Survivors

 

 

Mike wiped Douglas's face the best he could and Douglas returned the favor. Mike hugged Douglas and whispered in his ear, "We need you more than ever now, buddy. Be strong."

 

They were a mess but then so was everybody else. They walked over a small dune to the sleds and the other boys. Douglas stood in front of them to tell them what was going to happen next. He could hear Scooter in his head. ‘Be strong, Douglas. Be strong.’

 

"We've all looked. We can't find the tent or Matthew. Somehow in the confusion of the storm, we lost him." He took a deep breath. “We have to keep going."

 

"Looks like some people weren't doing their job," Jordan said, looking straight at Scooter. It looked like the old Jordan was returning. But then he had become pretty attached to Matthew, Scooter thought. It didn't surprise him when tears started dripping down Jordan's cheeks. Scooter had tears dripping down his own cheeks as well.

 

"Jordan, a lot of people can blame themselves or somebody else for what happened. Everybody thought somebody else was taking care of Matthew. We all know how terrible it was last night with the storm and everything. But there is only one person to blame and that's me. It's up to me to make sure everybody was taken care of, so don't blame anybody else," Douglas said.

 

Robert Charles stood there with his arms folded and a small smile on his face. He was the only one not fighting tears. He was hoping Douglas would make the offer to change leaders knowing how weak he was inside. Robert Charles would make that his opportunity for a power push. But all Douglas said was, "Let's load the sleds and go."

 

Douglas had thought about offering to resign, but at the last minute he changed his mind. He could see that everybody was hurting and that going through all of the leadership bullshit again was not what they needed right then. He thought of what Scooter and Mike had told him: “Be strong”. Right now the group needed him to be strong. They were all very lost and hurting, and if he called for a new leader and showed he was weak they would all turn to somebody who was strong even if they hated his guts.  

 

He looked at Robert Charles with his arms folded and a smirk on his face. I won't let that happen, Douglas thought. It was almost like the presence of Robert Charles made him stronger.

 

Douglas called for a meeting. "I want to try to make it to the mountains by dark. Scooter will give out a water bottle for each empty bottle from yesterday up to three. The bottles we marked specially for Matthew will be kept as spares in case of an emergency. It won't change how many bottles anybody gets. That's it I guess. Let's get on the road in the next fifteen minutes." Matthew had had special bottles set aside for him with spouts he could suck on. Plus he was allotted an extra bottle if he needed it. All four of his bottles from the day before had been emptied.

 

The sleds were started up and humming. Douglas was driving one, with Scooter sitting next to him, and Jeremy was driving the other sled with the trailer, with Travis at his side. Since they no longer needed room for Matthew they were able to better organize their packing and open up more room to sit.

 

The boys were on the move again as they started off towards the mountains.  Douglas stopped his sled just before their camping area dropped out of sight and offered a quick salute to Matthew. The other eleven boys followed his lead and then they were on their way.

 

Douglas wanted to drive so he wouldn't have to think too much about what happened the night before. He stared straight ahead at the mountains wondering what the future held. Their only plan was to head for the twin peaks. They didn’t even know if there was a trail leading to the peaks, and if there was, they would still have to find a way around them.

 

But they had to go there, and then head west. If Stevie, Brandon, and Scooter were right, they would end up seeing whatever green Matthew had seen. The green area had to be small. Alex had never seen it from the cockpit, but there had been a lot of dust and clouds in that area. So the question was, once they headed west where would the “green” be? They had to find it and water fast.

 

Douglas wondered if Matthew's horsey was a clue. They had a clue as to what the “green” was, but there was no clue about what the horsey meant. Matthew was dead and they were leaving him behind. Now he had to make sure he kept the rest of them alive and didn’t have to leave somebody else behind.

 

 

The red tent was covered by a pile of sand. A metal pole kept part of the top from collapsing, leaving room for air. Inside the tent a boy moved in his sleeping bag. It was pitch dark and he couldn’t make out anything. The boy's head hurt, his leg hurt, but his stomach was feeling better. He was incredibly thirsty.

 

He couldn’t hear anybody and wondered where everybody had gone. He felt for his pack and found it about a foot away. He reached in to get some water. He had to have water. He felt three bottles there. He pulled one out. It was empty. He pulled the other out. Empty. The third one was half full. He took a big swallow.

 

He needed to get out of the tent and find the rest of the group. He tried finding the tent door. Everywhere he reached seemed to be covered in sand. He pushed up the top, but it wouldn't give. It felt weighted down. He lay on his back and let the tears flow. He sobbed and shook. It looked like he had been abandoned, buried under the sand with less than half a bottle of water. He remembered what he had heard on the “Moonduster” about leaving him behind. All he could do was wait and hope his friends and his brother came back.

