9. Research Results - The Work Camp Earth-boy

The Work Camp Earth-boy

By Earth-boy

Comments are welcome at [earth-boy-2755@proton.me](mailto:earth-boy-2755@proton.me?subject=The%20Work%20Camp%20Earth-boy%20chapter%209%20%28Research Results%29), and constructive criticism as well. As I’ve mentioned before, this story is complete (12 chapters in all.) But as of the date I’ve posted this, I can entertain suggestions as long as they don’t break the established plot or have a serious impact on the remaining chapters.

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Quick disclaimers:

• This story contains descriptions of sex between teen and pre-teen males. Do not read if you’re under 18 or it is illegal where you’re living.
• Copyright by the author. Do not upload to pay-to-view sites.
• This story is fiction; references to individuals are coincidental.
• No children or teenagers were harmed in the creation of this story.

Chapter 9. Research Results

Before we left Savros’ hut Thursday morning, he asked, “Is this anything to do with Egan? I saw the truck gone in the afternoon, so I knew Egan had gone somewhere, and then I didn’t see you until you came to help with supper. Were you with him?”

His question caught me off guard. I’d assumed no-one else knew Egan had taken me out of camp, but it slipped my mind that Savros didn’t work with the rest of the crew in the north field. I also knew he cared deeply for me and didn’t want to disappoint him by lying to him.

So I said, “I was. But I just can’t talk about it. You know Riley doesn’t let anyone talk about what you’re doing here? Egan told me the same thing.”

“About what we’re doing here, or about what happened between you two yesterday?”

“Both,” I said.

“Man, that sucks! He really is an asshole if he can disappear with you and within a couple hours turn your life upside-down.”

“That’s about it,” I replied. “And that’s the most I can say.”

“Alright, I think I understand now. I have no idea what he did to you, but I’ll stop asking. Are you up to working with me today?”

“Yes. It will keep me occupied.”

“Good. Just do the best you can. If you need a break, go somewhere and have a rest.”

I delivered hot water to the huts in the morning. Larry still looked concerned but said nothing. I said nothing at all to Egan, simply rushing in and out as quickly as I could. Jared looked at me hopefully when I went into his hut, but I had to disappoint him by shaking my head to let him know our usual morning make-out wasn’t happening today.

✵   ✵   ✵

The conversation I’d had with Savros was repeated just after breakfast with Riley. He asked me to come with him behind the storage shed, as he’d done the last time we talked about Egan. I was a little relieved I’d talked with Savros earlier, since it gave me an idea of what to say.

“You’re right,” I told Riley, “Something’s gone wrong. But it’s between me and Egan.” I figured it was safe to name Egan, since Riley would figure it out anyway. “He’s told me in no uncertain terms I can’t talk about it. Just like you don’t let anyone talk about what you’re doing in the north field.”

“That’s interesting,” he said. “An unexpected consequence of asking everyone to keep a secret. So Egan’s using it to force you to do the same.”

“True.” Without really thinking I added, “And Egan has ways of enforcing it.”

“How?” asked Riley.

I backpedalled. “Uh, I can’t tell you.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously! That’s why I’m so upset. I can’t even tell you what happened because of what he’s threatened to do if I talk.”

Riley glared at me. “Threats? He threatened you if you talk about it?”

“Yes.”

“What sort of threats?”

I shook my head. “And now we’re back where we started. I can’t tell you!”

“They’d have to be pretty damned serious to get you to clam up. You have the least stake of anyone here in what we’re doing. And you can leave any time you want.”

On that I didn’t say anything; it would just lead to another round if I told Riley about what Egan had said if I left now.

After several seconds of uncomfortable silence, Riley asked, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

The words sort of tumbled out. “Just try to keep me and Egan apart as much as possible. Like I said, he’s made threats—strong ones—if I talk.”

“Threats against you are no good if you’re not around. Maybe we should say good-bye to you and send you on your way.”

Now I was alarmed. “No, you can’t! He told me I can’t even leave! If I disappear now—”

Unfortunately Riley misunderstood what I was saying and interrupted with a less than helpful comment. “Then we’ll be short an earth-boy. Savros would be all out for sorts for a couple of days, and Jared would be sad, and me and Martin would miss you.”

I sat down on the ground and put my head into my hands. “I can’t even leave. Egan said so.”

