The Survivors

CHAPTER 42 DEATH OF A BOY

This story contains sex between minor boys. If such things offend you, or you are not at least 18 years of age, then please don't read on. This story is not true, but who knows, maybe someday it will be.

Welcome back. The battle between the boys led by Robert Charles and those led by Douglas comes to a head. Not everyone survives.

A note of thanks to all of the readers who notified me about the wrong Chapter 41 being posted. That was a very embarrassing moment, but it was gratifying to learn that "The Survivors" has such a nice readership. A couple of you commented on the steady postings of the story. There will be a longer gap than usual next week. I will be away on a trip. I will have little or no email access, but I will be carrying a chapter with me to post just in case. I should get one more chapter posted before I leave. I will be gone for just over a week.

Please donate to the Nifty Archive. It keeps the words flowing.

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Logan and Ethan's family lived toward the outskirts of the town. They walked part of the way home with Warren and Jeremy, the rest of the way by themselves. It had been too late to find a ride home after the meeting, but Douglas and the older boys said they would look into getting rides for everybody the next day.

The twins watched Warren and Jeremy walk into their house, then proceeded to walk the quarter-mile to the house in which they were staying. They stopped when they heard a noise behind some bushes in front of the house they were passing.

A Hakaanen boy jumped out in front of them, causing both boys to scream in surprise. The twins poised to run, but after a second look at the boy, they decided he didn't seem to be dangerous; Hakaanen boys never were.

They didn't recognize him, but Orkyl was the biggest city in the valley and it was very likely they hadn't seen him before. What they didn't know was that Shkah boys didn't dye their manes until they reached puberty, and the naked boy in front of them obviously hadn't reached puberty yet.

The naked boy was Orzano, who was not used to being naked in the open, but rather liked the feeling it gave him. Shkah boys always wore shorts or loin cloths, at least out in public. But he had to act like a Hakaanen, and the best way to do that was to be naked in public like Hakaanen boys often were. He was fighting unsuccessfully to keep his cock from becoming hard, especially since he thought the two-round eared boys in front were sexy looking. Being with Jordan had given him an appreciation of the looks of the round ears. He found the shape of their ears and their smooth, hairless backs were a turn-on for him.

Orzano pointed to the path that wound behind the brush, indicating that the twins should follow him. Logan and Ethan both thought he wanted to mess around like most Hakaanen boys, since he had an erection. They shook their heads, indicating that they weren't interested in following him. Sex with Ryan and Travis, and with each other, was special, but they had no desire to play around with a total stranger. They turned and started walking away, but the Hakaanen boy stepped in front of them.

They thought this was strange since they understood that Hakaanen boys were taught to always accept a no answer to a request for sex. This wasn't the first time they'd been asked. The Hakaanen boys at school all seemed to want to have sex with a round-eared boy, and they thought the twins were particularly erotic.

When he thought about the boys at school, Logan wondered why they hadn't seen the Hakaanen boy at school, especially if he lived in this neighborhood, which was near their school.

He was about to signal Ethan to run when Orzano pointed into the bushes and yelled, "Vort! Vort!"

The twins both knew what a vort was. It was an animal very much like a dog and was the most common pet of the Hakaanen. The twins thought that the boy had lost his vort and wanted them to help him find it. They naively nodded yes and followed him into the brush.

Orzano pretended to be calling for his vort and looking for it. The twins pushed back bushes and brush trying to find the animal. They entered a small clearing where three boys were waiting for them.

Logan recognized all three of them, Jordan, the Shkah teenager, and Robert Charles. Ethan didn't know who Vordkan was, but he certainly knew who the two Earth boys were.

"Well, would you look at who walked right into my hands," Robert Charles said. "What a pleasant surprise. How's it going, Logan? Did ya miss me?" He surveyed the twins. Both boys looked frightened, but one of them was chalky white and shaking uncontrollably while hiccupping little squeaks. There was no doubt in Robert Charles's mind that boy was Logan.

He placed his hand under the boy's chin and lifted it. When Logan saw him take his knife from his belt, he fainted.

Robert Charles looked at Ethan and sniggered. "Are you as big a wuss as your twin?" he asked.

