Chapter 17: Tsunami

9th Grade: February 8th - February 25th, 1986

I had just settled down in bed between the twins for the night Saturday night when the phone in the room rang.

I figured it was just my mom, but then she would probably just thought something to me.

“Hello?”

Brad’s voice exclaimed, “Sandi’s missing!”

“What? What do you mean, she’s missing?”

“Man, what do you think it means? It’s nearly eleven-thirty and she isn’t here.”

“And she’s not at any of her friend’s houses?”

“Do you think I’d call you if I hadn’t checked that? No, she’s not at any of her friends. Man, she was acting a little squirrely earlier today. I think she ran off with someone to ... you know...”

He said softly, “Fuck.”

I groaned and said, “Brad, I hate to say it, but she’s not stupid. I’m sure she’s fine and will come home on her own.”

“Man, she’s never done this, though. Why would she sneak out at night?”

“Probably because it was the first opportunity where you weren’t watching her. What do you want me to do, Brad? I don’t know how to find her.”

“Have you tried?”

“Brad, I still have trouble finding Suzi’s mind without the phone half the time.”

“But you used to over the summer. Man, just try.”

I sighed but said, “Okay. Look, I’ll call you back in a few...”

“No! I’ll just stay on the phone. If you call, my parents might answer it or something. We’re not supposed to get calls this late.”

I was going to point out that wouldn’t be a problem, but I decided not to aggravate him any more than he was.

“I’m putting the phone down. I need to put my aluminum foil long-range amplifier helmet on.”

“Man, don’t kid around. This is serious.”

“Sorry. But I am putting the phone down. I’ll have to concentrate.”

“Alright. Just don’t fall asleep.”

“I’m not. I’m with the twins. They’ll make sure I don’t fall asleep.”

“Yeah, okay.”

I handed the phone to Honey who, after a moment, put it up to her ear.

I smiled and said, “Brad, if you can hear me, Honey is listening. Why don’t you read her some of your poetry?”

I heard him groan, “Man...”

In sixth grade, Brad went through this phase where he wrote a lot of poetry. It was mostly rhymes that didn’t make much sense, but some of it was actually pretty good. For a sixth-grader anyway.

I thought of Sandi, picturing her speaking to me and trying to hear what she was saying. After about ten minutes I gave up on that, but then on a hunch, I tried feeling her out while imagining her in the middle of humping my leg like she had the previous week. I got this vague feeling from that, so I tried envisioning a few other similar actions and I suddenly connected. She was exchanging spit with an older teenager while he had his hand down her pants fingering her.

I gasped as I recognized Darin Fields, one of the guys from the couples.

Seeing she had already given him a blowjob and they weren’t planning on fucking, I decided to just let them finish. I made sure Darin would then drive her home.

I opened my eyes and motioned for the phone, then grinned as I heard Brad reciting “The Dream” by Lord Byron, Brad’s favorite poet.

I joined him as he said, “The mind can make substance, and people planets of its own...”

Byron was my favorite too. Or at least The Dream was one of my favorites.

Brad said, “Man, I thought the phone was echoing for a moment. Did you find her?”

“Yes, and she’s on the way home. Don’t make a big deal when she gets there. She didn’t fuck anyone.”

“But she ran off! I’m supposed to be looking after her.”

“I know, but she didn’t fuck the guy. Look, she made a judgment call and she took the lesser of the two options. That’s a good thing. You can tell her you know, but don’t make a fuss. My dad and I have covered a lot today, and tomorrow I’m going to practice on a few volunteers. I’ll swing by Sunday evening and start making small changes that will limit her from doing this again without asking you, okay?”

Brad sighed and said, “But what will I say if she asks?”

“We’ll figure that out when the time comes. She’ll be home in fifteen minutes. I’ll keep an eye on her until then, so don’t worry, okay?”

Brad sighed again and said, “Thanks, Timmy. I was really freaking out.”

“It’s mostly my fault. It’s the least I can do.”

“Man, I don’t know how much it really is your fault. From what she’s told me, it was mostly her idea to include the other girls in it. You know how seductive she can be. And she’s like Suzi when it comes to getting what she wants. Only Sandi can be pretty sneaky about it.”