He sat down beside me. “What do you mean, you can’t leave? There’s something you’re not telling me.”

My frustration at not being able to discuss my situation boiled over. “I can’t!” I cried. “I’ve told you too much already!” With that I jumped up and fled westward into the forest. Riley had the presence of mind not to call after me.

✵   ✵   ✵

My pathfinding opened a route for me as I ran. I cared not for where it led; I simply followed wherever it went. After several minutes it came to an end in a natural clearing. I threw myself face down onto the grass, reminiscent of my first time out of the boll. My entire body was now in contact with the earth, something I hadn’t done in over a week. I lay there while the Earth worked to soothe my troubled mind.

The forest was the best possible place for me. We’re children of the Earth and creatures of the forest; we’ve been part of them forever. We work and play among trees during the day, sleep on flets in them at the night, and live our lives under a natural roof of leaves. The earth is our father, and the forest is our home.

In the tranquil quiet of the glade I was reminded I was an earth-boy. So much time indoors over the past few days in the company of humans and not among my own had dulled me to my heritage. ⟡ Now the teachings of the Earth from my dream-time in the boll started surfacing again.

The Earth will provide.

Live joyfully in harmony.

Be gentle. Make ripples, not waves.

There’s a grove for you.

These were the four flowers, the core of earth-boy beliefs. My youth had worked against me: I had managed to forget them in so short a space of time.

The Earth will provide. The first flower. The Earth teaches us it is not vindictive, unlike some gods of men who deal out death and destruction at random, or because men have somehow displeased them. Should we fall into hard times, we believe the Earth has somehow forgotten about us, and in its own time will remember and seek us out once again. There are millions of earth-boys and the earth is very large. Is it not possible every once in a while it might misplace one of us?

In the moment I found it of little comfort. I was drawing eren even as I was thinking. How could the Earth lose track of me when I was always in contact with it?

Live joyfully in harmony. The second flower. Usually we don’t elaborate much on it, for earth-boys aren’t given much to deep thought. To now I’d learned it as living joyfully because the earth was providing for us, and in harmony with other earth-boys. At times a council member would use it to remind us that earth-boys should work with humans as well, in groups from towns to national governments.

Now the Earth was showing me it could mean one earth-boy should try to get along with a small group of humans.

Be gentle. Make ripples, not waves. Our third flower, mostly viewed as the way for earth-boys to work with one another. We discourage big radical ideas. No revolutions, no change for the sake of change; just a gradual moving forward as a whole and making sure others are keeping up.

The Earth reminded me I’d been making waves all morning, instead of trying to keep them down to ripples.

And finally the fourth flower: There’s a grove for you. Often we start it with There’s a grove for me. It reminds us as an individual we may be the one making waves and not someone else.

There are but four flowers, a small group, and we understood their teachings work best with small groups of earth-boys. From the protective shelter of our groves we have seen what happens when one large tribe of humans tried to force its will on another: violence, bloodshed, and war; casualties on scales large and small. But with so many groves all over, it was easy for an earth-boy to find one where he fit in. We abhor acrimony and infighting, and see no shame in bowing out and seeking a new home.

Right now that would not work for me. Not with Egan promising harm to Savros and Jared if I even left the camp.

I had come full circle back to the first flower. However implausible it seemed, it appeared the Earth had lost track of me. So now the second flower: I would live as much in harmony with these humans as I could until it found me again. To my advantage I had all the eren I needed. I should be able to use it to keep Egan from abusing me again, and calm him whenever he tried to become my master.

I felt was needed in the camp. Savros was obviously attracted to me and counted on me for help with meals and cleaning. Riley had told me morale had improved. Jared lit up every time he saw me. Larry enjoyed talking with me about earth-boys, and if nothing else Martin enjoyed the sex. And with the Earth’s help I could handle Egan.

Two hours later, much more settled I followed a path back to the camp, and went to the kitchen to help Savros with lunch.

✵   ✵   ✵

I joined the board game that evening and actually won! To be fair, I got a few lucky dice rolls. So much so that Egan accused me of using eren to influence them. I denied it, saying eren lets us work with natural things, usually living or which were once alive. Savros pointed out the dice were plastic. Larry said jokingly they were alive a few million years ago before being turned into the oil used to make the plastic used to make the dice.

