CHAPTER 32
Matters of Life and Death
by Douglas DD
Travis was looking up the driveway with Prekan when he saw all three boys fall down at once, but he didn't see the net drop on them.
"Something is wrong," he said. "Let's go!"
Prekan didn't understand a word that Travis said, but he got the idea of what he wanted. He ran up the driveway with Travis. They saw what looked like a net that had dropped over the three boys and two Hakaanen men grabbing two of of the boys and getting them up on their unicorns. One of the men grabbed the third boy when he saw Travis and Prekan running up the driveway, but he couldn't hold on to him. They rode off quickly, two of them with a struggling boy.
Travis and Prekan ran up the driveway and found Drake lying on the ground. Ryan and Drew were gone. They ran to the house to report what happened.
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Scooter sensed something as he and Douglas turned the corner. He looked out toward the bushes. He saw someone stand up. Douglas was a couple of steps in front of him. Everything seemed so clear. It was like everything was going into slow motion. He lowered his shoulder and drove it into Douglas, sending him flying to the ground. He felt a sting in his side then tremendous pain, and fell to the ground next to Douglas.
"What the fuck, Scooter," Douglas said as he fell to the ground. He heard a whizzing noise and then a grunt from Scooter. Douglas turned around angrily to say something to Scooter when he saw the arrow in his side and blood flowing on to the ground.
"Oh my God! Scooter! Scooter! What happened?" Douglas yelled. He looked up in the bushes and saw somebody run. He wanted to chase him but he knew Scooter needed help right now. He started yelling. He wished he was wearing clothes so he could put something around Scooter's wound to help stop up the bleeding.
"Bandar!" he screamed.
Mike and Alex heard the screaming and came from in front of the house. They stopped and stared at Scooter's bloody body. Douglas pointed to the bushed behind the house. "It was a Hakaan man. He's about 30 seconds ahead."
Mike and Alex took off into the brush. Bandar and his dad came running out of the back door. Bandar's dad took one look at Scooter and ran in and got some towels. He told Bandar to call the emergency number as he put the towels against the wound to stop the bleeding.
"Scooter, are you okay?" Douglas asked. Scooter moaned. Oh God, Scooter, don't die on me, Douglas thought. "You saved my life," he told Scooter. "You were so awesome brave. You're going to be okay. I won't let anything happen to you."
Bandar and his dad, were talking. Douglas couldn't understand what they were saying. All he was thinking was, I hope they have good doctors here. Because I sure do see a lot of blood.
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Robert Charles and Vordkan laid out their sleeping bags in the corner Robert Charles had built for himself when he was the leader. They zipped them together and smiled. They would be in them soon. They went back up the ladder. The Shkah men were looking at the laser guns. Robert Charles looked the guns over and saw that they were charged.
They went outside and set up some targets. Robert Charles showed them how to shoot the guns. They took target practice. It didn't take much time for the Shkah to become good. They were hitting the targets. Of course it didn't hurt that they were shooting with a steady light that could almost be swept from side to side and still hit a target.
The last thing Robert Charles did as it got dark was show them were the "kill" button was.
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The Shkah pulled up on the reigns of the unicorns. The boys they had were struggling and yelling. The follower Shkah caught up to them and helped to tie and gag them. The three of them rode off to meet the shooter who was waiting for them at the edge of the forest.
"Did you get him?"
"No. His friend saw me or something and pushed him. I ended up hitting the friend instead. I had a perfect shot at the bastard too. I'll get a chance again."
"We'll see. We better get out of here with these guys. We got one of the younger ones, but the other one got away because his friends were coming. But we got this bigger one. We have two. Now let's take them to the hiding place."
They rode off hard through the woods with Ryan and Drew tied up on the their unicorns. They were heading for a cave up in the hills where they would wait for the round eared boy to come back with the weapons.
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Matthew loved his first day of language lessons. The Hakaan language was not a difficult one. It's grammar was a lot like English, but the words and alphabet were very different. Matthew was a very smart boy and was picking things up fast from his tutor and from Enghar.
He heard a flyer go over the house. He didn't even know they had one that worked. Enghar looked at him and said something. Matthew understood "hurt bad." He figured the flyer must be used for emergencies if somebody got hurt a long way off. What he didn't know was the hospital he had been in was the the only one in the valley and they needed the flyer to get emergencies to it.