“So can Suz. Remember Kyle Dawson’s retainer in seventh grade?”

“No shit? That was Suz? Man, I would have never guessed. How long have you known?”

“I don’t know. She told Joey and me sometime this year. She’s done some crazy shit, Brad. And nobody knows who did it most of the time. Unless she wants them to know. That’s when it gets scary.”

The twins were getting impatient, so I hurriedly I told him goodnight.

The phone woke us up at eight the next morning.

I grumpily answered it, “Hello!”

“Timmy, we have a problem.”

“Shit, Suz. This isn’t about Sandi, is it?”

“No. Christine’s been pressuring me to let her join Joey and me to form a new threesome. She spent the night last night and we ... We had sex, Timmy. I think the girls we had the orgy with all still have the need.”

I sighed really loudly and said, “How bad is it?”

“Well, we just had a pregnancy scare with Mindy, and Brook is cheating on David with Krystal. Tracy is the only one who seems stable for the moment.”

“Shit. Is there something I need to do today? Or can it wait until Monday?”

“I’d like to tell them what’s going on.”

“Well shit, Suz. You don’t need my permission to do that.”

“I think I do. I mean, I’m not your girlfriend anymore. I don’t have a right to interfere with your business.”

I didn’t answer right away as that had hurt. But I could tell it had hurt her just to say it too. I wanted to tell her she was wrong, but I specifically didn’t want to get her involved in this as much as I could.

Finally, I said, “Thank you. I’ll swing around and take them out for dessert or something tonight and tell them then.”

Suzi’s own pause told me that wasn’t what she expected, but she recovered and said, “Okay, Timmy. Goodbye.”

What a way to start the day, eh?

And the day wasn’t over yet.

A little after noon, I got another call.

“Timmy’s helpline for the needy. What’s your emergency?”

Jessica said, “That’s not funny.”

“Sorry. You’re not the first call I’ve received.”

“I know. Suzi called me to let me know before I left for church. Tim, Josh is in jail for attempted rape.”

“WHAT? Of who?”

“Maggie. He forced her into his truck before ten o’clock mass and was trying to get her clothes off her when someone saw them.”

“Nobody noticed him forcing her?”

“This is all second hand. I don’t have all the details.”

I closed my eyes as the hollowness inside me seemed to grow even larger.

“Tim? Are you still there?”

“Yes. Sorry. Is Maggie okay?”

“She’s pissed off, but otherwise she’s okay.”

“Good. I ... I’ll have to talk to my parents. I don’t know if I can’t do much.”

“You can get Maggie to drop the charges if it was Josh’s need causing him to act that way.”

I frowned and said, “I’ll see what I can do. Do you know where he’s at?”

“Like I said, I don’t know the details, but I’m sure Maggie does.”

“Okay. I’ll take care of it.”

“Tim, there’s another ... incident.”

I groaned, “Who?”

“Lorene Howell. She was arrested for prostitution last night.”

“What the fuck? I checked her on Wednesday and she was fine.”

“I don’t know what to tell you.”

“Any other good news?”

“Not that I know of. Lorene’s fifteen so she isn’t being held.”

“Well, that’s good. Thank you, Jess.”

“I’m just doing my part. Let me know if you’re coming back early. I’d like to be there if you see Maggie or Josh. They’re one of us.”

She meant they were one of the kids who had gone to our church for most of their lives.

After hanging up, I said to the twins, “Are you two up for a field trip?”

When they cocked their heads meaning they didn’t understand what I meant, I said, “I need to go back and help some people. Would you like to go with me?”

Like I really needed to ask. Their world had suddenly become so much larger and more interesting now that they could wear clothes and meet regular people. They were keen on seeing Suzi for some reason. I called Suzi’s house but she wasn’t home. I explained to her mom the twins wanted to get together with her while I was helping some church friends that day. She told me she was at Krystal’s.

Hearing how the entire group of girls was over there, I had the vision of them and the twins in a pile of squirming naked female flesh. My first instinct was to call Joey to let him know of the possibility, then realized that wasn’t any of my business. But then again, if it was their need driving them, it was, wasn’t it?

“Suz, if you’re arranging for a group you know what...”

“Timmy, don’t go there.”

