how the hell Sheriff Eaton pulled off getting me here. But somehow he had me brought to this shithole saying someone in the town was a relative or some shit. They sent a single engine plane to get me. Holden picked me up at the airport and signed for me. I flew into the same airfield you all crashed on.

"I was brought into town by Holden and Sheriff Eaton told me my aunt may not want me after all. I stayed at the Sherriff's office for the first two nights, but no one came to get me. Sheriff Eaten then had me bounce around from house to house for over a week before I had the same kind of meeting you did. All those who wanted me in a room and me having to pick who I stayed with as long as I signed the contract. I picked Mayor Carson… Actually I picked what I thought was his wife, but it was some hooker he paid off to be nice to me. As with everything, you can't trust anything around here… But at least so far my dad wants me, like really wants me. Like as in his son, only I have to share his bed. But from what he has me read and some of the vids and pictures he shows me, lots of kids all over have to do the same thing. The problem is, he has started looking at younger boys around here."

Scott spoke up, "If he trades you over, I am sure it will be to someone who will not hurt you too much, and I know he loves you even if he says he doesn't. I heard him say he is thinking about getting rid of you a few times but my dad says it's all talk, since my dad has tried to buy you a few times. Dad says, it 's only to try to bribe someone else in an exchange or dual use. You're fine." Scott then focused on Lex and Brand, "If you ever get a chance to spend a night or two at Stephen's do it. If told you have to, be happy. The Mayor is real nice and doesn't want much. It's a guaranteed good night's sleep, decent food, and little to no pain."

"Well, as long as you get used to the normal shit around here," Keith corrected Scott. "Once you are ready for full trade it'll be a little uncomfortable at most."

Stephen tried to interject, "You won't wear much if anything and it can get a little nasty when he makes us do stuff to each other…"

"Nasty?" Keith shook his head, "No, no way. At the very most a little cruddy, and even that is probably too much. Keep in mind, Stephen, you have never had to go to Norm's let alone Heather's. What's the worst you've had in the years you've been here?"

"The worst?" Stephen shuddered, "Other than spending the night at your places and Graham's…Todd. Todd fixes my dad's shit all the time to get a few nights a month with me. He's as bad as I've had it. Although… Graham's… At least Todd has the game room from hell, and he lets me use it when he is not using me. He's also fucking incredible with his air hockey table."

"I second that," Alex snorted. "He blasted me fifteen to two when I spent the night at his house. You know, I would have picked him instead of Buck had he showed up at the meeting and agreed to adding to the contract so I could be on the team with Brand."

Scott, Stephen, and Keith exchanged glances. All three shrugged. After a couple of seconds of silence, Scott spoke up, "I'm sure he would have agreed. He comes to lots of games. But honestly, none of us are sure if you made a good deal or not, Lex. Buck is brand new, so we know nothing about him. I can tell you Todd is pretty damned rough and demanding, but he does play and do some fun things too." He then looked away, "So, Stephen, are you going to finally tell us what it's like at Graham's?"

"Maybe on the way back… I don't want to talk about it unless he is OK with it, and I sure don't want to talk behind his back when he is keeping both Coach Steve and Coach Ray away from the rest of us."

Reluctantly Alex wiggled around before finally putting his head against Keith's shoulder, "What's with Graham. He's kind of weird form what little I have talked to him, but seems nice enough… I mean…" He nodded to the front of the bus. "He is up there alone when he didn't have to be"

Stephen answered, "Oh, trust me, he can handle it. He's tougher in many ways than any of you all know… But anyway, he's a good teammate and a pretty good overall player. He is back-up in like all the important positions on the team. He's off though… But it's not his fault. It's really more about his older brother, sister, and dad."

"His real dad." Keith interjected.

This caused Alex's eyes to pop open, "You mean he lives with his real dad… here?"

"Yeah." Stephen stated reluctantly. "It's his real family: Dad, Mom, older brother and sister, and him. His brother likes little kids, like really little; both boy and girl, but in a pinch…" He let the words drift off before deciding to let the others know something in hopes it would be enough to not talk about the times he had been forced to stay at Graham's. "From what I've heard when I have been able to overhear things, mostly talk between my dad and Sheriff Eaton, they had to move a couple of times after things started to heat up. They got accepted, but were not sure if they were going to come. Anyway, Dax, he's the older brother, basically got busted with a four or five-year-old in a gas station bathroom before they decided it was really time to move here. The little kid's family was real poor, so Graham's dad paid to hush it up. Nothing ever made it to the cops. Graham's old man doesn't seem to be into doing much, but while he tends to be mostly hands off, he's all about kid pics and vids. They are always on and he will get pics of and movies of whoever comes over. Graham's old man has this big digital picture frame he turns on as soon as he gets home. It has nothing but kid porn. It plays until he turns it off in the morning to go to work."

"What about Graham's mom?" Brandon asked after getting some prodding from 'Hector'.

Stephen shook his head, "Horrible woman, really wicked… Graham's mom is a mean-ass-drunk, like a full bottle of wine a night, if not more, and as long as she can drink she doesn't give a shit. If she runs out, she has to be one of the most hateful, detestable, vile women on this planet and she loathes Graham in ways I have never seen or even heard of before. Actually, I don't think any of them really like or even wanted Graham. Well, other than maybe Dax.

"While Graham has never came out and said, I think Dax has been doing Graham for a real long time and his mom and dad let it happen rather than have Dax go after other kids that he could get caught with. And before you ask about Liza, his sister, she's a true slut and class 'A' bitch. She hooked up with this fifty-year-old bastard down in Old Town and is hardly ever home. When she is, she tends to sneak in her boyfriend. That's when things really go to shit for Graham and anyone over there with him, not like there much time for fun to begin with. Like I've told the rest of you a hundred times, stay away from him and his house if you can."

"But Graham is not the only one living with real mom and dad," Stephen continued to move conversation away from what he knew. "George moved here last year with his family. But, before you ask, I don't know a damned thing about him other than he had to have played baseball before and his mom beats his bare ass fucking hard."

At this, Scott both cringed and nodded, "Harder than I've seen anyone else get hit, that's for sure. He gets like three shots for each bad play after each game and some other hits for other things he does wrong and it happens where it can be watched. As soon as the other team leaves or as soon as he gets back into town he gets his ass pounded with this thing that looks like a ping pong paddle, only it has a long handle. You can hear it swish through the air… She does it for all to see at the mini-golf pavilion. If he really screws up, she offers others a few shots. His ass, lower back, and the back of his legs are always bruised to shit. I'm amazed he can even play, but he does and is our best overall player. He told us he doesn't normally get hit two days before any game and the day before most practices. His mom makes up for the missed days right after, and it's painful just to have to listen and watch.

"His younger brother, Abraham, plays for the younger team and gets the same shit. Both of them and their two sisters who play on the softball teams, have been handed out to others. But so far none of us have had George over and none of us have been over his place. His mom never lets him stick around after practice and while his stuff is on the bus, she won't let him ride with us. This will be the first time since he's been here his mom won't be around to watch him play."

"I was wondering why he didn't get on the bus." Alex noted.

"His mom won't let him do nothing with us." Stephen stated sadly. "It's too bad, cause I kind of like him and really feel sorry for him."

Keith shook his head, "Yeah, sucks, but who I really feel sorry for is his sisters. Did you see what their mom did to Mary after the softball game last week?"

"What?" Alex asked when no one responded.

"Made her take off her shoes and stand on the concrete." Stephen snarled. "Her feet were already blistering by the time Irwin came over and told them it was enough. He even took Mary over to the clinic. I heard it wasn't dangerous bad, but shit… She stood there way longer than I would have been able to. I also heard from my dad Sheriff Eaton had a talk with them, but it didn't go very well. At least this time their mom is needed up at the mine to shore up the old entrance or something so they can continue to map where the silver is. Maybe since his dad is bringing him without her, George will be able to spend more time with us. Their dad isn't as mean as thier mom."

"Not as bad as his mom, but he still made Abraham kneel on the gravel a few weeks ago after missing the tag on the kid. Keith stated. "I heard he was on those rocks for over an hour."

"Over two hours, and Holden is the only reason he didn't have to stay there longer," Stephen added. "Sometimes it sucks having a mayor for a dad. I hear lots of shit I wish I didn't. Like they are on the list for both a boy and a girl about our age, but only want white kids who can't speak English and they are always getting orders from some hard core S & M distributor, most of it ordered by their mom."

