Survivors

 

 

The two groups of boys stood gaping at each other.  The Hakaanen boys said something to the Earth boys, but Scooter and Douglas had no idea what it was.  They said nothing in return—they simply smiled and held their hands out in a gesture of peace.

 

"I saw that work in a vid," Douglas told Scooter.

 

"I hope they saw the same vid," Scooter replied.

 

"I wish we could talk to them somehow.  We can't stand here forever hoping somebody figures something out."

 

"I wonder…" Scooter said.

 

"Wonder what?"

 

"If you and I exchange our thoughts in language, or if they are like some kind of energy?"

 

"Huh?"  Douglas wasn't quite sure where Scooter was going.  Then he recognized the look of concentration on Scooter's face.  Scooter was trying to send his thoughts to the native boy just like he sent them to him.  He could see that Scooter was concentrating so intensely that he wasn’t even breathing. Finally Scooter let out his breath.  The Hakaanen boys hadn’t moved or changed expression. Scooter’s idea had fallen flat.

 

Douglas tried to make contact, too, but all he got was a small headache.

 

"What about both of us doing it together," Scooter suggested.

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"Send your thoughts to me, and then I will send it to the big boy on the right.  Let's try it, we’ve got nothing to lose."

 

Douglas scrunched up his face and sent a thought to Scooter. ‘We are from the planet Earth.  We come in peace.’

 

The Hakaanen boy opened his eyes up wide, his face showing obvious surprise. The thoughts were loud and Douglas couldn’t understand most of them.  ‘I am Bandar.  What is your name?  Where is Earth?  How did you get into my mind?’ The questions pounded Douglas’s head like the staccato of a woodpecker banging on a tree.

 

While Douglas’s reception of the alien boy’s thoughts blared in his head, they caused Scooter to fall on his butt.  His eyes were open wide and he moaned quietly.  Douglas bent over him.

 

"Scooter, are you okay?" he asked with concern.

 

Scooter nodded his head.  "Wow…yeah…I think so.  I got hit hard by his thoughts."

 

"Did you understand them?"

 

"No, all I got was noise like static.  Give me another thought to send him, but we’ll try to keep it quieter."

 

‘Send your thoughts back quietly—what you sent was noisy and hard to understand and it hurt us,’ Scooter transmitted to Bandar, the boy in front of him.

 

"Scooter, as soon as you feel his thoughts send them to me.  Maybe that will make the signal weaker."

 

Scooter set himself, ready, he hoped, for whatever was about to hit him.  He was concentrating on Douglas when a thought blasted him and shook him, but he managed to relay it to Douglas.  Douglas could feel the power of the thought, but he held steady.

 

It is working, Scooter.  I got it.  I understood him.  This is so weird. The thoughts have to go from me to you to him and then back that way.  It's like my brain and your brain need to work together, but you can't understand any of it."

 

"I'm like a communications satellite or something."

 

"Exactly. You’re like a relay."

 

They found out that the boy's name was Bandar and that he was called a Hakaanen.

 

Douglas decided to try more.  ‘Bandar, I am Douglas.  My friend is Scooter. We are from a distant planet called Earth.  Our ship crashed here and we are lost and far from home.’

 

‘Just the two of you survived?’

 

‘There are thirteen of us.’  Douglas thought it was too complicated to try to explain about the two different crashes.

 

‘Thirteen?  Where are they?’

 

Douglas wasn't sure whether to trust Bandar.  Alex had suggested holding back a couple of guys in reserve in case there was trouble, but Douglas didn't want to split up the group—they might never find each other again. Whatever they had to face they would face together.  Besides, they had been through so much and traveled so far. They had to trust whomever lived here, no matter what happened, otherwise they could not survive. He really had no choice but to trust the naked boy with the pointed ears and the silky mane standing in front of him, so he held nothing back.

 

‘Across the road in the woods.’

 

‘Tell them to come out.  We won't hurt any of you.’

 

Douglas turned around and waved to the woods.  The bushes all moved and suddenly eleven boys came walking out, skinny, scared, with long matted hair, and even after swimming, still somewhat dirty.

 

‘Where are the adults?’ Bandar asked. He was as leery of the Earth boys as they were of him and his friend.

 

‘We got separated in space and some died.’ Once again, Douglas elected not to confuse the Hakaanen boy with the facts.

 

‘Welcome to the Fire Planet,’ Bandar said.

