Survivors

 

Douglas ran out of the barn and followed Ethan into the field.  Scooter had heard Logan’s cry for help and saw Douglas and Ethan running out of the barn. He followed them, but his pace was slowed by his wound. The field turned to mud as they approached the pond that held the farm's irrigation water.  Douglas could see the figure of a boy standing deep in the mud.  He slogged through the mud, but Scooter stopped at the edge, worried about his wound.  Douglas, followed by Ethan, sank ankle deep into the mire, and it became extremely difficult to move through it.

 

Douglas and Ethan were close enough to the boy stuck in the mud to see that it was Logan.  His body and face were covered with mud and they could hear him sobbing.

 

"Are you hurt?" Douglas yelled.

 

Logan was unable to get any words out as he continued to sob.

 

"Can you move?"

 

"I’m stuck."

 

Douglas and Ethan slogged up to Logan who grabbed a hand of each boy. They began pulling Logan out of the mud, which was difficult because they didn’t have solid footing themselves.  Logan’s body made a popping sound as they finally freed the boy, dragging him to more solid ground. The three boys sloshed through the mud and back to dry land.  They were covered with mud from their toes to their hair.

 

They took a trail that followed dry land to a pond. They waded in and started to clean themselves off.  While they were ridding themselves of their mud covering, Douglas asked Logan what had happened.

 

"I don't know.  I just got scared and started running and I didn't want to stop and Ethan ran after me and I ended up falling in the mud and got stuck and I couldn’t get out and Ethan ran for help and I was...was…” Logan stopped his non-stop narration as he fought for breath and fought tears.

 

Logan shook himself and seemed to get his control back.  Douglas helped wash the mud out of his hair.

 

"You're going to need a shower and a shampoo when we get back," Douglas said matter-of-factly, trying to keep Logan’s mind away from whatever it was that frightened him.

 

The boys finally left the pond and returned to the barn. The farmer heard them returning and confronted them. He chewed them out for leaving the barn, but only Scooter could understand him. He quickly translated and Douglas, using Scooter as his translator, told the farmer what had happened to Logan.  The farmer looked at Logan, gave him a sincere smile followed by a big hug, then reminded the boys to be careful.  Nobody knew where the Shkah were hiding and the boys needed to stay indoors and out of sight.

 

After the farmer returned to his house, Douglas and Scooter tried to calm Logan down. Logan finally let his tears flow.  Douglas took Logan's hand, and he and Scooter led him to the small office area of the barn.

 

"I think we need to talk, little dude." Douglas told him.

 

"I want my brother," Logan cried.

 

"I'm right here," Ethan said.

 

"No, I mean my big brother."

 

Everybody gave Logan a confused look as he sat on a chair, sniffling.

 

Suddenly, Scooter grinned. “I know who he means,” Scooter told Douglas.  He walked out of the room and returned a few minutes later with Ryan.  "Is this who you want?" Scooter asked.

 

Logan smiled and nodded his head.

 

"You've been having nightmares haven’t you?” Douglas asked Logan.  “We've heard you scream more than once a night since we rescued you.”

 

Logan rose from the chair, walked over to Ryan, and wrapped his arms around him.

 

"It's okay, little bro,” Ryan said soothingly. “It's all over now.  We're all here for you and we love you."

 

"I tried to help him," Ethan said.  "But he won't let me."

 

Logan shook off some sobs.  "He doesn't know.  He wasn't there."

 

"Logan," Ryan said.  "Didn't you tell me when we were all tied up by the Shkah about how you and Ethan feel so many things together?  About how being twins made you connected?"

 

"Yeah.  But...but you were there...and I...I…please hold me."

 

Ryan set the small boy on his lap and held him, lightly stroking the boy’s back.  He felt himself getting hard because of the ass that was sitting on his cock. He knew his feelings for Logan weren’t sexual and he tried unsuccessfully to ignore the sensations Logan’s presence were generating.

 

"Maybe if you let Ethan hug you and if you told him what being captured was like, he would understand.  He was almost there with us you know—the Shkah tried to kidnap both of you.  It wasn't his fault he got away and wasn’t there.  Let your real brother hug you…let him help you.  You and me and Ethan, we were all scared.  We all will help you, but you have to stop hiding your feelings from Ethan."

