Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2013 18:08:45 +1200
From: artcart65@gmail.com
Subject: At Days End Chpt 1

				AT DAYS END


				 CHAPTER 1


				 BY ARTHUR

AUTHORS NOTE:

This story is the property of the author and the copywrite belongs solely
to him, this story contains sexual material of a gay nature, if this
offends or otherwise disturbs you then leave now as you should not be here,
all characters are fictional and pertain to no one living or dead, for
contact with the author please contact using the email address below.

artcart65@gmail.com

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The slender figure stood alone on the brow of the hill overlooking the
small hamlet in the valley below, he was one of those teens that could have
been a large twelve, a small sixteen or anywhere in between.

The raven black hair hung down to his shoulder blades but was cut raggedly
but short over his ears then pulled back into a rough ponytail, the
features were narrow which gave him the appearance of being somewhat
pixie-like, his lips were thin but well formed and his nose was thin but
upturned at the very tip, on each side of the thin nose were a pair of
aquamarine eyes that belied his heritage as did the flashes of caramel skin
that showed in brief patches when he moved.

Most foreign of all was what the teen wore and carried, for such a young
teen he should not have had to have such a burden nor be dressed in such a
ragged manner, on his feet were a well worn pair of calf length canvas
boots that had seen better days, the soles were of roughly worn rubber and
the uppers were faded green canvas they were held on by the cross hatching
of different pieces of string where once laces had been.

Further up the slender tanned legs were the very short legs of an old pair
of cut off jeans that had also seen better days, around the leg holes they
were worn and a little tattered, over one butt cheek was a small tear
showing bare butt skin when he bent over, over his torso and underneath the
outer coverings of shirt and jacket was a grubby tee shirt of indeterminate
colour over which the faded blue plaid shirt hung open, the small white
buttons long gone and never replaced.

Over all of this the teen wore a beaten and old short leather jacket that
barely covered him to the waist although it looked to be about one size to
big for his thin build, the bundle on his back was the faded and worn
remains of a back pack much like one used by a school kid for his books, it
had a rolled up and dirty sleeping bag tied to the top with frayed pieces
of rope.

All this might seem strange to someone that did not know his background but
what really stood out about one so young, were the weapons he wore and
carried with an ease that should not have been a part of his demeanour,
slung over his left shoulder was a small .22 calibre rifle mounted with a
scope for better sighting, around his waist was a narrow looped belt that
was mostly filled with the small brass bullets for the rifle, along with
the small calibre bullets hung a large well used knife and, over his right
shoulder lay a thick wide belt loaded with shotgun shells to match the sawn
off, double barrel 410 magnum gauge he held in his hands and ever at the
ready, the world of 2032 was not a place to be when young, alone and
somewhat good looking, and definitely not to be unarmed in.

The world as we know it was no more, major financial collapses, intercine
wars, religious fervour, bigotry, hate and fear now pervaded the world, it
was every man for himself, to attach ones self to someone could lead to
disaster, it had become common place for people to meet only on a casual
basis and part with little thought or attachment, for a young teen it was a
world of solitude that led to being ever vigilant and alert.

What had led the world to this point had happened so fast that few even
realised what was happening until too late, for the young looking teen it
had all been over when he was born in a drafty barn on the outskirts of a
small town, his mother at thirteen years of age had little chance of
surviving the birth and, had it not been for one of her slightly older
friends taking the small bundle as she breathed her last, the teen would
never have survived, at the age of eight he was just another dirty and
scruffy wild kid on the streets trying to make it through one more day.

The lessons he learned at such a young age showed in the form of scars on
his knees, legs and two long scars on his shoulder blades, his youthful
face was marred only by a very thin white scar running from his right
eyebrow to his jaw line although it was not at first obvious under the thin
layer of road dirt.

Even before he was born the world was in trouble, the various financial
institutions had folded in on themselves as monstrous loans made to
countries that did not have the capability to repay them, began to default,
Greece was followed quickly by Spain, then came Italy, Portugal, Lithuania
and most of the Slavic countries, the biggest ripple was felt when France
could no longer meet her obligations, the year of the Euro was soon close
to the end, at the final opening of the books it was found that the ever
powerful and strong Germany had been hiding its true state for years, at
this disclosure it was only a matter of months before England, Australia,
South Africa and even the once mighty and powerful United States were in a
worse position than the historical Depression of the 1930's.

In Asia, the might of China soon felt the loss of essential trade as the
economy of each trading partner collapsed into ruin, it was not long before
its millions of peasant people began to rise up against the strictness of
the communist rulers, it was the beginning of the end for the once secret
country as even the army began to feel the pinch of non payment of wages,
within three months of the other strong countries falling into depression,
China was at the start of a rebellion that was to cause the death of
millions and the collapse of the Communist overlords.

As countries collapsed under their burdens of debt, the first stirrings of
religious fervour took over, Governments could no longer operate as their
financial base took heavy hit after heavy hit until there was nothing left
but despair and a future of hunger or war, most chose war, and so a modern
day crusade began with a large number of churches leading the way.

In the middle East there had been intercine warfare which turned into
genocide for the losing side, Islam was not only at war within itself but
with everyone else that refused to join them, the Christian religions were
also at each others throat, most saw this time as a way for them to finally
gain control over the populace that had once spurned there radical ways.