"I wish I know half of what you've been able to find out," Scott countered. "But Lex, one thing you need to know is George and his brother always wear long shirts and pants and never go swimming even when allowed. They get real upset if you ask, so don't. On the holidays, we all try to spend some time with them doing things they can do without taking anything off. This may be because they have been told, but since George's mom isn't coming this time and his dad is going to be staying in the same hotel as us, we should be able to find out more about him and see just how bad he gets hit. He'll probably hide and change in a stall or something, though, cause I bet he's nothing but a fucking big black and blue welt under his cloths. But still, we're hoping it's not as bad as we all guess it is. The other thing is, he doesn't really trust any of us since he hasn't been allowed to really get to know any of us outside of baseball. One thing is for sure, there is a fucking house I never want to have to go to."

"True that!" Tommy stated with a yawn. "Force a cock on me any day over going over there."

Stephen quickly agreed, "I'll take every dick in this bus, and have everyone in the bus mess with my dick over dealing with what I've seen George take from that ass beating stick."

Tommy snorted, "Steph, not a good comparison. You pretty much had ever cock on this bus, and most have had yours!"

Even as several boys snickered and Stephen hung his head, Scott saw the horrified look on Brandon's face, reached over and patted him on the back. "It's not as bad as it sounds once you get used to it, Brand."

Brandon's lip started to tremble as he realized what had been done to him at the coaches' house was only a drop in a filthy bucket of perversion. "Lex, I can't live here…" "Brand," Alex spoke softly while looking at the boys around him with knot in the pit of his stomach as what he would be dealing with in the coming weeks fully dawned on him, "we do live here, at least until mom wakes up and gets better… even then, from what's happening and I'm hearing, they aren't going to let us leave."

"But…"

"I know what they said, Brand. But think about it. They can't let us go and risk us telling. I'll try to figure out something, but aside from trying to make some deals to give you some breaks, I'm not sure how much I can do. When you get a chance, talk to 'Hector'. Maybe he can find a way out, even if it is just for you."

"No…"

"Brand, this isn't home. I can't take the hits for you, and hits aren't what is really wanted from the way it sounds… Even if I tried, all they would say is I am breaking the contract. At least with us being together a few times a week, you aren't alone and maybe I can make other bets to help you. Keep in mind neither of us knows what is going on with Joey and Riet…" Alex sighed, "So if there is a way out of this, even if it is just you who escapes, I'll be happy."

Seeing tears well up in Brandon's eyes, Alex guessed 'Hector' was telling his brother to listen. He also figured Brandon needed time to deal with the fact he may have to find a way out of this without him. To give his brother some time, he turned his attention to those around him. "Guys, have any of you seen my other brother or sister or know anything about who has them?"

While most shook their heads, Stephen let out a sigh, "Lex, as usual I know more than most." He then shot a dirty eye at a couple of the others, "But some of you know Bruce. He's been over my place but hasn't shown much interest in me, probably cause he almost always comes over with Sammy. My dad offered me for a night in exchange for a night with Sammy. I think it's gunna happen as soon as Bruce fully pays for Sammy, so I'll know more then. The rest of you who do know what he's like with kids could at least speak up. He's got Lex's brother and he obviously cares about them. None of us would have made the deal he just did for a brother or sister!"

At this Scott let out a long breath, "Lex, Bruce is pretty well hung and Joey will get to know it real well. He's only borrowed me twice, but he's a control guy. The minute he got me, he decided what I wore and when I wore it, and he did all the dressing and undressing, like nine or ten times. But mostly he likes the smaller kids from this team and prefers the kids on the younger team over us. Danny's been over then more than any of us on the bus. You can ask him, but he's out cold again and we should really let him sleep. Boris is his dad and I do know Boris way too well. Boris probably enjoyed Danny all night since Boris normally works nights, but took last night off.

"Keith you have been over there at least once. Anything to add?"

Keith shook his head, "Not really. Big ass cock and is friends with Norm, Neither good for your brother, Lex. Not much else to add."

Alex punched the seat cushion hard a couple of times before Keith grabbed his hand, "Stop before Ray or Coach Steve come back here to find out what's going on and decides Graham is not enough to play with."

Stephen let out a long breath as he saw Ray poke up his head then turn his attention back to Graham who suddenly let out a little screech. Stephen gestured toward the front, "See look, Lex. You just got him hurt more."

Scott quickly agreed. "One thing you need to learn is the less you are noticed, the better it is for you. This means the less others pay attention to you, the better it is for those who are around you, too. Even you hitting the seat got Graham pinched or some shit."

Alex took several angry breaths while biting at his bottom lip, "Yeah, OK, sorry… sorry…"

"It takes time, but remember this, Lex." Keith chimed in. "Cause next time it could be worse than a titty twist or whatever just happened. And Scott is right, it isn't likely to be just you, especially if you act up during a team outing. It'll be you and probably someone else."

Alex hug his head as Graham let out a plea, "Please, Coach, not that…" He turned to Scott, since he was starting to see him as the one most of the others deferred to, "Should I go up there…"

"No!" All those who were paying attention stated with a harsh whisper.

This was followed up by Scott who fiercely shook his head. "Lex, you are already in over your head with them. You go up there and they will say no, cause you have the deal thing. But they will also say since you were so worried and Graham is making too much noise, they better go grab someone else. Besides, It would only make it worse on Graham, since Coach Steve would probably take him one on one while Coach Ray takes whoever he comes back here to get. At least this way, Coach Ray won't let too much happen cause he tends to protect us a little. Just talk about something else and ignore it. You can't help, but you can hurt."

"OK, but if he is really getting hurt more cause of me…"

"Apologize to him later and do something for him, Lex," Stephen all but demanded. "Trust me when I say he doesn't get people being nice to him very much, so you doing anything good will make what's happening up there worth it to him."

"It's really that bad?" Alex asked.

"Most of the time worse than 'that bad', but I bet it's better than what George deals with." Stephen confirmed. "Now talk about something else, please. I don't' really want to say more about Graham's place."

"OK, what about my sister?" Stephen let out a sigh, "Lex, you really need to worry about things you can control, but I'll tell you what I know. Once I do, just drop it, OK?"

"I'll try…"

"Find a way to do so. What you've done for Brand is really pushing the limits of this place. But honestly there isn't much to tell. I'm not sure anyone, adult or kid knows much as far as your sister goes. None of us in here knows nothing useful. What I can tell you comes from what I overheard when my dad talks to Sheriff Eaton and a few others. The Butlers are here because they were part of a trafficking group bringing in illegals, mostly younger girls and women for use in the sex trade. They got most of them from eastern Europe and managed to get us some younger kids. They even managed a couple of boys including Pasha, who you have already heard about. From what I understand, Pasha was the son of one of the women they trafficked. She went to some whore house on the east coast; Pasha was sent here.

"Since the Butlers got here, they have tried to get four other girls all thirteen or fourteen years old, but weren't picked and haven't gone after any kid for a night or two. They seem to want long term only. Even my dad admitted he is going to be curious what happens to your sister. On the other hand, your older brother is with Bruce, and Bruce is the main reason Buck was accepted here. Again, I don't know much about Bruce other than what you've already heard, other than he served in the military in bomb disposal and is one of the mine's best drillers. He finishes the wiring of and places many of the explosive charges. He has gone hunting with Sheriff Eaton a few times. Maybe you can find out more from Buck. This is only a guess, but Buck and Bruce go way back and may have even been in the military together."

"What makes you think that?"

"Cause, my dad had Buck over the first day he arrived with Bruce, who sponsored Buck, along with Holden, Irwin and Sheriff Eaton. Dad pretty much does the same for all the new people who come in. Bruce shook Buck's hand and said something like good to see you again Lieutenant.

"The only other things I can tell you is rumor. Bruce has never gone after a new kid until your brother, and he has been here for a couple of years. Up till now, most of us who have met him thought he liked littler kids, cause he goes to most of the young kids' baseball games and has been paying off the bar and grill for a younger kid, Sammy, who the owner took on after the guy who Sammy picked as his dad got stupid and tried to kidnap a kid in Pueblo. I'm not sure who did it, but Sammy's new dad was taken out by a sniper even as the cops were closing on him. My dad hinted it was either Holden or Sheriff Eaton who pulled the trigger, but it might have just been someone they know. The cost of the sniper was put on Sammy, so he had to work it off at the bar. Bruce takes him and pays extra most of the time and Dad says Bruce is planning on keeping Sammy once the debt is fully paid."

Tommy spoke up, "Lex, I know a little more. But there is nothing you can do, and knowing isn't going to help him or you."

Alex's voice took on a dark tone, "Just tell me!"

"Dude, no need to get mad at him." Keith stated with the harshest voice Alex or Brandon had heard him use up to this point.

Alex held up both hands, "Sorry, but Joey is my brother, too!"

Scott nodded, "You want to know, I get it, but I'm with Keith on this. Brother or not you need to focus on you, Brand, and us. I'm only going to say this one more time. You can't help him. You need to worry about you and this team. Because you can do something for those of us on this bus."