 

Douglas and Scooter were amazed.  That was the longest speech they had ever heard Ryan give.  They knew Ryan was right; Logan needed to quit holding that night of captivity inside of himself.  They were all prepared to help him when he was ready to let them. But most importantly, Logan had to reconnect with his twin brother.

 

Douglas looked at the thin red mark on his throat where Robert Charles had cut him. He had been so close to death and so close to getting raped. The young boy had been terrorized and it would take a long time for him to recover.

 

Logan looked at Ryan.  "I love you, big bro."

 

"I love you, too, little bro."

 

"You've got a woody.  I can feel it," Logan giggled.

 

Ryan blushed twenty shades of red which got Douglas and Scooter to start giggling as well.

 

"Ryan, can you do to me what you guys do to each other?" Logan asked.

 

"What's that, little bro?"

 

"You know, what you do at night."

 

Ryan's face turned deeper shades of red, if that were possible.

 

"I can't do that, little brother. I'm sorry."

 

The tears started up again.  "I thought you loved me," he whispered.

 

"What?" Ryan asked.

 

"N…n…nothing."

 

Douglas was able to make out what Logan had said. “Logan said he thought you loved him. He saw the bad side of sex on the hill.  Maybe he needs to see the good side of it. I think Logan needs to be shown how much we do love him and his big brother is the one to do it." He grinned at Logan’s twin. “Maybe Ethan needs to be shown something, too.”

 

"I don't know. I mean, I really don’t know," Ryan stuttered. Even though having Logan sitting on his lap had given him an erection, he didn’t think that meant he wanted sex with the preteen boy who had become his little brother. After all, a lot of things that weren’t necessarily sexual gave him erections.

 

Douglas whispered something to Scooter and Scooter left the room.  The remaining boys waited in silence until Scooter came back with Travis a couple of minutes later.

 

"You wanted me?" Travis asked Douglas

 

Douglas nodded. "I think your boyfriend needs some help on how to show somebody his love; someone who needs to see it really badly."  He looked at Logan who smiled shyly.  "There are some blankets in that closet.  See you guys later."

 

Douglas and Scooter walked out, leaving Logan, Ethan, Ryan, and Travis in the office.  Logan was still on Ryan's lap and Ryan was still rock hard.  Ryan set the young boy down on the floor and suggested that the boys remove what little clothing they had on. Once naked, both of the twins had hairless, almost three-inch erections poking out in front of them.

 

Ryan and Travis told the twins to relax and enjoy the experience—that no matter what happened they didn't have to do anything in return.  Ryan took Logan into his mouth and Travis did the same with Ethan.  It didn't take long for the two young twins to have the greatest feelings of their young lives as they shuddered with simultaneous orgasms.  Other than to eat, the four of them didn't leave the little room that night.  Ryan finished the evening by rubbing his cock off on Logan’s smooth torso, leaving a few puddles of a mixture of clear and white boy juice.  Logan wasn’t sure he liked having Ryan's sticky cum on him, but he fell asleep before he could do anything about it, and, with Ryan cuddling him, slept without a nightmare.

 

 

While Travis and Ryan were teaching Logan and Ethan what it was they did at night, the rest of the boys were in the loft.  Brandon approached Douglas and Scooter.

 

"Can I talk to you guys?"

 

"Of course you can…any time," Scooter said.

 

Brandon blushed a little.  "Douglas, you know that me and Scooter were good friends in Florida before I moved to Mars."

 

"I do and I can't think of a better pair of friends," Douglas said.

 

"Well, I have Stevie as my special friend and all, but, well, I kind of wondered if I could do something with the two of you…like all three of us together."

 

"What does Stevie think of that?"

 

"He wants to do it with his brother and Mike tonight, so he’s cool with it."

 

"Then it's cool with us," Douglas said.  "Right Scooter?"

 

Scooter flashed a huge grin.

 

“Just be careful around my wound,” Scooter warned. “We probably shouldn’t do anything that would have anybody touching it.”

 

“That shouldn’t be too tough,” Brandon said.

 

The three boys were soon on a blanket in a corner of the loft, linked together in a daisy chain.  Brandon was gently sucking on the hard cock of his old friend while Scooter was taking care of Douglas. Douglas was blowing Brandon for the first time to complete the chain.  That was just the first round—round two had Brandon doing Douglas while Douglas did Scooter and Scooter completed the chain with Brandon.