 

Douglas told the group what Bandar had said.

 

‘We call it Inferno.’

 

‘Good name.’  Bandar smiled at the group. He decided the round-eared boys with the hairless backs seemed harmless and trustworthy. He could see that they were nervous and frightened.

 

The other Hakaanen boys came out from behind their bushes.  Both boys sat in the grass and Bandar and Douglas continued to exchange thoughts.  Bandar seemed to be the only one to whom Douglas could send thoughts without the help of a relay.

 

Douglas told the story of how they got to Inferno.  He found out why the Hakaanen had so few cars and fliers.  Bandar told how they had been cut off from their home planet for so many years, much longer than he’d been alive. The rest of the boys watched as Douglas and Bandar communicated silently.

 

This was a big disappointment.  All the way to the valley the Earth boys were hoping that whoever lived here could somehow find a way to get them home.  Now it looked like they were trapped on Inferno for the rest of their lives.  A lot of the initial excitement left Douglas.  They had been through so much and gone so far, and it seemed like it was all for nothing.  Now all they could hope for was that these people who called themselves the Hakaanen were really as friendly as they seemed and would allow them to live in their valley. Otherwise, there was no way they could survive.

 

 

Robert Charles woke up suddenly, wondering who was beside him.  As he reached over and felt the soft breast of the native girl, he remembered the night before.  Oh man, he thought, was she ever good in bed. As if to prove his thought, the girl rolled close to Robert Charles, grabbed his softening penis, and stroked him to rigid hardness again. Then, she scooted down and took it in her mouth, giving Robert Charles a sensuous blowjob that had him spurting small drops of cum in just seconds. As he lay there, breathing hard and coming off his high, he figured she was thirteen in Earth years, but she sure knew her stuff. It wasn’t the best thought I ever had, he thought. That little Matthew kid was the best, even if he was a boy.  Gawd, what a tight little ass he had.  Too bad that asshole Douglas left him behind buried in the sand.  He'd love to have that preteen ass now.

 

He got out of bed to take a pee.  At least these weird people had modern plumbing, he thought. Some things they had were modern and up to date, and some were old fashioned.  They were definitely a weird bunch, but if they wanted to give him girls to fuck, even girls with manes and pointed ears, hell, he could live with some weirdness.  And if they wanted to kick some ass, he would help them, especially if that cocksucker Douglas and his group were on the receiving end.

 

Robert Charles pissed and went into the kitchen.  Vordkan was sitting at the table wearing just a cloth around his middle.  Robert Charles could see it was tented out.  He’d seen Vordkan hard and he was impressive.  Robert Charles figured that Vordkan was around seventeen.  They were learning how to communicate through sign language and simple words. Robert Charles was still naked and had no problem parading around the kitchen with a hard-on.

 

The way he figured things, tomorrow he would be leaving with his new friends to find the "Moonduster" and hopefully some weapons.  He wondered what everybody had planned for today; he hoped it was more sex.  He also wondered what they had planned after their trip to the “Moonduster” for the wusses who lived across the hills in the big valley.

 

 

Matthew yawned and looked out the window.  He could tell it was late in the morning and he had slept in.  He felt the warmth of Enghar, who was sleeping next to him.  Matthew petted the little Hakaanen boy's mane. He loved touching Enghar's silky mane—it was so soft and smooth.  It felt like silk. And Enghar loved having his pointed ears touched.

 

He was amazed by how much Enghar was beginning to mean to him.  He had learned some Hakaanen words, but somehow they could communicate without them. He wondered when he would be able to meet some of Enghar's friends, and if they were like Enghar, who never seemed to be dressed, even when he went to school.

 

Enghar lay quietly while Matthew petted his mane.  The Hakaanen loved having their manes and their ears stroked. For them it was very erotic.  Enghar could feel himself getting hard.  He didn't know it or understand it, but he was falling in love with the sweet round-eared boy. He turned slowly over and kissed him; Matthew accepted the kiss hungrily.

 

"Mattoo, ost lesha drey," he whispered.

 

"Enghar, I love you," Matthew whispered back.

 

Without knowing each other's language, each boy instinctively knew what had just been said.  On Earth or on Hakaan, love was love and couldn't be disguised.

 

 

Douglas was trading thoughts with Bandar when Bandar's thoughts started breaking up.  Douglas could make out a few words, but most of them were jumbled.  Scooter yelled at Douglas to stop the exchange of thoughts. Everything had been going smoothly and suddenly it all changed. It was like his brain was being asked to do too much.

