Savage Moon 04 - Forsaken - 1. Chapter 1

I lay there on the dingy carpet of the old living room. My entire body alive with a series of tingly sensations that swept from one end of my young naked body to the other in a constant tide of unrestricted bliss. I didn't even know that I was smiling until I made an actual conscious effort to notice. I don't think that I've ever been more relaxed in my entire life. It was as if my body had been relieved of its every tension. Protected from every harmful circumstance or troublesome thought in existence. A level of comfort so exquisite that not even sound could penetrate. I was no longer a virgin. Can you believe that? No more. I now know how it feels to have actual sex with another boy. A GORGEOUS boy....who wanted to lick and suck and kiss as much as I did. I had been pleasured by the entire group...but it was Sebastian who enticed me most. His beauty made me soooo weak.

I didn't 'stumble' through my first time as badly as I thought I would. They did everything for me...passionately guiding me into the euphoric light of this sexual afterglow. And for a moment, I wondered if this incredible feeling would last forever.

I close my eyes, and feel as though I'm floating above the floor beneath me. Spinning in slow circles as my body and soul absorbed the pleasant vibrations flowing back and forth inside me. I let out a long, contented, sigh...and opened my eyes again to stare at the ceiling. I had no idea that the effects of a heated sexual encounter could feel so miraculous. And then, I felt a hand reach out to touch my wrist from the side of me. Lightly tapping fingertips traced a soft trail up my arm, only to spread out and connect a soft teenage palm to my chest...the tender flesh blessed with the tiniest amount of friction. Just enough to make me shiver as it delicately ran across my nipple. I slowly turned my head to the side, and saw Sebastian laying on his side next to me. A dreamy haze decorating his face, his half closed eyes displaying a sensual look that made me feel like I was falling right through the floor. His mouth was partially open, and I could feel his warm body heat crawl over me as he gently slid one of his smooth naked legs up and over my thigh. He rolled into me, nuzzling his pretty face into the nape of my neck with a tickle, his arm draped across my chest, his leg pulling me tightly against him. I felt his lips pucker slightly as he kissed me tenderly on my collarbone. My sensitive body was electrified by his touch, and yet, was almost too relaxed to move at all. But as Sebastian's kisses became a bit more firm, I felt my body give in to his charms all over again, and I reached a hand down to cup one of his soft supple cheeks in a tender grip. The contact made me pull him close to me, and his leg raised up higher...crossing over my super sensitive tip and making me yelp softly from the contact. He then smiled as he let the leg rest lovingly on my hip. I pulled at his cheeks more firmly, crushing his lower half against my hardness for a moment before loosening my grip, and the squeezable flesh bounced back out to it's original shape like mounds of warm jello. A passionate giggle escaped his lips, ending with a slightly deeper moan of total comfort. It turned me on sooooo much.

I let my hand rub back and forth across the leg he had draped over me. >From the firm round globes of his perfect ass...down the back of his tender thigh. Only to stop behind his knee, and crawl my fingers back up to his taut balloon of a butt again...spread so invitingly 'open' from his position. I allowed my fingers to swipe gently up and down the smooth, nearly hairless, cleft...feeling the heat of his wrinkled entrance at the bottom of every pass. He hardened against me, his inches digging playfully into my side, and with a low moan, he pushed himself against me. Sighhhh....I was already fully stiff again, pulsing and throbbing with a desperation that threatened to force me out of my relaxed state and back into motion. Sebastian could sense my arousal, and his hand glided down my soft stomach and beyond to firmly take hold of me under his thigh. I spasmed at once, my whole body tightening up from his touch, and then I rolled my hips softly as I felt his fingers run further down to cup my aching sack in his delicate grasp. My feet touched the floor, my knees bent, my legs spread as wide as they could go...and I surrendered my body to him completely. He could have me. Any way he wanted me. As long as he kept this feeling inside me going strong for as long as possible. I never wanted it to end.

Sebastian gave me a look that melted my very soul, and with the most bashful grin, he leaned in to kiss me sweetly on the mouth. His tongue danced with mine as he began to suck hungrily at my moist lips, and his hand traveled back up to run small circles on my chest. My entire body was covered with an excited texture of goosebumps, and my hands held him tight as my passions began to boil over. It was then, that I felt another set of hands touching my splayed open legs, sliding up and down their length with a steady rhythm that drove me wild. I didn't even know who was touching me at the moment, but it didn't matter. Not one bit. I gave myself over to the feeling, and relaxed my legs as best as I could while the phantom hands got more and more adventurous. Light squeezes of my young thighs, gentle tugs at my ballsack....small circles around the slightly sore pink entrance of my body until I was ready to SCREAM for someone else to stick themselves deep into my insides again. Cyrus promised me a good time, and he delivered more than I had ever imagined he could have. He took my body. Firmly. Confidently. Without a single hesitation or request for my permission. And something about that made me ache inside for him to dominate me again. To 'free' me from my brainwashed duty to hold back, to rationalize, or to deny the carnal urges inside me. I wanted it. He KNEW that I wanted it. And he didn't give me the chance to let my sense of restriction stop him from taking my sweet cherry that afternoon. The way I see it, he was entitled to every inch of me. As often as he would like it. At that moment, I was so lost in the sensations surrounding me that I couldn't have held back if I tried.

As the hands on my legs, thighs, and stomach seemed to double in number, I felt Sebastian's kiss become more aggressive. More lustful. As though the very taste of my tongue could bring him to orgasm any second if only he licked hard enough. I returned his aggression with a fever, my breath increasing in speed and volume, and it was then that I felt a warm, wet, sensation surround my inches, sliding painfully slow to the bottom of my shaft, and holding it there. The steamed heat of the soft lips wrapped around me made me gasp, and whimper as my legs lifted my butt a few inches off of the carpet...burying me as deep as I could manage into the other boy's throat. The roaming hands of the others kept my legs spread, each pair taking a thigh and hugging it firmly as they continued to play with my open privates. And the third person...the suction of his salivating mouth began to slide up and down at a tauntingly seductive pace, forcing me to strain and twitch just to keep from exploding again. I felt the warm air from his nostrils breeze through my soft hairs below, and a chin resting on my nuggets as the lips connected to my flesh at the base of my shaft. Sebastian's kiss became wild, and we entangled our hands in one another's hair, now moaning in desperation as my orgasm approached. I held onto to Sebastian's shoulders for dear life, and then let one hand move down to grip his tight ass firmly. That unstoppable sensation was rushing towards the surface, too quickly for me to hold it. So many pleasures at once. So many hands...and lips...and mouths...and licks...and sucks...and kisses.....all over me. All over. Every inch of me. I can't stop it. I can't hold it back. Oh God! Oh GOD! I can't hold it back!

My lips parted from Sebastian's all by themselves as I whined outloud from the sudden burst of orgasmic lightning ripping through me. My eyes shot open and looked downward to see a twin hugged up to each one of my obscenely spread legs, and Dex between them, siphoning the boiling hot liquid from my loins as I gasped and spasmed beneath him. Dex reached under my thrusting hips to grab a hold of my round ass cheeks, and he pulled me all the way into his sucking face, holding me still as he nursed every frenzied pulse of my aching manhood. I cried out in short gasps, panting and hissing through clenched teeth...and that's when Sebastian reconnected his lips to mine and rubbed my nipples firmly as he silenced my whimpers with his determined kiss. My moans continued, even while kissing, and Sebastian simply held on, refusing to let me go. Neither would Dex, as my body tried to eject itself from his soaking wet vaccuum and writhing tongue. Nor would the twins, who held my legs in a firm grip, still rubbing them softly and heightening the sensation to degrees that nearly knocked me unconscious. Even as my legs thrashed and attempted to involuntarily collapse inward to wrap themselves around Dex's head...they held me steady. And my whole body was overwhelmed with a climax so strong that I could barely breathe again until it began to subside! It only got worse as I felt some of my own hot juices run out of Dex's succulent lips and ooze slowly down to the base of my shaft, puddling in the sparse hairs below. A single warm droplet of his saliva...crawled slowly over my sack....slowly...slowly...tracing a steady path backwards behind my balls to the sensitive area underneath. The feeling nearly threw me into a fit of convulsions. By the time I came down from the ultimate high...it felt like my heart would burst from the pleasurable torture.