“Okay. But are you?”

Suzi’s silence meant she was, or at least she was trying to arrange it.

“Look, I’m coming back to take care of another mess. I don’t know what the twins have in mind, but they want to hook up with you today. If you’re going to mess around with the other girls, I’ll have a limo come and take you down to the mansion. The question is, what should the twins do?”

Suzi groaned and said, “Timmy, I don’t think the girls will want to do that there. I’ll ask, though. Thank you. I’m not sure about the twins joining us. I mean, I know we had that one-time thing, but ... Are they interested? I’m not sure how to feel about this.”

I looked at the twins and asked, “Suzi wants to know if you’d like to have sex with her four girlfriends.”

Suzi shouted, “TIMMY!”

I knew I should have held the phone away from my ear.

I got a definite maybe next time and told that to Suzi. I couldn’t tell if Suzi was disappointed or relieved. Come to think of it, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it either. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to miss it if it happened, and I couldn’t attend it if they did it that day.

I was disappointed in learning the twins didn’t want to just hang out with me. Instead, they decided they wanted to be with Brad and Sandi. When I called their house, I hadn’t even finished asking the question before Brad said, “Hell, yes.”

Interpreting their vague meaning from the emotions they sent was getting easier for me, but I was surprised how quickly I recognized Brad’s laid back attitude from their empathic touches. Suzi’s headstrong persona had been more difficult for me to recognize the first time they had used it as it was similar to my mom’s, but I knew that’s who they meant ever since. Joey had been the easiest. I instantly recognized them emitting the brotherly trust I felt for him.

Two hours later, Jessica and I pulled up at Maggie’s parent’s house in the limo.

After sensing who all was in the house, I said, “She’s not here. She’s ... She’s at her boyfriend’s apartment and her parents are a little upset about that.”

“I can imagine. She’s dating some twenty-something guy who works at Video Plus.”

“He’s supposedly catholic though. He just doesn’t go to our church.”

I gave the driver directions to Roger Crawford’s apartment building. Once the limo started on its way, I said, “Your mom didn’t seem happy to see me.”

“My mom thinks you’re becoming a playboy because you ride around in stretch limousines taking groups of girls out for dinner.”

“And what do you think?”

She laughed and said, “You don’t want to know what I think.”

I said, “Are you forgetting who you’re talking to? I’m telepathic. I could just read your mind.”

Jessica frowned, turned towards me in the seat and asked, “Don’t you do that all the time?”

“No. I only use it when I can’t ask someone something because ... We’ll my mom taught me early on not to read a friend’s minds as it complicates things.”

“I didn’t realize I qualified as a friend.”

Let out a sound of exasperation and said, “If you’re not a friend, why are you here?”

She shrugged and said, “Because you need me.”

“I don’t use people. At least I don’t mean too.”

“Really? What about Maggie and Josh? Or Launa and Mike?”

I said, “I was figuring things out back then. I don’t do that sort of thing anymore. Not since I told Suzi my secret. She was my ... uh...”

“Conscience?”

“Voice of reason was what I was thinking of, but I suppose that works too.”

“But you broke up with her.”

“Yeah. Not because I want to, though. You know that.”

“I do. The question is, who is acting as your conscience now?”

“I suppose you are to some degree.”

“I was afraid you were going to say that.”

“You said Suzi called you to tell you about her girlfriends. Are you two collaborating?”

Jessica hesitated a moment before saying, “Let’s just say she’s giving me tips. You have some unusual quirks apparently she wanted me to know about.”

“Okay, I think that’s as much as I want to know.”

“Really? I would have thought you’d want to know everything she’s said about you.”

“No thank you. Girl talk is precisely that. For girls. I’ll just get into trouble if I learn anything from that.”

“You’re telepathic. You have to know what girls say about you.”

“Nope. Rich playboy is as detailed of an idea as I care to know. Did you hear we might get snow Tuesday?”

“If we’re going to change the subject, what are you going to do about Lorene?”

I said, “I’ll give her a brain fuck later.”

“Are you going to tell her?”

“I don’t know. I can’t keep telling people. There are other telepaths out there, and some aren’t friendly. I’m not experienced in defending myself against others that way. The fewer people that know my secret, the less of a chance another telepath discovers me and possibly turn me against the people I care about.”