With a grin Jared said I must be an incredibly powerful wizard if I could stretch my magic across the ages just to win a trivial game. Whereupon Martin asked if I could buy him some lottery tickets and Savros asked if I could make him an international celebrity chef. Getting into it, Larry asked for his family back and Jared wanted a souped-up muscle car. Riley piled on with a suggestion I deposit ten million dollars into his bank account.

I protested, “Hey, I can only grant three wishes! Besides, I don’t live in a lamp!”

“So what do we have to rub to activate you?” asked Jared.

I grinned. “If you have to ask that, you don’t deserve any wishes!”

The entire table roared with laughter while Egan looked rather put out. He was, after all, indirectly the butt of the jokes.

Usually during the poker game I went outside to be with the Earth for a while, but tonight I didn’t feel the need to. I was reading a newspaper when Larry quietly said to me, “You had a very quick recovery from whatever happened yesterday. Was it something to do with eren like you did with Martin’s leg?”

“No,” I replied. “Unfortunately eren doesn’t help with problems like that. It’s actually frustrating for us, because we can’t do very much if one of us becomes mentally ill. If someone starts getting pushy or delusional or violent, we can’t really help them aside from trying to calm them down.”

“Interesting. Yet you went from being very upset last night to being right back to normal today.”

“Yes, I did. I had a conversation with the Earth, so to speak. It reminded me I’m an earth-boy. I’d sort of forgotten that after spending two weeks around you guys.”

“I think I understand,” said Larry. “It’s nice to have you back.”

I said, “Thanks. And thanks for caring.”

“No problem. It’s, well, I’ve raised three children, and in appearance at least you still look like a boy. I have to keep reminding myself that you’re an adult like Jared. I forgot that yesterday when you were so upset.”

“It was appreciated, though. Sure, I blew you off, but I’ll remember it. I know the Earth punishes humans who abuse earth-boys, but unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be nice to humans who are really nice to us.”

“Maybe it’s easier to see a punishment than a reward,” said Larry. “A farm getting completely wiped out by a tornado is memorable. But a great crop one year is just seen as good luck.”

I nodded. “You know, you might be right.”

Jared and I were together that night, all night. We had a really great time. With his youthful stamina he came four times overnight, twice in his sleep. He must have had some awesome dreams. I know I did!

✵   ✵   ✵

On Friday I awoke feeling very much better, thanks partly to being with Jared all night. I was still upset about Egan beating me on Wednesday, but yesterday’s communion with the Earth had showed me a way forward. I had eren and should be able to keep him calm enough to prevent a repeat. We certainly weren’t friends and his threats against Savros and Jared rankled me, but I felt with the earth’s help I could tip the power balance a little more in my favour. I just needed to be on my guard whenever I was around him and not take anything he said at face value any more.

I had an opportunity to apply my insights that afternoon. When I’d finished my afternoon chores of cleaning his and another hut and making all the beds, he called for me in his usual fashion by standing at the door of the main hut and calling, “Boy! Boy! Come here!”

I didn’t run to his call; I merely walked to him at a normal pace while getting ready to do a calm if I felt it was needed. “Yes?” I asked, in as neutral a tone as I could muster.

“We’re going to my hut,” he told me. “I’m looking for a good time.”

I gave him a fake smile while grabbing his hand, which I had to do in order to send him the calm. “You’re looking for a good time?” I asked.

The calm made Egan reconsider the bluntness of his request. “Well, yes. You’re up to it?”

This time my smile was genuine. It had worked better than I’d expected. “Of course. Let’s go!”

Inside his hut I sent him another calm, a more mild one this time, and asked him to please not be rough or say things that might offend me. He nodded, a little curtly, but it was obvious he understood what I was asking for. He removed his clothes and we got down to business.

If Egan had intended to use the encounter to send me some sort of message, after two calms he quite forgot about it and simply settled for sex. That was good enough for me. Once he was inside me, I had full control over the act and could make it as pleasurable or mundane for him as I wanted. I chose to give him a decent time but not a great one. Hopefully it would be enough to satisfy him without giving him the idea he could call on me any time he wanted.

After we were done he said simply, “You can go now.” Typical for Egan, he hadn’t said please when making his request nor thank you when I delivered. I got the impression he thought the words were beneath him.

