Monsters' Crew (Crude Hill High Book 1) Read online

  I turned to look.

  The file of papers was now being stapled to the bleeding man. Screams filled the air with each plunge down of the stapler. The man’s nose was already broken, as were his arm and leg. The beating had been really bad.

  Clearly, the bastard deserved it.

  “Are we out of here?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I’ve seen enough.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  This was what made our pact unique.

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

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

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

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

  Poor baby.

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

  He’d settled for the diner.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  At least we had a little more respect.

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

  “No,” we all said in unison.

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

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

  “And me,” Vadik said.

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

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

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

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

  “If you want to waste your time.”

  “A guy’s got to do what a guy’s got to do.”

  “This is fucking ridiculous. There’s no way I’m paying for this kind of shit.” Drake was having another one of his fits. He sounded like a child, and not for the first time, I had to wonder if he even realized it.

  “I’m sorry, sir,” the waitress said.

  She was supposed to be serving us, not this child.

  He shoved her hard, forcing her to the floor.

  “You’re only good for servicing dick, not bringing me my food.” He stood and started at his belt, as if he was going to get the woman to suck him off right here, right now. His level of disrespect pissed me off.

  Getting to my feet, I stepped in front of him.

  I didn’t like Drake. Hated him on sight.

  Not because of his parentage. To some, that made him scum, not to me. His attitude pissed me off in a big way. We all got that he was pissed at his parents and despised the world. Hello, look where we all were. None of us liked our life, apart from the Monsters, of course. Many a day went by when I thought about ending his miserable life. It would be so much fun to do it. Just a simple blade across the throat. He’d deserve it. I’d watch him bleed out. There were parts of the neck you could slice and it wouldn’t kill a person.

  “Leave her alone,” I said.

  Drake smirked.

  Gael, Caleb, and Vadik were at my back. The girl scurried away. She was too young and didn’t deserve to deal with him.

  With my blade in my hand, the threat was there. Drake laughed. “Seriously, you want to threaten me? Do you really have the guts?”

  “You’re stupid, as well as a fucking moron.” I placed the blade against his neck, right near his pulse. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve waited to do this to you? Every single day of high school, you do something that makes me want to end you.”

  “My dad…” Perspiration dotted his brow. His face turned a delightful shade of red.

  “Let’s face it, Drake, your dad wouldn’t care. I’d probably get a reward for doing him a favor. You’re a piece of shit, and what’s more, everyone knows it, yourself included.” I pressed just a little harder, seeing a pearl of blood leak out of the tip.

  So pretty. Blood turned monsters into men. Into plain old mortals. They didn’t have a higher power. I knew how fragile our lives were. The right cut of a blade, the correct mark of a bullet. All of us would be dead. There was no doubt about it in my mind.

  We were fragile.

  “You continue to fuck around like this, make a scene, ruin the chances of us finishing high school, then I will make you dig your own grave and push you right inside.” I withdrew my blade and slapped his face. “Think about that.”

  ****

  Gael

  “We should have killed him. It would have been more fun,” I said.

  “And it would have caused trouble for our dads. Just because Drake is unwanted doesn’t mean he doesn’t have the ability to piss us off,” Caleb said.

  He was right, I knew h
e was right. River was thirsting for blood and I had to give it to the guy. I had a whole load of respect for him.

  I’d seen what those bastards who took him had done to him. The scars were clearly visible, but we never talked about it. River never wanted to. Personally, I wanted to go back two years and have a lot of fun with them myself. That was never going to happen. I did keep thinking of building a time machine, but what did I know about science? The guilt was what I couldn’t stand. Out of all of us, River was the nicest. No doubt about it. He was a good guy. All four of us had been trained to kill, to torture. We knew what our paths meant, the journey we were going to have to take to be in our fathers’ places. I wanted it badly.