The lesser Christian groups could only stand back and hope for the best as
the stronger ones fought for dominance in a fast declining civilisation
until only two dominated the world, Islam and Catholicism, both lead by
radicals, Islam was determined to be the one and only religion throughout
what was left after the wars, unfortunately for them, the Catholics had the
same idea which could only lead to what was now known as the `Second
Inquisition'.

The battles were still being fought on so many fronts that it was easy to
get confused as too who was fighting who as different factions split away
and tried to form their own little sects, this had led to many young men
being conscripted to do the fighting for the older if less wiser heads that
ruled the factions, a young teen like the one that stood alone on the hill
top was a prime target for such conscription and it was one of the main
reasons he was careful to not be seen if at all possible, even a boy his
own age could be a threat to his freedom in these tumultuous times.

While the Catholics had many varied brotherhoods among their empire, there
were those that still tried to follow the pacifist way like the Franciscan
and St Claire but, unfortunately there were those that had other ideas, the
main pogrom of the new Inquisition was lead by both the Dominicans and the
Jesuits, neither were what one could call, Saintly, theirs was a way of
life that could only lead to torture or death or, more likely, both.

His name was Kros and, to the best of his limited knowledge, he was
fourteen years old, in the last six years since his first foray onto the
wild streets and country side, he had learnt many lessons, some hard and
some passed on by one or two fleeting friendships, he had also been
schooled by the birds and wild animals that now seemed to pervade every
part of the land now that the mighty cities were no more and the avalanche
of people had stopped trying to tame the wilds as their numbers shrank due
to the many wars, famines and disease that reduced the populations around
the world by hundreds of millions.

In this land of his there had once been many thriving farms that were now
no more than ruins, the land returning to nature and the buildings reduced
to piles of broken lumber and stone, all forms of farm animals now ran wild
over the open spaces and, only in small hamlets much like the one below him
was there any order although that was also controlled by those who had the
means to rule with an iron fist and the loud voice of religion, none of
this was for the teen that stood alone on the hill.

Kros could neither read nor write but he could do his numbers and did have
an innate sense of right and wrong although it was a little skewed towards
his own needs, for Kros there was no one else to consider, his survival was
paramount in his plans and his way of life.

Kros looked down at the hamlet, it was surrounded by a thick wooden fence
made from felled tree trunks and stood as high as two men, at the gateway
and buried into the ground up to the top of their now idle tracks, sat two
military tanks, the movement of the turrets showed they were still able to
be used to defend the town with their long cannon.

Kros could see down into the centre of the small town, at its heart sat the
spire of a church surrounded by what could be small stores and other
smaller buildings that could only be the homes of the townspeople, it was
only in small towns like this that any currency was ever used, for the
general people that moved throughout the country there was a system of
barter, items could be used far more easily than some useless coin or paper
although Kros did have a few silver and copper coins in his small back pack
for the rare occasion that he needed them, he had taken them from those
that had tried in some way to get rid of him, he had the scars to prove his
ability to defend himself.

His weapons he had come by in the same manner, either by trade or by
conquest of his opponent, in his pack he carried the barest of needs to
cook a meal and one single change of clothes although those in the pack
were in no better condition than what he was wearing at the moment, for
Kros it was a matter of wearing clothes so he did not get cold, if need be,
and it had happened in the past, he was just as comfortable going as naked
as the day he was born, to Kros's way of thinking, one way was as good as
the other.

Surrounding the palliated town were small areas of farm land, some used as
a means for vegetables while other areas were fenced off and held cattle,
sheep and a few goats, to all intense and purposes the small hamlet town
was self supporting they even had a small fresh water stream running under
the palisade and guided through the centre of town as a streamlet enclosed
in a concrete channel.

What had made Kros pause before trying to enter the town was the sight of
three black robed figures sitting at a table by the church doors while the
townspeople went up to them and did their business, Kros could easily guess
what the business was, he had seen it time and time again as he travelled
through the country looking for something that he did not know the name of
or the reason for his wanderings.

Kros settled down on his haunches as he watched the black robed men in the
town centre, he had crossed paths with others of their ilk and had no
intentions of going anywhere near these three, his last meeting had been a
close call and he had had to leave two bodies behind to get away, the small
hidden two barrelled pistol, along with the handful of thick stubby bullets
in his jacket pocket had been the reward for his escape, those black robed
priests did not go around unarmed.

The sudden sound of surprised yells from the town below brought him out of
his daydreaming, the scene below was now changing as two boys were being
tightly held by two of the priests, one was no more than a young boy and
the other was an older teen, perhaps two years older than Kros himself,
Kros could not make out the words but the Priests actions spoke loudly, the
two boys were being taken for some reason, to Kros's mind it was probably
because the boys mother and father could not pay the Priests tithe, it was
a common occurrence nowadays.

The older teen would be sent to be trained as a soldier for the crusade
overseas, the younger boy would be for the use of the Priests and their
nefarious ways, it was common knowledge that most of the Priests had a
penchant for young boys and, once the boys were of the right age, they were
also sent away to fight for the church in the many overseas battles for
dominance of religion.

There were no longer any private vehicles as most of the once easily
available oil was no longer produced, the many wars had seen an end to that
means of money and power, most transport nowadays was done by horse or man
power, only a very few lucky Priests had the use of old vehicles but many
had been turned into covered wagons or had the hard roofs removed to make
open carriages for people or produce to be carried around.