 

"My head hurts real bad,” he rasped.  “I can't keep going."

 

‘Relaying our thoughts is hurting Scooter.  We have to stop for now, Bandar.’

 

‘Okay, we'll wait until Scooter is ready.  My head is starting to hurt, too.’

 

Douglas could feel the strain as well.  He knew the stress must be doubly hard on Scooter, because he had to relay the messages both ways. Scooter lay flat on his back, holding his head.  Ryan brought Scooter some water as Douglas put his arm around him.

 

"Are you okay?"

 

"Yeah, I think so.  I just need to rest. Being a communication satellite is hard work.” Scooter managed to eke out a smile in spite of his headache.

 

This is all so weird, Douglas thought.  Scooter can't communicate his thoughts with Bandar and I can't do it, but together we can.  And the same is true with the replies; they have to go through Scooter. The really weird thing though is that it seems only Scooter, me, and Bandar can exchange thoughts.  Well, at least they could communicate, and they were finding that these Hakaanen boys were very interesting people.

 

The Earth boys gathered together and talked about what they had learned.  By the looks of it the Hakaanen boys were doing the same thing.  The Hakaanen boys, except Bandar, who was older, looked to be between twelve and fifteen.  Bandar appeared to be their leader. He was the boy everybody listened to.  The most amazing thing they learned was that sex between boys was looked at as being totally natural.  Children rarely wore clothes, and adults didn't wear them much either.

 

The Earth boys noticed that some of the Hakaanen boys seemed to be getting used to their presence. Some were holding hands and kissing and hugging.  Some of the Earth boys held hands but were too tired and hungry to do much more than get boners.

 

"Scooter, I need to tell Bandar something."

 

"What?"  Douglas could tell that Scooter was very tired.

 

"That we need food, or hadn't you noticed?"

 

Scooter thought about his grumbling stomach and looked at the group of skinny boys.  "Only about every five seconds," he said with a little laugh. He took a deep breath.  "Go for it."

 

‘Bandar, it's been a long time since we had much of a meal.  We are all very hungry.  Do you think…’

 

‘Don't say anymore, we should have noticed. I am so sorry.  Let's go take care of all of you.’ While Douglas couldn’t feel emotion in a thought, he couldn’t help but feel that Bandar sounded somewhat chagrined.

 

Sending Bandar's thoughts to Douglas is what tired out Scooter.  He could read Douglas's thoughts almost as easily as breathing.  But going back and forth between Douglas and Bandar was what exhausted him. Receiving Douglas's thoughts and then sending them to Bandar so he could read them took a lot of concentration, but he could handle it.

 

However receiving Bandar's thoughts was a different matter.  All he heard in his head was loud static.  Relaying that static to Douglas was different from sending his own thoughts because he didn't know what it was he was sending or if he was even sending all of it.  He learned from Douglas that when he started getting tired Bandar's thoughts started to get jumbled.

 

After relaying Bandar’s thoughts to Douglas, Scooter noticed the Hakaanen boys starting to get up. 

 

"What did he say?" he asked Douglas

 

"He said something like...let's eat."

 

The Earth boys went back across the road to get their back packs.  The Hakaanen let the Earth boys have the wagon to ride in while they walked or jogged along behind.  Two of them ran ahead to tell the adults in their village of their discovery.

 

Bandar's village was at the opposite end of the valley from Enghar's village.  There were a dozen villages in the valley, plus two larger towns. One of the larger towns was the capital city of the valley.  A large percentage of the Hakaanen were farmers and lived on their farms.  None of this included the Shkah in the smaller valley over the north hills.

 

Other than the mayor of the village, the people of Bandar's village knew nothing of Matthew, so when the wagon full of Earth boys approached the village, they were totally amazed.  Word would now spread fast.  It was a lot harder to keep thirteen boys secret than it was one boy.

 

The boys were taken to the center of the village and into a large building which was the village school.  The boys were taken to the cafeteria. Some adults showed up with food items, and pretty soon a meal was being cooked up.  Before they knew it, for the first time in weeks, the Earth boys were sitting down to a hot cooked meal made with fresh meat and fresh vegetables.  On top of that they had salads made of delicious fruits and vegetables.  They didn’t know exactly what it was they were eating, but they ate until their stomachs hurt.