Ethan was starting to shake as well. He tried to answer, but all that came out of his mouth was an almost inaudible, "No.". He was as frightened as he had ever been in his young life. Without warning, Robert Charles punched Ethan in the stomach. Ethan felt the air rush out of his lungs. He doubled over and dropped to the ground next to his brother.

"Go for it, Jordan," Robert Charles ordered.

Jordan walked up to Ethan and hesitated.

"Do it Jordan!" Robert Charles snarled.

Jordan quickly kicked Ethan in the ribs. He tried to hold back, but wasn't sure if he was successful. Robert Charles handed Jordan a laser rifle.

"Next victim," Robert Charles said, pointing to the two young boys on the ground. "Your pick—just be sure to save one of them for me.

Jordan froze. He stared at Robert Charles, wondering if the teen was crazy. Wanting him to kill a strange Hakaanen boy was bad enough, but now he wanted him to kill a boy who had been his shipmate—a boy who had never done anything to deserve what was happening to him. Suddenly the adventure with Robert Charles wasn't as much fun as he thought. He didn't like the punching and kicking. He had kicked Ethan to prove he wasn't a chicken. But killing for no reason—that was too wrong.

Robert Charles laughed. "Chill out, Jordan. I was kidding. I'm gonna let these two little assholes go if they promise me to do one thing."

"What?" Ethan asked as he tried to stand up. Tears were streaming down his cheeks. He was worried about Logan, who was still lying still on the ground. He was willing to do anything and Robert Charles knew it.

RC walked up to Ethan and started rubbing the ten-year-old's ass through his thin shorts. "You can show me if your ass is as hot and tight as your twin brother's. His is great you know and I bet yours is too," he whispered into Ethan's ear. "I'd love to find out how close you two really are."

"You did his ass!" Ethan yelled. "He said you didn't!"

Robert Charles slid his hand inside of Ethan's shorts, poked his finger against the boy's rose and smiled an evil smile. "Your twin brother is a liar. I'm surprised you never figured that out."

"He isn't! You're the liar!" Ethan's fear was turning to anger. Robert Charles slapped his face hard, knocking his head sideways.

"I just let you live, you little faggot, this is the thanks I get? Now you listen to me! You tell that piece of shit Douglas what I just did. And you tell him I can get him or any of you guys any time I want. You tell him I said his ass is mine, cuz I'm gonna fuck it like crazy before I cut his throat."

He pushed Ethan back down to the ground and kicked him in the ribs. Then he stepped over and kicked Logan, who had just regained consciousness, in the ribs.

"Come on guys" he said to his three followers. "Let's leave these piles of crap here on the ground." He started to walk away, then turned around and stared at Logan with his dark vacant eyes. "Douglas is gonna watch me do to you what I should've done to you on that hill, little boy."

The four boys took off into the brush.

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Douglas was studying the worksheet on Hakaanen nouns the teacher had made for them. He was picking up the language quickly, as were all of the Earth boys. Learning how to listen wasn't real hard. Learning how to say and pronounce the words was much harder, and the alphabet made no sense at all. Douglas thought it wouldn't take him very long to learn to have a conversation, but he wondered if he would ever learn how to read it.

The phone rang and Kallama answered it. He called Douglas over to take the phone call.

"Hello?...Hi Logan...Say What?...Shit! That bastard! That son of a bitch...Yeah. I'll make sure to get you two and Warren and Jeremy rides to school tomorrow. We will all meet before class starts...OK. See ya, Logan."

"What was that about?" Scooter asked.

"Logan and Ethan were stopped by Robert Charles, Jordan, and the two Shkah boys on the way home from school. I guess they got threatened and beat up by the assholes. Then RC threatened the rest of us, which isn't news. What is news is that he is here and brave enough to advertise it. Tomorrow we gotta meet right away and decide what to do." "That bastard," Scooter exclaimed. "We should have shot him back in the desert and been rid of him. I hope Logan and Ethan are okay. And it's certainly no surprise that he's looking for us. But, if he's here, what are you thinking we should do?" "In the morning, since you're the only one who can speak their language, you're going to have to find rides for all of us so we can be protected," was Douglas's reply. "I can do that. Since tomorrow looks like a busy day, let's say good night to our hosts and get to bed." After Scooter made a few phone calls, he and Douglas were ready to retire for the night. Douglas smiled at his lover and they said goodnight to their hosts. They went into the back bedroom together and lay next to each other on the bed. It was so nice to be on a nice soft bed, to exchange soft kisses, to stroke and pet each other softly, to touch each other's smooth soft skin, and to slowly build up their passion, moving, hugging, kissing, stroking, feeling, until Douglas gently entered his boyfriend's tight rear and made beautiful love to him. They fell asleep wrapped up in each other.

