Survivors

CHAPTER 35

 

 

 

Alex saw the two Shkah men reach into their saddle bags. One pulled out a quiver of arrows and a bow.  The boys turned and headed back into the woods, ducking into some high grass. The Shkah started into the section of the woods the boys had come out of. The boys lay very still in the deep grass while the Shkah without the bow pulled out a long knife and started swiping at the grass.  They weren't sure if the boys had gone into the woods or into the grass. If it had been Hakaanen boys they would have ridden off, but they were certain that there were some round-eared boys in the group. That could only mean they were being followed and that the followers would have to be eliminated.

 

One of the Shkah was getting close to the spot where Jeremy was hiding. Alex had taken a place about ten feet behind Jeremy, with Mike next to him. They each pulled a fully charged laser gun from their back packs—the setting was heavy stun. Neither boy was ready in his heart to kill, but they would do anything else necessary to get away. On Earth, both boys had played laser tag, but with guns much different from the pistols in their hands. Those guns couldn't hurt or kill.

 

The Shkah with the knife was almost on top of Jeremy. Alex aimed his pistol, knowing that this wasn't laser tag—this was real. He fired the laser pistol and a bright red beam of light shot out of it, hitting the Shkah in the ribs.  He fell hard to the ground. Even though the gun was on stun, he could feel a shooting pain in his chest.

 

The other Shkah saw Alex, but Mike fired his pistol at the Shkah as he raised his bow. Mike didn't have the experience that Alex had, but he was steady. His first shot missed. He quickly fired off a second which hit the Shkah in the chest knocking him off of his unicorn.

 

The two boys grabbed their backpacks and moved out from behind their protection. Jeremy and Bandar rose right behind them. They didn’t know how long the two Shkah would remain stunned and didn't stop to check on the fallen men.  All they knew was the two Shkah were unconscious and they were getting away while they could.

 

They ran for the unicorns. They could see a trail leading up into the hills and surmised that the Shkah men had come down that trail. It followed that maybe Ryan and Logan had been taken up the trail. Their first idea was to take the unicorns, but they knew that four of them wouldn't fit too well on two unicorns, even if they did know how to ride them. They decided to chase the unicorns off by stinging them with the lowest stun setting on the laser guns. Each unicorn got a quick zap on the butt, about what a whip would feel like in a race, and took off toward the west. If they were going to be followed up into the hills by the Shkah men they were now all on equal footing. Donning their packs they  started climbing up the trail, hoping that Ryan and Logan were in the hills somewhere.

 

 

Robert Charles observed the two surprised boys in front of him and laughed. "You thought you were rid of me, didn't you? Well, here I am. And just what are you two doing up here in the middle of nowhere?"

 

"We were just out for a walk," Ryan said with an air of nonchalant bravado that he didn’t really feel.  He tried to keep his voice steady, but could feel it on the edge of cracking. He wondered if Robert Charles was behind their kidnapping. He noticed the Earth boy’s blue green hair and he knew that somehow he had gotten involved with the Hakaanen men who had kidnapped them.

 

Vordkan was wondering what the two round-eared boys were doing on an empty plateau in the middle of nowhere. He suspected they could be the kidnapped boys. If they were the kidnapped boys, they must have escaped from the kidnapping team.

 

Ryan was trying to think of some kind of story to tell Robert Charles as to why he and Logan were on the plateau. Maybe he would let them go if he could come up with a better reason than being out for a walk.

 

"So you brought your little crash friend with you, I see,” Robert Charles leered at Logan, making the young boy nervous.  

 

Logan knew who Robert Charles was, and he remembered he didn't like him much on the “Starkeeper”. He seemed like a big, loud bully and  was the big reason he and Ethan quit going to the games room.

 

Robert Charles kept on talking. "Coming up here is a long way to go for a walk. How about you losers giving me the real story.  Did you guys decide to leave Douglas and those other faggots?" He looked at Logan.  "Did Douglas try sticking it up your little round ass?"

 

They heard the approaching men before they saw them. Two Shkah men on unicorns pulled up next to the gathering on the mesa. Ryan's heart sank when he saw they were two of the kidnappers.

