Charles and his friends and Robert and his friends talked to one another about their day at SeaWorld, so far. Charles saw Ryder and Jayden talking, so he walked over to them.
"Hi, I'm Charles," said the pre-teen to Jayden, as he held out his hand to shake.
"Hi, Ryder was telling me how you and your friends were treating him like he was one of you. Thank you for doing that. Robert and his friends have done the same to me, too. You guys are something, else. Here we are complete strangers and you guys ... you all treat us like you've known us for a long time," replied Jayden.
"Jay, Charles told me he was in a number of different foster homes before he was sent to live at Three Finger Cove. He told me he had to get used to meeting loads of new people and the new kids in the homes and at his new schools. He knows what it is like to be the odd man out, like we are tonight. I'll bet Robert and the twins have experienced the same thing and are just as friendly," broke in Ryder.
It was then that Robert and Eric came over to talk to the two brothers. "What are the same things the twins and I experienced?" asked Robert.
"You know, being in lots of different foster homes and having to meet lots of new people and kids all the time," replied Ryder.
"Well, yes, I have been to a number of other foster homes, like Charles, here, but the twins ... this is their first time in foster care," started Robert. "When I lived in those other foster homes I felt like I was a prisoner, at times. One home made me go to church all the time. Others gave me second-hand clothes and the food wasn't all that good. Now that I live with my 'dad', Mr. Ken that is, I've been on a Disney cruise, he helped us build five skateboard ramps for me and my friends and he bought two water rafts for the lagoon."
"The lagoon?" broke in Jayden.
"Yeah, the lagoon. Three Finger Cove has a large lagoon, a small marina with a 47 foot Commander and a 14-foot sailboat. There are also three PWCs that my friends and I get to ride and lots more," explained Robert.
"By the way, this is my Best Friend, Eric. So, how about telling us a little about you?" asked Robert.
Ryder looked to Jayden, so Jayden replied, "Well, my, our dads, that is, are partners who we live with," started an embarrassed Jayden.
"Don't be embarrassed at your dads being ... gay," whispered Robert, as he lightly hugged Jayden.
"Thanks ... many people ... they just don't understand. They make fun of us and sometimes ... and sometimes we have to ... you know, defend ourselves. I think Chase has it the worst. He's only ten and they sometimes gang up on him," said a frustrated-sounding Jayden.
The lads kept walking along in the line and they kept talking. "Jayden ... can I ask you about your ... moms?" said Robert.
Jayden looked at Ryder. Ryder knew he was to tell the rest. "Robert, Charles, Eric ... ahh, my, well our moms divorced our dads because they learned they were ... gay. Our dads, they knew one another from college. Anyway, our moms ... they didn't want us ... because ... they said we'd wind up just like ...our dads. We don't see our moms and I don't want to anymore.
"My mom, she could have kept me but ... she really wanted to be free of any encumbrances. That's the word she used. Yeah, I heard her talking to Jayden and Chase's mom and that's what she said. They were talking about how they can both start all over and find some guys who were rich. They ... neither of them wanted us," finished Ryder, who broke down and cried.
Robert and Charles grabbed the crying lad and they both hugged him. Robert got his hand to the twelve-year-olds back before Charles did, but they both stayed with Ryder until he got control of himself.
The other guys saw Ryder was crying and that the four lads were lagging behind. They told them to catch up, but Charles told them to go on and they'd catch up eventually.
Ryder did calm down and he apologized for crying. He then told The Cove 'brother's' that it still hurt him. He then told them that he learned all that about the time of the divorce which just happened around the first of August. Ryder said their moms' were talking as they came out of the Ladies Restroom and he was standing outside waiting for Chase, when they said what they did. Ryder, with a few tears still in his eyes, then asked if they could speed up and ride Journey to Atlantis.
