Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2008 21:26:46 -0700 (PDT) From: Pear III David <drakanian32@yahoo.ca> Subject: Crash Survivor Chapter 12 CRASH SURVIVOR By Drake General Disclaimer and copyrights: This is just a fantasy work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons or places is a coincidence. If you aren't old enough to read this in your country, don't read. If it's a criminal offence to read this in your country, don't read. If male to male relationships and sexuality offend you, don't read. If you think the story will be lame and boring, don't read it either. All rights reserved. NOTE: Hi everyone! Greg is finally human! Yeah he makes mistakes and loses his temper just like everyone. He's still learning with 'his' boys. I got a lot of email telling me that he didn't react or guide the boys properly... Well, it was on purpose, it was the premise for this chapter. As you'll see, I got a whole lot of inspiration. Cheers, Drake From last chapter: We went back in the barracks sleeping quarters and Matt climbed onto his table and shut his eyes. Wil was gently snoring at the other side of the room. I went over to the mattresses where Jake lay on his side, huddled in a fetal position. I slid in behind him and pulled him to me. He moaned slightly. "Goodnight Jake," I whispered in his ear. "I love you Dad," he whispered back. "Jakey, try.... try very hard not to hate them. Matt loves you more than anyone in the whole world. He always will, and Wil is the best big brother you and Matt will ever have." "I'll..... try," were his last words as he drifted off to sleep with a light snore. I hoped that his dreams would be happy ones. Tomorrow I so wanted to have a long talk with Wil about how to become a big brother. ------------------------------------------------- Chapter 12 When I woke up, there was just a dim gray to the sky, but I heard the sound of Matt's angry voice. "Why! Why you did that!" he was almost shouting. "Shhhht! You'll wake up Jake and dad!" whispered Wil. "I don't give a shit if they wake up! I'm just asking why the fuck you did that!" Matt added. "Everything was fine before you fucked up the whole thing!" "Shhhht!!! Please Matt! ...And I didn't fuck the whole thing up, WE both fucked it up" whispered Wil again. Opening one eye, then the other, I waited to hear more. "It was you that started to kiss me like that, you dumb idiot!! You knew I wouldn't be able to hold myself back! You really fucked all this up" Matt said. "Shhht Matt!!! C'mon, you'll wake dad!!" Wil whispered again. "Too late boys, I'm awake now..." I said clearing my voice as I sat up on the bed. I stirred out from the covers. That caused Jake to wake up as well. "Would you mind to tell me who fucked what... and why aren't you sleeping? It's hardly morning..." I said, still a little dizzy from my slumber. I looked at the boys. They were like a deer's eyes caught in the headlights. "So... Sorry dad, we were arguing, but I think we got carried away with the argument..." Wil said rather rapidly, trying to protect Matt. "And how come you're both arguing instead of sleeping like you'd normally do?" I asked them. "Wasn't able to sleep..." Matt answered harshly. "Me either..." Wil added. "Ok boys, come over here and sit on the bed," I told them quietly. "Daaaad... I don't want them near me..." Jake whispered through his teeth, jaws still locked. I knew he didn't want Matt and Wil to hear, so I acted as if I didn't hear anything. I didn't want to answer him; in fact, I had no answer to give him. I just tried to sort my mind while Matt and Wil came to join us on our bed. I knew for sure that this morning's fiasco wasn't finished yet. Now, I wanted to put a final end to this rigmarole as soon as possible before it got worse. I wasn't really sure how to pull it off though. I was still learning about these boys. Maybe I didn't do very well yesterday displaying my anger because I was so disappointed by the boy's behaviour, and crisis in hand, I panicked. Now it was time to use some psychology. Wil and Matt joined us on our mattress, and we all sat cross-legged. The boys took a particular care to keep a certain distance from each other, still all wearing a sad look in their faces; this was odd to see them like this as normally they'd be snuggled together doing silly things. As I looked at them, it was obvious that the boys weren't happy with the situation. That gave me an idea to where to start. "Okay boys, now that's enough... I tried to keep each one of you separated from the others to give you a little lesson and so you can think about yesterday's events. But I think it got worse." I started in a relatively calmer mood. "Now, I think it's time to put everything back on track. I know that the wounds caused by yesterday's events are still fresh, but the more we wait, the more difficult it'll be to overcome all of this." I continued. "How can we do that dad? I really don't like the way things are right now..." Matt said sadly. "Me either. That's why we're going to play a little game..." I replied with a smile. The boys all looked at me with their eyes frowned. "It seems that you don't know what to expect huh?" I chuckled. "It won't harm anyone... It'll take some thinking, but I'm sure the result will worth it. Jake, I'll start with you." "Me?! Why me?" he asked a little panicked. "Relax bud, I said it won't hurt you..." I smiled. "Listen sweety, I want you to tell us something." "Like truth or dare?" Jake asked. "Not exactly.... but kind of..." I replied. "So what is it then?" he said. "Could you tell us what you like about Matt?" I asked. "Huh?!?!? That's so stupid," Jake answered. As Matt felt where I was going with my little game, instead of being mad about Jake's behaviour, he asked him, "Me or the question?" "The question. Matt, you're not stupid." Jake replied. Now I felt I was getting somewhere! At least, I didn't have to put too much thought into the question. "Would you mind answering Jakey, what do you like about Matt?" I asked again. "I don't mind. What I like about Matt..." he said to himself; his eyes closed. "He's almost a genius.... he's wise, good looking, generous and funny, I mean normally..." he ended on a quieter tone. "And what you DON'T like about him?" I asked him. "Nothing... Well.... I don't like him cheating on me... and..." I interrupted, "It's okay, let's not go down that trail. Let's say you just don't like him cheating on you. OK?" I told him. "Ok..." Jake said. "Now Jake, how about Wil?" I asked him. "Huhh?!?!?" he asked in disbelief. "You heard me... how about your friend Wil. I want you to be as honest as possible and don't let yesterday's events fool your judgement..." I said firmly hoping he would concentrate on the positive aspects he felt about Wil. "Mmm well, Wil's changed a lot since I've known him. Usually, he's kind of a big brother to me. He always has the right words and he's always there when I need him, he's really a great confidant and he's funny too..." and becoming more emotional, Jake added, "....and he saved my life." Now he had tears in his eyes. "Darn right... he saved your life," I reiterated with pride. "And now, how about something you don't like about him?" Jake took a breath to compose himself, then answered "I just don't like it when he steals my boyfriend..." "Good... I think that's enough for you Jakey. You did very well," I said smiling. I was aware that my little psychology game was starting to produce some positive results. The boys seemed to be more relaxed than they were at first. They even