Life fell into a somewhat normal pattern for the next few months. Being in the new house finally started to feel normal. 'At least,' Ron thought, 'Now I can go swimming whenever I like.'
Michelle was progressing nicely. She was developing slower than Ron had, but that was to be expected, or so James and Mike had both told him. She was still experimenting on her family, with the odd outing on a weekend with Ron. She'd mastered her defenses, which was good. Ron began wondering if it might not be a good idea to recommend to CAMP that their field reps do this kind of initial training as a matter of course. When she went to CAMP, Michelle would be much better prepared than he had been.
Of course, Michelle had only been a passing love interest. While he and she had gotten together a couple of times since their initial encounter, he was trying to encourage her to establish relationships with "normal" people. Besides, he wasn't ready for a "normal" relationship just now. He was having too much fun being the boss.
At school, things fell into a pattern, also. A typical day saw him gliding through his subjects, never really paying attention, but absorbing the information even so. Every so often, Linda would wish for some "extracurricular activity", which he was happy to provide. He had already added her to his "roving follower" collection: not making any serious changes, just enough to protect her from other psionics. Why mess with a good thing?
Today, however, marked the return of trouble. Apparently, over time, the football team had grown less afraid of him. Today, they wanted revenge. They weren't so cocky, however, that they didn't bring nearly the entire team. This time, though, they had made a rather major error. They had taken prisoners.
Ron was confronted as he walked home from school. In the midst of the crowd, he saw both his sister, and Michelle. Apparently, she was too flustered to perform any useful tactics.
"You may have beat us once, Chaffey, but now we're gonna turn you into mush. And then, we're gonna have some fun with your chickeys." This was Biff.
Ron didn't back up, he didn't flinch, he just stared. "I'm going to give you guys only one chance at this. Let them both go, and leave me alone, or you're going to wish you ended up like Dale Jessup." The crowd laughed at that.
"Take your best shot, shithead." Said one of the boys in the back. The group pressed in.
"Time's up." And with that, they heard a heavy 'snap!', and one of the boys in back screamed in agony as he fell to the ground.
"My knees! My knees! Oh, God! It hurts! My knees!" The group turned around as Ron spoke again, his voice had turned to ice.
"Who wants to be next?" Just then another one fell to the ground, holding his stomach in pain. "He'll need a doctor soon. He has appendicitis." Then another fell backward, as if struck by a 2x4. "He has cracked ribs, and if he moves too much, maybe a punctured lung." There wasn't a cloud in the sky, but for these kids, the day had grown very dark, indeed. "I told you not to mess with me. I warned you to leave my sister alone. You didn't want to listen. You thought I was bluffing. Learn something here: I don't bluff, I gave you a warning. And this is the last one you're going to get. Mess with me, my family, or any of my friends again, and somebody will be scooping your brains up off the sidewalk after they've leaked out your nose." He thought this a little overdone, but a couple of the kids went pale, which was what he was hoping for. His eyes bored in on Biff. Biff was scared. Biff was scared shitless. But not pissless, as Ron was about to prove. "I know you think I'm bullshit, Biff, so here's something to remember me by." And then a stain spread across the front of Biff's jeans, and started running down one leg. Biff looked down, and realized what was happening, and worse, that he couldn't stop it.
"You little shit! I'm gonna get you!"
"Biff, if you even take one step forward, you will be the first to die. Who do you think would believe you, or anyone here? 'That kid broke our legs and made Biff's brains fly out his nose!' Who's gonna buy that? Not to mention, you'll never be able to tell anyone, anyway." A quick command made sure. "Don't mess with me. You aren't even in the same game. If you can't play with the big boys, get off the field." With that, Ron motioned Dawn and Michelle to him. Both ran over and gave him a big hug.
"I'm sorry, Ron, I just couldn't-"
"Thank you, oh thank you little brother."
"It's okay now, girls. Let's go home. Can we walk you home, Michelle?"
The event passed, and the whole school knew something was up. Whenever Ron entered a room, the football players would step as far aside as they could to get away from him. Word was out: stay away from Ron if you're gonna cause trouble.
'Just as planned. Now, I can worry about more important things, like Lisa Fiori over there.' Lisa Fiori was a cheerleader. She'd made fun of Ron in junior high. He was sitting in the gym, watching the cheerleaders practice. It was after school, but he'd had a science project to finish after Tutoring class, and now it was raining, and he didn't want to get wet. So, he decided to watch the cheerleaders until it stopped raining.
