"Oh, no. Not again," Jason muttered as he got up to search for his brother. He could not believe that his brother would leave with the trial later that morning. As he crept down the hallway, he noticed that there was a very dim light coming from downstairs. "He had better be down there," Jason thought to himself.

He heard a slight "staticy" sound and saw a shadow of a figure in the kitchen. Jason walked into the kitchen to see his brother making a baloney sandwich with ketchup, mustard and double the pickles. Adam had his earphones on, for which explained the weird sound that he had heard coming down the stairs.

"Adam," Jason whispered, but it was evident that Adam did not even know that he was there by the way that he was mouthing the words to the song he was listening to at the time. Jason could also hear the song and noticed it as being AC/DC, Adam's favorite rock group. He was about to tap his brother on the shoulder, but Adam suddenly turned around and ran into Jason with his sandwiches. Adam jumped at the sight of his brother, but managed to maintain the balance of the food.

"Why did you do that for?" Adam whispered angrily.

"I noticed that you were gone and saw the light," Jason responded as he ignored his younger brother's tone. He did not want Adam to know that he suspicions that he had left again.

"You want to join me on the deck," Adam said as he started to make his way towards the living room. "I thought it would be neat to watch the lighting out over the ocean."

"Sure," Jason said as he followed Adam to the outside deck. It was raining very lightly and the storm had moved out to sea and provided for a great show as the boys sat under the enclosed deck. Jason could still hear Adam's CD player through the earphones even over the thunder.

"How can you listen to that over the peaceful sound of thunder?" Jason said as he broke the silence.

"I need to get myself siked up."

"So how is that noise supposed to get you siked up?"

"This noise is the song, "Stiff Upper Lip" and it is calming my nerves. At least I am not drownin' my sorrows in whiskey and beer while hollerin' for my lost love," Adam said in his best country music accent. Country music irritated Adam, but it was Jason's favorite kind of music.

"I have caught you swinging around to Garth Brooks," Jason piped up in his defense.

"When?"

"At the pier party when they played "Ain't Going Down", I saw you tapping your foot. I am not even going to mention Shania Twain on cable," Jason said with a slight grin. He thought it was funny to catch his brother enjoying his music after years of being teased for his music preference.

"What about Shania?"

"Every time she is on television, you stop the channel surfing."

"Wouldn't any normal teenage boy? At least I haven't been caught dancing to "I Will Survive"!" Adam said, referring to the time that Adam had seen and secretly taped Jason getting down to the famous disco song. He had the tape hidden away to use for Jason's segment in the senior class video at the end of the year. Jason had no idea that one was coming.

"It is a classic."

"So is AC/DC."

"Whatever. So how are you doing so far?" Jason asked, setting the conversation into a more serious direction.

"Fine, I actually came up with a plan," Adam said, finishing off his last baloney sandwich. "We need to get some evidence that he did these things to really nail the case shut."

"Maria said no, remember," Jason said, sitting up to listen more carefully to his brother's plan.

"I know. But that day on the way home from school he admitted to what he did and why when he thought that we were alone. Well, maybe we can set him up by..." Adam was saying in a low voice, but Jason interrupted him.

"Absolutely not! Bill already kicked your rear once. We have to trust Mr. Lansing and we can't afford for you to get hurt," Jason said with a firm voice.

"It is the only way to get the goods on him so he will get his dues," Adam fired back. It was apparent that he wanted Bill to rot in jail and Jason wanted justice to be served as well. "What is the problem? I thought you were on my side!"

"I AM on YOUR side. But I am not going to take a chance of getting you roughed up again," Jason said, visibly upset with his brother's comment.

"It never bothered anyone all of those years so why should I care now. I want to get the evidence!" Adam sneered back. At this point Jason could have smacked his brother himself, but he stopped to think things through first.

"First of all let's get something straight, if I would have known that anyone was beating you, I would have stopped it. I seem to remember a time that Eric had you cornered in the bathroom when you had broken your arm playing fifth grade football. I am the one who saved your butt and was grounded for a week for getting in trouble for fighting," Jason said as he pointed his finger into Adam's face. He was angry that Adam would say something like that after he had always tried to protect him like an older brother. Then he calmed himself down again. "We almost lost you in that accident and I will never get over the sight or the sound of you flat-lining in the back of that squad. I thought that we had lost you because you were in bad shape. I remember sitting there being told that you may not wake up or that you may not have a normal life. You are a walking miracle and I am not going to let you jeopardize your health by possibly getting struck in the head. No Way! We will let the court system take over." Jason was visibly upset by the memory of the night of the accident and the days that followed. Jason truly did love his brother and that was a very trying time for him and his whole family. Jason thought that sometimes Adam either did not realize this or took it for granted at times.

Within the same silence, Adam realized that he had touched a very soft area with Jason and he was sorry the minute he said it. He knew that if Jason had known, things would have been different.

"Jason, I am sorry. I was just spouting off. It is just that during all of those beatings I would keep in mind that one day he would pay for what he did, one way or another. Now I have the chance that I thought that would never come and I don't want him getting off and walking," Adam said in a softer tone. Jason could tell his brother was very sorry for the comment and decided to drop it.