"JESUS!!! *Gasp*...*Pant*...Jesus Christ!!!" I huffed as Sebastian let his lips disconnect. "Omigod!!! Wow....Oh...omigod.....!!!" I couldn't stop myself from babbling incoherently at the moment, a thin sheen of sweat covering me as my body rode out yet another powerful climax. That was even better than the FIRST time! My muscles loosened gradually, and my slim frame attempted to return to the relaxed state it was reveling in only moments ago.

The others shared a few quiet laughs at my reaction. Leaning back and displaying their nude forms to me without any shame at all. The entire room smelled of sex, and it was an intoxicating aroma that almost made me want to go at it again right away. You could feel the heated temperature in the thick air around us, and my mouth was full of the taste. I was amazed. Enchanted and spellbound. But more than anything else...I was satisfied. For the few moments that I spent laying on that floor, my chest still fluttering with the anxious butterflies from actually having gone through such an adult act of depravity...I felt truly omnipotent. Like I had discovered the Pandora's Box that was going to finally give me the answers to everything. There's no other feeling like it in the world.

I let my head roll lazily to my side, my grin still plastered on my face, and I saw Cyrus sitting in his chair on the other side of the room. Watching. Smiling. Sensing the involuntary 'release' inside of me. He knew it, didn't he? He knew I was his and his alone. Nothing could change that now. For a joy this grand...I would do almost anything he asked of me. And while most people would be frightened of such an instant pledge of allegiance...I found it to be quite...'comforting'.

Sitting naked on Cyrus' lap, facing him, Scout turned to look at me over his shoulder. His small bare bottom resting on Cyrus' thighs as he shot me a bratty look from his obviously 'elevated' position at his master's side. The boy gently licked the surface of Cyrus' lips, and then was content to simply swivel himself around and cuddle up in his lap. I watched as Scout's tongue gave Cyrus little puppy-like licks all over his chest, neck, and shoulders. Grooming him, from the looks of it. But Cyrus kept his focus directly on me. Looking me directly in the eye, watching my every move. He was staring right through me, his wicked grin tilted slightly as if to mock me. And when our eyes connected, the whole world seemed to stand still.

I'm not sure how long it was before I sat up again, scooting back to lean against the ratty couch behind me...but it had gotten darker outside since we first started all of this. I felt a few itches on my back and winced a little as I reached back to feel the raised welts from where they had all scratched me. My fingers ran over the marks a few times, and I noticed that one set of scratches seemed worse than all the others. In fact, they still felt damp with little droplets of blood from where they broke the skin. As I touched them, I felt a sharp pain shoot up my spine and right into the center of my forehead. As though I had hit a nerve or something, and an inner alarm went off to warn me from interfering with its function. Cyrus saw what I was doing, and as a slightly heated fever washed over me for a second, he cleared his throat. That was the first time that I heard Cyrus speak in over an hour.

"It's good to see that you 'enjoyed' yourself today, Wesley." He grinned.

"Hehehe....yeah." I blushed, and bit my bottom lip shyly as I looked back over at Sebastian, who was still laying back with his naked body spread out on the floor beside me. He looked sooo smooth. He looked sooooo sinfully delicious. Even though it would have probably pained me greatly to get hard again, my mouth watered freely for another taste of Sebastian's warm flesh. "Mmmmmm...." I moaned to myself with a smile. I let my fingers reach out to trace small circles on his flawless chest, his creamy tan enticing me to lick him from head to toe. His pecs didn't have a single hair on them, and his skin was baby soft, fragrant with the smell of warm bread. My eyes passed over his cute little oval belly button, and down further to check out his equipment in detail. Even limp, his size was impressive. Perfectly shaped, perfectly angled, perfectly flavored. God help me...I wanted more. SO much more.

"Don't hold back, Wesley." Cyrus smirked from across the room. "Taste. Go on. You can have all you want...until you're full. And then...a little bit more." I smiled at him briefly, my blush darkening from wanting to indulge so much in something so...'wrong'. But after years and years of struggling to suppress my every homosexual desire, hiding it away from the world, trying to deny and pretend and withdraw...I couldn't help myself. I had been starving for this my whole life, and now I was being given the chance to taste the finest fruit in Eden. "Go ahead." Cyrus urged me on. "Your entitled to all we have. It would be a crime to leave a single spot untouched. Don't you think?"

"Hehehe...ummm....hehehe....I don't know." I said, bashfully hiding my stare from Sebastian.

"Yes you do. You know." Cyrus grinned. "You like him? Take him. Over and over again. He's yours. One hundred times a day, from sun up to sun down, he's yours."

"Hehehe, the boy may never have to 'touch himself' again." Kristin added.

I looked at Sebastian, wondering if I would see some level of rejection in his eyes. Wondering if maybe he'd make me wait for his personal permission to feast on his open body like I wanted to so badly. But he offered me no resistance at all. When my gaze connected to his, he simply spread his tasty thighs wide, leaned back, and closed his eyes to wait for me to dive in. It was too sexy for me to resist. So I bent my head down to slowly tongue kiss his shallow navel, my lips sucking at his tender belly while I felt him harden in my hand. Before it had the chance to reach its full stiffness, I kissed my way further down, and sighed out loud as I sucked him lovingly in between my lips. That taste....my God....that mindblowing flavor. He was sooooo sweet...an unimaginable delight. A morsel too delicious to be free of sin. I sucked at the heated tube, my tongue licking it all over, and I felt his long fingers reach down to play with my blond locks while I serviced him hungrily. I loved the feel of him in my mouth, and with his thigh occassionally brushing the side of my cheek, I was in Heaven. Wow...I STILL couldn't believe that I was even doing this right now. Being sent out here to this place was the best thing that ever happened to me!!! EVER!!!

That's how things continued for another hour or so. With one lovely orgasm after another. Whether it was Sebastian, Shank, Razor, Dex....it didn't matter. They were all willing to please me as many times as I asked for it...and some when I didn't. Until eventually I was so sore and weak in the middle that I couldn't even stand anymore. But if I could go at it again, they'd urge me to do it. They wouldn't stop until I was all used up. And Cyrus watched every moment of it with a smile. Every last moment.

When I finally got up from the floor and began to start getting my clothes together, Cyrus gave Scout a few little pats on his bare bottom, the signal to get down from his lap. The boy obeyed, and Cyrus' impressive meat was open to full view. He was probably bigger than all of us. Not obscenely so, but he was definitely more than a mouthful. I took my eyes away from his package as its heft hung down to the seat of the chair, and looked around at my accomplices for the afternoon. Did they feel as good as I did at that moment? COULD they? Who knows? But it made me wonder if this was a 'normal' thing to do in their house here. It would explain why they're all so close. Afterall...Kyla DID warn me...when it comes to sex, these guys are VERY good at it. I can vouch for that personally now.

I slid my shirt over my head, and let it glide down to my hips, only to notice Cyrus staring at me with a dreamy smile crossing his lips. "What?" I asked.

"What are you doing?" He asked with a smirk.

"Hehehe, what's it look like I'm doing? I'm getting dressed."

