Written by Charles Well <charles.well@yandex.com> and Sarge AKA Aldric <pietar_the_fearless@yahoo.com>
(C) 2019)
The original Kids of Indian Spring (KOIS) story by Jonas Henley can be found here: https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/young-friends/kids-of-indian-spring/
and if you wish to read Jonas Henley's account of the 1968 Mackey Choosing Ceremony, look here:
https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/young-friends/mackey-tails/
Also see map.pdf and Springer Families.pdf in the Sandy Jacobs folder on Nifty. There is also an extensive family tree of the Mackey family available as well.
This story is about sex between boys and is therefore a total fantasy. It was written by an adult for the entertainment of other adults. No children or animals were either involved or harmed in the writing of this story. Please leave now if you are not supposed to be here.
Writing the continuing saga of the Kids of Indian Spring has become a real community effort. My co-author on this chapter was Sarge AKA Aldric. His ideas, drafting, hard work, and constant support in too many areas to mention made this chapter possible.
Please consider a donation to Nifty for allowing us to have this resource to share our stories. To donate go here: http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html
Comments or suggestions may be directed to either of the authors mentioned above. We welcome feedback from readers. It's the only payment we receive for many hours of hard work.
Reed Jordan sat on the bank overlooking the swimming hole. It was early, but that was the best time to come here. There would be few boys, local ones generally. Any Mackeys would show up later in the day.
There were only two boys in the water, Chris Ford and Adam Nesbitt. Their houses were behind him. They had the good luck of living closer to the swimming hole than anyone else. Both boys were older than him, Chris by just under a year and Adam by nearly two years. The boys were naked, and Reed enjoyed it when they got out to use the rope swing. Adam's dick was bigger, at least four inches long, and that was with it soft. But Chris's dick was more like his own, thin and short.
Twelve was an odd time for a boy. Reed hadn't been ready for the changes that came over him since he first began puberty. Yeah, it had been taught in health class, but hearing about it and seeing drawings considered suitable for a sixth grader didn't prepare him for what happened. He used to be like Chris and Adam, naked, swinging out over the stream on the rope, never caring about who else was around. But then he started noticing boys. Not so much boys, but boy parts. Dicks, balls, hair, it was all around him. And it gave him erections.
He had pulled the legs of his shorts up as far as he could, and his right hand was gently touching the head of his dick, which was exposed beyond the bottom of his shorts. Chris had a beautiful body. Three inches of soft dick, with just enough hair to show he'd make that semen stuff they'd talked about in school. His balls were tight against his body, but Reed knew that was from the chilly water this early in the morning. He'd seen Chris before when it was warmer.
Reed didn't think he was gay. He stared at girls in school, and once almost got caught looking up Stephanie Kearns' skirt when she slipped on some water on the floor. He got hard thinking about girls and wondered what they really looked like. But he also got hard thinking about boys. Not every boy, just certain ones. Like Chris Ford.
He was just about to cum when suddenly Peter Ford plopped down beside him.
"Like what you see?" Peter asked.
"NO!" Reed said as he tried to push the tip of his dick back inside the leg opening. He had been concentrating on Chris so much that he never heard the boy's fourteen-year-old brother approach.
"Come on, sure you did," Peter said. "Let me see it." He pulled Reed's hand back and slid the pants leg up, exposing the now twitching dick.
"Not bad," Peter said. "You're what, 12 and a half?"
"Not quite," Reed said. "I was uh, I mean, it just popped out and ..."
"Don't worry, I've done it too. Boys can be interesting. Which one do you like the most?"
"Neither of them," Reed said. He again tried to hide his erection.
"Adam is bigger. I've seen him when he's hard, and he gets over 5 inches long. My brother's dick is smaller, but still gets nearly 4 inches long when he's hard. I'll bet you like Chris more than Adam. You want me to call him up here?"
"No, please, I was just looking. Don't tell him, please."
"Don't get all upset. Chris gets boners all the time. You know, he had to suck a dick a month back. Did you know that?"
"No. Who, I mean..."