"Look at the deal I made, guys! I'll do everything I can to help you get a win, but please, just tell me what you know."

Getting a nod from Scott, Tommy spoke up, "Sure… But this, like many things around here comes from someone else. Since I am kind of friends with a kid by the name of Charlie, and my dad really likes Charlie, I've heard stuff. Bruce has taken Charlie several nights when Sammy had to work in the bar and grill. From what I hear Bruce is a real control freak and likes skinny kids with long hair and pale skin. Charlie told me Sammy was hardly ever allowed out long when the sun is up. If he is, Bruce coats him with the highest grade suntan lotion available and unless he is showing Sammy off, keeps him in long pants and long shirts. Oh, and like you've heard, neither Charlie or Sammy were allowed to dress or undress themselves when he stayed at Bruce's. He also told me Bruce is horse hung, too." seeing Alex and Brandon both look at him, with some confusion, he shrugged and added, "Large… um what did you call it… oh, yeah, pecker. If what Charlie said is even part true, your brother will get to know all about it real soon, probably already has. Charlie told me Bruce talked about older kids, but wanted a small and skinny one, so from what I've heard you're bother is perfect for him."

Keith saw a tear slide out of Alex's eye and stroked his hair, "You'll see them on the next holiday, July 4th. Everyone has to come and we all get several hours of real free time. Sherriff Eaton also checks all of us out, unless we were sent to Old Town for trying to tell, really hurt whoever has us, or run. Then he just makes sure those kids are alive, not too badly damaged, and can take care of themselves enough to eat and take a piss. Even they get the day to do what they want, but most ain't in no shape to do much other than find some shade and sleep. The rest of us have to be up to contract standards."

"And if they aren't?"

At this point Stephen responded, "Unless it is real bad, he takes the kid away, puts them in the clinic until they are good enough to hand over to someone else and the person who had them spends the same number of days in the jail as the kid stays in the clinic and can't try to get the next kid to come in or something along those lines. I hear there tends to be some accidents during their stay in jail, too.

"Now if a kid is really outside contract then the shit hits the fan. Only had it happen once I know of, but mother-fucker, it was spectacular."

Keith's lips twisted upwards into an evil looking grin as he noticed both Brandon and Alex looking around wanting more information, "Last Thanksgiving, actually the Friday after, since that is the holiday Sheriff Eaton sets, one of the newer girls, Mellissa, was in really bad shape…"

"Bad shape my ass!" Stephen jumped in. "She was a wreck, like couldn't walk, had several teeth broken, and other shit really wrong. The Sheriff body slammed her guardian onto the parking lot pavement the second he saw Mellissa all but fall out of the guy's jeep. The guy was both bigger and looked stronger but hit the concrete like he was nothing to the sheriff. The guy face planted, knocking out some teeth as he did so. The Sheriff Eaton took him out into the desert for a few hours, beat the living shit out of him and drug him back to the park so most of us could see."

Keith smiled, "Monumental ass whoopin'! Like the prick was all bloody, full of cactus spines, sunburned to shit, and totally worked over from head to toe. When the sheriff brought him back to the park, he dragged the bastard around so almost every could see what had been done. Then, in front of everyone who cared to watch, he punched the guy so hard his left hip popped out of place, then stomped on Merrik's legs breaking them in more than a couple places!"

Seeing both Alex and Brandon's eyes go wide, Scott nodded, "The sheriff told me when he first saw me he was like some special forces guy or some shit. After seeing what he could do to a guy bigger and who looked lots stronger than him, I'm convinced! Anyway, Merrik was hauled away in the ambulance and we haven't seen him since.

"Mellissa was sent to the hospital, got healed up, Coach Steve fixed her teeth as best as he could, and she was handed over to Marty. Marty married her even though she was only thirteen or fourteen. I guess with legal guardian consent and a judge, it's possible here. I was told the age of marriage is low in California. But anyway, on Memorial Day it sure looked like she was doing pretty damned good, but we're pretty sure she's pregnant."

Alex put his head back on Keith shoulder. After several seconds of silence, he spoke softly, "So the sheriff is or isn't one of them?"

"Not real sure what to call him, Lex," Keith admitted. "Once thing I can almost guarantee is he hasn't done anything to any of the kids; at least not like sex stuff or beatings. Someone would have said something by now if he had. You run, and he catches you, he'll let Holden kick your ass before sending you to the bar and grill for a few days. Do it again, then it is Old Town for a week or two. A third time and it is Old Town permanently. But if you're not a fuck-up he seems like he cares at least a little. I hear he took in a kid or two after they turned sixteen, but if he did, I haven't seen them."

Stephen nodded, "Yeah, I hear the same thing from Dad, but don't know who and never seen anyone with him. My dad says the sheriff is gay, but none of us really know for sure. One thing we all know is he and Coach Greg get along pretty well. But Sheriff Eaton only totally trusts a couple of people and they both do kids all the time."

"Who does he trust?" Alex demanded to know.

Scott answered, "The first one, by far, is Holden; the Sheriff always gets Holden's help when things go wrong and Holden helps with getting all the new kids. Holden likes girls more than boys, but you'll probably end up over there a time or two. He likes to get to know all the kids and when you do it will be a couple of days full of lots of embarrassing and some pretty painful stuff. At least his wife is real nice, and will step in if she thinks he is going too far, and always makes sure you get good food and some peaceful sleep. The other guy Sheriff Eaton trusts is Irwin. But if there is anyone I would want to stay with, a least in this damned town, its Irwin. Unless you are a total ass when he has you, he's pretty nice."

"Compared to anyone else, really nice. Keith agreed. "If you get a chance to go over his place do it. It's a couple of days of overall good treatment. You'll probably have to screw his wife, but she's not mean about it. She also cooks a hell of an apple pie if you make her happy."

"The best, and tops it with ice cream. Now let me dream about it for a couple more hours guys." Tommy muttered even as yanked off his shirt and put it over his face so he could block out the sunlight coming through the tinted windows of the tour bus.

Chapter 37

Sheriff Eaton parked his Blazer out of sight and around the corner from the Koop's house and waited. After getting the phone call from the bar and grill, he decided it was time to take care of multiple problems with a fell swoop. To this end, he spoke to a couple of mine employees, swung by Jess's then made a quick deal with a neighbor, while arranging for Irwin to delay his target with a ticket. His timing was good. It didn't take long for the silver Lincoln Navigator to pull off Cactus Bluff and park in front of the next house down since Terry had arranged for a 'helpful' neighbor to park in front of the Koop's house, partially blocking the driveway.

He started the engine of his truck as he saw Dominic Kopp jump out kick at the bumper of the sedan blocking access to his garage, and head toward the house while shouting for his son, George, to grab the mail in the big lower box since it had the flag up. He pulled to a stop and whistled getting both the man and the boy's attention. "Hey, George, I need to talk to you a sec!"

As expected George obeyed instantly while Dominic shot the sheriff a bit of a glare.

Seeing his son move up to the open window of the Blazer, Dominic took in an aggravated breath while moving to join in, "Hey Terry, I need to get the girls out of their room and Abraham out of the basement."

"Then go do it, but it looks like you got a package and it's already 102 degrees."

"Yeah, I noticed. We need to get on the road. Irvin gave me a fucking ticket for a broken tail light and I'm already running late. George needs to be at the tournament for the game less than four hours!"

"Just be a couple of minutes," Terry fired back with a commanding voice. "I need to know if George saw anything at the park during or after practice last night. And no, I don't need your help. You weren't there."

"I doubt he knows much. He was with my wife the whole time. And if I can get a ticket for a stupid ass taillight, you can give this asshole a ticket for blocking my drive! What the fuck is Arthur doing parking in front of my house, anyway?" Dominic stated with frustration in his voice as he stepped back and angled over to the mailbox while watching the conversation.

Without looking, he reached into the box, only to let out a pained and fearful shout while yanking his arm back.

Terry quickly jumped out of his truck as he saw a fairly large gila monster dangling off of the skin between the man's finger and thumb. He then grabbed George by the back of his shirt even as the boy took a step forward and shouted, "Dad!".

"Whoa!" Terry shouted out while pushing George protectively behind him. "Dom, pull it off! The longer it stays on you, the more toxin it is getting in!"

Dominic yanked at the large lizard's tail, only to find the thing had really latched on and wasn't letting go. He shook his hand wildly while screaming, "Get the fuck off me!"

Terry grabbed George and all but tossed him into the Bronco. "Grab the radio, push the button on the side of the mike and tell Sara your dad has a fucking gila monster hanging off him. Tell her I want an ambulance out here now!"