 

 

Jarese, the physical therapist, brought Matthew his new crutches and showed him how to use them.  Matthew could now work on getting around on his own, which made him very happy.  When Enghar came home from school Matthew showed him his new mobility. The two boys went outside into the sunny backyard. 

 

Enghar brought a couple of games out.  The electronic games and toys were all hand-me-downs.  Inferno had no way to make new things. New products had come from Hakaanen, and contact with the home world had been lost long ago. Sometimes the parts from worn out toys and games were used to keep another game going.  But most of the games and toys now were not electronic and were hand-made.  All of the manufactured items the Hakaanen had were either wearing out or were worn out and being kept around for parts.  Every day they kept a hyper-space radio on hoping to get a signal from a ship coming in from Hakaan.

 

The game Matthew and Enghar decided to play was a combination board and card game that was simple to understand, but difficult to play.  It was simple enough that Enghar could teach it to Matthew without having to use many words, but hard enough to be full of all kinds of strategy. 

 

The game ended up being quite competitive. But between turns Matthew couldn’t take his eyes off of Enghar.  He couldn't believe the feelings he had for the Hakaanen boy.  He wished his “Starkeeper” friends and his big brother were here to share his good feelings.  Matthew was so happy and sad at the same time.  As much as he was starting to love Enghar he wished deep inside that he could be with his friends, and way deep inside to be home with his parents.  As bad as his parents were, they were still his parents.  He never thought he would miss them like this.  "I wonder if they miss me?" he thought suddenly.  He shook his head trying to get that thought out of it because the scary thing was, they just might not miss him at all.

 

Matthew wasn’t proficient at the game and Enghar won every time. But they both could see that Matthew was getting better, and this game was their most competitive yet.  Enghar sometimes would show Matthew what he should have done right after he made a play, but this time he let the game flow because Matthew was playing well enough to beat him.

 

That turned out not to be the case, but the game was close to the end. Enghar patted Matthew and kissed his cheek in praise of his good play. Matthew couldn’t understand what it was Enghar was babbling, but he did comprehend that they were words of praise.

 

After the game they worked on learning words.  Enghar was helping Matthew learn the Hakaan language.  Enghar had heard his parents talk about having a retired teacher start coming in for language lessons.  Enghar decided that working with the teacher would be easier if Matthew knew some basic words.  Matthew was very intelligent and was a quick learner. He could now name dozens of things.  If this was going to be his home for the rest of his life, he knew he’d need to know the language.

 

He was also learning snippets of the culture and lifestyle of the Hakaanen.  And if everybody was like Enghar and his family Inferno would be a nice place to live.  Already he had gotten more hugs and little kisses from Enghar's parents than he had during the last three years from his own parents.  They treated him just like he was a member of their family.

 

They played one more game, which Enghar won.  It was even closer than the first one.  Matthew enjoyed the game and knew he would soon be the equal of Enghar.  Enghar gave Matthew a kiss, and they put the game away.  They moved to a two person seat and sat next to each other holding hands.

 

 It didn't take long for the two boys to trade kisses.  Enghar's mother saw them making out as she looked through the kitchen window.  She smiled as she turned away to give them their privacy.  It looked like her son had a friend, lover, and maybe a brother.  Now if they could just find out where he came from and how he got buried under the sand. If she could find who buried and abandoned the sweet boy in her son's arms, she would tear his eyes out.

 

 

Vordkan and Robert Charles were each on a unicorn.  Robert Charles had ridden horses on Earth and learned that riding a unicorn wasn't much different.  Vordkan had given Robert Charles a lesson how to use the swords before they mounted their unicorns. Robert Charles picked up the idea quickly.  He was hitting and slicing melons while on the move and hardly ever missed.

 

Slicing melons and other objects while riding was sport for the Shkah. They hadn't fought the Hakaanen for centuries, but they still maintained the old skills.  As far as the Shkah were concerned that was going to end.  They would have to fight the weak majority in the Big Valley if their beliefs were going to win out. The Hakaanen in the valley didn’t know how to fight.  If Robert Charles had the kind of weapons he described to the Shkah, then the fight to get the Big Valley under their control would be a short one.

 

Robert Charles went after another melon.  Whack!  Perfect!  Right in half. Damn he was good.  He wondered what kind of reception the boys were getting from the Hakaanen.  He hoped they were being treated like the pieces of shit they were.  He didn't know much about the Hakaanen, but they must be pretty awful people if they were hated so much by the Shkah.  Already, after a couple of days, he was learning a lot.  And he would soon be learning more.