"Tolley Mackey. He lost a bet he made on a basketball game. You know, if you'd like to see more of him, I know he likes girls, but he's not getting anywhere with them. He's as horny as you, maybe more so, and I know for a fact he wouldn't turn down a good blowjob."
"I, uh, no, I like girls, and besides..."
"Don't sweat it. I'll go pull Nesbitt away for a while. Pop out of those shorts, walk down there with your dick swaying, and don't say a word. He's so horny he'll do all the talking. You won't have to say a thing except yes."
Without waiting for Reed to say anything, Peter walked down to where Chris and Adam had dropped their clothes and picked up Nesbitt's. He whistled, and when the boy looked he held up the clothes and started to walk downstream.
"I told you, Reed Jordan has the hots for you," Adam said to Chris. "You're going to get blown for sure. Maybe he'll even let you fuck him. I'll catch up with you later." He scrambled up the bank and ran to catch up with Peter.
Chris felt a little self-conscious about it. He and Adam had seen Reed watching them a couple of other times. The boy was obviously into one of them, and Peter must have gotten it out of him. He felt his dick begin to rise as he thought about the boy. If only he could get a girl interested in doing more than talking or going to Coolspring for a movie or a soda. He wanted, well, sex. And if he couldn't have a girl, maybe the Jordan kid would be a good substitute.
The kid was still sitting on the bank, and Chris guessed he was too scared or embarrassed to come to him, so he got out and picked up his shorts but didn't put them on. His dick was about half erect as he climbed the bank to where Jordan was sitting. The boy had a very noticeable erection of his own that he was trying to hide.
"Come on," Chris said. "We'll go to my room. I won't tell anyone." He headed up towards the house, praying the boy would follow. Jacking off wasn't good enough anymore.
"Wait up a sec," he heard from behind him. He stopped and turned around. The front of Jordan's shorts was tented down the right leg and he thought he could almost see the tip of the purple head right at the end seam.
"You don't have to do anything you don't want to," Chris said. Reed Jordan looked up and licked his lips. "But you can do anything you do want to do." He turned and they walked side-by-side to the house. "Nobody is here except you and me. My brother will stay away. Come on in. And please, loose the shorts before your dick rips them in half."
Once they were in his bedroom, Chris asked, "Have you ever done anything with a boy before? Or a girl?"
"Not really," Reed said. "I got to kiss Cynthia Mackey once. Behind the bleachers at school. She said I suck at kissing though."
"Well, to be honest, you've gotten further with one than I have. What do you want to do?"
"Uh, well, you know, I uh..."
"How about you just suck mine," Chris said, seeing the boy would never get past his inhibitions to ask.
"Sure," Reed said, and bent over as Chris sat back on his bed.
"Keep your lips over your teeth, and use your tongue a lot. I won't push it into your mouth. You take as much as you can. If it makes you gag, then don't try to get that much in, okay?"
Chris closed his eyes and pretended it was Katie Whitman's mouth on his dick. He remembered how interested she'd been after the basketball game, seeing him naked. He also remembered her laughing at him. But when it came to doing anything close to sex, her only answer was, `No.'
But he could dream, and in his dream, she was going wild on his dick. And he quickly filled her mouth with his cum. Until he opened his eyes and saw it was Reed's mouth he had shot into.
"That was good, thanks," Chris said as Reed got up from between his legs.
"Yeah, me too, I guess. I don't suppose you'd like to do the same for me, would you?"
Chris had no interest in boys. Sucking Tolley had been one of the more horrible moments in his life. But he knew firsthand what Reed was probably feeling right then.
"I'll tell you what. You do that for me one more time, and yeah, I'll suck yours. But if you ever tell anyone I did it, I'll hurt you."
"I won't tell," Jordan said. "You want me to do it again now?"
"Can you come back tomorrow about this same time? You do me and then I promise I'll suck yours."
"Sure," Reed Jordan said. He couldn't wait for it to happen.
David woke slowly, taking time to consider what he was sensing. He could hear voices in his head, but he couldn't make sense of it. One of them was either having sex with a girl or dreaming he was. It was all very strange, and he found himself getting hard, only to be encouraged to "join in." The moment he tried to block them out the voices disappeared.