I left his hut feeling I now had a measure of control. As long as he could hurt Savros and Jared he’d still be my master, but I could tone him down and even make him reasonable if I needed to. Yes, I still had to do his bidding, but I wasn’t completely helpless.

I also realized that outside of sex, which I still enjoyed, there wasn’t much he could ask me to do for him. He wouldn’t let me drive the truck—I had no licence anyway—and we weren’t in town, so we couldn’t send me off to run trivial errands. I knew next to nothing about computers, so I was of no use to him there. Besides, he was extremely protective of his laptop, always making sure it was locked before moving away from it. That left me making him snacks and washing his truck. With calms I should be able to get him to rephrase his snack demands into requests and even get him help me with the truck. Or I could ask Savros, who seemed more than willing to assist.

When I returned to the main hut, Savros commented, “He’s trying to turn you into his call girl, you know that?”

I thought about it. “Maybe. What he doesn’t realize is as soon as the sex starts I control him, not the other way around. I can make him come in thirty seconds if I wanted to, tease him for an hour, or make him come so hard he’ll have a heart attack. Come to think of it, maybe I should do that. We’d get rid of Egan and still have the truck!”

Savros laughed. “And a whole lot of uncomfortable questions from the police asking how a fit young man could suddenly die in a remote area with no signs of violence! And because his uncle is paying the bills, Riley might not be able to continue his work. You probably wouldn’t care, but he might not appreciate it.”

I agreed. “Yeah, I guess having Egan die on us would be more trouble than it’s worth.”

“You’re right. A shame though—couldn’t happen to a nicer guy!”

The rest of the day was like most others before it. Being Friday, the crew went outside to play with the Frisbee, then back inside for the nightly poker game. For that I stayed outside, relaxing in the cool of the evening.

That night I was with Savros in his hut, both of us thoroughly enjoying each other’s company.

✵   ✵   ✵

My third Saturday at camp went very much like the other two. I helped Savros with breakfast and spent some fun morning time with Jared. In a repeat of last week, mid-afternoon while I was outside spending time with Savros, Egan called me into the main hut and ordered me to make him a snack.

Today I was better prepared for him. Instead of standing my ground and telling him off for treating me like his servant, I put on a fake smile and walked over to him. Usually when I wanted to send someone a calm I grasped an arm, leg, or shoulder with my full hand, but today I thought I’d see what happened if I merely used a finger.

“What type of snack would you like?” I asked.

Egan glared at me. “Just make me something already!”

So much for that idea, I thought. It appeared eren had to flow from me into the other person for the calm to be effective, and likely four fingers and the palm of my hand were needed.

Mindful of his threat to Savros and Jared, I decided making him a bad snack wasn’t a good idea. I quickly prepared a sliced meat sandwich with tomato along with a bowl of koy berries, which I gave to him, then made fresh coffee and gave him a large cup. Egan grunted acknowledgement, the closest to thank you that he came.

I prepared a mug of coffee for Savros and made some greywolf tea for myself, and took them outside to continue spending time with Savros. He smiled and gave me small hug.

“Was Egan actually nice today?” he asked. “You’re not upset all.”

“No, he was just as demanding as last week. But I’m learning how to handle him. He’ll always be a jerk, but at least I can keep him from becoming a big one.”

“That’s good. Did you know that before you came along I was on the receiving end of a lot of his crap?”

“You mean like getting him snacks and cleaning his hut?”

“Yes. I’m as much a member of this crew as the others, but I don’t work in the north field with them. I’m here all the time. So Egan used to treat me like his servant. But since you arrived he’s left me alone.”

“Sorry to hear that,” I said. “Thanks to my calming gift, I think I can handle him.”

Then it was on to making supper, eating it, and cleaning up. This evening we played a trivia game. Brashly I joined in but ended up a distant last, thanks to being so young and not nearly as attuned to human culture as everyone else. A bit to my surprise, Larry and Martin were in competition for the top spot. I thought Larry would have the upper hand, but he’d spent much of the previous twenty years immersed in his profession while Martin had worked a wide variety of jobs. That more diverse background gave him an edge and allowed him to win the game. Both Egan and Jared did poorly, but nowhere near as badly as I did.

I was supposed to be with Larry when we retired for the night, but when I asked him about it he simply said, “Thanks for thinking about me, but I’ll be alright.” So I went to Jared’s instead and spent the night with him. As always we both had a great time. He enjoyed having me in his bed so much I was starting to wonder about his continued insistence he was straight. But I didn’t press him on it. Humans could be strange at times.