moved closer together when Jake started crying, but didn't get close enough to touch each other yet. I think they all knew what I was doing, but didn't want to skip this crucial step of reconciliation. Also, they didn't want me to treat them like I had yesterday. "Now, how about you Wil... tell us what do you like about Jake?" I asked. "Well... Jake is... Jake is true through and through," Wil started. "I mean as good or bad as things might be, you always get the right answer from him.... it's like you can read him like a book. Jake's also very funny, always teasing everyone. Jake's someone you can count on. I'm also very proud of what he can do.... just thinking about the shower we'll be able to take because he'd fixed everything in the latrine. Maybe that's because he's so stubborn sometimes! But he always sees the good that's in the bad!" he added with pride in his voice. "Yes, that's very true..." I said. Then looking in Jake's eyes, I asked Wil if there was something he didn't liked from Jake. "Only his right punches..." he smiled at Jake. "His right? ....ooh, okay, I get it..." I teased as I saw Jake starting to smile. Then I asked Wil what he liked about Matt. "I like everything about him. He's a model for me. Even if he comes from a dysfunctional family, it doesn't seem to bother him.... well even though it doesn't show, I know otherwise. Matt's kind of a brother to me. And if someone was to ask, there's nothing I don't like about him..." Wil said as he started to cry. "I.... I knew I was doing wrong... I... I... didn't want to make any of this happen... I just... I just... Jake, I'm so sorry; I didn't want to destroy your love of Matt. I just got into lust and forgot you were my best friends... my brothers... It's really my fault, not Matt's. Please forgive him. I don't mind if you hate me, but not him, not Matt... no..." then Wil lost it and cried from the depth of his soul. "Wil, it's okay..." Jake said him. "No, it's not. I destroyed something important between us. I destroyed your relationship with Matt, I destroyed the trust we had. In fact, I destroyed everything." Wil said. "Wil, stop whining... You did just good..." Jake told him. Matt looked at me in disbelief, and then looked at Jake as well. Knowing that he had everyone's attention, Jake added, "It's OK Wil. You did just fine. I always considered Matt to be mine's forever, without having to put any effort into our relationship. Ever since I knew I was gay, and that Matt was too, and the fact we weren't known as gay to other people, I thought I'd spend the rest of my life with him in secret, without anyone disturbing our relationship." Jake closed his eyes. "I had plenty of time to think about it since yesterday. I know we're young and we can make mistake but you just made me realize that Matt wasn't someone or something I owned. Every day, hour or minute, I know I'll have to do something to conquer his heart, because if I don't, someone else like you will. Wil, that's why I said you did just fine. It made me realize that what Matt and I have is fragile and that we have to work on it. I couldn't admit it until now, I had a hard time deciding if I'd tell you or not, but we have to live together here on this island, so I thought that you had to know what I was thinking." "And what have you decided?" Matt asked him. "I... I really didn't wanted to lose the only family and friends I have, just for being too much stubborn," Jake added, playing along with Wil's comment as he took Matt in his arms. "Good Lord, I'm so proud of you guys! It's very mature of both of you... In fact I never expected less than that. Jake, I think you did a hell lot of a thinking yesterday. Maybe we all could take this as a lesson.... no one's relationship with anyone is forever. You always have to maintain any relationship, you always have to take care of your partner, and if I expand on it a little, you always have to see every day like it's the last one you'll ever see your lover, or your friend again." Getting a nod from each boy, I took a small pause then resumed, "Jake, you did exceed any of my expectations and even gave us a little lesson in good manners. I knew you didn't wanted to talk to them," I said pointing Wil and Matt, "but you were able to set your pride aside and did the right thing, I mean forgiving their mistake." "That wasn't easy... I wasn't ready to talk, 'cause I was still angry at first... But Wil seemed to be so sorry about what happened.... he was feeling so bad and he said so many nice things about me, so I thought it was the right time to forgive him." Jake said. "You did very well son..." I told him. "Thanks Jake... I didn't want to lose my funny brother..." Wil said, drying his eyes with his knuckles. "Right... OK boys... Maybe we made some headway here, but we aren't finished yet with this scenario. There's Matt and me still to come. I wanna be sure that everything's been said before we start our day." I said. "You want me to go first dad?" Matt asked. "Yeah son, go on." I replied. "Ok... Mmm... About Wil.... Wil is known to be the quietest of all us. He fits between almost everyone, everywhere; like a chameleon. He's a great bud to tag along; we can count on him anytime we need him, even with his bad foot!" Matt chuckled. "He's a great confidant too, he helped me a lot last year along with Mr. Jackson. I remember when he carefully packed my things in boxes because I was such in bad shape.... I couldn't do it myself when mom and I left our house." Matt said. "You still remember that? " Wil asked. "Yup, you were so careful, making sure you didn't break my things, and you were so kind to me, always looking to make sure I was doing OK.... that I wasn't suffering from the beating... you even made me take a bath and washed me, since I wasn't able to do it for myself." Matt added with some tears. "I kinda knew why Jake couldn't be there 'cause he was involved some way, but I did my best so you'd get better as soon as possible. I was pretty sure you were lovers, but didn't know how to ask. I just made sure everything was OK with you first." Wil said. "Yeah, but it's you that told me to call the cops..." Jake added. "Really? " Matt asked. "Yeah, I did. One evening, I got in a fight with my parents and they locked me in my room. I still don't remember why we got into an argument, but as usual, it'd be about me being me. Anyway, I sneaked out of my window for a ride and went to see you. I knew you hadn't been in school for a week and everyone, even Jake, couldn't talk to you by phone. We were all worrying about you. So when I got to your house, I climbed the tree in front of your window, and I saw you curled on your bed. From where I was and with the help of the dim light coming from your desk lamp, I could clearly see the bad shape you were in. I... I could see the marks on your back, and the blood stains on the sheets. So I came back to my house and, in the morning, even if I was so shy at that time, I didn't have any problem going to Jake's as fast as I could and tell him to call the cops for ya. He asked me why, but I was already gone." Wil replied. "I remember that..." Jake said. "At first, I thought Wil had lost it, but since I knew what happened when I left your house, I just took the phone, I really thought you may be dead... The rest is history." "Wow... I never knew about any of that!" Matt said. "You didn't have to know. I wanted Jake to take the credit. Now you know why." Wil said. "Jeeze boys... I never knew you were so committed to each others, even before we got stuck on