 

 The results were satisfying to all three boys, but Brandon got a particularly warm sensation from the experience. While he knew that he and Scooter were going their own ways, he also understood that the two of them still had special feelings for each other.

 

“Thanks guys,” Brandon said after he planted kisses on both Douglas’s and Scooter’s lips, “that was perfect.”

 

For Stevie it was wonderful to be with his brother and to see what his brother's lover was like.  He wasn't disappointed.  His smooth, thirteen-year-old bubble butt accepted Mike and Alex back to back.  Both times he covered his belly with his thin boy juice as the two older teens made love to him.

 

Stevie and Brandon slept together, both satisfied that they’d gotten something out of their system.

 

 

 The Shkah had raided two farms that day.  They burned the houses, barns, and outbuildings. One farmer was killed trying to protect his home.  Robert Charles was the one who shot him, hitting him in the chest with a laser shot, his gun set to kill.  Raiding the farms was the greatest thrill Robert Charles had ever had in his life. He loved having the power over life and death.

 

Jordan got a thrill from the raid as well.  He and Orzano rode with the raiders, even though they were both only twelve.  They helped set fires, but were not given any weapons.

 

Jordan was surprised to find out that he was becoming fond of Orzano.  He didn't think he could like the aliens, but Orzano had helped make him feel welcome in the group and had asked him to be his partner in the raiding party.  Jordan had spent all his life on space ships and had never ridden a horse, so he rode buddied up with Orzano on his unicorn. As far as he was concerned, nobody in the “Moonduster” group had been this friendly to him.

 

When evening arrived, the Shkah searched for a place in the forest to make camp. Guards were set out and plans were made for the next day.  This time the plan was to raid an entire village.  Some other Shkah who had ridden down the north trails were going to meet them for this raid.  They were ready to show once and for all that they were serious.

 

Because he had nowhere else to sleep, Jordan crawled into Robert Charles's sleeping bag. The other Shkah said they would get him some bedding when they could, but for now he would share with Robert Charles.  He really wanted to sleep with Orzano, but Robert Charles was adamant about Jordan sleeping with him.

 

As Jordan lay next to his teen friend, Robert Charles slid his hand onto Jordan's cock, giving him an instant erection.  Neither boy said a word as Jordan grabbed Robert Charles's hard teen cock and the two boys proceeded to masturbate each other.  Last night they had just slept, but this time Robert Charles upped the ante.

Each boy stroked the other’s cock with a passion, as Jordan, especially, responded with feelings he had not had for weeks from another boy’s hand on his erection. Soon, both boys were in the throes of their impending orgasms and furiously stroked as their bodies humped in the sleeping bag. Suddenly, both shot their loads, covering each in their own body juices and making a mess of the sleeping bag. Seconds passed as they calmed down and caught their breath.

 

“Shit! What a mess!” Robert Charles complained.

 

Jordan didn’t care. Messy or not, tonight, somebody is being nice to me, he thought.  Jordan was happy he had run away.  He was even happier to be with people, even if some were alien people, who actually liked him.

 

The next morning Douglas was up with the sun.  He could hear the farmer and his helpers down in the main barn getting ready for the day.  He untangled himself from Scooter.            Stevie and Brandon were cuddled together.  He knew Ryan, Travis, Logan, and Ethan were still downstairs in the farm’s office.  Warren and Jeremy were nice and cozy with each other as were Mike and Alex.  What a great group of friends to love, Douglas thought.  If he was going to get stranded on an alien planet for the rest of his life, he couldn't think of a better group to be stuck with.

 

Which brought him to the question that had been bugging all of them—would they ever find a way to make it back home, or would Inferno become home for the rest of their lives?  A couple of months had elapsed since Robert Charles panicked and pushed the button that launched the “Moonduster” from the cocoon of the "Starkeeper." So much had happened since it seemed like they’d been away from the “Starkeeper” for years.  Douglas wondered what had happened to the "Starkeeper".  If they could make it home would they even find their families alive?  Maybe they were better off staying here and becoming parts of new families. The Hakaanen were friendly, wonderful people.