“Oh ... I never ... Is that likely?”

“I don’t know. My dad says not, but his biggest reason is the fact that the twins are immune to telepathy. But other than they blinking at someone furiously, I’m not sure what they could do to stop someone.”

“Blinking at them?”

“Yeah, I sort of made them angry Friday night when they wore these bunny outfits to bed. They thought they looked cute. I couldn’t stop laughing, especially when they just stood there blinking really fast at me like this.”

I blinked my eyes so fast it was like I was in a room with a fast strobe light.

Jessica laughed and asked, “Why are they so ... different?”

“Because they are. But they’re the sweetest, most innocent people I’ve ever met. The more time I spend with them, the closer I get to thinking of them like my older little sisters.”

“Older little sisters.”

I shrugged. They were older than I was, but they were like younger to me in a lot of ways. We didn’t fool around sexually that much. Okay, we did, but oral sex was like their thing. I had the impression it was tied to their empathic abilities in some way. Not that they had to do it. It was like the issues with their clothes or something. Like they could see us better while doing that. I know that sounds ... convenient. But I didn’t question it even though I couldn’t tell any difference while I worked their clit over with my tongue.

When we arrived at Roger’s apartment building, it took me a few minutes to locate Maggie. She was in bed with him after having a quickie to relieve the stress from earlier that day. I was comforted to know Roger had real feelings for her, and it wasn’t just based on the sex. They had worked together for over a year at the video rental place they worked at, and he had had a crush on her for quite some time. He had been a virgin and not just because he was a bit of a nerd. Roger was a devout catholic, and I teased Jessica she may have missed her chance with her soul mate.

Maggie had feelings for Roger, too, but they were muddled by the need’s influences. I had no idea if she would have ever given him the time of day if she hadn’t been pushed to give him a blowjob by it.

I pushed Maggie to recall where Josh was at the moment but got more than that. Maggie was feeling guilty for what had happened. She had been dressing sexy just to see if people noticed. If Josh hadn’t been so rough and had given her the option, she probably would have given him a blowjob to help him out for old time’s sake. That’s why she had more or less willingly gotten into his truck. But that’s not what Josh had wanted. It pissed her off, but now Josh was in serious trouble. But she couldn’t just drop the charges without looking like a tramp.

After describing that to Jessica, we discussed what I could do. We both didn’t want to force Maggie to change her mind, so instead, we came up with some thoughts I could push into her head to see what stuck. That worked easier than we expected to, but it helped that I was pushing thoughts into Roger as well. Together they decided it was their duty to try and help Josh together. And by that, I don’t mean a threesome.

We followed them at a distance to the police station where they found Josh was already in the process of being released on bail by his parents. I helped get them all over the awkward stage by pushing thoughts into everyone’s heads where they were all on the same wavelength. Jessica and I were feeling pretty good at how smooth that had worked. We even made sure Maggie’s parents understood what they were doing, and that resulted in their opinion of Roger going up a lot.

I had already made sure Maggie was on birth control and Roger was only her third boyfriend she had had sex with. I was starting to see a pattern at how the need pushed people to try out new partners when the last one stopped progressing. Even if the new one didn’t do anything different, it was still different enough to add some spice to their life.

Jessica and I discussed the idea of hooking Josh up with one of the other girls, perhaps even more than one. More than one had been Jessica’s idea which surprised me and her both. She complained I was becoming a bad influence, but I pointed out she herself had formed a crush on two boys four years ago. Jonathan and Kevin Walker were her own personal fantasy boys. In her moments of weakness, she had always envisioned being with both of them. Jessica ended up admitting she had felt a little jealous of Suzi when she learned how Joey and I were both secretly her boyfriends.

When she admitted that to me, I realized Jessica and I had truly crossed the border and were now firmly in the friendship zone. This was a new and strange thing for me. I mean, sure, I had had other girls as friends, but not like this. Suzi and I had flirted a lot before getting to the point where we opened up to each other. Jessica and I hadn’t flirted at all and there wasn’t any sexual tension between us. Granted, we had already had some sex, so maybe that’s why we were so comfortable being open with each other, but that’s not how I felt.