He remembered how last night he had suddenly found himself in Lower Indian Spring, and not able to recall how he got there or what he'd been doing. He'd been trying to clean his clothing in the stream when Malcolm McEwen and Kelley Tucker had found him. But instead of teasing, yelling or even hurting him, they had both offered help.
And as if that wasn't strange enough, when his brother Darrell showed up a few minutes later, Tucker had even tried to fight him off. If not for that, he was sure he would have gotten a beating from his brother. And what did Darrel mean when he screamed, "You are dead you little fucker. You wrecked my motorcycle." David knew he hadn't touched the bloody thing.
"Hey, I thought I heard you stirring," Ralph said as he came into the bedroom. "I brought you some of my old clothes that should fit. Come out and have some breakfast as soon as you're dressed."
"What's going on?" He asked. He got up and took the clothes and began dressing.
"We will talk about it after you eat. You look like you haven't eaten in weeks," Ralph said kindly.
He felt that way too. He could smell bacon cooking. He didn't worry about putting on socks and followed his cousin to the kitchen where Aunt Grace and Simon were sitting.
His plate was filled with food and he dug in. His cousins updated his aunt as to where they had found him, and that Kelley and Malcolm had also tried helping. None of them asked him any questions. They just let him eat.
"Smells great," he heard in his head. "Taste's even better." He blocked it out again, but the expression on his face must have alerted his cousins.
"What's wrong?" Simon asked him directly.
"I'm crazy," David said with terror in his voice. "I keep hearing people talking to me in my head."
Sandy was waiting for them at the end of the driveway. He gave a wave to his mom before getting into the car.
They didn't go to Mr. Corbin's house, instead he had asked to meet at his office in the city. Kelley complained because he wanted Malcolm to see the painting, but all his mom could do was shrug her shoulders.
"He said he had a reason to meet us there and not at his house, but he didn't say why."
The secretary got up as soon as they came into the office and knocked one time on an inner door before opening it. "They're here," she said, and then stood back, inviting them to enter. She closed the door behind her after they went in.
Kelley was surprised to see the painting leaning against the front of Mr. Corbin's desk.
Mr. Corbin welcomed the three boys and Mrs. Tucker, but Malcolm went straight to the painting, ignoring the man's outstretched hand. The picture was another part of his mother, and he saw that Kelley had not made a mistake. It was clearly her work.
Sandy was pleasantly surprised. He now understood the curiosity Kelley had shown in the painting at Mr. Corbin's house, and why he wouldn't explain his interest except to say that he was protecting Malcolm.
Mr. Corbin waited until Malcolm was done looking and had put the painting back down and taken a seat. He then turned to Kelley and started to say something, but the boy stopped him.
"Please, Mr. Corbin, this is about Malcolm, the painting, and why you weren't, shall we say, completely frank about it, the last time we spoke," said Kelley diplomatically. "Of course, you know my mother, Silvia, and Sandy Jacobs. With your permission, Malcolm would like to lead the conversation. My Mom, Sandy and I are just along to provide moral support."
"Very well," Mr. Corbin said. "First, let me explain why I was less than frank, as you so kindly put it. Natalie Anderson gave me very explicit orders that I was not to reveal to anyone, including you Malcolm, that I had any dealings with her until either Elijah Mackey died, or you turned twenty-one."
He looked at Kelley and said, "Not even your parents knew that she and I met and conducted business. It was, and still is, essential that it remain a secret. Thus, the lie."
Kelley considered his words carefully. He was only just beginning to realize how different he had been during the time he'd had the coin and just said whatever came into his head.
"My dad knew about the painting, and he wasn't honest with me either. But that's between my father and I."
"Yes," Mr. Corbin continued, "Hal came to my house a few times for business. He would have seen it then. But I never discussed the painting with him, or indeed any other business I had with Ms. Anderson."
"Did you know she was Tabitha Mackey?" Malcolm asked.
Mr. Corbin hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "She never told me she was, but for the purpose of our business, I guessed it. More than a guess, I knew it had to be her."
He paused again before continuing.