 

He got out of his sleeping bag and stood up part way on his good leg. He pushed the top again. It gave a little, but pain shot through him from his broken leg. He fell down and passed out.

 

The sun beat down on the sand. After being pushed up, a patch of red was showing above the sand, held up by the thin metal poles. The sleds were already five miles to the south.

 

 

"How much do you think about the 'Starkeeper'?" Douglas asked Scooter.

 

"A lot. I miss my dad."

 

"I know. I miss my mom and dad a lot. I miss being comfortable and safe and having enough to eat and drink. Scooter, if we ever get out of this I will treat every swallow of water and every bite of food like it was gold."

 

"I love you, Douglas. You're doing an awesome job."

 

"I lost Matthew. He trusted me and I lost him. I'm not losing anybody else, Scooter, I swear."

 

Scooter leaned over and kissed Douglas's cheek. Douglas turned and kissed Scooter on the mouth, a loving deep kiss. Short but sweet. He went back to driving the sled through the hot sand.

 

“I wonder what happened to the ‘Starkeeper’,” Douglas asked. “Did it blow up, did they save it, will they get anybody to try to find us?”

 

“That’s a lot of questions, but we can’t spend time worrying about them because we can’t do anything about them.”

 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Douglas told Scooter. “My parents always say I worry way too much for a young kid.” They were silent for a couple of minutes when Douglas brought up something else that was on his mind. “You know what was weird?" Douglas asked.

 

"What?"

 

"The lower school kids. Where were they?"

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"Scooter, between the time we got to the shuttle and the time I closed that door they had time to get down the corridor. I can see Mr. Z and the girls not making it, because his office is farther away than their classroom. Somebody should have been coming down the corridor."

 

"Maybe they got stopped by the fire."

 

"That's what I'm afraid of. I didn't really know any of them. Most of them were too young to hang around the games room. They hung around the little kids’ room because it was better supervised and none of us big kids would be there to bully them." He looked at Scooter with love in his eyes. Scooter gave all of his love back and then some.

 

"Did you ever talk to any of them?” Douglas asked. “I mean like at dinner or anything? I know sometimes a couple of the older boys would come to the games room before dinner. Twins. They were cute too."

 

"I know who you mean," Scooter said. "They were around nine or ten I think. I said hi a couple of times."

 

"Yeah, sometimes they even looked sexy." Douglas chuckled. Douglas was feeling relaxed talking with Scooter. Being with Scooter did that to him. He wondered what he would do without his sweet lover next to him.

 

Mike and Robert Charles were two of the boys sitting in the back of one of the sleds. They were wearing their hats as the sun beat down on them without mercy. Their faces were white with thick sun screen. They were trying hard not to look at each other or talk to each other.

 

Mike wanted water badly, but like everybody else he was waiting for Douglas to drink. Robert Charles, though, pulled a bottle out of his pack and took a swig. Robert Charles always seemed to have water. If Mike didn't know better he would say Robert Charles was stealing it, but Scooter and Ryan inventoried the bottles at every stop to be sure, and none were missing. Even the good kids might be tempted to take one, and nobody trusted Robert Charles. Mike thought Jordan might not be so trustworthy either.

 

Finally, Robert Charles looked at Mike. "I don't understand you," he said so everybody could hear.

 

Mike just sat staring off to the side of the sled. Robert Charles kept on talking. "You punch out two guys who didn't do a thing to you. You try to sabotage us. I bet you're stealing water. And you fool everybody into thinking you're somebody special. Now you're the enforcer for our fearless leader. What a joke."

 

Mike knew Robert Charles was baiting him. He said nothing, but he could feel his face flush. "And he trusts you at least until you turn on him like you have on everyone else. At least I'm honest. You're a phony and a fake." Robert Charles had a big evil grin on his face.

 

Mike faced Robert Charles, pushing his face into RC’s private space.

 

"Come on, Mikey. I'm ready for you. Let's see what you can do. Let's see you go after somebody you can't sucker punch. You and your buddy Alex are both alike. You could never stand up in a fair fight."

 

Mike couldn't stand it any more. "Maybe we should stop right here and have it out, RC. See who between us is all mouth."

 

"I'm ready if you are. Let's go, Mike."

 

Mike yelled at Douglas to stop. Douglas stopped the sled and looked back around.

 

"What's wrong?" he asked.