Matthew wondered who got hurt and how. Not that he would ever know. He and Enghar went back to work on Matthew's vocabulary lesson. Enghar knew the flyer wasn't used much, so it must be somebody really hurt bad.
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Travis, Drake, and Prekan knocked on the door of the house and yelled. Honneg answered the door. Prekan told him what happened and he ran to get his parents. They got right on the phone, calling the mayor's house. There were no police in the valley because there wasn't any crime. The only problem were the Shkah and they were given a home on a different valley to keep them out of everybody's way. Sometimes they raided farms, but since nobody was ever hurt the Hakaanen didn't go after the Shkah. They were willing to lose some fruits and vegetables and an animal or two if that meant not having to fight. The Haakenen hated fighting and the Shkah knew it, which is why they knew they could do whatever they wanted with impunity.
The mayor's partner answered the phone. He told Honneg's parents what happened there. They had no doubt that the Shkah were behind this, but this went way farther than anything they had ever tried before. Both of them were starting to get frightened. For some reason the Shkah had something against the round eared boys, and they were going to have to figure out what to do about the boys, because they didn't want any trouble to start.
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The emergency van showed up and two medics got out. They started working on Scooter to slow down the bleeding. They decided not to take the arrow out and called the hospital and told them they had an emergency that needed quick trasnportation to the hospital. The medic on the radio said they would send the flyer.
Douglas could see that they were worried. He wished he could understand what everybody was saying. He was scared. Scooter was on the ground with the arrow in him because he tried to save his life. Douglas would trade his for Scooter's if he only could. He was willing his friend and lover to live.
"It's gonna be okay, Scooter. You're gonna be okay," Douglas kept telling his love over and over.
Suddenly he heard a noise up over him and saw a flyer coming over the house.
Oh shit, he thought, if they have to fly him out it's gotta be really serious.
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Mike and Alex had caught glimpses of the Hakaanen man as they chased him through the brushy field. They saw him reach a unicorn. He got up on it, sat in the saddle, and rode off. They did notice that his mane was a bright green, not the usual golden one of the Hakaanen, but they didn't know what that meant. Disappointed, the walked back to the house just in time to see the flyer land at the edge of the field.
They saw Scooter being carried on a stretcher with Douglas beside him. They came up to Douglas as Scooter was being put into the flier.
I love you, Scooter, you're going to be okay. Douglas sent his thoughts to his love.
It hurts my sweetums. It hurts, Scooter thought back. I love you.
You saved my life. I love you. You're gonna be fine, my love.
I hurt so bad......
Douglas couldn't get any more as Scooter lost consciousness. Douglas went to get on the flyer after Scooter but was stopped by one of the medics.
"You have to let me go with him!" he cried.
The medic said something in Hakaan. Douglas made a move to go around him, but he got grabbed by the medic.
"No! No! You don't understand! I LOVE HIM! He needs me."
He tried to get on again, but was shoved aside. He pushed at the medic and was going to try again when he was grabbed from behind and pulled back.
"Let me go! Let me go! I gotta be with him. They can't split us up. I gotta go!"
Douglas struggled against Mike, but Mike wouldn't let him go.
"It's gonna be okay, Douglas. He's gonna be okay. Don't make it harder on him."
Douglas turned around and buried his face in Mike's chest. His sobs shook his whole body. The flyer took off from the field. Douglas looked up and watched his best friend and lover disappear from view. Then he put his face back in Mike's chest and sobbed until all he could do was shake. He had no more tears left.
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Travis didn't know what to do now. He didn't know what was going on and couldn't understand anybody as they all chattered away in Hakaan. Drake was upset because his brother was gone and Travis was upset because his Rydawg was gone. He decided he needed to find Douglas and the group. They needed a meeting now.
The Hakaanen adults were all jabbering and talking. Travis took Drake's hand and led him out of the house and down the driveway. He was heading for the mayor's house because that was where Douglas and Scooter would be.
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The Shkah men rode hard into the woods until they figured they weren't going to be followed. They knew the Hakaanen would probably do nothing for now. That was the way they were. They were too peaceful to do anything. They would talk and moan a lot but wouldn't take any action.
They kept the boys tied and gave them some water, but no food. Tomorrow they would take them up into the hills and to the cave. They would wait until Arkron came with the round eared boy. What happened to the two round eared young ones on the ground would be up to him. That would be his test.
