The Tribe

By Jon Gerrard

Just regular teens with superhuman powers.

Set in the small Long Island town of Mayfair Park, The Tribe tells the story of an ethnically diverse group of high school seniors. Unknown to anyone else, these high school seniors have been harboring a secret that has the potential to change the world. Over the past several years each of these high school seniors has developed a unique superhuman ability.

Slowly, their powers are revealed to each other and the teens set about the difficult task of learning to control their abilities. Everything suddenly changes, however, when a serial killer begins abducting teens across the island, leaving their mutilated bodies behind.

When several members of the group go missing, the remaining teens must come together and use all their courage and ability to rescue their friends from a fate worse than death. The clock is ticking... and what the teens discover next will rock them to their very core. Someone very powerful is plotting against them, and it’s only a matter of time before they uncover the truth about their very own existence...

Now the high school seniors of Mayfair Park must overcome the forces sent against them in a series of deadly encounters that will either set them free or lead to their instant demise. Throughout this ordeal, the teens also face another important dilemma... how do they explain their absence to their parents without being grounded and missing the senior prom?

The Tribe is a gripping and powerful tale about survival. It is about making difficult and courageous decisions at the risk of losing everything and everyone. Ultimately, this is a story about hope overcoming fear in a truly original way.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jon Gerrard
• Release date: Apr 10, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311430106

Jon Gerrard

Ever since he was a young child, Jon Gerrard has been a fan of science fiction/adventure stories. In his home he has amassed a sizable library of science fiction and adventure books and films. Fortunately for his wife, the advent of e-books has allowed her to reclaim a good portion of their house. It was as a natural result of this interest that he turned to writing.Before turning his hand to fiction, Jon co-authored two books on another of his passions, the martial arts. Written with his friends the Park brothers who were involved with the selection and training of the U.S. Tae Kwon Do Olympic teams, the books Tae Kwon Do and Black Belt Tae Kwon Do quickly became the reference standard for students of the art. For their efforts the book Tae Kwon Do was inducted into the prestigious New York Public Library Books for the Teenage List catalog. Along with writing about the martial arts, Jon has been a private instructor for over twenty years. The majority of his students have been law enforcement officers ranging from local police officers to federal agents, all of whom came to him because they wanted to feel confident in their ability to protect themselves on the street.While writing and the martial arts have been life long passions, like most people Jon had to contend with day to day issues like groceries and mortgage. So he needed a day job. For close to a decade he worked as part of a special anti-crime task force within the New York City Mayor's Office known as the Office of Midtown Enforcement (OME). OME was directly responsible for the transformation of the Times Square area from the blighted zone it had become into the popular tourist destination it is today. Starting as an undercover investigator, Jon was promoted to running the Investigations Unit a year later and a few years after that took on the role of the Director of Planning.Eventually, family considerations caused him to shift his career focus. Like him, Jon's wife worked in the field of law enforcement--she was an FBI agent who could be called out at a moment's notice. With two young children at home, Jon decided to move into teaching, a career that afforded more stable, child friendly hours. For twenty-five years Jon worked as a teacher in various private and public schools. Now retired, Jon has the luxury of being able to devote more time to crafting stories.Oh yes, the eye. People are always asking about the patch. Years ago Jon lost his left eye in an unfortunate incident. Although he does have a prosthetic replacement, he prefers the patch to the glass eye because he considers it to be "more honest". In his words: "I see the same either way."Mr. Gerrard holds an undergraduate degree in psychology from Princeton University and a master's degree in education from Lehman College. When he isn't working on his latest manuscript or conducting martial arts classes from his home on Long Island, Jon enjoys skiing, kayaking, scuba diving, horseback riding, playing video games and riding his motorcycle with his wife and children.

Book preview

A serial killer is kidnapping teenagers across Long Island and leaving their mutilated bodies discarded in his wake. Meanwhile, in the small town of Mayfair Park, a group of high school seniors discovers that they have begun to develop incredible super human abilities. As the teens struggle to learn control of their new abilities mysterious strangers arrive in town and several of their friends go missing. Fearing that they have been targeted as the killers’ next victims, the teens race to unravel the strange connection between their developing powers and the strangers hunting them. With the looming threat of the mysterious strangers hunting them, the friends’ efforts lead to a series of incredible revelations that will forever change everything they once believed about the world and their place in it.

