Date: Fri, 4 May 2007 00:09:33 +0200 (CEST)
From: Nathan Me <nathan7new@yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: James 38

'James' by Nathan

Email address nathan7new@yahoo.co.uk

My stories are archived at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nathansstories/.

This story contains material of a sexual nature and describes sexual acts
between adults and children. If you find this kind of material offensive,
if you are under the legal age to read such material or if it is illegal in
your country, please do not read any further.

My stories may contain some factual or autobiographical elements, but they
are works of fiction and any apparent similarities of my characters to real
people are not intended.

This story is protected by copyright. It may not be downloaded, copied,
printed or otherwise reproduced in any way other than for your private
enjoyment and may not be changed in any way without express written consent
of the author, me!

I hope you enjoy this story.




James: Chapter 38

The following morning, Mrs Daniels was the first person up and already
sitting eating her breakfast when the rest came down for theirs. She
greeted them as if nothing at all had occurred the previous day and, if
anything, she seemed brighter and less caustic than before. Who was she
kidding, Tom thought as he loaded his plate with two eggs, two sausages,
two strips of bacon, mushrooms and baked beans. He also picked up a couple
of slices of fried bread and coffee. There is nothing like a full English
breakfast to start a day of vigorous activity off well. He sat next to Alex
and Ann who were already tucking into their respective breakfasts. Ann had
a bowl of muesli and an orange juice. Alex, like Tom, had decided on a full
English.  "You ever been gorge walking, Tom?" Ann asked.  "No, not
really. Done a lot of cross country walks and treks though."  "Not much
different, just wetter." she laughed. "Even if you wear waterproofs over
your jeans, they still get absolutely soaked."  "Last year one of the older
kids fell in and pulled me in with him. The water wasn't too deep, so it
was easy enough to pull him out, but we were both soaked to the skin and it
takes ages to dry out." Alex said.  "Alex and I both went on safety courses
a couple of years ago as some boy died in an accident when they went in
water that was too deep and too fast. Basically, we follow the centre
staffs lead unless we feel conditions are unsafe to continue. Normally we
would follow their advice, but if they say it's ok, but we feel unsure, we
can call it off.  Common sense really, but accidents can and have happened
so everyone is extra careful now." She nodded in the direction of the Mrs
Daniels, "Especially this week."  "She seems a bit more cheery this
morning." Alex commented.  "Don't know why." Ann said, "She was thoroughly
mean in the bus on the way up and after yesterday I didn't think she'd show
her sour face again."  "She's obviously got thick skin." Tom said round a
mouthful of button mushrooms.  "Do you think it was true?" Ann asked,
referring to the previous day's main topic of conversation.  "I don't
know," Alex answered, "but there's rarely smoke without fire."

The last of the children came wandering in as Tom finished his last
egg. Some of them looked as if they had hardly slept. It was possible some
of them hadn't, as Alex and Nita had been up a few times in the early hours
trying to settle them down.  James and Sam weren't their usual perky selves
either. Sam had big dark bags under his eyes and walked slowly behind his
friend. Tom stood and took his plate and mug to the trolley for the dirty
pots and walked over to the boys.  "Morning." he said in a bright loud
voice.  "Ouch. Do you have to be so loud?" Chris asked.  "I take it you
boys are not quite awake yet then?"  "You might say that." Sam
answered. "James and Dean decided we'd have a midnight feast at one o'clock
this morning. I don't think I actually got to sleep 'til about three."
"And here you are up again. Well I guess the trek will wake you all up. All
that icy cold water to wade through."  "Vrrrrrr." James shuddered. "Go
away, will you?"  Tom laughed at the sorry bunch. "Well, I'll see you all
outside in half an hour."  "Is he always that high in the morning?" Sam
asked James.  "I guess."

