Chapter 5

When I awoke the next morning I put on my new running shoes and an old pair of sweats. I then went and woke Christina up to ask her if she wanted to join me in a bit of running. She woke up very fast when I asked her to join me.

I left her room and waited by the front door. She was down in just a couple of minutes. I smiled at her enthusiasm. She wasn't much of a morning person but I guess she really did like running with me.

We left a note telling whoever read it that we were going for a run. We then left the house and started a pretty vigorous run. We ran for almost an hour. She did a good job of keeping up with me for nearly three miles. When I noticed that she was starting to lag back I turned us around. She had trouble keeping up but she never quit. We made it back to the house with her never quitting.

When we got back to the house, Christina just about collapsed. I made her stay with me long enough to stretch. I told her how proud of her I was.

"If you keep it up baby doll, you may actually be able to do a whole run with me some day." I told her.

She smiled a million watt smile at me before answering. "You really think I'm doing that good?" She asked me.

"You are doing better than most of the adults do." I told her.

"Hey Jakstar, can I ask you something?" She asked me.

"Sure baby doll, you can ask me anything." I told her.

She blushed for a minute before asking me. "Is Becky your girlfriend now?"

I was a little surprised by the question. "Why do you ask?" I asked her.

"Well she is nice and I think you do need a girlfriend now." She stunned me by saying.

"She is a pretty good friend but I don't think we are girlfriend and boyfriend." I told her. "Besides I thought you were going to be my girlfriend."

I didn't expect the reaction that I got from that question. Christina blushed a bright red. She lowered her eyes and looked like she was going to cry for a minute. I wasn't expecting that kind of reaction. I asked her if everything was alright.

"I'm fine but you really do need to get a girlfriend." She told me. "But will you promise me something?" She asked.

"Sure what's up?" I asked her.

"I am too young to be your girlfriend for now but when I get older will you take me on a date like you did Jessica and Stephanie?" She asked.

Well this took me by surprise. I didn't know what to say so I told her that all she ever had to do was ask. She was my little baby doll and I would do most anything to make her happy.

We went inside after that. I went to my bathroom to take a shower and smacked her ass to get her heading to hers. She turned around to glare at me but she was blushing so I knew she didn't really mind my playful swat that much.

We showered and went back downstairs just in time to head to church. Christina seemed to be in a great mood today. It was always a great day for me when the women around me were in good moods.

I noticed that Becky was blushing a lot whenever I would look at her in church. She must have really liked that kiss last night. I made a mental note to make sure I always tried my best to be a good kisser. It sure seemed to make a difference to the ladies.

Becky's mom kept watching Becky look over at me and blushing. She would smile and look over at Ellen, Ellen was watching us as well and Ellen was smiling as well. Ellen couldn't help but think that I was growing up to fast.

Ellen kept us a little late at church so I didn't get a chance to talk to Becky. I had wanted to find out how she felt about what we had done last night.

When we returned home later on, Jason pulled me aside to talk. He didn't seem angry but you never quite know with some of these people.

"Jakstar, we have to talk about what happened last night." He told me.

"Sure thing sir, what would you like to know?" I asked him with a smile on my face.

"Well you do know that you are kind of young right?" He asked me. "And I don't know if you should be kissing a girl until she..." He said the last bit and blushed a bright red.

"Until she what?" I asked Jason with a very straight face.

Jason stammered for a few minutes before he was able to pull himself together. "I just don't think you are old enough to be kissing yet." He said.

"Why not, all the other kids my age try kissing. I am just better at it than they are. Besides I think Becky really liked it. She didn't complain to me about it." I told him. I was able to keep a straight face the whole time.

"Well maybe just slow down a little bit." He told me.

Jason then went back inside. I watched him go but I just stayed out on the porch. I was pretty sure I knew what he was about to say. It was actually a great boost to my ego to know that I had been able to affect Becky so much.

When I went to school the next day I had a lot of admirers. Becky came and sat with me. We talked all through lunch. She was actually fun to be around. Becky did a lot of blushing but I tried not to bring to much attention to it. I think she appreciated my caution. She also didn't seem to want to talk about Saturday night so I didn't bring it up.

The rest of the week went by the same. I was walking on cloud nine. Little did I know that my easy week was not a prequel of the next week.

It was Wednesday of the next week that my little bit of heaven was changed. When I got home from school that day I noticed that Cassandra went straight to her room and didn't come down to spend any time with any of the family. When I went to her room to find out what was wrong she just said she didn't want to talk and asked to be left alone.