 

 

The mayor of Awanstor was on the phone talking to the governor of the colony.  He told him about the boys that were found by the lake.

 

"They must be of the same species as the boy who was found buried in the desert,” Governor Rebosh said after listening to the mayor’s description. “Now we know some of the story of how they got here.  Amazing that a group of boys can be so cruel as to bury one of their own alive.  It is even more amazing that they can pilot a space ship to a planet, land it, and make it through that hell desert to find a this valley.” 

 

“I'm not sure I believe it all. There has to be some adults involved," the governor speculated.  "How did you find this all out?  Do they know our language?"

 

"Not a word. They apparently communicated somehow with Bandar. Our young ones were vague about that."

 

"So, if there are adults involved, then where are they?  We need to be very cautious and watchful here. I am suspicious of these boys."

 

"I don't think any of our young ones could have accomplished what they did," Mayor Andorn said, ignoring the governor's remark.

 

"We spoil our young ones.  They are soft.  Life here, even with our machinery breaking down, is soft and easy," the governor said. “But nevertheless, there are adults lurking somewhere. No boys could accomplish what they did.”

 

"Maybe.  But you and I had the same soft life and we seem to be doing okay."

 

"But how long can the valley survive if our atmosphere machines break down?"

 

"We can still make parts from other machines.  And Grendon says in five more years we won't need the atmosphere machines running all the time.  The atmosphere won't be all we want it to be, but it will remain stable and continue to grow stronger if we run the machines half the time. But we're not quite there yet."

 

"Let's hope we never need to find out what life is like without those machines running," the Governor said.

 

“Should we tell the group of round-eared boys about Mattoo, the lone boy?" Mayor Andorn asked.

 

"Why not?"

 

"It is very likely they are the ones who left the boy to die under the sand. Our boys say the round ears seem really nice, but they are aliens.  We don't know how they think."

 

"How could young ones act like that?” the governor asked. “Even the Shkah don't act that cruelly."

 

"Like I said, they are aliens and we don't know how they think.  Maybe they act nice to strangers and are cruel to each other.  I think we should wait until we learn more before telling them about Mattoo."

 

"You have convinced me.  I'll let the doctor and his wife know what we discussed.  They will have to tell their son, Enghar, not to let Mattoo know there are others of his species in the Big Valley.  Mattoo might become fearful if they are as cruel and evil as you think."

 

"Thank you, Governor.  Maybe this is all for nothing, but I don't want to see harm come to that young one.  From what I heard, from the way he acts around the doctor’s little one, he could easily be Hakaanen.”

 

They hung up their phones.  "And how long are the phones going to last?" the Governor wondered.  Everything is either wearing out or being cannibalized to make parts for the atmosphere-making machines.  They weren't supposed to be doing all they were being required to this soon in the colonization and were wearing out quickly. The colony still needed supplies from Hakaan, supplies that they haven't seen in 25 years.  He wondered what was happening now on his home planet.

 

 

Bazel and Arkron were discussing their trip to the desert; how much water to take, how much food they needed, and how much they could trust the round-eared young one. A couple of other Shkah men were listening.  One of them thought killing off the alien was a good idea.  As soon as they got the weapons and learned how to use them, they could make the boy their first victim.  But that idea was voted down; the Shkah might need him later.

 

Also, Vordkan liked the boy, which was a plus.  Finally, as much as the Shkah were different, deep inside they were still Hakaanen and it was against their nature to be overtly cruel and sneaky.  But they all admitted they didn't really trust the alien boy.

 

From the bits and pieces Robbachass had told them, the Shkah men gathered that the boys who had arrived at the Big Valley had kicked him out of their group, and mostly because he tried to be a firm leader. 

 

Well, the same thing had happened to them.  They got kicked out of the Big Valley because they had tried to be firm about how to use the machinery and technology that was left after the robot ship came with its message that no more ships would be arriving from the home planet. So they felt like they had a lot in common with the alien boy.  But they weren't sure how he would react when he saw his own kind—whose side would he be on then?

 

The Shkah man who had talked about killing Robert Charles came up with an idea they liked.  While Robbachass was leading Bazel's party to their crashed ship, they would kidnap a couple of the alien boys.  They should have no trouble learning where they were; the Hakaanen never guarded anything, including secrets, so the entire operation should be easy.  The kidnapping would be a good first step in their battle with the Big Valley. 