He then slammed the Blazer's door, straightened his shirt and moved toward Dominic slowly. A slight smirk appeared on his face as he noticed blood oozing from around where the large lizard's mouth had clamped down on the man's hand. He reached into his pocket and fingered an item even as he spoke, "There's not a whole hell of a lot I can do for you, Dom. Put your hand down on the ground and pull it's jaw open!"

By this time Dominic was in full panic mode and wasn't listening. Instead he tried a second time to pull the beast off his hand only to feel it clamp down harder. He also felt his skin rip as he tried to yank on the tail.

Across the street, a man came out and gave Terry a momentary shocked look, but followed it up with a hint of a grin before moving closer, "What the fuck is that?"

"Gila monster," Terry stated loudly. "Must have gotten into the big package box. This is why I tell everyone not to do fancy stone mailboxes. Shit can climb in! A steel pole sticking up a few feet with boxes hanging off keeps most shit out. We need to get it off him!"

"How?"

One of us tackle him the other step on his arm, reach down and pull the jaws open. Which one you want?"

"Neither…"

"Good answer, Arthur, but every second it's on him its dripping in more poison."

"Well, fuck!" Arthur snarled. Ain't no way I am grabbing it's mouth."

"Then the tackle is all you. Once I pull it off, pull him back. Ambulance should be on the way. Let me go grab my gloves first." Terry glanced back at Dominic only to see the man yanking at it yet again. The skin flap between the thumb and finger was really starting to shred. He moved leisurely back to the Blazer while continuing to finger whatever was in his left front pocket. As he got up to the window, he pointed to the back, "George, my leather gloves, grab, 'em quick!"

George easily found one on the back seat but couldn't locate the other. Hearing Sheriff Eaton yelling at him to hurry cause he need both, the twelve-year-old looked around wildly, before finally sticking his head over the back seat. He saw it poking out from under a tool box. He tried to pull it out, but the box was too heavy. He had to roll into the back and kick the over hundred pound box up with his feet so he could pull the leather glove out. With panic in his eyes he all but threw it to the sheriff.

Terry slid on the gloves, noted the gila monster was still clamped on and Dominic was down on his knees screaming and bawling. He moved closer while shooting Arthur a sideway's grin, "Damn, it really ain't going to let go. I guess we'll really need to do this."

"And I get Mary, right?"

"As long as you let her heal up and not pummel her or make her stand on hot pavement until she gets blisters, the way the Koop's do, she'll be all yours. Make sure she signs the contract, though."

Terry paused, and grinned, "Oh, and you'll need to go grab Tanner so he can get his pet back. I'll stick it back in the big package box. Do it fast cause Tanner is going to really mad at me if it dies from getting too hot. Scamper was the first pet I convinced Jess to let him keep."

"Will do." Arthur stopped, "Um, when will I get Mary?"

"As soon as I confirm they are available I'll come back here and get them. I'll take them to the clinic for a careful once over while explaining they really don't have much of a choice who they are being given to if they want to play on the teams. As soon as they are clear you can pick her up there. Remember, though, she'll need time to heal up and she gets to go to all softball events. If Nadine finds anything really wrong, you will be expected to make sure she gets proper follow-up care as well."

"Giving her some care so she get used to me and watching the girls play and being able to go to the tournaments as a parent, no downsides there. But what about Deb?"

Terry once again fingered a small glass encased baby gila monster in his pocket with silver markings around it, much like the rattler tail he had given Brandon. As it grew warm in his pocket and the gila monster attached to Dominic started thrashing around, delivering even more poison, he spoke softly, "Old mines are dangerous and those who want Abraham and Martha have taken a detour to show her one," Terry stated with a sinister smile.

Chapter 38

Deb Koops, lead construction engineer of Koop's Construction, moved up to the old mine and looked over the entrance. She glanced back at those with her with a mystified look, "I thought we were checking out the old entrance. This can't go to the main mine!"

"It doesn't, but I was told to take you here first." Richard responded. "I guess there is interest in exploring this."

Deb shook her head, "This place is a death trap. Old timber, real old. But pulling it and replacing it could cause the whole thing to go. Best bet is to shore it up. You really sure you need to go down into this? It's got to be over a hundred years old!"

Helen Davis the lead metallurgist let out a long breath. "Over a hundred and fifty years, actually. We've traced the main vein as far as we can with core sample's, Deb. It goes this direction and from what our historian has found, this is the only silver mine to ever pull any quantity of decent ore out from this area even though several others tried only to find what they had dug down to were small deposits and dried up within weeks. We'd sure like to go down there to see where they stopped and why, cause if this is part of the main vein, the O'Bryan's should have gotten filthy rich instead of closing up after only thirty-two months."

"Great," the woman muttered as she slipped on a hardhat, clicked on the light and poked her head in. "If I get bit by something down here, the mine is paying me for time lost and medical."

Richard Hill wiped at the sweat pouring down his face, put on a hardhat, and adjusted his mine security vest. Once situated, he pulled out a Ruger nine millimeter. "I'm right behind you. If you see something step back and let me handle it, Deb."

"No problem, but watch what you are shooting. As old as this place is, a bullet may be enough to crack a supporting timber and the sound is of a gunshot in a cave is going to be deafing. Also the second I say we're done, this is over. I'll draw up a bid to shore it up to our stopping point, then I'll give a number to go further as necessary, based on what I am seeing and how far down you need to go.

"Sounds reasonable as long as we can push in far enough today to where I can reassure the board this is going to be worth it," Helen responded. "There is money in the budget for a large exploration of the silver vein, but they aren't going to authorize a hundred grand or more unless this is as promising as our historian thinks it is."

Seeing dollar signs in her head, Deb pushed on past where she would have normally stopped. As the mine branched off, she frowned and started examining the overhead timbers of the main shaft. "This is a structural weak point. These two beams and bowing meaning rock above is pushing down on them and the larger one is cracked. We'll have to put in brand new braces here before any kind of heavy equipment can pass through. Actually, I'd say nothing goes past here until we stabilize it. I'm willing to check out the smaller passage, but no way am I going under this." She pointed up.

Getting nods of understanding, she carefully backed off and took the smaller passage. It was too narrow for more than one person at a time and her whole focus was on the walls and rough ceiling. She paused as she noticed a wet spot on the left wall. She ran her hand over it, sniffed it and frowned again. "Water?" She started tracing it up toward a small crack in the ceiling several feet further down the passage. She never even noticed the much flatter section on the floor partially because it was covered with over a century of dirt and dust, but mostly because she was fixated on where the moisture was coming from. The rotten wood gave as soon as she put her weight on it. With a scream, she plummeted forty feet down a narrow shaft originally meant to provide more air to workers deeper in the mine, then covered over for long ago forgotten reasons. She disappeared from view of those behind her bouncing off the walls as she tumbled.

Richard jaw fell open. He held up his hand to stop Helen even as he moved as close to the edge of the hole as he dared, knelt, and played his headlamp down, "Oh shit! Deb! Deb! Can you hear me? I can't see you! Can you hear me?"

After a few seconds, Helen also moved up, but pulled out a powerful mag-light flashlight and adjusted the beam to as bright and narrow as it could go. She wiggled past Richard, and while Richard held her belt, she pointed the light down. It didn't take long to see Deb's motionless body. The woman's left leg was bent in a way telling her it was badly broken and there was a spreading pool of blood around the woman's head. Her hardhat was nowhere to be seen, and wherever it had gone, the light was not on any longer. Helen looked back with a horrified expression, "Holy shit, I think she's dead!"

"Deb!" Richard shouted again, "Deb! Talk to us!"

Outside the mine, an elderly Navaho man knelt and sprinkled some colored sand in the ground to finish of an ancient symbol of power. He spoke in Navaho for a several minutes as he completed the ritual then turned to stare at the mine and whispered in English. "Great malevolence has weakened the barriers yet again, so your full return is all but written. Take the sadistic torturer of her own young offspring as a offering of delay. Amuse yourself with her while you wait, for now is not the time."

Inside the mine Helen watched for any movement. All she saw was the pool of blood spreading and an odd dark shadow roll down the lower passage where Deb's motionless body was lying. The darkness seemed to roll up the airshaft then turn and go down the main shaft Deb had avoided. Helen hit the side of her light. Even as she blinked the shadow vanished, so she took it for a loose connection with the batteries. What went unnoticed to both was the single spasm as the last of Deb's life way yanked out of her. Nor did either notice when the trickle of water stopped and even reversed flow back into the tiny crack, leaving the wall totally dry as the shadow went past.

Helen made one attempt to grab onto the edge of the hole only to find the remaining wood crumbled in her hands. She motioned for Richard to pull her back even as she shouted down, "Deb, if you can hear me, I'm going to go get help! Richard will stay here with you!"