Kros knew that what was happening below was none of his business, he had
his own problems to deal with and trying to rescue a couple of farm boys
was not high on his list of things to do, in his mind he had already
decided not to go down to the town, he had only a need for salt and it was
not worth the aggravation he could get into if he went down there, he could
live without salt for a little longer, the smoked and sun dried deer meat
in his pack would see him through for some time yet, the need for salt was
not paramount.

Kros rose and turned to leave, suddenly something made him pause, he had
developed a feral sense and awareness in his time alone and had learnt not
to disregard the feelings when they came over him, standing perfectly still
he let his sharp pale eyes roam the land around his high point, it took him
only a little time to see the slight movement in the long grass below his
hill top, there was not even the slightest hint of a breeze so Kros knew
that something or someone was hiding in the grass.

His instincts told him he was in no danger as the item below was not going
to be able to come up the hill without Kros seeing him first, slowly he
turned back the way he had come and prepared to move on and around the
small town, a sound behind him brought him to an immediate halt, Kros spun
around with the speed of a striking snake, the double barrels pointing
towards the slim figure that suddenly appeared at a run coming towards him.

There seemed to be a strange familiarity about the young teen even though
he was not looking directly at Kros, the look in the eyes of the boy was
one of a hunted animal and the fear was almost a palpable scent in the air
as Kros tightened his grip on the stubby weapon of the 410 gauge, both
hammers were cocked and ready, at this range he would nearly cut the boy in
half if need be.

Kros was about to lower the shotgun when he caught sight of the boys face,
it was an ever changing facade of fear, urgency and back to fear as the boy
ran helter-skelter past him, the boy gave a loud shout at the strange armed
boy as he passed.

"The Priest is coming, run for your life."

The boy was then off as fast as his thin legs would carry him down the back
of the hill, Kros looked back towards the town and saw one of the Priests
mounted on a fast galloping horse coming towards where he stood, the
Priests black robes had ridden up his long thick legs and Kros could see
the booted feet under the flapping robe, this was no time to be daydreaming
and Kros turned and sprinted after the fast disappearing teen.

As he ran, Kros eased the twin hammers back down on the shotgun, it took
little thought as he had done this so often it was almost as an
afterthought, with a gesture made easy with long practice, Kros pushed the
short stubby gun into his belt and swung the long .22 rifle from his
shoulder, again with practiced ease he made sure that the magazine on the
semi automatic was well seated and then cocked the rifle as he ran after
the teen.

Kros reached the edge of the stand of trees where the other teen had
disappeared, he could now plainly hear the thunder of the fast approaching
hooves, even as fast on his feet as he was, Kros knew he could not outrun a
fast horse and it would be stupid to even try, with that thought in his
mind, Kros spun around and went to one knee as he raised the small rifle to
his slender shoulder, looking through the enhanced sights he lined up the
bobbing figure on the back of the horse, moving targets were not new to
Kros and at this close range even he could not miss, he squeezed the
trigger twice and felt the slight kick of the rifle against his shoulder,
through the scope he watched as a shocked look came over the face of the
fast closing Priest, he then saw the two small holes in the forehead of the
Priest as they began to dribble out the first few drops of the now dead
Priests blood, both shots were within an inch of each other and dead centre
of the Priests sweating forehead.

Kros knew he was in no danger of the other Priests hearing his two shots,
it was one of the reasons he liked the smaller rifle, not only was he able
to use it without a struggle but it was much quieter than its larger
cousins and at close range was just as effective if you knew how to use it
and Kros knew how to use it well.

As its rider fell from its back, the horse slowed until it was no more than
walking at a slow pace, the smell of fresh grass soon took hold in the
horse head and it stopped to eat as Kros approached the unmoving figure now
crumpled in a heap on the hard ground, Kros knew that the Priest would have
something on him worth taking, you could not afford to walk away from a
gift horse in these times.

As he crouched over the dead Priest, Kros felt something approaching him
from behind, spinning around and bringing the rifle to his shoulder once
gain he then saw it was the same boy that had run madly past him on the
hill, Kros lowered the rifle but kept it close just in case, even a young
town teen could not be trusted if you wanted to stay alive.

"Is, is he dead?" stammered out the newcomer.

"I won't be standing here if he weren't."

"Who, who are you?"

"Who's you?" Kros countered.

"I'm Danil, those Priests got my brothers and were coming after me, I had
to run, I didn't want to be a bum boy for them and their likes."

Kros looked the town boy up and down for a minute, deep in his belly he
felt a stirring that could only mean one thing, his body liked what he saw,
Kros did not have any social graces, they were something he could not
afford, when he saw something he liked or wanted, he took it or traded for
it.

"I'm Kros, do you boy fuk?"

"You want to boy fuk right here after that Priest nearly got us, are you a
mad boy?"

"Not mad, not here, my gut says it's hungry for boy fuk so I want a boy
fuk, you in?"

"I would like too but I have to try to save my brothers."

"Why?"

"Cause they are my brothers, I can't let those old Priests have them, it's
not right."

"How you going to get them from the Priests, you think they just give too
you?"

Kros could see that the teen was almost in tears as he tried to find a way
to get his two brothers back, the lack of any ideas was obvious, the boy
had not had to fight for everything, he had been protected by the town and
by his parents, Kros looked the boy over once again, he would make a nice
partner for a boy fuk but Kros had no intentions of fighting battles that
were not his.

