Survivors

 

Enghar thought about the existence of the other boys with round ears as he quietly got out of bed the next morning. It wasn’t a school day, but he had awakened from a strange dream and couldn’t fall back to sleep.  He wasn't sure what to think about the existence of the other boys. If the boys were his friends, he wanted to be excited for Matthew.  But what if they were the ones who buried him in the desert and left him there? he thought. Would Matthew want to see them? Would he be afraid of them? It was hard to know what to do without more information.

 

And what about me? he thought.  Enghar loved his Mattoo and didn’t want to see him return to his friends, if those boys were his friends. But he knew that he would want to be back with friends whom he could talk to if he had been in the same position as Matthew.  He was happy his parents told him not to tell Matthew the news of the finding of the other round-eared boys.  He and Matthew were able to communicate well enough already that he could have told him if his parents had approved.  But deep down, he really didn't want Matthew to know of their existence.

 

Enghar had a full day planned with Matthew.  His father had told him that Matthew's leg looked to be healing normally, and that by the end of the week they might be able to leave the house. Matthew's tutor would be starting the next day.  Soon Matthew would know enough of the Hakaanen language that he and his friend would be able to talk and really communicate.

 

He went back into his bedroom.  Matthew was still asleep in his bed.  They had slept together again just like they had every night since Matthew came to live at Enghar’s house.  Enghar wanted to kiss his friend awake.  He leaned over his smooth cute face ready to plant the kiss, but changed his mind and crawled in under the blankets. He placed his face between Matthew's legs.  There was more than one way to wake somebody up, he thought, as his tongue met Matthew's piece of boyhood.

 

 

Robert Charles was getting a sore butt from the long ride on a unicorn. They kept riding relentlessly into the desert. Robert Charles understood that nobody was going to take sympathy on the sore butt of an alien boy. He knew that when they got out of the mountains he was going to be expected to lead a Shkah party.  He had drawn the twin peaks for them and they nodded that they understood.

 

Robert Charles knew that he might not be the smartest guy in the world, but he was no dummy either.  During the trek he thought he might want to return to the “Moonduster”, and paid close attention to how Scooter and Brandon navigated them.  He even asked Scooter questions about the process.  He was pretty sure what direction to go once they got out of the mountains into the desert.  He knew he wouldn't be able to navigate them there exactly, but he was certain he could get them close.  The large tail of the "Moonduster" should be easy to see when they neared it; it had been the last thing they saw when they left it behind.

 

 

Bandar entered the gym and was pleased to see almost all of the boys were sleeping with a partner.  In that way the round ears were just like Hakaanen boys.  He quickly woke them up.  He said some of the adults would be there soon to make them breakfast and that he had the key to the shower room.  They rubbed the sleep out of their eyes and headed for the bathroom to take their pees and to shower.

 

There were twenty shower heads in the shower room, more than enough for everybody.  They hoped there was a lot of hot water, because they wanted to take long showers.  It was the first time since being on the "Starkeeper" that any of them had stood under hot water taking a shower.  It seemed like a lifetime ago. At that moment they couldn’t think of anything that could feel better than the hot water spraying over them.  The Earth boys were quickly washing each other, taking care of all body parts. More than one of them got hard from it, but there wasn’t any sex in the shower. Even Jordan got washed as Douglas took care of him.  Jordan needed someone to be his friend, Douglas thought.  It wasn't right that he was being left out.

 

Bandar was told to say nothing to the Earth boys about the other round-eared boy.  He couldn't believe that Douglas and these boys intentionally buried Matthew and left him behind.  But for now, like a good Hakaanen boy, he obeyed the adults.  He observed the boys showering, and saw them get excited washing each other.  He wished he could shower with them.  He found the strangeness of the alien boys to be very sexy and he didn't bother hiding his erection.

 

Of course the boys didn't know about Matthew. They still thought they were the ones who had made first contact. Mike wondered if first contact meant having first sex. From what they had said to Scooter and Douglas and from their actions, the Earth boys could tell that the Hakaanen boys liked sex. Mike wondered if sex with a Hakaanen boy would be the same as sex with one of his friends. The thought made him hard and he quickly turned around to hide his state of arousal—he understood that this was not the time to test out first contact by sex.

 

After their showers the boys ate a breakfast put together by the adults.  Most of them were parents of the boys they met the day before at the lake.  The Hakaanen boys helped serve the huge delicious breakfast. None of the Earth boys knew what they were eating, but once again they found the food to be delicious and ate until they were stuffed.

 

Bandar told them after breakfast that it was time for a meeting.  The Earth boys and the Hakaanen adults had to discuss what was going to be done with the boys.  This was the moment Douglas was not looking forward to.  And he still had that 8-4 vote lurking in the background whether or not to allow the group to be split.  The vote was going to make taking a tough stand on whether to keep them all together a difficult one.

 

They gathered at the tables in the cafeteria.  Before the meeting started the twins and Warren came up to Douglas. "We just want you to know that no matter what happens, as much as we don't want to fight and move, we're behind you.  We all stay together, like you said."

 

Douglas smiled.  Now he knew he could take a tough stand.  He had all but one boy behind him.  While Douglas didn’t realize it, the decision of the group to stick with Douglas was a testament to how he had matured as the leader of the group.