Fiction by Jon Gerrard

The Starcrown Chronicles

Book One: Shadowplay

The Starcrown Chronicles

Book Two: Scourge

The Tribe

With Dawn Mitchell

Non-Fiction by Jon Gerrard

Tae Kwon Do:

The Ultimate Reference Guide to the World’s Most Popular Martial Art

With Yeon Hwan Park and Yeon Hee Park

Black Belt Tae Kwon Do:

The Ultimate Reference Guide to the World’s Most Popular

Black Belt Martial Art

With Yeon Hwan Park

The Tribe

Revised Edition

Jon Gerrard

and

Dawn Mitchell

Jon Gerrard Books

The Tribe is a work of fiction.

All names, places, incidents, and characters are either the products of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons or events is purely coincidental.

Any government agency contacted regarding any of the persons or events described herein will deny any and all knowledge of any such person or persons, living or dead, the events or locations referred to in this story.

Copyright © 2016 by Jon Gerrard & Dawn Mitchell

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the authors.

The authors of this work would like to thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book.

We further appreciate your compliance with existing copyright laws by not scanning, distributing or reproducing in any manner any part of this book without permission. We enthusiastically endorse copyright as a means to support creativity and promote free speech within society.

Published in the United States by Jon Gerrard & Dawn Mitchell

Cover by Haydee Torres

ISBN-13:978-1533471390

ISBN-10: 1533471398

BISAC: Fiction/Science Fiction/Action & Adventure

This book is dedicated to:

Amanda

Danny

Dimitri

James

Magda

Manny

Matt

Paige

Reed

Shay

Tom

without whom this book would not be possible.

Prologue

You can’t tell me what to do! I’m eighteen! I’m an adult! Ethan Montgomery yelled as he slammed the front door to his house and stormed off into the warm, spring night. In a blind fury he swiped at his mother’s rose bush as he made is way down the front walk, regretting it at once when he felt the sharp sting of a thorn slicing into his finger. He hated it when his parents treated him like he didn’t have a brain. Why couldn’t they see that he wasn’t a little kid anymore, he thought as he examined his injured finger in the dim glow from the porch light.

He swore silently to himself as he saw blood welling thickly at the tip of his finger. It was starting to throb and he thought that maybe he should go back in to clean it and get a bandage. But he rejected that idea as soon as he thought it. He didn’t want to give his mother the satisfaction of seeing him come back inside after his dramatic exit.

Instead, he stuck his finger into his mouth as he got to the end of the front walkway and sucked on the wounded digit. He hesitated on the sidewalk for a moment before turning and stalking off toward the end of the street. He didn’t have a clear idea where he was going. All he knew was that he needed to get out of the house. He had heard his mother calling for him to come back, but he noticed that she didn’t open the door to come after him either.

Not like she really cares, he muttered to himself as he pulled his finger out of his mouth and shoved his hands into his pockets. As he headed into the gloom of the night he thought about how different things would be in a few months when he went off to college. Then he would have the total freedom to do what he wanted without anyone looking over his shoulder. He would be free.

Within a minute he reached the end of the block and turned left, away from the center of town. He still didn’t have any place in particular as a destination. At that moment he just wanted to go for a really long walk. He thought that if he walked long enough his parents would eventually go to bed for the night and he could go back inside without another confrontation. They both worked in the city and were up before him in the morning. With any luck he wouldn’t have to talk to them again before tomorrow night.

He walked aimlessly for a while, losing track of both the time and where he was going. He hoped that the walk would help him cool off but minutes later he was still so distracted replaying the argument in his head that he failed to notice the car that had been creeping silently down the street behind him.

The car had its lights off and in spite of it being a big sedan its engine ran very quietly. As Ethan reached the middle of an especially dark section of the street, the car following him stopped. Moments later the sound of a car door closing behind him registered in his ears. He almost ignored it but something was making the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. He started to twist around to see where the noise had come from when he heard a muffled pop at the same instant that he felt something strike him under his left shoulder blade.