"I won't make you ask. Ms. Anderson approached me to help, uh, move some money around. I was unemployed, working at odd jobs, mostly labor. There wasn't a lot of work around here, and I had a dream of starting my own heavy construction business. I had a business plan, but the bank wouldn't loan me money since I had no way to repay it if the business failed. Ms. Anderson solved that."
"She had around twenty-five pounds of gold coins, 299 in all, that she wanted converted into cash with no record of where the cash came from. She offered me 10% of their value if I could do it. I cringe to think on it now, but I was desperate to get a start in life back then."
"Well over three million dollars," Kelley interrupted.
"How could you know that?" Mr. Corbin asked. He shook his head without waiting for an answer. "Anyway, the coins were Double Gold Eagles. I couldn't bring them to a coin store without explaining how I got them. In order to convert them to cash I sold them here and there to some people I was associated with. I traveled far from here and got rid of some. I had to take less than they were worth, sometimes a lot less. Even so, I got about two-point-three million dollars for them."
He opened up the only folder on his desk. "Two million, three hundred sixty-three thousand, nine hundred and twenty-eight dollars to be exact. My share, a bit over two hundred and sixty-three thousand dollars, established my business. I've survived fifteen years without anyone ever questioning how I got my start or how I managed to purchase trucks, excavators, and bulldozers."
Malcolm, Kelley, Sandy, and Kelley's mom sat there stunned.
"What happened to the rest of the money?" Malcolm finally asked.
He flipped through the folder. "I invested it. Last quarter it totaled over 4.2 million dollars. I have all the quarterly statements. She allowed me a half percent management fee per year, but I only took that twice. It was too risky trying to hide the extra income from the IRS."
He closed the folder. "Now that all of us in this room know about the money, I have a very big concern. The source of this small fortune is virtually certain to be the gold that Elijah claimed was his. If he were to find out that I knew of the money, or worse yet, used some of it to build my own business, I would face certain financial concerns, the loss of my company, and probable injury or worse. Elijah is rather angry about losing it. Therefore, I must insist that my involvement be kept quiet, and I would like to end my control of it."
"Who does the money belong to?" Silvie Tucker asked.
Mr. Corbin cleared his throat. "Why, Malcolm Michael McEwen of course."
"What! No! Malcolm exclaimed, "It isn't mine. I don't want it." He sounded upset.
"She left it in a trust," the man continued. "It goes to you on your 21st birthday, unless Jebediah Mackey, Halford Tucker, and me all agree to give some, or all of it to you sooner."
"My husband knew about this?" Silvie asked.
"He wasn't supposed to. Jebediah knew, or at least she told me he did. If Hal knows, he heard it from him. There are clauses in the trust for what happens if any of us die, but since as of now we are all alive, you can read it for yourself. I think it would be best if someone else managed the money from now on. To do that, Malcolm will need approval from the same three people." He slid the folder across the table to where Malcolm was sitting.
There was a knock at the door and Mr. Corbin said, "Come on in Lisa."
The secretary had a notepad in her hand. "Mr. Halford Tucker called and gave me a message that I am to read aloud if your guests were still here."
"They are, so please, go ahead," Mr. Corbin said.
"The message is, "I just got a call from the Cormacks. They said that five minutes ago Ian sat up and asked for food. They said to thank Kelley for coming over late last night and telling them what had happened and for what he did to fix it. Then tell my oldest son that if I get one more notice of late-night adventuring this month I will take a strap to him for the first time in his young life." That was the end of the message."
"Thank you, Lisa," Mr. Corbin said and she left.
Kelley realized that somehow, against all odds, he had saved himself. By keeping Darrell from getting to David he had defended a fellow warrior, thus healing Ian and Jack, and that was something to laugh or cry over, and he chose laughing.
Malcolm didn't know why he found the idea of Kelley being strapped funny, but he did. For the first time since learning that his mother was dead, Malcolm laughed.
Silvie had no idea what was so funny, but it felt good to hear them both laughing.
"Did you boys leave the house last night?" Silvie asked.
"Maybe," Kelley said, starting a new round of laughing and giggling.
"Your father sounds very upset that you did," she tried again, but this only made the boys laugh harder.