"Why?" He asked. "I like seeing you naked."

I grinned a tiny bit, and turned to bend over and pick up my boxers as Cyrus lusted over the smooth round globes in front of him. He rubbed himself openly without shame, and got up out of his chair to step up behind me. "Hehehe, sorry dude. I don't think I'll be able to WALK if I have any more sex today." I told him. But he just pressed his bare body against my back, a dangling, but thickening, organ falling softly between my cheeks. Naked from the waist down, I could feel his hot flesh against my ass, and unknowingly rolled my hips in a slow circle, trembling from the thrilling connection. His hand reached around to take the boxers from my hand and drop them back down to the floor. "I need to put those back on." I grinned.

"So bend over and pick them up then." He moaned in my ear. He then ran one adventurous palm under my shirt, while the other covered my limp parts and slowly attempted to bring them back to life again.

It felt good, but my body really was 'all partied out' at the moment. Even a teenager has his limits. "C'mon, seriously. My legs are too weak to stand on at this point."

"I guess you'll just have to stand on this then, won't you, 'tripod'?" He whispered seductively into my ear, and then leaned forward to suck at the tender lobe.

"Sigghhh...Cyrus....mmmm....come on..." I wanted to resist, but his hands felt soooo good on me. His breath on my cheek was so warm. And his inches were filling my cleft and swelling rapidly as his sucking lips turned to light nibbles on my ear. "...Dude...I can't keep this up all day..."

"Shhhhh....just one more time." He said, his voice a hypnotic chant to lull my free will to sleep. "I want you...again and again."

He continued to nibble and bite at my ear, touching me all over while the others in the room watched. He cupped my balls and hiked them up high against my groin area, forcing me to arch my back slightly and stick my butt out even more...my cheeks now gripping his erection like a tight catcher's mitt as it slid up and down the length of the shallow valley between. I heard Cyrus moan in delight, and I closed my eyes, almost giving in to him yet again. But as my hardening rod began to ache from the overstimulation, Cyrus' hand motions became more of a painful experience than a pleasant one. The muscle was tired, the skin felt like it was rubbed and sucked raw, and my balls were sore from producing more nectar than I had ever thought possible in just a few hours time. So...with my body sexually battered and exhausted...I had to protest. "Cyrus...? Cyrus...stop. Wait...it's too much." He didn't listen, and his teeth began to bite at my earlobe just a bit harder. "Cyrus...dude, I said stop." I tried to push his hand away from my now rigid member, and that's when he bit down hard on my earlobe and it caused me to yelp outloud. "AHHH! Geez! No biting!" I said, pushing my way out of his embrace and turning to see him licking his lips with an evil grin. "Owww...you guys play too rough." I said, seeing his smile widen slightly. "Not to mention that you guys scratched me up pretty bad that first time. Some of those really hurt, you know?" I could still feel the raised stripes of scratch marks all over my back and legs, and wondered how bad they must look to anyone who could see them.

"Oh...don't worry about those, Wes." Cyrus said softly. "Consider that...an 'initiation' of sorts. A reward, for finally breaking free of the ties that bind you." His hand rubbed across my back gently under my shirt, and I swear...it felt like the scratch marks began to burn just a bit hotter from his touch. As though a feverish blaze was suddenly activated from the motion of his fingers. "I'm sure these scars will be healing up just fine. And soon, you won't even remember them being there."

"Well...good. Because I can't necessarily walk around my FAMILY like this, now can I?"

Cyrus gently turned me to face him. "We're your family now, Wesley. And you can walk around us any way that you want to." He kissed me on the mouth, his tongue pushing inside, and both of his hands reached around to firmly squeeze my ass hard enough to lift me up onto my toes. A heavy breath entered his kiss, a lustful gasp and a quiet moan as he clutched my soft flesh melons tightly, pulling them apart, and tapping his middle finger lightly on the hole between. Then he let our lips part with a smacking sound. "But right now...I like you naked." He reached for the bottom of my shirt, and started to lift it up over my head again, but I playfully backed away from him.

"Ohhh no you don't. I'm done for now. Hehehe! No more. Maybe later, k?" It seemed like a part of the game to me at first. If anything, I was flattered that someone so attractive would want me that badly. But for a tiny moment, I saw a flash of that hidden anger cross over Cyrus' face again, and then disappear. It was like seeing the silhouette of a hungry shark beneath the ocean waves before it dipped back down into the depths again to hide its presence from you. For a split second, I could feel the hint of an explosive rage coming from inside him, and was almost frightened into giving in to his direct order. But, as always, his calm and charming grin returned to his lips so quickly that it made you doubt if you really saw any anger at all.

"You don't really want to stop having 'fun', do you, Wes?" He said slyly.

"It's not that. It's just...my parents are going to be really worried about me. I left camp and didn't tell anybody where I was going..."

"So? So what? Let 'em worry. Fuck camp. Aren't you happier here with the rest of us?"

"Of COURSE I am. Really. Today was....incredible. But..."

"But WHAT?" Cyrus interrupted, constantly preventing me from getting a full thought to enter my head. "Listen....why don't you stay for another hour or two. Then we'll take you home. No questions asked. Deal?"

"Cyrus..."

"DON'T whine!" He said, a bit of that anger creeping into his voice before he was able to mask it again. "Say yes, or say no, but don't you ever whine in front of me."

"Um....okaaaay..." I answered, a bit confused as to what the particular shift in mood was all about.

His smirk returned, and he let his hand creep over my shoulder, holding me close to his side. He let his other hand rub me just below my navel, and then slowly slide down to twirl themselves in my silken hairs. "I'm just enjoying your company, Wesley. That's all. We all are. I only want you to be 'comfortable'." He told me.

"I...uh...it's just...I haven't even really....eaten anything today...and..."

"FOOD? Yes, food! Are you hungry? We can certainly take care of that for you now, can't we?" Cyrus grinned. He turned to look at the others, and they all began to get up at once. They found their various articles of clothes, and Cyrus patted me on the back as he went to get his own. "Don't worry, boy. We'll feed ya."

Everybody was moving around and the scene around me began to look somewhat 'sane' again. But my eyes were focused mostly on Sebastian as always. His lithe body and soft sapling limbs looked so damn sexy to me. I stared at the slightly off white tan of his bare ass cheeks as the suckable peach tempted me with every poetic movement. He put on his socks first, lifting a leg up onto the arm of the couch, and I saw his cleft open wide for me. My God, what a view. Especially with his sack hanging low in the front, giving me a vision of raw mouthwatering sexuality. Seeing him then pull his boxer shorts up those long smooth legs, his butt sliding into them proudly, adding a sensual curve to the fabric. And then the pants...watching him suck in his tight flat tummy a bit to button and zip them up in the front. Hell, just watching the tense muscles of his stomach flex gently as he put on his shirt was enough to make me weak in the knees. He was able to fix his hair to perfection with just a few teases of his fingertips and a single shake of his head. Everything fell into place without much effort at all. He was beyond beautiful. Beyond dreamy. He could give himself to you completely, and it would still break your heart to not be able to have more. You wanted to simply absorb him into yourself until you too could share some of the wonderous beauty that he possessed. Watching him made it hard for me to breathe.

He caught me staring, and while I instinctively turned away at first...I changed my mind and decided to approach him instead this time. I blushed a little, my chest trembling with a nervous series of spasms and quakes. I said, "Hey...." He nodded, and then gave his head another small shake to get the hair out of his chocolate brown eyes. "Um...I just wanted to say...that everything was great today. Like...everything." I felt my mouth go dry, and nervousness set in quickly, but I kinda figured...we had just spent the last few hours having mindblowing sex with each other. The 'hard' part was over. All I had to do now was talk, kiss, and cuddle, right? "This was my first time...'doing' that. Or...doing ANYTHING, to be honest." He didn't say anything, just started reaching to put on his shoes. I continued, hoping to find the right words without sounding too goofy in the process. "I mean...um...I really liked...being 'with' you today, Sebastian."