Once again, Mrs Daniels overheard Sam's question and wondered why Sam would
think that James would know what Tom was like in the mornings. Her mind
played with the possibilities. Had the young volunteer taken the boy home
with him during the boy's stay at the charity home? No, she was sure Mr
Chester, however badly she thought of the home in general, would not
blatantly put a child at risk like that. She was sure this was Tom's first
overnight trip with any of the children, so what else did that leave? He
must have somehow known the boy before he came to the home. Not a friend or
relative of the mother, or he might have come forward as such to try and
arrange better circumstances for the boy, but... she had overheard James
and Sam talking about going to live with Tom. There was something else
niggling her. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was
something else she was sure she knew that was relevant, but what it was
eluded her. She crunched on a slice of fried bread, staring into space,
trying to remember what it might be. James had spent several nights on the
streets and then she remembered that he had claimed to have spent some time
with a man too. Well! So what if this young volunteer was the paedophile
who James had been with before the others picked him up in the cinema?
Wouldn't that be ripe: a paedophile working at the home? That would be the
ammunition she needed to... Well, she thought, better not count her
chickens, but it was certainly worth checking into. Anything to take that
smug look off Mr Chester's face was worth the hassle. These Christians had
no right butting into what was Social Services' business and indoctrinating
these poor children. There were too many do- gooders telling her and the
other professionals what they should and shouldn't do, prying into their
business with judicial reviews and inquiries. And accusing her of
negligence, how dare they? She had faced a rigorous internal inquiry and
she had come through that, hadn't she, with only a rap over the knuckles,
because it wasn't really her fault after all. She could only work within
the system. They just didn't understand that.  It took longer than
anticipated to get everybody kitted up and outside for the safety
briefing. Amidst complaints that they had to walk again and questions about
what had been packed for lunch, the centre and school staff finally managed
to get the group organised and moving and it didn't seem to be too long
before they reached the familiar wooden bridge they had crossed
yesterday. Once across, instead of following the track, they were led to
the stream's edge and alongside it. It wasn't very wide in the bottom of
the cutting and the more athletic children found that they could actually
jump it at some points. About thirty yards down another stream joined and
the cut got deeper and the water faster. Scott halted the group and bunched
them up together as best they could on the narrow track.

"Right. From here on the water is a little bit faster and the track
disappears for about fifty meters so we will be wading through the water to
the next bit of track. The water can come well above your knees in places,
although it is only ankle-deep in others. It is important that no one
unhitches them selves from the line. It's there for your safety and if
anyone falls, shout and we will all stop until the person is up and
steady. Any questions?" No one had any so he moved along the group making
sure each of the children and staff were attached securely. He moved back
to the front and led them down into the stream. One by one they all
discovered that despite their waterproofs and boots, the water found it's
way in and soaked them. A twelve year old boy called Mike was the first to
fall in, closely followed by Sara who pulled Nita in with her. At this
stage the water was shallow and still relatively slow and the kids found
Nita falling highly amusing. One or two couldn't help trying to splash
others and Alex had to tell Mark, one of his boys, to behave several
times. None of it was bad natured and, fifty meters downstream, the gorge
opened out with a wide gently sloping bank on one side. Scott led them out
onto the bank and declared a break.

The stream was very broad and shallow at this point, with large boulders
causing what seemed like big waves or white water, but in fact, most of the
water seemed to sit still, or slowly whirl round in little eddies. Nita
waded out with a group of the children, allegedly looking for fish, but in
reality taking the opportunity to splash around. As she tried stepping on a
large flat rock, she slipped and once again fell bottom first into the
water, much to everyone's amusement. Dean helped her up and walked out
further with her. Several of the other kids paddled out behind her and
stood in the water as it cascaded down over a group of boulders, causing
white water that looked dramatic on the photo Nita took. Her camera was
wrapped in a clear plastic bag, which was just as well as she had now
fallen twice. Sam and Chris paddled close to the bank and James sat on the
bank with Tom and Alex, who had laughed themselves red in the face when
Nita had fallen.