this island. Maybe it's a sign." I said. "No, it's not a sign. I think it's just that we were already taking care of each other before today, like we were already brothers. Even if Jake's the only one living with a good family, he was able to understand how bad our situation was and help us the best he could." Wil said. "Wil, you're the wisest between all of us!" Jake said. "No... I just sai...." "....said something proving that you were just the wisest!" Jake cut him off. "Now I know why I wasn't able to stay mad to you. You're the part that's missing in me, just like Matt and dad are too. Alone, I'm nothing, but with all you guys, I think I could move mountains." He added. "Now, you're the wise man Jake," I chuckled as everyone laughed. Silence came on the group as we realized how each boys were committed to each other. Matt took us out of our reverie. "Well.... Dad, may I continue?" Matt asked with a deep sigh. "Continue what?" I asked back. "Duh! What I like and don't like!" he replied like I was a dumb animal. "Oh... Yeah, sorry, I forgot!" I laughed. "Go on, Matt." "Okay... So Wil, that was what I liked about you. The only thing I didn't like before is that you were too shy, but now you're not like that..." Matt took a small breath and began, "now Jakey, my lover... everything about you is special. I like everything about you, your smile, and your humour. I love you from head to toe. I like touching you. You're so smooth, even with those scars on your legs.... it's made you sexier than ever. I could chew all you up and never get enough." Matt said smiling. "Are you sure you're just twelve years old Matt?" I asked. "I know we're young, and that only grown-ups are able to think or say silly things like that, but we've had a lot of experiences in the last year and it's made us grow up faster than we should have and I'm pretty sure 'bout that. We'll both be thirteen this year, I don't know when it'll be since we haven't been keeping track what day it is but... but for me, we aren't thirteen, we're adults when it comes to love and relationships." He replied. "Well, that's obvious..." I said. "Then... what I don't like about Jake. It's difficult to say because he's the one I love the most on earth... I'll just say something that goes along with what Wil said. You're someone that is true, and very direct, but you just should learn how to put a damper on your emotions... and maybe be less stubborn," Matt added. "Like someone that was trying to get away from the raft?" I grinned. "I get the drift... Yeah, like me being stupid. I guess I had my lesson..." Matt added. "What the hell?! You jumped out of the raft?!" Jake yelled. "Hmm yeah..." Matt answered shyly. "Why?" Jake asked back. "Hmm, Jake... Do you mind if I tell you why later when we're alone. It's a long story." He answered. "Sorry guys, I really don't wan't to put you aside, but it's something I wanna do alone with Jake..." Matt told Wil and I. "It's OK son, I agree with you... I'm sure there'll be a lot of emotions and I think Jake a you will have to sort this out on your own." I told him. "Thanks dad..." Matt said, giving a quick look to Jake, like as telling him to don't worry. I must say that Jake was very nervous, but still had complete trust in Matt. I could read in his eyes that he was very upset about what his boyfriend did some weeks before. I knew that once they'd be alone, Jake would have a talk with Matt. Anyway, it was time to get back to our little game. Now that the boys had said everything about each other, it was my turn. I had to be as equal as possible with my comments to avoid making either of them feeling left out. "Now, my turn boys." I started. "You too?" Jake asked. "Yeah, me too cute one! Why? Don't I deserve to play this game?" I grinned. "Well yeah, you deserve a turn as well. Wait 'til we tell you how bad you are. You'll never stay with us!" Jake replied. "Jake, you and your baaad sense of humour... Well, we'll see." Then I started. "Boys, I really like and dislike each one of you equally..." "Daaaad! You are so baaaad!" Matt grinned. I chuckled then resumed, "Yeah boys! Seriously, each one of you is special to me. You're all good looking, you're all smart, and each one of you always takes care of the other two. Life is just waiting for you! Each of you have your rights and your wrongs, your goods and your bads, but that's what makes you unique in the whole world. I can't tell everything I'd like to say for each one of you because it would take a whole day, but let's just say that you're really amazing young men, that make some mistakes, but you're able to recognize them and work on them to make you better people. Otherwise, I don't dislike you that much..." I added, going along with the word play I just said. "I'll just state that I like everything about you." I turned over to look at Jake. "You Jake, for instance, as we just saw, your humour always puts a smile on our faces, even in the worst situation. You always have the right word to put us in a good mood. And your skin is hawwww.... well, you're so smooth, I could chew you up and..." "Daaaad!" Matt said, mimicking to be upset. "Oops!" I grinned. "That was your line, sorry 'bout that Matt. Jake, just one thing before I go on with Matt, there's something you have to work on like Matt said, just put a damper on your raw emotions, sometime you'll see that you may have caused a mess just by going at it head first instead of doing some thinking about how serious a problem might be..." "Mmmmkay dad, I guess it's obvious I have to work on my temper..." Jake smiled. Then I looked at Matt. "Now you Matt, I like what a genius you can be sometimes, it's amazing. You seem to know everything about anything that's technical and mechanical. You're a team leader and you always seem to know what to do and where to go. You just have to remember to bring everyone along with you and you don't exclude anyone." I winked him. "I think I understand what you mean dad... Thanks..." Matt replied. "And you Wil..." I said turning my head in his direction, "Wil, you don't know it, but you're the best big brother those boys can have around. Like what we said before, you're really the wise man here. The only thing you have to learn is to trust the essence of life and of course, the people around you. I know you feel like the odd man out, but you can be sure that someday, you'll find the right person who will love you equally, just as you will for them." "But what if we get stuck here for decades dad?" Wil asked. "You have to trust life and the future with blind faith Wil..." I replied. "I'll try dad... I really want to have someone in my life..." Wil said sadly. "You have us bro!" Jake said. "Yeah I know... but that's not what I'm saying... I mean, I want a lover too... someday..." Wil said. "Yeah, sorry Wil... I'm sure dad's right. Someday, you'll find someone, even if it takes decades..." Jake said. "Thanks Jake..." Wil finally said in a better mood. Now it was the boys turn to go on me. They looked at each other then Matt spoke first. "I think I'll try first, but I'm pretty sure that we'll all have the same comments..." he said. "Dad, you're the best dad we could ever have. You're even better than Jake's father... big time! I think we never knew what a real dad was before today. We know you're new at being a dad, but I can tell you, you're doing great, even if you do make some mistake and yell at us sometimes. Anyway, you always take care of us, teach us new things, and listen to our whining without complaining. You're a good confidant