He focussed in on Lisa as they tumbled around. She wasn't your typical cheerleader, she was actually on the pudgy side. Not fat, but not as skinny as the other girls. Her body was just generally bigger all around. Bone structure, breasts, the whole lot. And her appearance was turning Ron on no end. She had short black hair, and green eyes that twinkled most of the time, like she was always telling herself a joke. She was short, about 5' even, and had a nice overall appearance. She was in shape, so Ron figured her pudginess might be glandular or metabolic. It actually made her look pretty cute, watching her big tits bounce around in her cheerleader outfit.
Practice finished up, but it was still raining. Ron decided to have a little fun. He turned himself invisible (he'd learned how to do that "locally", meaning anywhere he went, he was invisible. It wasn't that they weren't seeing him now, it was that they couldn't see him. He was actually bending light around his body. It was a neat trick that had actually taken two weeks to perfect. He couldn't even see himself if he looked in a mirror.). Then he headed into the locker room after the girls.
This has to be every boy's fantasy, watching cheerleaders undress and shower. All sorts of nude girl flesh walking about, getting soaped up, and steamed. Ron was hard as iron watching all these girls. He decided he wanted more.
Ron formed an "everything-is-normal-here" command, and spread it over the room, then reappeared into visibility. The girls glanced his way, but didn't scream or anything, so the command was working. He had one girl, whose name was Darla, come over and jack him off. She wrapped her soft hand around his cock and gently rubbed up and down. Ron reached around and fondled her tit. He was really enjoying this, but he wanted more. He had another girl, named Mandy, start to suck his cock, while Darla kept jacking up and down. Then he had a nice black girl, Shauna, french-kiss him. He was starting to get overstimulated, but he was having a lot of fun. Finally, he came in Mandy's mouth, and he had her swallow it all. Just then, he spotted Lisa. She was coming out of the shower, naked and wet. 'God, what a sight!' Her breasts must have been at least a C cup, which is pretty big on a 14 year old. She didn't have rolls of fat, just sort of a layer of it all over her body, that made her entire figure smooth and curvy. He had her come over to him and give him a deep kiss. He reached over and kneaded her tits. They were soft, almost spongy. After all this attention, he needed a little relief. He had Lisa bend over and put her hands on the bench. This placed her ass in the air very invitingly. Ron commanded her to suck off Shauna, who had been so nice to him. Then, he intruded into her pussy with his cock. He moved slowly, while he enjoyed the sights. Shauna was very pretty, about 5'2" tall, with light brown skin, and dark eyes. Her full lips were in an almost pout most of the time. Her breasts were small, but she had gorgeous nipples, that stood proud from her chest. He reached over and lightly twisted those nipples, eliciting a moan from the girl.
He increased his pace into Lisa, while Lisa increased her pace on Shauna. Shauna, in turn, leaned over to kiss Ron. He tongue-wrestled with her for a few moments, until he felt the familiar tingle in his balls. He broke off the kiss, and gave her nipples one last twist. He pumped hard into Lisa, and came hard, shooting his wad into her.
Unusually, she had not come. Neither had Shauna. He'd given them no real instructions to, so they had acted normally. They were both quite aroused, however. Ron gave them orders to go back in the shower, and not to come out until they had given each other at least two orgasms apiece. They headed off with a gleam in their eyes, and Ron got dressed. He removed himself from the locker room, then removed his commands. The rain had finally stopped, and Ron went home.
The family had settled out any real differences among themselves, and Ron now had a wonderful family of eight, including himself. There were, of course, the "roving followers"; Mrs. Hayes, Ms. Ford, the businessmen's wives, and others he had used only once, or maybe twice, but could use again at a moment's notice.
Christmas was approaching, and Ron was trying to decide what to get everyone. He had oodles of income, so he knew he could get them really nice stuff. He had to go to the library for some school research, but decided to go shopping afterwards.
While at the library, Ron came across a rather unusual book. Titled "Channeling the Mind", it seemed to be a manual of sorts. Ron sat down to read it. It was very dusty, as it looked ancient. About halfway through the book, something finally hit Ron, and he took a closer look at the book. 'Hey! This thing doesn't have a Dewey Decimal Tag on it! And there's no little metal thing to make the detector go off! This book doesn't belong to the library!' He leafed through it, looking for identifying marks, but found none. Figuring he'd worry about it later, he continued reading. He was skimming, really, until he came to a particular section, titled, "Transference of Mental Energy through the Mental Lens" A big title for such a short chapter. It was mainly a description of a gemstone, cut in a specific manner, set in a particular way, and used by a qualified professional. Ron stuck the book in his bag, and grabbed the books he needed for his report. It was time for some shopping.