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When they arrived at school they got permission from Modar to meet. The first person Scooter had called was Modar. He knew the boys needed to talk. He could see that Logan and Ethan were still shook up from the attack.

"It looks like RC is here and ready to get us," Douglas told the group as the meeting started. "Mayor Andorn asked Governor Rebosh if he could assign some policemen to help protect us. The governor said no." Douglas spit out the word governor. "He said all us round ears are on the same side anyway and we weren't in real danger. If anything, he should have us arrested. Let me tell you, I sure wish I could vote in this election coming up."

"I want to go home," Logan blurted out. Ryan went over to him and gave him a long, protective hug.

"I don't think that will ever happen," Douglas said as he finally admitted the inevitable. "We'd better face that and accept it. Inferno is now our home and the first thing we have to do is make it a safe home for us. And that means protecting ourselves and doing something about Robert Charles. We start by making sure we stay in big groups or by having Hakaanen adults give us rides or both.

"We also need to talk to Mayor Andorn about giving us our rifles." Douglas had reluctantly agreed to have the mayor store their rifles since none of the Hakaanen hosts wanted the weapons in their homes. He wasn't sure how they would deal with that, but for right now he didn't care—he knew they needed to be armed.

They started planning their walk home. Douglas and Scooter had talked things over with Kallama and Gorgio before school and had made a couple of other calls. They had a plan set up. Scooter, Douglas, Alex, Mike, Brandon, Stevie, Ryan, and Travis would walk as a group to where Douglas and Scooter lived, which was only a four of blocks away from the school.

They would wait there until Kallama got home. Then Kallama would take the other four to their house in his carriage. Going the other way Logan, Ethan, Warren, Matthew, and Jeremy would wait at the school with Enghar and the teacher until Enghar's father picked them up in his car and dropped them off at their houses. It would be a tight fit, but they were all small and could sit on laps.

At the end of the school day they followed their plan. Douglas's group walked together. They were surprised and pleased to see Bandar and Hajo waiting outside for them. They had left their school early and rode to Orkyl with Mayor Andorn. Bandar had been searching the area around the school for anything suspicious but didn't find anything. He had his eyes wide open and was carrying a laser rifle with him. His father, the mayor, given him the rifle for protection.

Orzano watched them go down the street, then mixed himself in with the rest of the Hakaanen kids coming out of the school. It was so strange seeing so many of the kids, both boys and girls, naked.

"So, those are the famous round ears," he said to a boy who looked his age.

"Yeah. They're in their own class right now, but as soon they learn our language they will be right with us in our classes. That's what they say anyway," the boy answered.

"Everybody says they're so brave. I came all the way from Kanshua (a village at the north end of the Big Valley) to look at them. Are they staying up that street?"

"They're staying all around here. They are all leaving together home all together because a couple of the round ears are like the Shkah and want to hurt people."

"So that's why the one Hakaanen boy is armed?"

"Yeah. But I've heard the round ears have guns stored somewhere. I bet they all have rifles tomorrow. Two of them got attacked yesterday."

"Where does Dooglass live? I'd love to see his house. I mean he's so famous because he is the round-ears' leader.."

"They live in a big white house. It belongs to a doctor and his Meshanna. It has flower baskets hung all around the front. You can't miss it. The house across from it is empty. An old guy lived there and he got so old he had had to be moved to an old people's home. I heard some new people will move in soon." Orzano was pleased that he had picked the right kid to ask. He seemed to know a lot and he loved to talk.

"Hey, thanks. This is all so awesome. I have to go meet my parents now."

Orzano left the school, but went in a different direction than Doug's group. After going a couple of blocks he circled back to Douglas's street. He walked until he came upon a white house with flower boxes and baskets hanging in front. Across from it was an empty brown house that was two stories tall. The top story had a wide balcony that was built over a big front porch. Orzano checked it all out and then headed out of town to meet the rest of his gang and report to them.

