"Good Morning, Collin. I hope you slept well."
"Oh … oh, Good morning, Mr. Ken. I guess I fell asleep in your bed last night. Ah … Ah, I'm sorry for doing that. I … I must have really been tired."
"That's not a problem, my 'little bro'. You were sound asleep and so peaceful lying there that I couldn't just wake you up. I figured sleeping with me wasn't going to hurt anything. Besides, I think as soon as I lay down, I was fast asleep, too."
"So, how do you feel this morning? Did we manage to talk out some of your problems last night?"
"Yea … yes, I think we did. Thanks for listening to me, Bro! Sorry if I sounded like a little kid though … or maybe like a little baby with all the crying I did last night."
"Hey, there is nothing for you to be ashamed of. Remember, I was crying some, too, by the way."
"Yea, but that was because you thought you did something to me by bringing me out here. You know, Bro, I'm sort of glad you did bring me here. It made me realize things much faster and I got to lay with you again like we used to. … Oh … ah I think I better hit the … the bathroom real quick. I didn't … you know … go 'potty' before I fell asleep and now my ah … ah …"
"Go, I won't look! I think I know what is happening right about now, and if you pee in my bed I'm …"
And before Ken could finish his sentence, Collin had thrown off the covers and began to run as fast as he could to where his en suite was. But, as Collin got out of the king sized bed, he sort of turned in such a way that Ken got a pretty good look at this morning pointer. All Ken did was laugh to himself and be glad he had already done his morning 'pee' run before Collin woke up. Otherwise, he'd have to have done the same quick disappearing act, just the same as Collin, hoping the boy wouldn't see his morning wood, either.
After the two did their morning rituals, they decided to go down to the dining room for breakfast. This became another 'learning' opportunity for Collin as he saw how the 'well to do' were treated in such an elegant place as this Sheraton was. The wait staff held their chairs for them as they sat, and their waiter told them about the morning's 'Breakfast Specials' off the top of his head. Mr. Ken explained to him about the etiquette and how he was supposed to act, out in a formal setting. It was a bit confusing for Collin, but as he looked around, he saw children much younger than he, acting very 'proper' and without fuss. He figured if they can do it then he had to try.
They talked as they ate. Collin began the conversation by mentioning his sexual confusion from last night, but they soon decided that wasn't the right place for that, so they talked about Mr. Ken's fascination with amusement parks. They ate slowly and retraced their steps from the previous day, talking about the good things and bad they observed from the parks they visited. Soon, though, Collin felt as if he was being watched, like he had last night, in the ice cream store. When he mentioned it, Mr. Ken said he had the same feeling and so they decided to pay their bill and go back to visiting more amusement parks.
Their chauffeur knew what was on the agenda and had already planned out the day. First stop was Speed Zone. Since Mr. Ken wanted to build a Go-Kart racing track on his new property, he wanted to visit the Speed Zone, as they offered four different types of racing vehicles and other amusement venues that he could see in operation. He figured he could observe how the park's operations were run, ask a few pointed questions and maybe get in a few rides while they were there. They arrived in no time and the two thoroughly enjoyed both the Slick Trax and the Turbo Track racing venues as they raced each other, twice, on each circuit. Inside was the gaming area called Electric Alley, and they found it to be the ideal setup of arcade games for all ages. After seeing how clean and safely the entire Speed Zone was run, Mr. Ken knew he had found the model he wanted to use.
Their second stop for the day was to be Belmont Park. Sure, it was a two hour plus ride down to San Diego, but the trip was worth it. Just taking a ride on the Giant Dipper Roller Coaster was worth the trip in itself. Originally built in 1925, it had recently been restored for all to experience the excitement of its quick drops, steep hills, sharp curves and high speeds. This, Ken planned, was going to be their first ride. He loved roller coasters of every kind and, in his short 23 years, had already ridden over 135 wooden and steel coasters. This would be number 136.
As they stood in line to buy their tickets, a couple of boys near Collin's age were standing in line with them. One boy, in particular, kept looking at Collin and then would quickly look away when Collin looked back in his direction. Collin felt the same thing back at Speed Zone, but they were moving around so much he didn't say anything. This time he whispered to Mr. Ken that there was one boy who kept looking over at him and that he felt that people were looking at them back at the other park. There wasn't much Ken could do but just keep an eye out for any trouble.