Ron took a taxi to the mall. He wandered through stores, looking for presents. He had lots of small things, wrapped by the store, delivered to the house. He was looking for one big item for each lady.
For his Mom, he bought a brand new notebook computer, with all the bells and whistles. She'd been complaining about her old one for a while now. This was a brand new 786 300Mhz with 4Gig drive, and the best in active matrix color technology. He figured she'd love it.
For Dawn, along with lots of baby stuff and maternity clothes, he stopped in at the car dealership in the mall. She was of driving age now, and he figured it was time she drove herself (and him) wherever they needed to go.
Jess and Megan were very difficult. As his slaves, they really wanted nothing for Christmas. He had bought them each lots of new lingerie he couldn't wait to see them in. He decided his gift to each of them would have to be the fulfillment of a wish of theirs. 'Might be difficult on Megan's part; I rewrote her whole psyche.' But, he figured she'd seen and heard enough stuff since then, that she would come up with something.
Nikki and Tammy had both been hounding Mom about a puppy lately. Ron stopped in the pet shop, and looked at the dogs. He had them set two aside for him, a black lab and a german shepherd. He made arrangements to get them delivered, and moved on to his hardest task.
Kumiko. 'What do I get Kumiko?' For reasons he still couldn't explain, he vitally needed her to be happy with her present. He spent three hours looking up and down the mall before finding the right gift. That done, he had only one store left to visit.
"Hello, and welcome to Zales. Can I help you, young man?" The clerk was proper, as she should be, but a little condescending. As was normal, she didn't figure he had much money to spend.
"Yes, ma'am. Is there a master jeweler here I can speak with? I need to have several necklaces made."
Her attitude changed at that, she was quite taken aback. "Can you afford that sort of thing, son?"
"Oh, don't worry about me, ma'am. I've already spent about $40,000 today. A little more won't kill me." He smiled at her, and she hurried off to get the jeweler.
"Can I help you, sir?" He was an elderly man, but not so old that he looked incompetent.
"Yes sir. I'd like to have some necklaces made, to rather precise specifications. I was wondering how long it would take...."
Ron got home around eight o'clock. It was Friday, so he had no students. He'd missed dinner, but that was okay, since he'd eaten at the mall. He'd never bothered to fiddle with the family's schedule about eating whenever the majority got hungry. It just didn't bug him that much. Ron headed upstairs to his room and changed into comfortable clothes. He stepped into his mother's room to see how she was doing. He found Kumiko already there.
"Hi, Mom. Hey, Kumiko." They both nodded acknowledgement. "Anything happening?"
"Ron, I think you should go see Dawn. She seemed a little depressed when she came home, but she doesn't want to talk to us about it."
"Alright. Anything wrong in here?"
"No, just girltalk." 'Probably plotting how to get me to rub their backs tonight.' He smiled to himself until he thought about Dawn. 'It's been a rough few months for her. I haven't been paying her enough attention lately. I hope she'll be okay.'
Ron walked to her door and knocked.
"Who is it?"
"Dawn? It's me." A slight pause followed, then the door opened. Ron walked into the room, and Dawn closed the door. Then she turned around, took a step to him, put her arms around him, and started sobbing into his shoulder.
This startled Ron a bit, but he knew she was on an emotional roller coaster due to the pregnancy.
"What's wrong, Dawn?"
"Ron, I'm.... I'm UGLY! I'm fat, and disfigured, and...and..." She trailed off, sobbing. Ron maneuvered her over to the bed, and got her to sit down.
"Sis, you're not ugly. I think you're one of the most beautiful girls in the world." He wasn't lying, or even exaggerating slightly. he still had a picture of her in his mind from the night of her Sophomore Hop, in her white dress.
"Oh yeah? Then how come you haven't touched me in over a month!" She replied accusingly.
"I'm sorry, Dawn. I hadn't realized it'd been that long. I wasn't avoiding you, really I wasn't. I was trying to let you alone, because of the baby. I didn't want you to hurt yourself or something."
Dawn had stopped sobbing, and was just sniffling now. She knew her brother wasn't lying to her. He had never lied to her, even before.... She was just so confused about everything.
"Really? You mean it?"
"Absolutely. I think you're the best sister a guy could hope for, and you're sweet, and pretty, and..." His words were cut off when she kissed him. It was soft, and gentle, like he remembered she could be.