Kros turned back to the crumpled body and began to search it, under the
black robe the Priest wore nothing but a shirt and short pants, his belly
was soft and large and covered in thick black hair, the shorts showed where
the Priest had vacated his bowels as his life left him, he ignored the
rancid smell and began to loosen the belt that held a large pistol and a
long heavy knife around the Priests waist.

>From one of the inside pockets of the robe, Kros took a substantial number
of silver and copper coins, the roll of paper he left behind, they meant
little to him, a few more bits and pieces that he found went into his own
pockets, the one find he really appreciated was the small leather wallet
holding needles and thread along with a few buttons, this was indeed a good
find.

Kros turned back to see the look on the other teens face, it was one of
shock and a little horror, Kros could not make out what had the boy so
concerned.

"What?" asked Kros.

"You, you can't do that."

"Do what?"

"Take things from a Priest, specially when he is dead."

"Why not, he's dead, he can't use no more, better I have it than the
crows."

"But, but!"

Kros threw the pistol and belted knife towards the teen and watched as the
boy fumbled the catch until he got a solid grip on the heavy belt.

"You want to save ya brothers, you gonna need that, those other Priests not
going to like you just taking them."

"I don't know how to use it, we're not allowed guns in town."

"If you going after your brothers then you better learn quick, just hold it
in both hands and pull back the hammer then squeeze the trigger, just make
sure you aint looking down the barrel when it goes bang."

The boy looked at Kros as though he was some sort of foreign person and not
the boy who had saved him from the charging Priest.

"I don't know anything about guns, can you teach me, or even better, help
me get my brothers back?"

"Why would I, what you gonna pay me to help you?"

"Pay you? I don't have anything, why don't you do it just to help people,
that's what good Christian people do."

"I aint no Christian people, and no Christian people ever helped me, you
want me ta help you pay me somethin."

"But what, I told you I have nothing."

"You got you."

"What do you mean?"

Kros replaced his rifle on his shoulder and once again pulled out the
stubby shotgun.

"See this here, I played bum boy for an old man for five days for this and
the shells, you want my help for your brothers and you be my boy fuk for
five days, you do all the cooking and watch my gears if I go out hunting
then you be my boy fuk at night time, take it or leave it."

Danil looked at the hard faced boy in front of him, he wasn't averse to
being a boy fuk, in fact he quite liked doing it, but was it worth five
days of being this strange young teens sole boy fuk in return for his
brothers lives, added to that he was now part of the death of a Priest, he
almost felt like breaking down into tears, at last he saw no other way out
of it and the strange boy was not that bad looking although eh did need a
good wash and some clean clothes, Danil shrugged his shoulders, he was
certain that his brothers were well worth five nights of boy fuks, he
looked at Kros with a little more determination on his young smooth face.

"Ok, but we get my brothers back first."

"Done, now lets go further back in the trees, you need to learn to use that
gun if we gonna get them back, go get the horse, we may need it later."

Kros led the way deeper into the thickening trees, when he thought they
were well away from being heard, he slipped off his pack and began to show
Danil how to use the heavy pistol, they only had twelve bullets so they
could not go wasting any but Kros got him to fire off two shots so he would
know how it felt, neither of the shots even came close to the tree trunk he
was using as a target, he hoped it would not be needed but at least now
Danil knew how to use it even if he couldn't hit anything.

"When can we go after my brothers?" Danil asked Kros.

"When it's dark, they won't go nowhere for now, too late in the day and
they will be searching for that dead Priest, when they find him they will
want to search and then call for more help, how far away is the next church
with more Priests?"

"Two full days even at a fast gallop, maybe three if they are slower."

"So, two days to get there and two or three to get back, where will they
keep your brothers?"

"Probably in the basement of the church, it's all stone down there and they
won't be able to get away."

"How many more Priests in the town?"

"Two more in the church, these three came from the other town to get the
tithe so now there's four altogether."

"What's the townies going to do if we make some noise getting the
brothers?"

"Some of them are going to get angry but most will just shut their doors
and not look, the Priests have stolen a lot from them and they are not
liked much out here in the wilds."

"Any other way into the town instead of past those metal guns?"

"There's a small hole in the wall where most of the boys sneak out when
they want to do things alone or without the elders watching."

"Do the Priests know about the hole?"

"No, we hide it behind some old boxes and rubbish, only some of the older
boys know about it."

"Then we go in that way when it's dark, now you can't be slow, we go in,
get your brothers and get out, we try to not have troubles, if the Priests
try to stop us we kill them and run, ok?"

"K..Kill them?"

"Yup, theys only Priests, don't mean much to anyone, we got to get a long
way from here before anyone comes to look for us so no fuk about."

"Ok, I'll try."

"No just trying, you do it and run with your brothers but you stay close to
me you owe me five days of boy fuk and work, you not pay you will be
sorry."

"Ok, I know, you get my brothers and I'll keep my word."

"Good then let's eat and sleep until dark, follow me."

Kros led Danil a little deeper into the trees where he had the boy tie up
the horse with a length of rope long enough so the horse could continue to
feed, if things went wrong they would need its speed to escape, once done
they looked for a place to hide until it was full night, he got out some
dried deer meat and gave it to Danil before settling back with some
himself.