 

It was time to see what was being planned for them. Scooter and Douglas sat together so they could do the thought relay of Bandar’s thoughts.

 

‘Dooglass and Scootah, this is Andorn, the mayor of our village.  What I say will be from him, and I will tell him what you have to answer.’

 

‘Okay.  Remember to keep your thoughts slow and quiet for Scooter.’

 

‘Mayor Andorn has found places for you to stay for now.  We never had anything like this happen before, but we know we cannot keep you here at the school.’

 

‘By places, you mean lots of places and you’re going to split us up?’

 

Bandar talked to the mayor for a couple of minutes.

 

‘We have families here in Awanstor, in the neighboring village, and on some farms, who will take you in.  We have ten families, so some of you can be together.’

 

Now it was Douglas's turn to talk.  He told the group what he just heard. He asked them again if they were all together on their staying together.  The boys assured him they were.

 

‘Bandar, tell the mayor we appreciate all of his work.  But right now we can't let ourselves get split up. We are all strangers here and we feel that we must be together for now.’

 

Bandar talked to the mayor again.  The mayor frowned and talked with the group of parents and frowned some more.  The talking went on for over ten minutes.

 

‘What's going on, Bandar?’

 

‘They can't believe you said no.  Now they're talking this over.  Kids here don't say no very often.’

 

‘I guess we're a little more willing to say no.  We won't be split up all over the valley.’

 

‘It's not like that.  You would be here, the neighboring village, and on a couple of farms.’

 

‘We got here together.  We stay together.’

 

After Bandar passed their thoughts to the mayor, the adults resumed their discussion.  Finally the mayor talked to Bandar.

 

‘He says that we need to keep you somewhere.  There is no place to keep thirteen boys.  You have to understand there is no place to put all of you where it is private and where we can feed you and take care of you. These people are going out of their way to help you.  You don't have a choice.’

 

‘Tell him we do have a choice.  We survived in the mountains and the hills. We can do it here in the valley.  We appreciate the help.  But we're a family, too.  We need to be together.’

 

Once again Bandar talked to the mayor and the parents.  They chatted and gestured and expressed their obvious displeasure with the resistance of the alien boys. Once again the mayor talked to Bandar.

 

‘He says you are children and can't live in the wild.  We can make things comfortable and safe. He says you need a home.’

 

‘We won't be separated and sent to separate homes. We will run away first before we let that happen. We survived together and we need to stay together."  Douglas could be very stubborn now that he had total confidence in his ability to lead his group.  He was using all of his stubbornness and strength to stand up for his family—because that's what they were now, a family.

 

Bandar and the mayor talked briefly and then Bandar turned to Scooter and Douglas.  ‘He wants to know if we can meet in private.’

 

‘Why?  Nobody knows the language.’

 

‘For looks I think,” Bandar said astutely. ‘So we aren't all taking a stand in front of everybody.’

 

‘Gotcha.  You, me, the mayor, and Scooter.’

 

That was agreed to and they retired to a classroom and sat down.

 

‘The mayor wants to know if you will compromise to find to find a solution to this problem.’

 

Douglas almost wanted to smile.  He was going to get something from the Hakaanen.  His family wasn't going to be pushed around.

 

‘Tell him I'll listen.’

 

Once again the mayor spoke to Bandar and Bandar relayed what he said to Scooter and Douglas. ‘He says what if you stay in groups of two or three, and all of you would stay here in the village?’

 

‘Tell him we want to be able to meet every day.  All thirteen of us…every day.  They must give us a meeting place and give us transportation there and back.’

 

Bandar relayed Douglas’s proposal to the mayor.  ‘He says he needs to talk to the rest of the adults.’

 

‘And I have to meet with my group, too.’

 

They left the classroom and went back to the cafeteria.  The Mayor talked to the parents and other adults, and Douglas talked to the “Starkeeper” boys.

 

"I think it's the best we can get.  We will at least be in the same village and can see each other every day."

 

"I don't like it," said Alex.  "I don't like it at all.  I don't like us getting separated.  I'm worried something is going to happen."

 

"They seem to be pretty fair," Mike said.  "I mean look how they treat their own kids.  That tells a lot. And they were willing to listen to us and compromise. They didn’t try to push us around."

 

"I agree," Scooter said.  He was fighting a headache from being the relay again, but he was ready to support his boyfriend and group leader.  "They've treated us fair.  We will see each other every day.  If something isn't working we will know it and can discuss it then."

 

They took a vote on whether to support the compromise. The vote was 12-0 to support Douglas.  Alex didn't agree, but he also knew they didn't need him being negative right now.  He voted for Douglas because he respected Douglas's leadership.  Jordan didn't care either way; he voted the way everybody else did.

 

The Hakaanen adults met and agreed to the compromise proposal.  The mayor thought the adults seemed to understand why the round-eared boys wanted to remain close together.  The Hakaanen were good at raising children, and if the round-eared kids were anything like their kids, then they needed to be listened to. They boys had been polite and well-behaved, but there still was the issue regarding Mattoo and how he got buried and left behind.  But they couldn't ask about it without giving away that they had found Mattoo.  They didn’t want to tell them about Mattoo until they knew how much they could trust them.

