Chapter 9

An examination of the list of members of the rape gang showed that not all of them were members of the football team. Other sports were represented, but the majority were football players. I suppose that was reasonable, considering that the idea started with them.

I figured that my next victim should be the guy who started it all; namely, Jim Thurston, the football quarterback. Thurston was easy to catch just the way I had captured Edson. I even had him drive to the same parking place that I had used for Edson. This was on a Monday afternoon following a win the previous Friday, and the coach had taken the team through the film of the game to let them see their successes and to point out their few mistakes.

Yes, this was the most successful team that Hampton had fielded in several years, and the coach was already eyeing the place for the championship trophy. I really hated to spoil his dream, but necessity called.

The meeting broke up early, and I was almost caught, but I already had an excuse handy just in case that happened. The sight of the gun almost had Thurstan shitting in his pants, and he was very cooperative on our drive into the country.

I already had all of the information that I was looking for, so this was going to be a relatively short interlude in Thurston’s triumphant Monday. He had still been reveling in the adulation heaped upon him by the student body and the team, so he was profoundly shocked when I kidnapped him.

“Okay, Thurston, I know that you have no idea why I kidnapped you, so it is time for the explanation. You are the one behind the rape gang that is terrorizing the female population of the high school, and that is going to stop right now as far as you are concerned.”

“You are crazy, Gimp. I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Well, I am not impressed by your denial, and that last insult has earned you some extra punishment. When I finish with you, you will be the gimp. Hell, you may not even return to school.”

“Bullshit, without your gun, you are no match for me. I am a star football player, and you can barely get from class to class. Put up that gun and let’s see just how you can handle yourself against a real man.”

“Ah-ha, you anticipate me. I was just about to swap my gun for my baton. Let’s see how you fare against that. I cannot run as fast as you, but I can fight a hell of a lot better, and I am about to show...” That was when Thurston charged me. I was not surprised and simply raised my baton far enough to poke him in the solar plexus with what was gentle for me. Down he went, and I waited for him to recover enough of his breath to feel what else I had in mind for him.

“Yes, I was the one who put Joe Edson in the hospital, and you can rest assured that you will follow him there. I think that we will start with your throwing arm, since I am sure that you set a lot of store by it.” He was still having a little trouble with pain in his gut, and he had both arms crossed over it. That made it easy for me to reach his right elbow, and I proceeded to hit him there hard enough to shatter the joint.

There was the expected scream of pain, but I think that, added to it, was the realization that he would never again be able to throw a pass. “That was for what was done to Liz Watson. I don’t know if you were the actual rapist, but you were certainly responsible for it.”

Next, I smashed his left elbow, and attributed that to revenge for the rape of Sarah Morgan. I then broke the joints in his shoulders, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles; each time attributing the action to revenge for the rape of another girl by name. By then, he could not move by himself. This time, I left him lying on the grass as I drove off in his car. That I parked in his regular place in the parking lot at the high school. Inside the car, taped to the steering wheel, I left a note typed on a school typewriter about where Thurston could be found. I signed the note “The Avenger.”

I wore gloves while handling the paper and typing the note and while I drove the car and taped the note to the steering wheel. Even my signature on the note had been typed so that there would be even more trouble identifying me. The list of names I had cited to Thurston included the youngest daughter of the Chief of Police, but none of them were written on anything that I published.

Jim Thurston’s trip to the hospital killed all chances that the Hampton High School football team would win any more games this season. I didn’t stop there, but figured to branch out to the other sports. The basketball team was beginning its preseason practice, so it was easy for me to capture Ed Wyman, a forward. Ed had his own car because basketball was not as popular as football, but he parked in the same general area as used by the football players.

The routine with Ed Wyman was the same as I had used with Edson and Thurston. Wyman had recruited a couple of other basketball players to join the rape gang, so I gave him much the same treatment as I had used on Thurston. That included leaving him on the ground and driving off with his car. This time, I did not need a note because it was Friday, and he would be found on Saturday when the kids arrived to park for their make-out sessions. I figured that somebody would contact the police to see about him, so I didn’t worry about it.

Of course, the head basketball coach was badly upset over what was done to his starting shooting forward, but he had time to find somebody else before the first season game. Unfortunately for the team, they did lose two more players, one of whom was the starting center, before the season was over.

I had some help from the student body, at least the girls, because I was never caught, and I was able to get through the whole list of 24 rape gang members. On several occasions, Liz Watson was my alibi. She claimed that she was with me during the time of the attacks so that it would have been impossible for me to do the dirty work.

The fourth time she claimed that we were together, she said later to me, “Jack, we had better have at least one date so that I can tell a straight story. What do you think?”

“Liz, I would love to date you for real, but do you really want to go out with me. After all, a lot of people will laugh at you for dating a cripple.”

“To hell with them, Jack. You are the nicest boy I know, and I would consider it an honor and a privilege to be seen with you. Let’s go to the Burger Bar right now. The place will be crowded, and I can show you off. It’s my treat.”

By this time, I had turned 16, so I had a car. My trouble all my life had simply been one of balance and not of weakness of any part of my body, so I could drive a car with complete ease. Okay, so my car was a ‘42 Ford sedan. It was not pretty, but it still ran well and was water tight, so I did not have to worry about rain water spoiling anything.

Of course, this was my first trip to the Burger Bar with a date, and I was very proud to be able to find a parking spot right next to the main door. I was still leaning heavily on my walker to maintain my cover, so Liz held the door for me as I went in. Liz was not a beauty pageant type, but she was still very good looking, so she usually attracted the notice of all of the males around her, practically no matter what their age.

Therefore, conversation within the Burger Bar ceased when we entered, and the quiet held until we had found a booth to sit in. My walker was folded and leaned against a vacant space along a wall by Liz. She knew about my much improved ability to walk by myself, but she went along with my walker cover because I had asked her to. That walker was now a part of my identity. We had a standard burger and fries, but I had a chocolate milk shake and Liz had a diet soda that had just come into popularity.

We sat and talked about trivial things for over an hour, and I think that the majority of the student body, both male and female, saw us. I had a great time, and I got to know a lot about Liz that was news to me. I probably said the same kind of things, but I can’t remember. Liz insisted that this was her treat, so I let her pay, and that was also the subject of a lot of comment the next day in school.