Richard shook his head, "The hairs on the back of my neck just stood up. Hot outside or not, I'll wait at the fucking entrance. It's not like we can do shit for her now anyway. Even if we had rope, there's nothing safe to tie off to. We'll need a rescue team!"

By the time the two came out of the mine wind had erased the symbol made of sand, and there was not a trace of footprints. However, the air was deathly still when they emerged into the nasty head of the desert. Helen looked up at Richard while shaking like a leaf, "You think this is what Terry expected to happen?"

"I… I don't know… I guess…maybe… I mean, he said it would let us get Abraham and Martha…"

"But she's dead!"

Richard ignored the sun slicing down at him. Instead he bent over and put his hands on his knees to steady himself. For he was certain they had not been alone inside the mine. "Honestly, I don't give a fuck as long as we're out of there, he doesn't try to blame me, and I get Abraham like he promised."

He then looked up and tried to force a grin, "Don't get me wrong. Abraham is not as cute as Brandon, but once all those bruises heal, he'll do me just fine. Better yet, he's free. I'll have Abraham and still have my name toward the top of the new arrival list. The same will go for you and Martha."

Helen took several deep breaths while sitting on a rock. While she was far for calm her mind at least started processing things again, "You're right… My husband and I will be all over Martha once she heals up, probably before, but we'll make sure to give her some healing time. Poor girl… But I can't believe he had us kill Deb!"

"He didn't have us do anything but take her to this mine. He may have suspected something like this would happen, but I sure don't see how. He wasn't around, and that shaft was old and had been covered for a real long time. I sure didn't see any footprints and those beams were rotten as fuck. Plus I just pulled the boards off the entrance a few minutes before you got here and they were just as old and rotten. Those nails are like made by blacksmiths and rusty as hell too. Besides, you told me this mine was one the board wanted looked at."

"It is, and when I asked about bringing her out here I was told to do so. But Terry knew this would help us get her kids… Do you think something is going to happen to Dominic too?"

"Again, as long as I stay on Terry's good side and get Abraham, I could care less. Besides, Dominic sure didn't do shit to stop Abraham from getting his ass beaten till it was purple a couple of times a week up at the park. I mean, if there was a reason, fine, but not for missing a catch of a ball he couldn't even jump and reach… I never did understand it. But anyone who comes to look will see this was an accident, plain and simple… no matter how much I'm sure I felt something down there."

Helen pointed to the cars, "Let's at least get in some air conditioning while I call the sheriff."

"Call the office. He told me if we needed to contact him while we were out here he wants it to come through dispatch. The way it sounded to me, he won't even come out here. He'll let the mine rescue team or Irwin handle the recovery."

"See, he did know…"

"I told you before you brought her out to meet me, Terry was up to something we really didn't want a part of. But I'm also telling you, this mine has been sealed for decades, if not longer."

Helen looked back at the opening to the mine and shuddered, "No wonder everyone says we have to do what he says… If he can do this… I sure don't want him seeing his sights on me… What are we going to tell the front office?" "The truth. We were checking out the old O'Brian silver mine and Deb fell through the floor while checking it out for us. She was the hired safety person and missed it. Somehow Terry set this whole thing up so it will all be seen as Deb's fault!"

Chapter 39

Joseph was washed head to toe and back again by the bartender. The man wasn't rough, but there was not one part of his body that hadn't been touched a few times. The guy even brushed Joseph's teeth. The problem was, Joseph was mentally and physically exhausted and was deathly scared the big black guy might shove his penis in his face and make him suck it if he didn't let the guy do what he wanted. To this end, seeing the man grab a towel, Joseph didn't even try to resist. Instead he held out his arms and allowed the bartender free access to dry him off. Finally the man handed him the clothing he had come in with and left, allowing him time to dress and get his wits back.

While this was happening, Terry pulled out a chair at the table Bruce was sitting at. "Damn, lots of talk of what put Joey through. Kind of harsh, don't you think?"

"Kid's got to learn, Sheriff."

"I get it, but shit he's a fresh face and from what I'm hearing, a couple of them really worked him. Keep in mind, what I said in the meeting. You are going to ruin him at this pace." Terry pushed a folder over, "Since I am sure you never bothered to read this, I recommend you take a look."

"What is this?"

"The psych report Nadine drew up. I made it easy for you."

Bruce frowned, but opened the folder and noticed a highlighted passage:

Joey is used to being bullied by his younger brother, but also protected by him at the same time. His father was abusive and his mom loving, yet not terribly protective. He is intelligent but already indoctrinated into this cycle of basic abuse. He will need some semblance of a dominant personality, yet minor protector if he is ever going to integrate into a long term sexually, physically, and emotionally aggressive situation.

Because of this, Joey would be better in a strictly sexually active home. This would replace the emotional and physical abuse he is used to. The transition will be nearly seamless. However, if emotional, physical and sexual requirements are forced on him, he could easily and rapidly be pushed beyond his cognitive ability to handle such an onslaught. Should his living conditions require this, care must be taken to balance out discipline with kindness and punishments with praise outside of the overall dominate force in his day to day life. Suicide is not likely, but his mental strength and durability is very week for a teenage boy. To prevent a major chance of total mental failure, include praise and some kind of protector; for best results this should be from a kid who is both his superior, but also somewhat protective and supportive in what is desired out of him. To lessen the chance of serious metal issues including mental breakdown, this person should be used throughout and even past the normal new home adjustment period.

Bruce looked up, "Support? That's what Sammy's for…"

"Come on, Bruce, how is Sammy going to ever support and protect Joey? Sammy's under you thumb and Joey has to know it by now. Even if you try set it up, Joey is intelligent enough to see through it and would drop his self-esteem even further." Terry nodded in the direction of a girl wearing a halter top, ass hugging short-shorts and flip-flops who was wiping down tables with a blank look even as a few hands grabbed her ass as she walked by. "You want a fourteen-year-old like number Eight there, or a fourteen-year-old artist and plaything who reacts and can become what you really want?"

Bruce eyed the fifteen year old girl and sighed, "I remember when she first came here… No, I don't want a fucking zombie under my roof."

"Didn't think so. Besides, Joey's got potential. I bought his snake drawing and hope to buy a few other works before he becomes famous, and I am betting he will, given a little more care. Hell, ten years from now you could have fifty drawings pads by him even as he hits the big time. Think of all the cash that could bring in."

"OK, yeah, but… Look Terry, I finally got what I was after and finding someone to be Joey's… emotional crutch, or whatever, means going to the board and finding a hardened kid who could handle me, give me what I like, and still be basically nice to Joey. I don't see how any kid available could fit all three, and even if there was, I really don't want to go into debt again after just getting myself out tonight with Sammy finally being all mine."

"You like to watch baseball, so I have a solution for you."

"Oh? Do tell."

"George is sitting in my truck. I'll give him to you if you agree let him play and put Sammy on the team. You get to go to all the away games and tournaments and can probably have an extra boy once in a while."

"What? Deb and Dom giving him up or something."

"Both have had unfortunate mishaps today…"

"Then I want Abraham."

"Sorry, he's already been spoken for. Haven't found a placement for George yet. Besides, Abraham wouldn't fill the need you have for Joey."

Bruce frowned, "You know I really like my boys pale… This would mean Sammy would get an awful tan and while I can keep Joey out of it, he'll still get more than I like."

"You can keep Sammy in long undershirt and long pants and he'll have a hat on. I have that cooling underwear in my store. I'll even spot you a few sets. Say two for Sammy and one for George? Although, George already takes after his dad, so his skin in naturally darker. You can keep Joey out of the sun and he even gets to draw the kids. Hell, you could get him a camera and he could take pictures to draw some later too. If anyone says anything about him taking a pictures, all you will have to do is tell him to show his sketch pad. Besides, he has an artist's eye, he may make a good photographer too. Plus, I hear he needs more work on muscles and human bodies. What better place than drawing kids play baseball."

"George is still younger than him…"

"But bigger and we all know dammed good and well he can take some serious punishment. If you set the expectations right, Joey will soon see George as a new Lex, but this time his protector will be under your control. You set all rules. It'll be up to you to tell him what he can and can't do to shelter Joey and even set up things to make it easy for George to do so. It won't be long before George can start demanding things out of Joey which could get you some great vids and shit. If you are still having any misgivings, look at it as getting a free kid, for fuck sake."

Bruce took a deep breath and finally nodded, "OK, but still two problems. Sammy is set for a contest I wanted Joey to have to watch, and George will need to get to the tournament before the first game… Oh, and what angle should I use with George and how long do I get to keep him?"