Kyle and his friends, with their chaperones, had to wait in the entrance line, almost ten minutes, to get back into SeaWorld as the crowd was beginning to get larger as the evening was approaching. The boys walked back toward Shamu's Stadium hoping to find some of the other boys. John Sullivan called Mr. Ken to find out where everyone was. He learned he was with Kevin and his group, but didn't have a clue where the other two groups were.
Ken told John that when the lads get off the Steel Eel they would be headed over towards the Shamu Stadium. John told Ken they'd try to corral the boys into that direction, but that the boys did have a mind of their own and only time would tell. They both agreed they had at least an hour before they met for dinner, so the boys had time to catch another show or ride something.
When the majority of the lads got off the Journey to Atlantis water coaster, they stood by and waited for Robert, Charles, Jayden and Ryder to finish riding. When it was their turn, the four late riding lads all got into the front seat of the boat-shaped coaster car. The boat climbed to the top of the 100-foot first hill, did a 450-degree panoramic turn and when they were facing forwards, the boat went backwards through a camelback hill to the other tower.
Once they arrived at the second tower, the boat did another 450-degree panoramic turn giving the boys a chance, once more, to see the whole park from that high vantage point. The boat was then allowed to go down the track. It was when the wide boat reached the bottom and hit the water it wound up not only splashing the boat's occupants, the lads in the front seat got their shirts and faces wet, but the large wave caught the spectators standing on the side real good.
The four lads laughed hard at their getting sprayed with water and they laughed equally as hard at each other getting splashed, as well. When the last four riders got off the water coaster their friends were waiting for them like they were long lost friends.
While Kyle and his group passed Ocean Discovery, and walked down the slight incline they caught up with Kevin's group who came out of Shamu's Harbor area. Both groups were walking in the same direction towards Shamu' Stadium. The boys talked amongst themselves about what they'd done so far and they found their differences were dramatic. Kyle couldn't believe his twin rode the two scariest roller coasters at the park. Kevin was surprised his twin hadn't ridden any major coasters, but he knew Kyle wasn't a daredevil, so he didn't rag on him about that.
As the 10 and 11-year-olds came upon the Journey to Atlantis water coaster they found the other two groups. The younger lads asked if everyone had ridden the water coaster. When they found everyone had, the twins went to 'Dad Ken' and whispered, "We're hungry ... but you didn't give us any money."
Mr. Ken put his hand to his mouth and apologized. He then whispered to them, "Should we go eat now, then?" They whispered back, "Yes."
"OK, everyone, this is MY fault. I forgot ... I forgot to give my own 'boys' some money to buy something to eat and now they ARE HUNGRY! What do you all say ... do you want to go to Shamu's Smokehouse to eat now, or wait until 5, as I planned?" explained Mr. Ken.
The boys talked to one another and within ten seconds there was a resounding, "YES! Let's go and eat NOW!"
The entire group, with smiles a mile wide, began walking towards the place they were going to eat. Mr. Ken then remembered he better call Chris and let them know the change in plans. When Chris answered his cell phone and learned the change in plans, he thanked Ken for calling but told him he and his family were going to beg off as his two kids were beginning to wind down and he figured they would probably be gone by 5 or at least by 6. Ken told him to enjoy his Holiday weekend and he'd see him come Tuesday.
As the whole group walked towards Shamu's Smokehouse, some of the Howl-O-Scream characters were beginning to arrive in costume and populate the park. One character would run and slide on some sort of special knee pads and he would drag his hands and make sparks as he slid. Other characters were also costumed and in make-up and they got into their acts.
Some of the costumed characters would look for the younger lads and try to scare them. Ryan, Brant, and Chase were initial targets and when the scary person would come towards them the lads would run away. The rest of the lads would laugh until the character came after them. It was all in fun and it all happened as they continued to walk towards the restaurant.
Robert noticed Jayden, Ryder, and Chase lagging behind and counting their money. The teen went to his 'dad' and told him what he saw. Mr. Ken looked and saw the boys were a bit undecided on what to do, so he went over to them and told them they were included.