 

"Nothing, except it's time for me and him to have it out," Mike said, pointing to Robert Charles.

 

Douglas glowered at them. They stood up, ready to jump off of the sled. "No! We don't have time for this crap. Mike, why don't you go over and relieve Jeremy. Have Alex sit with you."

 

Mike scowled at Robert Charles. "This isn't over."

 

"Sure, let that pussy tell you what to do. I bet he’s never been in a fight in his life. I'm not going anywhere," Robert Charles said. "Any time you're ready."

 

Travis relieved Douglas on the first sled with Ryan taking the seat next to him. Douglas and Scooter sat in the trailer being pulled by the second sled. Douglas was going to say something to Robert Charles, but the heat along with all of the things that had happened the night before caught up with him and he fell asleep.

 

The day dragged on, hot and dusty and miserable. They were climbing now, and by dinner time they had moved into the hills. Douglas decided that the trek to the twin peaks could wait until the next day. They were all exhausted and ready to drop. They were so tired that even though a few of them thought about some quick sex, they were asleep as soon as they’d finished their dinner.

 

 

The next morning they started the climb. If they thought that it was going to cool down in the mountains, they were wrong. The sun was still hot and the air was still dry and dusty.

 

The sleds climbed the dusty hills very slowly, but by noon they had reached the base of the twin peaks. Except for two possible paths they saw nothing but steep cliffs. One path wound up between the peaks, and the other went around them to the west. The question now was, which way should they go?

 

Douglas figured they had five days of water left at their ration of three bottles a day, not including this day, and a little over seven days at two bottles a day. At one bottle a day they had enough for up to fifteen days. He didn't know if they could live off a bottle a day. But tomorrow he was cutting the ration to two bottles a day.

 

But now they had to figure out which way to go. Douglas knew they couldn't afford to make a mistake.  So he decided to make two teams to scout the two trails. A couple of boys on foot could travel much faster than the sleds on the steep terrain.  

 

There was a little over eight hours of daylight left. Each team would travel until dark, sleep overnight, and explore for another four hours, and then come back. If they found the trail was a dead-end they could start back earlier.

 

If both trails were dead-ends, they were sunk. They would have to turn back to the bottom of this hill and find another way past the twin peaks. The survey would cost them a day, and if they were lucky they would find a way around the mountains.

 

Douglas consulted with Mike, Alex, and Scooter about the makeup of the teams. It was decided that he and Mike would make one team and Alex and Jeremy would be the other. Each boy on a team would take a ration of two meals and six bottles of water. Because they would be walking in the heat they would need the extra water. He put Scooter in charge of the group staying behind.

 

Before he left he took Robert Charles aside. "If you fuck with anybody you will answer to me when we get back."

 

"You could have put me in charge, you know," Robert Charles said. “Better yet, you could have put me on one of the exploration teams.”

 

Douglas had grown immune to Robert Charles’s whining and didn’t take the bait.  “Maybe by staying behind and following Scooter you might show me you can be trusted," Douglas told him. Douglas didn't trust Robert Charles to be on a team, but he was concerned about leaving him behind, too. He was so hot and thirsty and hungry he couldn't think of what else to do. He sent Robert Charles off and Alex, Douglas, and Scooter came over to him.

 

"Douglas, let him come with me," Alex said, "he won't fuck with me. And he won't be alone with the little ones."

 

"I'm leaving Travis here. He's not as big as Robert Charles, but he can hold his own. And Scooter won't take any shit as far as who is in charge."

 

"Ok. You're the boss. But I think we are all better off if he is on a team."

 

"Maybe so." Douglas's head ached. Alex was probably right. But Robert Charles could screw up a team in some way, and that could hurt the group more on a team than he could hurt it staying behind. The teams needed to give all of their attention to scouting; they didn’t need to have to be concerned about Robert Charles, too. He felt Robert Charles could do the least damage staying behind. Unfortunately, that thought was Douglas's biggest mistake of the trek.

 

 

The black unicorn was having some trouble with the loose sand. His rider had a lot of skill though and kept him going at a pretty good pace. He had come over the mountains to see how the air was here so far from the farms and the atmosphere machinery. It was still a little short on oxygen, but it was getting better. He had checked the three stations they had in the desert. He wished they still had their flyers, but the last ones were used only for emergencies.  They needed every kind of part they could use to keep the atmosphere machinery going. Maybe someday they would be discovered again, but it was twenty-five years since a starship had last visited here. He had been a boy of eight then.