  My first kill was at nine years old. She’d been my nanny. She’d snuck into my family’s house, pretending to care for me as if she was a mother. I adored her. She kept the charade up for a year when I discovered her intention to kill my parents and then me. What our little nanny hadn’t known was there were secret passages in the walls. One led right to her room, and I’d watched her plan. When she wasn’t in her room, I snuck in, saw everything. I had a knack for remembering what a room looked like and I always made sure to put it back. It was the fine details. Like a file pointing left, rather than right, but it also being three inches off the table, rather than one.

  One night, I’d snuck in, climbed into bed with her, and then stabbed my knife into her neck. I’d done this five times. Afterward, I’d gone to my parents’ room, covered in blood, holding the evidence.

  From that day on, I’d been trained. My mother had interfered. The nanny’s plot to kill had finally proven to her there were no good people in the world, least of all, civilians. They wanted us dead just like everyone else. There was no getting away from the pain we’d caused.

  “Yeah, but pissing us off would be so much fun. We’d have a reason to paint this town red. Don’t you want that?”

  “No, what I want is for us to head home. I got a code red,” Caleb said. We’d been hanging out in the football field.

  I’d been ruining said field by burning patches of grass, and also opening and tossing condoms all over the grounds.

  I had to get my kicks in some way, and pissing off the football team was so much fun. Even though they were like us in every single way, they liked to pretend they were better, and this was my way of reminding them. They’d come to us as they knew it would be me, pissing on their turf, but whatever.

  Once, I’d paid someone to water down cow shit and spread it all over the field before a big game. I’d sat in the stands, munching on popcorn, knowing as they slid down to the ground, their faces pressed to the grass, some with their mouths open, they were eating shit. Good times.

  “What the ever-loving fuck is a code red?” I asked. I should know. My dad kept trying to tell me the codes. Pulling out my cell phone, I saw the alert.

  “It means someone has gotten past our lines. They’re in town, and we need to get to protection,” River said.

  “Oh, yeah.”

  The last time a code red happened, River was taken. Not on my fucking watch. Anyone who approached me was going down. I’d gladly fuck anyone up.

  I loved a good fight. Where River liked to use his knives, I had my fists. Sure, the cracked skin stung like a motherfucking bitch, but it was so much fun pounding on someone’s face.

  I was cruising for a fight, desperate for it. It was either fight or fuck.

  Some of the girls at school didn’t appeal to me. I’d take most to my friends to see if they wanted to share. There was one particular blonde who I hadn’t even attempted to capture her attention.

  The school was deserted and as we rounded the main front, we all came to a stop.

  Six men, all wielding baseball bats. They wore leather cuts, which instantly gave the game away. MC assholes. Their kids never went here. If they did, it would be a whole lot more fun.

  One of the men turned, and it fucking pissed me off. The leather cuts didn’t have their insignia, which meant this was a direct hit, and it also told us clubs had started to pick sides. The truth was they were fucking cowards. They come into our town, arrive at my school, and they don’t even have the balls to wear proper attire. Pissed me off! Fucking cowards.

  Their kids probably weren’t even theirs. Their old ladies, or whatever the fuck they called them, must have been getting their pleasure elsewhere.

  “Whoever is paying you, you need to consider your options,” Caleb said.

  Always the one trying to make friends. I’d already clenched my hands into fists.

  Baseball bats or not, these fuckers were going down. I wasn’t going to run home screaming to daddy. I wanted blood.

  “Falls, Block, Parson, and Keller. All four of you here.”

  They knew our names. The hit wasn’t on our family. The hit was on us.

  Seconds passed. It felt like minutes. Similar to watching a movie. The moment you faced off with evil. That shot paused as the camera moved around, getting a good picture of all the parties and players. For my movie, I’d give a wink and it would show a twinkle in my eye. I wasn’t afraid. I’d never known true fear.

  I guessed that was what made me a little weird. Where some felt fear or the adrenaline rush, I felt nothing. This was all mechanical.

  Main batter came forward charging toward us, and I struck. Pulling away from my boys, I rushed toward him. After drawing my fist back, I slammed it into his gut. I didn’t take the time to look at my boys. I knew they could handle themselves.

  I had two guys. One of them struck with the bat, and I ducked. It hit my shoulder. The pain was instant, but I blanked it out, focused instead on fucking them all up.

