Here are the next parts, Corey and Duncan’s POV and Liz’s birthparents each have one too.
Next time you’ll meet Bones and Michael in the Intermezzo and you’ll have Bones’ POV. Michael’s will be posted the time after. You know, Michael played quite a big role in Liz’s recovery, you’ll see.
Zan’s POV will come later on, I haven’t quite decided yet when, but soon!
As always many thanks to my great beta, what would I do without you?
Take care and enjoy…
07b, Corry and Duncan’s POV
Hi, em hi, I’m Corry and this dude right beside me is my best friend Duncan, actually, one of my best friends, the other one is Sean, but he already talked with you guys.
You know, the three of us have been friends for a very long time; we started our friendship when we were still in diapers. As a matter of fact, our fathers were already best friends. I wonder if that is hereditary, what do you think?
When we were little we would visit each other all the time, but once we hit high school we started to hang around at the Parkers more often. Don’t ask me why, but I guess it was because one, they have the diner and two; Jeff is just the coolest dude ever. Did you know that Jeff Parker has been my hero for as long as I can remember? Well, actually, not just him, no Nancy Parker too, but he more than her.
Well, in the meantime we’ve grown up and the three of us have started college. We decided to stick close to home and go to Albuquerque because we were all involved in Liz’s project. From here we only have a few hours drive home. That’s why we drive home on most weekends so we can still actively support our friends.
I’m sure now you want to know what we’re studying, don’t you? Well, Sean decided to follow in his idol’s footsteps. That would be Frank McCoy, and so Sean chose the law as his line of work. Duncan is on his way to become a high school teacher and I want to run a joint just like the CrashDown, you know, where people can meet and feel at home. To that end Jeff has taken me on as his ‘apprentice’. Of course I’m at college to learn everything about the business, but Jeff teaches me the practical things, you know, how to make people welcome and stuff like that. His people skills are simply awesome, really, you can believe me.
Anyway, the three of us also take some lessons in social work because we want to know the ins and outs of it. That way, we are now able to help more efficiently and less bureaucratically in an emergency than official channels. The thing is, we work closely with them and we go strictly by the law, no shady stuff for us, oh no. Oh, maybe I should mention that it’s not just the three of us working here, you know there are quite a lot of people involved by now but we still need people who know what can be done and what not. Does that make any sense to you? If not just wait a bit longer; I’m sure Bones will be only too happy to explain things to you!
Well, I think now is as good a time as any to tell you about how Liz influenced our lives, don’t think so too? I can hear Duncan mumbling “just get on with it, already!” He is actually the most impatient one in our group, really, he can be quite an ass, but don’t tell him I said so, OK?
Alright, I know we already talked about the ‘hoody incident’, well Sean did anyway. I just want to add that that was the moment for us which had the biggest impact on our outlook in general. I mean, sure we always knew that bad things happened everywhere - just turn on the news - they just never happened around us. The closest we came to it was when we were watching TV or when we went to the movies, but that’s not the same, is it?
After that incident we were very shaken up and that was when we started to question things more, to look behind the surface and mostly we started to think about somebody else before we thought of ourselves. In Michael we met somebody else who had been dealt a bad hand, but he was able to mix up his cards and start afresh. I mean, really, he came from the lousiest trailer park around here; he had a drunk as a foster father; he was on his way to become a real loser like Hank, he had no chances in life what so ever. Except, one day the ‘right person’ caught Michael stealing, I think he was in high school at the time. Anyway, as that person looked at the teen who had tried to rob him, he realised that there was more to this boy than met the eye. They talked, and the rest is history and I’m sure Michael will tell you all about it.
Anyway, that was also a very important lesson for the three of us. To see Michael how he was now and to know just where he had come from. That made us all the more determined to help Liz because we just loved her by that time and we wanted to help her so badly. Also we wanted to make sure that the bastards that had hurt her would know that despite everything they had done, Liz was coming out on top as the winner.
Emm, where was I? “Hey, Duncan, stop that!” you have to forgive me, but the dude beside me is getting antsy, “Ok, ok, if you think you can do better than I go ahead, the floor is yours!” See, there’s no point in my continuing, Duncan just keeps pestering me, so I’ll let him do the telling, let’s see if he can do it better than I!