 

The unicorn's black hair glowed in the sun, and the reflection made it seem almost green at times. He rode over a dune and looked at the Mountains of the Sun up ahead of him. Three more days riding and he would be home. He could hardly wait. He stopped to get a drink of water. Off to his right he thought he saw something. It was a small patch of bright red. He closed his water bottle and rode over to see what it was. He couldn't begin to imagine what could be here in the middle of the desert. When he got there he saw that it looked like cloth or plastic of some sort.

 

He got off the unicorn and got his shovel off of the saddle. He needed it because sometimes he had to dig out the monitoring stations. He started digging, and saw that it was a buried tent of some sort. He hit the metal supports. Finally he got it uncovered and saw that it had an opening. He pulled up the closed zipper and looked inside. He was stunned to see a small creature in a sleeping bag. It looked like a humanoid. The hair on its head was messed up. Its face was white and its lips were all chapped and cracked. It was a humanoid but looked so different from himself. He started getting excited and curious. Did this mean there was other intelligent life on the planet? Why hadn't they seen it before? And how could intelligent life have lived on this planet before The Hakaanen had created the atmosphere? And if it wasn't from here, how did it get here? The humanoid looked like a small child, if they were anything like his own species. Intelligent life! And they had been told they were the only ones in all the galaxy.

 

He bent down to inspect the small creature more closely. The movement woke Matthew up. He opened his eyes, and blinked at the bright light coming into the tent. He was having the strangest dream. A man with pointed ears and a mane of fine golden hair down his neck was looking at him. And outside in the sun, was something. He looked at the dream creature in front of him, opened his mouth, pointed outside of the tent, and croaked out, "Green horsey."

 

 

The two teams were packed and ready to go. Four bottles of water, cold food for two meals, a sleeping bag in each pack. The sleds were parked below where the trails split. They weren't really trails, they were more like paths that the sleds could go on. But for how far nobody knew. It could be just around the next corner and that was all. It was flat where the sleds were parked, and then the trail went up and around a large rock. After the turn was where the split was.

 

Before leaving Mike cooked up lunch. Douglas and Scooter sat with Warren and Jeremy. At the end of lunch, Scooter saw Douglas having a long talk with Warren. Warren nodded and said a little back. Douglas did most of the talking. Warren just nodded and never smiled. After they were finished, Douglas rejoined Scooter.

 

"What was that about?" Scooter asked.

 

"Oh, I just wanted to know how he was feeling. How his allergies and asthma were doing without his meds."

 

"And?"

 

"He says okay. But he's worried about it. He hasn't been breathing real well."

 

Scooter sensed that Douglas wasn't being totally honest with him. He decided not to push it, but it hurt some that Douglas couldn't trust him with what happened. He sent a thought to Douglas. I love you. That was the best he could do.

 

The whole group walked up the trail to say good-bye to the scout teams. At the place the trails divided they paused. Scooter walked up to Douglas and gave him a deep kiss. Be careful my sweetums. I'm worried about you. Please come back safe.

 

I will. And don't worry. It will be a walk in the park.

 

"I love you, Douglas."

 

"I love you, Scooter."

 

Mike and Alex were both going. But they were going to be on separate scout teams. They weren't quite sure why Douglas had split them up, but they decided not to argue it. They would be back together in a day. Mike gave Alex a deep loving kiss.

 

"Want to make a bet, Mike?"

 

"I suppose. What it is?"

 

"That I will find the trail that leads to the other side."

 

"You're on. What are we betting?"

 

Alex gave Mike a sexy grin and held his crotch.

 

"You're on," Mike said with a smile. The whole group of boys laughed, their first laughter since losing Matthew. Scooter looked at Douglas. He was smiling, and that was his first smile since they left the "Moonduster".

 

Jeremy looked for Warren in the group, but he wasn't there. He felt his heart sink. Warren didn't even bother to tell him good-bye. He must have been feeling too tired to make the climb, but he could have at least said good-bye. He was just turning to start the walk with Alex when he heard a voice calling his name. He turned around and saw Warren come from around the rock, walking slowly and breathing hard.

 

"I'm sorry, Jeremy. My asthma is starting to really bother me up here in the mountains." He was struggling hard to breathe. "But I had to be here to tell you good-bye."

 

Jeremy walked over to Warren, grabbed him hard and kissed him deep. "I love you, Warren. You're awesome."

 

Warren was struggling to breathe. The short climb up had been hard on him. Douglas came down and kissed his forehead.

 

"You didn't have to do that."

 

"I know. But Jeremy needed to be told good-bye just like the rest of you." He was struggling to talk.