 

The Shkah went out on occasional small raids, damaging remote Hakaanen farms.  Now it was time to begin to get back at the Hakaanen by stealing something right out of one of their villages.  The Shkah were certain there would be little or no retaliation for the kidnapping.  The Hakaanen would be less likely to react negatively to an alien boy disappearing than to one of their own being kidnapped. The mission would have the double effect of snatching something under their noses while showing them how vulnerable they really were.

 

From what Robbachass had told them, the party should be away for a week.  The unicorns traveled fast, but they would also have to locate the crash.  That would not be easy.  The Shkah leaders calculated that with a couple of days to plan and do some preliminary spying, they would be ready to pull off the kidnapping in four to five days.  When Robbachass returned, a couple of his former shipmates would be their prisoners.  How he reacted to them and treated them would reveal how much they could trust him. It might even tell whether he would live or die.

 

 

The thirteen boys were kept together in the gym of the school.  Cots were brought for them to sleep on.  Bandar told them that the village council was going to take care of them for now, and that the council for the whole colony was going to meet in a couple of days to decide their fate.  For now, they could all stay together in the gym. The Hakaanen would do anything they could to make them comfortable.

 

A table of treats and drinks was laid out for the Earth boys.  The cots were set up.  Even some kind of vid machine was brought in and Bandar showed them how to use it.  Bandar had become important since he was still the only one who could communicate thoughts with the Earth boys.

 

Bandar was hoping to maybe have some sex with the strange looking visitors some day. Even though they looked strange, with rounded ears and no manes, they also looked very sexy.  Their important parts were no different than those of a Hakaanen boy.

 

But he knew it wouldn’t happen right away.  He could see that the boys were tired and a little scared, but he was hoping it could happen soon.  If you changed the shape of the ears and added a mane they don't look any different from us, Bandar thought. More than one boy thought the Hakaanen had a sexy look, too.

 

After Bandar left, Douglas called a meeting.

 

"Well, guys, we're here in the valley, warm and fed and comfortable.  But it still feels like we’re lost. The question is what do we do now?" Douglas asked.

 

"You mean you don't know?" Jeremy asked and everyone laughed.  They knew what Douglas meant.

 

"I know this much," Douglas told them, “we can't let them split us up.  If we get split up we might never all find each other again, especially if we get moved out of this village.  This valley isn't huge, but it's big enough to get lost in."

 

"But will we have a choice?" Mike asked.

 

"I don't know.  We don't know what these aliens are like.  The kids are nice, awesome in fact.  The adults have treated us great.  But that is just this village.  Who knows what this colony council will decide to do? The one thing I think we can all agree on is that we won’t be thrown into jail or executed or something like that. But, we could end up spending the rest of our lives here."

 

The twins were snuffling some.  They had been upset since they learned there was no way off of the planet and no way back to their parents and family.  Right now all they wanted was a house to live in with some kind of a family.  They looked around the gym and knew that this wasn't it.

 

"We just have to tell them we want to be kept together," Alex insisted.  "At least we're lucky and can communicate."

 

"And what if they act like adults and don't listen because they think they know what's best for us?"  Travis asked.

 

"Then we do the best we can to hang together.  Is everybody with me on this?” Douglas asked. “Until we find out more, we don't let ourselves get split up.  We hang together even if it means running off into the woods.  I mean we survived a desert with no food and water.  We should be able to survive woods with food and water."  Douglas looked at the group waiting for an answer.

 

"I'm with Douglas," Scooter said.

 

"We're with you," Mike and Alex said.

 

When the informal poll was completed, four of them didn't agree.  They wanted the wandering and moving around to stop now, even if it meant being split up.  Jordan, Warren, and the twins voted to go wherever the Hakaanen wanted them.  The vote was 8-4, with Douglas, as leader, not voting.

 

"If we do get split up, are you going to stay with the group or leave?" Douglas asked.

 

"We need tonight to think about it," Warren answered.

 

"Fair enough.  And the rest of us will have to decide if we want to leave you four to yourselves.  All of us need to think hard.  We got here by sticking together through hard times.  Let's not let what looks like something comfortable tear us apart. We still have a lot to learn about our hosts before we can totally trust them.”