 

 

Douglas and Scooter were sitting side by side on Scooter's hospital bed. Scooter was looking better almost hourly. His cheeks had color and he had an insatiable appetite.

 

When the nurse came in to look at him, Scooter asked her for breakfast for both he and Douglas.  She was surprised to hear him talk to her in Hakaanen. She didn't think any of the boys knew how to speak the language, except for the little bit that Mattoo knew. Scooter and Douglas had decided it was time to give out Scooter's secret, because they were going to have to do a lot of communicating with the mayor and the doctor and Bandar wasn't there to help them.

 

While they waited, Scooter told Douglas that Robert Charles was around. He had become very frightened and tried to run away and hide from him.

 

"I think I was delirious," Scooter said. “I even thought he was going to give me blood, or maybe take my blood. It’s all very foggy in my mind even now.”

 

"Well, I don't know if you noticed last night, but the kid who gave you your first blood transfusion was in the room."

 

"Robert Charles was in the room? What's going…”

 

"No, no, Robert Charles didn't give you blood."

 

"Then who did?"

 

"Matthew."

 

"Matthew? Matthew is alive? He's here? How?"

 

"I'm not entirely sure, but I need to find out soon. He saved your life twice. He’s a really special kid."

 

Douglas went on to tell Scooter about Matthew finding him behind the bush in the courtyard and about Matthew giving him blood.

 

"You saved my life in that back yard and I didn't do a thing to help you. I couldn't even find you when I was a few feet away from you. I'm so sorry." Douglas rubbed Scooter's shoulder and side.

 

"You did everything you could. You saved me right along with Matthew. Your love brought my mind back—I felt it. Maybe you didn't find me behind a bush, but you brought me back from a very dark place. I love you."  Scooter placed a big kiss on Douglas's lips.

 

"I hope nobody minds the stains we left on the sheets this morning," Douglas chuckled.

 

"From what I've seen around here, it won’t be anything they haven’t seen before." Scooter laid another kiss on Douglas just as the nurse came in with breakfast.

 

The boys sat up to eat and, while they were eating, the room started to fill with the other Earth boys. Matthew and Enghar came in first, followed by Brandon and Ethan and finally Travis, Stevie, and Jordan.  Stevie pushed Jordan into the room ahead of him.

 

They sat in three chairs and the rest of them sat on the floor. They chatted awhile, excited to see that Scooter was recovering from his wound.  Scooter told Matthew how awesome it was he was alive and thanked the eleven-year-old for doing what he had done to save his life. Scooter also translated for Enghar, who was amazed that the round-eared boy could speak Hakaanen so fluently.

 

Douglas told Matthew what had happened since the sandstorm. He told him the wind had caused the tent to get buried in the sand and how they had tried so hard to find him. But the wind-blown sand had quickly changed the landscape. They had yelled for him and dug through the sand, but they couldn't find him.  They had a limited amount of water, and every minute they delayed was crucial. In the end they had no idea where the tent was.

 

Matthew remembered having heard voices when he was trapped in the dark tent.  They were all fighting tears as Douglas told his story. He told him of how they found Logan and Ethan and about exiling Robert Charles. He told him about the horse-shaped rock and how it led them to the green valley.

 

"You not only saved Scooter, Matthew, you saved all of us.  The green horsey you said you saw brought us here to this valley. Without you we would still be on the ‘Moonduster’ slowly dying, if not already dead. I'm just sorry it ended up costing you so much to see the valley and the rock."

 

Douglas told of the trip down the cliff and of them meeting Bandar and his friends.  He then told of the shooting of Scooter and of Ryan and Logan being kidnapped.

 

"I think they were trying to shoot me, not Scooter,” Douglas speculated. “And I think they wanted Logan and Ethan, but Ryan got in the way. And I truly believe Robert Charles is involved with this somehow."

 

Matthew then told his story. He told how the tent started collapsing in the wind like somebody was knocking down the poles. But the last pole to fall completely collapsed one end of the tent. He said he heard voices, but thought it was all a dream and he couldn't answer. They all guessed that after they left, the wind exposed the part of the tent that was partly standing. Matthew said that if that part hadn't remained partially erect he would have been crushed.