Jayden began to argue with him, but the owner of The Cove told them that when he asked them to join them they were now a part of his group and they got to eat what they ate. The three lads pulled aside to talk and when they turned to face Mr. Ken the smile on their faces told him they had made the 'right' decision.
Robert had pulled Charles and the twins aside and told them what he saw and what he had told 'dad'. They saw Mr. Ken talking to the three boys and when they saw the smiles come on Jayden's, Ryder's and Chase's faces they ran to them and hugged them and told them they will always be their friends. The seven lads joined up with the rest of the large group who had waited for them.
When they got to Shamu's Smokehouse, Mr. Ken told everyone to get what they wanted and not to worry about the cost. He told them they could choose from Shamu's Smokehouse Sampler, the BBQ Brisket or BBQ Chicken. He told them they served Spare Ribs, Pulled Pork and few different salads. Mr. Ken told them that each dinner came with one or two sides of either macaroni & cheese, baked beans, French fries or fruit and to make sure they not only picked them up but do not forget their drink of choice. As he finished, he told them not to worry about the cost as he was picking up the tab. They all applauded.
The large group let the Cover lads go first along with Jayden, Ryder, and Chase. As they went through the line they each picked a drink, their meal plate of choice and their sides and walked to the cashier where Mr. Ken was standing. After the cashier rung up their purchase the lads walked to tables in an empty section and sat down. The Smokehouse only had one serving line open, so it took quite some time for 51 people to go through the line. Mr. Ken was the last one through and then paid the very, very large restaurant bill that was well over $900.00
The first lads through were finished well before Mr. Ken even got his plate of food. The man saw the boys talking amongst themselves and wondered if they were still hungry. He called Robert over and told him to tell everyone that if they were still hungry they could go back through the line. Robert spread the word and a few lads did go get another plate. Mr. Ken was glad to see Ryder go through the line again and then share it with Chase. He wondered if the boys were getting enough to eat.
While the lads waited for everyone to finish eating, Kevin went over to Chase. "Chase, I'm Kevin, and the better-looking twin, but don't tell Kyle I said that," laughed the older twin. "I just wanted to talk to you and ask how you liked SeaWorld. This is my first time here and I can't wait until I can come back."
Chase smiled at Kevin and told the twin that it was his first time there as well and hoped he could come back again sometime, too. The ten-year-old told Kevin he was lucky he had a dad who could afford to bring so many people there and feed them, too. Kevin reminded him he was Mr. Ken's foster son like Robert, Charles, and his twin were, and that he was lucky to be placed in a home that he and his brother could stay together. That shocked Chase when he learned Kevin and Kyle could have been split up. He told the twin he was happy for him.
Jayden and Ryder saw Kevin talking to Chase, so they walked over wanting to hear what they were talking about. Kevin asked Chase which one was his brother. Chase told him Jayden and he were blood brothers, but they considered Ryder their brother, too. Kevin laughed and told the younger lad that Robert, Charles and he and his brother all consider themselves 'brothers' too, and that Eric was his 'brother' as well.
Chase looked at the twin with questioning eyes and even Jayden and Ryder, who heard that explanation, wondered about that and then Jayden asked how that was. Robert and Eric had seen the four boys talking, so they walked over and heard the new boy's question.
Robert explained how Collin, when he lived with Mr. Ken, called him his 'Big Brother'. Then, he explained how Ryan worked for his 'dad' and got to be Best friends with Collin and then he too, called Mr. Ken his 'big' brother and that Mr. Ken then called them his 'little' brothers. Robert told the 'new' lads that when he was sent to live at The Cove, Collin and Ryan began calling him their 'little' brother and then they did the same for Charles.
Robert further explained to Jayden, Ryder, and Chase how Eric used to visit The Cove often enough, when Collin lived there, that Collin and Ryan started calling him their 'little' brother, as well. The teen agreed it sounded a bit weird, but once they heard enough of the story they'd understand. Robert asked the new lads what their dads did for work. The three boys looked back and forth to one another to see who would answer and it was Jayden who took the question.