After a good twenty minute break, the centre staff rounded up their charges
and set off down the track at the edge of the stream. Being out of the
stream gave them an opportunity to dry off a little, but as several of them
fell 'accidentally' back into the stream, they remained thoroughly
soaked. Alex rebuked two of the boys for their excessive horseplay. Fifteen
minutes later the track left the side of the stream and they made their way
through a deep cut that many remembered from the previous day.  Once
through the cut, instead of carrying straight on, like they had done
before, they turned left, back towards the stream, but after just a few
minutes they could hear what sounded like a mighty roar, as if the stream
had become something much stronger.  The track dropped steeply through the
trees and as they moved further away from the cut, the roar grew louder and
louder. As they came out of the trees the children stopped in awe of the
huge waterfall ahead of them.

"High force is the highest waterfall in England and the noise it makes
impressive too." Scott told them. He quoted statistics about how much water
fell over the falls in an hour, a day and a year. He led them down to the
edge of the pool at the base of the waterfall and round to another track
that fell steeply beside the smaller falls below High Force. Here they had
to cross the water, but as it was flowing quite fast, they all had to link
up again to the line. One by one they crossed the now thigh-deep water,
attached to the line until they reached the far bank, where they unhooked
and sat to wait for the others. Mrs Daniels looked very unsteady as her
large frame balanced on two thin legs that were struggling to find secure
footholds in the strong flow and swirl of the water. Once the last few were
across, the group followed the track down to the next calm area. This was
even broader than the first shallows they had stopped at.  Closest to them,
a mini waterfall fell into the shallows, but on the far side the water
crashed down over a succession of rocks, causing white water that seemed to
be flowing a lot faster than that closest to them. Scott pointed that out
and told them not to wander to that side of the river. River: that was the
first time anyone had called it that.

The children had great fun in the shallows whilst the adults sat and
watched. Dean found his way under the little waterfall and crouched down
for Nita to take his photo while others waited to take their turn. The
water fell onto his helmet and covered his blue waterproofs, but he had a
grin from ear to ear. Sam and Chris took turns followed by a couple of the
girls. Daft as it seemed, all of the kids were happy to play in the
shallows and in turn, let Nita take their photo in the little
waterfall. Finally they all decided they were hungry and climbed onto the
bank. They sat in little groups, most having removed their outer waterproof
clothes, and bathed in the warm sun eating their sandwiches and drinking
their juice.  "This is wicked." Sam declared.  "Mint." agreed Dean.
"Yeah." Chris joined.  James mumbled something through his sandwich, but no
one understood what, or really cared. They knew what he meant. They were
having fun. After lunch, they all stretched out on the bank and
snoozed. Walking through the water was actually quite tiring. James fell
asleep with his head on Sam's chest and his bootless feet dangling over
Tom's legs. Tom reached out and tickled them, but the boy was obviously
fast asleep, as he didn't react at all.

Mrs Daniels had been watching them all morning. The four boys obviously
fawned on the young volunteer. Tom was rugged and handsome and as immature
as the children themselves from what she had seen of him. He was obviously
far too close to the boys and if that meant he was doing things he
shouldn't, anything at all, she would make it her business to find
out. Lunch over; Scott rallied the troops for the next hike. There was no
path alongside the river for the next 30 or so meters, so it was back into
the water. Scott was telling them the routine for the next sections and
stressing that some parts were much more difficult than those they had
already encountered and when he gave instructions, everyone must follow
them exactly. He stressed to the staff that there could be no horseplay
over the next three sections as there was considerable risk. Sara
complained that she wasn't dry enough yet to get wet again. Even Nita, who
could normally keep a straight face no matter what absurdities the kids
dreamed up, struggled to hide her snicker. Sam yawned and that set James
off. Both boys looked as if they needed another couple of hours sleep. Tom
laughed at them. Although they were facing away from each other, their
physical movements, stretching up with their arms bent to scratch their
heads, were identical. He reached out and ruffled both their hair. Mrs
Daniels stood watching. She made sure that when they started out again, she
was just in front of them.

