Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2016 03:18:05 +0000
From: Douglas DD <thehakaanen@hotmail.com>
Subject: The Survivors (Revised) Chapter 35

				CHAPTER 35

			    JUST OUT FOR A WALK

			       by Douglas DD

This story contains sex between minor boys.  If such things offend you, or you are not at
least 18 years of age, then please don't read on.  This story is not true, but who knows,
maybe someday it will be.

Welcome back. Things get tense as the boys try to rescue their friends and shipmates.

Please give to the Nifty Archive. Keep the words flowing.

++++++++++++

Alex saw the two Shkah men reach into their saddle bags. One pulled out a quiver of
arrows and a bow.  The boys turned and headed back into the woods, ducking into some
high grass. The Shkah started into the section of the woods the boys had come out of. The
boys lay very still in the deep grass while the Shkah without the bow pulled out a long
knife and started swiping at the grass.  They weren't sure if the boys had gone into the
woods or into the grass. If it had been Hakaanen boys they would have ridden off, but
they were certain that there were some round-eared boys in the group. That could only
mean they were being followed and that the followers would have to be eliminated.

One of the Shkah was getting close to the spot where Jeremy was
hiding. Alex had taken a place about ten feet behind Jeremy, with Mike next
to him. They each pulled a fully charged laser gun from their back
packs—the setting was heavy stun. Neither boy was ready in his heart to
kill, but they would do anything else necessary to get away. On Earth, both
boys had played laser tag, but with guns much different from the pistols in
their hands. Those guns couldn't hurt or kill.

The Shkah with the knife was almost on top of Jeremy. Alex aimed his
pistol, knowing that this wasn't laser tag—this was real. He fired the
laser pistol and a bright red beam of light shot out of it, hitting the
Shkah in the ribs.  He fell hard to the ground. Even though the gun was on
stun, he could feel a shooting pain in his chest.

The other Shkah saw Alex, but Mike fired his pistol at the Shkah as he
raised his bow.  Mike didn't have the experience that Alex had, but he was
steady. His first shot missed.  He quickly fired off a second which hit the
Shkah in the chest knocking him off of his unicorn.

The two boys grabbed their backpacks and moved out from behind their
protection.  Jeremy and Bandar rose right behind them. They didn't know how
long the two Shkah would remain stunned and didn't stop to check on the
fallen men.  All they knew was the two Shkah were unconscious and they were
getting away while they could.

They ran for the unicorns. They could see a trail leading up into the hills
and surmised that the Shkah men had come down that trail. It followed that
maybe Ryan and Logan had been taken up the trail. Their first idea was to
take the unicorns, but they knew that four of them wouldn't fit too well on
two unicorns, even if they did know how to ride them. They decided to chase
the unicorns off by stinging them with the lowest stun setting on the laser
guns. Each unicorn got a quick zap on the butt, about what a whip would
feel like in a race, and took off toward the west. If they were going to be
followed up into the hills by the Shkah men they were now all on equal
footing. They donned their packs and started climbing up the trail, hoping
that Ryan and Logan were in the hills somewhere.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Robert Charles observed the two surprised boys in front of him and
laughed. "You thought you were rid of me, didn't you? Well, here I am. And
just what are you two doing up here in the middle of nowhere?"

"We were just out for a walk," Ryan said with an air of nonchalant bravado
that he didn't really feel.  He tried to keep his voice steady, but could
feel it on the edge of cracking. He wondered if Robert Charles was behind
their kidnapping. He noticed the Earth boy's blue green hair and he knew
that somehow he had gotten involved with the Hakaanen men who had kidnapped
them.

Vordkan was wondering what the two round-eared boys were doing on an empty
plateau in the middle of nowhere. He suspected they could be the kidnapped
boys. If they were the kidnapped boys, they must have escaped from the
kidnapping team.

Ryan was trying to think of some kind of story to tell Robert Charles as to
why he and Logan were on the plateau. Maybe he would let them go if he
could come up with a better reason than being out for a walk.

"So you brought your little crash friend with you, I see," Robert Charles
leered at Logan, making the young boy nervous.

Logan knew who Robert Charles was, and he remembered he didn't like him
much on the "Starkeeper". He seemed like a big, loud bully and was the big
reason he and Ethan quit going to the games room.