 

But for that to happen, they needed to take care of the Shkah threat, or this beautiful peaceful green valley would be no more.  They certainly weren't helping matters by loafing up here in this barn, Douglas thought.  He needed to talk to Bandar's father.  It was time to make plans.  It was time for them to step up and help their Hakaanen friends.  The Governor was blaming them for the Shkah attacks. It was time to show him what Earth boys were made of. Douglas knew his group would have to take the lead in stopping Robert Charles and the Shkah. 

 

 

Early that morning there was a series of loud explosions which could be heard for miles.  Soon a cloud of smoke could be seen coming from the northeast portion of the valley.  The small village of Rantano had been attacked with many of its shops and businesses being destroyed.  The Shkah raiders rode through the village firing arrows at anybody trying to fight the fires caused by the bombs. Even though the Shkah did not make a serious attempt to actually shoot anybody, the arrows quickly acted to keep the populace of the village in hiding. Many of the villagers noticed that two of the raiders were round ears.

 

Robert Charles had been chastised for his blatant killing of a Hakaanen. “We are about humbling the weak Hakaanen and taking them over, not killing them,” Arkron told him sternly.

 

The reprimand confused Robert Charles, since just a couple of days before he had been expected to kill Ryan and Logan. He wondered about the inconsistency of the Shkah leader, not realizing that Arkron was actually being quite consistent. 

 

Three more farms and another village were attacked and burned before nightfall. Nobody was killed or badly hurt, but Robert Charles enjoyed knocking Hakaanen men on their asses with his laser gun. The gun was now set to high stun, which meant it still packed some serious kick, but couldn’t kill anyone unless it was a side-effect of being hit by a laser beam. The rest of the Shkah men, along with Vordkan and Jordan, could see how much Robert Charles loved being in the middle of the raids.  By nightfall the inhabitants of the Big Valley were trembling with fear.

 

That evening, just after supper, a wagon pulled up to the farm, carrying Dr. Lokor.  The doctor climbed out of the wagon and walked to the farmhouse. The farmer opened the door as the doctor approached and pointed to the barn.  The doctor went to the barn and climbed the ladder up to the loft where the Earth boys, along with Enghar, Bandar, and Prekan were waiting for him. Scooter translated as they started talking about the events of the day.

 

"The Shkah did a lot of damage today,” the doctor told them. “Not only the group that attacked the Building of Life, but two other groups came down from the north and attacked four farms and raided a couple of villages, setting many fires.  Fortunately no one was killed.” He took a deep breath and went on. “We have no way to protect ourselves.  They say it will stop when we turn you over to them.”

 

"Are you going to do that?" Douglas asked a little defiantly.

 

"Never.  And neither will Mayor Andorn or any of the other Hakaanen who are helping you.  We know that you have helped us more than once.  Without you going back to the Building of Life they would have blown up the machinery and we would have been at their mercy.

 

"When we brought you to this farm, the Hakaanen who knew you were here gave the governor's men some misinformation.  If they saw you turning left, they told them you turned right.  It will be a while before you are found, but it will happen. It may be called the Big Valley, but in reality it is quite small.

 

“Mayor Andorn will be here soon,” the doctor continued.  “He's been hiding out as well since he is now wanted for treason.  I rode here in a carriage instead of my own car to keep from being recognized."  He beckoned his son Enghar to his side and gave him a big, fatherly hug.  He then hugged Matthew.  Douglas and Scooter could see that the doctor was very fond of Matthew.

 

"So if you're not going to turn us over, what do you plan to do?” Douglas asked. “You guys don't seem to be able to stop the Shkah.”

 

"I don't know what we're going to do.  That's why I am here. We need a plan and we need one fast. The governor is going to find you fairly soon no matter what we do."

 

"By we, do you mean you and the mayor?" Douglas asked.  "Or are we included?"

 

"I mean the mayor, me, and all of you.  Especially you, Dooglass.  Since you are the leader of your group and seem very capable of taking charge." Unlike many Earth adults, Hakaanen adults did not look down on teenagers.

 

Douglas saw how much his own thinking had changed.  He remembered when he was made the leader of the "Starkeeper" boys, he wished to his core that he could turn everything over to an adult and quit being responsible for everything.  Now that there were adults available to run the show, he wasn't about to turn anything over to them.  This was his team, these were his friends, and they were his responsibility. Until there were no more threats to his friends, anything anybody wanted to do to them or with them had to go through him.  The boys of the “Starkeeper” had given him the responsibility to keep them safe, and that was what he was going to do no matter what the consequence.