 

After finding out how many boys each family could take, the mayor met with Douglas again.  As usual, he talked to Bandar and Bandar communicated with Scooter and Douglas.

 

‘We have places for you to stay.  I will tell you where the families are and how many of you they can take.  You can decide who stays where.’  Bandar gave them the information.  ‘Anybody can pretty much stay anywhere, but the mayor would like you and Scooter to stay with his family.’

 

‘Scooter and I would love staying with you and your family. But, if that is what he wants, we’ll do it. The mayor has been good to us.’

 

‘I think you'll like it.  The mayor is my father.’  All three of them smiled. Bandar was becoming a good friend.

 

The boys sat down to decide who went where.  Scooter and Douglas were going with the mayor.  Mike, Alex, Stevie, and Brandon would be staying with Grallen's grandparents.  Grallen was thirteen.  His parents didn't have room for them, but the grandparents did and agreed to take in four boys.  The twins would be staying with Honneg, who was eleven.   

 

Even though the agreement was that nobody would stay alone, one family said they could take on one boy if someone volunteered. Jordan, the loner, said he would do it. Douglas was leery about one of them being by himself, but Jordan talked him into letting him go solo. That family had two sons, Misha, twelve, and Kynon, ten.  Jordan was happy not to have to deal with the “Starkeeper” boys.

 

Warren and Jeremy would stay with Drobauk, who was fourteen like Bandar.  Ryan and Travis were going to stay with Prekan, who was twelve.  Throughout the day, the boys wondered where the mothers were; all they ever saw were the fathers.

 

They found out the answer soon enough as they went to their new living places.  Most of the boys had two dads and no moms. They actually were seeing both parents; the men were usually partners  Douglas and Scooter found out this was the way of the Hakaanen, but sometimes a mother and a father lived together with their kids.  Enghar's parents were like that, something they didn’t know then.  Matthew thought he was in a normal family.  It was normal for Earth, but not for the Hakaanen.

 

 

 Robert Charles hated the desert.  He knew it would still be a couple of days to find the "Moonduster", maybe less he hoped.  The unicorns were faster than the sleds had been and they were making good time.  When they stopped to make their first camp, he could see the twin peaks.  Tonight he would use what he remembered about the stars to point them in the right direction.  Once they knew the right direction, the Shkah could navigate from there.

 

Vordkan and Robert Charles had their sleeping bags close together in their two-man tent.  Even though it wasn't how the Shkah did it, Vordkan was seventeen and he did have the instincts of the Hakaanen, he squeezed into Robert Charles’s sleeping bag and they took care of the things horny boys need to take care of while they both thought of a certain girl back in the valley.

 

 

Matthew was pleased when Enghar brought a couple of friends, Laryar and Perryska home.  They were both twelve and were lovers. They liked Matthew right away and soon had fun teaching him new words.  Matthew liked Enghar’s friends as well.

 

Enghar didn't have a real lover yet, but he had good friends like Laryar and Perryska, with whom he often had sex. He told his friends that Matthew was his lover.  Enghar enjoyed sex with all his friends, but saying he had a lover made his friendship very special.  The two Hakaanen boys were somewhat surprised by Enghar’s announcement, however.  They never dreamed that their good friend Enghar would fall for the round-eared boy. "Ost lesha drey, Mattoo," he told Matthew.

 

"Ost lesha drey, Enghar," he replied

 

"I lova yoo, Mattoo," Enghar said.

 

"I love you, Enghar."  They kissed each other lightly on the lips. Matthew realized he didn't mind kissing Enghar or sprouting a boner in front of Enghar's friends.  Besides, he thought, they weren't any different than Enghar. In fact, they weren’t that much different from the friends he had on the `Starkeeper'.

 

That night, while watching vids, Matthew and Enghar were next to each other on the couch—naked, holding hands, touching, and kissing.  Enghar's parents didn't seem to mind at all; in fact they acted like it was completely normal.

 

The boys went to Enghar's room a half hour before his bed time, masturbating next to each other as they continued to explore the similarities and differences of their bodies.

 

 

That night, except for their scouting expeditions, the boys were separated from each other for the first time since Robert Charles blasted them from the "Starkeeper".  Although the boys did not feel particularly secure, they were rested and their stomachs were full. They also found themselves with privacy. It was a combo that led the hormones to flow and tensions to be released.

 

The twins shared a bed in the guest room.  They practiced the sexual lessons that Ethan had shown Logan in the gymnasium.  Logan liked the lessons his twin brother was giving him.

 

Scooter and Douglas had their own room as well.  They made love almost all night.  Bandar knew they needed to be left alone this first night.  He could tell instinctively that the two boys were lovers. He knew he liked them and wouldn’t mind having sex with these strange round-eared boys.

 

Mike, Alex, Stevie, and Brandon had the entire upstairs of their house to themselves.  They took advantage of it more than one time that first night.

 

Warren and Jeremy shared a room with Drobauk.  They had their own bed across the room from Drobauk’s. As horny as all three boys were, none of them were ready yet for cross species sex. They managed to fall asleep in spite of their tension. Much to his embarrassment, Warren messed up the sheets, not to mention Jeremy, with a wet dream.