As they chewed silently, Kros looked the teen over, the slight bulge in the
boys rough pants gave him a warm feeling deep in his own groin, if what he
thought he saw was real then he was going to enjoy being underneath the
teen when they had time, for now he was content to lay back and just watch
the other boy.

Danil was about the same height as Kros but his body was a little thicker
and showed some promise of heavy muscles when he was older, he had a crop
of dark brown hair cut short all over, small ears stuck out from the side
of his head, his eyes were green flecked with brown and his nose was more
of a small button than Kros's own long slender one, there was the faintest
of smatterings of freckles over the bridge of the boys nose, Kros decided
he found the boy quite appealing.

Kros awoke in full darkness, there was only the faintest of slivers of the
moon showing in the dark sky above them, out of habit he knew when, where
and why he was here, his ears searched the area around them while his eyes
grew used to the dark, he had found out some time ago that his unusual pale
eyes gave him better night vision than most ordinary people, he searched
around him to make sure his weapons were close at hand, with a soft grunt
he reached over and poked Danil in the ribs to wake him.

"Time to go, it's middle night and they will all be sleeping now, just stay
close and follow me, don't make any noise, we aren't the only ones out at
night."

Kros took the lead, the sound of Danil behind him seemed very loud in his
ears, he was used to moving almost in total silence when alone and, even
though Danil was born in the wild, he seemed to move like a drunken man in
the stillness of the night, Kros hoped nothing hungry would hear them as he
moved with confidence through the thick trees towards the distant township.

Kros led them unerringly to the top of the same hill where they had first
met, down below the small town was dark and silent, it was far too late to
be out and about when there was a heavy work load to do the following
morning, the folk of the wilds were not late night people.

Kros led Danil to the rear of the heavy wooden palisade where he let the
other boy lead him to the hidden entrance through the high walls, Kros had
expected it to be a tight squeeze but was soon pleasantly surprised when
Danil pulled aside some thick bushes to reveal two of the heavy poles had
been carefully cut to create a small doorway, the two cut short lengths of
pole were easy to pull away and the two boys wriggled through with little
difficulty.

Inside all was quiet, the only light showing was high up on the second
floor of the church, there was no need for guards in this small town except
for the two men inside the hunkered down tanks at the gate, there may have
been little trouble this far out in the wilds but they still took no
chances and the finding of the dead priest earlier in the day only went
further to prove this point.

The remaining Priests had sent one of their number galloping off to carry
the news and get more help, if there were bandits in the area they would
need to be found quickly and brought before the board of the Inquisition
for payment of their crime.

In the church the body of the slain Priest lay in his rough wooden coffin
in front of the main alter, there would be a special service for him on the
next day, he was attended by each of the Priests throughout the night in
relays, one staying by the coffin at all times.

Kros and Danil quietly sneaked up to the main door of the church, they soon
found that the door was locked, they would have to find another way inside,
Danil took the lead and showed Kros the small back door that led to the
sacristy where the young boys who attended the many masses got changed into
their white smocks.

Much to Kros's surprise, the door was unlocked and they were able to slip
inside without making any noise, with careful and quiet steps, Danil led
Kros through into the main body of the church, they were about to walk
boldly out when Kros heard a faint cough from the front of the church, with
a quick fore arm he stopped Danil from going further while he looked around
a thick wooden beam and down to where he saw the coffin and the figure of
the seated black robed Priest.

Silently, Kros, using signs, asked where the door to the cellar was, it
took a few minutes to get the question through to Danil but once he
understood he pointed to a thick door at the side of the church, they would
have to pass right by the Priest to get to it, Kros pushed Danil back the
way they had come and, once inside the small room he began to take off his
equipment and hand it to the other boy, keeping only his knife he gestured
for Danil to stay there while he went to look after the Priest, there was a
sudden shocked look on the face of Danil as he realised what Kros was about
to do.

Danil was now conflicted as to what he should do, it was evident that Kros
was about to do away with another Priest but, balanced against that were
the lives if his brothers, he sighed heavily as he made the final decision,
his family had too come first, he gripped Kros's possessions a little
tighter and stepped back, it was the only way.

Kros slipped through the door once again and went to the floor on his
belly, slithering along like a large snake, he made his way forward going
around or under the many rows of seats, from below the front and final row
of seats he could make out the Priests shod feet, he was seated no more
than five feet away with his back to the rest of the church as he bowed his
head with his hands clasped together in prayer for his lost friend, for him
there was no signal just a faint movement of air then something very sharp
cutting quickly through his throat, his gurgles sounded loud in the
stillness of the empty church as Kros let the body slump to the stone
floor.

Kros showed no emotion as the body slipped to the floor, turning his head
he gave a soft whistle that was just loud enough to reach the waiting ears
of Danil as he stood behind the thick beam, quickly Danil made it to the
side of Kros where he handed back the equipment he had been holding, with
practiced ease, Kros replaced his gear and led the way to the thick door,
he did not even give the cooling body a single glance as he tried the door.

Danil stood frozen for a few seconds as the scene of the dead Priest filled
his head, he now had to go all the way, it was far too late to salvage
anything from this night on, he would be a hunted boy for the rest of his
life, the killing of a Priest was the worst thing one could do and they
would never give up hunting the perpetrators.