"This is too good to be true," Robert Charles said after hearing Orzano's report. "Douglas's little cabinet walking up that street all together. All we have to do is sit in that empty house and just pick them off. It would be nice if those little twins were with them, but I guess a guy can't have everything."

"I thought you were going to do this slowly," Jordan said.

"I was, but I can't pass this chance up. Douglas, Scooter, Mike, and Alex, will be lined up like ducks waiting for us to knock them off. Tomorrow won't be too soon."

"And then what? We stand around waiting to be caught?" This was not the first time Jordan had started considering the consequences. After this attack they would have to go into hiding. There was no doubt they would be caught—the valley simply wasn't big enough to hide in for long and from what he could see, they'd have to go into hiding for a lifetime.

"Hell, no. We escape back to the small valley and the Shkah will protect us, right Vordkan?

"Look Jordan, these poor fools on this planet couldn't lead a man dying of thirst to water. Without Douglas the Hakaanen can't fight. We go back to the Shkah, I get Arkron and Bazel and their other leaders to help us, and then it will be me, and not that faggot Douglas, who leads somebody to victory on this hell-hole of a planet. All Douglas won was a battle, I plan on winning the war!"

That night Jordan was lying under his blankets aching to be hugged. He remembered listening to his father come back to their cabin after spending most of the day in Engineering. Jordan would wish for his father to come into his room and hug him and tell him he loved him. Instead his dad would sit in the living area and drink booze.

He remembered how by drinking his father's alcohol he could get drunk, which got rid of the hurt. He remembered how he always tried to find a smaller boy on the ship and find ways to make the boy like him, like he had done with Matthew. But with Matthew he found himself getting strong feelings for him, especially after the crash landing. And he remembered how he loved it when Robert Charles did sexy things with him and how much he loved the attention from the older boy.

He pulled the blankets off and crawled into Robert Charles's sleeping bag, waking him up.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"I want you to fuck me," Jordan whispered.

"Hey, sure, why not. We can have some fun before the killing starts. Thinking of tomorrow had me really horny anyway. I was just thinking of maybe fucking that cute little Shkah boy." Jordan's heart sank some when he heard that.

Jordan offered his ass to the teen, who mounted him and entered him without fanfare. They went at it doggy style with Robert Charles thinking only of his own pleasure. Nevertheless, Jordan loved the feel of Robert Charles hammering his insides.

"I love you, Rob, I love you," the twelve-year-old called out as the teen fucked him. Sweat poured off both naked boys as RC humped the preteen whom he knew worshipped him. Orzano and Vordkan watched as they masturbated. The four boys came within seconds of each other.

Jordan snuggled up to Robert Charles. "I love you," he whispered. "Do you love me?"

There was a long silence and then Robert Charles started laughing. "Oh, man, you're a funny dude. Hey, you're a great fuck, but no way do I love you. I mean, I'm not queer like most the guys on that fucking starship seem to be. Now, why don't you crawl back into your own bed and quit getting mushy on me. Be a man."

Jordan crawled out of Robert Charles's sleeping bag and back into his bedding and broke down sobbing. Orzano heard him and crawled under the covers with Jordan and held on to him, giving his round-eared friend the kind of loving friendship that Jordan craved. Jordan accepted Orznano's hug, even though the boy was an alien. The hugs and the love he really wanted was from Robert Charles, just like he had wanted them from his father.

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The "Starkeeper" boys spent a restless night. They were worried about Robert Charles. Since they couldn't sleep, some of them took care of their worries by making love to each other.

Travis and Ryan didn't get to sleep until after midnight. They spent three hours working each other up to satisfying orgasms each. Two sixty-nines and a rub off with deep kissing finally sated them and they fell asleep in each other's arms.

Jeremy made love to Warren, his partner. Warren loved having Jeremy inside of him, and Jeremy loved making love to the skinny little teen he'd fallen in love with. He was proud of Warren for fighting through his asthma and taking a big part in their battle against the Shkah. His boyfriend had come a long way since the crash landing on Inferno, and his courage made him that much sexier.

All of Matthew's love was for Enghar. Matthew couldn't get enough of the Hakaanen boy, and Enghar couldn't get enough of the Earth boy. Enghar was thankful every day for bringing this wonderful, sweet, loving boy to him. In a very selfish, but loving way, he prayed every day that the round ears would never find a way to return home because he wanted Mattoo with him for the rest of his life.