"Thanks." He said, while tying his shoe up on the surface of the nearest coffee table. His comment wasn't really connected to me with any kind of readable emotion in it. But that's just how Sebastian was, you know? Always the 'cool' one.

"I mean...I liked being with you specifically. I liked that part the best." Where was I supposed to go from here? What do I say next? How do I make a go at telling the most gorgeous boy ever that I might have...'feelings' for him? "I was just thinking....that maybe....maybe you and I could..."

"We're going for food. I'll meet you out by the truck. K?" He told me while I was in mid sentence, and then he just walked past me and over to the front door to leave. I think it took my emotions a moment or two to unfreeze themselves from confusion. One second I was staring at this lovely teen heart throb, and the next, I'm left staring at a blank space in front of me where he used to stand. What the hell just happened here? Is he....is he ditching me? AGAIN? It was like he batted away my infatuation without a second thought. Leaving me to just...'deal with it' however I saw fit, while he denied any responsibility for it at all. I had just given him my virginity and he didn't reward me with so much as a kiss on the cheek to tell me that he liked it.

I didn't know what to do really. I could have sat there and stewed over it. I could have let the pain build up again, and felt the anger wash over me to the point where my heartbreak was being overshadowed by the utter hatred I felt for his mistreatment of my heart. But as usual...Cyrus kept me moving. He kept the ball rolling, making me switch from thought to thought, emotion to emotion, until I couldn't tell up from down anymore.

"Let's move, kiddo. I thought you were hungry! Hehehe, let's eat!" Cyrus said, and he took me by the arm to pull me outside to join the others. Whatever defeated feelings I had spawning in my chest from Sebastian's dismissal of my heart...I guess they'd have to wait until later.

It wasn't so much that my mood had lifted once I was outside again. It was more like...they had begun a whole new adventure before the emotion had a chance to take hold of me at all. With all of their fearless attitudes, they never seemed to allow themselves to get attached to much of anything for longer than a moment or two. Me included. But, watching Sebastian from a distance, I knew the painful rejection was going to hit me like a ton of bricks sooner or later. And I was gonna hate him for it. To want someone sooo badly that it literally hurts...only to have them cut that emotion short without any remorse or sensitivity towards my feelings at ALL...it leaves you SO damn empty inside. Like a hollow eggshell hitting a brick wall at light speed. It was simply humiliating.

Cyrus pulled my attention away from my current thoughts as he walked up behind me. "You wanna drive?" I blinked, and did a quick double take to see if he was even remotely serious about asking me that question.

"Me?"

"Yes. You. Do you wanna drive?" Cyrus dangled the keys in front of me.

"I...I can't."

"What do you mean, you can't?"

I shrugged my shoulders, giving him a strange look. "Dude...I'm fourteen. I don't know HOW to drive."

"Nonsense. What is there to know? You got your gas, your brake, and your steering wheel. The rest I can teach you in like two minutes. That's it. EVERYBODY knows how to drive." Cyrus said, as the others started climbing into the truck. "Now...driving SAFELY....that's a whole other discipline. But it's nothing a little practice won't solve."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"No. Dangerous would be letting John Boy, here, drive." He grinned.

"I'd be better at it than you'd think." John Boy replied, climbing into the back of the truck with no assistance whatsoever.

"I don't have a license." I told him.

"We're in the middle of nowhere. You afraid of getting pulled over by a raccoon on a motorcycle?" He shook the keys again. "Last chance."

I'll be honest, the thought did cross my mind. But I knew better. This was wrong. I don't know how to drive. And this particular bunch of miscreants were hardly the ones to trust with my first lesson. "Um....no...that's ok."

"Alright. Suit yourself." Cyrus shrugged.

"I can drive!" Dex offered.

Everyone suddenly got quiet for a second, a slight gasp of silence, and then they all started to laugh madly at the idea. Cyrus shook his head, giggling. "Thanks Dex...but HELL no."

"What's THAT supposed to mean?" Dex asked with a pouty tone.

John Boy answered, "That means we'd rather put the truck in neutral and let it roll downhill with NO driver, than to ever let YOU get behind the wheel again."

"Hey! FOUR accidents! That's it...FOUR!" Dex protested.

"You had only been driving for ten minutes. You barely had enough time to do anything more than gain up enough speed to run into something else." Kriegar added. "And for the record...it was SIX accidents."

"The last two weren't accidents, smarty pants. I did it on purpose, because I was having fun. How do you like them lizards, huh?"

"All the more reason to keep you AWAY from driving, my friend." Cyrus said, climbing into the front of the truck.

"Aw, you guys suck! A bunch of bullies is what you are. You never appreciate anything. One of these days I'll show you guys. I'll run away, that's what I'll do. Far away. You're gonna cry so BAD when ol' Dex isn't here no more..." He began to mutter and ramble to himself as he dutifully climbed into the back of the truck, and Cyrus winked at me before closing the door and starting the vehicle up. I got in the back, sitting in the same position as before, and braced myself for another bumpy ride.

The music began blasting the second the ignition was hit, and we took off down the old road. It seemed like the stretch of pavement got dustier and dustier as we traveled even further away from civilization. Everyone was in the same positions as they were when we came up here. Scout was sitting in Kristin's lap in the front seat next to Cyrus, with Sebastian by the passenger side window. John Boy and Kriegar in the back, Dex on the floor next to the old tire, and Shank and Razor taking positions where they could easily keep an eye on all of us at once. The funny thing is...as I came to notice how precise they were in knowing their seating arrangements...I realized that I, too, was sitting in the same spot as before. Maybe it was because it was the only seat left, or perhaps just some random coincidence that shouldn't even matter to me. But I found it odd that I simply 'fell into place' without thinking about it. Weird.

"How do you feel?" John Boy asked, his blind eyes staring directly at me from behind those dark glasses. His voice displaying a level of unsettling maturity for a boy of thirteen.

"Good. I...uh...I'm good." I said, but he just smiled at me, leaning closer.

"That wasn't a rhetorical question. Don't give me a brainwashed answer." He grinned. "So Wes....how do you feel?"

He stared me down, as did the others in the back of the truck, waiting for a better reply. It made me giggle, and I answered, "Hehehe, fucking great!" I told them, with slightly mocked enthusiasm.

"MUCH better!" The twins said, always in stereo. John Boy kicked me playfully with his foot to get me to keep smiling, and when I reached out to give him a playful slug in return, he pulled his leg back before I could touch him.

"Faker...you're not even blind!" I grinned.

John Boy leaned forward and lifted up his glass, his chrome silver contacts shining brightly. "Not in the way that YOU'D like me to be, slugger." He replied, and it gathered a few giggles from the others in the back of the truck.

It was little moments like this that made me feel so...I don't know...'accepted' by them. It was like they actually were making an effort to make me one of the gang. As though they were willing to work as hard as they had to in order to make me feel wanted. And I don't think anyone had ever done that for me before. It felt good to feel like I had some purpose in being with them that day. It wasn't like the camp, where I was dragged along against my will and had people looking down on me like some kind of 'troublesome teen' in an afterschool special. And it wasn't like back home, where Darryl and his goons just kept me around like a court jester while they found ways to make me take the fall for their stupid pranks. This was different. They simply...'chose' me. Cyrus had adopted me from the first moment that he laid eyes on me, and they all followed suit. Well...all except for Scout, that is. He's the only one who ever gave me a dirty look. In fact, I can't even remember him even talking to me outside of a few grunts and angry comments. But all in all...they were generally happy to have me there. And the longer I stayed around them, the more I began to feel like a part of their family. The more I began to feel....'untouchable'.