Robert Charles kept on talking. "Coming up here is a long way to go for a
walk. How about you losers giving me the real story.  Did you guys decide
to leave Douglas and those other faggots?" He looked at Logan.  "Did
Douglas try sticking it up your little round ass?"

They heard the approaching men before they saw them. Two Shkah men on
unicorns pulled up next to the gathering on the mesa. Ryan's heart sank
when he saw they were two of the kidnappers.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Douglas and Scooter were sitting side by side on Scooter's hospital
bed. Scooter was looking better almost hourly. His cheeks had color and he
had an insatiable appetite.

When the nurse came in to look at him, Scooter asked her for breakfast for
both he and Douglas.  She was surprised to hear him talk to her in
Hakaanen. She didn't think any of the boys knew how to speak the language,
except for the little bit that Mattoo knew.  Scooter and Douglas had
decided it was time to give out Scooter's secret, because they were going
to have to do a lot of communicating with the mayor and the doctor and
Bandar wasn't there to help them.

While they waited, Scooter told Douglas that Robert Charles was around. He
had become very frightened and tried to run away and hide from him.

"I think I was delirious," Scooter said. "I even thought he was going to
give me blood, or maybe take my blood. It's all very foggy in my mind even
now."

"Well, I don't know if you noticed last night, but the kid who gave you
your first blood transfusion was in the room."

"Robert Charles was in the room? What's going..."

"No, no, Robert Charles didn't give you blood."

"Then who did?"

"Matthew."

"Matthew? Matthew is alive? He's here? How?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but I need to find out soon. He saved your life
twice. He's a really special kid."

Douglas went on to tell Scooter about Matthew finding Scooter behind the
bush in the courtyard and about Matthew giving him blood.

"You saved my life in that back yard and I didn't do a thing to help you. I
couldn't even find you when I was a few feet away from you. I'm so sorry."
Douglas rubbed Scooter's shoulder and side.

"You did everything you could. You saved me right along with Matthew. Your
love brought my mind back—I felt it. Maybe you didn't find me behind a
bush, but you brought me back from a very dark place. I love you."  Scooter
placed a big kiss on Douglas's lips.

"I hope nobody minds the stains we left on the sheets this morning,"
Douglas chuckled.

"From what I've seen around here, it won't be anything they haven't seen
before."  Scooter laid another kiss on Douglas just as the nurse came in
with breakfast.

The boys sat up to eat and, while they were eating, the room started to
fill with the other Earth boys. Matthew and Enghar came in first, followed
by Brandon and Ethan and finally Travis, Stevie, and Jordan.  Stevie pushed
Jordan into the room ahead of him.

They sat in three chairs and the rest of them sat on the floor. They
chatted awhile, excited to see that Scooter was recovering from his wound.
Scooter told Matthew how awesome it was he was alive and thanked the
eleven-year-old for doing what he had done to save his life. Scooter also
translated for Enghar, who was amazed that the round-eared boy could speak
Hakaanen so fluently.

Douglas told Matthew what had happened since the sandstorm. He told him the
wind had caused the tent to get buried in the sand and how they had tried
so hard to find him. But the wind-blown sand had quickly changed the
landscape. They had yelled for him and dug through the sand, but they
couldn't find him.  They had a limited amount of water, and every minute
they delayed was crucial. In the end they had no idea where the tent was.

Matthew remembered having heard voices when he was trapped in the dark
tent.  They were all fighting tears as Douglas told his story. He told him
of how they found Logan and Ethan and about exiling Robert Charles. He told
him about the horse-shaped rock and how it led them to the green valley.

"You not only saved Scooter, Matthew, you saved all of us.  The green
horsey you said you saw brought us here to this valley. Without you we
would still be on the `Moonduster' slowly dying, if not already dead. I'm
just sorry it ended up costing you so much to see the valley and the rock."

Douglas told of the trip down the cliff and of them meeting Bandar and his
friends.  He then told of the shooting of Scooter and of Ryan and Logan
being kidnapped.

"I think they were trying to shoot me, not Scooter," Douglas
speculated. "And I think they wanted Logan and Ethan, but Ryan got in the
way. And I truly believe Robert Charles is involved with this somehow."