 

Then Matthew told about being found by the Hakaanen man and of his trip to the valley. He told of the doctor fixing his leg and of his living in the doctor’s house. And he told of Enghar, what he had done for him, and how much he loved him. Jordan glared at both Matthew and Enghar when he heard Matthew say that.

 

With Scooter able to translate, the boys learned a great deal about the Hakaanen from Enghar. They learned how they settled on Inferno, why their machinery was falling apart, about their families, and about how sex between boys and sex between girls was commonplace. Finally Enghar told them how much he loved his Mattoo, which made Jordan glare at him again.

 

"I wonder how the trackers are doing," Brandon said.

 

Douglas frowned. "There is no way to find out. I forgot to give them one of the radios. I was so stupid, but with all the stuff going on, I kind of brain farted. "

 

"But they do have a radio." Stevie said.

 

"They do?"

 

"Yeah. I put two in the red back pack. I thought you knew."

 

"No. Then get me mine and let's see if they left any messages. It's in my backpack."

 

Brandon retrieved Douglas’s backpack. Douglas took out his radio and turned it on, but there were no messages.

 

"Did you tell them you put the radio in the red backpack?" Douglas asked.

 

"No, I was like you. Things got confusing and I forgot. I don't even know whose backpack it was."

 

"They should have seen the radio by now. Well, let me see if I can raise them."

 

Douglas tried to raise the tracking crew, but nothing happened. He tried three more times. Still nothing.

 

Enghar started to say something, but there was no translation from Scooter. Douglas looked over at the bed and saw that Scooter was sound asleep—they had worn him out.

 

Douglas crept out of the bed and he and the boys left Scooter to rest. They went up into the third floor lounge where Douglas tried one more time to raise the tracking crew. There was still no reply. Something had to be seriously wrong.

 

 

Alex was leading the way up the hill. Jeremy, Mike, and Bandar followed him in single file. Bandar was wearing his red backpack. He heard a buzzing sound coming from it. Bandar stopped so he could dig into his backpack and see what it was. He didn't find anything he hadn’t expected.

 

Alex and Mike wondered what Bandar was looking for, but the buzzing had stopped before they got close enough to Bandar to hear it. Bandar tried to tell them why he stopped, but he couldn't make himself understood.  Alex and Mike shrugged and smiled and started going again and the rest of the boys followed.

 

They wanted to get as far from the Shkah men as they could, then they would start thinking what direction they would go in. It looked like a long way up the hill, but only Bandar knew how far the mesa was—he’d been up this trail before.

 

 

Ryan and Logan were each placed on a unicorn. The Shkah were arguing about something, but none of the Earth boys could tell what it was about.

 

"We should take them back to the village; they won't be looked for there,” one of the Shkah men said.

 

"They escaped once already. They will be more secure in the village,” another man agreed.

 

"You forget why we kidnapped them," another said.  "It wasn't to keep them prisoner, it was to test Robbachass. To see where his loyalties are for our attack on the Hakaanen."

 

"He's right," said one of the Shkah who did the kidnapping. "We should take them right to the caves and get it over with."

 

The first one agreed that they should go to the caves. And since Robbachass was right there with them, they could take care of his test that night. The Shkah had been thinking about testing him the next night, but everybody needed was present, so they saw no reason to wait.

 

It was agreed that the test would be that night. One of the moons would be full, so the light would be perfect.  Robbachass would show them whom he was loyal to, the round ears or the Shkah. The Shkah hoped he would pass, because they could see that he had some of the attitude needed to help them in the upcoming battle against the Hakaanen. But he had to show he was with them one hundred percent, and now was the time.

 

 

Douglas woke from a dream-filled sleep. It was daylight, but the room was dark because the curtains were drawn. He looked around him and saw that everybody was still asleep. The last couple of days had been very tiring.   He left the room and headed to the elevator. He rode it down to the first floor and headed for Scooter's room.

 

Scooter was awake when Douglas got into his room. Douglas hopped on the bed and kissed Scooter lightly on the lips.

 

“I love you, Douglas."