I obeyed her wishes but I vowed to find out what was wrong. I just sat in the living room that night and talked to everyone. When it was time for dinner I noticed that Cassandra's eyes looked slightly puffy. It seemed I was the only one to notice. I kept my mouth shut and decided that I was going to have to follow her around as much as possible tomorrow so I could discover the cause of her tears.

When I went to school the next day I noticed that Cassandra didn't hang back like she normally did. She rushed to her first class. I went to mine and decided to rush between classes so I could try to see if I could notice anything.

It wasn't until I watched her go to lunch that I discovered what I thought was bothering her. I had followed her and was just about to go to my next class when I saw a boy try to talk to her. Cassandra tried to be polite but I could see that she was uncomfortable around the young man. Another young girl about her age grabbed her arm and dragged her to a table. I still didn't see what the problem could be but I did notice something. The other girl seemed to be limping slightly. She was doing a good job of covering it but I knew injuries.

I took a closer look at this young lady. She was about fourteen years old like Cassandra. She had blonde hair and blue eyes. She was about five foot three inches and about one hundred and ten pounds. I noticed she was favoring her left leg and she was also wearing a long sleeve shirt on what was actually a pretty warm day. When she bent over to whisper something to Cassandra I noticed a bit of discoloration around her neck. But what really got my attention was that whatever it was that she told her was bad enough to make Cassandra flinch.

I made it to my class before the bell rang but just barely. I was on autopilot for the rest of the day. I couldn't wait to get home so I could talk to Cassandra about what I had seen. I noticed that Cassandra had tears in her eyes again as she went up to her room.

I followed her up to her room. She didn't realize I was behind her. I had effectively snuck into her room without her even realizing that I was standing behind her. She dropped her bag and flopped onto the bed and started to cry.

I gently put my arm on her shoulder. Cassandra jumped at my touch. I wouldn't let her get away. I sat down next to her and leaned in to give her a hug.

"Now are you going to tell me what is going on here sis?" I asked her. "I saw that boy try to talk to you in lunch today and I also saw you sit down and talk to that young girl. So you want to tell me what happened?"

"I can't tell you." Cassandra said still crying. "I promised her to keep it a secret. Besides there isn't anything you can do about it."

"Hey princess, try me, I might be able to help more than you think." I told her.

"Not this time little brother." She said. "I don't think anyone can help."

"Well you can tell me, if for no other reason then to get it off your chest." I told her. "You know you can trust me with whatever it is that is bothering you."

Cassandra continued to sniffle for a couple more minutes before finally making up her mind. "If I tell you, you can't tell anyone. Not even mom and dad. You promise?"

Whatever it is must be pretty bad if she didn't want to tell Ellen and Jason. I decided though that if she was going to trust me then I wasn't going to misplace that trust. I promised and put my arm around her shoulder to help calm her down enough to tell me the story.

"Well ok, the girl you saw me talking to in lunch is my best friend Kelly Cracken." Cassandra told me. "She has been having trouble with her father for the last few years. He has become an alcoholic and has even started to hit her sometimes. But that isn't the worst part. About a week ago her boyfriend started to hit her. I didn't know until gym class Wednesday. Kelly had tried to get into the shower before anyone else got there and get back out. I had gotten there before she was done though. I couldn't believe what I saw."

Cassandra was starting to cry again. I just continued to hold her and waited for her to continue. I knew what she was going to say. But I waited for her to tell me.

"Kelly's back was covered with bruises. So was her chest and she had a very large bruise on her left knee." Cassandra finally got out. "Kelly looked like she had been fighting with a professional boxer. After she saw that I had seen her she broke down and started crying. She finally told me everything that had been happening. Her boyfriend had started to beet her when she wouldn't go all the way with him. He finally just raped her and warned her that if she told anyone that he would kill her. She can't tell her father because he doesn't care so she has been living with this secret for a while now. Please don't tell anyone. I don't know what I can do to help her. But I know if I don't think of something she is going to end up dead."

"Does she want any help?" I asked Cassandra.

"Why wouldn't she want help?" She asked me.

"I have been some research on human romance." I told her. She blushed at my response but I continued. "What I have found is that there are cases of women being beaten by their parents. When they go into a relationship of their own and a boyfriend starts to beat them they just think that it is normal and so they don't leave."

"Oh no, I know that Kelly wants to get out of it but she is to scared to try anything." Cassandra told me.

Cassandra couldn't take it anymore. She wrapped her arms around me very tight and proceeded to ball her eyes out. I just held her. I rubbed her back and her shoulders. After about half an hour she had cried herself out and she fell asleep. I gently laid her down and covered her up.

I quietly snuck out of the room and went downstairs. I was able to keep everyone from going up to her room. I went up personally to get her for dinner. Her face was still a little puffy but she seemed to be in a better frame of mind so no one noticed.