"Oh, you take him, he's yours. Deb and Dom are gone… Well Deb is and Dom will be shortly. I'll let George fill you in. It'll be good for him to work through his feelings with you. Just be ready for him to cry on you a little. It will build trust since I know you have never had him over and he knows very little about you. As far as Sammy and Joey, it's too late to get Sammy on the team for the tourney, so they can go up late. Wayne's here. I bet if I offer to let him babysit Joey while he watches Sammy suffer, then gets access to both boys, he'd be willing to drive them up to meet you. You just tell me what you'll allow.

"As far as making George want to be with you, allow me to set the stage. I'll tell him you are the only one I could find willing to keep him on the team and even suggest, because of his bruising, finding others may mean waiting in the bar or even down in Old Town until he heals up. Once he hears the options I'd put money on him signing the contract making you his parent and he'll do whatever you want. But do all of us a favor and go easy or at least slow on the poor kid. At the very least let him heal up. I bet he would make a much better player if he wasn't a fucking walking punching bag of welts. As it is Nadine says he has a cracked rib, and his x-rays show two old spiral fractures on left arm, which might be way he can't seem to extend his arm out all the way. She thinks once this season is over she could re-break the one and cast it. With some rehab, he'll be fine in time for the fall/winter league."

"And what about a room up at the tourney?"

"No issue there. Dom booked the deluxe suit at the hotel the rest of the team is staying at since he was going to take all four of his kids while Deb did some subcontracting for the mine. I'll place a call to the hotel and tell them to switch it over to your name since Dom is in ICU. I am sure between my badge and the overall message there won't be an issue. If there is, I'll contact a friend of mine in the sheriff's office there. He will bend arms if needed, but honestly, it's paid for, so it's not going to be an issue."

Bruce mulled it all over for a few seconds, "OK, but nothing up Joeys' back door, and I do mean absolutely nothing. It's still untouched and it's mine. I also don't want Joey doing anything with Sammy other than sucking him. Joey can't get sucked until he can take my seed the way I want either. They need to stay out of the sun as much as possible, but otherwise… well, hell, Wayne has enjoyed Sammy a few times here, so as long as he stays within house rules on Sammy, and leaves the backdoor alone on Joey, I'm fine with him having MY boys. I'll let him keep them overnight and he can drive them up tomorrow if he wants. This will give me more time alone with George so I can make sure he knows what I want out of him when it comes to Joey."

"Oh, Wayne will want." Terry snorted even as he looked at his watch. "OK, give me a couple of minutes to set the stage with Wayne then George.

I'll have George come in, talk to Joey about his drawings, then you can come over and offer to take him in and get him to the tourney if he signs the contract. This will let you tell both Sammy and Joey who they belong to for the rest of the day before you take off. Let Me do introductions to keep Joey off balance and compliant since he is very new and doesn't understand he can be handed over to anyone at any time. You'll have just under three hours to get George there before first game, and I'll toss you a deputy badge, magnetic lights and a screamer so you can get there fast. I'll also call ahead and explain what happened and why you may be breaking some speed limits to get him there. No one will pull you over and if you are lucky, you will be able to get him there in time to acclimate a little before the game."

"Do I get to keep the lights and badge?"

Terry busted out laughing. "Depends, you willing to be an on-call deputy and not tell me to screw off if I call you up in the middle of the night while you have one of your boys draped over you?"

"When you put it that way… I'll have to think it over…"

"You have until they come back Monday evening to give me an answer. One thing is for sure, I could use a couple more men on standby."

"Shit, Monday evening… Does this mean I have to go sit out in the desert while they look for a bunch of stupid rocks, too?"

"You don't have to. You could send them on the bus, but I know Ray packed some shelters to set over the dig areas and I'm betting the coaches are going to make the boys go down to shorts or even underwear while they dig and then strip, shake the dirt and sand out, and get as clean as possible before letting them back on Greg's tour bus. For all I know, Ray and Greg may have even packed a couple of camp showers. You know how Greg is about keeping his shit clean. You might even want to take a rifle or two. You and Buck are buddies and Lex loves to shoot. If you guys can get him controlled and trustworthy with a hunting rifle, you could take him hunting this winter. I bet I can get Greg to let Brand join us, too, since he and Lex both talked about bow hunting dear."

"So I'll get to see them all and may be able to spend some time around Lex…and even have some boys with us up hunting… Damn, OK, I'm in, but I am grabbing my generator and a damned mist fan so I can watch while sipping on a beer with some cool air blowing over me. High here Monday is supposed to be 107!"

Chapter 40

Harriet looked up as the door opened with a mixture of hope and dread. She was rapidly losing track of time and was lightly shivering. So far the door had been opened six time, this the seventh. The first one she had been given nothing to eat, even though they brought down dinner. She guessed that meant she had been in the basement for a full day since her prior meal had been the dinner when she signed the contract. The next one had been breakfast, but they only gave her an apple. Not getting the eggs and bacon after smelling them had been a hard it. She really thought if she got the counter up on the treadmill, she would get a full meal. But it simply didn't work the way she expected.

After the same thing happening on the third meal, a lunch of a sandwich, a banana and a huge chunk of chocolate cake, where she only got the banana, she wondered if she did more if they would give her more. She pushed the numbers up way past the required 1000. It took five times to do, it, but she got them up to 1500. When the next dinner was brought down, she got the veggies and a very small piece of meatloaf, but no potatoes and no cake.

The real problem was they didn't say anything and ignored any questions. Nancy just pointed to the display and zeroed it out before putting whatever food she decided to hand out on a smaller plate. She then left while Robert stayed at the door, blocking escape.

The fourth time she tried pleading and grabbing Nancy. This got her smacked hard on the face and Nancy left without checking the display and took all the breakfast food even though Harriet managed to put it all the way up to 1750. A very short time later Robert came in, zeroed it out and left while wagging a warning finger at her.

The next time Harriet saw Nancy the woman had a big plate of spaghetti, but since Harriet hadn't been given any food and the treadmill had been zeroed out after getting the number so high Harriet hadn't touched it. This turned out to be a big mistake, since Nancy walked over glanced at it, looked at the ceiling and shook her head before walking right back out with all the food.

This really pissed Harriet off. She went into the bedroom and threw a massive temper tantrum. She tossed everything out onto the floor where the treadmill was then stormed into the bathroom and did the same thing. Harriet didn't even get a chance to find out what the next meal would have been. As soon as Nancy opened the door her eyes narrowed and she slammed the door. It didn't take long for Robert to appear in the door. He scooped everything up, tossed it out into the hall then came back in with a belt.

Before Harriet realized what was going to happen, the man wrapped his hand into her hair, pulled her into the bedroom, sat down on the bed and pulled her down over his lap. Even though she tried to fight him, she had no chance. Besides the more she struggled, the harder he pulled her hair. As soon as she realized she was only making the whole thing worse and stopped trying to fight, Robert yanked off her sweatpants, let her resist again until she exhausted herself, and finally delivered ten hard stinging slaps across the back of her legs. He then shoved her down of the floor, pulled a note out of his pocket and dropped it next to her as she screamed and cried.

He left the room with the sweatpants in hand, leaving her in a shirt and panties. It took quite a while before she found her composure. When she did she realized without anything to wear and not even a sheet left, the room was pretty chilly. The problem quickly become obvious. She had tossed everything out, even the towel and wash cloth from the bathroom. She didn't have anything to put on, and worse she didn't even have toilet paper since she had thrown it out into the main room as well.

Once she finally calmed down and stopped screaming, she found the note and read it:

Harriet,

We know you like to be called Gwyn, but why should we do what you like when you will not do what we ask of you? From this moment on, we will not tolerate you acting like a spoiled five-year-old and you best never destroy your room or things we buy for you ever again. We spent our hard earned money to get you what you have, and you thank us by making a mess of it. How can you expect us to ever get you anything else if you can't even take care of clothing and toiletries? Even worse, you have been in your living area for several meals and have yet to take a shower, give us any dirty clothing to wash, or even use the cleaning items we left in the bucket.

Because of your childish and destructive behavior, we are going to give you two choices.

One: Go to the shelter and live there. I understand Jess is now working there every night, and is willing to spend some quality time with you. The kids there also say they'd enjoy having you back over since they had so much fun with you. It makes me wonder why you didn't seem to like it.

Two: The next time Nancy, your mom, comes in, you will have those filthy clothing you still have on put next to the door and tell her how sorry you are. You will call her mom and if I come in, you will call me dad. Neither of us will answer until you prove to us you want to be our young lady, but you are still expected to talk to us with the respect we deserve and demand, just like any parent should.

If you decide on number two your mom will provide a few needed things, and you can earn other items back over time.