When it was their turn to buy tickets, Ken figured he'd buy them each the Bonus Pak Ticket Book so they could ride on a number of amusements without having to stop and buy tickets each time. Their first ride was going to be the Giant, but as they got in line for it, unfortunately, so did the other lads, as well. They weren't in line all that long when the boy, who had been looking at Collin, asked, "Are you the boy who was kidnapped? You sure look like him if you aren't."
"What do you mean he looks like the boy who was kidnapped," asked a now worried Mr. Ken.
"Well, yesterday and today, even, there were reports on the news about this boy who was kidnapped for ransom but they tried to kill him anyways. And, he looks exactly like that kid. His voice even sounds like him."
"The kid sounds like me?" a perplexed Collin asked.
"Yea, exactly like that," another boy now said.
Mr. Ken, wanting to get to the bottom of what they were saying asked, "What did they say? I mean can you tell us the whole story. We've been away and we haven't listened to the news or even read the papers. I guess we should have."
"Well," the first boy began, "they said that this boy, Collin, I think was his name, had been kidnapped after they killed his parents and then they showed a video tape of him running towards this cop, about someone still in the house. They then said that the kidnappers couldn't get any ransom since they had killed his parents and so they tried to kill him, too. They said he got away somehow and was saved by the guy who owned the house."
"Yeah," spoke up boy number two, "and they said there was some sort of shoot out at the house when those guys tried to kill him again. They said the guy who owned the house took a bullet and that was the second time the kid was saved. That kid was very lucky to have that guy on his side!"
"I'll say," spoke boy number three.
"Mr. Ken, how did all that happen? I mean, how did they get all that information and it get out here?" a now frightened teenager asked his guardian.
"I'm not sure 'little bro' I guess after the party, people talked to the news as we figured they might, and since we were traveling and were so busy yesterday, we never knew what was on the news," replied Ken.
"Say, you are that boy, aren't you? Just listening to the way you two were talking, just now, sounds like you are. So, are you? Come on … you can tell us! We won't call for the press or anything."
"Come on, trust us," added the fourth teen.
"Yeah, we were all talking about how we would have acted if that were us. They showed the lake you swam. Geez, that had to be at least a mile!" one of the lads added to the conversation.
"Guys, we're up next to ride. Could we ah … sort of talk about this after we all get off this thing?" asked Ken.
The group of now six all got on the Giant for the same run. Ken talked Collin into riding the front seat, but since the teenager had never ridden a coaster before, he wasn't so sure that the front seat was where he wanted to be. Ken assured him it was the smoothest seat on the entire ride, but failed to tell him it also could be the scariest for the novice rider. It was too late now to abort the ride after they began their travel up the lift hill.
As they rode over the top and Collin looked down and saw what he perceived being 'straight down', he began to scream. He grabbed Mr. Ken and screamed all the way down the first hill then up and down the second hill, as well. As he traveled up and down the third hill, the teen was beginning to enjoy the ride and at the end he was laughing and talking about how he loved it. He asked to go again and so they got back in line. The other lads, wanting to hear Collin's story, joined them in line and the boys told them what they had all heard on the news.
After the six rode the roller coaster the second time, Collin asked if they could find a quieter place where he could answer the boys' questions. The six found a good place to sit down. Ken then bought them all soft drinks and the boys introduced themselves as Brent, Clint, Doug and Aidan. Collin then proceeded to answer most of the questions the boys asked. Their new friends were totally interested in how Collin handled being kept by those guys. He never told them anything about the sex, but he did tell them about being moved around a lot and also being blindfolded most of the time.
After Collin explained how he got away, and then how Mr. Ken found him and nursed him back to life, that then only opened up their questions for Mr. Ken which he reluctantly answered. He didn't want to be the center of attention, especially when it came to him being shot.
The small group talked for about 30 minutes and then they each exchanged email addresses and before long the six parted company. Ken and Collin still had some tickets left so they rode a few other rides before calling the chauffeur to come get them. Before leaving, they saw their new friends at a distance and Collin ran over to them and gave them the rest of their tickets for them to use. They all hugged him and shook his hand one last time before Collin raced back to his Big Bro.
It was late evening when the travelers arrived back at their Los Angles hotel. On the way back, the two sat on opposite sides on the same plush back seat but before long Collin worked himself over to his Bro and leaned on him to relish his strength and comfort. They talked about the day and their chance meeting up with the boys to learn what they sort of missed since they left. Now they understood why the people were looking at them in the ice cream parlor and at breakfast. When they arrived back at their hotel, they decided to have dinner up in their room to avoid any more staring and questions. Before going to bed, they also made plans with the pilots to leave first thing in the morning.