"We just have to take that chance. But you have to know that when Dad and Mom finds out, he will wish that he was in jail," Jason said, patting his brother on the back. Adam hoped deep down that his parents would see it that way.

"Just one thing though that I must set you straight on," Adam said, as he got up from the rocking chair. The storm was now reduced to simple flashes of heat lightning.

"What?"

"I could have taken Eric myself, you just didn't give me the chance!"

"Funny. You were about to get yourself put into a trashcan because you couldn't fight back with a cast on your arm, Goofy."

"Whatever you want to believe. But at least the notebook is safe with Alyssa in case we need it for some reason," Adam said in a low voice. "That makes me feel a lot better."

Jason nodded in agreement as both boys went into the house to try to get a little more sleep. However, little did they know that someone else was having a hard time of sleeping that night. The figure slowly regressed in to the dark shadows of the Kramer house, plotting his next move.

The courtroom was plain and free of the media due to the fact that underage minors were involved in the case. Adam and Jason were seated behind their uncle with their father by their side. James was well rehearsed and Bill was dressed in his best suit and sitting at the small table. It was apparent that he was not nervous at all, as a matter of fact, he had a slight grin on his face. This grin grew even wider when he noted that Mr. Lansing had entered the room with the two young girls known only as Michelle and Stephanie to the Kramers. They were accompanied by what appeared to be the girls' parents. One girl was a beautiful red head, while the other girl had obviously dyed her hair black. The girl with the French braided red hair was dressed in a flowing cornflower dress and sandals. The black haired girl was wearing tan dress pants with a plaid camp shirt. She had butterflies in her short hair that held the hair back into neat rows and away from her face. The sight of the girls made Adam think back to Maria, even though Maria was younger than the girls at the time of the crime. Adam also noticed the determined look on the second girl's face. He wished Maria could be there, to get her justice too. His thoughts were interrupted by the announcement of the judge into the courtroom.

As the hearing proceeded, the red haired girl was called to the stand first. She stood tall as she walked across the courtroom and did not even look towards her perpetrator, who was still sitting there with his usual carefree grin. She introduced herself as being Stephanie and proceeded to tell her side of the event at the church camp that night. She spoke very vividly of seeing Bill come into the tent that she was sharing with Michelle and hearing Bill ask Michelle to come with him and then later returning for her. She recounted her account of the attack in detail and about walking back to her tent.

"Why didn't you tell someone immediately?" Mr. Lansing asked her as she tried to keep herself from crying. Adam could tell that she was on the verge of loosing her composure. The events that she described stirred Adam's memories as well. He just looked at the floor because it was hard to look at the young teenager recount such a horrible crime. Jason noticed his brother's reaction to the testimony. He prayed that Adam would be able to go through with his testimony.

"I was just in shock. I also felt so dirty, like I was a piece of garbage. Michelle felt the same way and feared that we would get into trouble with our parents or our church because we are old enough to have been able to stop it some how," Stephanie answered looking down. She was nervously folding and unfolding her hands. "So we went and took showers. Cold Showers to try to rinse the dirty feeling away, but it has never gone away. I still can not look at myself in the mirror. I don't know why I had to allow Michelle and myself to be victims. It was me who decided to tell because I could not stand the shame anymore. So I told my mother and here we are."

"So you do not regret being here today?" Mr. Lansing questioned again, walking towards the witness stand.

The girl paused for a moment and looked down at her folded hands. Then she looked up and stared straight at the judge.

"Yes, I do regret being here. I wish that I would not have to be here testifying because then that would mean that my memory would be freed of this horrible time of my life. You see, sir," Stephanie added as she referred to the judge. "It took my parents sixteen years to raise me. I was a very happy child. It took that man ten minutes to ruin my trust and take a part of me away that I will never forget or get back. For that, he must pay. I was raped and whether he is found guilty or not, it is a fact and I will have to live with it whether he is in jail or not."

After she was dismissed, the young girl walked over to her mother and hid her face from the court. It was obvious that she had held for as long as she could. The girl with short black hair was called to the stand next. She said her name was Michelle and gave her account of the events of that night. Instead of nervously fidgeting like Stephanie, Michelle was more angry than upset. Her cold stare stayed fixed on Bill, who sometimes did shift in his seat as she recounted specific details and other information about the crime. She was even able to identify the scar on Bill's lower back. Not once did her eyes move off of her aggressor. When asked why she waited to report the crime, she stated, "Stephanie really wanted to keep it secret and I was not going to violate her trust."

James had chosen not to cross-examine Stephanie, but after Michelle answered Mr. Lansing questions, James began his order of questions. He brought up her history of problems with the law and in her family, but Michelle did not flinch and stuck to her story.

"I am getting my life together and we never asked for this. That man raped us and for that me must be put away before he does it again. He has already victimized before he raped us," Michelle said with a glare.

"That is hear say. Where is your proof that my client committed another crime?" James fired back just as fast.

"Sir, it is not hear say. It is a fact and that is all I have to say about it," she said with a very stubborn attitude. She was excused from the stand. James thought that she was the last witness and was preparing Bill for the stand. Then he saw Mr. Lansing move forward and call for another witness.