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Matthew heard the flyer coming back. He hoped whoever was on it wasn't too badly hurt. Enghar's dad was getting ready to leave. Matthew heard him talking to Enghar and Enghar's mom. Because it was fast he couldn't make it all out, but he did understand some of the words. He understood "round eared" and "hurt" and "attacked."
The doctor went racing out the door. The injured round eared boy was being sent to him because he was the doctor who fixed Matthew. It was figured he at least knew something about fixing the round ears.
Matthew wished he could talk the language better. He went to Enghar and asked, "Round ears?" in Hakaan.
"Round ears?" he asked back.
Matthew pointed up to the sky where the flyer had been. "Round eared boy?"
Enghar hesitated. But if Matthew was asking the question, he thought, he must have overheard something so he figured he might as well tell. He would find out soon enough anyway.
"Yes," he said with a nod.
Matthew felt some tears coming up. One of his friends was found and was hurt. He had to find out who it was. He had to go see him and find out what had happened to all his friends. He had to let them know that he was still alive. He started dripping tears, and tried to wipe them away before Enghar noticed them. But it was too late. Enghar knew his lover's moods, and could sense the tears even before they fell.
Enghar knew why Matthew was crying. At first he felt jealous. Then he remembered how much he loved his round eared friend and walked over and gave him a big hug. Both boys were crying and hugging together. Enghar decided right then he would find out all he could for his Mattoo and let him see his round eared friend if everything ended up okay. He knew that he would do anything for his friend, because loved him more than he thought he could love anyone. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
At the hospital the doctor was looking at Scooter. He was glad he had had a chance to examine Matthew totally. He compared the x-rays and scans of Scooter to Matthew's insides.
Scooter had been taken up to the operating room where the doctor and his nurse met him. He was still bleeding some and the arrow was still in him. The doctor used the same kind of pain killer that worked on Matthew. With Matthew he had hoped it would work, but with Scooter he knew it would. He was feeling much more confident working on Scooter than he did working on Matthew. And that was good, because with Matthew it was mostly a broken leg and some injuries to his head that seemed to have healed, along with malnutrition and dehydration. With Scooter he sensed it might be life or death.
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Douglas was on a couch with Mike and Alex. He was scared for Scooter and all of them. Not only because Scooter was his love and was hurt, but because without Scooter they couldn't communicate with the Hakaanen. And the other thing was, Robert Charles was out there somewhere. He couldn't help but think Robert Charles was involved in all this, and that was bad news for all of them. Once again he wished he wasn't the leader. Just when he thought things were getting good, they suddenly started getting worse, and everybody was going to be looking to him for answers again. All he wanted to do was concentrate all his thoughts and efforts on Scooter. Well, they couldn't get much worse than this, the thought. L:ittle did he know how wrong that thought would turn out to be.
They heard footsteps at the porch and a knock. Alex answered the door. It was Travis and Drake, both looking scared and upset. Drake had tear streaks on his cheeks. They came into the room.
"What's wrong?" Alex asked.
"It was awful, terrible," Travis said, almost out of breath.
"What? What happened? Calm down and tell us."
"They've been kidnapped," Travis said.
"Who's been kidnapped?" Mike asked.
"Both of them. They're gone," Drake yelled.
"Now slow down," Mike said, "and tell us from the beginning. Travis, you go."
Travis told them about what happened in the driveway, of seeing Ryan and Drew taken away while Drake was left on the ground by the kidnappers.. By the time he finished he was out of breath. "We need a meeting of everybody.
Like right now."
"That's two things," Douglas said. "And you're right. We need a meeting." Douglas didn't want to do anything at all. He wanted somebody else to do it. He wanted to be with his love. But he was the leader and he knew they were in danger. They had to meet before something else happened and somebody else got hurt, or kidnapped, or (he took a deep breath thinking of it) worse.. He had been wrong to let them be split up, and it was time to make up for that.
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The doctor got the arrow out of Scooter's side. He could tell that Scooter had lost a lot of blood. He didn't think Hakaanen blood would work for a transfusion, but he did a blood test on him to be sure.. From what he could tell his blood was too different from Hakaanen blood. He wondered if Matthew had the right kind. If he didn't, then he would have to get the other round ears and see if they did. He didn't think the arrow itself did any fatal damage. But Scooter would need some blood if we was going to live.
He left the emergency room and went to the phone and called home.
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Mike and Alex went to get the other boys. They were going to meet at Bandar's house. Bandar understood what was happening and so did his dad. They went to the kitchen and got some food. It looked like they would be having a house full of boys.