Over the next several meals your behavior best change to the nice girl you said you would be when we agreed to take you in. As it is, we originally planned to give you nicer things after you stayed with us a week, but now, we are putting everything on hold. The books and radio we bought for you are going to be returned and you will, within the next few meals, be given a piece of paper and a crayon, yes crayon, since we can't trust you with anything meant for a girl above the age of five. Once this is given to you, you will write down what you are willing to do to earn more than what your mom is going to bring you the next time she comes down. You best find some really good things to put on the list, because if it was up to your mom, you would already be back at the shelter with Tanner and the other kids there.

We will then test you to make sure you really are willing to do what you say. You best follow through on each and every item. Just to make this as crystal clear as possible, let me point something out: I am making sure they are keeping a bed open for you at the shelter.

Your Father

Harriet read the note at least a dozen times, bawling each time. While there were many things within, only three really sunk in. First she was supposed to leave the dirty clothing she had on by the door, but if she did, there was no clothing left to put on! She had thrown around the other stuff and Robert took it all. This meant she would be nude the next time Nancy came in and Robert would be able to see her as he stood in the door!

The next thing was how she had probably only been a few days away from a radio and some books to read. Even though it was just a radio and books it really hurt to read about it because there was nothing to do other than walk on the treadmill, and she loved to listen to music. Knowing she had lost a chance at having something to listen to and do was crushing.

The final item she focused on was the stuff about the shelter. If she didn't do what they wanted, how they wanted, she would be back there with Jess, who raped her even though she had been forced to say she lied about it. Seeing Tanner's name, and reading how the other kids were looking forward to having fun with her again brought back the mouse, the huge spider, being tossed in the tub, and worst of all, peed on. There was no way she could go back there. NO WAY!

After sulking and crying, she finally made up her mind. She got the treadmill back up to 1500 and removed what little she had on. She stayed close to the door covering herself up as best as she could while the room seemed to get colder.

Nancy and Robert toasted Champaign as they watched the girl in their basement debate and finally strip. Robert moved up to the thermostat and dropped the temperature in the basement a few degrees while shooting his wife a smile. She tipped her glass to him and took another drink. Finally, after letting Harriet tremble next to the door for over an hour, she grabbed a few things and went down.

As the door opened Harriet jumped up, tossed her clothing at the door and darted into the bathroom to hide as much as she could.

Unfortunately for her, Nancy was more than ready. She stood at the door with food in one hand and a small bag in the other. When Harriet didn't appear she turned toward the door, "I guess she doesn't want to come out, call me mom, and apologize. Go ahead and call the shelter, Robert.

Harriet came out from the bathroom doing her best to cover up herself with her arms, "No… Mom, no! I'm sorry! I won't do it again!

Since her back was too the girl, Nancy smiled and sent a wink at Robert. She then spun and glared at Harriet.

Harriet trembled as she looked at the stern faced woman, "I'm sorry, but I'm starving and there is nothing to do down here… um, mom!"

Nancy took a deep breath and let out an audible sigh. She gave Harriet a slight nod, moved over to the treadmill, glanced at the display, and zeroed it out. She then put a pair of runny eggs and a piece of wheat toast down on the floor along with a plastic spoon. She also dropped the bag, nodded to it and walked back out.

Harriet rushed to the bag even as she heard the door lock, only to find a towel, soap, shampoo, toilet paper, washcloth, toothbrush and paste. She stood there staring at it for several seconds wondering where the clothing was. She turned, looking at the door as if expecting it to open. Part of her wondered if Nancy forgot, while another part of her figured the woman was just being mean and would appear with a handful of clothing at any moment. It took almost thirty minutes before Harriet realized the door was not going to open. With tears, rolling down her cheeks, she held the towel up, trying to figure out a way to cover herself up, but other than hold it up in front of her, she either could cover her midsection or top, not both. It took several more minutes before she realized the towel was the only thing she had to cover up with since Robert had taken all the bedding including her pillow.

The problem was, she knew they expected her to take a shower, and it was chilly, especially without any clothes. Harriet also realized as soon as she used the towel to dry, it would be wet and too cold to use for anything until it dried.

Finally, she picked up the now cold plate of eggs and bread. She paced as she ate. Even as she licked at the plate, trying to get every bit of food, since it was such a small meal and she was so hungry, she went over the times the door had opened and what had been on the plates. After a few minutes she determined they had kept her in the basement for at least three days… Three days! Surely someone would be missing her and her would Grandparents stop being mad at her and come looking after not hearing from her, or maybe the constable. He knew who she went home with and would come to check. Wouldn't he?

She also debated with herself on what to do. If they weren't going to give her any clothing, she had to run. But she couldn't. If she disobeyed, she would go to the shelter and get pissed on, and maybe even pooped on, since one of the boy's said he would. At least here, she only had Nancy and Robert to deal with. When she compared the two, she reluctantly decided being locked in a basement until rescue was better than having kids and maybe even Jess torment her, even if the shelter did come with some freedom and clothing.

With a trembling lip she finally went and took a shower.

Two hours later, which once again seemed like much longer, the door opened again. Harriet held up the towel to cover her exposed front while glancing over to the treadmill with dread. She hadn't used it since the last meal!

Nancy looked down at the door and made a growling sound and started to turn away while shaking her head.

"Please, no, I'm sorry!"

Nancy turned keeping her face as angry as she could make it look. She pointed at the towel, then down at the floor in front of the door."

"But I only used it once…"

Nancy's eyes narrowed.

From up the steps Robert's voice called out, "Hun, I haven't heard her say who she is talking to, should I get the belt or call the shelter."

Nancy turned, "No wonder we were warned about taking her in. Not only does she not want to call me mom, but she didn't even leave the towel she used on the floor! Maybe we should just send her back. Call Jess."

"No! No! Mom, I'm sorry!" Harriet shrieked as she tossed the towel down and quickly put her arms and hands in front while getting as small as she could.

Robert spoke up again, "Maybe we should give her one more chance, hun. Maybe she is just not as smart as we were told or something.

"Lazy and spoiled is what she is!" Nancy snarled as she moved up to the treadmill then moved back to the door turned to look at Robert. When she spoke her voice dripped with anger, "She didn't even exercise since the last time! I'm not sure I can deal with this crap too much longer. I say give her to Jess and let him and the shelter kids deal with her."

"Mom, I'm sorry! I'll do what you want! I didn't know I wasn't allowed to reuse the towel! I won't do it again!"

Nancy turned just long enough to glare at Harriet before focusing on Robert, who Harriet couldn't even see. "I'm done! Make the call."

"Oh, come on hun, how about one more chance?"

"Do you know how many chances we've already given her? This is getting stupid! I really don't want something this ungrateful, disobedient, and destructive in my house."

"I'll be better! Mom, please don't send me back there!"

"She sounds pretty sure, Nancy, and we did agree to care for her."

"Only if she followed the contract, and she hasn't!"

"Please mom, I will from now on!"

Robert watched as Nancy shook her head followed by more pleading from Harriet. He shot his wife a wide smile even as he made his voice sound stern, "How about a punishment. If she lets me spank her without fighting, we give her one more shot. If not, I'll drive her over myself."

Nancy let out a long annoyed sounding breath. "She'll never agree and even if she does, she's to childish and stupid to follow through without throwing another fit! Besides, a girl her age shouldn't need a spanking!"

"But she obviously does. Remember, you are the one who wanted to take a child and change the world one kid at a time. I was the one against taking in a kid who would have emotional issues."

"I know, but I sure as hell didn't expect this! Just call Jess. He can come get her. Make sure he brings something for her to wear, too. He can bring it down here, cause I'm locking the door until he gets here."

Harriet's eyes darted around the room wildly, but as Nancy walked out and started to close the door, the thought of Jess coming down to give her clothing when she was naked was terrifying. "No, mom, I'll do it. You can punish me! I'll let you!"

"Come on, hun," Robert stated loudly enough to be heard over Harriet's continued pleas. "It's only one more chance and we already ordered stuff for a room for her. Some of that is not fully refundable."

"Oh, you are such a softy!" Nancy grumbled as she fully opened the door again. "Fine, but I best hear her call you dad and thank you for caring so damned much. Oh, and I need a break from this spoiled little shithead, so you will have to deal with her the next few meals. I don't even want to see her face right now."

Robert moved past Nancy, even as he pulled off his belt. He grabbed the nude girl by the back of her neck and lead her into the bedroom area. He then sat on the bed and pointed to his lap. As soon as he saw her start shaking, he put the belt on the mattress, held up his cell phone with Jess' name on the display and his thumb hovering over the call button. His other hand was open palm up. After a couple a seconds he dropped a finger on his open hand. Two seconds later he dropped another, then a third. At the same time his thumb edged ever closer to the call button.

Horrified by her choices, Harriet laid over Robert's lap while closing her eyes tightly. She let out a howl and kicked her legs as the belt struck her ass. She almost pulled herself off, but as she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the phone with Jess' name on the screen. Bawling after only one hit she dropped back down onto Robert's lap.