 

Ryan and Travis were the only ones to find themselves in a sexual situation with a Hakaanen boy.  Prekan was twelve and, like most Hakaanen, was not shy about his body. Ryan and Travis were watching a vid with him in the living room while Prekan’s parents were next door.  The vid made no sense to the two Earth boys, but what Prekan was doing to his hard cock did. Even though they could barely communicate, masturbation was a universal language among boys and the Hakaanen learned love making young.

 

While Ryan and Travis felt a bit uncomfortable at first when Prekan started playing with his boy boner, they agreed to join in. After going to bed, Ryan and Travis weren’t sure what to make of what happened in the living room, but they agreed that it was interesting to learn the Hakaanen semen was no different than their own.

 

Jordan locked himself in his room.  He wanted nothing to do with Mishka and Kynon.  He wanted nothing to do with anybody.  He had lost Matthew.  He had lost Robert Charles, whom he hated and loved at the same time.  As for the rest of the boys, he plain hated them, especially Douglas. Douglas thinks he is so great, but all he does is make sure I'm not liked by anybody, Jordon thought.   He makes sure I don't get included in anything.  He had already forgotten that I was on one of the scouting trips.  He felt alone and lost and wanted his dad and the stature he had on the "Starkeeper".  For the first time that he could remember he got his pillow wet with tears.

 

The next morning, Enghar kissed Matthew good-bye and left for school.  He kept hoping Matthew would never find out about the other round-eared boys, but he also knew that was impossible.  It would happen as soon as the adults figured out the best time and way to tell him.

 

Matthew waited for his tutor to arrive.  He was going to start getting language lessons.  Matthew's tutor was a retired teacher. He met with Enghar's parents before starting his lesson.

 

"Mattoo is not to know of the discovery of the other round-eared boys for now,” Enghar’s father told him. “We don't know if they were the ones who harmed him.  They will not be told of Mattoo either until we learn more about them.”

 

"Very well.  This will be interesting.  No teacher has ever had to teach a whole new language to a student.  I understand Enghar has been showing him some words and phrases."

 

"He has and Mattoo has picked things up quickly. He seems to be very bright.  Good luck, Modar.  He is very sweet and Enghar likes him a lot.  In fact, even more than a lot."

 

The teacher went into the den where Matthew was sitting at a desk working on a computer.  He was learning how to use it.  It wasn't that much different from the ones he'd used. Even though he couldn't understand the writing, he could figure out many of the icons.  He heard the teacher come in and stood up, giving him a slight bow of his head. Enghar had told him that was the proper greeting a pupil gave his teacher. They were soon busy with the language lessons.  Matthew was going to learn Hakaanen so he could start communicating with Enghar and his new Hakaanen friends. He might even be able to start attending school. Deep down this made him very happy.

 

Matthew liked Modar and the lessons started out well.  Matthew was an intelligent and willing pupil. He got right down to his lessons.

 

 

The Earth boys had their first daily meeting since they were split at the school after all of the students had left.  All thirteen were given rides from various sources.

 

"It's been quite a couple of days," Douglas said.  "The question is, where do we go from here?"

 

"We need to learn the language," Ryan said.  Then he paused for a moment and said, "We do seem to communicate okay without it though." 

 

"Well, Scooter has something to say about that.  Tell them what you told me this morning."

 

"I found out I am understanding more and more of what they are saying.  I think it's because I'm the relay.  Somehow by relaying Bandar’s thoughts,  I've been learning the language."

 

"Wow," Alex said.  "I'm impressed.  And this could work big time in our favor."

 

"How so?" Jeremy asked.

 

"If they don't know we can understand them, then they might give something away we should know.  We need to keep this our secret until we start getting language lessons.  Then they will probably become careful about what they say around us. But right now they could let something slip,” Alex said.  "They think they need both you and Douglas, when in fact you are beginning to understand it on your own."

 

“If you can relay Bandar’s thoughts, can’t you just go and read his mind” Ryan asked.

 

Douglas answered Ryan’s question. “One thing Scooter and I learned is that thoughts have to be broadcast for them to be read. It’s all very new and weird and complicated for us, but that seems to be how things work.”

 

"What kind of information could they let slip?" Brandon asked.

 

"I don't know,” Alex replied.  “But, we really don't know much about these beings.  This is a chance for us to find out more.  I say we don't let them know that Scooter understands them.  I just think it might end up helping us."

 

"I agree with Alex," Douglas said.  "I think we need to keep this secret as long as we can.  And maybe we should try being slow learners for a while when it comes to learning their language."  He thought for a few seconds. "Of course we might be anyway."  He got a laugh on that one from everybody but Jordan, who just sat quietly in a corner.  Nobody seemed to notice him.

 

The boys stated that they were happy with where they were staying and that their first night went well.  They found out that Hakaanen boys were very much like themselves and, like them, were very curious about the other species.  All but Jordan talked about how much they liked their Hakaanen hosts. Jordan maintained his stoic silence.

 

The meeting broke up and they were returned to their homes.  Douglas thought about Scooter's ability to understand the language and wondered if they would learn anything useful.

 

 

As nightfall arrived, Robert Charles, Vordkan, and the four Shkah men set up their tents.  Once again, Robert Charles and Vordkan set their sleeping bags together, but this time they were so tired nothing sexual happened.