They laid down on the bed and kissed for what seemed like hours. Ron wrapped his arms around his sister and cradled her gently against him. He was almost as tall as her now, since she hadn't grown much over the past few months. Ron had just finished a serious growth spurt, with a few mental pushes. Now he stood 5'5" tall, and was quite fit.
"Ron?"
"Yeah?"
"Will you make love to me? Tonight?" He could see the pleading in her eyes.
"Anything you want, Sis." He gingerly removed her dress, to find that she still didn't wear anything under it. Now, she removed his clothes, though not quite as gently as he had hers. Soon, she had him down to nothing at all, and his cock was standing proud. He was very gently massaging her breasts, since they would sometimes be sore. She moaned softly, and sank into his touch.
She straddled his waist. Guiding his cock with one hand, she sank herself slowly down onto him. She hummed softly as his prick tunneled in. When she reached bottom, she rested for a few moments. Ron took advantage of this, and stretched his reach to her shoulders. He massaged away some of the tension there, and caressed her neck. Like everything else on her, Dawn's neck was a source of beauty to Ron. It gracefully curved into her shoulders, and was just the right length. He stroked her neck lightly, and then moved back down to her breasts.
Now, Dawn began her rhythm. In a slow, sensual movement, she rose and fell. She was enjoying this. For the first time in weeks, she felt like a woman, rather than a bloated bag of water. Her brother made her feel wanted, loved, special. She continued her strokes, fondling Ron's chest as she went. She wanted to give to him, be there for him. As much as she had originally resisted the situation, she wouldn't want to have changed this for the world now.
Smoothly, gently, they continued to make love. As Dawn tired, her legs began to cramp. Then Ron remembered a position he and Kumiko had used from time to time. He had her lie on her side, and he lay behind her. He entered her from behind.
Again, the pace was slow, calm, sensual. They both wanted it to last, and each wanted the other to get the maximum amount of enjoyment. Ron nuzzled her neck, and placed wet kisses there, and up to her ear. He nibbled lightly on her ear, which made her giggle. This night was like many nights before the pregnancy, and Dawn was in heaven.
Ron was also in heaven, but mainly because he realized how sexy he thought his sister looked. Sure, you had to make allowances to have sex this way, but it was worth it when your girl looked as good as this!
Finally, they both started ascending that ultimate ladder of passion. Still keeping it gentle, but increasing the pace, both neared their summit. Dawn began to moan lightly, and pushed back at him with more urgency. Ron was panting, and stroking into her faster and faster. Soon, they came together, in a confluence of moans, and tangled limbs. Both fell asleep for a short while.
When he awoke, Dawn was looking at him. "Thank you, little brother. You made me feel like a real woman tonight." She'd never said anything like that to him before. She embraced him, and they kissed again, gently. They held each other for some time. Dawn eventually fell asleep, and Ron disengaged himself from the scene.
Kumiko was waiting in his room. "Is Dawn well, Master?"
"Yes, Kumiko. She was just a little depressed, and she thought I didn't like her anymore. Just a misunderstanding. She is much better now."
"Please, Master, come over here, that I may give you a back rub?"
This was new. Usually, he was the one giving rubs. He didn't mind, he actually enjoyed caressing beautiful girl-flesh. But, he was pretty tight right now, with all the walking, and holding Dawn and all.
"Okay, Kumiko, you talked me into it." He was asleep long before she stopped.
It was the last day before Christmas break. The jeweler had managed a minor miracle, getting the necklaces finished in time for him to give one to his very special teacher friend.
As class broke up, he walked up to Mrs. Hayes' desk. He was a little apprehensive. He didn't know whether she would accept the gift or not. Its' cost really wasn't the issue, it was simply a symbol of his... love, protection, well-wishing, friendship, and all those gushy things he didn't think much about, but felt anyway.
"Mrs. Hayes?" He laid the box on her desk.
"What's this?"
"Just a Christmas present for you. Go ahead, open it."
Rather than having the box wrapped, he had simply chosen a very festive box to put it in. She lifted the lid off the box, to find a velvet covered one inside. This she opened slowly, and her breath caught in her throat.
It was a 24 karat gold band necklace, with small diamond chips embedded in the front. At the very front, it dipped into a sort of "v" shape, and set at the vertex of the vee was a stunning emerald of the deepest green. When she looked up, there were tears in her eyes.
"Oh, Ron! This is beautiful! But, it must have cost a fortune, I can't-"
"Yes, you can. I can't take it back, anyway. It was custom designed for you. Go ahead, put it on."