He exhaled sharply in surprise and found himself tumbling forward to the ground as his legs gave out. He hit the ground hard and lay there stunned, his mind whirling in confusion. Had he just been shot? He willed his body up but found that he couldn’t move. That’s when the panic gripped him. Although too weak to move he could feel the terror spreading across his body like a million tiny ants. But even the surge of fear induced adrenaline was not enough to keep him conscious and he felt himself beginning to slip away.

In spite of not being able to move he found that his hearing was still sharp. Or perhaps it was due to the fact that it was nearly silent on the street. Whatever the reason, he heard the tread of footsteps coming toward him as he lay there helpless on the ground. Then movement in his narrowing field of vision drew his attention. It took his brain several moments to realize that he was staring at a pair of black shoes that had stopped inches in front of his face. He tried to say something but his lips and tongue felt like thick rubber. In that moment all he wanted was to be back at home with his mom and dad. As the realization that he was going to die began to sink in he was filled with a profound sense of regret over the harsh words he had spoken to his parents. He would have given anything in that moment to be able to apologize for what he’d said. With a final effort he tried one last time to call for his mother but only a garbled whisper came out. Then the darkness closed in around him and he knew no more.

A week later, as they stood over his open grave, Ethan’s parents unknowingly echoed their son’s last conscious thoughts.

Chapter One

Reed Braun sat in the back row of his Calculus 2 class and wished that he was anywhere else. Learning how to change the base of a logarithm wasn’t going to help him in the real world. Besides it was a beautiful day—80 degrees and sunny. Sitting cooped up in school on a day like today was a waste as far as he was concerned.

Closing his eyes he leaned his head back and banged it lightly against the wall. Mrs. Barber had just announced that she was coming around to check their homework. Of course he didn’t have it. He had been out late with Vanessa and by the time he got in he wasn’t in the mood to focus on something his teacher probably wasn’t going to bother collecting. This late in the year the teachers were as tired of school as the students. Most of them had stopped giving homework and even when they did they didn’t bother to check it. The SATs, ACTs, and the Regents were all done with. Acceptance letters had been coming in for the past couple of months and most seniors already knew where they would be going in the fall. Everybody knew that these last few weeks were just a formality before they got their diplomas and moved on with their lives.

Apparently Mrs. Barber hadn’t gotten the memo.

Maybe it was time for a bathroom break. Mrs. Barber wasn’t that bad, as far as teachers went. In fact Reed actually kind of liked her, even though she was always riding him about his class work. She was always telling him that he had potential, that if he applied himself he could get A’s in her class. As it was he was getting B’s without putting in a whole lot of effort. And that was good enough. As long as he didn’t actually flunk anything he didn’t think his college future was in jeopardy.

But the thing he liked the most about Mrs. Barber was that she never turned him in when he took one of his extended bathroom breaks. He could be out of the room for most of the period and she wouldn’t say anything. Of course the looks she gave him when he returned always made him feel guilty for taking advantage of her good nature. But not so guilty that he was willing to waste an entire period learning something that had no practical value in his life—especially when a gorgeous spring day was calling to him.

Reed looked out the window and watched a few clouds that were floating lazily across the brilliant afternoon sky. Oh yeah, this was definitely a day to—

The nudge on his arm dropped him back to Earth.

Hey, Reed. It was Matt DeLuca. Reed fought down a feeling of annoyance. He didn’t have anything against Matt, but at the moment he wasn’t in the mood to talk to anybody. Actually, Reed didn’t know a whole lot about Matt. Even though they had spent the entire semester sitting next to each other in the back of Mrs. Barber’s class they hadn’t said more than a few words to each other.

What? Reed said, hoping he didn’t sound as annoyed as he was feeling.

For a moment, Matt seemed like he was going to pull back. Then, There’s going to be a bomb scare this period.

Reed pushed himself up in his seat. Now this was interesting. There had been a series of bomb threats over the past several weeks. Everyone knew it had to be one or more of the students behind the prank calls, but so far they hadn’t been able to trace them back to anyone.

How do you know? Reed said.

Matt looked uncomfortable for a moment.

I heard some kids talking by the lockers on the second floor. They’re going to make the call in a couple of minutes. I thought you’d want to know because they’re always blaming you for whatever happens around school. But I know you’re not the one who’s been making the calls and I figured you’d want to stay visible so they wouldn’t try to blame this on you, too.