Matthew then told his story. He told how the tent started collapsing in the
wind like somebody was knocking down the poles. But the last pole to fall
completely collapsed one end of the tent. He said he heard voices, but
thought it was all a dream and he couldn't answer. They all guessed that
after they left, the wind exposed the part of the tent that was partly
standing. Matthew said that if that part hadn't remained partially erect he
would have been crushed.

Then Matthew told about being found by the Hakaanen man and of his trip to
the valley.  He told of the doctor fixing his leg and of his living in the
doctor's house. And he told of Enghar, what he had done for him, and how
much he loved him. Jordan glared at both Matthew and Enghar when he heard
Matthew say that.

With Scooter able to translate, the boys learned a great deal about the
Hakaanen from Enghar. They learned how they settled on Inferno, why their
machinery was falling apart, about their families, and about how sex
between boys and sex between girls was commonplace. Finally Enghar told
them how much he loved his Mattoo, which made Jordan glare at him again.

"I wonder how the trackers are doing," Brandon said.

Douglas frowned. "There is no way to find out. I forgot to give them one of
the radios. I was so stupid, but with all the stuff going on, I kind of
brain farted. "

"But they do have a radio." Stevie said.

"They do?"

"Yeah. I put two in the red back pack. I thought you knew."

"No. Then get me mine and let's see if they left any messages. It's in my
backpack."

Brandon retrieved Douglas's backpack. Douglas took out his radio and turned
it on, but there were no messages.

"Did you tell them you put the radio in the red backpack?" Douglas asked.

"No, I was like you. Things got confusing and I forgot. I don't even know
whose backpack it was."

"They should have seen the radio by now. Well, let me see if I can raise
them."

Douglas tried to raise the tracking crew, but nothing happened. He tried
three more times.  Still nothing.

Enghar started to say something, but there was no translation from
Scooter. Douglas looked over at the bed and saw that Scooter was sound
asleep—they had worn him out.

Douglas crept out of the bed and he and the boys left Scooter to rest. They
went up into the third floor lounge where Douglas tried one more time to
raise the tracking crew.  There was still no reply. Something had to be
seriously wrong.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Alex was leading the way up the hill. Jeremy, Mike, and Bandar followed him
in single file. Bandar was wearing his red backpack. He heard a buzzing
sound coming from it.  Bandar stopped so he could dig into his backpack and
see what it was. He didn't find anything he hadn't expected.

Alex and Mike wondered what Bandar was looking for, but the buzzing had
stopped before they got close enough to Bandar to hear it. Bandar tried to
tell them why he stopped, but he couldn't make himself understood.  Alex
and Mike shrugged and smiled and started going again and the rest of the
boys followed.

They wanted to get as far from the Shkah men as they could, then they would
start thinking what direction they would go in. It looked like a long way
up the hill, but only Bandar knew how far the mesa was—he'd been up this
trail before.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ryan and Logan were each placed on a unicorn. The Shkah were arguing about
something, but none of the Earth boys could tell what it was about.

"We should take them back to the village; they won't be looked for there,"
one of the Shkah men said.

"They escaped once already. They will be more secure in the village,"
another man agreed.

"You forget why we kidnapped them," another said.  "It wasn't to keep them
prisoner, it was to test Robbachass. To see where his loyalties are for our
attack on the Hakaanen."

"He's right," said one of the Shkah who did the kidnapping. "We should take
them right to the caves and get it over with."

The first one agreed that they should go to the caves. And since Robbachass
was right there with them, they could take care of his test that night. The
Shkah had been thinking about testing him the next night, but everybody
needed was present, so they saw no reason to wait.

It was agreed that the test would be that night. One of the moons would be
full, so the light would be perfect.  Robbachass would show them whom he
was loyal to, the round ears or the Shkah. The Shkah hoped he would pass,
because they could see that he had some of the attitude needed to help them
in the upcoming battle against the Hakaanen.  But he had to show he was
with them one hundred percent, and now was the time.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Douglas woke from a dream-filled sleep. It was daylight, but the room was
dark because the curtains were drawn. He looked around him and saw that
everybody was still asleep.  The last couple of days had been very tiring.
He left the room and headed to the elevator.  He rode it down to the first
floor and headed for Scooter's room.

Scooter was awake when Douglas got into his room. Douglas hopped on the bed
and kissed Scooter lightly on the lips.