Finally, when he could pull his eyes away from the scene on the floor,
Danil followed Kros to the door which the strange boy now had open, the
stone steps leading below were well worn and there was the faintest of
glows in the darkness, again Kros took the lead, with a light glowing down
there it could mean the boys had a guard, he gripped his long sharp knife a
little tighter, he couldn't afford to use one of his guns in this confined
space or within the limits of the town.

When he reached the bottom step he saw that the basement was empty except
for the outline of two boys asleep in a barred area at the end of the long
room, most of the area was used for storage and only the single barred cell
marked off the place from the rest of the open area.

Kros whispered a few words in Danil's ear and the boy set off to where his
two brothers lay asleep, Kros remained alert and on guard at the bottom of
the steps, the two captured boys would need to see their brother before
they would feel safe escaping from the hands of the Priests.

It took Danil a little time to wake his brothers, he was glad to see that
his little brother had as yet not filled a Priests bed but was curled up
comfortably in his older brothers arms, finally Danil managed to awaken his
older brother, at the sight of Danil, Grega gave a start then looked down
at the still sleeping form of the youngest one, with a gesture, Danil
finally got Grega to come to the door carrying the small figure of Davi in
his arms, the young boy had not stirred even in the slightest, in a hushed
whisper, Danil explained why he was there and that he had help but they had
to leave straight away, Grega just nodded and pointed his head towards
where the key hung on the wall.

Danil got the key and opened the door just as Davi raised his head and
looked at his brother with sleep filled eyes, Grega whispered softly in the
young boys ear to go back to sleep as they were going to leave this place
for somewhere safe, Davi nodded sleepily and settled back into his older
brothers chest as he followed Danil to where Kros waited for them.

Grega gave the young strange teen a look of askance as he followed Danil,
the teen was not one of the towns boys so he did not know him but he seemed
to know his brother Danil, he had to take a chance he would not let the
Priests take his little brother for a bed boy for the likes of them even if
it meant they would forever after be on the run from the Inquisition and
its tormentors, Grega just followed along as the stranger led the way back
up the stone steps and into the body of the church, while the sight of a
dead Priest on the floor of the church at first startled Grega he soon
ignored it and quickly followed the other two out of the church building.

As the group of four made it away from the now covered hole on the
palisade, they suddenly heard the loud peeling tones of the large bell in
the tower of the church, the dead Priest had been found, the boys were now
on the run as the town behind them began to awake to the sound of the loud
ringing bell.

With a speed that would have been reckless to others, Kros led the boys
easily through the dark and up the hill, as the furore continued behind
them but began to fade with distance; Kros led the boys into the darkness
of the woods on an unerring path towards where the horse stood waiting for
them, he could hear the two boys stumbling behind him and had to return to
help them a number of times until finally he made it to the small clearing
where the outline of the horse stood waiting.

"You ride ok?"

"A little." Grega replied for them both.

Kros just nodded and then began to get rid of the single saddle, there were
no bags to go through for treasure but he took the new looking rope from
the horn of the saddle and threw it over his head so it sat around his
neck, he would put it into his pack when they were at a safe distance from
the clamour behind them.

Kros watched as Grega gave the still sleeping little boy to his brother so
he could mount the horse, once that was done, Danil passed the boy up to
him and, with the help of Kros and an outstretched hand from Grega, he also
mounted.

Kros untied the halter from the tree branch and gave it a light tug to get
the horse moving, within a few paces, Kros was loping silently through the
darkness, his soft rubber soles making no sound on the soft ground and only
the steady rhythm of the horse hooves as it trotted behind him could be
heard.

Grega had placed the now awakening boy between himself and Danil who sat in
front of him, as Davi woke he realised he had to grip onto the waist of his
middle brother so he would not fall and be lost in the dark, the comforting
hands of Grega around his waist also gave him a sense of safety as he
bounced up and down on the horse.

The innate knowledge of his surroundings gave Kros all the information he
needed to head through the darkness; he avoided the black tree trunks and
large bushes with ease, in his right hand he carried the shotgun and in his
left the reins of the horse, it seemed to know that the human leading it
was safe and so followed along without trouble.

Kros's ground eating pace soon had them approaching a lighter patch of
trees, another ten minutes and they stopped on the edge of the wood, before
them was an open plain no more than half a mile wide where it then led up
to the high rising cliffs that told of the looming mountains further away,
it was this place that Kros was heading for, he knew of a cave they could
stay in for the day and then move on during the following night, the
townspeople would not try to find them during the night and he felt sure
they would not be able to track them through the woods.

Breaking into his loping run once again he led the horse forward towards
the cliff face, he could almost hear the boys on its back groan from the
unaccustomed mode of transport, their butts would be good and tender by the
time they stopped, Kros thought that Danil would be happy that Kros would
be too tired to have his first boy fuk tonight.

It took another fifty minutes for Kros to find the large cave, there he had
the boys dismount while he led the horse and the following boys deeper
inside, he knew from before that the cave was deep and the hard stone floor
would show no tracks to be followed by any hunters.

After walking for five minutes in the pitch dark, Kros called a halt, the
steady sound of dripping water caught the boys attention, their throats
were by now very dry and, as the first faint glimmer of daylight filtered
into the depths of the large cave, their eyes caught the site of the small
pool of fresh water at the base of the stone walls in the back of the cave.