She pulled it out of the box and slipped it around her neck. It fit almost as if she had been fitted for it. It clung to her in the way only custom jewelry can.
"But, how..."
"Let's just say I have a really good memory. I hope you like it."
Nancy stood up and came around her desk. She gave Ron a big hug, but not a kiss, as other students were starting to wander in.
"Yes, Ron, I like it very much. Thank you. Have a Merry Christmas."
Ron left happy, knowing she really liked it, and that she would wear it all the time.
Later, in Tutoring, he saw Michelle, and gave her a gift. Not a necklace this time, as they had a special meaning. This was a small pin, not overdone, in a symbol she didn't recognize.
"Thank you, Ron, but what's it mean?"
It was a trio of concentric circles, with four lines radiating out from center. The pin was created using rubies, sapphires, and diamonds, for that red-white-and-blue effect.
"You'll find out, eventually. I just thought you might like it."
She gave him a hug, and then he had to take the good-natured razzing from the rest of the class.
When everything had settled in and the students had gotten down to work, Ron and Linda had a chance to talk quietly. She had seen Michelle's gift, and had felt a severe twinge of envy. She decided to twist Ron's tail a bit.
"So, where's my gift, lover?" She said with a twinkle in her eye, but quietly enough that no one heard her.
"Well, I have it with me, but I'd prefer not to give it to you."
"How come?"
"I'd rather give it to you Christmas morning. Can you come to my house for Christmas? We'll have a nice, quiet morning, and then we can open gifts, and eat..." He stopped, because he saw a tear in her eye. 'How come everybody's crying around me?' "What's wrong?"
"Oh, Ron, it's just that it's been so long since anyone cared what I did on Christmas. I'd be happy to join you and your family." She grabbed his hand and squeezed, and he rested his hand on top of hers, all hidden from the class by his body, since his back was to them.
Christmas morning came, and of course, Nikki and Tammy were the first up. They'd already woken up Mom, now they came in to wake up Ron. He had slept alone that night, expecting he'd need what little sleep he'd gotten.
They both started jumping up and down on his bed excitedly, doing their absolute best to make sure he was awake. That is, until Nikki jumped a little too close, and he quickly reached up and snatched her into a ferocious hug. Tammy joined in, and they all shared a wonderful Christmas embrace.
The entire family headed downstairs, to see a whole new wonderland. Ron had spent a good portion of the night arranging gifts under the tree, and hiding clues for Dawn. Her new car was in the garage, had been for a couple of days, but no one ever went in the garage, by his instructions. Sandra turned to him when she saw the spread.
"Ron! What happened down here?"
"Santa was busy, I guess." He replied with a mischievous grin. He was thoroughly enjoying playing Santa this year. His family never had enough around Christmas, and they'd always had to 'make due'. This year was different. He'd gotten them all wonderful gifts, had given each an allowance to spend on presents themselves, and he'd set everything up beautifully.
A wonderful smell arose from the kitchen. "What is that?" asked Megan.
"Let's go see" answered Ron. As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Kumiko came out of the kitchen, carrying a plate of pastries.
"It's a special, family recipe." She explained. "Ron asked me to have breakfast ready for the family. I was honored." She set the plate down on the table, and went to give Ron a hug. "Thank you, Master. You have honored your servant by allowing her to participate."
The smaller gifts were opened right after breakfast. Ron had told everyone there would be two waves of gifts from him. Megan and Jess blushed at some of their gifts, but their eyes twinkled with ideas. Sandra was overjoyed at some of the outfits he had gotten her. 'Girls are so easy to buy for. Get them clothes, and they gush all over you. Ick.'
The girls had all worked very hard on buying him presents. He had consciously not bought himself all the neat stuff he wanted, so they could have fun buying it for him. He got a new telescope, a radio-control truck, a couple of model airplanes, and generally stuff that a fourteen year-old kid likes.
Everyone had settled into a mid-morning lull, when the doorbell rang.
"I wonder who would show up on Christmas morning?" Sandra asked.
"A guest of mine, probably. I'll get it." Ron walked to the front door. Upon opening it, he found Linda, decked out in a beautiful red and green ensemble that, rather than looking tacky, as Ron thought most did, this one looked wonderfully festive, and hugged her body in all the right ways.
"Merry Christmas, Ron! Am I early?"
"No. Actually, I expected you a half hour ago, but no worry, we waited for you. C'mon in." He took her coat and hung it in the closet, then brought her into the living room and introduced her around.
"Welcome to our home." Sandra offered.