As their sex progressed, Matthew was usually the bottom and Enghar was the top. Both of them loved it that way. Matthew knew deep in his heart that if his "big brother" Mike had not helped him that night on the "Starkeeper" when he wished he wasn't alive any more, he wouldn't be in this bed making love to the beautiful boy with the pointed ears, the emerald green eyes, and the soft golden mane. Matthew rubbed his fingers along the tops of Enghar's ears, something Enghar loved and found very erotic. He rubbed Enghar's firm round butt. He relaxed and let Enghar make love to him until they both were close to orgasm. Then Enghar popped out and they pushed close to each other and rubbed their hard dicks together, kissing deep and lovingly. Their bodies writhed and humped and it didn't take long for them to climax. The fierce orgasms produced a surprise.

Enghar told Matthew he had something wet on him. Matthew looked down and could see that one of them had shot some clear drops of boy cum. Enghar didn't have a cast holding him down and could move easier, so he took the tips of their cocks and rubbed them. He told Matthew he couldn't be sure, but he thought that maybe both of them had shot something. Now they had something to check out the next time they had sex.

"Ost lesha drey, Enghar."

"I loff yoou, Mattoo."

Mike, Alex, Stevie, and Brandon were staying together in the same house. They had bedrooms side by side, but on this night the four of them slept in one room. Brandon was with Stevie, and Mike with Alex, but before they fell asleep they had all been on the floor sharing their love. Their bodies touched each other all over, and when they ended up cumming it was on or in whomever was closest. They all lost track after two or three cums with each who had done what with whom.

The twins had learned about sixty-nine from Travis and Ryan and used what they learned on each other. Not so much to be lovers, but because it felt good and because they wanted to show their love as brothers. For a few moments it made them forget the horror of their encounter with Robert Charles.

Finally, there were Scooter and Douglas. Their lovemaking was like that of Matthew and Enghar. Rubbing and humping and kissing and touching and not able to get enough of each other. When they were finished, Douglas wondered if there was lovemaking going among the others in the group. He decided most of them were probably doing something together that night. He knew there could be no group of boys in the galaxy who were as beautiful and as full of love as the boys from the "Starkeeper". He was proud to be their leader.

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All of the boys received rides or walked in a large group to school. Once again they met before the lessons started. Nobody had heard anything from Robert Charles and his friends. There wasn't even a raid or a food robbery the day before. All they knew was Robert Charles, Jordan, and the two Shkah boys were near the city. Mayor Andorn was going to use the two policemen from his town to hunt for the four boys, but he knew it wasn't enough. What they really needed was the cooperation of the governor.

Robert Charles, Vordkan, Jordan, and Orzano had snuck through the woods and fields to the outskirts of the town an hour before dawn. Orzano had done some scouting .Vordkan still had green and blue dye in his mane, although his natural golden hair was showing at the roots. He couldn't do any public scouting, but Orzano was showing his worth. Robert Charles decided that he wanted to fuck the young Shkah boy that night to celebrate winning their battle. They were able to use all of their information to map out a way to the abandoned house across the road from Kallama and Gorgio's house that made it unlikely they would be seen in the predawn darkness.

After the boys found the empty house, they entered it through the backdoor. Like all Hakaanen houses, it was unlocked. Robert Charles couldn't help but laugh at how easy it was to take anything from the Hakaanen.

The house still had furniture in it, but they could tell nobody had lived there for a while. They went upstairs and looked out of the windows and surveyed the house across the road. Coming around a corner were Mike, Alex, Brandon, and Stevie along with Bandar and Hajo. Bandar was armed with a laser rifle, but the rest of them were unarmed.

Robert Charles and his gang watched Mike ring the doorbell. Douglas and Scooter stepped out onto the porch. He watched as the boys exchanged greetings and then walk down the road towards the school. Robert Charles lined up his rifle with each of the boys and faked some shots through the glass. Jordan followed his example.

Vordkan and Orzano watched what the two Earth boys were doing. Robert Charles had told Vordkan that he and Jordan would have first pick of whom to shoot, and that they could have the leftovers. Then he laughed the evil laugh that was becoming more and more a part of his persona. .