"Well, Chase and my dad is a mechanical engineer and Ryder's dad is a civil engineer," replied Jayden. "They met in college and stayed in touch. They each got married and had us and I thought we had a good family life. That was until our moms ... found out about them. Now don't get me wrong, I love my dad ... and I don't care they love each other it's just ... it can be embarrassing at times," explained Jayden.
"Jayden, I don't mean to be nosey, but ... I guess I am by asking why you didn't have much money to eat here today?" said Robert.
"Well, our dads ... for a long time they told us they'd take us here, but after the divorce ... well, money's kinda tight right now. That's why our dads didn't come in with us. Please don't tell the other kids. Please!" pleaded Jayden.
"Jayden, your secret is safe with me. There's lots of things I wouldn't want my friends to know about me, either," replied Robert.
"Jayden, because you said money was tight ... are your dads working right now?" asked Robert.
"Well, Nathan is but my dad ... he's looking for something right now. He used to work where we used to live, but Nathan had the bigger house, so we decided to move here," explained Jayden.
The other boys saw Robert, Eric, and Kevin talking to the three 'new' boys, so they began to drift in that direction. The large group of boys became quite noisy, so Mr. Ken asked them if they were finished eating to please clean their areas and then head on outside and continue their very loud conversation and wait for the adults. The boys laughed at what Mr. Ken said, but they did as they were asked
The adults talked about how they wanted to handle the rest of the evening when the haunted areas opened. John and Barbara Sullivan said they'd stick with the younger kids and any of the 11-year-olds who might not want to get too scared.
Emma said she won't go into any of the haunted areas, so any of the kids who wanted to wait for their friends could stay with her. Dan said he was going into the haunted areas, so he can watch out for the boys while they were inside. Wayne seconded Dan's thoughts. Frank said he'd like to go with his boys and hoped Ryan wouldn't get too scared. Teacher Dan, Mr. C that is, said he'd hang with Emma and might go into some of the less scary areas and could chaperone any of the lads who go in with him.
With their plans made, the adults cleaned up their areas and met the boys outside.
The adults caught up with their boys, who were still loudly talking amongst themselves. Mr. Ken got their attention and asked them what they wanted to do now. He told them they still had about an hour and a half before the haunted areas opened.
It was Brant who spoke up and pointed to his large map. He told everyone there was a show at Ocean Discovery in fifteen minutes and it highlighted the beluga whales and Pacific white-sided dolphins, along with some colorful macaws.
Some of the lads balked at going to watch the show, but Emma Foster spoke up and said she would like to see least one more show, but all she'd seen so far was the Shamu Show and then youngsters running from roller coaster to roller coaster and then riding them.
All the lads felt the bite in her words. They'd forgotten that the adults had given up their day to be there for them, and many of them were only concerned about how many coasters they could ride and how scared they could get later that night.
Todd went over to his mom and told her he wanted to go to see the show with her and the two started walking back towards the entrance. Conner went over to the 13-year-olds and told them they owed the adults a lot for being there today, and they should stop thinking about themselves and let the adults choose something for a change. The sixteen-year-old then walked fast to catch up with his friend and his mom.
All of Robert's friends looked to him asking with their eyes what they should do. Robert walked over to his 'dad' and apologized to him for not thinking about the chaperones and that they might want to do something, too. The teen's eyes started to tear up and Mr. Ken just grabbed the boy and hugged him. As the two hugged, 'dad' Ken told his teenager that this was a learning experience and hoped he'd make the right decision.
All the boys saw what just happened and heard what Mr. Ken told Robert. Charles and the twins went over to Robert and their 'dad'. The other three Covers also apologized to Mr. Ken for not thinking about the chaperones and they were sorry. That time Mr. Ken said to all four they needed to apologize to the chaperones, not him.