 

Douglas turned to the group. "Scooter is in charge. Just don't leave the area of the sleds. We'll all be back by dark tomorrow."

 

The teams headed off on their separate trails. Before disappearing they turned to wave one last time. The boys in the group waved back. Just as they disappeared, Warren fainted and fell to the ground.

 

 

Douglas and Mike walked along the narrow rocky trail. It was wide enough for the sleds to go on, but barely. It would take some good driving. And Douglas wasn't sure if the trailer could make some of the turns. They might have to leave it behind if it kept going like this. The sled with the trailer would have to be last in case they had to unhook it.

 

"You took a big gamble leaving Robert Charles there," Mike said.

 

"I know. I don’t think he can do too much harm in a day. I think he can hurt us more on the trail. I don't trust him. I don't want to have to guard my back the whole time."

 

"I hope you're right," Mike said.

 

"So do I."

 

Mike was able to come up with of all kinds of trouble Robert Charles could cause while they were gone. The four boys who could control him were all on a scout team. Mike agreed with Alex; Douglas was making a big mistake. The thing that worried them the most was Robert Charles taking the sleds and leaving. He decided not to worry Douglas about that since it probably wouldn't happen. Mike was confident that Scooter and Travis would keep things under control. He knew he was worrying too much. But that was something he was good at; worrying.  Mike decided to quit worrying and follow Douglas along the hot dusty rocky trail.

 

 

Alex and Jeremy's trail was a little wider, but not by much. It wasn't quite as steep as the one Douglas and Mike were on, but they didn't know that. They talked less than Mike and Douglas did. Alex told Jeremy how great it was of Warren to come up the hill to tell him good-bye.

 

"I thought I missed him," Jeremy said. "He is pretty special. I don't know why I fell for him. I just thought he was hot from the first time I saw him. Turns out he is super nice and caring too." Jeremy smiled. "And he's getting pretty good in bed too. Hard to figure that, him being so little and quiet and all."

 

"You got the little guy and I got the big guy," Alex said.

 

They walked a while longer. After a couple of hours they stopped to rest and have a drink of water.

 

"I hope things are going okay with the group," Alex said. "I don't know if those guys can control Robert Charles."

 

"What can he do?" Jeremy asked. "There is one of him against seven."

 

"Maybe two of them. Who knows what Jordan is thinking, especially now that Matthew is gone." Alex had a hard time saying dead. Gone sounded better in his mind.

 

"I think Douglas screwed the whole Matthew thing. I'm beginning to think sometimes that as much as we like him we were wrong to make him leader. It should have been you. I even think Robert Charles, just because he is strong. Like you are."

 

Alex looked at Jeremy. "No offense, Jeremy, but that's bullshit. We both know Douglas has one thing going for him as a leader that I don't have and Robert Charles for sure doesn't have."

 

"What's that?" Jeremy asked, kind of stunned by Alex's outburst.

 

"People want to follow him. He has what it takes to lead without even trying. And once he finds inside him what we all know is there he will be a stronger leader than I could ever be. RC has to push people around to lead. He thinks its all power. RC is a bully, not a leader. Douglas has gotten us a lot farther than any of us thought we would get."

 

"Yeah. I'm sorry. It's just RC seems so in charge sometimes, no matter what."

 

"That's how he works. Makes a lot of noise. Gets noticed. But when it's all over he accomplished nothing and didn't do anything but push his weight around."

 

They got up from their rest and kept climbing up the trail. It was too hot and they were too tired and thirsty to talk any more.

 

 

 

Scooter checked on Warren. He was breathing hard, but his eyes opened.

 

"What happened?" he whispered.

 

"You fainted. I guess the walk was a bit much for you." Scooter helped Warren to his feet and Travis and Ryan helped him walk back down the trail.

 

The boys walked down the trail back to the sleds. They got out the tents for shelter. The fans Stevie had made had all been lost in dust storm. They had the two tents that they had tied between the sleds plus the two spares. But at least they were out of the hot sun.

 

After they set up the tents, Scooter got them together and started talking about them being rested up and ready to go as soon as the scout teams got back. He also told them what Douglas had said. That their water ration would be cut to two bottles tomorrow.

 

"That's bullshit," Jordan said.

 

"We don't know how long it's going to take us to get there. Douglas says we can't use up all our water. This will add three more days. We might have to cut back more."

 

No," Robert Charles said. "That's not going to happen. We stay with our ration of three until we get back to the shuttle."

 

"Um...we're not going back to the shuttle," Scooter said.