"Thank you, Mrs. Chaffey." Linda sat down on the couch with her, so that they could chat.
"Please, call me Sandra."
"Okay, everybody! Now that our guest is here, we can proceed with the remainder of the gift-giving."
"You mean there's more?" Sandra asked. Even though he'd told her, she really hadn't believed him until now.
"Of course there's more! You didn't think I'd let you guys get me all this neat stuff, and leave you all with clothes, did you?" Ron laughed, and he asked Kumiko and Megan to help him. He went to the closet, and they pulled out additional gifts for the family.
"Now, it is important the order in which these are opened, so we'll do them one at a time. First, Mom."
Sandra fairly tore into her package, to find a new computer carry-case. "Thank you, honey! It's great!"
Ron rolled his eyes a bit. "Mom. Open it."
"Huh?" She opened the case up to see her new computer. "Oh! Ron, it's just what I needed!" She reached over and gave him a hug. He glanced at Linda, and she winked at him.
"Okay, now, Megan and Jess, you may open yours." Both were small boxes. Inside each was a card. On the card were the words: "I grant you one wish. You may tell me later what it is you wish for." They both thanked him for their gifts, and whispered to each other something Ron couldn't hear.
"Nikki? Tammy? Here's yours." Kumiko, who was his co-conspirator in all this, had left the room shortly before. Both little girls opened their small boxes. Inside each box was a card. On this card were the words: "Turn around." It's really hard to put a puppy in a box. Both girls turned around as Kumiko set the dogs on the floor. The dogs scampered over to their new owners, who proceeded to hug and cuddle them. Ron really liked being Santa.
Dawn was sitting quietly in a chair by the window. Ron walked over and handed her an envelope. "Sis, you're the oldest of us Chaffey kids, so you have to work a little harder for your gift."
"Hmm? What do you mean?" She opened the envelope and read: "This begins your journey. On the back of this card is a clue. There are a series of these clues throughout the house. You may ask for help from any family member. On the other hand, this family member may exact a price for their help. You may only ask for help from Ron twice. He WILL exact a price for his help. Good luck!"
With that, Dawn set about a forty-five minute search, running back and forth throughout the house, finding clues, and asking for help now and again. He, Sandra, and Linda stayed in the living room, chatting amicably while the rest of the children ran around with Dawn. Finally, they all came back in to the living room.
"Ron, I found what I guess is the last clue, but I'm not sure what it means."
"Read it to me."
"'From a place you've never been,
To a place you shouldn't be...
Enter in through forbidden doors,
And your present you shall see.' I don't get it."
"Are you asking for my help?" Ron asked jovially.
"No! Not yet, anyway."
"Okay, I'll give you some sideways help. Where did you just come from?"
"The attic."
"Have you ever been there before?"
"No."
"So, you were in 'a place you've never been', right?"
"Yeah..."
"Where's the only place I've asked y'all not to go?"
"The garage!" And everyone got up to go to the garage. They stopped at the door, marked "Do Not Enter", and a small sign, under that, newly added, marked "Forbidden". "How'd I miss that?" She pushed open the door, and flipped on the light. And there sat a brand new shiny black Ford Explorer. Dawn nearly wept for joy. She hugged Ron furiously, and went to check out her new wheels. Linda leaned over to whisper in Ron's ear.
"Nice touch, guy." Ron nodded, and his mother gave him a kiss.
After a few minutes of watching everyone pore over the new truck, Ron cleared his throat. "Is everyone forgetting something?"
They all stared at each other, unclear what it was he wanted. Was he looking for a thank you? What? Nikki spoke for the group. "What is it, big brother?"
"Kumiko has not yet received her gift. If we could all return to the living room..." And, after a second, everyone laughed, Kumiko included. In all the excitement, she had completely forgotten herself.
The family reassembled in the living room. Ron presented Kumiko with a rather large box. She carefully opened it, to reveal a large, elaborate, wooden music box. It was made from many kinds of wood, and entirely hand-crafted. Even the mechanisms inside had been hand-tooled and assembled. Inside, when the box was opened, was a beautiful oriental figure sitting in a garden. The music was a favorite Japanese tune of Kumiko's.
"When I saw it, it made me think of you." Ron explained.
Kumiko gently set it down on the coffee table, and, uncharacteristically, threw herself at him and embraced him with all her might. There were no words, no way she could express the love she felt at this moment for this man. Ron took it in stride. He hadn't known what to expect, and was pleasantly surprised by this reaction.
Eventually, they separated, and Ron had everyone sit down again.