"I don't think he is serious about the strap, but you never know," she said. This only resulted in them almost tumbling on the floor. They were acting more like five-year-old's than twelve. She decided to try one more time to continue the meeting.
"Malcolm, is it okay if Mr. Tucker looks through this folder?"
"Yeah, only I want to be there when he finds out I'm a millionaire," Malcolm said through a bout of the giggles. "Maybe he'll take a strap to both of us."
Silvie Tucker gave up. Hearing her boy and Malcolm laughing wasn't the worst thing that could happen. She only hoped it would end before they got home. She picked up the folder, thanked Matthew Corbin on behalf of Malcolm, and with Sandy directing the two boys ahead of him, they left.
Reed wouldn't have believed it could feel good to give another guy a blowjob, but it did. He didn't understand why, but he'd enjoyed it. And he was going to do it again tomorrow before finding out exactly how it felt to be on the other side. Instead of going home when he left the Ford's house, he went to someone he'd heard might be a bit of an expert at it.
Nate Carlin's place was on the other side of the Crazy Indian, only a short walk. He'd never been there before, and when he knocked on the door he suddenly felt like running. What if what he'd heard was wrong? What if Nathan wasn't...
"Hello," a woman said pleasantly. "If you're looking for Nathan, I think he might be at the Vargas house."
"Oh, okay," he answered, somewhat relieved that he didn't have to find out he was making a mistake, but also disappointed that he might have found out he wasn't.
There had been a ton of rumors about the oldest Vargas boy Joey and the oldest Parker boy Caleb. One had been that the Hudson boys were making them travel through the area around where they lived totally naked.
He headed back toward the main road, going between the England and Parker houses. Not Caleb and Rich Parker's, but the other one, Tasha Parker's house. She was almost exactly the same age as him, and cute. Another girl he'd like to know better. Just the thought of her made his dick swell again.
He reached the main road into Indian Spring and saw Nathan coming towards him. He held up his hand in greeting and waited for him to reach the intersection.
"Hi Reed," Nate said. "How ya hanging?"
Reed looked down, hoping the boner he had popped thinking about Tasha Parker didn't show. It did, but Nate didn't seem to notice. Or hadn't, until he looked down and drew Carlin's attention to it.
"You saving that for Tasha?" Nate asked, pointing at her house.
"Uh, no, I was uh, just...out for a walk."
"I don't like Jory much," Nate said, looking over to the England house. "He's a jerk. Let's move on somewhere. Were you heading anywhere special?"
"Well, I was looking for you at your house, but your mom said you were at the Vargas's. Is the rumor I heard true? Is Gunner really making Joey and Caleb Parker be naked?"
"He was. Rich Parker too, but I think it's over now. Why were you looking for me?"
Suddenly Reed realized that now he either had to make something up quickly or ask what he really wanted to know.
"I kind of heard that sometimes you do stuff, you know, like with guys," he said. He took a sudden interest in his feet.
"You mean like I'm gay or something?" Nate asked.
Reed couldn't get a reading from the way Nate asked it. "I didn't say that, it's just that, sometimes I heard you kind of do stuff."
"Let's go this way," Nate said, leading Reed past Tasha Parker's house and then to the woods behind his own.
"Let me ask you a question," Nate said as they walked. "Are you gay? Do you like guys? Or girls? What do you think of when you jack off?"
"I know I like girls," Reed said defensibly. "But sometimes, with certain boys, I get, uh, I like, sometimes I get hard. And think about them. Not all boys. Just some. But not when I jack off. I kind of think of Tasha Parker or Emily Vargas and stuff we could do together."
"That's a hell of a lot of disclaimers Reed. What do you want from me?"
"There's this guy I like, and tomorrow, if I'll suck him again, he said he'd suck me. I want to do it right. I want to know how to give a good blowjob."
"Are you willing to practice until you've got it nailed?" Nate asked.
"Yeah," Reed said without thinking. Then he realized what he said. "I mean, uh, okay, I just want a few pointers. But I could practice a bit I guess."
"Who's the lucky boy?"
"C ... , uh, I promised I'd never tell," Reed said.