 

"Yes, we are. This bullshit has gone on long enough. We're going back. Your precious Douglas is leading us to our deaths. He doesn't know what he is doing. He doesn't know where he is going. His scouting trip shows how desperate he is. Looking for some fucking green horsey that a delirious little boy saw? Give me a break."

 

"There is nothing at the shuttle," Travis said. "Nothing to go back to. At least across the mountains there is a chance there is something. At the shuttle we sit and die."

 

"I'm with Robert Charles," Jordan said. "Let's go back."

 

"You know when they get back they will want to keep going," Scooter said. "They will never want to turn back. Douglas wouldn't allow it."

 

"Who said we were waiting until they got back?" Robert Charles.

 

"What? You're going to leave? Leave them stranded here?"

 

"No, stupid. I won't do that. Not that I wouldn't mind doing that, but I don't operate that way. We'll leave a sled and some water behind. Now let's pack up and get going."

 

"We're not leaving," Scooter said. "I won't go without Douglas."

 

"Then you can stay here and wait if you want to. But we are leaving."

 

"Who put you in charge?" Travis asked. "I thought I heard Scooter was put in charge. I'm staying with Scooter."

 

"I'm going with Robert Charles," Warren said. "I'm too tired and sick to keep going."

 

"Warren. No. We'll take care of you," Scooter said. "You know we love you."

 

"I don't want to be the next Matthew," Warren said. His lips were quivering. "I'm sorry, Scooter." He climbed up into the sled.

 

Jordan followed him in, but they didn't sit close together.

 

"Anybody else plan on being smart?" Robert Charles asked.

 

"What about Jeremy?" Scooter asked. "You'll be leaving him behind."

 

"I know," Warren said with a slight sob.

 

Robert Charles looked at the sun and at the steep path going back down the mountain. He knew they would need daylight to make it down. They had about three hours left and they still needed to eat.

 

"We're not leaving until sunrise. We need light to get down the slope. And we are all going."

 

"I don't think so," Scooter said.

 

"Let me put it this way. I've got Warren and Jordan. And if you don't follow me I will leave one sled behind. But I will take the power chip and all the water and leave it at the rock at the bottom of the trail. With a note of course. That would be what? A four or five hour walk? With no water. Then they have to walk back up. A lot of wasted time and water."

 

"That's plain mean, RC."

 

"No. It's for your own good. Scooter, you just don't get it do you? You're so blinded by your love for your faggot boyfriend. He is leading you to your death. Who did he take with him? Mike. Who has assaulted two of you and who tried to sabotage what Douglas was doing. Mike, who is one very sick dude. Did you ever think that maybe Mike might just be coming back alone? That Douglas will meet a bad end up the trail? I want to leave everything for them. Then, they can decide if they want to go back and join us or continue this dumb mission, by themselves. Or, with just the three of them, if what I suspect is true."

 

For a moment Scooter believed. His mind saw black. Robert Charles was right. Douglas was in danger. They were all in danger. They were trusting the wrong people. He took a deep breath. My sweetness. I love you. I need you.

 

He heard nothing back. I love you. I need you. Still nothing. He didn't know how far his thoughts would go. Maybe Douglas was too far off. He needed help. He wasn't sure what to do.

 

"I'm doing this for you. It's time you see I'm not doing this for myself. It's just you guys are following the wrong people, because you like them, not because they're your best leaders. If you want to survive, it's time to follow somebody who knows what he's doing. Douglas has lost one of us already. Who is going to be the next one?" He looked straight at Warren when he said that. "Or will it be all of you?"

 

Scooter took a deep breath. "You all can go. We have to protect Douglas. I'll stay to tell him what happened."

 

"I know you love him, Scooter. But it has to be all of us. Douglas left you. He left us. Don't forget that. He left you behind."

 

"He left me in charge."

 

"Not any more." Robert Charles took a deep drink of water. Where is he getting that water? Scooter thought. It was time to find out. Tonight. Something wasn't right. They all were dry with thirst, but Robert Charles always had water.

 

 

Night was close when Mike and Douglas reached the end of the trail they were on. There was no question that it was a dead end. Tall rock cliffs rose up all around them.

 

"Shit," Douglas said.

 

Mike gave him a hug. "It's okay. All it means is Alex won the bet. He found our way over the hills instead."

 

"I sure am one hell of a leader. I take us into sand storms. Into dead ends. I let the youngest boy in the group, who was hurt and sick, die. I left him buried in the sand because I can't take the time to look for him. Mike, I gotta give this up when we get back. Every time I think I can do this, something happens to knock me down and show me I can't."

 

"You know what I see, Douglas?"