and you always have a hint about how to solve our problems... You never judged us for being gay, something I'm sure that wouldn't be tolerated at home... I'm not sure we'd be still alive if you weren't here with us. Finally, you came from being a complete stranger to a great dad in no time. Not every grown-up would be able to do something like that in such a short time." I put my hand over Matt's arm. I was so emotional to be able to speak, but what he said went directly to my heart. I did love these boys. They were everything that was missing in my life. If I knew that a plane crash would bring me such love as this, I would've hijacked a plane full of kids a long time ago! "But..." Matt continued "here's the worst part..." then he paused. "Dad, the only thing we don't like about you is that sometimes you talk to us like we're stupid kids... I know we're kids and we act like kids too.... I mean it's normal, but you know, just give us some space sometimes. We know what to do and when to do it. You'll know soon enough when we don't understand and when we don't know what to do or how to do it." I took a pause to think about what Matt said. I thought maybe he was right. Since the crash, I learned how to live with them. I never had kids of my own until now. Since I was the only adult here, I took the tribe lead and went along. I never asked myself if I was right. More important, I never asked the boys if I was right or if they knew a better way to do something. Yeah Matt was right. "Well, do you two think the same way?" I asked to Jake and Wil. "Yeah, kind of... Are you mad because of that?" asked Jake. "No... I'm not mad. I just realized how wrong I've been. Like Matt said, I'm new at being a 'dad' and I'm still learning." I replied. "Thanks dad, I thought you would ground us for a week. You're eyebrows were so frowned..." Wil added. "No... I was just doing some thinking... I won't ground you at all... except I still want both you and Jake to rest today, no running or unnecessary walking. It's important that you let your wounds start healing. OK?" Wil and Jake both smiled. "Yes Doctor Dad." Jake said laughing. Soon the four of us were laughing - even Henry was mimicking us. It took that simple comment to break the solemn attitude that each of us had been feeling. Once I'd calmed down, I continued, "In fact, I'm very proud of what all of you accomplished this morning. It takes a lot of humility and a whole lot of diplomacy to tell each other what they're like without hurting them. You all did very well, even with me." I told them. I looked carefully at each of the boys and seeing that everyone was smiling, I then added, "From now on, as far as I can see, everything seems to be sorted out. Do we agree to say that yesterday's incident is now closed?" I asked as I extended my hand. All the boys put their hands in mine and nodded. "All right... So Jake, do you forgive those two about what happened?" "Yeah, it's already forgiven like I said. I understand what happened, and I know I have now to work on my temper." Jake smiled. "You Matt, and you Wil, do you understand that you went a little too far and won't do it again without the consent of all of those who are involved," I asked them. "Yeah..." they both replied, and then Matt added, "I won't do that again. I don't wanna lose my lover ever again..." "OK, since everything's settled, how about we get some breakfast ready Matt?" I suggested. "You betcha!" Jake exclaimed. "I'm so hungry I could eat the guts out of a palm tree." Wil started laughing at that. "Or a horse's ass!" That got all of us laughing. "Oh we can't do that Wil," Matt interjected through his giggles, "it'd take all day to cook it! He'd have to eat it raw!" "Hey, try me!" Jake exclaimed. That remark put both Matt and Wil into hysterics, rolling on the floor, holding their stomachs. Even Jake and I were laughing so hard that the sound was bouncing off the rafters and metal roof. "Well..... Let's settle for last night's left overs.... and some Spam," I said still laughing. "Oh God Jake, you're a riot sometimes," Matt said as he got up off the floor and followed me into the workshop. While Matt and I got the fruit and nuts ready, Wil and Jake got the Spam. Once we'd finished our breakfast, Matt asked snickering, "Well Jakey, what'dya think.... was that better than a raw horses' ass?" "Really, I wouldn't want to have to eat a horse or even a deer... what do they call that? Jake asked. I waited, hoping one of the boys knew the answer. Finally I said, "The word you're thinking of is venison." "Right!" Wil said. I had it once. It sure wasn't beef." We continued to talk about all the animals that we knew. Bears, coyotes, giraffes, lions, tigers, cheetahs, and a myriad of others. After about an hour I thought, 'Yup, they learned something.' So it started - the routine of having some schooling every morning after breakfast. Over time, I found their mathematics skills were good, but they did need to brush up on their English and literature skills. As I thought about it, I wished I had a lot of school books to teach them from and a chalkboard would have been nice too. I was hoping that I could work out some sort of curriculum, but that was going to take a lot of thought. After lunch, Matt and I went back down the trail and got some more fruit, nuts, and coconuts. Although the spam was nice, I was hoping we have more to balance our diets. When we got back, I checked Wil's toe and Jake's leg. I knew a swim in the ocean would help to heal Jake's wound faster so I asked if everyone would like to go for a swim before dinner. "YEAH!" They all exclaimed. "Skinny-dippin'!" Jake exclaimed. Yup, my boys were being boys. I found a sturdy walking stick for Wil to use and that would help keep him off his sore foot and then we were off down the supply road to the ocean. The swim was very refreshing and the boys frolicked like little kids - until something important happened. Jake and Wil were out about ten feet further out from shore than Matt and I were - the water was up to about their waists. Jake yelled, "Whooooaa!" Then Wil yelled, "Wow!" Right away Matt and I swam out to them as fast as we could. "What's wrong?" I asked in a panic. "Just stand there Dad, but don't look down," Wil said. I stood there and stared at him, and then to Jake and Matt, wondering what this was all about. Then I felt something brush against my leg. Shocked, I looked down. It was a beautiful school of fish of various sizes, some about 24 inches long, and some almost eight inches wide. Right away Jake looked in the water and tried to grab one of the larger ones, but there was no way he could be fast enough and the water did refract the fish's position relative to where he was looking. "Jakey, you can't catch them like that," I said laughing. "What we need is a net." "Hey Dad, we can make a net out of that rope we found!" Matt exclaimed. "Great idea Matt... it'll give Jake and I something to do while we're resting our wounds. How about it Dad?" Wil asked. "I think it's a great idea.... are we all in favour?" I asked. YEAH!" The three exclaimed. So we spent the afternoon learning how to make a net. It turned out good, with holes about two inches square. We only wanted to catch the big ones. The little ones could still slip through the openings in the net. It was a comfortable afternoon with lots of laughing and joking around. It was as if we learning how to get to know each other again. After dinner, we sat out on the runway, and lit up one of the blankets and watched the fire, once in while