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Enghar told Matthew to come with him. His mom made a call and something like a taxi came and picked them up. It was a covered two wheeler pulled by a unicorn. They got in and ended up at the hospital. Matthew's heart was pounding. He was going to find out who had come in on the flyer. Who it was who had gotten hurt....or maybe worse, he thought suddenly.
When they got to the hospital he was put into a wheelchair and was pushed into the emergency area. He recognized it from when he first came in. A nurse came and cleaned a spot on his finger and pricked it for blood. At first it surprised him, then he figured out what was going on. Whoever was hurt needed blood. Maybe his.
The nurse ran the blood to a lab where it was checked. The report went to the doctor. It looked the same. But what if it wasn't? They didn't know what the blood was really like. If their blood worked like Hakaanen blood, then if it was the wrong type it could kill the person getting it. According to the test it was the same type of blood, but they didn't know what to look for in it. All he knew was, if the young one didn't get blood in the next hour or so he would die.
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Robert Charles finally got into his sleeping bag. Vordkan got in with him. They were making out but not kissing. For Robert Charles, that was gay stuff. Getting off was okay. And for Vordkan the wimps in the big valley did stuff like that, but getting off was okay. When they got back to their valley they wouldn't do it again, but here in the desert it was okay. Robert Charles lay back and let the big Shkah boy have his way with him. And for Vordkan, doing Robert Charles's butt was just one more way of showing the round eared boy who the boss was.
Vordkan already knew that when they got back he was the one who was going to give Robert Charles his test. He figured even before Robbachass knew what he had to do he should know that whoever owned his ass owned the rest of him.
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The boys were all at the mayor's house. Douglas took a deep breath and got up in front of them. He'd had some difficult meetings. This was going to be the most difficult one of all. He always felt whole and complete when his soulmate was next to him. Now he was standing alone and naked without him.
"We have a big problem and we all know what it is. Somebody is out to get us. Alex and Mike both are wondering if Robert Charles is behind this somehow. It's Hakaanen men. They kidnapped Drew and Ryan and we don't know why. We think they tried to kill me. Maybe because they know I'm the leader. And if it's me they're after, maybe Robert Charles IS behind all of this in some way. Scooter pushed me and took the arrow. He's badly hurt but still alive. Bandar checked with the hospital. From what I can figure from him it doesn't look good."
"Why are they doing this?" Stevie asked. "And if they were after you that means they know you're the leader. And only Robert Charles could know that.
But who are these Hakaanen guys he is with?"
"I don't know. We need Scooter. He knows how to talk to them and I need him to be my relay to Bandar. Something is going on here that we need to understand and find out about. They are after us and we don't know why."
"What do we do know?" Travis asked. He was extra worried about Ryan.
"I don't know. The Hakaanen are nice. They have helped us. But they don't seem to be doing a thing to help us now. It's like they don't care that we're being attacked. I'm wondering if that was why we got split up, to make us vulnerable. I'm so sorry I let that happen guys."
"We all voted for it," Mike said. "It's not your fault."
"All I know is, until we figure out what's going on we're sticking together," Douglas said. "And we're getting Scooter back as soon as we can if we have to march across the valley to that hospital."
"What about my brother?" Drake asked.
"We have to try to find him and Ryan. Any ideas?"
"I might have one," Jeremy said.
"What?"
"When I lived on the farm we did a lot of hunting. And I learned from my lov..um, friend, how to track animals. Maybe I can help follow their tracks and find them."
Braden's ears heard the lov, the start of lover. This was something he didn't know about Jeremy. He knew he played around. But he wasn't his first lover? He coughed. His asthma was getting worse and he was trying hard not to show it. But it was getting harder and harder for him to breathe down here in the valley. He was going to need some meds soon. Jeremy knew how he was feeling but nobody else did.
"Okay, then tomorrow Jeremy will be with a party to see if he can track down the kidnappers. It isn't going to be easy if they hit a road. And Jeremy certainly isn't going alone. Who is going with him? We need two more," Douglas said.
All of the hands but Braden's and Jordan's went up. Braden felt embarrassed. Jeremy knew what was up and gave his lover a big hug. He knew it was time to tell.
"Braden is having breathing problems, or I know he would go, right love?"
Braden nodded yes and leaned against Jeremy's strong shoulder.
Douglas picked Travis, knowing Travis couldn't stay behind with Ryan gone, and Mike because he was big, strong, and stubborn.