 

They heard another carriage arriving.  Mayor Andorn got out, entered the barn, and climbed the ladder into the loft.  Bandar ran over and hugged his father.

 

"Things look bad," the mayor said.  "Three groups raided parts of the valley today.  The governor is afraid to go after them because he is afraid that they will attack Orkyl, the capital, and go after the Building of Life again. He believes this time they might succeed.  He is putting all his efforts into finding you Earth boys.  Right now there seems to be no stopping the Shkah—they are attacking us with impunity, helped by two of your friends."

 

“Don’t call those bastards our friends,” Mike grumbled.

 

Douglas started taking charge.  Successfully leading the group through the desert and into the valley had made him confident in his leadership abilities.  He had no doubt that he was up to the tough job.

 

The previous evening his team had formulated the makings of a plan. It was now time to tell the Hakaanen men the plan he and his friends had formulated. While all of the boys, including the twins, had participated in the meeting, it was he, Scooter, Mike, Travis, Stevie, and Alex, who had laid out the final plan.  They then had talked over the plans with the rest of the group for final approval. It was time to tell the Hakaanen men what they had come up with.

 

"Well, we have some ideas.” That’s a bit of an understatement, Douglas thought.

 

"Oh?" Mayor Andorn asked.  He was trying hard to hide his excitement.  The Hakaanen had no experience fighting and had no plans of any kind. Instead, they were confused and frightened. Even if they had any plans, nothing would have come of them—the governor did not want to take any action against the Shkah.  He was afraid of making them even angrier and was willing to buy peace at any price.

 

"First, we need to know something. Do you guys blame us for what's going on, like the governor does?" Douglas asked.

 

"No, not at all," the mayor answered.  "These problems really started years ago. The raids aren't new, but the burnings and bombings and killings are. Those are being blamed on you and on the two round-eared boys with the Shkah. What can you tell us about those two?  Some of my fellow Hakaanen, who are being influenced by the governor and his followers, think you all are working together."

 

"The older kid is Robert Charles.  He was our leader, although looking back, none of us can figure out why.  He was bossy and pushy, but somehow he seemed to have the power to convince us to let him lead our group.  Somehow we ended up giving power to him.  But he took advantage of it and before we left the 'Moonduster' I was elected leader. RC, which is what we call him, loves power—it is what he lives for.”

 

Douglas went on to tell about Robert Charles and Matthew's water and how he was exiled from the group.  The Mayor was about to say something when a moan came from Matthew.  Everybody looked over at him.

 

"Mattoo?" Enghar asked, and he hugged his lover.

 

"I remember...it like came to me...just now…when you talked about R..R..RC."

 

"What?" Scooter asked.  "What did you remember?"

 

"The tent," Matthew whispered.  "I was hurting.  Maybe...I don't know. Somebody was shaking the tent, knocking down poles...I remember....but maybe it was the wind...."  The memory of being buried in the tent came back to Matthew for the first time in days.  Enghar held Matthew tightly. Matthew closed his eyes and leaned against his friend and lover and started feeling much better.

 

"I'd be willing to bet that it wasn't the wind Matthew felt.  It was RC trying to get rid of Matthew because he was slowing us down. Plus, he wanted Matthew’s water.  He had complained more than once about Matthew and said we should abandon him in the desert," Alex said. Alex's anger was rising again.  Shooting Robert Charles in the balls had been much too good for him.

 

"So you exiled him?" the doctor asked.  "An interesting punishment."

 

"It was that or kill him right then," Douglas answered, “and I couldn't do that.  But there was no way he could stay with our group.  He stole our water, which was like stealing our life.  I don't know what I would've done if I had known about him knocking down Matthew’s tent during the storm.  I really don't know."

 

Then he told the doctor and the mayor about Jordan, whom the Hakaanen had already met of course. Jordan always seemed to be joined at the hip with Robert Charles, but he also showed he had a caring side when he watched over Matthew after the crash landing of the “Moonduster”.

 

The room was silent for quite some time.  Then the Mayor looked straight at Douglas. "What do you boys think we should do?"

 

"So glad you asked,” Douglas answered confidently, “because we do have a plan.”

 

Next: In the Valley of the Shkah