The water here was faster. The banks had come closer together quickly,
forcing the water that had been calm and slow where they had stopped for
lunch into a force that seemed determined to push them over and devour
them. At one point or another, most of the group slipped or fell
completely. The bed of the river was full of rocks and getting a foothold
was sometimes difficult. When James fell and went completely under the fast
flowing water, Sam reached out to grab him and toppled over himself.  They
came up spluttering, holding on to the rope to which they were all
attached. A few meters more and Scott led them up a muddy incline onto the
bank. The path was very narrow and it was hard to hear him over the noise
the river was making. Mrs Daniels unhitched her harness from the rope and
sat on a rock out crop. Seeing her, Sam, James did likewise. Still behind
Dean and Chris, Tom didn't see what they had done. At the front of the
group, Scott couldn't see what they were doing either and after a couple
minutes started out once more. The path was very narrow and with their
muddy boots, very slippy. It climbed steeply about three meters above the
river and then fell back till they were about a meter above it. In places
the path all but disappeared and they were almost rock climbing to the next
section. Sara's boots, still thick with mud, couldn't grip the small
footholds in the rock and she slipped. Ann in front of her and the girl
behind her suddenly felt the weight pull down as the rope slid through
their harnesses. Ann turned and grabbed her wrist, pulling her up onto the
narrow ledge she herself was standing on. The girl looked terrified and
froze. Ann gently coaxed her to move on again. Everyone behind had had to
stop, but now slowly began to move again.

Streams from both sides of the river and moisture seeping out of the ground
in small rivulets, which frequently crossed their path, added to the raging
body of water below them. They waded through another small stream and
climbed back up onto the path. It opened out for a brief while and then
narrowed again. It descended down to river level and at times was covered
with shallow water before it climbed up again. In some places you had to
lean out over the river, hanging onto the rock where it jutted out.  Wet,
muddy and tired, the going here was harder and much more of a challenge for
the novices. Sara and a couple of the younger children were complaining
they were tired, wet and fed up. The staff were focusing on keeping these
children moving, keeping their spirits up, not on those who seemed to be
enjoying and enthralled by the adventure. Sam loved it. He had never done
anything like this. He kept looking back at James, Chris and Dean and all
of them had looks of hard concentration on their faces, but he was sure
they were enjoying themselves too. What could be better than this? Here he
was with James and the others and even James' Tom having fun, no one
hurting him, no one forcing him to do things he didn't like. This was
heaven. He turned to look where his next foothold was. Mrs Daniels had
stopped. She was staring at him. He had never seen such hatred in anyone's
eyes before and he was scared. She moved forwards slowly, frequently
looking back at him. It unnerved him: from ecstasy to fear in seconds. She
stepped onto a small ledge and paused to take a breath.  Sam, looking at
his feet, didn't realise she had stopped and tried to step onto the same
ledge. The big woman turned to see what he was doing, sure there was not
enough room for the two of them on the ledge. She put her hand up to stop
him and pushed him back. He saw the hand coming towards him and leaned
back, thinking she was reaching out to hit him. He leaned so far back that
he lost his footing and started to fall towards the river. James saw Sam
falling and reached out to grab him, but the boys weight was too much for
him and he too was pulled down towards the raging river below them. The
crests seemed to reach up and grab them both, pulling them down, down, deep
into the dark depths and now faster and faster, pulling and pushing them
against rock. She looked down in horror.

Sam felt the current pull him under and he rolled with the flow until he
came up hard against a large rock. He hit his head hard and bounced back
into the flow. He tried desperately to get back to the surface but it
seemed further and further away. He fought to get back to the surface and
his lungs felt as if they would burst. He rolled in the current and, almost
in slow motion, everything seemed to go black. The current also dragged
James down, still holding onto Sam's waterproof. He tried to find a
footing, or a rock, anything to brace against. He had to go up to get
air. They were thrown against a rock and it forced the last air out of his
lungs. His lungs burned. He tried to pull Sam back towards him, but the
water seemed determined to separate them and soon James was so tiered he
could no longer hold on. He couldn't reach the surface. He couldn't
breath. He desperately wanted to find Sam. His head hurt and his chest hurt
and...