Reed felt his mood pop like a soap bubble. Matt was right. This was not the time to go missing. Unfortunately it meant that not only would he have to stay in class now, but he was going to be herded onto the football field with the rest of the sheep once the bomb scare was announced. He could feel the frustration building. The football field was behind the school and surrounded by fences on all sides. Climbing one of the fences was no problem, but he’d be spotted. Although he wouldn’t be trapped in a boring class, he wouldn’t be able to slip away by himself like he wanted to either. And right now he was in no mood to be stuck in the middle of a crowd of yakking airheads.

It could be worse, Matt said, optimistically. Hey, maybe Mr. Reynolds will let us go home early. After all it is seventh period. By the time the cops get here and finish searching the building we’ll be well into eighth, and then it’s the end of the day.

Yeah, maybe, Reed admitted. That wouldn’t be so bad. He might actually get to spend some extra time with Vanessa after all. She still needed a lot of work. He looked at Matt and managed a smile. Thanks.

Matt returned the smile and sat back again.

Reed glanced at Matt’s desk and saw that he hadn’t taken out his homework either. Maybe they had more in common than Reed thought. In some way that he couldn’t explain he had always felt comfortable around Matt. Even though they had never really spoken to each other before, he had always felt some kind of a connection with him. That was unusual for Reed. He didn’t get along with most people. It’s not that he had a lot of enemies or anything, he just didn’t like a lot of people. People could be jerks and he always thought of himself as kind of a loner. He had a couple of good friends and that was enough.

As Mrs. Barber got up and started checking papers, Reed looked toward the front of the class. As usual the goodie-two-shoes were in the front row, sitting directly across from the teacher’s desk. Seated front and center was Manny Trujillo. Manny was one of the senior class officers. Not the president or vice president, but treasurer, secretary, number one suck-up or something like that. Actually, that wasn’t fair. He’d never done anything to Reed. They’d even been assigned to work as partners on a class project once and he’d been an okay guy. He didn’t act all full of himself like most of the other popular kids. It just got to him the way Manny always had his hand up. A real teacher’s pet.

Right next to Manny was Tom Gallo. Tom was the captain of the football team. He was also their star running back, which was weird because Tom wasn’t a hulking brute like most of the other players. Reed was six-foot-two and Tom was several inches shorter than him. But whereas Reed was tall and lanky, Tom was compact and toned. And there was no denying his skill on the field. Reed had seen Tom bowl over players a lot bigger than him when it seemed like he was going to get creamed. Other than that he didn’t know a lot about Tom either, except that like Manny he always sat up front and always seemed to know all the answers.

Actually, Reed usually knew the answers too, when he was paying attention. He just couldn’t be bothered answering questions in class. He did okay on the tests and that was all that mattered. Had he been sitting closer to the front of the room however, Reed would have been surprised to see that one of the two darlings in Mrs. Barber’s class didn’t have his assignment today either.

Manny Trujillo held down a job outside of school as a part-time manager at the Grillin’ Chicken, a local chain restaurant. Last night one of his people hadn’t shown up for the late shift and Manny had been forced to stay and close up. By the time he got home it was well after midnight and he was bone tired. Although he had dug out the assignment and started to work on it as soon as he got home, he had fallen asleep at his desk before he could even finish the first problem. He only woke up when his mother shook him awake the following morning. By then his alarm had been going off for half an hour. He had barely made it to school on time.

As Mrs. Barber stepped up to his desk, Manny dropped his head into his hand. The teacher continued past his seat without a word. Tom was sitting right next to him and did a double take. He couldn’t believe it. Mrs. Barber always had something to say whenever a student showed up without an assignment. While she didn’t try to embarrass you in front of the class the way some teachers did, she never let a missing assignment go without comment either. But he had watched her walk right past Manny’s desk as if she hadn’t even seen him.

Tom waited until she had moved down the row, then punched him in the shoulder.

Ow, Manny said, as he looked over at Tom. What was that for?

How did you do that?

Do what?

Mrs. Barber. She walked right past you without saying a thing about you not having your homework.