 

"What?"

 

"I see somebody who bounces up and fights every time he gets knocked down. It's like Alex says, you need to see the things inside you the rest of us see. The rest of us keep seeing you fight. You got us here. You'll get us all the way."

 

"I'm fourteen years old. I don't know how...."

 

Mike grabbed Douglas hard and pulled him towards him. He stared down at him with a strange fire in his eyes. Suddenly Douglas's heart started thumping. For a second he thought he was looking at the Mike who everybody said had attacked Ryan and Matthew.

 

"Douglas!" Mike squeezed him hard. His eyes and face and voice were intense. "You have something in you that makes us want to follow you. Since we met you, you've shown us all a special confidence and strength. You have helped every one of us. You believed in each of us. But sometimes you quit believing in yourself. Now you have to dig deep and find that belief again. Because he is there, we have all seen it. When we get back we will need you like never before. The only way you can fail us is if you quit believing in yourself."

 

"I helped Matthew a lot. I let him be buried alive under the sand."

 

"I loved Matthew, Douglas. He became my little brother. I should have been looking after him. Scooter should have thought of him. Jordan had been watching him and should have checked where he was. Fuck, we are all guilty. It was awful out there that night. Nobody is at fault. Shit happens."

 

"It was my responsibility. He trusted me."

 

"He trusted all of us. Live with it. Move on. Lead us."

 

Douglas leaned against the frame of the big boy who called himself a big donkey. "Bounce back again, Douglas," Mike whispered. "Bounce back like a Tigger."

 

They were tired, hungry, and thirsty. But they were soon naked and on the sleeping bag kissing and stroking. In the group, sex was okay between them. There were no jealousies on the desert planet.  Mike wanted to lick Douglas all over, but it was like he was too thirsty. The boys just kissed, hugged, stroked, and rubbed their dicks against each other. The head of his dick rubbed up against Mike's, he kissed him deep, and shot his first cum since leaving the "Moonduster". Mike wasn't far behind, moaning loudly as he shot across Douglas's chest and stomach. They stuck together as Douglas cuddled up tightly against the big donkey. Scooter...Scooter...he thought. I love you. I' m safe. I hope you are too.

 

They fell asleep with Douglas feeling safe for the first time in weeks.

 

 

Just before dark Alex and Jeremy reached a plateau. It was flat and stretched out to the West. They could see lots of weird rock formations sticking up. Alex remembered dodging so many formations when he worked to bring the "Moonduster" under control. He looked back at the twin peaks. He was sure this was the area they flew over. They had found the pass over the mountains. But for now it was time to rest. They would start back early in the morning, before sunrise. Alex and Jeremy took out only one sleeping bag. They both knew what the other one needed. But unlike Douglas and Mike, the energy wasn’t there and they fell asleep as they tried making out.

 

 

"I don't understand Warren," Scooter said. "Why is he following RC again?"

 

"He's sick and he's scared," Brandon said. "He'll come around, I hope."

 

"Let's go," Scooter whispered.

 

Scooter sneaked out of his tent and Brandon followed him. They were naked. Nobody liked sleeping in their dirty ragged clothes, but most of them needed protection from the sun during the day. They didn't have time to sunbathe and they only had so much sun screen. But at night they all took all of their grimy clothes off. Some of them had lost clothes in the dust storm and during the ride up the mountain. They did their best to keep themselves protected from the sun.

 

Scooter had told Brandon about finding two empty bottles in Matthew's pack. He knew he hadn't given Matthew any water. He thought somebody else might have. Now he wasn't so sure. They met Travis, who was naked like they were. He had been sleeping with Robert Charles. He had Robert Charles's pack. They opened it. Five bottles. Three full ones. Scooter crawled up into the sled. It was dark except for the light coming from one of Inferno's two moons, which was full. They didn't want to risk turning a flashlight on. Scooter went to the spot Robert Charles usually sat. There was a tool chest along the side. Scooter opened it up. It was full of empty bottles plus four full ones. One of the full ones had the sucking spout that Matthew's bottles had on them.

 

"Shit," Scooter said. "Just like I thought. Robert Charles was collecting empty bottles and filling them from other people's. Whenever he had the chance. Most of it seems to be from Matthew's pack. No wonder Matthew kept looking worse and worse. Robert Charles was stealing his water. The bastard! I'm going to kill him!"

 

"Now?" Brandon asked.

 

"No. But I want to. I’ll let Douglas decide what to do—killing him is almost too good for him."