"Than that is a promise you should keep. Come on, there's a place back here where we can practice in peace.
"Okay, I'm going to show you how I do it, and then you can try to do the same to me," Nate said.
"No, I mean, I'd love to, but I want the first one I get to be from uh, my friend."
"You mean you don't want me to blow you, but you'll suck me? Nathan asked. "Did someone put you up to this?"
"No, nobody put me up to it. It's just kind of confusing, even to me. I just want some pointers so I can do it better."
"Well, that works for me," Nathan said. "But if you don't mind, I'd still like to get a look at you. I've seen you at the rope swing, but you never skinny dip. I've always kind of wondered what you looked like."
"Am I, uh, too small?" Reed asked when they had both stripped.
"I've seen a lot of boys our age, and you aren't too small. I'd say you're about normal."
Half an hour and three blowjobs later, Nate pronounced him an expert.
The ride home from the meeting with Mr. Corbin was made largely in silence; the three boys and Kelley's mother lost in thoughts after the surprise news. As she pulled up to the Jacobs' house to drop off Sandy they saw Wally Mackey just coming down the street. Wally was Raymond's youngest brother.
"Can you wait for just a second Mrs. Tucker?" Sandy said as he got out of the car. "This may involve Kelley."
With a questioning look at her oldest son, she put the car in park and waited. Kelley shrugged his shoulders as Sandy got out.
"My brother Joseph sent me to get you," he said. "Raymond wasn't able to make it to the meeting, and he is there to take notes. The meeting is almost over, and whatever you wanted to bring to the Junior Council you've got 15 minutes to get there." Wally turned around and walked back up the road after delivering his message. Sandy returned to the car.
"The Junior Council is meeting, and I'd asked for us to be put on the agenda," Sandy said as he came back to the car. "We don't have much time to get there either. We'd better run Tucker."
"No," Mrs. Tucker said firmly. "Get back in the car. I know where the clubhouse is. I can drive you closer." Kelley was surprised, no, amazed, that his mom would know something like that, but decided now was not the time to ask. He told Malcolm he'd meet up with him later as his mother drove them north across the Crazy Indian.
Sandy knocked once, and upon hearing the word "Enter," he and Kelley went into the meeting room. He nodded at 16-year-old Jason Mackey, Kevin and Sean's older brother, who was sitting in Raymond's chair.
"Okay Sandy, you and Kelley are on the agenda, so let's hear what you have to say," Sheldon Redd said. "But don't take too much time as we've already had a long meeting."
"Thanks Sheldon," said Sandy as he looked around respectfully at the 15, 16 and 17-year-old boys that comprised the Mackey Junior Council. "Kelley Tucker and I are here to warn you guys of a potential disaster that could compromise the secrecy of the Choosing Ceremony and end with kids facing criminal charges and long jail time."
What are you talking about Jacobs?" said an angry sounding Paul Hardin. "I seem to recall that you had a warning for us before and..."
"That's enough Paul," said Sheldon. It was obvious he was in charge of the meeting. "Sandy and Kelley, tell us what you've got to say."
"Mr. Matthew Corbin, who now lives in the city, is planning to bring criminal charges of rape against Eli Corbin for what he did to his son, Matty, at the Choosing Ceremony."
"And how exactly do you know that?" Tad Mackey asked.
"Because Tucker and I went to see him."
"What?" demanded Tad in surprise. "Once again you've taken it upon yourself to undertake actions without first addressing the council?"
Kelley glared at Tad.
"Sandy and I went to see Mr. Corbin because of a series of incidents that started happening around Indian Spring after the Choosing Ceremony last Saturday - you all know what I'm talking about."
Kelley stared meaningfully at the older boys daring anyone to claim they didn't know. But when no one said anything, he continued. "Well, there was a rumor going around that Mr. Corbin was behind some of these things. So we went to see him."
"Yeah" added Sandy. "I told Sheldon at the time that no good would come from Eli tricking his cousin that way and then fucking him."
"Eli's actions are not Junior Council business," Paul Hardin said.
"And besides, while deplorable, his actions were within the rules," Sheldon added.