I decided that I needed a better way to keep an eye on my girls. Having to sneak around all day had been kind of hard. When I was alone that night I asked the Elfbow to look up schematics on one way positional tracking devices that I could hide on the girls.

The next day at school I made sure to introduce myself to Cassandra's friend Kelly. She was a nice girl but I could see that she was a little scared of getting caught talking to me. When Cassandra introduced me as her younger brother though, she relaxed a little. She must have thought that I was too young to be any kind of threat.

Before leaving for the day I asked Cassandra to invite Kelly over to spend the night. She said she would ask but she doubted that Kelly would want to come over. I told her to at least try because I wanted to talk to her. But I told Cassandra not to tell her that I wanted to talk. I also told Cassandra that I would make it look as if I hadn't been told anything but that I had figured it out on my own.

I finished the rest of the day on autopilot again. I was busy thinking about what I could do to help Kelly out of her predicament. I thought I had an idea that could help for now. I just had to put my plan into action.

When I got back home I immediately went about putting my plan into action. I told everyone that I was heading out to be alone. I then went out to the Elfbow. It had found what I was looking for perfectly. I created what I wanted and was able to make them look like little pieces of jewelry. I made them look like good luck charms.

I took the jewelry and returned to the house. I found some wrapping paper and wrapped them. I had made ten of them but I only had plans for five of them at the moment. I cornered each one of the girls. I was quiet about the whole thing and made sure that they would not take them off. I told each of the girls that they were charms to protect the ones I cared for. They all just figured that it had something to do with my past.

I made a ring for Jessica and Cassandra. I made a small necklace for Stephanie and Christina. I had made another necklace and wrapped it as well but now it was time to see if I would be able to give it to the one I intended it for.

When I gave Cassandra her ring last I asked her if Kelly was coming over. She said she didn't know. She said Kelly said something about her boyfriend told her he was going to be grabbing her after school so she didn't know if she was coming over.

We went about our normal business for the rest of the day. I figured there was nothing I could do unless Kelly came over so I decided to go for a run. I asked Christina if she wanted to go for a run with me. She was so happy about her gift that she was still beaming when I asked her to run. She said she would love to. We went running for a little more than an hour.

When we got back to the house I noticed a car pulling out of the driveway. When Christina and I walked up to the front of the house I figured it must have been Kelly. I took my shirt off and started my stretches. Christina and I did our stretches. I felt myself being watched but I tried not to let the people doing it notice.

I carefully checked all the windows and what I saw made me laugh inside. I saw Jessica at her window watching me but I knew about that hot one. I also saw Stephanie sitting at her window blushing as she watched me stretch. The biggest shocker though was seeing Cassandra and Kelly watching me from her window. That was one I wasn't expecting.

Christina and I went inside to take our showers. While I was in the shower I kept thinking about how I was going to go about getting Kelly talking to me. When I got out of the shower I had finally figured out what I thought was a good plan to get Kelly talking to me. I would offer to teach her some self defense so that she would be able to try to defend herself. I didn't have to worry though because Cassandra had actually figured out another way.

Just when I finished getting dressed I heard a knock at the door. I said enter and who came in made me just about jump out of my skin. Cassandra and Kelly both came into my room.

I quickly put my dirty clothes away and said hello and asked them to what I owed the pleasure of suck lovely company. Both the girls blushed. No matter what happened it always amazed me how far a compliment could open up a girls mind to you. I did my best not to laugh at the thought.

Cassandra said. "Well actually Jakstar, I was telling Kelly about your little charm you gave me and she thought it was beautiful so she wanted to ask you where it came from."

"Well actually I made it. It is an ancient protection charm." I told them.

Kelly blushed bright red and looked at her feet when she quietly said that she could sure use something like that. I don't think Cassandra heard her but I did. It was the perfect opening.

"Why would you need one Kelly?" I asked her.

Kelly blushed even darker red when she realized that I had heard her. Cassandra laughed and told Kelly that I had really good hearing. I figured that this was my best opportunity to try to lay out my plans to help this young lady.

"After seeing the bruises that you are wearing I would say that my charm might not be enough but I can give you one if it would make you feel more comfortable." I told her.

Kelly blushed a very dark red at what I said. She was just about to look accusingly at Cassandra when I continued with what I wanted to say.

"I can see your bruises from almost a mile away. I know what I am looking for." I told her. "Trust me when I say I have had plenty of bruises through out my life so I know what they look like."

The look she gave me at what I had said told me that Cassandra had probably told her a bit about my past. At least what Cassandra thought she knew about my past. She still didn't look to happy but she wasn't looking at Cassandra like a traitor anymore.

