An Unkindess of Ravens

Warnings and Disclaimers: See chapter one



“I need you to trust me,” Nathan said, running into the house. He realized he startled his brother but he didn’t have time to deal with that at the present time.



Pulling him by the hand, he led Lucas upstairs to one of the larger bedrooms.



“I fixed the tub like you said,” Lucas said, sounding lost again.



Nathan whirled around and clutched his brother’s face in the palm of his hand. “That’s good, that’s very good. Now I need you to help me get this mattress downstairs. Can you do that for me?”



Lucas nodded.



“Take these pillows and covers down first, then we’ll work on the mattress.”



Lucas watched his brother pulling open and slamming closed drawers frantically.



“Now Lucas,” Nathan roared.



Lucas moved quickly, stripping the bed and hurrying downstairs with the bundle. When he came back up, Nathan was standing in the closet holding something shiny. His eyes went wide as saucers when he recognized what it was. He backed away, knocking into the small end table and tipping over the lamp. Nathan looked up.



“No Lucas,” Nathan said, holding the gun out and away from his brother. “I’m not going to hurt you. I swear.”



Nathan kept his hands in view, slowly moving towards the blond. “I need you to listen carefully.”



Lucas gave another silent nod, his eyes occasionally shifting towards the gun. He watched Nathan lower the weapon and put the safety on before tucking in the waistband of his jeans. He held his hands up in a non threatening way and approached slowly.



“I need for you to trust me and do everything I tell you to do.” He didn’t wait for a response. “We’re going to take this mattress down to the bathroom and when the time comes, we’re going to rest it against the door.”



“What’s the gun for?” Lucas asked. His eyes drifted down to the Nathan’s waistband.



Nathan clutched his brother’s face again in the palms of both hands.



“They’re coming.”



Lucas understood instantly and tried to pull away but Nathan held on tight.



“Sssh, they’re not going to hurt you, I won’t let them. I have my dad’s gun to protect you and I have this recorder.” Nathan fished the tiny voice activated recorder out of his pocket. “When they come, I want you to wait in the bathroom and barricade yourself in, understand.”



“What about you?”



“Don’t worry about me. I’m going to record their confession since they’re coming to brag about what they did to you. If we all get out of this alive, it will be your proof if you decide to press charges.”



“I don’t want to.”



“Sssh, you don’t have to decide that now. Besides, we can use the confession to keep them away from you. Just trust me on this, okay.”



Lucas nodded and whispered a small yes. “Good,” Nathan said, leaning in to kiss his brother’s forehead.



Lucas looked up at him and he saw a lost boy who only wanted to be loved and accepted. It broke Nathan’s heart that he hadn’t seen it before. He’d spent so much time seeking the same things from his own father, their father. Before he knew it, his lips were pressed against Lucas’s in a gentle kiss. He broke it, dropping his hands from Lucas’s face when the teen pulled away.



“Sorry...sorry, I...I guess I’m just...”



Suddenly Lucas was in his arms hugging him. “Thank you,” he heard the blond whisper.



This time Nathan pulled back, shaking his head in confusion. “Why are you thanking me?”



Lucas placed a finger on Nathan’s lips to silence him. “You’ve made an incredibly bad situation bearable. You’re willing to confront your friends for me.”



“They’re not my friends; not anymore.”



“Why did you kiss me?”



Nathan shut his eyes against the blue ones blinding him with their honesty. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m gay too.”



“You’re not gay, you’re just confused.”



“Not about this.” Nathan pulled him close and kissed him again. He felt Lucas straining to pull away and released him.

“Okay, we’ll deal with this after. Help me with the mattress.”



They managed to squeeze the gigantic mattress through the door by angling it sideways. There was just enough room for Lucas to squeeze through the door, push it closed and climb into the tub when the time came.



Lucas and Nathan both heard the approaching car over the strong wind.



“Go,” Nathan ordered.



Lucas disappeared behind the door while Nathan schooled his features and prepared for Tim and the others. He opened the door after several seconds of them pounding on it.



“Hey, we made it,” Tim said, followed by three other teammates.



Nathan reached in his pocket and turned on the tape, careful to identify each of his former friends as they filed in.



“So what was so important that you came out in a storm Tim?”



“That fag brother of yours. He came on to us in my van and we had to shut him down but good.”



“What are you talking about, Felix what is he talking about?”



“Like he said, we picked up your brother trying to be nice since you were planning on welcoming him to the team next week, but he got all freaky with Tim.”



“No it was Felix he was after,” Tim protested.



“Slow down,” Nathan forced a smile. The windows were rattling and the sky was nearly a grey black. “Start from the beginning. Tim you go first.”



“Well don’t get mad Nathan, but we’ve all been noticing how your fag brother stares at us, especially you, in the locker room and we thought maybe if we taught him a lesson, he’d quit the team once and for all.”



“But I thought I made it clear, we were going to accept him on the team.”



“Yeah, but Felix and Brandon here were uncomfortable with it.”



The blond with the shaggy hair spoke up. “It wasn’t my idea to fuck him Tim that was your idea.”



Nathan shook his head; standing and moving closer to where his four teammates were sitting. “Did you just say Tim fucked Lucas, Brandon”

“We all did,” Tim said defensively, running his hand through his short brunette hair nervously.



“Felix, tell me you didn’t take part in this.”



“They forced me. Tim said we all had to do it. We all had to be in it together.”



“I never forced you Felix. I never said a word once we got started. Remember? We agreed, no talking so he couldn’t identify us.”



“Wait a minute, wait a minute,” Nathan said, trying to control his rage, “How many of you took part?”



“Just us,” Brandon answered.



“Just you Brandon, Tim, Felix and Jack?”



“That’s right,” Jack spoke up.



“Does Lucas know it was you four that raped him?”



“No Nathan, don’t worry,” Tim answered. “We put a burlap sack over his head and tied his hands. We never spoke so he can’t identify us.”



Nathan nodded.



“Look man, we know you wanted your brother on the team but if you had of noticed the way he looked at you,” Tim said again.



Nathan was about to answer when the wind shattered the front window. The boys scattered. Tim and Felix ran for the stairs when the front door blew open. Jack and Brandon crouched behind the sofa. Furniture was whipped around by the wind and Nathan was briefly disoriented by the strong winds and debris whipping around the room. The tide had risen and water crashed through the shattered windows.



“Upstairs,” Nathan heard Tim shout and Felix and the others crawled up the stairs looking for shelter against the storm.



Nathan made his way back through the kitchen. As far as his former friends were concerned it was every man for himself. He quickly pulled open a draw and extracted what he needed. On his hands and knees he crawled to the bathroom door. The force of the wind down the hall was too much for him and he was sure he would die right there in his own home. He felt a hand pulling him by the shirt. It gave him enough strength to push a little harder.



It took a while to realize it was Lucas who had him. The minute he was inside the bathroom he heard the door shut and the sound of Lucas pushing the mattress against the door.



“Get in,” Lucas yelled, climbing into the tub.



Nathan climbed in between his brother’s legs and felt his arms go around him, holding him in place. Nathan barely had time to put the recorder in the small plastic ziplock bag he fetched from the kitchen cabinet and stuff it in his pocket before the door rattled and Lucas covered there heads with the quilt.



A loud roar filled the house. Lucas clutched his brother tight before the door blew open. Then everything went black.