*~~*~~*
”Corry, you’re a cry-baby!” Hmm, really, I was just ribbing him a bit, that’s all, he didn’t have to stop, really. I guess if he really wants me to I can continue, can’t I?
Where did he stop anyway? Oh, right, Michael Guerin! Let me tell you, if you’re ever in a tight spot, call him because then he is your man, there’s none better, I promise!
Corry, Sean and I learned different types of Martial arts the hard - and painful - way. He, I mean Michael, just showed us the rudiments on how to fall and protect ourselves before we got to stand in as villains who attack the unsuspecting victim. Of course, more often than not, we turned out to be the victims with all our bruises we had to show for our troubles, but it was worth it. I guess you could say we were learning by doing!
Since we were cleaning his studio we were allowed access everywhere and that was really cool! We got to see his collection of swords and daggers. In one special room he had all kinds of bamboo sticks and strange clothing with masks and things like that. We had no idea what the hell all that stuff was, but let me tell you we were suitably impressed.
Well, later we learned that the special room was called the ‘Kendo-Room’. They wear some kind of frocks with hoods and a protective armour that is called a ‘Bōgu set’. The bamboo stick is the practice "sword" and called a ‘shinai’; sometimes - but rarely - they even use two of those. Well if you ever happen to have a few minutes and nothing to do, go check it out, it’s really cool stuff! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kendo
We also found out that he was a master in Taekwondo and Karate - boy can he kick ass - and if you want to grapple he can teach you Jujutsu. I know that he can teach you other arts too, but those are the ones that are asked the most in his studio.
Actually, that’s not quite true, just a few months before we approached him Michael had started to teach a new kind of self-defence, it was a mixture of kicking, biting, using anything that you could get your hands on and some real heavy duty dirty street-fighting. Let me tell you, Liz has become a real pro at that one. So, if you can’t get Michael to get you out of a tight spot, get the next best person, Liz! She may be small, but boy, don’t mess with her or her loved ones, that’s just my personal advice for you!
Oh, shit, I was supposed to talk about Liz and how she met Michael. Corry won’t let me forget that one! I mean, after all I bugged him into letting me have my say, shit shit shit!
OK, Liz! Liz meeting Michael let me think. Hmm, yeah, I remember, you know, Michael is this tall and rough looking dude and to be honest I was worried that Liz might be scared of him, but with Nancy beside her, she felt safe enough and was able to listen to our mumbled explanations. I have a feeling we didn’t make much sense, because suddenly Michael spoke up and let me tell you, when he speaks up, everybody else shuts up, and that was what we did.
After carefully approaching Liz, Michael sat down, making sure not to invade her personal space. You know, until then we hadn’t even known that everybody had a ‘personal space’ that can be invaded. Anyway, we carefully observed him, ready to intervene if he should scare our sister. Of course he didn’t, he knew first hand how it was to be a victim - even if he was a different kind of victim – and that was why he knew how to treat Liz.
Boy, were we impressed, what a great dude; really, you would’ve been impressed too, honestly, no shit! I mean he openly spoke about what had happened to Liz, calling it by the correct name too, ‘rape’. That was the first time we all held our breath, expecting Liz to break down, but she didn’t. Maybe I should tell you that we never said THAT word or any word closely related to that one because we were afraid to upset her, hence our surprise.
Next he was able to tell her exactly how she felt, you know, scared, insecure, scared, mad, panicky, victimised and let’s not forget scared. He told her that he had been abused by his foster father, of course not like her, but still abused and that for a long, long time - years, really. He told her how he had been afraid of meeting people, of trusting them, afraid of being hurt again. We could see that Liz was listening very intently, not missing a word he said.
After he had explained all that, he informed her that she had really great brothers – his words, not ours – and told her that we had been worried for her and thinking about how to help her best. That that was the reason he was now here, talking to her. He calmly gave her details as to how he could and would like to help her to start to feel better again. You know, more secure and stuff like that, actually to learn to take control of her life!