 

In the village of Awanstor the Earth boys pretty much had a sexless night as well. Bandar, Scooter, and Douglas were sharing thoughts.  Bandar, with the forwardness of a Hakaanen boy, wanted to know if he could show them the love of the Hakaanen.  Scooter and Douglas knew what he was hinting at and decided they were willing to learn some things. The three boys were naked, their boy tools flaccid.

 

Bandar told them about his mane and how erotic it felt to have it stroked.  He let both boys stroke it and all but purred at their gentle touch. Douglas was amazed as to how soft and silky the mane felt under his hand.  Bandar had a raging erection which Scooter and Douglas estimated to be four inches. They were stunned when the Hakaanen boy had a spontaneous orgasm, shooting clear boy juice over his belly.

 

Bandar pointed to the erections of the two Earth boys and made the universal gesture for masturbation. Scooter and Douglas grinned, and jerked their cocks hard and fast, cumming within seconds of each other. No exchange of thoughts were needed—the three of them knew that something special had happened. While they hadn’t really had sex, they had formed a bond of trust and friendship by simply being willing to cum in front of a boy from an alien culture. Scooter and Douglas knew that Bandar was their friend and the feeling was mutual.  They weren't alone on this strange planet. Bandar slept with his round-eared friends that night with Scooter and Douglas cuddled to either side of him.

 

 

The Shkah men finished their meeting and enjoyed their favorite beverage.  Their favorite drink was a fruit wine made from something close to the grapes on Earth, and there was plenty of it at the meeting table. They were close to completing their plans.

 

"So, Ghanrahs, you say that the boys have been split up?  Excellent,” Arkron, their leader, stated.

 

"Yes, Arkron.  Our agent's suggestion to have them split up and spread throughout the valley was not successful.  The leader of the round-eared boys was very stubborn, and the mayor was much too eager to please him.  The Earth boy is much different from a Hakaanen young one.  I don't know of many of our young ones, who could have led a group of young ones across the desert and the mountains.  He simply refused to have them spread out as we wanted."

 

"It sounds like he could be a problem in the future.  Even as young as he is, he could be a formidable foe.  Robbachass does not seem to like him, which makes me wonder who is the stronger of the two?  Which of the boys do you think is going to be the easiest for us to kidnap?  Should this Dooglass be one of them?" Arkron was firing his questions at the men at the table.

 

"The two very small young ones live near the edge of the village.  They should be easy to take.  I have another idea what to do with their leader.  I fear he will find a way to get them all together against us in some way. I know it seems strange I should fear a young one, but I believe this round-eared one has extraordinary powers we don't know of.  It is said he communicates mind to mind.  What else can he do?  What other powers does he have?"

 

"So what do you want to do, Ghanrahs?"

 

"There is only one solution. Kill him.  When our party goes down into the big valley we kidnap the two young ones to test Robbachass and we eliminate the leader of the round-eared young ones to break their spirit.  They will be too disorganized to bother us after that.  The Hakaanen have been peaceful for so long they won't know how to deal with this."

 

"We have never killed before.  All we have done is to go on small raids.  This will show them we are serious, and because it is all happening to the round ears they will not become as angry as if it was their own young ones.  I like the idea Ghanrahs.  Make it so."

 

"The four of us will leave before dawn tomorrow. We will be back the next day."

 

Arkron got up and gave Ghanrahs a huge hug and looked at the rest.

 

"May you find much success.  The Shkah are ready to take over the big valley. This will be our first step.  The killing of the round-eared leader will show we are serious now.  We have waited long enough.  This is the start of our victory.  Good luck."

 

 

The next morning most of the boys woke up at the same time as their young hosts.  Mike, Brandon, Alex, and Stevie slept in because there were no boys in their families.

 

Scooter and Douglas were having breakfast with Bandar and his family.  The food was delicious as usual.  Douglas didn't know if it was so good because they had lived so long on food out of a box or a bag, or because they really did grow extra tasty food in the valley.  He didn’t care much about the reason, he just knew he loved the food.

 

Scooter was listening to the talk between Bandar and his parents. He thought it was weird that Bandar's family was different because it had a mother and a father who lived together.  Most Hakaanen children bounced between families and didn't think anything of it.  They were way different from Earth families in that parents more often than not didn’t live together, although they often got together to do things with their children. He didn't understand the workings of the culture.

 

The boys followed Bandar into his room as he got ready for school.  That was another thing the boys couldn't get used to.  Hakaanen children often didn’t wear clothes at school. Sometimes they wore clothing to present a different look or because the weather was cool, but being naked seemed to be the standard dress code.

 

‘It's so amazing all of you made it here,’ Bandar thought to them, not for the first time.  ‘You did such an amazing job.’

 

“I suppose we should tell him everything," Douglas told Scooter.

 

"I agree."

 

‘We lost two boys,’ Douglas said.  ‘The journey certainly wasn't perfect.’  Douglas could feel the sadness come up at losing Matthew.  He felt nothing about the fate of Robert Charles, although he wished he hadn’t had to send him to his fate.

 

‘Really?  I'm sorry.’  This is an interesting confession, Bandar thought.  Maybe they would soon learn about Mattoo.  ‘What happened?’