looking up at the star-filled sky above. I told a few ghost stories. By the time I'd finished the third story, all was quiet and I looked across at three dozing heads with drooping eyes. "I think we should hit the hay now, we're all nearly asleep." I said. "Mmmm dad?" "What Jakey?" I said. "Would you mind if we all slept together like we were?" he said. "Like what?" I asked. "Mmm, you know, sleeping together... like usual?" he replied. "What like usual?" I asked back. "He means he misses us all sleeping together... you know.... no clothes.... as usual..." Matt said. "Oh! That?!? Do you three think we should sleep like that?" I grinned. "Daaaaad!" Matt and Wil said. "I miss Jake's smooth skin..." Wil chuckled. "Hey, hands off, it's mine!" Matt grinned. "Okay boys, as long as you behave, it won't be a problem. Just bring your things off from the table and then we'll go sleep in the nude. It seems to be something you really enjoy!" I said. "And it's becoming chillier, I need my 'buddy' heat," Jake laughed. We grabbed our belongings then moved back into the barracks. After some adjustment of our bedding arrangement, we all removed our clothes then went under our sheet cover on the makeshift mattresses. Each of us scooted together on our sides to be as close as possible to the other. I must say that the boys needed to have skin contact, something they missed for the last night they'd been apart. Soon, we drifted into Morph's arms for the night. The next morning after breakfast, the boys were anxious to try out the new net. I decided that for today, that was going to serve as their schooling. Although I wanted Wil and Jake to take it easy with the amount of strain they put on their legs, their enthusiasm overrode any of the precautions that I voiced. We'd weighted down the four corners of the net with small stones, so it would sink the corners to the bottom, hopefully allowing the rest of the net to float for a few moments before we dragged it back to the shore - and hopefully with some good sized fish in it. Once I explained the theory and gave them a demonstration, the boys were more enthused than ever. In my demonstration of throwing the net, letting it perform it's sinking corner action, then grabbed the ropes to the far corners and hauling it into the shore, I was able to net one two-foot fish. It looked meaty enough that we'd be able to get two good servings from it. Next, Jake tried. I really thought the net would be too heavy for the boys to toss, but Jake fooled me all to hell. His throw was almost perfect, but Matt had to give him a hand with the dragging operation. He did net a three-foot fish, but it was thin bodied, so we threw it back. Wil tried next, but lost his balance when he threw the net - his toe gave him a twinge and he let out a little yelp. He was disappointed that he couldn't handle the operation, and cursed that he couldn't wait for his toe to heal. Nonetheless, he did catch a twelve-incher when he and Matt gathered in the net. It was a keeper. Matt got to toss the net twice. In his first attempt, he let go of the far corner retaining ropes and had no way of turning the net in a scooping action. On his second throw it was perfect and he netted another two-footer similar to the one I'd caught. As with Jake, he needed help dragging the net back to the shore, but he was happy with his success. Although we had enough for today's dinner, the boys wanted to practice more. Once I explained that we had to gut and clean the fish before we could eat them, the boys got a new enthusiasm and gave up on the idea of catching more. Wil wanted to tie a board to his foot before he'd try it again. With the use of the net, Matt and I carried the twelve pounds of fish back to the workshop. Once we'd cleaned the bench top thoroughly, I had to give the boys a lesson on how to gut and clean the fish. Although all we had to work with was a dull knife, I started with the fish I'd caught. First, I cut off the head and tail, and looked for any squeamish reaction from any of the boys. Actually the opposite occurred. Each of them were laughing as they made gross comments about blood, eyes and brains as I was hacking through the neck. They were making this chore fun for themselves and I appreciated that attitude. Matt and Jake lined up their fish beside me. As I performed an operation, I'd hand the knife to Wil and he'd do the same operation with his fish. Then he'd hand the knife to Matt who did the same. Before long, the boys were getting a lesson on the innards of a fish. Jake was having a lot of fun watching and describing in great detail what each part of the gut was as he went by each of us with a bucket to put the bits and pieces in. Sometimes his description became quite sordid and gross, but everyone was able to take it in stride. When we'd finished the gutting, deboning, and descaling process, Jake asked, "Anyone gotta puke? I got the bucket and there's still room." Wil looked into the bucket and pretended to toss his cookies with a retching sound, but it didn't work on any of us. The boys humour was amazing. Once I described to Matt what we needed for skewers and a stand to support them on, he was away to all the corners of the workshop and generator room. It took him no time for him to come up with a rig that included one of the steel locker doors that we could bake the fish on rather than skewer them on an open fire. While he scoured the hell out of the cooking surface, first with a whetting stone he'd found and then with a lot of water, Jake and I went over to the latrine building and hefted a couple of the wood partitions over to the fire pit area for firewood. Once that was prepared, everyone was hungry, so we had a quick snack of berries, nuts, and fruit that we had handy, but in reality, everyone had their mouths watering for the cooked fish that may take over an hour to cook. I started the fire and gave careful instructions to Wil and Jake on how to cook the fish while Matt and I went into the bush and retrieved more fruit, nuts, and berries for tomorrow. When we returned, Jake and Matt had done a great job of cooking the fish. They'd kept a nice even heat and kept the fish turning on top of the metal locker door. While Matt got some of the nuts and fruit ready, I sampled the fish. It still had a while to go, but the piece of outside flesh that I sampled was very tasty. I carved a small morsel for each of the boys to taste. They went ballistic! Then it started: "Is it done yet?"