"Then get ready for some real change to come to the Spring," Kelley said. "If Mr. Mackey charges Eli with rape, which he is going to do unless some other acceptable action is taken by this Council, police will be here. Sandy tells me there are written records going back over a hundred years. What do you think will happen when the police find out you have an organized process for picking 12-year-old kids to be fucked by older boys?"
The room was again quiet. Kelley waited half a minute before speaking again.
"Mr. Corbin hadn't considered that either. That is why he gave Sandy and I a chance to do something before he files a rape charge against Eli."
"Well, you obviously have an idea and the rest of us are sitting on our thumbs unable to respond," Jason Mackey said. As the son of Jebediah, Kelley knew he would be on their side. "I suppose you think we should bottom him. Is that what you offered to Mr. Corbin to make him not involve the police?"
"No, quite the opposite," Kelley said. He quickly outlined the plan for isolation from the community for Eli. "No physical, sexual, or casual contact."
"I suppose you want the same for what happened to you?" Hardin said. He ignored the looks he got from many other council members.
"I bare no animosity for anyone involved in how I got put on the Choosing List. Once I was bent over on the stage, I made a choice to stay. He looked at Paul and was about to say something more when Jason interrupted him.
"Come on Kelley, let's not provoke things. "How long do you think such isolation should last?"
"As far as I'm concerned, for as long as he lives here, but I would accept the council's decision."
"But keep in mind, it is Mr. Corbin who must accept it, not Kelley or me," Sandy quickly added.
There was a loud knock and before anyone else could speak, the door was flung open. Kelley saw Malcolm enter, followed by Austin Koch and a boy who could only be Austin's older brother Arthur. Austin was big and solidly built, but Arthur was huge in comparison.
"What the hell is the meaning of this," Sheldon said, standing up.
"Malcolm told us Tucker was here," Austin said. "We came to tell Kelley that because Eric Turner couldn't find him he attacked someone else instead. He told Malcolm it was a message."
Kelley did all he could to keep his rage contained. Eric Turner was three years older than Malcolm. "Are you okay?" he asked his friend.
"He sucker punched me," Malcolm said. "It would appear that after years of being an asshole I finally learn that I totally suck at fighting."
"Malcolm said this Turner kid is 15. He's got no cause to punch a 12-year-old. And next we're going to go and explain that to him," said Austin.
"I made them come here first and tell you," Malcolm explained. "I'm alright, I just got hit in the gut. No blood. He said it was for what you did to Casey Harris."
"He doesn't want to fight me," Kelley said. "He just wants to impress his girlfriend, Audrea Harris." He wished he was as sure about that as he was telling the others. He looked at Sandy and said, "I've got to go. We've told the council the idea, now it's up to you to sell it."
"This is Springer business," James Cormack said. "I should go too."
"There isn't going to be a fight," Kelley said. "I can defuse this." Again, he hoped he really could.
"The hell there ain't gonna be a fight," Arthur said. "Malcolm is our boy. And we kinda got a bit of respect for you too, after the way you handled yourself when you met Austin and Alex."
"Look at me," Kelley said firmly. He waited until Arthur was looking directly into his eyes. "You will not fight Eric Turner because of what he did to Malcolm." He immediately saw the change in expression on Arthur's face. It was the second time he'd done it. The first had been with his cousin Geoff and it wasn't something he liked doing.
"Uh," Arthur said as he shook his head. It had all been clear a second ago. But now, he felt different. "Okay, I won't, but I still ain't going to let him turn your face into a Halloween pumpkin."
Kelley decided that was good enough. He turned to Sheldon and said, "Sorry for the interruption, I'm going to go now and let you guys continue. Will you be okay Sandy?"
"I'm fine," answered the dirty blond. "What about you? It sounds like you need me more than I need you. Want me to come along?"
"No, it'll be fine," answered Kelley. Then he caught a glance at James Cormack and realized that the older boy fully understood what had just happened with Arthur Koch.
"This still involves Mackey and Springer boys, and I'm going to tag along to make sure things don't go wrong," James said. He got up and followed as the Koch brothers, Malcolm, and Kelley left the meeting room. He didn't say a word to Kelley as they headed south.