 

They went to their cots which they had set up in pairs. Scooter and Douglas, Alex and Mike, Travis and Ryan, Warren and Jeremy, and Stevie and Brandon had their cots together.  Jordan was by himself.  The only thing he was wishing for was some of his dad's vodka.  He wondered if the Hakaanen had alcohol. 

 

The twins, Ethan and Logan, had their beds close to each other but not together. They asked Jordan if he wanted to move his cot close to theirs, but he said he was okay being alone, which was a lie. He was too lonely and miserable just now to want to take up the boys’ offer.

 

The boys were fed and watered.  They were reasonably clean. Tomorrow, it was promised, they would be very clean since the showers would be unlocked in the morning. And most importantly, they were very horny. They had little opportunity or desire for sex during their trek to the valley.

 

Ethan could hear the noises of kissing and sex.  He was very hard.

 

"Logan, I want to show you what I learned."

 

"What's that?"

 

"Just slide your bed over."

 

Logan did.  Ethan put his hand on Logan's dick.  He couldn't believe he did that, but after being around this group it seemed totally natural instead of totally weird.

 

"It's this." And Ethan started to stroke his twin brother's little cock.

 

All thirteen had an orgasm before an hour had gone by.  For three of them it was dry.  And for one it was his first ever.  Nobody but the twins had thought of including Jordan, who jerked himself to a dry cum.  Ten of them slept in each other's arms on the double cots.  Only Jordan and the twins didn't. The lights were out and the breathing deep as the boys slept in some kind of a bed for the first time since their last night on the "Starkeeper."

 

 

The village council members and the mayor met in the council chambers of the town hall.

 

"Then it's agreed," the mayor said.  "We have the homes set aside for them to live in. Tomorrow afternoon we move them to families in this village, the neighboring village, and the farms.  We have enough places for all of them to stay.  This will be hard on them for now, but until we can figure out what to do with them, it's all for their own good. We cannot give them the comfort they should have in that gym. They need a family type setting."

 

"I agree,” Councilman Frodero said. “We'll try to let them get together, maybe on weekends.” He was the councilman who had been put in charge of taking care of the boys. "But having them in a home for now is the best thing for them.  We'll move them after lunch tomorrow, with Bandar's help.  I'll talk to him tomorrow morning."

 

The mayor adjourned the meeting knowing they were doing the best thing for the young ones. They needed the comfort and safety of a home to help them acclimate to the Hakaanen way of life. It also would give him and other leaders a chance to learn what the boys were really like. They did not seem evil, yet they had cold-bloodedly left a boy to die in the desert.

 

The boys showered, ate, slept, watched some incomprehensible vids, and for the first time since they’d been stranded on the “Moonduster” became thoroughly bored. They talked a great deal about their future. The four negative votes were still not sure they wanted to run away if the group should get split up. Douglas was beginning to think they might be right—all of them were tired of being on the go and living in the wild.

 

The boys were snuggling close.  Douglas loved the feel of Scooter's arm around him.  He couldn't sleep.  He was worried about them being split apart.  He knew it wasn't the best thing for them right now.  They'd been through too much together to get broken up as soon as they found safety. Even though they wouldn’t acknowledge it, however, they were all lonely, lost, boys who needed more than just each other to survive on this alien planet. 

 

As the boys cuddled up for their second night in the gym, Matthew was in Enghar's bed this time.  He missed his friends, much more than he was missing his parents. Enghar’s parents treated him better than his own parents ever had.  Although he didn’t know how to express it, he was also in love with Enghar.

 

Robert Charles was sleeping alone as well.  The Shkah expedition would be waking up before dawn. He was ready for the expedition.  He was ready to show the Shkah that he was on their side.  He hoped there would be laser guns hidden on the Moonduster. While he had never seen weapons there, or even heard anybody talk about them, he was certain they existed. He ignored the fact that if the weapons did exist, Douglas would have taken them on a trip into an unknown land.  He couldn't wait to have a laser gun in his hand and point it at the faces of Douglas, Alex, and Mike.

 

There was little sexual activity on the cots. The excitement of finding the valley had worn off. The events of the past weeks had the Earth boys more worn out than they would admit. Even though they wouldn’t acknowledge it, they were all lonely, lost, boys who needed more than just each other to survive on this alien planet. 

 

 

Next.  Chapter 31.  Education

 

Comments are welcomed.  E-mail me, Douglas DD, at TheHakaanen@Hotmail.com