..... which was repeated what seemed like every thirty seconds. I couldn't dare take a chance and feed us something that wasn't completely cooked through, so I made them wait explaining the problems we could have with food poisoning if it wasn't cooked completely. Although we didn't have any proper seasonings that would be normally served with fish - salt, lemon, tarter sauce, etc. - it was delicious to our palette AND a welcome relief from the boredom of nuts and fruit - especially the coconuts. The boys were in heaven with every bite. "Yum, yum, mmmm yum," were the only sounds that came from them during our feast. They insisted that we were going to go fishing every day after that and that they wanted fish once a day to be a part of their diet. I was pleased with their enthusiasm, but I knew that some days may be too stormy for that to happen. At least a loosely structured routine was being set up. Once again, we enjoyed the slowing burning embers of the fire before we headed to bed. The following afternoon, Jake asked me if I'd mind letting the three of them alone for a while. He told me that he had something he wanted to discuss without me being there. Something relative to 'being adult someday' he told me. Actually, I was in the dark because he avoided expressly letting me know what he had in mind but, I just smiled yes to his request; for sure Jake was acting more mature than the day before. I was very proud of him and allowed the boys to go for a talk. I left them alone, but kept a short distance so I could still see them in the distance, but out of hearing range. They sat cross legged on the ground and talked for almost two hours that afternoon, never yelling or arguing. That's what I saw from where I was whenever I glanced their way. At the last moment, I saw them extend their arms to shake everyone's hands, then joined in a group hug. I never asked about what had been said that day. They never mentioned it or brought it up either. They just asked me if I'd allow them to go alone to the shore to do some skinny dipping and fishing. After I told them to stay near the shore and to keep an eye on each other, they left me alone at the base and went down the trail with the net and Henry toward the ocean. Once they were gone, and I remembered how cute they're little bums were as they headed away from me, I allowed my mind to drift to more mature images of specimens of my own age. Yes, I enjoyed this little space in time to relieve my built-up bodily tensions in my own private moments. I never verified what happened, but I'm sure they didn't only do some skinny dipping - the smile that Matt and Jake were wearing when they got back told me otherwise. When they came back, they dropped the fish they'd caught in the workshop and quickly went for a shower, thanks to Jake's for his great work. I joined them since I started to stink after being under the sun for the whole day. Matt took the time to look at everything Jake repaired. Jake told him the 'whole story' - how he fixed this, how he repaired that. Matt was really proud of his lover as Wil and I were too. That same week, we started the generator again, but nearly destroyed it the first time it ran. We'd forgotten to put water in the radiator in our first preparatory maintenance. Seeing that the engine temperature dial indicator wasn't moving from its rest position, Matt shut the engine off and told me what he thought the problem was. He told me that we forgot to put water in the cooling system, that's why we had no readout from the dial. He told me that the temperature was getting definitively much too high for the engine. So, he waited the engine to cool off before adding water because it'd have caused some cracks in the engine block. Once the motor was cool enough and after the radiator was filled up with water, we bled any air from the cooling system and we did the starting procedure again. Now we had a fully functional generator. Once we had electricity, Matt and Jake took an afternoon together to test every circuit that could be powered. We had now some lights in the barracks, on the airfield, hangars, and the control tower too. It was amazing that those lamps were still working! Anyway, Wil found some spare ones in a closet near the generator room. It might come handy if some of them burned out. We were also able to turn on the electric heaters. They were still working, and once we cleaned the years of dust off the elements, we enjoyed the comfort to take the edge off the humidity from the barracks when it was raining. Talking about rain, on the same evening we had lights, it was pouring like hell outside so we stayed in the barracks. Jake thought about an idea to have some soap, so he started to cook some soap bars in the electric oven. I don't know where he got this idea from, but he went outside to gather a bunch of things then he guessed and tried some recipes of his own; mixing herbs, plants, coconut oil and fruits in a pan. Everyone thought he was wasting his time. The first soap bars were disgusting as hell to look at and they smelled like shit. Wil put his own trademark on it and called it Poopoo Bar. After a couple of tries, the product came out more familiar and started to resemble to what a soap bar should be. So, forgetting all the sarcasm they had about Jake's idea, Matt and Wil joined the soap R&D team and after a couple of tries, they were able to pull out some coconut based soaps that smelled all right. They called it A&W for 'Alien Wash' because one of the particularities of those soap bars was that they were like a translucent greeny blob. Another few adjustments to the recipe and the soap smelled very good; kinda like aloe. I think they added to the mix a lot of the 'soap plant' that Wil had found a while ago. It produced a dozen soap bars. They took note of the recipe on a sheet of paper so we'd be able to reproduce them when this soap stack dwindled. As soon as the soap was ready, we all thought we needed to try it, and we went directly to the shower. So for the first time since the crash, we were able to completely wash ourselves with soap and smell spic and clean. I must say, we had a party in the shower. You know, when you're in the nature, you don't have the same hygiene practices as you would at home. Just think about taking a crap. Yeah, we found some ways to wipe our asses, but never properly. Also our nails were always dirty, we smelled funny sometimes, and our hair was a mess. Now, being able to clean ourselves completely, then smelling all good from head to toe, helped us to regain our pride and self respect - thanks to Jake and his idea, even if we did make fun of him at first. The following day, Matt sharpened another knife he'd found in the barracks. With some soap, I was able to shave myself for the first time. The soap they invented was really great for shaving, as it produced a whole lot of creamy foam, something perfect for to shave a hirsute man like I was. I must say I was becoming a stranger to myself with a beard. Even the boys were starting to show some peach fuzz on there lips and cheeks and I knew before long, they'd want to learn the technique. Maybe I could save that for a morning teaching lesson. . Once done, we were even able to wash our clothes with the soap, it was indeed needed, our pants were ready to stand up by themselves! That same day, since we had now a sharp knife, I cut the boys hair and Jake did mine. We wouldn't have a prize for the cut styling of the year, but it did the job. I should add that the boy were really looking good, all with bangs on their foreheads. They really looked like brothers! Over the next three weeks, the turmoil caused by Matt and Wil's kiss was now history and the boys were happy friends like before. For sure it left an emotional mark because Jake had still difficulties with trust - sometimes he'd cling to Matt like glue, but for the most part, he made a great effort not to show it and he worked a lot on his confidence. I hoped that over time he'd get over it. Although we couldn't go for a long walk while we waited for Wil's toe to heal completely, we arranged our dorm to be cozy as possible. We found out some old tarpaulins that were never used before. They were in a very good shape. Then we stitched them one over the other with some tools made by Matt and Wil. We filled the tarpaulin envelope with some hay then stitched the last opening to seal our new makeshift mattress. We put three tables side to side and put the mattress on them to avoid floor humidity. We now had a comfortable and spacious bed. During the following weeks, we started to have a more regular