At lunch Enghar was talking with his new friend, Mycroff. Mycroff told him about the stranger he met after school and how interested he was in the round ears. He told Enghar how he had helped them out. Enghar thought that was cool and didn't give it much more thought. His round-eared friends were now famous heroes and everybody wanted to know about them.

Robert Charles napped on one of the beds. He was trying to remember the last time he had slept in a totally comfortable bed. He told Jordan to keep watch for the next hour while the rest of them slept, and then to wake up Vordkan for the next hour's watch.

Jordan looked out of the upstairs windows. He thought of his father, whom he loved but who would never hug him. He thought about the boys he'd started seducing on starships since he was ten. He thought about the "Starkeeper" boys on Inferno.

They all seemed to love each other. Robert Charles was right, they were all a bunch of queers. But maybe I'm one too, he thought. He liked sex with other boys, and had been doing it for almost three years. Recently he'd had special feelings beyond just being horny—both for Matthew and for Robert Charles.

Jordan had always done things with boys his age or younger. His relationships always ended when the voyage of his ship was over and were always about sex instead of friendship. But with Matthew and RC, there had been more, especially with Matthew who had never been able to return his feelings because he'd been hurt. Only queers felt the way he did about other guys, he thought.

Jordan fought back tears. He had said it. He was queer. A faggot. Gay. And in love with Matthew. He wanted him any way he could, even if that meant hurting Matthew's pointy-eared friend.

If Robert Charles knew he was queer, he would probably hate him. He thought about last night, and how RC had laughed at him when he said he loved him. But he did love him. Or did he? He didn't really know. He was twelve. How could he know? But he did know—he knew that he loved Matthew, not Robert Charles. He started stroking himself, thinking of Matthew, then Robert Charles, then back and forth between them, until he shot three streams of clear cum over his belly and down his dick. He rubbed it over himself and sleep overtook his confused young mind.

At the afternoon break Douglas met with Mayor Andorn and Bandar. They had brought all of the laser rifles. The Mayor said they would be left with the principal, locked in his office to be picked up after school.

This isn't like Earth schools, Douglas thought. Nobody would ever allow a weapon inside an Earth school. Then it occurred to him that the Hakaanen were not experienced with weapons. They didn't have any guns except for the laser rifles that the "Starkeeper" boys had brought. As a result they probably didn't have any policies or laws about them. He was grateful for that and grateful to have the weapons.

Back at the abandoned house, Robert Charles shook Jordan awake. He saw that the preteen's belly was sticky with cum.

"Wake up, dumb shit," Robert Charles growled. "Some lookout you are. Get responsible and do your job. I should make you watch for the next hour, but I'll wake up Vordkan to relieve you. You'd probably just fall asleep again, or jerk off again, or just be a dumb shit again. Well, only have a couple more hours before school is out and we take care of Douglas and his gang of assholes for good."

Robert Charles woke up Vordkan, who left his bed to replace Jordan on lookout duty. Jordan then replaced Vordkan on the bed and sulked. Guard duty had been his chance to make Robert Charles proud of him and he blew it.

He was certain he wouldn't blow it when Douglas and everybody came walking home from school. Robert Charles had it all planned out. He planned who was going down and when. Jordan knew he was going to be ready. He would shoot whomever Robert Charles told him to shoot. With that thought he fell into a restless sleep filled with fleeting, disturbing dreams.

At the end of the school day, Douglas held a meeting in the cafeteria. Bandar, Hajo, Alex, Mike, and Douglas brought the stored weapons. The two Hakaanen were armed, though they both knew it was mostly for show, since they had never fired a weapon before. But then, with a laser rifle, it was easy to make up for mistakes. The principal had an announcement to make to the boys. He told them that there would be no ride available for the twins' group and the governor forbade the use of an Orkyl policeman to accompany the boys home.

It was decided that Bandar and Hajo would walk with Logan, Ethan, Warren, Matthew, Jeremy, and Enghar. Matthew was getting on well with his crutches and was certain he could walk to the house where he and Enghar were staying—it was only a couple of blocks away. Ryan volunteered to help. Logan smiled, happy his big brother would be with them.