Manny glanced over his shoulder. Mrs. Barber was talking to someone in the back of the room.

I guess she didn’t notice, he said.

Tom frowned. I don’t think so, dude. Mrs. Barber doesn’t miss a thing in her class.

So what, you going to turn me in?

Of course not. I just don’t get it.

Manny shrugged. I guess I just got lucky. That’s all.

Tom sat back and narrowed his eyes at him.

At that moment the PA came on. There was another bomb scare. Everyone started grabbing their stuff. Tom and Manny got up with the others and headed into the hall. At least this time it wasn’t raining.

Chapter Two

It turned out that Matt was right after all. It was more than an hour before the police finished searching the building and by then it was well into seventh period. Instead of making everyone go back to class, the principal announced that school was over for the rest of the day. They were all free to leave. The entire school cheered, the annoyance of being forced to stand around with nothing to do for an hour forgotten in the shared elation of an early dismissal.

While a lot of kids headed back into the school to get their backpacks and other stuff from their lockers, Reed headed toward the parking lot. He didn’t have anything he needed in his locker and he was anxious to head home. A number of others must have had the same thought because several cars were already beginning to pull out of their spaces. As he walked toward his car Reed smiled as he caught sight of Paige Stone and a couple of her friends, Magdalena Wasilewski and Amanda Carpenter. He and Paige had been best friends since they met in kindergarten. He knew Magda and Amanda through Paige. They had all hung out together a few times, but Paige was his buddy. He thought of her as if she were his little sister, even though their birthdays were only a few months apart.

He adjusted his course to catch up with them. Then he saw that there was someone else with their group, and his smile faded. It was Jack Anderson, Paige’s so-called boyfriend. Reed couldn’t stand Jack, but he hadn’t said anything to Paige. As long as Paige wanted to be with him Reed wouldn’t make any waves. But Reed knew that it was only a matter of time before Jack did something to hurt her. Paige was one of those people who was very open and giving. She didn’t like it when anyone around her was hurt or upset and just wanted everyone she knew to be happy. Of course that left her wide open to be taken advantage of by people like Jack. Jack Anderson only cared about one person in the entire world: Jack Anderson. His parents had a little money and they spoiled him by buying him just about anything he wanted. He was the first kid in town to get the newest smart phone when it came out and he always came to school dressed in the latest fashion. They had even bought him a new car as a gift for his eighteenth birthday.

As far as Reed was concerned Jack was so full of crap it was coming out of his ears. But he had somehow managed to convince Paige that he actually cared about her. Until he did something to her, Reed wouldn’t interfere. But if he ever hurt her, the gloves would come off.

As Reed approached them he noticed the way they were all standing around talking. Even though he couldn’t see her face, he could tell by the way Paige was standing that something was wrong. He started to pick up his pace when a voice called out to him.

Reed, just a minute. It was the principal.

Reed stopped and turned in the direction of the voice. Getting out of here early had seemed too good to be true. He folded his arms and waited for Mr. Reynolds to catch up with him. He wouldn’t ignore Mr. Reynolds, but he wasn’t going to come on command like a trained dog either.

Mr. Reynolds was squinting at him as he walked over to him. Somehow Reed didn’t think it had anything to do with the brightness of the afternoon.

I think we need to have a little talk about your whereabouts an hour ago, Mr. Reynolds said as he stepped up to him. He looked Reed up and down as if he were searching for something.

I didn’t do anything, Mr. Reynolds, Reed said. Honest, I was sitting in Mrs. Barber’s class learning all about how to change the base of a logarithm. It was actually very interesting.

Are you sure you weren’t out on one of your ninety minute bathroom breaks? Mr. Reynolds said as he reached to take him by the elbow. Why don’t we go back to my office and check out your story.

It wasn’t Reed, Mr. Reynolds, a voice said, surprising them both. Looking to his right Reed saw Tom Gallo standing next to them.

Tom? Mr. Reynolds said. Are you vouching for him?

Tom held Reed’s eyes for a moment then turned to the principal. It’s like he said, Mr. Reynolds. Reed was in Mrs. Barber’s class the whole time. I was there. He never left the room.