Kros led the horse to the water and let him drink; once that was done he
removed the reins and looped them around the front feet of the horse so he
would not run away while they all slept, Kros then started to remove his
pack and lay his guns close beside him, as he watched the boys drink from
the shallow pool, he got some more meat out of his pack, he would now have
to be careful on how much they ate until he could get more, once he was rid
of the boys he could go about his own business although he had no idea what
that business was, until then he had a boy to do his work and for his fun
as a boy fuk.

Once the boys had drank their fill and come to sit around Kros, he handed
them all some of the dried meat and settled back to rest, he watched as the
oldest boy looked him over, Kros was not used to being examined so closely.

"What?" he asked Grega.

"Why did you help us, you don't look like the type of boy who helps
strangers?"

"Got a bargain with your brother."

"A bargain, what bargain?"

"Ask him, he's your brother."

"I'm asking you." The look of anger on Grega's face soon had him looking
down the twin barrels of the shot gun.

"Ask your brother, you try angry at me then look out." Kros waved the shot
gun for emphasis as his eyes began to burn into Grega's own, the older boy
was no fool and quickly saw he was on dangerous ground, with a shrug of his
shoulders he turned to his younger brother.

"So what's up between you and him?" asked Grega of his brother.

"We made a deal if he helped to rescue you."

"What deal?"

"I would do work for him for five days." Grega saw the slightly flustered
look on his brother's face and knew there was something he was not telling
him.

"And?"

"That's between me and him, stop being the big nosy brother."

"What else, I know you and you're not telling me everything."

Danil looked even more embarrassed as he looked into the searching eyes of
his older brother, it was a dead give away and he knew it.

"I got to be his boy fuk as well."

Grega turned to Kros and eyed him up and down like a wild animal getting
ready to jump; Kros just smiled and waved the shot gun once again.

"Deal is a deal, not your business."

Grega could see the truth of the matter and, while he did not like the
thought of his younger brother selling himself to this boy, he was not
about to make it worse by making him back out of a deal that had been
agreed on, he sighed and could only nod his head in agreement, there was
little he could do about it if he wanted to get well away from anyone that
might try to retake them, he only hoped the boy would have some decency and
not make out with his brother in front of little Davi, his shoulders
slumped in defeat.

"Ok, a deal is a deal but nothing in front of Davi, he's too young to see
that sort of thing going on."

Kros just nodded his head, he had no intention of letting the others see
what sort of thing he liked to do with other boys, Kros rose and made for
the entrance of the cave, as he went to sleep close to the entrance where
he would hear anyone trying to sneak up on them, he turned his head towards
the three boys in the faint light.

"Go sleep, when it's night we have a long way to go for safety, I'll sleep
close to the cave mouth so we don't get caught."

That said, Kros left the three alone to find a sleeping place, he was too
tired for long discussions on the morals of the agreement, Kros found a
reasonably comfortable place near the entrance and arranged his guns around
him, the little double barrel pistol was hidden in his hand as he dropped
off to his own sleep.

The faint stamping of the horses hooves woke Kros in the late afternoon,
carefully raising his head, he searched outside the cave for any odd
movement or danger, seeing none, he made his way back to where the three
boys were still sleeping, unhitching the horse he led it outside so it
could feed on the plentiful grass just outside the cave mouth, water would
be easy to come by once they got further towards the wide track that led
over the cliffs, it would be well into the night before they made it to the
top of the low range of hills,

Kros waited and watched as the horse first fed them spent some time
vacating its bowels, when this was done he led it back inside just in time
to see the three boys rising from their sleep.

"Drink plenty and I'll get some meat out, we have to leave as soon as the
sun is down, we have a long way to go before we can stop again."

The boys said nothing but just followed the instructions, once they were
well watered and fed, Kros led them outside and got them up on the horse
again, just like the previous night, he put the shot gun in his right hand
and the reins in his left, once everything was settled to his satisfaction
he strode off with long ground eating strides, for one as short as he was,
the ground just seemed to pass under his feet with little effort, the horse
followed along at a quick walk, the three boys perched up on his back.

At the steady pace he was using, Kros was soon at the base of the wide path
up to the top of the ridge, by now he had only the light of the rising moon
to see by but for him it was plenty, the path was wide and reasonably clear
of any rock falls or other hindrances, he led the horse upwards, it would
be a long slow climb, Kros knew of a wide stopping place just over half way
where they could rest for a little and eat some more dried meat, there was
also a small dribble of fresh water that cascaded from above that they
could use to refresh themselves and the horse.

Just after midnight, they came to the wide part of the track, none of the
boys would ever know that this used to be a popular lookout spot for
travellers that were going over the range of hills, for them it was just a
good wide stopping place to rest their weary bodies and wet their now dry
throats.

As the others rested, Kros went to the very edge of the track and looked
back along their path for any signs of pursuit, much to his satisfaction
there was little or no sign of anyone following them although, far away on
the opposite ridge line, three yellow specks of light were showing, Kros
knew they could only be made by the flames of open fires, they had pursuers
although they were far away and would find it hard to catch the fast moving
boys.

Kros put the new information in the back of his mind, for now he had to get
the boys safely over the hill and into an area where they would be
impossible to be found, this safe haven was still three days fast movement
away, he would not be able to have his contract paid for a few more days
yet, Kros turned back and watched the three boys as they rested.