✵   ✵   ✵

When Egan didn’t appear for breakfast by eleven on Sunday morning, Riley went to check on him. He returned to report, “He’s sick with something. And no comments, guys! He’s ill, running a mild fever. He told me he threw up his supper last night, but I’m guessing he either made it to the washroom hut in time or somewhere in the bushes.”

“He usually drives the truck to town for us,” said Martin. “So are we going to go or stay here?”

Riley replied, “The truck’s for camp use. You or I can drive it. The big question is who gets to stay behind this week to keep Egan company.”

“Let the boy do it,” said Martin.

I looked at him and said, “I missed going into town last week because I was sick. Remember, you offered to stay behind for me because of what I did for your leg. So maybe you can stay in camp this week.”

“A good idea,” Riley replied. Looking at Martin, he said, “I’m going to ask you to stay behind and keep an eye on Egan.”

The way Riley had phrased the request left little room for disagreement. “Alright, I will,” he said.

“We’ll figure something out for next week,” added Riley.

I jumped in. “Just let me stay here by myself. I’m sure by now you know I won’t run away. Maybe I’ll get a little bored, but I promise I’ll stay out of the north field.”

“I’ll consider it, or ask Jared or Savros to stay with you.”

I grinned and looked at my two friends. “I’ll set up a competition. The loser goes to town!”

They laughed.

✵   ✵   ✵

After lunch we headed for town, Riley driving the truck with Larry beside him in the front seat. I was in the back between Savros and Jared. Of course they couldn’t keep their hands off me, and this week I brought along a roll of paper towels. They were put to good use. The two men in the front seat made no comment on what was happening in the back.

In town, Savros, Jared, and I made quick work of the laundry and shopping for the upcoming week. Two weeks ago I’d explained to Savros I knew how to operate the machines, and this week I let Jared know as well so he wouldn’t feel the need to teach me.

Those tasks out of the way, Savros and Jared headed for the bar. I assured them I had no problem being alone for an hour or so until it was time to meet for supper. Indeed, I wanted to be by myself.

I easily found the small park again. In a more secluded part I sat down on the grass. I got my phone out of the bag I was carrying and with much anticipation called the grove.

It was answered by one of the councillors. I introduced myself and mentioned I’d been out of the grove for almost three weeks now. The councillor wasn’t entirely certain who I was; with 250 earth-boys to a grove and a fair amount of mobility between them, we often have trouble remembering just who everyone is. But he quickly found the other two councillors and asked them. One of them, Hafrian, remembered my call from two weeks before and took the phone.

“Hi Lorinár!” he said. I recognized him immediately. He was one of the older members of the grove and had a reputation for knowing things. “I remember you asking if we could look up Riley for you. A couple of us spent about three days looking for information. We got a lucky break on a reverse image search of that picture you sent us of the leader.”

“What did you find out?” I asked anxiously.

“Well, first off, his name isn’t Riley. His given name is Donovan. His proper name’s Donovan O’Reilly.”

“Should I know him?” I asked.

“No, I don’t think so. He’s from New Brunswick, and over the years he’s gained a reputation as a treasure hunter. He’s 62 years old now, and he’s been doing this since he was in his thirties.”

“Has he had any luck?”

“Just once, so far. When he was 37 he found a shipwreck off the coast of Newfoundland that had a lot of silver and some gold in it. Not a huge amount, maybe two hundred fifty thousand dollars or so.”

“Oh. How much is that?”

Hafrian had a ready answer. “Well, it’s sort of difficult to put into perspective. We did some looking around and saw the average human needs somewhere between 28 thousand and 34 thousand dollars a year to live in Vancouver, if they live alone. So on two hundred and fifty thousand you could live there for eight years before the money ran out.”

“I see. So Riley’s looking for some treasure again?”

“Yes, he is. I guess you’ve never heard of the lost Dumolin gold.”

“No, never.”

“Neither had we, before you told us about working with these people. The story goes back to the 4880s, or 1880s by the human calendar. A man by the name of Germain Dumolin arrived in these parts round about 1887. He was rather quiet, sort of kept to himself, and was rumoured to be very rich.”

“I’m guessing he was.”