We turned down an old dirt road, and the sky was getting even darker. I assumed it was around 5 or 6 o'clock by now, and a shiver went through me as I thought about how angry my dad was going to be when I got home. He'd skin me alive for what I did. There was no subtle punishment for this one. This wasn't a misdemeanor or a practical joke or an innocent boy being blamed for something he didn't do. This was a brazen, deliberate, outright defiance this time. Complete insubordination of the worst kind. I'd be 'hided' for this one for sure. My mind started to do backflips as I tried to imagine what horrible punishments he'd have waiting for me when I got home. I doubt that working at Bible camp was going to be able to fix such an intentional challenge of authority. It was then that I watched Dex slide over next to me and wrap his arms warmly around my stomach, squeezing me tightly as though I was his teddy bear or something. "Don't feel scared." He mumbled softly into my chest, not that it helped. "Noooo....dont..." He whined, hugging me tighter, and I couldn't help but smile. Hehehe, okaaaay, I guess this is supposed to make me feel better. I never said a word outloud, but the second my near-apocalyptic thoughts left my mind, Dex seemed to settle in, and loosened his grip.

"I take it that's better." I whispered, and he nodded silently, his cheek glued to the sound of my heartbeat. Ahhhh, Dex....he never actually 'asked' to grab hold of me when he was in the mood to do so. He just playfully snuggled up whenever he felt like it, inhaled deeply, and burrowed his head under my arm until I gave in and wrapped it around him. Much like a puppy in a warm blanket.

"You still smell good, Goo Goo." He said, eyes closed with a slight smirk on his face. He rubbed his cheek lovingly up and down a small area of my chest, his soft mixture of brown and blond curls flattening themselves against me.

"You do too, Dex." I said with a giggle. And I just held him close as he snaked his arms around me. He could really be an affectionate little sweetheart when he wanted to be. Of course...I still believe that he's totally, undoubtedly, insane in every meaning of the word...but he was hardly doing any real damage. It made me wonder why the others kept such a close eye on him all the time. It wasn't like they were watching him just to keep his crazy antics from getting him in trouble. That was to be expected. But occassionally it felt more like they didn't trust him at all. As though he were a short smoldering fuse on a stick of dynamite. I couldn't figure that out. With all his rambling and mishaps and sudden moodswings, he was hardly 'harmful' to anyone other than himself and maybe a few unlucky pieces of furniture. As he sighed and snuggled in even deeper, I leaned down to kiss the top of his head, and felt him relax. His hand was still wrapped with that bladed crucifix, hanging from an eighteen inch chain, and his fingers twirled it slowly in his grasp. He never let go of it, not once. And despite it being razor sharp at the edges, he never cut himself with it either.

I rubbed Dex's shoulder softly, and he seemed to purr gently in my embrace. With every second that passed, he tried to readjust himself to cuddle even closer, mashing his face up on my chest with little baby whimpers as he found he wasn't hugging me tight enough. It was like he was trying to find a position that would allow him to actually climb inside me. It made me giggle softly to myself, and he finally settled down a bit. Sighhh...if only Sebastian was capable of giving me this kind of sentiment.

The truck started to slow down, and I sat up a bit to see us turning into the parking lot of some old cabin diner on the side of the road. It looked like it might be the only place to eat for miles, and the lot only had two cars left in it. We pulled into a spot and parked while everybody stood up to stretch a bit. Dex was still holding on tightly as Cyrus stepped out of the vehicle. "Dex...Dex, we're here." I said softly, but he just snuggled in deeper to my chest and let out a boyish whine. "Dex?" I grinned a bit, unable to pry him loose from me.

"Dexter. Let go. We're going inside now." Kristin told him.

"I don't wanna." He moaned. "You guys go inside. I wanna stay out here with him. He's nice to me."

"C'mon Dex, we don't have time for this now." She responded.

"Noooo...I wanna be alone. I want Wesley to 'fuck' me." The comment caught me off guard, but while my surprise caused me to widen my eyes and giggle at his boldness...the others didn't take it so lightheartedly. In fact, their reaction was one of sudden horror. They all stared daggers at Dex, then looking over to Cyrus. It was like he had just said something so blasphemous that it was uncertain whether or not Cyrus would forgive him for such an outrage. Looking at Cyrus' face, I could see him grit his teeth, and his eyes darkened with a disturbing shift in his demeanor.

"What?" He asked, anger polluting his speech, his jaw locked tight in insult.

The tone of his voice caused Dex to suddenly sit up at once, like a soldier who had been caught not standing at attention in front of a superior officer. His arms left me instantly, and the smile left my face as I realized that Cyrus was very serious indeed. "I'm sorry, Cyrus. I didn't mean it."

Cyrus walked around to the other side of the truck, and reached over to roughly grab Dex by the ear. "Get off of the fucking truck, NOW!!!" He said angrily with a yank, and Dex immediately hopped up.

"OW OW OW OW!!! I didn't MEAN it Cyrus! OWWW!!!" He jumped over the side of the truck, falling down sloppily and rolling over to get up on his feet again. "Beat you guys inside! Ha ha, slow pokes!" He shouted, a joyful smile crossing his face as though he had been totally unaware of what had just happened here. The way he galloped towards the door, you would have thought the others would have promised him a brand new bike.

Cyrus gave me a bit of an offensive look, but soon turned away to lead the others toward the diner. Shank and Razor waited patiently for me to get up, watching my every move with their arms folded. I stood on my feet and brushed myself off. "That was mean. Dex wasn't hurting anybody." I said.

"He'll be alright. He knows the rules." Razor told me.

Shank spoke up, "Dex has been known to have a few....'issues' from time to time."

"Issues like what?" I asked.

"You'll see." They said in unison.

Then Razor continued with, "For now...just be glad we're under the right moon. Full moon is best. He's much easier to deal with."

"Until we have to tie him up and put him in the basement again, that is." Shank grinned. "Shall we?"

They stood on either side of me, extending a graceful arm to show me the way. And proceeded to walk in step with me all the way to the door, escorting me inside the diner. I wasn't quite sure what they were getting at concerning Dex or why, but my stomach was rumbling, and the second the smell of food hit my nose, everything else became secondary.

"Table for ten, please." Cyrus told the waitress, and she took us over to a set of tables that we pushed together in order to give us all a place to sit. Everyone filed in, and made sure to only leave one seat open for me. The one placed directly next to our 'general' at the end of the table. "Here, Wes. Make yourself comfortable." He said, pushing the chair out with his foot.

"Cyrus...I should tell you...I don't really have any money on me. I should probably just go home." I said.

"Go HOME? What are you talking about? Don't sweat the paycheck, we got you covered." Cyrus told me.

"Are...are you sure?"

"Hehehe, he wants to know if I'm sure. What do you think guys? Can we afford this luxury tonigt?" The rest of the table snickered wickedly at the idea. "There ya go. Don't worry, order whatever you want. Trust me...we've got all the money we need." And he left it at that. It made me wonder if Cyrus was maybe one of those bratty rich kids that always got his way growing up. If maybe that was an excuse for some of his irrational behavior. It would explain a lot. The rich kids that I knew could be pretty nasty when they wanted to be. But, as my uncle used to tell me...if God cared anything about money, he would have given it to a better class of people.

Either that...or they were just planning to skip out on the check. Which it would be in their character to do so.