Robert pulled out of the hug, wiped his eyes and thanked his 'dad' for helping him understand. He then went over to each and every chaperone and apologized to them. He then began walking up toward the Ocean Discovery stadium. Charles and the twins did the same. The other lads saw what the Cover lads did and they apologized to the adults for being so selfish, as well. With that done, the entire group began walking towards the Ocean Discovery stadium.
Jayden, Ryder, and Chase didn't know what to do. The younger boys argued they weren't a part of the original group, and they didn't even know the chaperones. It was Jayden who told his brothers that Mr. Ken told him they were asked to be a part of their group and were included in everything. He told Ryder and Chase they needed to thank all the adults for allowing them to join their group and that they appreciated them watching out for them as well. The two younger lads said they now understood what Jayden was saying and would go over and thank each of the adults, but especially Mr. Ken.
All 51 people of Mr. Ken's SeaWorld trip attended the beluga whale and dolphin show. They didn't all sit together, due to their late arrival, but they all enjoyed the show. When it was over, the boys all sought out Ms. Foster and apologized to her for not thinking about her needs that day. She thanked each and every one of them and told them that one day they may be her age and would truly understand.
The group gathered together after the show to decide what they could do while they waited for the haunted areas to open. Mr. Ken looked at the time and told the boys they might want to start getting in line for one of the haunted areas before the line got too long. Since they knew three of the five haunted areas where located near Shamu's Stadium they asked the adults if they could start heading in that direction.
As the lads walked back towards the haunted areas all the lads decided to stay together and go through the haunted areas as a group. That was until the smallest of their group, the 10 and 11-year-olds, were again being targeted by the costumed characters to scare them. Some of the young boys said they didn't want to go into the haunted areas if they were going to be singled out all the time.
The older lads, the 12, 13 and 16-year-olds, decided the first area they wanted to tackle was the Haunted Forest. Mr. Dan and Mr. Wayne said they'd stay with them. The younger lads talked between themselves and then they also decided to get in line with the older boys saying it was still pretty light outside and they hoped it wouldn't be too dark in there. Mr. Frank, Mr. John, and Mr. Ken all got in line with the younger lads.
As the boys waited, they saw the costumed characters continued to harass the people out on the walkways. They laughed at the way some of the people reacted to the scary characters. The boys saw a man who looked ten feet tall, a woman trying to hand off a bloody arm, a man with a shovel wanting to bury someone, werewolves, vampires, and lots more scary people.
When it was time to enter the Haunted Forest, the attendants allowed four or five people to walk through at a time. It didn't matter to the boys who went with whom they just wanted to go through the attraction. The first thing that jumped out at them were the people dressed in black. It was still light enough the boys saw them lurking in the bushes, but they knew as it got darker the people behind them wouldn't see them until it was too late.
Mr. Dan went in with the first group hoping he could lag behind some as the rest of his group passed through or another adult arrived. The boys were pretty amazed at what they saw. There were coffins with dead people inside. People hanging from rafters and people screaming all through the forest. They met people with bloody baseball bats or machetes and shotguns that the character would pump making that ratcheting sound of a new round being put into the barrel.
As the younger lads got to go through the Haunted Forest they could hear screams out in front of them and eventually behind them. The thing they didn't realize was they were also screaming and yelling from all the different scare tactics being used by the people in costume. When the younger lads came upon skeletons with makeshift blood, skin, and guts lying against a tree and then move they almost peed their pants. They ran past and screamed their lungs out. Then they caught their breath and laughed only to be hit with more scary scenes.
Frank Longger went in with the 10-year-olds, but went in especially because of Ryan. He was surprised by the number of bloodstained items and the number of costumed people populating the forest. There were very few areas without a scary scene and he knew that at every turn there would be something there to scare the lads enough to make them pee their pants or maybe even poop their pants. They came up to a shack that was set up as a butcher shop that had 'dead' bloodied people hanging all around, and inside there was a body being cut up.