Mr. Reynolds hesitated then let go of Reed’s arm. If you’re willing to vouch for him, then okay. He frowned at Reed for a moment, searching for something to say. Stay out of trouble, he said finally, then turned and walked away. It wasn’t any secret that Mr. Reynolds didn’t like Reed—and if truth be told Reed had done some things in the past that probably justified his suspicions. But the principal wasn’t a complete tool either. Reed hadn’t done anything this time so he let the matter drop. Of course that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be keeping a close eye on him for the rest of the year.

Reed let out a long breath. Geez! I’ll be glad to get out of here. He looked at Tom and for a few moments was at a loss for words. Tom Gallo, Mr. Upright Citizen, had actually stuck up for him. This was a first.

Thanks, Reed said.

Tom shrugged. I couldn’t just stand there and let you take the hit when I knew it wasn’t you. An awkward silence hung between them for a few moments. See you around, Tom said eventually, then turned and walked off.

High school can be a really weird place, Reed thought.

Most of the students had cleared the football field when Reed turned to head back toward Paige and her group. As he got close to them, Paige turned away from Jack suddenly and buried her face in Magda’s shoulder. He could see her shoulder’s heaving and heard her sobbing.

What did you do? Reed demanded.

Hey, I never laid a finger on her, Jack said. He and Reed were about the same height, but Reed’s broad shoulders and the look of rage etched on his face gave him a menacing appearance. In spite of that Jack refused to back down. There were still a lot of people around so he doubted that Reed would actually do anything. Besides, he had an image to uphold, so he couldn’t back away.

It’s not my fault if she can’t handle a little bad news, Jack said, holding his ground. A moment later an idea occurred to him and he looked at Magda. So Magda, it looks like I’ve got some room in my car if you want a ride home.

In your dreams, she shot back at him.

Jack snickered. Sure. Another time, then. The offer’s always open.

Drop dead, Jack!

Snickering to himself, Jack shot Reed a cocky look, then turned and strutted toward his car.

Can you believe that guy? Magda said. What a jerk.

Paige, are you okay? Reed said. What happened?

What happened, Amanda said, is that he dumped her a week before prom. He said things weren’t working out between them, but I know what the problem really is.

Yeah. Me too, Reed said as he glared at Jack’s retreating back.

Mayfair Park was a unique town on Long Island because it was so ethnically diverse. It was also a fairly small community and everyone pretty much knew everyone else. Around town the Andersons were known as closet bigots. Paige’s family was black and it had always surprised Reed that Jack had even asked her out in the first place. But he had also seen the way Jack played his parents. In spite of all the expensive things they were always buying for him, Jack didn’t have a very good relationship with his folks. He always seemed to be trying to find new ways to pick at them. Reed guessed that going out with a black girl was just another way to get under their skin. But now that prom was almost here he needed to find someone who would be more suitable to appear in pictures on his parent’s mantle.

As Reed continued to glare after him, Jack beeped the alarm on his car, opened the door and climbed in. It was a bright yellow Camaro with black racing stripes. He’d asked for that car especially because it was just like the car in his favorite movie. It was his pride and joy.

The Camaro gave a throaty roar as Jack started the engine and began to back out. It was a five-speed and although he’d had the car for several months, he still had trouble using the clutch. The car shuddered slightly as he finished backing up and put the car into first, almost without grinding the gears. That was when the trouble started. A rattling sound came from the engine, which suddenly began to sputter as the entire car started to buck.

Reed continued to stare daggers at him all the while. Soon the car was making such a racket that everyone’s attention was focused on it. After a moment a loud bang sounded from the engine. The car gave one last, violent shudder and went dead. A cloud billowed from underneath the hood. Jack threw open his door and stumbled out coughing as he waved smoke out of his eyes. He stared at his precious car in disbelief, then turned his tearing, red-rimmed eyes to Reed.

What did you do to my car? Jack roared.

I didn’t lay a finger on your car, Reed said. It’s not my fault if your car can’t handle your bad driving.

A number of people were chuckling behind their hands at Jack’s predicament. Even more were openly laughing.

I know it was you, Jack insisted. I’ll get you for this, Reed!

Watch out that your mouth doesn’t get your ass in a sling, Reed said quietly, the menace in his voice clear.

A low Oooooo! went through the crowd.

Jack glanced around at