Mike, Alex, Stevie, Brandon, Douglas, Scooter, and Travis would travel as a group to Kallama and Gorgio's house. They were all older boys, which was why Bandar and Hajo would be needed to help the younger ones. Bandar, Hajo, Ryan, and Jeremy had rifles. Mike, Alex, Douglas, and Travis carried them for their group. Neither group took the smaller laser pistols.

Douglas was upset that Governor Rebosh refused to help them. The governor was so different from any of the Hakaanen he'd met that he wondered how he managed to get elected. He lacked any of the friendliness and charm that seemed to be such an integral part of the Hakaanen being.

Vordkan looked at his watch. It was time to wake everybody up—Douglas and his crew would be coming home from school soon. He woke up the other three boys. The four of them went out on the upper balcony. The balcony fence was almost solid wood and if they kept low, they couldn't be seen from below. There were openings three openings between the wooden panel where they could see who was coming up the street.

The two groups of boys walked off of the school playfield. The boys exchanged hugs and then started on their own way. Mycroff decided to accompany his new friend Enghar's group, which pleased Enghar, Bandar and Hajo.

The rest of the Hakaanen boys had left the school in a hurry, determined to avoid the round-ears. They were all afraid of an attack, but Mycroff thought the affair sounded like an adventure. He was twelve and life in Orkyl was usually boring. Besides, he liked Enghar a lot. Even though he'd just met him, he thought the two of them might be Meshannas someday.

Douglas and his group covered the first two blocks quickly but cautiously. It would be hard to find a hiding place close to the school. As they reached the edge of town, the houses were farther apart with bushes, trees, to hide in, and there was the turn in the road just before their destination house. There were also a couple of open fields they needed to skirt. The boys were well aware that a good hiding place for them could also be a good hiding place for Robert Charles and his gang.

Mycroff was chatting away as the first group got to Enghar's house. Enghar planned on dropping Matthew off there and going with the rest of the group in case they needed help. Enghar gave Matthew a big hug and a kiss, which Mycroff noticed. Then they headed off to where Warren and Jeremy were staying.

Robert Charles looked at the turn in the road. It looked like he would have a clear view of the group as they came around the turn. They wouldn't be in range of the rifles right away, but everybody would be ready as soon as they were.

Douglas came up to the last cross street before the road started heading into the country. They would cross the street and walk almost a block before they reached the bend in the road. This was where they would have to be really careful. Douglas was becoming increasingly angry at the situation. He would have to meet with Mayor Andorn and the adults taking care of them the next day and let them know this could not happen again.

They would either get rides from adults, or they would stay at home or at school—but they would not expose themselves in the open. Douglas wondered if the adults couldn't supply rides after school because, like the Hakaanen students at the school, they were afraid of Robert Charles and his gang. Douglas didn't blame the kids for being scared, but his group depended on the adults for safety. The governor apparently wasn't the only coward among the Hakaanen.

Enghar and Mycroft jogged along a side street as they tried to catch up to Douglas's group. Enghar was trying to check out the area around him and ignore Mycroff's constant chatter.

"..and then I told him about the abandoned house across from where they were staying."

Something caught Enghar's attention. "Told who about what abandoned house?"

"The stranger kid from the north end. I told him about the abandoned house across from where Doctor Kallama lives.... he was real interested in it and...."

"Shit!" Enghar said. That stranger kid wasn't from the north end; he was the Shkah boy with the raiders. "I hope I'm not too late!" Enghar yelled. He started running full tilt to warn Douglas of the ambush Mycroff looked at Enghar like he had lost his mind.

Douglas's group got to the bend in the road. There was a house on the right and an open field on the left, then they saw the abandoned house across from the doctor. Douglas felt that they were out of danger—nobody could hide in the field. They started around the bend. Douglas looked up at the second story of the abandoned house. Something about the balcony didn't look right—something about the door.

Robert Charles saw the figures coming around the bend. He counted seven of them. He could see that now they were now armed. He gestured to Jordan to be ready.

Enghar cut through a couple of yards as he tried taking short cuts. He had to warn Douglas before it was too late about the danger in the abandoned house. He didn't know if they would think to look there.

The group came around the turn. There were four houses in sight. The doctor's house, the empty one across the street, and two large houses a few hundred feet down the road. They didn't think anybody would be able to hide on this part of the road, but they looked carefully. Alex and Mike took a quick look behind the abandoned house, but saw nothing out of place. As far as Douglas knew, Robert Charles didn't know where he was staying.