 

Douglas kissed Scooter deeper and harder. "I love you more," he said as they came up for air.

 

The doctor came in just as they finished. "You're looking better," the doctor told Scooter. "The wound's infection is clearing up. You're going to have a scar where the arrow hit you, but otherwise I think you're going to recover just fine."

 

The room started to fill as the boys came down to join them. Douglas told them the news and they all smiled—all but Jordan that is.

 

 

It was late afternoon when the Shkah men, Vordkan, Robert Charles, Ryan, and Logan got to the caves. The caves had been a place Shkah and Hakaanen often visited, to explore or have fun. The caves were made up of multiple caverns. Not all of them had been explored. Entire families would often come up to look at them. It was one place where Hakaanen and Shkah would be in the same place and get along.  Maybe the reason was because the mutual explorations often involved families.

 

The Shkah men got out food and drink. They fed themselves as well as Ryan and Logan. The kidnappers decided the two boys might as well have a last meal. Ryan and Logan ate quickly.; it was their first meal since dinner the day before. They didn't know if it might be their last.

 

 

The trackers reached the plateau as the sun started setting. They started unpacking food and water.  Bandar was digging into his pack when he heard the buzzing again. Jeremy heard it as well.

 

"That sounds like one of our radios,” Jeremy said. “Let me see." He looked inside of Bandar's pack, but didn't see anything. Then he noticed a pocket on the inside. He unzipped it and saw two radios. He pushed the receive button.

 

"..glas calling trackers...This is Douglas calling trackers…”

 

Jeremy pushed the send button. "This is Jeremy. Hello, Douglas." He heard a big cheer at the other end. "Sounds like we were missed."

 

"Jeremy!” Douglas yelled. “Where are you guys! Where were you guys! We thought something terrible had happened."

 

"Well, we didn't know we had radios."

 

"You didn't know? Stevie put them right into one of the packs."

 

"Yeah, he put them into Bandar's pack and Bandar never saw them. We just now heard them buzz. We knew what  the buzz was, but Bandar didn't.  Anyway, tell us what's going on."

 

Douglas told him that Scooter was okay, which made them all happy. He told them about finding Matthew, which totally amazed them, especially Mike.

 

"My little brother is alive?" he asked.

 

"Alive and very well," Douglas said.

 

"Can I talk to him?"

 

"Sure."

 

Douglas put Matthew on the radio. "Hey," Matthew said shyly.

 

"Hey, little bro, how's it going? I love you and am so happy you're alive!"

 

"I love you big bro."  Hearing Matthew, who he thought was dead, say express his love was too much for Mike. He had been close to crying, and now he couldn’t hold the tears back.

 

After a long silence, Matthew said, "Are you there?"

 

"You bet I am, I...I…I'm just so happy I have my little bro back. I'll be seeing you soon!"

 

"Bye big bro," Matthew said. He handed the radio to Douglas so he could wipe away his tears.

 

Mike told Douglas about the battle with the Shkah men and that they were at the top of a trail that led into the hills. But now they didn't know where to go next.

 

"I'm glad you didn't kill them," Douglas said. "It proves to everybody that we're better than the Shkah. They were ready to kill you, I'm sure. They sure were trying to kill Scooter and me."

 

"We thought about killing them, but you're right. We have to keep moving, though, or the Shkah will catch up to us. We just don't know where to go, and we can't communicate with Bandar that well to pick his brain.”

 

"Hang on a sec," Douglas said. He talked to Scooter, who talked to Enghar. Enghar then said something to Scooter. Scooter told Douglas to have Bandar get on the radio. Scooter handed his radio to Enghar

 

The boys at both ends listened to Enghar and Bandar talk, but only Scooter had any idea of what they were saying.

 

After Enghar and Bander finished their conversation, Scooter told Douglas what the two Hakaanen boys had discussed. Douglas told Alex to tell the trackers that they should follow Bandar. The boys set out across the plateau. They walked until close to dark when they decided it was time to eat and set up camp.