“Very much so. Apparently he’d spent the previous twenty years quietly working a small gold field he’d found in northern Manitoba. He never registered a claim, fearing he’d spark a gold rush. Now this was well before the 1896 Klondike rush in the Yukon, but I guess he was aware of the fever that hit California in the 1840s. He just quietly kept at it every summer and fall, carrying out between one and two thousand ounces at the end of the season. He spent the winters refining the gold and making it into ingots. How he managed to keep all this a secret for twenty years I don’t know.”

“And he buried it here?”

“Apparently he did, yes. When he came here he deposited only enough gold that he could build a nice house and live comfortably without having to work. Although he said he’d found it in Manitoba he never said where, so that’s still a mystery, too. For all we know there might have been a successful mine built later in the same area. Dumolin spent his time helping out the community: sitting on committees, planning small projects, organizing events, stuff like that. His real fortune wasn’t known until he died and they read his will. It said he had 31,000 ounces buried up in the hills.”

“I take it that’s a lot.”

“It is. If the gold exists, it would be worth about 53 million dollars. Actually, more than that. Gold is usually priced in US dollars. Here in Canada it would be more like 69 million.”

“What?” I asked, now confused. “There are different dollars depending on what country you’re in?”

“Yes. You know humans—they love to complicate things.”

I made a mental note to ask Larry about it, then asked, “So how come no-one’s ever found it?”

“His will said only that the gold was buried in the hills where you’re working. It didn’t say exactly where, though. At the time people figured he didn’t trust the lawyer who made the will, so he didn’t give the real map to the lawyer. But the will said there was a map in a safe in Dumolin’s house, and where the key to the safe could be found.”

“Sounds like a good idea.”

“So it seemed at the time. But in 1901 Dumolin died … when his house caught fire. Although it was built out of bricks, the interior was destroyed. Of course, as soon as the will came out they went through the ruins and found what was left of the safe. They cut it open. But the fire had been so hot even the papers in the safe were burned. There was nothing left of the map.”

“So why does Riley think he knows where the gold is?” I asked.

“It turns out the lawyer had an earlier map. Well, it wasn’t really a map, just a few simple drawings and some cryptic text in French. It was probably intended as a memory aid for Dumolin, who of course knew where it was buried. People have interpreted the map and the words a dozen different ways. Riley’s only the latest in a line of people who think they’ve figured it out.”

“Okay,” I said. “Now it all makes sense. I’ve been in the work field only once. They’ve been clearing out the underbrush and I noticed a lot of sticks in the ground and a few holes had been dug, although most of them were filled back in again.”

“They’re probably scanning the ground with metal detectors or even ground penetrating radar. Whenever they find something interesting they mark it, check it out further, and if it looks promising they’ll start digging.”

“I think I can see why he’s so secretive about it all. I mean, I can’t really see just how much 53 or 69 million dollars is, but it sounds like a lot. I guess he doesn’t want anyone trying to steal it if he finds it.”

“True,” said Hafrian. “Humans are greedy and can get violent when lots of money’s involved. And maybe Riley hasn’t told the rest of the crew what they’re really looking for, so they can’t tell you. Another reason might be that a lot of other people have looked for it and failed. So if he comes up empty, only very few people will know about it. It would probably make it easier for him to raise money for whatever he goes looking for next.”

“Well, thanks for all that!”

“You’re welcome. It was fun finding out about this. I’m a little jealous—you’re right there helping these guys out. It sounds exciting. Is there anything else we can do for you?”

Indeed there was. “Can I ask you for some advice?”

“Of course. What is it?”

“Most of the guys there are good, but the second guy whose picture I sent—his name’s Egan—isn’t very nice at all. The reason I’m there is he kidnapped me. He’s treating me like his personal servant. Or trying to.”

“Are you using calm to keep him under control?”

“When I can. You have to touch the person to use calm and he tends to stay out of range. I don’t think he’s doing it deliberately because I’m sure he doesn’t know much about our gifts. He’s actually not very smart. Anyway, he’s been getting worse. He beat me a few days ago because I hadn’t been helping him and was giving him lousy sex.”

“It sounds like you should leave, then. Tell me where you are now and we’ll send a car to get you.”

“Uh, it’s not that simple. You see, I’ve made a couple of good friends here, but Egan’s said if I run away, after they’re finished for the season he’ll look for my friends to beat them up. He said badly enough they’ll have go to hospital for weeks. They might be humans, but I like them and I don’t want them to get hurt.”