After that, there was a man with a chainsaw chasing after people and when he came at them, the boys ran, too. Some of the lads did get a bit scared at many of the scary scenes and became clingy to their buddy, but they continued on and screamed at the scenes and ran some more. They even laughed at some of the stupid things that were included to tone down the scare factor.
As the lads exited the Haunted Forest, they all had to share their experiences and tried to out talk their friends. When the 10 and 11-year-olds came out with Mr. Frank, the older lads had to go over to them to see what they thought and ask how scared they were.
"Yeah, it was scary and my heart is still beating fast, but it was fun too," said Brant.
"Yes, I got scared ... a lot! Some for those things were just gross, and when they came after me, yes, I ran. But, you know what? I am glad I did that. It was fun like Brant said," revealed Ryan.
Jayden and Ryder went over to Chase to find out what he thought. Their younger brother had a big smile on his face and then he told his older brothers that he was glad they weren't with him. He told them he knew they would try to scare him even more, but his being in there with his new friends made him feel safe. Then he stuck his tongue out at them and laughed. The older brothers laughed right along with Chase and the three brothers hugged.
Mr. Ken was the last adult through the Haunted Forest. He wanted to make sure none of his crew were so scared they didn't want to move along. Luckily none of the lads were that scared they couldn't move. The characters tried to scare him over and over, but they only managed to startle him a time or three. He laughed at some of the ridiculous scenes and was impressed at many others and the ingenuity of the creators.
When everyone was together, the group rushed to their next attraction, Prey.
The large group was broken into sections of ten to twelve people so there weren't too many spectators going through at once. The older lads decided to let the 10 and 11-year-olds go first. They figured they'd hear their screams and could tease them at the end.
The first scene the 10 and 11-year-olds came upon was a scary Recreational Vehicles (RV) park with old RVs and tents scattered all around. The first character that they saw was a scary lumberjack staring them down. As they continued to walk along, scary people jumped out of the RVs at them. The boys weren't overly scared, but maybe a bit startled, but they did take a few steps back.
The group came upon a canopy of trees that darkened the area allowing many more scary characters to come at them from their front, side and back. The boys immediately felt their heart rate dramatically increase. Then there was a clearing with a campfire, with a hunter pointing a rifle at them just as zombie campers materialized out of the bushes.
The more they walked into the area the more smoky fog was introduced to restrict what they could see next, and that's where the scary people were truly hiding. As the group walked further they came across the campers butcher area where many animals were being hung up to allow the blood to drip out.
They also saw the animals being cut up on a makeshift bench, similar to the Butcher Shop in the Haunted Forest, followed by a tent with a table set up with the animal parts being served on platters and plates with many side dishes of greens. They then came across tents with sleeping bags with only the heads visible. Then, when the heads moved, the boys not only screamed but they quickly ran out and away from the tent.
The next scene the lads came across was a makeshift cabin that as they entered they were hit with different colored flashing lights, smoke, thick hanging vines and burlap they had to move aside to continue through. They had no idea what would attack them there and their heart rates increased once again.
Of course, that was the build-up to the final onslaught of costumed characters who would tease and rush them and wield ungodly looking axes and brutal looking clubs. They then walked out into a clearing from where they could see the exit. It was then they heard some loud screams they knew had to come from the lads behind them. They decided to wait to see which group of friends emerged after them.
All the boys went through Prey and many of the adults did too. Emma Foster, though, had decided back when she got there she was not going into any of the haunted areas.
As they regrouped, the younger boys went to the teens and asked them which one of them was it who screamed when they came to the tents with only the heads in the sleeping bags that moved. The teens looked back and forth to one another and it was Chuck who raised his hand.
"Hey, I didn't expect the heads to move. They caught me off guard. ... I bet you screamed too," fast talked Chuck.
The boys looked back and forth to one and other and then back to Chuck. Then they all laughed at the teen. It was then that Logan, Trevor, Jayden, Camm, and a few others raised their hands to admit they screamed at the moving heads, too. Everyone laughed even more.
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