  Grabbing the bat, I twisted it in my grip. River thought I was trying to get it right with a lighter because he could do this shit with a knife, but he was completely mistaken. I did this because it was fun and it saved me time in the long run. This was so much fun.

  With the handle in my grip, I drew it back and slammed it against the guy’s face. Another slow point that would make for a lot of fun. Laughing, I pulled back, ready to strike again, and moved the bat to connect between the little prick’s legs. Down they went.

  I checked the time but I didn’t know how longit’d been since the fight began. None of the men were dead, but they were on the ground.

  I smiled. This was so much fun. This was what I love about fighting. The feeling of power coursing through my veins. Caleb chuckled. Vadik slapped his hands together as if getting rid of dirt.

  They all turn to me and that was when I felt the cold muzzle of a gun against the side of my head.

  “You little shit. Did no one teach you to never turn your back on your enemy? You’re nothing but weak.”

  I was fucked.

  Death was coming to me. The gun was loaded. I knew that. His finger was on the trigger. I looked at my buddies. I wasn’t going to cry or piss myself. My father had taught me that death was inevitable. I had to make peace with the fact I was going to die one day.

  That day was going to be today.

  Staring at them, I knew I’d miss them all. They were my family, my blood, my brothers. Each of them held a piece of my heart. I would gladly die for them. My life would give them chance to get away or attack. Either way, it was a cause I was happy to wait for.

  I kept my eyes open. There was no way I was going to allow them to witness my final moments as weak. I was strong.

  I was a Monster.

  Only, the bullet didn’t come.

  The man at my side started to choke. The tip of a blade appeared out of his neck. Blood pooled out of his mouth. The grip he had on the gun weakened. The blade disappeared. The man fell to the ground, and the woman behind him was none other than Emily Crane.

  She dropped the knife to the ground and it fell with a clatter. There was no shock on her face.

  Acceptance.

  I watched her as she looked up.

  The bag she protected in her locker was on her shoulders, but I saw
the mussed-up school uniform and the hair. She appeared to be thoroughly fucked, but I knew when there was no one to pick her up, she hung out at the library. I don’t know why she didn’t just walk home. I’d stumbled into her many times. Sometimes she’d be studying, other times, she’d be fast asleep. It was those times with her asleep I’d allow myself a few minutes of luxury, watching her.

  Silence fell around us.

  Emily looked at all four of us and then jerked at the blast of a car horn.

  Without a word, she stepped over the body and ran toward said car, leaving us to deal with the mess. Not that it was her mess.

  Caleb, River, Vadik, and I all watched her. So many people wanted us dead. Would be happy to see us all six feet under, and against all odds, Emily had saved me. She’d saved the Monsters’ Crew. My death would have caused a huge wave of problems, not to mention pain.

  She’d fucking saved me.

  Why?

  Staring at my brothers, I could tell they were all curious as well. Emily didn’t mingle with anyone. She didn’t pick sides. She was a loner to everyone here.

  “We need to get these packed up,” Caleb said.

  “Dad’s going to want to know what happened,” River said.

  “The knife is here. You say you killed him with it,” Vadik said.

  I picked up the knife. It wasn’t a fancy one like River carried. This was a plain blade. It belonged to Emily. What I’d like to know was how she managed to get past security with this blade. Most of us had weapons on us, but it took a certain amount of bribing to get through the front gates.

  I’d always been curious about Emily. She kept to herself. Never interacted with anyone unless she had to. She never had a boyfriend and her life outside of school was a mystery.

  Her life had just become my number one priority to figure out.

  Chapter Four

  Emily

  Saving someone shouldn’t be considered a fuck-up, but that was exactly what I had done. My dad had texted me earlier that day to say my driver wouldn’t be available to pick me up and that I’d have to wait until after five.

  The library was my one place of solace. I went there for peace and quiet. Rarely I got the chance to just be, to enjoy my thoughts, to study. I’d fallen asleep and saw that my driver was going to pick me up. If I was late, my driver liked to inform my dad. It would then result in the third degree, where I was likely to get nice new bruises.