 

‘One boy I had to kick out of the group and send him into the desert.  He was stealing water and water was our life.  So he was stealing life from us.  He couldn't stay with us any longer.’

 

Was that Mattoo? Bandar wondered.  He never met Mattoo, but he heard he was very nice.  Was he a boy who would steal water from his friends?

 

‘Where did you send him?’ He wondered if he’d buried the boy. That wasn't exile, that was murder.

 

‘I sent him off into the desert.  I don't know what happened to him.  He was taking our life from us. He even stole water from a boy who was sick. It was the only thing I could do.’

 

At least he didn't bury him in the sand, Bandar thought.  ‘What about the other one?’

 

‘Just before we got to the mountains we got hit by a giant sandstorm.  The wind was unbelievable.  Poor Matthew...he got hurt when we landed...we were hoping if we found the valley he said he saw that somebody could help him...and in the dark…and the wind...and we kind of thought somebody else had him.’  Bandar saw tears start to form as Douglas’s thoughts rambled.  ‘We lost him.  The wind blew over the tent and the sand buried it…it was dark and everything was different and when it got light…we...we…’ Douglas was crying now.  His thoughts were like whispers. ‘We lost him.  We couldn't find him.  We left him there alone…and I was responsible…I was in charge…and I ...I...I had to leave him.’  He put his head on Scooter's shoulder.  It was all coming back to him, that awful night in the desert.

 

Scooter whispered, "We left him.  We all left him.  Not just you. You did the best you could."  Scooter was crying, too.

 

Bandar looked at them both.  He could see their love, and he could sense the love they had for the friend they left behind.  He was sure that the boy was Mattoo, the one who was found buried. He now knew that nobody left him buried intentionally.

 

‘We loved him,’ Douglas said.

 

Bandar came over and gave them a both a big hug.  He wished he could tell him that the boy was safe and well, but he knew he should check with his dad first. He might not really be the boy, and maybe there was other stuff going on he didn't know. He gave them both another hug and left for school.  He would talk with his father after school about what he just learned.

 

Scooter led Douglas over to the bed and gave Douglas some of his sweetest love making. Douglas cummed over himself – at the same time his lover was inside him filling him with his sweet love juice. They felt as one. Douglas felt whole and strong again.

 

 

The riders went through the forest and stayed off the road.  They stopped outside of the village.  They were going to split up soon to do their jobs. The Shkah had raided farms and destroyed fields before, but they never hurt anybody.  They justified their actions by saying they weren't going to be hurting any Hakaanen—yet. To them, hurting the round-ears was like dealing with annoying insects—it had no meaning to them.

 

"So, we take the two young ones from here," one of the riders pointed at the map.

 

Another one pulled his bow out of his saddle and loaded an arrow in it.  He walked over to a tree and placed a red cloth on it about head high.  Then he walked back to the other Shkah men.

 

"I will be behind the back of the house.  I've seen how it's laid out.  I will hide there all day until I get a shot.  You guys don't go after the young boys until you get my signal."  They had radios to communicate with.  The Hakaanen had guns, but they hadn't let the Shkah have any before they left the valley.  The Hakaanen only used their guns for hunting.  The Shkah men knew if they could get the guns the round ears supposedly had they would have a big advantage, because they had been spending years practicing to fight, something the Hakaanen knew nothing about.

 

The man aimed the arrow and let go.  It hit the cloth target right in the middle.

 

"I think they will be leaderless by the time tomorrow ends."

 

The others then smiled.  The test would be what Robbachass did with the boys they kidnapped.  If he was as tough and as good a leader as the one they were waiting for was supposed to be, he would be of real value to them. And if he was soft, then they wouldn't need him and he could share the fate of the young boys.  But either way, the round ears would be leaderless.

 

They rode off to their new hiding places, ready to act as soon as they could.  But they also would be patient to make sure nothing went wrong.

 

 

Scooter and Douglas were bored.  They couldn't wait for their daily meeting to give them something to do.  At lunch time the mayor came home with his boy friend.  The boys still couldn't believe how open the men were, kissing and hugging. Hakaanen culture was confusing. In the morning the mayor was having breakfast with his wife, but at lunchtime he came home with a man.

 

The two men prepared lunch.  While they sat around the table the men started talking.  Scooter could understand enough of what they were saying to get the idea of the conversation.

 

"I wish we knew more about how the round-eared boy in the desert got buried and left behind.  And I wonder what we should tell these boys about, and if we should tell him about finding his mates.”

 

The conversation went on like that.  He would tell Douglas about it after lunch.

 

When they were alone again, Scooter told Douglas what he heard.  They agreed that somebody must have found Robert Charles.  And they agreed that finding Robert Charles was bad news.  They wondered why Bandar hadn’t told them anything.  But they couldn’t ask Bandar without giving away that they understood the Hakaanen language.

 

That afternoon when the Earth boys had their daily meeting, Scooter and Douglas told them what they found out.

 

"Robert Charles?  Still alive?  He must have walked right into something," Alex said. "He is the luckiest SOB alive."

 

Jordan said nothing.  He needed to find out where Robert Charles was.  He was tired of being ignored and wanted to be back with him.  As much as he didn't like RC, he needed him.