I think what we both were realizing at that time was we made a pretty good team. Deep down, we both had the same core values from our catholic upbringing. Oh, I don’t mean all our values were due to being Catholics. But being catholic and having gone to the same church for over seven years meant we understood each other in those terms. And there were certain core values we assumed each other held once Jessica understood I really had accepted Jesus into my heart.

I was startled to realize how important that was to me right then. It was the one piece missing from my relationship with Suzi and Joey. Oh, I suppose Suzi understood that aspect about me. The proof was hanging around my neck, after all. But just because she understood it didn’t mean she shared it.

But Jessica did. You would think that would make me feel attracted to her. I admitted to myself I did feel that pull, but I recognized it as a more sisterly type of pull. And that realization crystalized the rest of my feelings for Jessica. We were like siblings, and it wasn’t that different from how I felt for the twins.

When I described that to her, Jessica teared up and said, “I always wanted a younger brother.”

That pretty much defined our relationship from that point on.

And thank the Lord we had come to that understanding, or we might have never survived that week.

Jessica spent the rest of the day with me. We checked on all the couples and confirmed they were all keeping their needs sated by having found more exciting or diverse forms of sex or had found new partners. Jessica was of the opinion we needed to contain them to keeping each other’s needs sated rather than expanding the sex ring to new people who didn’t have the need.

“So you’re not interested in bringing Jonathan and Kevin into the ring?”

Jessica groaned, “Tim, don’t tempt me like that.”

“Sorry. You’re right, that was shitty for me to say. But Jess, you’re already obsessed with them, and they’re not virgins.”

Jessica looked at me like I had just stabbed her with a knife.

Her little girl’s voice broke my heart when she said, “They’re not?”

My instinct was to hug her, but I restrained myself as I knew Jessica wasn’t the needy type like that.

I said, “I’m sorry. They’re not going around fucking any girl who’d let them, but they’ve been with two girls each. Don’t ask who. I’m not saying.”

Jessica sighed disappointedly, but then grinned slightly and said, “I hate to say it, but that does make us doing it eventually a little easier.”

I said, “You know, I don’t have to be your first. I think you should love the person you lose your virginity with. How do you feel about maybe bringing them in on the secret?”

“No, I don’t want them to know...”

“Jess, we can handle it like we did Maggie and Josh. We can make sure they understand how this isn’t your fault. The sins you will commit shouldn’t be on your shoulders but mine. We can make them see that. And who knows. You might just end up with one of them long term.”

“I don’t really believe that will happen.”

“Okay, let me put it this way. This is an opportunity for you to live out your fantasy. Your fantasy, not mine. You’re going to sin, Jess. There’s no way around it. If you’re going to do that, why not do it with the guys you really want to do it with? Besides, I think if you are really in this for the long haul, we shouldn’t fuck until we are absolutely sure it will cure you.”

Jessica took a moment to consider that before saying, “I’ll think about it. You are not playing fair, though. Thinking about them stirs up my need.”

I nodded and said, “Which I think is as good of a reason as any. You’re going to be exposed to a lot of this sort of thing. This will be one less temptation for you to have to deal with.”

“Stop. You’re playing to my weaknesses and ... Shit, Tim. I’m not going to be able to think about anything else now.”

“Then let’s go see what they’re up to. I’m thinking we’re going to have to tell the rest of the couples the truth, including Maggie and Josh, and I need to do the same with Suzi’s friends later tonight. But I think these will be the last people we give the full story too. We’ll need to figure out another way to explain what’s happening and somehow mask my identity from the rest of the girls.”

“That’s going to be difficult if they already know you personally.”

I shrugged and said, “I know that. My instincts tell me they have to identify me in some form, but they don’t actually have to know my true identity. I’m thinking I need a disguise of some sort. I’m not sure how I’d pull that off, though.”

“How does this relate to including Jonathan and Kevin?”

I hesitated before saying, “They may have to ... service other girls eventually. Unless you’re okay pushing some of the girls towards sating each other. That’s pretty much what Suzi is trying to arrange with her girlfriends.”

Jessica sighed and wilted. She stared at the back seat for a few minutes with unfocused eyes before looking up at me and saying, “No matter what we do, we’re going to commit even more sins before this over, aren’t we?”