"I just so happened to have a little something for you." I told her. I figured I might as well just be straight forward about it.

She blushed again when I told her that. She looked like she was very hesitant to accept the gift but she also looked like she was happy to accept a gift that didn't have any strings attached. I went to my desk where I had stashed away the extra charm that I had made for her.

I put the charm around her neck and did the clasp. Kelly seemed to be beaming the whole time. She smiled at me when I was done. I noticed a few more new bruises running down her neck. I didn't mention them. I just tried my hardest not to scare the poor girl. I figured she had to much to be scared of as it was.

"This charm is very special." I told her. "If you ever need my help then all you have to do is simply say Jakstar please help me. The old legend says that I will somehow manage to be around at the right time."

Kelly had an obvious look of skepticism on her face but she did look like she had really appreciated the gift. Little did either one of us know that the charm would end up saving her life.

Cassandra, Kelly and I all talked for a couple hours after that. When dinner was called I was sure that I had her convinced that she could trust me. She never came out and told me what was the cause of the bruises but I felt like she finally considered me a friend.

I went to bed that night feeling like I might have accomplished something. When I was alone I had the Elfbow set to listen for the words that I had told all the girls to say if they ever had a real problem.

I didn't have any problems with becoming friends with Kelly. She was a very sweet and very attractive girl. I made sure to never make her feel like I wanted anything more than friendship from her. She continued to open herself up to me.

I went through the next week just being my usual self and making new friends. I hadn't heard anything from the charms that I had given to the girls so I figured that everything must have figured itself out.

When I returned to school the next Monday though, I noticed that Kelly was walking funny again and that she was wearing a turtle neck this time. I knew the look for what it was.

Kelly tried to steer away from me when I tried to talk to her but I wouldn't let her. When I finally couldn't take it anymore I cornered her in between classes.

"You know I will never be able to help if you don't give me the chance." I told her.

She looked at her feet and seemed to be trying to figure out a way to get out of this conversation.

"You know I care about you right?" I asked her. At her nod I continued. "The charm I gave you does work and I can help you if you will just give me the chance. Please just give the charm a chance." I told her.

She grabbed my hand and pulled me into the nearest bathroom she could find. She chased the other girls out and when we were alone she wrapped me in a hug and said. "I really do think you care what happens to me. I'm not used to being genuinely cared for. I promise that if this happens again I will do what you said. Please don't tell anyone."

I agreed and she let me leave the bathroom. I watched her walk away. I didn't actually think she would do what I told her but there was nothing else I could do. I just hoped she opened up her eyes to the help I was offering before she ended up dead.

I returned to my classes and went about the rest of my day trying not to think about what this girl was going through. I had seen plenty of rape victims end up dead for fear of ever leaving the abuser. Even in the future, there were some very sadistic men out there that got there pleasure from hurting other people. My first master had been one of them. I had to watch him rape and eventually kill one young girl from my home planet. That was a very hard time for me. Watching what was happening to Kelly just brought those old feelings back. I didn't want her to be just another statistic.

I noticed that she developed a couple more bruises throughout the week but I decided that the only one that could her was herself. I tried to be there for her as much as I could but I never let on that I knew about all the abuse she was taking.

I kept worrying about her but I never got the call that I was waiting for. I went through the rest of the week without letting her go more than a couple hours without knowing that I was here for her if she needed me. I was worried that my constant attention wasn't helping her case with her boyfriend to much but I was just trying to get her to trust me enough to ask me for help.

I went through the rest of the week without getting the call. I set about making sure that I could access my bank account without needing Jason with me to get money. That was harder than I though it would be but I got it done. I then set up a special safe house, one that only I and some of the Irish government heard about. I arranged to have an Irish governess come to America. I bought an old abandoned farm that was just up the street from the Killions.

I had it fixed up and then when no one was around I installed some security devices that the Elfbow could monitor and activate on command from me. I had the governess move in and told her that I would send over any special cases that I thought needed protection. She was a very nice older lady that said she would do her best to keep the house in order until I called upon her services. The Irish government had sent this woman because she had a background in psychology.

I was lying in bed almost a month later when I finally got the call that I was waiting for. It was just a week until Christmas and there was a bit of snow on the ground. I had just had a pleasant day of talking with the Killions in preparation for the coming holidays. I went up to my room early so I could go about making a list of possible gifts for everyone.

I had been busy thinking about what kind of presents I should be buying for everyone in the family when my connection to the Elfbow went nuts.

"What's wrong?" I asked the AI unit onboard the Elfbow.