“Hmm; that’s bad,” Hafrian said. “Humans used to do that a lot when they took us as slaves. They knew we could escape easily and were hard to hunt down, so they threatened to torture and kill some humans we were close to if we ran. One thing you can do is introduce your friends to the Earth … can you wait a moment?”

“Yes.”

I heard Hafrian give some instructions before he came back. “I’ve asked someone to look up information on that; it’s been ages since we’ve done it. It was how we used to handle that threat: we’d introduce the humans we liked to the Earth, then told the master we’d done it. It gave the humans the same protection the Earth gives us.”

“All the gifts?” I asked in surprise.

“No, no; it does for those humans the same thing the Earth does for us if we’re mistreated: punish the masters. Now I’m not sure it actually worked, but it made the earth-boy slaves feel good and might have scared the men into treating their human slaves better.”

“Oh, thanks!” I said, quite relieved. “It’s nice to know there’s something I can do for them.”

“And something else,” Hafrian added. “Ask that man directly if he can carry out his threats. Sense his intent to see if his answer’s truthful. He could just be trying to scare you, and your friends aren’t in danger at all.”

“Why didn’t I think of that?” I asked my phone.

Hafrian chuckled. “Maybe because you’re only thirteen and I’m forty-five? I’ve visited a few groves in my lifetime.”

We chatted a few minutes more about life in the camp and the other members of the crew before saying good-bye. Then a text message came to my phone with a URL. I followed it to a page showing me how I could introduce Savros and Jared to the earth. I read through it quickly: like most things earth-boy (our calendar excepted) the process was simple. I decided I’d give it a try the next day. I wouldn’t be able to do it this evening: they’d want to play their poker game and then I’d be in Egan’s hut.

✵   ✵   ✵

I was happy to see the elderly lady I’d met two weeks before walk into the park and sit down on her customary bench. She tossed out some bird seed and again a small flock of sparrows showed up to enjoy her generosity. Wanting to talk with her again, I carefully walked over to the bench, not wanting to startle her or the small birds.

She didn’t seem to remember talking to me, but she obviously knew I was an earth-boy. The conversation was a repeat of our earlier one. She reminisced how I’d cured her illness when she was a little girl and how her parents always remembered it. She mentioned her now deceased sister Edna and her brother Percy, who she hadn’t heard from for the longest time. I suspected he had died, too. She talked about her nursing career, with the added tidbit of living through the polio epidemic of 1953. She even knew the year, despite the more obvious problems with her memory.

Then she said, “You know, I miss koy berries. I can’t seem to find them in the stores these days. Do you think next time you’re here you could bring some with you?”

I wondered why, for earth-boys sell huge numbers of them to humans all summer long, and there were three groves in the immediate area. I smiled and reached into my bag, pulling out a plastic container full of koy berries the crew had picked up last week. I opened the lid to show her.

“You have some!” she said, smiling back. “Would you mind if I had a few?”

“Not at all. These are for you.”

“All of them? You are very generous. Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome. I don’t think I’ll be back for a while, so enjoy them.”

“Oh, I’m sure I will, boy. Thank you again.”

She put the container into the bag she was carrying, while I hastily reattached the lid to make sure the berries didn’t spill all over. Finally she thanked me again and went on her way.

✵   ✵   ✵

Tonight I actually dressed for dinner. In addition to my phone and the koy berries, I had in my bag a light shirt, a pair of shorts, and flip-lops, all of which belonged to Savros. I returned to the relatively secluded area of the park. Without really thinking about it, I removed my breech-cloth and was briefly naked while pulling on the shorts. I had to use the belt to keep them up; Savros’ hips were rather wider than mine. Then I put on the shirt and tucked the breech-cloth into the bag along with the flip-flops. Those I put on my feet when I arrived at the hotel.

Supper was uneventful. When we got into the truck, Larry took the driver’s seat while Riley sat beside him; he’d had a couple of beers during the meal and may have enjoyed others in the afternoon. I got into the back with Savros and Jared.

“Dude,” said Jared, “I can’t tell you how funny you look with those clothes on.”

“It was the best we could do,” I said. “Savros is probably the closest to me in size.”