"Now, each of you has one final gift coming." This caused a mild stir, but Ron motioned for calm. "Not all of us are named Chaffey, and not everyone knows what we're all about. But, I consider everyone in this room a member of my Family." He looked to Linda, who was blushing slightly. "As such, I wanted to give each of you something that would in some way identify you as a member of my Family. So..." He handed out eight small boxes, one to each lady. "Please open them all at the same time."
Eight boxes opened, and eight females took a breath. Even the younger ones had enough appreciation of fine work to admire the beauty and craftsmanship in their necklaces. Theirs were, for obvious reasons, smaller and simpler than the rest, but still very special, and made specifically for them.
Linda was flabbergasted. She had expected some small token. Her necklace was similar to Mrs. Hayes', but contained a ruby at the vee instead of an emerald. The rest of the family had a slightly different style, less ornate. Theirs each contained a large gemstone, right above the vee, and a letter pendent, covered with diamonds, below the vee. The letter was their first initial. Tammy and Nikki both had a smaller jewel, a citrine, with their initial in basic gold with silver accents. There was no plating on these necklaces: this was the real thing. Dawn had a gorgeous deep sapphire. Megan and Jess both had an emerald so pure it almost seemed to glow against their skin. Sandra had a diamond of excellent purity.
Kumiko's was the oddest of all. Hers had been the most elaborate, yet the most subdued at the same time. Hers did not contain a letter pendant, instead, it was lined with small diamonds, down to the vee, from which was suspended a jewel that resembled a diamond, but which was so perfectly clear, it almost acted like a magnifying glass. Kumiko, unconcerned about the value of the gem, slipped it around her neck carefully. Immediately, she felt a strange sense of warmth, of security. She gave Ron a curious look, and he noticed and walked over to her.
He whispered in her ear. "I'll explain later. Don't worry about it now." She seemed to accept that, and everyone carried on with the celebration, which could now get into full swing.
Later, as the day flowed on, Kumiko and Ron had a chance to talk alone.
"Master, what is happening to me?" She described what she felt, and Ron compared it to what he had read. 'Good. It's working.'
"Kumiko, for a long time, I've known that the Family needed a leader."
"You are our leader, Master."
"Well, yes, but I mean, a leader among the rest, so that, when I am not here, decisions can be made in an emergency. I thought about Mom, but she's not always here either, since she's chosen to keep working, plus she's still not fully recovered psychologically from Marinda's attack." Ron had done what he could, but without messing up her personality, which he refused to do, he couldn't figure a way to clear that issue out. "Anyway, I have decided that you will be the leader of the girls. You will have some new responsibilities, and in order to help out with that, I have given you that necklace."
"I do not understand."
'How to explain this to someone who knows nothing of psionic powers?' "Look at it this way. You know I have powers, right?"
"Yes, Master. The entire Family has spoken of them."
"Well, that necklace allows you to access a very limited amount of my powers. It allows you to do two important things. Number one, it will let you call me with your mind, if the Family is ever in trouble or needs help. Second, it will let you use my mental energy to fight off an attack by another one who has powers like mine." Ron sensed somehow that this would become necessary sooner rather than later.
"I'm still not sure I understand, Master, but it will be as you say." Kumiko was willing to accept whatever he told her. He was tempted to tell her the sky was green and the moon was made of cow manure, just to see how she'd react, but he didn't.
As the day wore on, it started to get dark. Linda and Ron had time for a warm discussion of their relationship, which both fervently hoped would continue. Then, around seven o'clock, they heard sirens outside.
"I wonder what that's about?" She said.
"Let's go see." Ron's new home sat on the front edge of their property, as did all the houses in this area, so the house across the street was pretty close. That was where the cars had gone.
Sandra, Linda, and Ron stepped out to see what was going on. They saw the policemen dragging a young girl, somewhere between Nikki's and Ron's ages, out of the house, kicking and screaming. Linda stormed across the street.
"How dare you treat a young child in that manner! Release her immediately." One of the officers raised his baton to strike her down, then froze stiff. The other saw this, and let go of the child to pull his gun. He never got it out of the holster. Ron walked across the street.
The child was clinging to Linda now, staring back at the two officers. So was Linda. The men were still struggling; they weren't dead, they just couldn't move.
"How do, officers? I don't seem to remember from the books I've read anything about trying to harm civilians who question your procedures." Ron deliberately talked himself up to these men, though he thought he might have just gone over their heads, given the dimwitted looks on their faces. Ron had respect for most officers, but these two were scum. He could tell. "You will not harm this woman, or the child. What is the issue here?" He released them carefully. Both moved hesitantly, as if they weren't sure they were supposed to be able to move now.