 

While they were setting up their camp, Jeremy saw something in the sky and pointed it out to the older boys.  Off to the north they saw quick, bright flashes of light and the sky close to the horizon sparkled briefly with all kinds of color.  They had no idea what they had seen, but it was beautiful. Bandar knew what it was, but he didn't know how to explain it so his round-eared friends would understand.

 

The human boys laid out their sleeping bags wondering what it was they had seen. Mike had the first watch.  He looked in the direction where the lights had flashed. At the same time, he watched for the Shkah men they had fought in the field. In the morning they would search for their missing friends.

 

 

Jordan was sitting on his cot, bored and angry. He was tired of being ignored and looked down on by the other boys in the group. He was angry with the way Matthew had greeted him after what he did for him on the "Moonduster".  He conveniently forgot about what he had done to rather than for Matthew on the "Starkeeper." He decided the entire group could go fuck themselves and was about to go to sleep when Douglas entered the lounge.

 

This was going to be the boys’ last night at the hospital.  Douglas had no idea where they would be tomorrow. He just knew that they were all going to be together no matter what happened. They would not be separated this time and with Scooter's help he would make that very clear. But one of the things they needed in order to be strong was to have all of Jordan’s support. He had promised himself he would talk to Jordan, and now was the time.

 

 

 Ankyol was the oldest of the Shkah men. Even though his mane was blue and green, his hair was almost all gray. He motioned to Robert Charles, pointed to the boys, and said, "Gragh," the Hakaanen word for kill. Robert Charles didn't understand what Ankyol had said, so he simply shrugged.

 

Vordkan understood. He hadn’t expected Ankyol to give such a drastic order. He thought Robbachass might be ordered to take the boys to the desert and lose them the way he had been lost. He didn't expect the order to kill his own kind to be given. The Shkah were going to give Robbachass the ultimate test.  And Vordkan knew in his heart that if Robbachass failed this test, then he would be the one to die.

 

Ankyol then pointed to the boys and made a slitting motion across his throat, which Robert Charles did understand. He picked up a laser pistol, pointed it at Ryan, and faked shooting it. The Shkah men all smiled and shook their heads yes. Then Ankyol took the pistol from Robert Charles's hand and set it down on the ground. He took Robert Charles's knife from his belt and put in his hand. Then he made the throat slitting motion again. Robert Charles nodded.

 

Ankyol motioned to Robert Charles and led him to the entrance of the cave. Two other Shkah men dragged the boys behind them and Vordkan followed them all. They were led up a path to a hill over the entrance to the caves. Two poles had been erected there. Ankyol shined his lantern on the poles. He tied Logan to one of the poles and tied Ryan to the other.

 

While this was going on, Robert Charles noticed a very slight colored twinkling glow in the little valley. Every now and then there would be a blue, or red, or green, or yellow light flashing quickly on and off. He wondered what it was and what was happening in the valley. He noticed the Shkah looking at the lights, but they seemed to be indifferent to them.

 

The men started to leave. Only Robert Charles, Vordkan, and the two bound boys remained.  Ankyol stopped and signaled for Vordkan to follow him. He glared at Robert Charles and made the throat slitting motion again.

 

Vordkan walked down the hill thinking, this is wrong. They can't really mean for Robbachass to slit the throats of two boys who hadn't done anything wrong. Maybe the test was that he wasn't supposed to kill them, but just frighten them. When he got to the cave entrance he asked what it was Robbachass was REALLY supposed to do. Ankyol looked at Vordkan with an evil grin and made a slitting motion again. The hairs on Vordkan's blue and green mane stood straight up as a chill ran down his spine.

 

Robert Charles looked straight at the two boys, holding the knife in his hand. Thinking about whacking Douglas, or Mike, or Alex with a sword in some kind of battle or fight was one thing. But these two had never really done anything to him. Well, okay, Ryan probably voted against him and he never stood up for him on the “Starkeeper” or on the “Moonduster”.

 

 Then he looked at little Logan. He had been in the lower school and hadn’t been on the "Moonduster."  Why should I hurt him?  Robert Charles thought.  He never voted or did anything against him. He was just a little kid who was maybe ten or eleven years old.   Robert Charles wanted his first kill to be some kind of a challenge, not two boys tied up, one of them not even a teenager yet.