I tried to relax a bit, and sat back in my chair. I took a look around the old place, looking more like an old wooden saloon than a restaurant. With a jukebox in the corner, playing some mellow pop country ballads mixed in with the occassional classic blues tune, and a pool table in the background. There was maybe one other table of people in the whole place, a husband and wife with their two kids. It seemed pleasant enough for what it was.

The lady in the apron handed us all menus, and then put a lit candle down in the center of each table. I guess it was just meant to be a small decoration for the place, the small wax candle burning dimly inside of a round orb of red glass. But while the rest of us kinda ignored it, I could see that Razor was instantly fascinated with it. He picked up the candle closest to him, and held it up to examine it. Watching the flame dreamily as he tilted the glass from side to side. His twin brother watched with a smile for a moment, and then left him to his obsession. "John Boy....?" Razor whispered, never taking his eye off of the candle. Without another word spoken, John Boy reached out his hand to pass him the other candle. How he's able to DO stuff like that so easily, I'll never know. It's like John Boy was in touch with every object around him at all times. I continued to stare for a few minutes longer as Razor tilted the candles back and forth, back and forth, studying every gentle flicker of that tiny flame as if it were the most incredible thing in existence. It was almost as hypnotic for me to watch him as it was for him to watch the orbs. He's a strange one, Razor. But at least I'll always know how to tell the two brothers apart.

We waited a good ten minutes or so, and the entire crew just settled in and made ourselves at home. Everybody was talking at once at our table, and just having a good time, occassionally getting a bit louder than I would define 'comfortable' for a public place. But they didn't care. And how was I going to attempt to 'tame' them at this point? They were already used to going over the edge, and chances are that they'd pull me over with them before I was able to pull them back up to sanity. It was then that I found myself falling into that trance again, like I had back at Rainbow's End. A trance where you see this giant party-like atmosphere and suddenly realize that you're a part of it. You're living it. Something is actually happening to you, and it makes you feel good. Like....this is one of those memories you should take note of and save for later when you want to recall it again someday. I smiled to myself, and just enjoyed the chaos around me in silence for a little bit. Finally, a place where I 'fit'.

"Where's our damn 'service' in this place anyway?" Cyrus said outloud. "Yo! Hey lady! We're starving our ASSES off here!" He shouted, causing me to blush a bit from the rudeness of it. But nobody else at the table seemed to notice. The folks at the other table, however, were a bit disturbed by the yelling. Not that they said anything. With a grunt, the waitress came over to take our order. She looked about 25, maybe a bit younger, with thick brown hair and bags under her eyes. The man walking behind the little order window in the back looked like he might have been her father, his greasy apron and hair net accentuating the natural frown on his face. "It's about TIME! We need a feast over here!" Cyrus boasted proudly. "Our boy Wesley here has had a *LOT* of sex today! I'm sure he's worked up QUITE an appetite!" I was totally embarrassed as the rest of them laughed and cheered for me, whistling outloud and clapping their hands! I turned my humiliated blush towards the floor, and nudged Cyrus hard in the side. Shit!!! I CAN'T believe he just did that! Not that he cared one way or the other. Shock value was a creed he'd proudly live by.

"What can I get you?" She said, her voice sounding like she had been smoking a pack of cigarettes every hour on the hour for years now.

Cyrus ordered first. "Steak. Very rare. Bloody even. Damn near raw."

John Boy followed. "Steak. Very rare as well."

"Hamburger. Bloody." Scout added.

"Two orders of ribs. Rare." The twins said together.

Each and every person at that table had some kind of meat, and asked for it to be as rare as possible. Not 'pink' on the inside...but half cooked. Until red juices ran out onto their plate, and they could still taste some of the chill from the freezer in every bite. Except for Kristin, who ordered chicken, and a small salad. Kriegar snickered to himself at the idea. "What?" She said. "I TOLD you...I'm watching my weight."

"I'm watching your weight too." Kriegar chuckled. "Watching it get bigger....and bigger...."

"Fuck you, gin jockey!!!" She said, tossing a balled up napkin at his face. But it only made him laugh harder.

"Stop." Cyrus said calmly with a smile. "You're NOT fat, Kristin. You're beautiful." She took it to heart, and silently stuck out her tongue at Kriegar, who still had a smirk on his face as the table got quiet again.

"**HAHAHA!!!**" Dex's sudden burst of laughter scared the living shit out of me! "I get it!!! She's watching her weight! Hehehe, that's...that's weird." His thunderous outburst came a few minutes too late, and it made him even more adorably awkward than usual. "I mean...the 'weight' thing. It's like...like a diet, right? That's...that's just silly." He smiled, but then quickly got quiet again once he saw the rest of us giving him a stare and a grin. The look on Cyrus' face was a hilarious mix of confusion and disbelief, and despite all his wacky capers, I could tell that he cherished Dex for his spontaneous entertainment. Maybe that's why he kept him around. He was, afterall, a cherished part of the family.

Then it was my turn to order. "And what about you, honey?" The waitress asked.

"A grilled cheeseburger. Well done, please." The table kinda began staring at me for a moment too.

That's when I heard John Boy quietly say, "Psh...that won't last for very much longer." He smiled at the twins, who greeted him back with the same. And soon I heard a few giggles being shared, seemingly, at my expense.

"Sorry. I like my meal, you know...cooked." I said with a fake smile of my own.

"S'ok. Just so long as you've got something to tear your teeth into." John Boy replied, and everyone went back to their own little worlds of social interaction for a while. Only Cyrus remained quiet, gazing at me with such a confident smile that it was almost creepy.

"What now?" I asked.

He leaned over to me, and when our eyes connected, it was like the rest of the world was cut off from our conversation. It was so odd, how he sometimes seemed to be able to control the very concept of time and space for his purposes alone. "Sex....it's one of the last barriers to break, you know?"

"What?"

"You're so close to understanding that I can taste it, Wesley. But you're still holding back, despite it all." Cyrus told me. "It won't work anymore, you know? I've touched your deepest nerve. Whatever remains you have left of your restrictions...they're as stable as a fragile house of tumbling cards now."

"All this because we had sex?" I giggled. "Albeit pretty damn good sex."

"Doesn't matter. Sex doesn't lie. It doesn't 'hide', it doesn't wait for approval, it doesn't simply go away because someone ELSE tells you it's wrong to want it. It's not something you can avoid or bat away like everything else. We work hard at hiding the anger, the sadness, the pain, the envy...it's not hard to mask those feelings. Not with practice. Sex is different. You won't find a more truthful, more euphoric, or more uncontrollably wild, moment in your life than you can at the very height of an orgasm. It's a nitrogen bomb for the senses...and it brings us all back to that animal living inside us." He smiled at me, his hand touching my leg under the table, just above the knee. "Sex is quite possibly the most dangerous taboo left. Why? Because it digs into such a deep inner conflict. That wonderous loss of control, where our bodies refuse to listen to reason anymore." Cyrus' hand began to slowly move upward as he stared into my eyes, his touch sending an exhilirating sensation through me. I looked around to make sure nobody was watching this. "Sex gives another person easy access to our most savage internal instincts. Just the hint of it arouses us in ways we can't control. Involuntary rise in body temperature, nervous spasms in our belly, shortness of breath, changes in bloodflow..." His hand slid further up my thigh, caressing it firmly, and I was getting hard instantly. I began to slump down in my seat a bit, and looked over at the other table of patrons, who might have taken their children and run out of the diner screaming if they had seen this. "...You're hard as a rock right now, aren't you?" He asked me.

"Um...I..."