 

They spent their meeting talking about whether Scooter and Douglas should ask Bandar anything about somebody else being found.  They decided to just play it by ear, but if Bandar mentioned anything that they should tell him that Robert Charles was bad news.

 

"I can't believe it," Mike told Alex.  "Douglas was right.  He IS like some vid monster who never dies.  No matter what happens he comes back."

 

"We need to be ready for trouble," Alex said.  "Tomorrow we better come up with a plan of what to do when we meet him.  Because you know we will meet him.  This is just a valley after all."

 

 

Matthew got to take a little walk after school.  Enghar helped him as he went to the end of the street and back on his crutches.  While they walked two little kids, a boy and a girl of about six or seven, ran out and looked at Matthew.  They jabbered in Hakaanen, but they were too fast for Matthew to follow.  Enghar asked them to slow down and they did allowing Matthew to understand most of it.

 

"Can we see your round ears?" they both giggled.  Matthew's hair had gotten pretty long.  He smiled and pushed it away from his ears.  They looked at his ears, laughed, and ran back to their house.  Matthew and Enghar both laughed and then kissed each other.

 

"I need to cut my hair," Matthew said in Hakaanen.

 

"Tomorrow," Enghar replied.

 

They walked back to Enghar's house.  Matthew was getting better with his crutches and could go pretty fast.  They went up into Enghar's house finding Enghar's mom and dad were there.  Matthew walked up to each one and gave them a hug and got a big hug back.  Matthew was feeling more and more like this was home.

 

 

Robert Charles saw it first—the tail of the "Moonduster" sticking up behind a sand dune.  The group rode over to it.  The Shkah were impressed with the shuttle and went inside to explore.  Robert Charles went into the cockpit and started up the environmental system. He was pleased that it was still working, but who knew for how long.  They would be staying in the shuttle, since it was cool and had lights.  Robert Charles showed them where the laser guns were supposed to be stored.  They had brought tools with them to open the locked storage box.

 

They made up dinner first in the shuttle's microwaves. After they ate they got to work on the laser guns.  It took a little over a half hour for them to get the cabinet open, but when it finally did open they all smiled.  There were a dozen laser guns stored there.  They each had power chips that just needed a quick charge.  The Shkah men could tell that this was going to give them a huge advantage over the peaceful Hakaanen.  The battle against the Hakaanen that they had planned for so long would start soon and they would win.  If Robert Charles passed his test he would be a big part of it.

 

 

The boys decided to walk back to their homes after the meeting.  The village wasn't that big and they felt very safe among the Hakaanen. They were all together, and started skipping and laughing and acting like boys for the first time in weeks.

 

Douglas was feeling like a load was coming off his shoulders.  Adults were making decisions again.  He hated having the group being split up, but already he could see that the kind of decisions he had to make weren't the life and death kind.  They were more the political kind, and Douglas felt supremely confident in that kind of environment.

 

The main topic of the meeting was if and when they would reveal that one of them had working knowledge of the Hakaanen language. They also discussed how they were going to handle getting the information Robert Charles was alive from the Hakaanen. After all, it was something they already knew.  Douglas was in charge, but everybody didn't depend on him any more.  He felt like a boy again and his smile was back and genuine.

 

Bandar, who knew the Earth boys planned to walk back to their houses, joined them a block away from the school to help serve as a guide and a translator if necessary. Many of the Hakaanen adults and children watched the Earth boys skipping by. The boys waved and smiled with friendly curiosity, and received waves and smiles in return.

 

Warren and Jeremy broke off first.  They gave out a few hugs, blew kisses, and said good-bye.  Jordan left them next as they reached his house.  He just said good-bye and went into the house where he was staying, giving no waves or gestures. Douglas was starting to get worried about him.  He decided he would need to talk to him tomorrow. Brandon and Stevie split off next.  Again there were hugs and kissed and waves.  Alex and Mike wanted to walk with Douglas and Scooter to their domicile.

 

"Did you get the feeling we were being followed?" Mike asked Scooter as they approached the mayor’s house.

 

"Yeah, I had the same feeling. I turned and looked, but I didn't see anybody," Scooter said.

 

They walked and talked and sometimes looked back, looking to see if they were being followed.  They all were getting a creepy feeling now.

 

Then they split into two groups just short of Bandar’s house.  Scooter, Douglas, Mike, and Alex went right.  Ryan, Travis, and the twins went straight.  All but the twins kissed and hugged each other goodnight. Bandar took off ahead of the group and went into his house.

 

 

The Shkah was careful to keep his distance.  He'd stay behind brush or trees or bushes.  Sometimes he would duck down a different street.  He reported to his three partners on his radio.  One was waiting at the back of the mayor's house.  The other two were in the field behind the house where the twins were staying.

 

"There are four heading your way.  I'm not sure which one is the leader.” He gave the boys another going over and said,” I think I’ve figured it out," the follower told the Shkah with the bow and arrow at Bandar's house.  "It must be the biggest one."  He was thinking of Mike.

 

Then he radioed the other two.  "Four coming your way, too.  The littlest ones are the ones you want."