Robert was getting his first up close look at Harriet. He badly wanted to enjoy her, but forced himself to keep his hands off her sensitive areas. However, he was in no hurry. It took almost five minutes to land all ten blows. When she started to shift, she got the phone pushed into her face, and the next shot came harder. If she didn't move much and just cried, the following impact came with much less force. It only took six before she realized this and basically surrendered to the final four.

Robert grabbed her by the back of the neck, pulled her to her feet, and forcefully guided her into the outer room. Once he had her back in front of Nancy, he lifted Harriet's chin so she was forced to look him in the eyes. He then waited.

For Harriet's part she was too focused on using one hand to cover her front while the other rubbed at her very sore backside to understand what was wanted.

Nancy spoke up, "No calling you dad and no thanks, Robert. See, she's a worthless brat… It'll be at least a few months before her mother will be able to take care of her. Let the shelter keep her till then."

Harriet's upper and lower lips both quivered while she shook her head. "Dad, I'm sorry! I… Thank you for giving me a chance… Mom, please don't send me back there."

Robert moved up to his wife, pulled the clean towel off her shoulder and tossed it to Harriet, gave her a smile, and all but pushed Nancy out the door in front of him.

As Harriet saw the door closing, she shouted, "Mom, Dad! Please! You can't leave me down here with nothing to wear!"

Five minutes later the door opened again. Robert stood in the door holding a folder while motioning Harriet over. The second he saw her hesitate, he pulled his phone off his belt.

Harriet at first hoped the door opening meant she was going to be given something to wear, but as soon as she saw Robert with nothing but a folder in his hand her heart sank. However, seeing him hold up the phone told her she had to go to him or she would be handed over to the shelter. She did her best to cover up with the towel even as she shuffled over to the man who had just beat her with a belt.

Robert reached out. The moment she flinched and pulled her head back, his hand once again went back to the phone at his side.

"Don't call… Dad, please. You don't know what that place is like!"

Robert shrugged and reached out again. This time Harriet cringed, but forced herself not to pull away. He stroked her plump cheeks for several seconds before taking a step back and extending the folder. As soon as she took it, he walk back and quickly closed the door.

Harriet stood motionless for several seconds. The man's touch had been nice. It was totally unexpected and, after dealing with everything else, welcome. The other thing was, having someone in the room, even if they weren't talking to her, was better than the loneliness of having no one to at least talk at and noting to do. It also was very troubling, since she hated both Nancy and Robert at this point and was basically naked, since the towel could only hid so much. However, even the smallest acts of kindness and company were a welcome change. Her mind battled over the contracting emotions surrounding this.

Finally she retreated to her bed, curled up with the towel covering as much of her as she could force it to do and opened the folder. Inside she found a cover letter followed by a copy of the contract she signed without reading it.

With a frown she read the short cover letter:

Harriet,

Your last words as we left you after giving you the punishment you badly deserved made me realize you didn't bother to read the following document. I highly suggest you do. In particular, you should study the section I stuck orange sticky note on.

If nothing else it will give you something to read.

Also I will clarify a few rules.

1. You are to shower at least once daily
2. You will discard the towel when you do
3. You will get nothing to eat until the display reads 1000 (and I hope you are smart enough to have figured out the higher the number the more you get)
4. I will soon bring in another bucket with cleaning stuff. When I do, you are expected to clean your area from top to bottom. I will inspect for dirt, dust, smudges, and check to make sure the toilet, shower, and sink are spotless. all cleaning supplies and materials will be returned to the bucket after completion. If I find any area not up to my standards it will be the same as if the display reads zero.
5. You will thank us whenever we give you anything, even a towel or cleaning supplies. As part of this when you do, you will call us Mom and Dad. If not, you will feel the belt again.
6. When motioned for, you will come. No delays.
7. If the belt comes off or is in hand you will lay over my lap.
8. It took some doing, but I convinced Nancy to keep you and let you build into being our girl. She even told me to bump up the temperature down there since you seemed a bit chilly. This is all based on your following though with your the document I provided. It also means following though with what we demand within the framework of the document.
9. Do yourself a big favor and don't forget to use the exercise machine before next meal time.
10. Take time to read and understand the document.

We were told you were intelligent, so you should be able to understand it. If not, you should be able to get the gist. I was told by Buck your brother Alex gets it really well, and even Brandon understands much more than the basics. Had you bothered to listen instead of focusing on the snack table, you would already have a good idea since Alex didn't sign until he read it all and asked some questions. The document you signed is the law of this house, so you better learn it. If not, I have a real heavy leather belt I could pull out of storage. Do both of us a favor and don't make me dig in the junk room to find it.

As a side note, should you continue to give us major problems, we may be forced to turn you over to the shelter or someone else. It sounds like Cherry's dad or even Jess would be happy to take you in.

Dad

Harriet scanned the contract the first time, only picking up bits and pieces. It was confusing with words she had never heard of before. Normally she wouldn't have bothered to go into depth since it doing so required a great deal of effort. However, there was nothing else for her to do.

She sped through it a second time picking up a few more details before she decided to get the stupid treadmill out of the way. She managed to get it up to just over 1000, thinking about what she had been able to understand off the contract. It was enough to make her cry. As far as she could tell, the Butlers hadn't done anything outside of the what the document said they could. It was all there; what she wore exercise, living conditions, nutrition, bathing requirements, recreation and leisure, everything… it was all up to them and she had agreed to it by signing. Harriet even tried to find things wrong, like being locked in the basement, but it said she had to be provided Secure living conditions. There was no other requirement other than she couldn't freeze or get dangerously hot.

Not being given any clothing was her next issue, but again, the contract gave the Butlers full authority on what she did, or in this case, didn't wear. It was also where Robert had put the stiky note, so she read it carefully. The problem was this was one of the muddiest and strangest wording in the contract. Harriet had to read it four times before her brain totally wrapped around what it said.

This agreement also pertains to the vestments both when indoors and outdoors of Harriet Gwyn Parson. All aspects of habiliments, including foot and head to be afforded to Harriet Gwyn Parson is at the singular discretion of Mr. and Mrs. Butler, and is only limited in scope by standard public garment requirements of the law and weather circumstances. At no time shall the Butlers require attire which has realistic probability of causing harm through temperature to the minor Harriet Gwyn Parson. Hover there is an exception/exemption caveat within: should Harriet Gwyn Parsons participate in sports, uniforms and protection equipment will be provided to the minor for duration of all sporting events to include official practice.'

At first she thought she had something, but her initial excitement was crushed when she reread and found is only limited in scope by standard public garment requirements of the law. Since the use of public was spelled out, she guess she only needed to be given clothing when going out. She tried to find a way to argue this with herself for several minutes. However, she had to admit, there was nothing against the law about running around with nothing on when inside back home, and she guessed the same thing could be said about the U.S.

She found it difficult to believe it was legal, but the constable and the child welfare officer had both been at the meeting, so maybe it was. This made her wonder if the laws in the United States were far different than in England. One way or the other it didn't really matter at this point. They could keep her locked in their basement for as long as they wanted, give her whatever clothing they decided, even if it was nothing, and require her to earn food by walking on the treadmill. While she didn't understand the exact meaning of the words, she even bet the belt spanking she received was allowed by way of the contract since it stated:

Mr. and Mrs. Butler's sagacity over the foster child known as Harriet Gwyn Parsons grants Mr. and Mrs. Butler full disciplinary discretion for any infractions real or perceived within the confines of this overall document.

Even worse, however, was it really sounded to Harriet like the Parsons could hand her to someone else at any time! The passage was a short one near the end of the contract. It stated:

At any time, Mr. and/or Mrs. Butler may either temporarily or permanently extend disciplinary discretion rights to another under the condition Harriet Gwyn Parsons is informed either before or during the transfer of these authoritative rights. This may be by oral or written communication to all parties partaking in the transition of disciplinary discretion. During the duration of transfer, all guardian responsibilities and powers within this contract are considered to be transferred to the person or persons taking custodial possession of Harriet Gwyn Parsons.

If she was really reading this correctly, she could be handed over to someone like Jess and the whole contract would just transfer. She didn't have any say in it at all. If she didn't do what they wanted, how they wanted, when they wanted, they really could hand her over to Jess and he could make her run around the house naked! A fifth read through left her reeling, since she started to realize when, where and even how she slept was up to whoever was over her. She started to realize someone like Jess could simply say she had to sleep naked in the same bed as he did… With nothing else to do but think over what she had accidentally agreed to, other thoughts and ideas just as horrible started to seep into her mind. She pulled herself into a ball and sobbed.

What she didn't realize and her mind could not possibly comprehend, was the duration of her stay in the room hadn't even reached twenty-four hours.