"Sir, you asked me to let you know if and when anyone asked for your help though the tracking devices you had made." The Elfbow said. Well I was wide awake at those words so I listened very carefully. "The young Miss Cracken just said the words. She didn't sound very good either. She sounded like she was barely able to get the words out. It seems that the man she has been seeing is raping her again but this time it seems that he is strangling her. I suggest that you help her as soon as possible."

The Elfbow hadn't even finished talking before I was out my window and running towards the clearing. The Elfbow was anticipating my actions because when I got to the pond it was already above the water and waiting for me to come aboard. I just hoped I had enough time to make a difference. I was so worried that we were going to be cutting it too close.

As soon as I was aboard, I told it to set a course for wherever Kelly was. By the time I got to the cockpit I noticed that we were over town and headed down one of the back roads that led out of town. We only flew for about two minutes when I saw a car sitting between some trees.

"That is where the signal is coming from sir." The Elfbow told me.

"Put us down as close as you can without giving us away and then open the vehicle compartment." I told it as I ran towards the bike I had been working on. As soon as I was on the bike I powered it up and started to head towards the ramp. I pushed the button for the ramp and started down it before the Elfbow had a chance to land. I jumped out and gunned the bike as fast as I could make it go. I just hoped I was still in time to help. I pushed the button that would make the bike run silent. I told the Elfbow to return to the pond. It wouldn't do for anyone to see it.

I didn't have any idea if I was in time or even of what I could do but I just knew that I had to do something. I couldn't stand the thought of another sweet young girl being killed for no reason.

When I got close enough to see the car, I got off the bike I walked the rest of the distance. I moved as slow as possible.

I tried to use every bit of stealth that I knew. The last thing I needed was for this asshole to see me. My only chance of rescuing Kelly was to get him away from her as quickly as possible.

When I was close enough to see inside the windows, I noticed that there was a man sitting up slightly with his arms extended in front of him. He looked like he was holding someone down. It also looked like I might be too late so I ran the last little distance to the car. I looked in the side window and what I saw almost made me sick.

Kelly was turning blue. The man had his hands around her throat and he looked like he was honestly trying to kill her. I heard him say. "I told you not to talk to any other guys. I don't care if the guy is only thirteen and your friend's brother."

That was the last straw. I opened the door and before the guy had a chance to react I grabbed a hand full of hair and pulled him off of Kelly and threw him out of the car. I threw him behind me and turned to make sure that Kelly was alright. I wasn't prepared for the sight before me.

Kelly was lying there on the back seat of the car. Her shirt had been ripped open and her bra was ripped open. Her skirt was bunched up around her waist. Her panties were missing. There was blood coming from her mouth and from her vagina as well. It looked like this asshole had even tried to bight her right nipple completely off. There was blood running down her chest from it. The sight stunned me for a minute.

"Are you ok Kelly?" I asked her over and over again. She wasn't responding. I just kept at it for a minute.

She was just starting to come around when she let out a scream.

I heard a loud noise and felt like I got hit by the largest fist in the world. It felt like it hit me just to the right of spine. I looked down and saw blood coming from the right side of my chest. I looked back up into Kelly's face. The fear I saw there made me snap.

Normally I try to keep my fury bottled up because of what had happened between Jason and me. But this time I let it take over. I turned around and saw her boyfriend standing there holding a pistol. As I turned around he pulled the trigger again. I felt the pain that time as the bullet tore through my shoulder. The rage of an elf's fury wouldn't let me slow. I started to run to where he was standing. I heard two more shots and felt two more hits. One hit me in my right leg. The other hit me in my chest again.

I ignored the hits. When I got to him I went crazy. I brought my arm across in a blocking move that made him shoot me through my arm. I hit the gun upward which made him fire his last shot up into the air. He had a stunned look on his face. I brought my hand across, in a round house punch that turned his head at such an angle that he lost his balance.

I grabbed his arm and brought it behind his back at such an angle that I heard the bone crack. I also felt his shoulder dislocate. I let go of that arm and swept his leg by hitting his knee so hard I knew that his knee was dislocated as well. I then grabbed his head from behind and was just about to snap his neck when I heard a gasp from the car.

I looked up just in time to see that Kelly had gotten up and seen the blood pouring from the multiple gunshots I had sustained. The shock and fear I saw in her eyes were enough to snap me out of my fury. I brought my fist down onto his temple hard enough to render him unconscious.

I dropped him where he fell and walked towards Kelly. I knew I didn't have long to live but I had bigger worries on my mind. I grabbed Kelly's hand and pulled her towards where I had parked the bike. She seemed to be too stunned to resist. Thank the maker for small favors.