“Heh! What I meant is you’re actually wearing clothes, not how well they fit. I think Earth-boys should be naked.”

“Oh, I agree! Do you want to do something about it?”

Jared grinned and pulled my shirt off while Savros went for my belt and pants. Soon I was much more appropriately undressed. (I haven’t worn clothes since; just a breech-cloth when I leave the grove, and a snow suit if I have to do so in winter.)

When I put the clothes into the bag I’d brought with me, by chance I noticed the status LED on my phone flashing. I unlocked it and saw a text message:

Mef lilfserldam na ro truvulf me. Girs uyu ĉenëĉaf eren va eng serlpem thurva yo normfo frar.

Now that’s interesting! I thought as I read it. I’ll try that tomorrow.

✵   ✵   ✵

Egan and Martin were playing cards in the main hut when we returned. Whatever had been ailing Egan seemed to have passed. Martin said they’d tried out all three of the medicines they’d bought last week, and Egan said tenstral had worked the best. That was no surprise to me, for it works against fever.

The poker game started up, with Egan recovered enough to join in. Since I’d been outside in the park that afternoon I didn’t see a need to be outdoors again this evening. There was also a new week’s supply of newspapers to read. Reading wasn’t my favourite pastime, but there was little else to do.

After the game I headed out with Egan to his hut. Of course I sent him a calm on the way. When I entered the hut I felt something unusual beneath my feet, so I switched on the light. Egan cried out in shock and I jumped back.

Every surface of the hut—floors, walls, ceilings, the table and chair, and the bed itself—was crawling with spiders.

Being closer to nature than humans, the sight of so many spiders in one place didn’t freak me out. But Egan looked horrified.

“What the hell’s happening here?” he asked.

I replied, “I think I know, but we should check on the others.”

It took us only thirty seconds to verify what I suspected: no one else had any problems. We looked again inside Egan’s hut, but nothing had changed. There were spiders everywhere. It would take us all night to clear them out.

I told Egan, “This is what happens when you mistreat earth-boys working for you! Like I said, the Earth will pay you back. I wouldn’t be surprised if being sick last night and today is part of that, and earth-boys have many, many stories of the Earth using spiders, ants, mice, and other small animals to punish humans.”

“Now where am I going to sleep?” he asked curtly. “And will I ever be able to use my hut again?

“I guess for tonight you’ll have to sleep the main hut. As for the spiders, I think the Earth’s sending you a message. They’ll probably be gone by morning.”

“But there’s no bed in the main hut.”

“That’s not my problem.”

“Don’t get cheeky with me, boy! Go to the storage shed and find me a bunch of blankets, and bring them to the main hut.”

I recalled what Hafrian had said to me earlier, and responded evenly, “Maybe. Can you ask it nicely?”

I knew Egan wasn’t in the best of moods after being sick all day and then discovering his hut was uninhabitable. So I wasn’t surprised when he barked, “Get them for me, dammit!”

“Or what? Try beating me again? You’ll just get more of the same from the Earth.”

I got the reply I expected. “No, I won’t beat you. Remember Savros and Jared. You don’t want them hurt, remember?”

In the deep twilight I could still see his eyes. I looked up into them and asked, “Just who are these friends of yours who will beat them up? Are you in some sort of gang? Or do you have connections to the mafia?”

There was a noticeable pause before he answered. “They’re fellow members of a fraternity I was with in college. We look after each other. And they’ll look after your friends if you keep this up!”

I felt a wave of relief. He was lying from one end of his statement to the other.

I decided for now not to let on what I’d just learned. “Alright, I’ll get your blankets.”

We had a complete resupply of blankets in the storage hut, as well as the freshly washed sheets that had been used when I was ill last week. I brought them and two pillows to the main hut. Egan simply sat and watched as I laid out five blankets to make a bed and set up the pillows.

“Okay, boy,” he said. “We’re not in my hut, but I’m still going to fuck you.”

Now I got bold. “Not tonight. As an earth-boy I’m going to side with the Earth and not stay with you. Maybe tomorrow if you’re not sick and the spiders have left your hut.”

I dashed out before he could object and went to the edge of the forest, where I camouflaged myself. Egan came out seconds later and angrily looked around the camp for me, but after only a couple of minutes gave up and returned to the main hut.

I quietly went to Savros’ hut and got into bed with him. He pulled me into his usual hug and we went to sleep.