Date: Wed, 14 Sep 2016 18:01:47 +0000
From: Douglas DD <thehakaanen@hotmail.com>
Subject: The Survivors (Revised) Chapter 42

CHAPTER 42
DEATH OF A BOY

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. The battle between the boys led by Robert Charles and those
led by Douglas comes to a head. Not everyone survives.

A note of thanks to all of the readers who notified me about the wrong
Chapter 41 being posted. That was a very embarrassing moment, but it was
gratifying to learn that "The Survivors" has such a nice readership. A
couple of you commented on the steady postings of the story. There will be
a longer gap than usual next week. I will be away on a trip. I will have
little or no email access, but I will be carrying a chapter with me to post
just in case. I should get one more chapter posted before I leave. I will
be gone for just over a week.

Please donate to the Nifty Archive. It keeps the words flowing.

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

Logan and Ethan's family lived toward the outskirts of the town.  They
walked part of the way home with Warren and Jeremy, the rest of the way by
themselves.  It had been too late to find a ride home after the meeting,
but Douglas and the older boys said they would look into getting rides for
everybody the next day.

The twins watched Warren and Jeremy walk into their house, then proceeded
to walk the quarter-mile to the house in which they were staying.  They
stopped when they heard a noise behind some bushes in front of the house
they were passing.

A Hakaanen boy jumped out in front of them, causing both boys to scream in
surprise.  The twins poised to run, but after a second look at the boy,
they decided he didn't seem to be dangerous; Hakaanen boys never were.

They didn't recognize him, but Orkyl was the biggest city in the valley and
it was very likely they hadn't seen him before.  What they didn't know was
that Shkah boys didn't dye their manes until they reached puberty, and the
naked boy in front of them obviously hadn't reached puberty yet.

The naked boy was Orzano, who was not used to being naked in the open, but
rather liked the feeling it gave him. Shkah boys always wore shorts or loin
cloths, at least out in public. But he had to act like a Hakaanen, and the
best way to do that was to be naked in public like Hakaanen boys often
were. He was fighting unsuccessfully to keep his cock from becoming hard,
especially since he thought the two-round eared boys in front were sexy
looking.  Being with Jordan had given him an appreciation of the looks of
the round ears. He found the shape of their ears and their smooth, hairless
backs were a turn-on for him.

Orzano pointed to the path that wound behind the brush, indicating that the
twins should follow him.  Logan and Ethan both thought he wanted to mess
around like most Hakaanen boys, since he had an erection.  They shook their
heads, indicating that they weren't interested in following him.  Sex with
Ryan and Travis, and with each other, was special, but they had no desire
to play around with a total stranger. They turned and started walking away,
but the Hakaanen boy stepped in front of them.

They thought this was strange since they understood that Hakaanen boys were
taught to always accept a no answer to a request for sex. This wasn't the
first time they'd been asked.  The Hakaanen boys at school all seemed to
want to have sex with a round-eared boy, and they thought the twins were
particularly erotic.

When he thought about the boys at school, Logan wondered why they hadn't
seen the Hakaanen boy at school, especially if he lived in this
neighborhood, which was near their school.

He was about to signal Ethan to run when Orzano pointed into the bushes and
yelled, "Vort! Vort!"

The twins both knew what a vort was.  It was an animal very much like a dog
and was the most common pet of the Hakaanen.  The twins thought that the
boy had lost his vort and wanted them to help him find it.  They naively
nodded yes and followed him into the brush.

Orzano pretended to be calling for his vort and looking for it.  The twins
pushed back bushes and brush trying to find the animal. They entered a
small clearing where three boys were waiting for them.

Logan recognized all three of them, Jordan, the Shkah teenager, and Robert
Charles.  Ethan didn't know who Vordkan was, but he certainly knew who the
two Earth boys were.

"Well, would you look at who walked right into my hands," Robert Charles
said.  "What a pleasant surprise. How's it going, Logan?  Did ya miss me?"
He surveyed the twins.  Both boys looked frightened, but one of them was
chalky white and shaking uncontrollably while hiccupping little
squeaks. There was no doubt in Robert Charles's mind that boy was Logan.

He placed his hand under the boy's chin and lifted it.  When Logan saw him
take his knife from his belt, he fainted.

Robert Charles looked at Ethan and sniggered. "Are you as big a wuss as
your twin?" he asked.

Ethan was starting to shake as well. He tried to answer, but all that came
out of his mouth was an almost inaudible, "No.". He was as frightened as he
had ever been in his young life. Without warning, Robert Charles punched
Ethan in the stomach. Ethan felt the air rush out of his lungs.  He doubled
over and dropped to the ground next to his brother.

"Go for it, Jordan," Robert Charles ordered.

Jordan walked up to Ethan and hesitated.

"Do it Jordan!" Robert Charles snarled.
 Jordan quickly kicked Ethan in the ribs.  He tried to hold back, but
wasn't sure if he was successful.  Robert Charles handed Jordan a laser
rifle.

"Next victim," Robert Charles said, pointing to the two young boys on the
ground. "Your pick—just be sure to save one of them for me.

Jordan froze.  He stared at Robert Charles, wondering if the teen was
crazy.  Wanting him to kill a strange Hakaanen boy was bad enough, but now
he wanted him to kill a boy who had been his shipmate—a boy who had
never done anything to deserve what was happening to him.  Suddenly the
adventure with Robert Charles wasn't as much fun as he thought.  He didn't
like the punching and kicking. He had kicked Ethan to prove he wasn't a
chicken.  But killing for no reason—that was too wrong.

Robert Charles laughed.  "Chill out, Jordan.  I was kidding.  I'm gonna let
these two little assholes go if they promise me to do one thing."