schedule. First thing in the morning, after breakfast, we'd get the food needed for the whole day. Back at the barracks, I'd do some schooling for the boys until it was just past noon, then it was time to have our lunch. Then the afternoon would be spent as free time. Some days we'd go fishing and repeat our afternoon routine for the cleaning and cooking of the fish. After suppertime, if we hadn't gone fishing that day, we'd talk together and go to the ocean for some skinny dipping. When we'd come back, we'd take a shower and hit the bed. Every night, we'd talk for hours before finally falling into sleep. During his own free time, Matt tried to do everything to finally connect the radio. Even if it was from an old technology, tube equipment was new to him. He first took a pencil and a sheet of paper from the radio desk and layed out a complete draft of the circuitry to show how he'd connect everything and how everything would work together. Then he tried to do some interconnection with different pieces of equipment. Even if he blew some tubes, he learned how to work with them. Since there were a whole lot of spare tubes in a box located in a closet, Matt was able to repair his equipments and continue to work on it. Once Matt understood how to work with the radios, Jake and Wil joined in, and under Matt's supervision, they were finally able to communicate very clearly with two radios on the same channel. One was in the tower, and the other one in the barracks. Needless to say, there was a party atmosphere in the camp that day! The fact that they were able to operate the radios gave us the proof that at least, we were able to communicate, even if it was on a short distance. The only remaining problem was to amplify the signal strength to be able to transmit over the island so we'd could be heard in another country. The day after they had a successful communication with those two radios, Jake and Matt were finishing the connections with the amplifier in the control tower. They needed to make a big antenna, attaching it on the tower, then finally, connecting a wire between the antenna and the amplifier. They constructed the antenna post from some pipes they found here and there in the machine-shop. Then they completed the antenna itself from smaller pipes. They took the time to drill, tap, and screw everything with the tools they found out in the workshop. It was out of question that Wil would help them, since his toe had just healed. They wanted him to avoid crushing his toe while making the antenna. So I kept him with me, Henry perfectly perched on his right shoulder as usual. "Do you think the antenna will work dad?" Wil asked. "Probably... so far, Matt's done very well making those thingies come back to life. We are really lucky to be able to have electricity and much more; some operating radios. At first, I wasn't sure if he was just playing with them or if he knew what he was doing, but it's amazing to see the result he's had so far. I must say that Jake and you have been a big help too. So that's probably why I expect the antenna to work as well." I replied. "Thanks dad..." he said. "You're welcome son." "Maybe someday, someone will hear us..." he added, still looking to the control tower. We were sitting on some chairs near the control tower, under the shade of a big tree. Once in a while, we'd look to see what Matt and Jake were doing. Wil was studying an old radio operator's manual. He thought he should learn how to use it, learn how to use the military alphabet, and determine which channels were used by aircraft and military organizations, even if they may have changed over the past fifty years. Me - I was reading the logbook of the Ujelang base, while sipping a big glass of fresh water. It was interesting to know that this base was used to spy on Japanese aircraft movements. I was surprised to learn that this base served as a refuelling station for the aircrafts that had launched both nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. If they appeared anywhere in the government archives, those documents would be normally classified 'Top Secret' by the USA. I was lucky to have this one in my hand. "Dad..." The book went on to say that almost twenty Douglas DC-3s were regularly located at the base. Everyday, some of them would go for a surveillance flight around the area. "Da-ad!!!" "Hmm? Oh, sorry Wil, I think I got too involved in this logbook! What is it son?" I asked. "Uh, mmm, I... I... ...wanted to talk to you about somethin'..." he said. "Something bothering you? You seem to be serious..." I told him. "Well... yes and no... I don't know how to tell ya. It's... it's kind of very personal..." "Just tell like you feel it, you know I won't bite you sweety..." I said. "It's just that... ...Shit no... I can't say that?!?!" he said in a sort of disbelief. "Wil... take your time. If you aren't ready to talk about what's bothering you, you know you can always ask me later, when you feel you're ok with it." "Noo... I hafta now..." Then taking a big breath, he said quietly, "I'm not sure if I'm gay..." "What makes you say that? You seem to be disappointed when you say it..." I told him. "Just because..." was his only answer. "Just because?" I asked. "Yeah, just because..." he replied on a sad note. "Wil... I really don't want to pry but, I know you're a guy that never says something for no reason, or never 'just because'. Has something happened that makes you think you're not gay then?" "Mmm yeah..." he nodded shyly. "Do you want to talk about it or is it too private?" I asked him. "It's kind of private, yeah... but I do wanna talk to you about it dad, even if I gave my word to Jake and Matt to not talk to you about it..." He replied. I started to have a hint about what all this was about; something was telling me that when the boys went skinny dipping alone, they tried to do some sex stuff too and it didn't turn out well for Wil. Now I had the delicate task to make him reveal his secret. "Has it something to do with your swimming session at the ocean?" I asked him "How did you know that?" He asked me, completely stunned. "Well..... Wil, I'm starting to know you guys very well just by listening and watching how you react to things." I replied. "Did you spy on us? You saw us?" he asked me, a little upset. "No! I never moved from the barracks. I just know how teenage male hormones work, and how emotions are able to make a man make some bad decisions. Remember we had a lot of emotions two days before you guys went skinny dippin' alone... For many reasons, I just guessed that all of you had sex in mind that day." I replied. "Yeah... Sorry dad... I just thought that you..." "...That I was spying... Yeah, it would have been a possibility too... But I didn't spy at all. I trusted you and I always will trust you guys." "Okay... but dad... Just don't tell Matt and Jake that I had this talk with you. Normally, I'd had respected my promises, but I'm so mixed up right now... It's a shame for me to go over my promises but I really need your help..." Wil said. "Oh, okay... You have my word I won't tell, don't be afraid..." I said softly. "Thanks dad!" Wil said a little relieved. Well, then?" I asked. "Then... Hmm... Shit, I have to spit it out, otherwise I'd never be able to say it later!" he said. Then he started with his story. "You were right about our skinny dipping session... When we talked, Matt, Jake and I.... we agreed to do some sex stuff together. I was curious about sex and they wanted me to know what it was like. With, all the things we went