"Of course you are. Do you honestly think that your need to appear 'civilized' in a public place could stop the sensation of sex rushing through you right now? You know you want it. Don't you? Can you feel it?" He said, his hand now up far enough to rub my balls slowly. "Sex doesn't care if you feel embarrassed, Wes. Or if being homosexual is seen as 'sick' or 'wrong' by the surrounding town. Or if this particular moment is deemed innappropiate by the group of people over at that next table. No. Sex is honest. It's primal." He grabbed a hold of my stiffness through my pants and gave it a squeeze as I gasped and heard a soft moan escape my lips. "You see? That's the control I have right now. I can make you moan before you even have a chance to stop it. I control how hot you get, how much you sweat, how good you feel." He bent it downward a bit, and I began to squirm, looking around again as a bead of perspiration dripped down my brow. "Sex requires and demands that you willingly lose control. That you dive into those kinky, dark, little depths of your true being and release the explosive energy that lives there. If this place were full of 'fag hating' holy rollers right now, watching you, judging you, screaming at you about how you're going to burn in hell for being so indulgent....would your body still not feel this rush of excitement? Would you not still gasp breathlessly from my touch? Of course you would. How could you stop it? Sex lives in a place much much deeper than any 'surface' emotion we've learned to mask or manipulate for society's sake. Why do you think people fear it so much? It's at the very heart of us all. And anybody with the passion to bring it out of you...has TOTAL control." I felt an intnse tingle shoot through me as he continued to rub and stroke me with his hand, his eyes never leaving me.

"Ok...I think you made your point." I shuddered, hoping that he would stop before I had a mess to clean up.

"Do you want me to finish, Wes?" He asked.

"W-w-what?"

"Do you want me to finish? I can if you want me to. Or perhaps you'd like one of the others to do it for you?" I looked out across the table, and my eyes landed on Sebastian. They always did. He only looked at me for a second, then went back to talking with John Boy and Kristin...but my gaze lingered for a few seconds longer. "Sebastian, is it?" Cyrus asked. "Don't let your emotions fool you, boy. He could break your heart again and again, but as long as his body is available to you whenever you want it, you'll never be free of that desire. Not ever. It may hurt a LOT to be rejected by his cold heart, but it would hurt much more to let him go, wouldn't it?" He asked. "Yeahhh...it would. And I think you know that." That's when Cyrus leaned in even closer to whisper, "Don't think for a single second that any one of the teenagers sitting before you would hesitate to crawl under this table and suck lustfully at this erection of yours in front of every other person in this diner if I asked them to." He gave me one more firm squeeze, almost bringing my orgasm to a boiling point. "Don't think that I wouldn't either."

"Ok, who ordered the steak?" The waitress returned to the table, and I straightened up as quickly as I could...pushing Cyrus' hand away from my crotch and trying to look normal again. Even with a flushed face, turning red from the contact, and my breaths coming out in short huffs, I attempted to appear...unaffected. But Cyrus didn't seem to care that the waitress was watching. His gaze remained on me, even as she began to hand out the plates. Then, with another wicked curl of his lips...he leaned back again.

"You know...that fierce little demon that we freed in you today...it's not going to go back into its protective little bottle again. Once it's out, it's out. Soon you'll be seeing things in a whole new light." He told me. "You'll see." Then he accepted his plate, and we all started to eat. I took my napkin off the table to put it in my lap, but realized how 'out of place' that was amongst the rest of my company. They dug in deep, paying no attention to their utensils at all. Jesus...it was almost hard to look at.

I didn't focus on their dishes for more than a couple of seconds at a time. The tearing and ripping of the food with their bare hands was almost...animalistic in nature. Especially Dex and Scout, who had watered down trickles of blood running down their cheeks from eating so fast. Shank and Razor ate at exactly the same pace, bite for bite. It was like one boy sitting in front of a mirror. However, Razor kept the candles huddled close to his plate the whole time, and didn't let them out of his sight. Not once since she had first brought them over. Kristin ate her meat in tiny bites off of the tip of her fork, trying to focus more on the salad, but I could tell she wasn't enjoying it. Still, I didn't really focus on them for long. I ate my burger and caught bits and pieces of everybody's conversation at the table. But everytime I tried to look at either one of them, they always looked right back at me. They could tell when I was watching. They could sense it without any effort at all. And that would transform their conversation into a series of whispers and giggles that they effectively hid from me while I tried not to let it bother me. It made me uncomfortable in my own skin. But it's not like it was something I couldn't handle. They were all a bunch of fucking weirdos anyway.

An hour passed while we finished eating...it had gotten even darker outside, and the parking lot lights had to be turned on. The other family that was sitting in the restaurant next to us left once they saw Kriegar put his bare foot up on the table and begin belching loud enough to blow the curtains up on the other side of the room. Not to mention that Shank and Razor started to sensually lick the remaining juices off of one another's chins, a few giggle filled kisses exchanged between them in the process. To a small town couple with their young children present, we must have seemed like some kinda satanic motorcycle gang to them. I hope we didn't freak them out too badly. And yet, I have to admit, I got a slight thrill from seeing the offended looks on their faces. Hehehe, pretty much the same way that I got a kick out of Darryl's prank back during the church service that got me sent to this awful place. Maybe I was getting used to the perversion...because I almost wanted to tell the couple to 'lighten up' and quit being so skittish around 'real' people. But who knows? A week ago, I might have been just as much of a spaz as they were about it all. Thank goodness I'm in a position to enjoy it.

Everyone at our table had gotten increasingly loud, teasing one another and throwing small projectiles back and forth. Except for Dex, who was unusually quiet this time around. He just sat there with his cross, digging it into the table cloth and tearing small shreds in the fabric. He didn't seem 'troubled' or anything, but he was definitely focused on that small act of destruction. The whoops and hollers continued, blended together with dirty jokes, vulgar gestures, and loudly spoken curse words. I couldn't help but laugh along with them, forcefully sucked into the moment and feeling the desire to get loud with the rest of them. It was a much easier assimilation, being obnoxious, than it was to bow my head and try to remain invisible like I usually do. It was actually fun. The waitress had brought us our check over forty minutes ago, in a subtle attempt to get us to leave. Needless to say, it didn't work. The darker it got outside, the wilder they seemed to become. I even watched John Boy toss his water glass over his shoulder for no reason other than he wanted to hear it shatter on the floor behind him. I'm sure the owner was angry about it, but the whole table started laughing, and there was nothing he could really do. Well...he COULD have done something, sure...but he didn't. He...'held back'. Wow...is that what I look like when I'm swallowing those emotions down like that? Hahaha, what a dork! Awww, he looks so mad. Too bad, fat man! We're having a ball over here on OUR side of the room.

Anyway, the atmosphere was definitely entertaining, and it kept a smile on my face. But, despite the good time I was having, I kept thinking about going home every few moments in the back of my mind. In fact, I was really beginning to wonder if I should try to find my own way back. Because Cyrus and his crew obviously had no intention of letting my random thoughts and insecurities ruin their fun.

"You boys ready to pay up?" The man from the back of the diner finally came out himself, his mean droopy face greeting us with an intimidating snarl of a voice. Looks like he found himself some courage afterall. His large round belly was practically spilling over onto our table, and his shirt was covered with the stains, and the stench, of old grease. "We're closing up now."

"How's about you get us a couple of drinks first?" Cyrus grinned. "A few hot shots for the road?"

"I'm afraid I ain't got time to play games with you, boy." He said. "Now y'all have been here long enough, yelling and carrying on...it's time to go home."

"Don't worry about giving us alcohol, buddy. There isn't even anybody here right now except us. We'll pay for it. We won't tell anyone."

"Are you gonna pay your bill and leave? Or am I gonna have to carry you out of here and go find your parents?" The man said, and Cyrus turned to look at him over his shoulder. Even Razor took his eyes away from his fiery entertainment to see what was going on. "You kids have been here ALL damn night, and I'm tired of this garbage. Now pack up your stuff, pay your bill, and get the hell out of here before I call the goddamn police."