Bandar led his group back to the house where Enghar and Matthew were staying. Something was wrong and he needed to go after Enghar to find out what it was. He didn't know where he was going, but Ryan did, and using gestures and what little Hakaanen language he had learned, he let Bandar know he should follow him.

Robert Charles watched as the boys got within range of their rifles. He and Jordan knew what order to shoot down the boys. Douglas was going to be last and belonged to him. He checked his rifle to make sure it was set to kill. He pointed to Jordan's rifle. Jordan looked at his setting and nodded yes.

Enghar felt his lungs burning as he raced down the street. He had only one more block to cover and he would be meeting the street that Doctor Kallama lived on.

Douglas and his group were almost at the gate into the yard of the doctor's house. He looked over at the house across the street. He saw that the door to the balcony was open. That was what wasn't right, he thought—it should be closed. He raised his rifle and turned to tell Alex about the door when he saw a flash of light and saw Travis drop to the ground. With his rifle ready he was able to get a shot off, which splintered the wood at the top of the balcony fence.

Another flash from the balcony knocked Stevie down. Alex and Mike raised their rifles up to fire. Another flash hit the house. Douglas knocked Scooter down to the ground, then squatted in front of him.

Robert Charles watched Jordan hit Travis and Stevie. Damn fine shooting, he thought. Then he aimed for Scooter, but fucking Douglas knocked him down. Douglas was going to be last, so he avoided shooting the leader. He fired, but his shot was wild and it hit the garden fence behind the boys. Alex and Mike fired back, hitting the balcony and a window, shattering the window. Then they tried to run through the gate and behind the fence to use it as a shield.

Jordan fired a long burst. Alex and Mike were both hit before they could run through the gate. Jordan's father had often taken Jordan to the crew training area on the starships he had been assigned to, and the boy had become an excellent shot.

Douglas was squatting in front of Scooter.

"We've gotta go through the gate," Douglas yelled. A burst of fire hit in front of him. Jordan had fired it and knew better than to shoot Douglas. Scooter stayed low and scurried though the gate while Douglas shot off a covering shot.

Robert Charles had been almost frozen by the whole exchange. He wasn't ready to take return fire—the boys hadn't had any weapons that morning. He was certain the rifles weren't set to kill, but they still scared the shit out of him.

Except for his one wild burst by Robert Charles, Jordan had done all of the shooting. Neither Earth boy noticed Vordkan and Orzano slink through the open door to the house . Robert Charles looked up over the top of the balcony fence and took aim at Scooter, who was scrambling into the yard. Jordan saw him ready to fire at Scooter and Douglas. He knew that Robert Charles had his gun set to kill.

The action then turned into slow motion for him. In his mind he heard Douglas in the hospital saying they would all love him no matter what. He remembered Douglas said he loved him, and nobody, not his dad, not Robert Charles, not anybody had ever told him he loved him. He saw Robert Charles taking aim. Robert Charles, the one who had laughed at him and had shunned at his love.

Jordan's mind exploded and he screamed, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!" Robert Charles hesitated, giving Jordan time to attack. Jordan dropped his rifle, grabbed the rifle in Robert Charles's hand and tried to wrestle it away. In the struggle the rifle went off, hitting Jordan in the chest. Jordan fell against the fence, breaking it, and fell down into the bushes below, his fingers still clutching Robert Charles's rifle.

Robert Charles grabbed Jordan's rifle off the deck. Douglas could see Robert Charles clearly through the broken fence and fired off a quick burst. It was low and hit the side of the decking. Robert Charles aimed Jordan's rifle at Douglas. Douglas took another aim at Robert Charles. They fired at the same time. Robert Charles hit Douglas in the chest and Douglas's burst hit Robert Charles in the belly. Both boys dropped to the ground, unconscious.

Enghar came running around the turn just as the last bursts were fired. He looked at nine boys lying on the ground in front of the house and he knew he was too late. He sat on the ground and started crying. He didn't notice a Shkah boy and a Shkah teen running out of the back of the empty house and into the yard behind it. All he saw was nine round-eared boys, seven of whom had become his friends, and now they were all gone.

NEXT: Chapter 43. Ost Lesha Drey

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