"I love you, Douglas."

Douglas kissed Scooter deeper and harder. "I love you more," he said as
they came up for air.

The doctor came in just as they finished. "You're looking better," the
doctor told Scooter.  "The wound's infection is clearing up. You're going
to have a scar where the arrow hit you, but otherwise I think you're going
to recover just fine."

The room started filling as the boys came down to join them. Douglas told
them the news and they all smiled—all but Jordan that is.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It was late afternoon when the Shkah men, Vordkan, Robert Charles, Ryan,
and Logan got to the caves. The caves had been a place Shkah and Hakaanen
often visited, to explore or have fun. The caves were made up of multiple
caverns. Not all of them had been explored. Entire families would often
come up to look at them. It was one place where Hakaanen and Shkah would be
in the same place and get along.  Maybe the reason was because the mutual
explorations often involved families.

The Shkah men got out food and drink. They fed themselves as well as Ryan
and Logan.  The kidnappers decided the two boys might as well have a last
meal. Ryan and Logan ate quickly. It was their first meal since dinner the
day before. They didn't know if it might be their last.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The trackers reached the plateau as the sun started setting. They started
unpacking food and water.  Bandar was digging into his pack when he heard
the buzzing again. Jeremy heard it as well.

"That sounds like one of our radios," Jeremy said. "Let me see." He looked
inside of Bandar's pack, but didn't see anything. Then he noticed a pocket
on the inside. He unzipped it and saw two radios. He pushed the receive
button.

"..glas calling trackers...This is Douglas calling trackers..."

Jeremy pushed the send button. "This is Jeremy. Hello, Douglas." He heard a
big cheer at the other end. "Sounds like we were missed."

"Jeremy!" Douglas yelled. "Where are you guys! Where were you guys! We
thought something terrible had happened."

"Well, we didn't know we had radios."

"You didn't know? Stevie put them right into one of the packs."

"Yeah, he put them into Bandar's pack and Bandar never saw them. We just
now heard them buzz. We knew what the buzz was, but Bandar didn't.  Anyway,
tell us what's going on."

Douglas told him that Scooter was okay, which made them all happy. He told
them about finding Matthew, which totally amazed them, especially Mike.

"My little brother is alive?" he asked.

"Alive and very well," Douglas said.

"Can I talk to him?"

"Sure."

Douglas put Matthew on the radio. "Hey," Matthew said shyly.

"Hey, little bro, how's it going? I love you and am so happy you're alive!"

"I love you big bro."  Hearing Matthew, who he thought was dead, say
express his love was too much for Mike. He had been close to crying, and
now he couldn't hold the tears back.

After a long silence, Matthew said, "Are you there?"

"You bet I am, I...I...I'm just so happy I have my little bro back. I'll be
seeing you soon!"

"Bye big bro," Matthew said. He handed the radio to Douglas so he could
wipe away his tears.

Mike told Douglas about the battle with the Shkah men and that they were at
the top of a trail that led into the hills. But now they didn't know where
to go next.

"I'm glad you didn't kill them," Douglas said. "It proves to everybody that
we're better than the Shkah. They were ready to kill you, I'm sure. They
sure were trying to kill Scooter and me."

"We thought about killing them, but you're right. We have to keep moving,
though, or the Shkah will catch up to us. We just don't know where to go,
and we can't communicate with Bandar that well to pick his brain."

"Hang on a sec," Douglas said. He talked to Scooter, who talked to
Enghar. Enghar then said something to Scooter. Scooter told Douglas to have
Bandar get on the radio. Scooter handed his radio to Enghar

The boys at both ends listened to Enghar and Bandar talk, but only Scooter
had any idea of what they were saying.

After Enghar and Bander finished their conversation, Scooter told Douglas
what the two Hakaanen boys had discussed. Douglas told Alex to tell the
trackers that they should follow Bandar. The boys set out across the
plateau. They walked until close to dark when they decided it was time to
eat and set up camp.

While they were setting up their camp, Jeremy saw something in the sky and
pointed it out to the older boys.  Off to the north they saw quick, bright
flashes of light and the sky close to the horizon sparkled briefly with all
kinds of color.  They had no idea what they had seen, but it was
beautiful. Bandar knew what it was, but he didn't know how to explain it so
his round-eared friends would understand.