 

The Shkah were worried because there were more boys than they expected. They hadn’t planned on the boys walking from the school together.  They considered waiting until the next day, but the boys they wanted were available with no Hakaanen adults present. They decided this might be the best time to do what they had been sent to do.

 

Douglas's group stopped all of a sudden and looked back.  The Shkah barely slipped behind a hedge in time.

 

"Did you see something?" Mike asked.

 

"Something moved.  I don't know what," Scooter said.

 

"Should we go back?" Alex asked.

 

"No," said Douglas.  "Let's just be careful, go slow, and see what's behind us."

 

They kept walking up the road slowly, looking behind them.  Their follower wondered if they were getting suspicious and decided to lay back.  He knew where they were going anyway.  He wished there were just two of them, then he would know which one was the leader.  He knew that the little blond-haired boy wasn't.  After that he wasn't sure, but still felt it had to be the biggest boy.

 

The four boys got to the front of Bandar's house and stopped.  They talked for a while, making frequent furtive glances in the direction they had come from.  They didn't see anybody.

 

"They're stopped.  Are you ready in back?"

 

"Yeah.  Just tell me who to get."

 

"I will."  He just hoped it would be the right one.

 

 

The other group of four walked along another road.

 

"I think I'm fourteen," Travis said.

 

"You're not sure?" Ryan asked.

 

"I lost track of the days.  I think my birthday was a couple of days ago, but, shit, it might even be tomorrow."

 

Ryan grabbed him and kissed him.  "I love you, Travis.  I'm sorry we never said anything.  I'm so sorry."

 

"It's okay.  Nobody knew.  I didn't know.  And we were kind of busy.  I just thought about it in fact."

 

Ryan kissed him again.  He decided right then he was going to tell Douglas and the rest and have a surprise party for Travis.  He would do anything for Travis.  Anything.

 

 

Mike kissed Douglas and then kissed Scooter.  Alex traded off kisses with Douglas and Scooter as well.

 

"I guess we'll see each other at tomorrow's meeting," Mike said.

 

"I think we need to talk to the mayor to give us stuff to do, like language lessons or something,” Douglas said.  “This is getting very, very boring. Hell, I’d even be willing to work on litter patrol or something, not that I’ve seen much litter around. The Hakaanen are very clean. But Bandar and the rest go off to school and we have nothing to do.  It's time we start getting with it.  It looks like we just might end up growing up in this valley," Douglas said.

 

"God, I hope not," Scooter said.  "I want to go back home and to my dad so bad.  I want to see Earth again."

 

"But we have to have a plan about what to do if we end up having to stay here. I mean, Bandar said no ship has visited Inferno for over 25 years. We need to be thinking it could happen that way. I mean it really looks like this is going to be our home," Douglas said.

 

"I know, but I have a hard time accepting it."  Scooter kissed Douglas and then took his hand.  They started to walk along side the house.

 

Across and down the street they were being watched.  "They just started up behind the house.  Go for the dark-haired one on the right. He's the one." The big boy did not head for the house; little blond was obviously not the leader, so that left the dark-haired boy.

 

 

The four boys reached the long driveway that led up to the twins' house.  The twins were ready to walk up it.

 

"Can you guys come up the driveway with us? It's getting dark out and it’s kind of scary going through the woods," Logan said.

 

"Sure," Ryan said.  Just then they saw Prekan come riding up the road from the other direction.  He had been at a friend's house and was on his bicycle.  Or at least it was close to a bicycle.  Prekan stopped and smiled, his skinny little body all sweaty.  Travis said he would wait with Prekan. Ryan said he would get Logan and Ethan up to the end of the driveway.

 

They started along and Travis held up a couple of fingers to show Prekan that Ryan would be right back.  Ryan had a twin in each hand as he led them up the driveway.  The trees and bushes were thick along the shoulder.  The house was at the end of the village and at the edge of the woods.

 

There was a turn in the driveway before it got to the house.  The two Shkah were waiting at the turn for the boys.  They were expecting two little ones and were surprised to see a bigger boy between them.

 

Now the question in their mind was, do they take him too?

 

 

Douglas and Scooter were almost at the back of the house when Mike called to them.

 

The shooter had to pause as they walked back a few steps.

 

"Yeah, Mike?" Douglas asked.

 

"See if you can work on Bandar to find out where Robert Charles is."

 

"Will do.  We love you."

 

"We love you, too!" Mike shouted back.

 

Scooter and Douglas turned and headed into the backyard again, which was the easiest way to get into the house.  The Shkah, who was hiding in the brush behind the house,  stood up slowly.

 

The two Shkah at the driveway were supposed to wait until they heard that the leader had been shot and then kidnap the two little ones.  They were only supposed to take the two little young ones, but if need be they would take the bigger boy as well. They might never get a chance this good again.

 

The three boys turned the corner of the dirt driveway.  The Shkah pulled on a rope.  The rope raised up in front of the boys sending them falling to the ground as a net was dropped on top of them.  They were trapped and tied up before they could even cry out.

 

 

Douglas and Scooter turned the corner of the house.  The shooter was standing up behind a large bush.  His arrow was loaded into his bow.  He pulled back on the bow and aimed for the heart of the dark-haired boy.  He let go and watched the arrow fly to its target.

 

Next: Matters of Life and Death

 

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