"I think Alex should go too," Mike said. He smiled at his friend and love.
"I'm leaving Alex in charge," Douglas said.
"Where are you going?"
"With the trackers."
"But...but...what about Scooter? What if he needs you?"
"He needs me right now. And I don't seem to be there, I'm here. I was elected to lead. Scooter walked in front of me and saved me because of his love for me. But he also did it because he wants me to lead us. I'm going to try to get Bandar to understand what we're doing in the morning before we go. And we will leave markers behind so he can find us if anything happens.
And there is one more thing..."
"What's that?" Alex asked.
"I still sense his love. I know he is alive even if he is hurting. If I lose that, or feel anything differently before we go I won't go, and I'll turn back if we have left already."
Mike thought that Douglas was making the wrong choice. Alex should lead the trackers and Douglas should lead the group. But he also knew how stubborn Douglas was. And he knew Douglas thought this whole mess was his fault for letting them get split up, and now he was splitting them up again, right after saying it wouldn't happen. But he also had no choice. As much as he thought Douglas was wrong, he also knew he would stand behind him through anything. He got up, walked up to Douglas and gave him a big hug and a long deep kiss.
"I love you. We're tired and hurt and confused tonight. Let's make our final decision in the morning. Let's try to sleep now," Mike said.
"Yeah. Maybe you're right. Bandar has made beds for all of us, even if some are on the floor. I think they understand we all mean to spend the night here together. I love all you guys. You're the best anybody could ever ask to lead. It looks like we have one more challenge, and we will meet it just like all the rest of them. Let's get to bed."
Drake couldn't stand it any longer. "I want to go. I want to find Drew."
Alex hugged him. "We know you miss your brother. But this is something older ones need to do." That sounded funny to him just then, calling himself and older one. "They'll find him. And we'll take good care of you."
"I don't care. I miss Drew. I want to go...I want to go!" He put his head on Alex's chest and started bawling.
The boys went into their beds. Tonight Drake would sleep with Alex who would hug him and cuddle him and make him feel safe and loved.
Jordan was in a bag on the floor. The lights were off. He stared straight up. If Robert Charles was alive he wanted to be with him. Douglas's speech was all bullshit. He meant everybody but him. It was time for him to run away from the group and find Robert Charles. If Matthew was gone then he needed Robert Charles. It was obvious there was nothing for him here.
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Ryan looked over at Drew in the dark. They were tied close to each other and gagged so they couldn't talk. He could hear Drew sobbing. He scooted himself close so that Drew could feel him touching him. He wanted Drew to know he was close to him. He struggled with the ropes, but the knots were tight. He wished he could help Drew more, and promised himself that the first chance he got he would see to it that Drew would get free.
Ryan spooned up to Drew, who felt better knowing Ryan was there close to him. He missed Drake with all his heart. His entire family was gone now. He felt so alone. He fell asleep feeling a little safer because Ryan was touching him.
Neither boy knew that if everything went according to the plans of the Shkah, in three days time they might lose everything, including their lives.
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The doctor had taken blood from Matthew. He took all that he dared to. The round eared boy needed more, he knew, because he was like any mammal. But Matthew could only give so much. Hopefully what the hurt boy got would be enough. And even more so, was it the right kind of blood? Did the round ears have different types like the Hakaanen did? And if he got the wrong type would it kill him like it would a Hakaanen?
All he knew was, that for now he didn't know the answers. He just knew that the young one needed the transfusion now. He looked at the bag of blood hanging over Scooter. He took a deep breath and put the needle into the end into a vein. The blood started flowing in. What he was doing would either save the life of his patient or kill him. They would know by the time morning came.
Matthew was in the next room asleep. He had lost a lot of blood too. He wondered again who was getting his blood. He was glad he could help, and hoped that in the morning he could find out who it was. He was in the same building as one of his lost friends, but he still didn't know who it was.
Douglas was tossing and turning. He was fighting himself, arguing if he should stay in the morning or go with the trackers. Either way he trusted Alex or Mike or Travis to lead. The question was, where would he help the group more? And where would he help Scooter more? He closed his eyes trying to sense the flow of love and soul from Scooter. He could feel it, but it was so very very weak and seemed to be fading.
I love you my sweetness. I'm here for you. It's going to be okay. You're going to be fine. I love you so much."
He closed his eyes and fell asleep, praying he would still feel the link in the morning.
NEXT: CHAPTER 33 The Search