The human boys laid out their sleeping bags wondering what it was they had
seen. Mike had the first watch.  He looked in the direction where the
lights had flashed. At the same time, he watched for the Shkah men they had
fought in the field. In the morning they would search for their missing
friends.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Jordan was sitting on his cot, bored and angry. He was tired of being
ignored and looked down on by the other boys in the group. He was angry
with the way Matthew had greeted him after what he did for him on the
"Moonduster".  He conveniently forgot about what he had done to rather than
for Matthew on the "Starkeeper." He decided the entire group could go fuck
themselves and was about to go to sleep when Douglas entered the lounge.

This was going to be the boys' last night at the hospital.  Douglas had no
idea where they would be tomorrow. He just knew that they were all going to
be together no matter what happened. They would not be separated this time
and with Scooter's help he would make that very clear. But one of the
things they needed in order to be strong was to have all of Jordan's
support. He had promised himself he would talk to Jordan, and now was the
time.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Ankyol was the oldest of the Shkah men. Even though his mane was blue and
green, his hair was almost all gray. He motioned to Robert Charles, pointed
to the boys, and said, "Gragh," the Hakaanen word for kill. Robert Charles
didn't understand what Ankyol had said, so he simply shrugged.

Vordkan understood. He hadn't expected Ankyol to give such a drastic
order. He thought Robbachass might be ordered to take the boys to the
desert and lose them the way he had been lost. He didn't expect the order
to kill his own kind to be given. The Shkah were going to give Robbachass
the ultimate test.  And Vordkan knew in his heart that if Robbachass failed
this test, then he would be the one to die.

Ankyol then pointed to the boys and made a slitting motion across his
throat, which Robert Charles did understand. He picked up a laser pistol,
pointed it at Ryan, and faked shooting it. The Shkah men all smiled and
shook their heads yes. Then Ankyol took the pistol from Robert Charles's
hand and set it down on the ground. He took Robert Charles's knife from his
belt and put in his hand. Then he made the throat slitting motion
again. Robert Charles nodded.

Ankyol motioned to Robert Charles and led him to the entrance of the
cave. Two other Shkah men dragged the boys behind them and Vordkan followed
them all. They were led up a path to a hill over the entrance to the
caves. Two poles had been erected there.  Ankyol shined his lantern on the
poles. He tied Logan to one of the poles and tied Ryan to the other.

While this was going on, Robert Charles noticed a very slight colored
twinkling glow in the little valley. Every now and then there would be a
blue, or red, or green, or yellow light flashing quickly on and off. He
wondered what it was and what was happening in the valley. He noticed the
Shkah looking at the lights, but they seemed to be indifferent to them.

The men started to leave. Only Robert Charles, Vordkan, and the two bound
boys remained.  Ankyol stopped and signaled for Vordkan to follow him. He
glared at Robert Charles and made the throat slitting motion again.

Vordkan walked down the hill thinking, this is wrong. They can't really
mean for Robbachass to slit the throats of two boys who hadn't done
anything wrong. Maybe the test was that he wasn't supposed to kill them,
but just frighten them. When he got to the cave entrance he asked what it
was Robbachass was REALLY supposed to do. Ankyol looked at Vordkan with an
evil grin and made a slitting motion again. The hairs on Vordkan's blue and
green mane stood straight up as a chill ran down his spine.

Robert Charles looked straight at the two boys, holding the knife in his
hand. Thinking about whacking Douglas, or Mike, or Alex with a sword in
some kind of battle or fight was one thing. But these two had never really
done anything to him. Well, okay, Ryan probably voted against him and he
never stood up for him on the "Starkeeper" or on the "Moonduster".


Then he looked at little Logan. He had been in the lower school and hadn't
been on the "Moonduster."  Why should I hurt him?  Robert Charles thought.
He never voted or did anything against him. He was just a little kid who
was maybe ten or eleven years old.  Robert Charles wanted his first kill to
be some kind of a challenge, not two boys tied up, one of them not even a
teenager yet.

He could see, even in the dark, that they both were scared. His test was
simple—kill them. Was he going to be loyal to the Shkah who had saved
him and to Vordkan who had become his friend, even if he was a bit
queer. Or should he be loyal to two boys he hardly knew and who probably
didn't like him?