I felt it like a gentle tug at my soul. I couldn't tell what it was at first, but I suddenly felt this...bubbling energy build up inside me. Not quite an angry energy...it was more like this instantaneous flood of aggression that poured into my system out of nowhere. It was a gentle 'push' in the back of my subconscious...but it was there. I could feel it. Throbbing. Growing. And what's really weird about the whole thing...every other person at that table obviously felt it too. We all turned to look at the large man simultaneously, and although I've never been the type to instigate a fight...I suddenly felt like I wanted to take the first swing. Not for me...

...But for Cyrus.

"You hear that, boys and girls?" Cyrus said, leaning back with a smirk. "Our HOST here says the party's over."

I don't understand what I was feeling, or why it was so strong, but I started to think that this sloppy son of a bitch had a lot of fucking NERVE talking to Cyrus that way. He needed to have his fucking head bashed in for thinking that we would stand for him to lay a single HAND on him.

Then....I looked down at my hand, and I had the table cloth clutched tightly in a clenched fist. My teeth were gnashed together, and I had the most unexplainable frown on my face. What was happening here? Why was I suddenly so....mad?

"Are you really that eager for us to take care of the check?" Cyrus' cocky smirk appeared to anger the man even more, but our leader kept his calm the entire time.

"I'm gonna count to 'ten' boy..." The man said.

"Don't bother." Cyrus replied, and he stood up from his chair slowly. As he smiled warmly at the cook, he walked right over to him and cheerfully patted him on the shoulder. "We don't want any trouble, pops. Just passing through, trying to get ourselves a decent meal. That's all." He gently took one of the candles from Razor's hand, and held it up to his face. Then he turned to look at the rest of us at the table as he blew out the flame. "Kriegar...Kristin...I believe it's your turn to....cover the check." He said, a serious tone creeping into his voice. "Pay the man." It wasn't just a comment. It was a command. And I could feel it in my bones that something was wrong. My mind was on alert in an entirely different way, but there was a part of me that could still see something going bad here. "We'll meet you two back at the house in about an hour."

Everyone else got up from the table, and I followed suit as Cyrus began to lead us towards the door. I watched as Kriegar and Kristin approached the man and sat at the front counter. "Say...do you think I can have just one little glass of water before we go? I'm a bit parched." Kristin told him.

"I am watching you damn kids. Every last one of ya. Don't even THINK about sneaking out of here without paying what you owe."

Kriegar laughed to himself. "Don't worry, old man. We're gonna make sure that you get what's coming to ya."

"Wesley...?" Cyrus asked from the door as the rest began to walk outside, single file. "Let's go. Come on." I took one last look at the man, and his daughter watching from the doorway, and then walked out with the others. "Make sure to leave a nice 'tip', huh?"

The night air embraced us as I stepped outside, and Cyrus made sure to keep his hand on my arm, pulling me along. "You know...it's really late...I don't think I should..."

"You worry too much. Shut it." Cyrus said, very lightly smacking me in the jaw. "Everybody in the truck." I gave him a look, and he just pulled me further away from the diner. "Listen, we're going into town to pick up a few supplies. Why don't you come with us? It's on the way back to your camp. We can drop you off when we're finished. K? Then you can go and accept all the punishment you want. Deal?" What was I gonna say? No? I was stranded in the middle of nowhere, and my only ride home had complete control. What else could I do? I had practically been kidnapped.

"Are you gonna take me HOME after this?" I asked.

"Let's just say...I'll definitely give it some serious thought this time." He grinned. Then, I heard a muffled groan or something coming from the diner, and the sound of breaking glass. It was loud, and it startled the hell out of me!

"What the hell was that?" I said. Cyrus took hold of my arm again and led me towards the truck.

"That, my friend, is the sound of us leaving." He said, swiftly ushering me to the vehicle.

I stopped my footsteps, refusng to blindly let him confuse me anymore. This wasn't some stupid feeling in my gut or a lingering heartbreak here. I distinctly heard a CRASH! Something was wrong! "Dude...this isn't right! Didn't you just hear that?"

"It's probably Kriegar making a spectacle of himself again. That's all. Breaking things is something he likes to do to show off." Cyrus told me. "Don't you wanna get home? We've only got one place to go to so we can pick up some stuff, and then I can drive ya home."

I could hear the faint sounds of frantic movements inside, I was SURE of it. "Cyrus, there is something going ON in there. Don't you care?"

"Something like WHAT, Wesley?" He asked me. "Exactly what do you think is happening in there?" He waited for me to answer, and I turned to look back at the diner from the parking lot. It sounded like the noise had ceased completely. Or had at least gone back into the kitchen where we couldn't hear it anymore.

"I...I don't know.....s-s-something." I said softly.

"They're paying our tab, Wes. Causing a ruckus as usual, yes...but that's not out of the ordinary at all for us, now is it? They're going to pay what we owe, and then they're going to meet us back at the house later. That's it. For all we know they have a clumsy 'dishwasher' or something." He said.

"I don't know what kinda game you're playing, Cyrus...but I know what I heard. That's not a fucking DISHWASHER!"

"Shhhh! Geez, hehehe!" He paused for a moment, and then gave me a quirky smile. "You really ARE uptight, aren't you? You're starting to sound like those Bible camp kids. You need to chill out, man. Seriously. We've gotta find a way to loosen you up a little bit before that paranoia of yours causes you to snap." He looked at the truck and called out, "Hey, John Boy?"

"Yeah?"

"What kind of alcohol do we have on hand?"

John Boy thought about it a second, and then started lifting them up one by one. "A half empty bottle of Jim Beam on the floor, 2 pints of Jack Daniels and a pint of Barcardi dark in the glove compartment, a bottle of Jose Cuervo...unopened, 2 bottles of Bombay gin, a bottle of Stolis vodka...ewww...with 'Kriegar spit' in it....and a wealthy assortment of miscellaneous bottles in a milk crate under a blanket in the back of the truck."

"Hmmm...we're a little low at the moment. But if Kriegar paces himself, that might be enough to last us until tomorrow afternoon." Cyrus said. "Why don't you take one of the smaller bottles and keep it in your pocket? On me."

"Cyrus...I TOLD you already...I don't..."

"I know, I know...you don't drink. Whatever. Just take a bottle, put it in your jacket pocket, and hold onto it. Humor me, will you?" He handed me the Jack Daniels, and I slipped it into my pocket just to shut him up and maybe have a shot at getting home sometime tonight.

"Whatever. But I'm not gonna drink it you know?"

"We'll see." He smiled.

"I MEAN it. I don't do alcohol."

"You didn't do passionate 'orgies' either up until a few hours ago." He giggled, sliding into the front seat of the truck. "Opportunities are limitless tonight, Wesley. Absolutely limitless."

He started the truck up, and I climbed onto the back. Hoping to find a way out of this and get home before things get really bad. I could feel my punishment getting worse by the second. Arrrgh! Wherever he was taking me next, I hope it was quick.

As I traveled in the back of that pickup truck, I looked back at the diner. And something seemed so different about it now. There was such a 'stillness' in the air around it. Something oddly contrary to the way it looked when we first pulled into that same parking lot just over an hour ago. As the truck began to gain speed, the dust behind us blocked the old place from my view. The increasing distance couldn't hide the fact that I was feeling something really strange at that moment. How far were these kids willing to go without supervision? I attempted to hide my concern and put a fake smile on for the others in the back of that pick up truck. But in my heart....I knew that I had been a part of something tonight. Something 'unnatural'. And to be honest...

With all of my father's religious condemnations...this was the first time I ever questioned my standing in God's eyes.