“I’m not sure you will have to personally. Who knows, Jess. I might be able to cure you on our first try.”

She shook her head and said, “No, Tim. Father Xavier wants me to bear this with you, and I think I understand why. You said you embraced sinning when you got tired of being afraid. I’m tired of being afraid too. He thinks I’m strong enough to ... how would he put it? Find my way back to the path?”

I snorted and said, “That’s how he would put it all right. It drove Brad crazy.”

Jessica smiled weakly and said, “I might need you to help me at the end. Will you do that? Even if I don’t want you to?”

I sighed, understanding what she was saying. She was asking me to force her to return to her core beliefs if at the end she had lost any of them.

I said, “I don’t think forcing someone to embrace His love will save that person, do you? I can only promise to try and help you find Him again if you lose sight of that. The rest will have to be up to you.”

She sighed, but then after a moment, she nodded.

I asked, “So yes or no to Jonathan and Kevin?”

Jessica’s face tensed up and her lips started looking a bit pale by the time she finally blurted out, “Yes, damn-it. Yes. If I’m going sin, I might as well sin with them first.”

I gave the driver to go ahead, then watched as she gasped for breath a dozen or so seconds before she smiled slightly and said, “I’m so fucked. That felt good.”

“What? Giving in to temptation? Or cussing?”

She let out a huff, but then chuckled and said, “Both, I guess. Before we get ... too far down this path, I’d like to talk to Father Xavier.”

“We can try, but my mom said he’s gone on sabbatical. We can send him a message through Father Hennessy. He’s some sort of disciple of Xavier’s.”

“Father Hennessy? The new youth minister?”

“Yep. After all these emergencies popped up, my mom told me I should tell Father Hennessy and let him decide if Father Xavier should know or not.”

“He knows about your telepathy?”

“I assume he knows everything that’s going on. And if he’s not available, there’s a Father Becker over at St. Mary’s and a Father Reinhold at St. Joe’s we can go to. I’m not sure how much they know, but they’re his disciples too.”

“What does that mean? His disciple?”

I shrugged and said, “My mom said he helped them find their faith. He apparently has helped a lot of youth over the years, and some of them followed him into the ministry. He helped my mom a lot while she was pregnant with me. He was even there when I was born. I didn’t know that until this weekend.”

I didn’t mention he also had helped her after I had been born. After I had seen what all he had done with Sandi, it didn’t totally surprise me he had helped my mom with her need. He had a fucking sex dungeon in the basement of a shop the owner didn’t know existed. Sandi’s vague memories hinted that the place hadn’t seen any recent use, though. Father Xavier had to knock her out and leave her there a while to find something to replace the leather straps that had either rotted or dried up.

Sandi’s experience in that basement was the first time either of us had with real bondage besides that one lite experience with Sandi’s parents. I had heard of bondage, but I hadn’t understood the attraction or had any real idea of how it worked until then. I wasn’t sure I was interested in it, but Sandi had thoroughly enjoyed it. But then again, she had been so needy she would have enjoyed fucking that rhinoceros’s horn my mother had once mentioned.

My mom trusted the man. He had never approached her and often made her wait as long as she could before giving in. Having witnessed the need in his eyes and then hearing that, the more I thought about it, the more respect I felt for him. It couldn’t be easy to live with that need and be true to his faith. This was a time before it came to light how some catholic priests were sexual predators, and because I had never detected anything like that from any of the priests I knew, the idea they could sin like that was completely abhorrent to me. I was certain Father Xavier went on sabbatical to seek forgiveness for the sin he committed with Sandi, and I wasn’t that far off.

Yet I couldn’t help but wonder about his disciples. Had he used his telepathy to push them into the Lord’s service? I really didn’t think so, but I couldn’t rule it out.

We ended up heading for our church first to have a chat with Father Hennessy.

Father Hennessy was twenty-six and had only been with our church since the start of the summer shortly after being ordained. I liked him well enough, but I had resisted his attempts to reach out to me while I was having issues simply because he was a priest. I felt a little self-conscious about approaching him for help after doing that in the past, but going to one of the others I didn’t know would only insult him and I had no reason to do that.