 

He could see, even in the dark, that they both were scared. His test was simple—kill them. Was he going to be loyal to the Shkah who had saved him and to Vordkan who had become his friend, even if he was a bit queer. Or should he be loyal to two boys he hardly knew and who probably didn't like him? 

 

In the end the real question for Robert Charles was, which decision would give him the most power. Was it untying the boys and running off with them to the Big Valley where he would end up under the leadership of Douglas, the boy he hated so much. Or was the way to power to go to battle with the Shkah. Even without knowing the language of the Shkah, he knew that war was coming. He had watched warriors practice with their weapons, they had gone to get the laser rifles, and he had watched them blow up the "Moonduster".

 

So, again the question went through his mind.....was he going to be loyal to his own kind and help them escape, or was he going to murder two boys, one his age and one almost five years younger so he could try to find power? A voice shook him from his thoughts.

 

"What are you going to do, Robert Charles?" Ryan asked, trying hard yet again to sound brave. “Are you going to show how courageous you are by slicing the throats of two helpless boys who are tied up in front of you?  Is that how you show your bravery and leadership?" Ryan was trying to sound tough. He was trying to challenge Robert Charles. But it was all he could do to fight off tears.

 

Logan wasn't even fighting his tears—they were pouring down his face. "I don't want to die...please...." he sobbed.

 

Robert Charles looked at the two of them: Ryan, with his bravado and Logan, a frightened little boy. He had often dreamed of killing his enemies in a fight, of showing Douglas, Alex, and Mike who was the bravest and the toughest and the most powerful of them all. But killing these two boys would be cold blooded murder. Was getting power worth murdering two helpless boys? Did he really want to have green and blue hair and be loyal to a group of aliens who were so different he couldn't understand their language or understand half of their customs?

 

He felt his long green and blue hair. He thought of Vordkan dyeing it, of Vordkan in bed with him doing sexual things with him.  It was so good doing it with Vordkan. Robert Charles knew that his Shkah friend wanted to go all the way, and although he wouldn’t admit it at the moment, he wanted the same thing.

 

The Shkah would take him into the battle he wanted and make a man out of him, not that he really wasn't one already. He was the true leader of the "Starkeeper" boys, and he was going to prove it by beating them in battle. In order to do that he would have to pass his test.

 

"Guys, I'm sorry I have to do this. It's nothing personal." Maybe if he thought of it that way it wouldn't be so bad—it was just a test for him to prove his loyalty. It had nothing to do with liking or not liking the two boys.  Logan was shaking he was crying so hard. He didn't even have tears left.  Ryan felt his tears flowing down his face as he thought even Robert Charles couldn't be so low as to walk up to them and cut their throats while they were tied up.

 

Robert Charles decided the kindest thing he could do would be to take care of Logan first and not make him suffer by watching Ryan die. He thought of the Shkah down below in the caves and wondered why they weren't up here to watch? Were they too cowardly to watch the two boys die? he wondered.

 

He knew Vordkan wanted to stay but had been ordered to leave. That meant a lot to him. But the Shkah men, it was like they were willing to have him use the knife as long as they weren't around to see the bloodshed.  Oh well, nobody said he had to like the Shkah—all he had to do was use them to regain his lost power over Douglas and his misguided followers.

 

He walked up behind Logan, the boy’s little naked body shaking with cold and fear. He put the knife blade up against Logan’s smooth throat. He remembered doing this same thing on the "Moonduster," putting a knife to a throat and getting a drop of blood out of it. As he continued to stand behind Logan, Robert Charles was surprised that he was getting hard and sexually excited. He put the knife down for a moment and took a deep breath.  This was it—this was what having power was about.  And now that it was so close, it was exciting him.  Suddenly he wanted to do it. It really was power! Power of the biggest kind, the power of life and death.

 

"I'm really, really, sorry, Logan, but I figure you'll be ending up in a nicer place than this fucking planet." He put the knife back up to Logan's throat and the little boy screamed at the top of his voice.

 

 Next:  Chapter 36  Sabotage

 

Email is always welcomed.  E-mail me, Douglas DD,  at TheHakaanen@Hotmail.com