Tom saw the boys fall, but, still hitched to the rope, he fumbled with the
hitch until he had freed himself. He dived into the rushing flow of the
river and swam as fast as he could towards where he had seen the boys go
under just seconds before. He couldn't see anything and all he could feel
was the water and the rocks. He came up for air and searched around for any
sign of the boys. Ahead he thought he saw a hand, briefly raised against
the water. He swam as fast as he could and dived down again. He reached out
but felt nothing. Up for air and to search again: there was a hand, off to
his right, towards the other bank. He swam and dived franticly searching
for any sign of the boys. He felt something that was not water or rock. He
grabbed it and pulled it to the surface. He had a boy's leg. He reached
down and pulled the boy's head above the water. It was James. He grasped
the head in the crook of his arm and swam to the bank, across to river to
group.

Scott heard a scream from the back of the group. He turned in time to see
Tom dive dangerously into the river. He swept his gaze over the surface of
the water searching for what had made the man dive in. There, being swept
further and further into the fast flowing main current on the far side of
the river, he could see a boy, maybe even two, struggling to keep their
heads above water. Why had they unhitched themselves from the safety rope?
He looked at John, who was already on his radio. He unhitched himself and
tied another rope to his harness. He gave one end to John and jumped as far
out into the river as he could. He saw Tom swimming towards him with a boy
held high to keep his head above water. He helped Tom pull James up onto
the narrow path.  "How many fell in, Tom?"  "Two." They both searched the
river with their eyes looking for any sign of Sam.  Neither could see him
anywhere.  "Get this boy up the bank and start mouth to mouth."  Alan and
one of the centre staff pulled James up the bank and the centre staff
started the mouth to mouth. The other staff brought the rest of the
children off the narrow rock ledge and up the bank to the meadow at the
top. One of the centre staff had already called the emergency services, but
Tom, John and Scott continued their search for Sam.

James lay lifeless and for several moments didn't seem to be responding to
the mouth to mouth. Then, with a splutter and a heave of his chest, he
coughed up the river water he had swallowed and started breathing on his
own. As soon as he became aware, he asked for Sam, but no one answered
him. Alex, Nita and Ann were horrified, but still managed to herd the
remaining children away from the river and up to safety. Some of them sat
crying, others stood, stunned, but still focused on the scene below. It was
all Scott and John could do to stop Tom diving back into the water. Scott,
still tethered to his rope made several attempts to search the river but it
was obvious that Sam was either deep and trapped, or had already been
washed downstream. Finally they accepted that there was no more that they
could do here and climbed up the bank.  Scott set off down stream, looking
for signs of the boy. John checked the ETA of the emergency services and
Tom made straight for James. Seeing the boy conscious and wrapped in a
space blanket, Tom fell to his knees, clutched the boy to him and began to
weep.

The remaining School and centre staff were just beginning to lead the
children back to the school when the emergency team arrived. Until this
point, no one had actually asked what had happened. Tom and James described
what they saw, which wasn't much. James was sure he had heard Sam say
something like, "Don't push me."  Then they asked Mrs Daniels.  "Well, I
was on a small ledge and I looked back and saw the boy coming towards me.
He seemed very unstable and I reached out a hand to steady him, but he was
already falling and there was nothing I could do."  The team spread down
the river, looking for any sign that Sam might have made it out, but
eventually they met Scott coming back up towards them. He had found
nothing. More people came to help with the search. Half an hour later it
was obvious Sam was still somewhere in the river. They decided that as well
as posting people well down river to watch for his body, they needed to get
boats to start dredging the uneven bottom.

The search took hours and it was well into the following morning before
they found the body, wedged beneath a fallen tree trunk about a mile
downstream. The men had rigged ropes to help them up and down the steep
bank and now those ropes were being used to haul the corpse up out of the
river. After all this time, it was obvious they would not find him alive,
but even for fully grown men used to dealing with emergencies, finding a
dead child, even one they didn't know, was traumatic. Several just sat and
cried.

More to come...