He then told her that he knew that she was pregnant but that that wasn’t a detriment to the cause. That on his way over he had already been thinking about the best way to help her help herself and there were quite a few things that she could already learn. That was the first time Liz voiced her fears, “do I have to touch you? Do you have to touch me?” she asked.
Here Michael looked at Nancy and included her in the talk, he said, “if it’s alright with Mrs Parker she could be your partner and maybe later when you feel more confident, we can have your brothers here assist you. Just imagine Liz, you could beat them up real good!” he chuckled. Liz’s eyes grew even bigger at that lame joke but she cracked a smile, can you imagine, she gave him smile, a small but real smile!
As Corry already said, the Parkers are really great people, Nancy was on board so fast, I really don’t know why we were even surprised, but we were. After that we were told what we needed for those lessons – you know, dress comfortably, etc, etc. Then, after walking through the apartment, the storage rooms, the basement and the backyard, Michael asked Liz if she would feel comfortable enough to train in the backyard, otherwise one of the rooms in the basement had a good potential to be turned into a training room, but he preferred the backyard, you know, fresh air and all that.
Turned out, Michael’s mentor had brainwashed him - a fast-food junky - into a health freak who on top of that only wore natural materials. Kazuki and Michael even had their own garden where they grew their own organic vegetables and fruits, just imagine that one.
Anyway, I got off the point, em, the thing is, Liz seemed to trust him, I think she recognises a kindred soul in him. So, the next afternoon you found us all in the back yard. When I say ‘all’, I mean Sean, Corry and I, but also Nancy, Jeff and Mama Dee joined us. You see, with Liz and Michael we had full backyard. We spent almost two hours in the backyard where Michael put us through the paces. He had picked several exercises especially for Liz. Mama Dee found that even tough she wasn’t pregnant, those exercises were excellent for her too.
Before Michael left, we all went into the diner for a small snack. Boy that training sure made us hungry. Once there, Jeff sat us at the biggest table right in the middle of the diner and told us to order what we liked, it was on the house. Anyway, before the food was delivered, Michael picked up his sports bag and grabbed a small box from it and gave it to Liz. After she had opened the box and found a bunch of key-rings, he told her to chose the one she liked the best. He informed her that they were all excellent weapons once the keys were on it. They weren’t too big or too small, they were just right to always carry in her pocket and when she felt she needed it, they were easy to hold onto. Then he proceeded to show her how to hold it. You know, if you have the keys sort of stick out between your fingers and if you hit the attacker hard enough with it, you can hurt somebody and momentarily shock them, thus you get time to run off.
She’d picked a ring with a funny green little alien hanging on it, saying, “you know, right now I feel like an alien who has to find his way in a new world!” Anyway, after that Nancy and Mama Dee got to pick key-rings too and after they had theirs the rest of us received one too.
You know, you might not believe it, but that little key-ring did wonders for Liz. Wherever she went the key-ring went too and as soon as she was someplace where she didn’t feel comfortable she grabbed it just how she learned it and held onto it, until that moment passed.
After about two weeks of training three times a week in the back yard, Liz started to feel more courageous and asked us if we would go with her if she started her training at Michael’s studio. Of course we agreed and we always made sure that at least one or two of us were able to accompany her until she was confident enough to go alone.
At the studio she met Kazuki working in his garden - I think he was raking the sand - and with his quiet ways he fascinated her and Liz grew curious. In no time at all Liz started to work in their garden too and after the old man had informed her that there was a special technique to raking the sand and that it was also a meditative exercise, Liz began to rake too. That was how she got started on meditation, Mama Dee too.
After meditating on a regular basis for a while, Liz was able to use some of those techniques to calm down after her nightmares. They were still very present and pretty gruelling. On the other hand, thanks to those nightmares they were able to record more and more of what had happened on that fateful night. In time she even remembered the all the bastards involved. Slowly but surely the noose was tightening around their necks and those bastards didn’t even know it…
I thinks now is a good moment for me to stop and let the next guest continue the telling. Quite possibly Corry and I will be back a little later again.
Cindy and Chuck's POV in next post...