The older boy, Grega was almost the older version of Danil, had there not
been two or three years difference in their ages they would have been taken
for identical twins, the little boy Davi was also going to be much like the
two older ones, there was no denying that the three were brothers, Kros
began to find all three attractive although the youngest had a long way to
go before he would be appealing as a boy fuk but the older one certainly
had Kros's hormones working.

Kros shook his head to clear away the thoughts, it was time to start moving
again, calling the three boys to remount the horse, Kros set up everything
as before, with a light tug on the reins, Kros had them moving forward at a
steady pace, the clop, clop of the horses hooves seemed to fill the night
around them.

The first faint glimmer of dawn was showing in the east as the small group
came up over the top of the pass and onto the flat ground of the mesa top,
Kros led the way to another hole that indicated another cave, he knew they
would be safe for the rest of the morning, it was his intentions to now
move during the day so they could make better time, they would rest and
sleep here until midday then move on, with the lead they now had it should
be easier to stay well ahead of any pursuit.

Kros watched as the three boys settled down to sleep, tossing his back pack
to Danil, he told him.

"Watch, don't touch anything inside, I'll be back soon."

So saying he turned his back and began to lope towards the edge of the mesa
where they had just come over, once on the very edge, Kros used his eyes
and, after a few minutes, at the very furtherest edge of his visual
capabilities, he saw ten small black dots moving towards the cave they had
stayed in yesterday, ahead of the ten dots he could just make out two
smaller ones, it was the last thing he wanted to see, the followers had
dogs.

Kros could tell that the group would not catch up to them for a long time
yet, the climb alone would take them close to a full day and they still had
another hour at least to get to the base of the mesa, he guessed they would
stop for the rest of the day and start their climb tomorrow, he had plenty
of time.

Returning to the small cave he saw that Danil was sleeping with his head on
the unopened pack, Kros smiled and settled down for a quick nap of his own,
from here onwards it would be easier and mostly downhill, he could speed up
a little and be well away before the trackers got anywhere close to them.

Kros was awoken by the heat of the midday sun, with a little stretch and
yawn he went about waking the others, in only a matter of minutes the small
group was moving quickly to the far edge of the mesa, once there Kros
increased the pace and led them all down another track, it was easy going
and they began to make good time, while it took a good ten hours to get up
to the top of the mesa, it took less than three hours to make it down, by
later afternoon they were all on flat ground and Kros was leading them at a
fast trot towards some far off trees which would be their camp for the
night, along the way Kros stopped only once to take the time to shoot a
wild turkey for their dinner, as he ran with the horses reins over his
shoulder, he plucked the large bird.

Kros was not worried about the line of feathers he left behind, the
trackers knew they were ahead of them and the soft ground under the hooves
of the horse left a very clear path, they would just have to outdistance
the followers until he could get to the place he knew would conceal them
more easily.

As the last glimmer of daylight left the sky, Kros took out his worn flint
and got a fire going, he had got Danil to use the large knife they had
taken from the priest and gut the turkey then cut it up into pieces small
enough to cook quickly, they were all hungry and need the fresh bird meat,
the horse was staked out with the longer new rope so it could happily feed
to its hearts content, it had had to carry a triple burden and was in need
of a good rest.

Just inside the trees where they camped was a small stream that supplied
all the water they needed, as a further bonus, Kros decided it was time to
wash both himself and his clothes, to this end he stripped naked and, after
also pulling out his other used clothes from his pack, he gave them to
Danil and told him to start washing while their meal cooked, for himself he
got the sliver of soap he still had and went to a slightly deeper pool
along the bank and jumped in, little time passed before the river had a
thin film of soap suds flowing past where Danil bent over trying to scrub
dirt from the boys clothes, Grega watched his brother then rose and went to
help, little Davi could only sit and stare at the naked boy in the pool, he
was fascinated by the scars on the boys back, they looked old but must have
been very painful when he got them.

Kros finished washing and looked at the now thinner sliver of soap, he
would have to get more when he went for salt, his slender boyhood and small
testicles had shrivelled up in the cold water but he took no notice of it
as he walked towards the fire to dry off, he totally ignored the looks of
the little boy as he stood over the fire drying, behind him he could hear
the two older ones working on his clothes, the slap, slap of the clothes as
they hit the rock was almost a calming beat as they worked.

Kros looked closely at the meat of the turkey; it had been speared onto
fresh green sticks and hung over the flames to cook, the smell of the fresh
cooking meat brought saliva to his mouth as he contemplated the fresh taste
it would bring, they would feast well tonight, Kros turned around so he
could dry his back, the eyes of the little boy never leaving his body and
what it showed, Kros ignored him.

Just as the meat was ready, the other two boys arrived with the wet
clothes, using some more fresh cut sticks, they set about arranging the
clothes around the fire to dry, the sight of a naked Kros was at first
alarming as they noticed their littlest brother eyeing the teen but then
ignored him as they finished hanging the clothes, the turkey was now cooked
and they were hungry.

An hour later and the turkey was no more, only a pile of discarded bones
told of its existence, the four boys were now lying back, their young
bellies distended almost beyond what they were designed for, the soft sound
of belches could be heard in the dark night as they all settled down around
the fire to sleep, Kros was still naked as his clothes hung drying.

Just before he dropped off to sleep, Danil wondered what it would like to
cuddle up close to the naked body of the boy that had saved them all, while
his thoughts were in that direction his body was just too tired to make
anything of it and he let his eyes close and the warmth of the fire send
him into dream land.


TBC.


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