In the end the real question for Robert Charles was, which decision would
give him the most power. Was it untying the boys and running off with them
to the Big Valley where he would end up under the leadership of Douglas,
the boy he hated so much. Or was the way to power to go to battle with the
Shkah. Even without knowing the language of the Shkah, he knew that war was
coming. He had watched warriors practice with their weapons, they had gone
to get the laser rifles, and he had watched them blow up the "Moonduster".

So, again the question went through his mind.....was he going to be loyal
to his own kind and help them escape, or was he going to murder two boys,
one his age and one almost five years younger so he could try to find
power? A voice shook him from his thoughts.

"What are you going to do, Robert Charles?" Ryan asked, trying hard yet
again to sound brave. "Are you going to show how courageous you are by
slicing the throats of two helpless boys who are tied up in front of you?
Is that how you show your bravery and leadership?" Ryan was trying to sound
tough. He was trying to challenge Robert Charles.  But it was all he could
do to fight off tears.

Logan wasn't even fighting his tears—they were pouring down his face. "I
don't want to die...please...." he sobbed.

Robert Charles looked at the two of them: Ryan, with his bravado and Logan,
a frightened little boy. He had often dreamed of killing his enemies in a
fight, of showing Douglas, Alex, and Mike who was the bravest and the
toughest and the most powerful of them all. But killing these two boys
would be cold blooded murder. Was getting power worth murdering two
helpless boys? Did he really want to have green and blue hair and be loyal
to a group of aliens who were so different he couldn't understand their
language or understand half of their customs?

He felt his long green and blue hair. He thought of Vordkan dyeing it, of
Vordkan in bed with him doing sexual things with him.  It was so good doing
it with Vordkan. Robert Charles knew that his Shkah friend wanted to go all
the way, and although he wouldn't admit it at the moment, he wanted the
same thing.

The Shkah would take him into the battle he wanted and make a man out of
him, not that he really wasn't one already. He was the true leader of the
"Starkeeper" boys, and he was going to prove it by beating them in
battle. In order to do that he would have to pass his test.

"Guys, I'm sorry I have to do this. It's nothing personal." Maybe if he
thought of it that way it wouldn't be so bad—it was just a test for him
to prove his loyalty. It had nothing to do with liking or not liking the
two boys.  Logan was shaking he was crying so hard. He didn't even have
tears left.  Ryan felt his tears flowing down his face as he thought even
Robert Charles couldn't be so low as to walk up to them and cut their
throats while they were tied up.

Robert Charles decided the kindest thing he could do would be to take care
of Logan first and not make him suffer by watching Ryan die. He thought of
the Shkah down below in the caves and wondered why they weren't up here to
watch? Were they too cowardly to watch the two boys die? he wondered.

He knew Vordkan wanted to stay but had been ordered to leave. That meant a
lot to him.  But the Shkah men, it was like they were willing to have him
use the knife as long as they weren't around to see the bloodshed.  Oh
well, nobody said he had to like the Shkah—all he had to do was use them
to regain his lost power over Douglas and his misguided followers.

He walked up behind Logan, the boy's little naked body shaking with cold
and fear. He put the knife blade up against Logan's smooth throat. He
remembered doing this same thing on the "Moonduster," putting a knife to a
throat and getting a drop of blood out of it. As he continued to stand
behind Logan, Robert Charles was surprised that he was getting hard and
sexually excited. He put the knife down for a moment and took a deep
breath.  This was it—this was what having power was about.  And now that
it was so close, it was exciting him.  Suddenly he wanted to do it. It
really was power! Power of the biggest kind, the power of life and death.

"I'm really, really, sorry, Logan, but I figure you'll be ending up in a
nicer place than this fucking planet." He put the knife back up to Logan's
throat and the little boy screamed at the top of his voice.


Next:  Chapter 36  Sabotage

Email is always welcomed.  E-mail me, Douglas DD,  at TheHakaanen@Hotmail.com


"So you brought the maybe replace with? your little crash friend with you,
I see," Robert Charles leered at Logan, They didn't know if maybe more
dramatic to leave out the if? it might be their last.  Were they too
cowardly to watch the two boys die? He wondered. I don't just love "He
wondered" as a sentence. How about replace with he wondered?