through the day before, they told me they would do it with me because they thought I was the odd one out. They told me I had to try it and they'd be glad to do it together with me. We talked about it and they finally convinced me to try it with them. Everyone agreed so no one was left out. So... we asked you if we could go to the ocean for a swim. We never went in the ocean directly, instead, we went near the trail to a spot that Jake and Matt had already decided on. They did everything to put me at ease. I was shaking like hell because I didn't know what to expect. I must say, they did a great job to make me relaxing." "What they did?" I asked. "Oh... We... We laid down on a comfy patch of hay, then they placed themselves each sides of me. They started caressing me, I mean very intimately..." he said. "Okay, I understand..." I said. "Then they kissed me everywhere, and I mean everywhere, even my hole, yuck!!" he laughed. "Oops. I didn't want to hear that one!!" I laughed too, moving my hand over my ears. "Then they prepared me and we did sex. I mean, Matt and Jake both did me... I mean they... they..." "It's okay Wil... I know what you mean..." I said, trying to relieve some of the pressure for him. "Then I tried with Jake and I came in his uhhh... you know..." "Okay, yes I know..." I smiled. "I really liked it though. Jake was really nice to me and Matt helped a lot to make sure I did the right things to get the most pleasure as possible. Then that was it. I must say that it hurt real bad to have something that big in your bum. But I must say I loved when they caressed me, even if it was odd..." Wil said. "Why do you say it was odd?" I asked him. "Because... 'cause they seemed to know everything, you know.... how, what and when to do everything. I wasn't at the same level as they were. I know they did their best to make me part of their club, but I knew I wasn't..." "Why?" "Because they were a couple, they're committed to one another. And when they do sex, they not only do sex, they make love to each other... They made love in front of me and I saw the difference... Yeah, it was really arousing to see them at it, but I was able to find out that with me, it was just sex, and I felt like something was missing. It was like I was doing a job. It wasn't fun like I wanted it to be. Also, I was a little shy because I was inexperienced and there was always one looking at what I was doing with the other one. That's why I'm all mixed up.... maybe because it was just pure sex or maybe because I'm not gay in the end." Wil said. "Mmm, Wil, there's no good answer. But I think you're near the answer by telling it was just pure sex. Remember, it's the first time you've done hard sex stuff with someone. Also, they were two experienced boys with you. You've never had that experience before. If you ask anyone, they'll tell you that the first time they tried to do sex stuff, it was miserable... that they we're dumb, not knowing what to do, and afraid how the other one will react. Everything's like that." I replied. "You' sure 'bout that?" Wil said. "Take me as example. I was the dumbest kid you ever knew the first time I tried sex. And it was with my best friend, someone I knew very well for a long time." I told him. "And, you tried it again?" "Yeah... at first, I didn't want to do sex stuff anymore. But you know... curiosity took over and we tried it a week later. That time, it was better and we really had some fun, even if it did hurt a little." "Do you mean, if I try again, this time only with Jake, or Matt, it'll be better?" Wil asked. "Maybe... but you know the rules?" I asked him. "Yeah, I have to tell them and I have to do it with the consent of the one who's left out." He replied. "Not that I agree completely what you guys are doing, but if you do it properly, in respect of all the people involved, and if we don't have a war like we had in the generator room, you have my approval. Just take your time Wil..." "Yeah dad, thanks... I knew you'd be able to sort this out..." Wil said happily. "Just don't be too inquisive on those two, okay?" I said as I saw Matt and Jake coming back toward us. "No, I sure wouldn't do that!" he smiled. "You won't what?" Jake said as he got near us. "Private conversation boys..." I said. "Oops, sorry... we could come back later if you want?" Jake said. "No, we're done, aren't we Wil?" I asked him. "Yeah, kind of." He replied smoothly. "Dad, sorry to interrupt, but we need both of you to hold the post up straight while Jake and I screw it to the tower's wall." Matt announced. "Okay, no problem." I replied as I stood up from my chair. I gave a quick look at Wil who seemed more relaxed now. Sure, I'll have to talk again with him sooner or later but first, I wanted him to do some thinking on his own. Once up from our respective chairs, Wil and I finally went to give a hand to our techno-boys. An hour later, the post was pretty well attached to the wall, ready to receive the antenna and the cable. It was already becoming darker outside, so we left the control tower and brought all our things back to the barracks. We took our supper meal then washed all the dishes we'd used during the day. After everything was done, we went for a quick shower then went back to the barracks. I took the opportunity to inspect each boys, to be sure that their health was ok. No dental decay at all, even if we were unable to brush our teeth. Maybe the food we ate was excellent for our gum and dental hygiene. Within my inspection, I found no parasite, no sun burn, no red spots or pimples. Their level of fat was now near a normal state. They were certainly less skinny than they were three months ago. I think Wil's toe was now good enough to be able to tolerate a good walk through the woods. Jake's scars were now completely healed; just some red dots showing were the shark teeth had penetrated, but it was still itchy for him when we touched it, probably because the skin was sensitive after being cut like that. So I told him to lie down on our make-shift bed so I could massage his skin. Yeah, he really had a thin smooth skin. I did his belly, his pelvis and, inside his thigh near his crotch where the worst cut had been. Unwillingly, it caused him to have a stiffy, which was to be expected because Jake seemed to sport a major boner for half of any day!! While I was lavishly caring for him, Wil and Matt did his shoulder and his feet as well. When we finished, Jake was snoring, ready to go for bed, but still with his stiffy. We all started to laugh. I finally put the cover over him and told the other boys to go to bed as well. I lit a torch and went to turn off the generator; we were using it only when needed to save the as much fuel as possible. When I came back, I made sure that all the boys were comfy in the bed, and then I extinguished my torch in the sandbox we had reserved for that purpose. I climbed in the bed myself and closed my eyes for the night. Yes, the last three weeks had been very interesting. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To be continued... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Many thanks for reading this little story. If you wish, I'd appreciate your feedback. Just send me an email and put Crash Survivor in the subject line so I won't think it's spam and delete your message. As usual, I'd appreciate knowing where you're from and how old you are! ;-) Cheers, Drake drakanian32@yahoo.ca I still think this word should be 'spy' In common English - pry mean to question into private matters and to 'pry' off a lid.