 

Scooter had one more thing to do. Take the power chips out of the the sleds. He needed his flashlight for that. He had Travis block the light. He shined it on the panel that the chips were in. He started to open the lid. It wouldn't open. He pulled on it again. Nothing. He looked at the instrument panel. Robert Charles had locked it. That kept the panel from opening. They hopped to the other sled. Same thing. Locked. Scooter knew that if Douglas had locked it he would have left him the code to unlock it. So it had to be Robert Charles. Once more he had found a way to control them.

 

"What do we do?" Travis asked.

 

"Nothing. Wait for Douglas. This is going to be his call. Right now we act like nothing happened. We leave the evidence where it was."

 

Scooter put everything back into the backpack. They all returned to their tents, Travis being very quiet and slow so he wouldn't wake up Robert Charles.

 

 

It was an hour before dawn. Jeremy and Alex woke up. They would leave their clothes off until the sun got up high. All they had on were shoes, socks, and their hats. They ate quickly, took a drink of water, and turned on their flashlights and headed down the path.

 

Douglas and Mike were awake too. Their routine was just the same. The two naked boys headed down their path.

 

The boys left at the sleds were awake. As soon as the sun came up, Robert Charles was going to start up the sled. He kept Jordan and Warren close to him, like he was afraid of an attack from the other five boys. Well, Scooter thought, you have good reason to worry. They had talked about attacking Robert Charles. But they noticed he had picked up a heavy metal rod off of one of the sleds and was carrying it in his hand. The three of them transferred all the water to the one sled. Scooter had thought of running off, but he knew Robert Charles would take the water with him. Plus he was scared for Warren. He wasn't sure how much Warren's going was because he wanted to and how much was because he was being forced to. For now he was going to go along with Robert Charles, if only to keep Douglas and the other scouts safe. I love you my sweetness. I need you. I need you bad.

 

They were all loaded up on the sled. As soon as Robert Charles saw them all on, he had a case of water bottles lowered down. He told them if they bolted he could always come back and pack it all back on. He sat down in the driver's seat. Jordan sat behind him facing the back. He had the metal rod. Robert Charles was ready to take them back to the "Moonduster". He was the leader now. He pressed the starter button.

 

 

 

The sun was starting to come up behind Mike and Douglas. Douglas looked off to the left and the cliffs and rocks. The colors were awesome in the sunrise. Reds and yellow and oranges and browns. Suddenly he thought he saw something flash. He stopped, but didn't see anything.

 

"Something wrong?" Mike asked.

 

"No. I guess I'm starting to see things."

 

"I can understand that." They started walking again.

 

"Mike."

 

"Yes?"

 

"Thanks for yesterday. And last night."

 

"Anything I can do to help. You know I'm always here for you. You know how much I think of you."

 

Douglas saw another flash and stopped again.

 

"Hallucinating again?"

 

"Mike, look over there. I swear I'm seeing something flash."

 

Mike looked, but saw nothing. They couldn't wait around so they started up again. They were just about to make a turn when Douglas took a last look back and saw another flash.

 

"Come on, Douglas. Leave your mirages behind," Mike laughed. Then he saw it too.

 

"What is it?"

 

"I don't know," Douglas said. "But it's not that high up. Let's go take a look."

 

They put their backpacks down and started climbing over the rocks. Shortly, Douglas saw what looked like debris. He and Mike took a closer look and saw that it was a heat shield. Douglas’s heart started thumping. He wondered if it had dropped off of the “Moonduster” when it flew over the mountains, or if it was from another shuttle. The two boys kept climbing and quickly saw a steady glare as the sun rose higher.

 

They came across a small plateau. As they climbed up onto it, they saw something that stunned them. Scattered across the plateau were the parts of a space craft. It had been destroyed, a lot of it burned. They recognized parts of the cockpit and wings. Off in the distance they could see what looked like the complete tail section with some of the galley still in one piece. They walked over to it.

 

The tail had a huge Earth with a lightning bolt logo on it—the symbol of Space Fleet.  They looked at the large writing on the tail. It read, USS SUNDANCER. Below that was written USS STARKEEPER. Douglas and Mike felt tears coming up. They crawled into the wreckage of the galley section. It was dark and they didn't expect to find anything. It didn't look like anybody could have survived the crash. Suddenly they heard a quiet moan.

 

"Help me."

 

 

It was close to noon as Alex and Jeremy rounded the corner of the big rock where the paths split. They couldn't wait to give out the good news about finding a way through the mountains.

 

When they came around the rock, they weren't quite ready for the sight they came across. They both stopped and stared.

 

NEXT CHAPTER 26 Coming and Going