"Just look, you little cretin! The one pointed to a bloody body lying on the ground some sixty feet away. Linda gasped, and Ron figured it to be the young girl's father.
"Yeah, so? Do you think she" he motioned to the girl, "did it? Are you that stupid?"
"She's the only one in the house. Her mother's dead too." The girl didn't shudder, didn't flinch at the mention of her parents' demise. However, the bruises were evident on her face. "I suppose she punched herself, then? Or did you put those there?"
"Why, you little mother-" The man began to swing the baton, then found himself lying on the concrete, thirty feet away. He felt like he'd just been run over by a very angry truck. "Ohhhhhhh. Aw shit. What the hell happened?" He was dazed, but the other cop wasn't. He finished pulling his gun.
"Drop the gun, officer, or I will crush your skull." The man felt the pressure start to build at his temples. "You can't kill me fast enough to survive. The girl is not a threat. You have caused enough trouble here. The young lady can stay with us across the street for the night, until Social Services can come by tomorrow. Go, file your report. You will not make any mention of me or my activities. Oh, and one more thing." The man had turned to go, and now turned back with a questioning look. "If you ever mess with my Family again, I'll find something to do to you that will be worse than death." The cop staggered over to his friend, and they both got in the car. Ron knew they couldn't leave, but that wasn't important. Ron and Linda guided the girl over to the Chaffey house. She hadn't said a word yet. Ron knew something was up.
"What's your name?" Linda asked. No response. Linda looked to Ron. "Suggestions?"
Ron began a mind probe of the girl. Her name was Karen, and she had just killed both of her parents. Why? Well, they had been beating and raping her for the last two years. 'Sounds like a good reason to me.' He knew she really had killed them, but he wanted to know how. He kept searching her memories, then found a bright, glowing orb isolated from everything else. 'What in the hell.... Wait a minute! '... it will resemble a bright, glowing ball of energy. Do not approach, or you may be harmed by an automatic internal defense.' Her Ability Sphere! She's a psionic! How many of us are there in this area? Well, I'm not about to test that line about internal defenses...' Ron pulled out, and asked Linda if she could get him a glass of water. She had watched in awe for the last five minutes, not having the faintest idea what was going on, but knowing the two of them were communicating somehow, because their movements had exactly synced.
"Karen?" She tried to focus on him, but didn't quite make it. He knew it was just the shock of the event. "Karen? C'mon. Time to wake up now." Just talking to her was helping her out of it. Linda came back with the water. He took a sip, then continued. "Hey, Karen. I've got some nice cool water here for you. Wake up, girl. Wake up, Karen." Ron continued like this for another minute or so. Finally, she started to come around.
"C'mon Kar.... ah, there we go." She had finally managed to focus on his face. She didn't smile. Not that he'd expected her to, but it would have been nice to see, anyway. She was a wreck. Her dirty blonde hair was tangled and matted with blood and stuff he didn't need to guess at. Her face had a massive bruise on the one side, and her lip was cut. There were bruises on her arms where he could see, and he supposed there were more where he couldn't.
"Who...who're you?" It wasn't an accusation, and there was no fear in the question. It was just a question.
"My name is Ron Chaffey. I live across the street from you. You are in my house right now. You are safe here." He made that last pronouncement with some degree of force, to make sure she believed it.
"I... I killed my Mom and Dad. They were..."
"I know. Don't worry about it."
"I... felt... you. In my head. Are you... like me?"
"Yes, Karen. I am a lot like you. And I will help you all I can. If you'll let me. You can stay here tonight, if you like."
She reached out, and hugged him. She squeezed tight enough that he struggled to breath a little. He realized that she was crying quietly now.
"Linda, go get Kumiko, please?" Linda departed, and returned with Kumiko at her side. Kumiko gasped at the sight of the little girl. "Kumiko, see if you can find something that will fit her. She will be staying the night." Ron was, even now, probing her body for injuries. He fixed what was there. Luckily, there was nothing serious, this time, but he found plenty of evidence of previous mistreatments. 'Well, at least those two got what they deserved.'
Kumiko returned with a kimono that she no longer wore. It was big on her, but not overly so, since Kumiko was a small person, and Karen was big for her age.
"What shall we do, Master?" Kumiko asked.
"I don't know, Kumiko. I don't know." Meanwhile, Karen slept in his arms.