"What?" Ethan asked as he tried to stand up. Tears were streaming down his
cheeks.  He was worried about Logan, who was still lying still on the
ground. He was willing to do anything and Robert Charles knew it.

RC walked up to Ethan and started rubbing the ten-year-old's ass through
his thin shorts.  "You can show me if your ass is as hot and tight as your
twin brother's.  His is great you know and I bet yours is too," he
whispered into Ethan's ear. "I'd love to find out how close you two really
are."

"You did his ass!" Ethan yelled.  "He said you didn't!"

Robert Charles slid his hand inside of Ethan's shorts, poked his finger
against the boy's rose and smiled an evil smile.  "Your twin brother is a
liar.  I'm surprised you never figured that out."

"He isn't!  You're the liar!"  Ethan's fear was turning to anger.  Robert
Charles slapped his face hard, knocking his head sideways.

"I just let you live, you little faggot, this is the thanks I get?  Now you
listen to me!  You tell that piece of shit Douglas what I just did.  And
you tell him I can get him or any of you guys any time I want.  You tell
him I said his ass is mine, cuz I'm gonna fuck it like crazy before I cut
his throat."

He pushed Ethan back down to the ground and kicked him in the ribs.  Then
he stepped over and kicked Logan, who had just regained consciousness, in
the ribs.

"Come on guys" he said to his three followers. "Let's leave these piles of
crap here on the ground."  He started to walk away, then turned around and
stared at Logan with his dark vacant eyes.  "Douglas is gonna watch me do
to you what I should've done to you on that hill, little boy."

The four boys took off into the brush.

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

Douglas was studying the worksheet on Hakaanen nouns the teacher had made
for them.  He was picking up the language quickly, as were all of the Earth
boys. Learning how to listen wasn't real hard. Learning how to say and
pronounce the words was much harder, and the alphabet made no sense at all.
Douglas thought it wouldn't take him very long to learn to have a
conversation, but he wondered if he would ever learn how to read it.

The phone rang and Kallama answered it.  He called Douglas over to take the
phone call.

"Hello?...Hi Logan...Say What?...Shit! That bastard!  That son of a
bitch...Yeah. I'll make sure to get you two and Warren and Jeremy rides to
school tomorrow.  We will all meet before class starts...OK.  See ya,
Logan."

"What was that about?" Scooter asked.

"Logan and Ethan were stopped by Robert Charles, Jordan, and the two Shkah
boys on the way home from school.  I guess they got threatened and beat up
by the assholes. Then RC threatened the rest of us, which isn't news.  What
is news is that he is here and brave enough to advertise it.  Tomorrow we
gotta meet right away and decide what to do."  "That bastard," Scooter
exclaimed. "We should have shot him back in the desert and been rid of
him. I hope Logan and Ethan are okay. And it's certainly no surprise that
he's looking for us. But, if he's here, what are you thinking we should
do?"  "In the morning, since you're the only one who can speak their
language, you're going to have to find rides for all of us so we can be
protected," was Douglas's reply.  "I can do that. Since tomorrow looks like
a busy day, let's say good night to our hosts and get to bed."  After
Scooter made a few phone calls, he and Douglas were ready to retire for the
night.  Douglas smiled at his lover and they said goodnight to their hosts.
They went into the back bedroom together and lay next to each other on the
bed. It was so nice to be on a nice soft bed, to exchange soft kisses, to
stroke and pet each other softly, to touch each other's smooth soft skin,
and to slowly build up their passion, moving, hugging, kissing, stroking,
feeling, until Douglas gently entered his boyfriend's tight rear and made
beautiful love to him.  They fell asleep wrapped up in each other.

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

When they arrived at school they got permission from Modar to meet. The
first person Scooter had called was Modar. He knew the boys needed to
talk. He could see that Logan and Ethan were still shook up from the
attack.

"It looks like RC is here and ready to get us," Douglas told the group as
the meeting started.  "Mayor Andorn asked Governor Rebosh if he could
assign some policemen to help protect us.  The governor said no." Douglas
spit out the word governor.  "He said all us round ears are on the same
side anyway and we weren't in real danger. If anything, he should have us
arrested. Let me tell you, I sure wish I could vote in this election coming
up."

"I want to go home," Logan blurted out.  Ryan went over to him and gave him
a long, protective hug.

"I don't think that will ever happen," Douglas said as he finally admitted
the inevitable.  "We'd better face that and accept it.  Inferno is now our
home and the first thing we have to do is make it a safe home for us.  And
that means protecting ourselves and doing something about Robert Charles.
We start by making sure we stay in big groups or by having Hakaanen adults
give us rides or both.

"We also need to talk to Mayor Andorn about giving us our rifles." Douglas
had reluctantly agreed to have the mayor store their rifles since none of
the Hakaanen hosts wanted the weapons in their homes. He wasn't sure how
they would deal with that, but for right now he didn't care—he knew they
needed to be armed.

They started planning their walk home.  Douglas and Scooter had talked
things over with Kallama and Gorgio before school and had made a couple of
other calls.  They had a plan set up.  Scooter, Douglas, Alex, Mike,
Brandon, Stevie, Ryan, and Travis would walk as a group to where Douglas
and Scooter lived, which was only a four of blocks away from the school.

They would wait there until Kallama got home. Then Kallama would take the
other four to their house in his carriage.  Going the other way Logan,
Ethan, Warren, Matthew, and Jeremy would wait at the school with Enghar and
the teacher until Enghar's father picked them up in his car and dropped
them off at their houses.  It would be a tight fit, but they were all small
and could sit on laps.

At the end of the school day they followed their plan.  Douglas's group
walked together.  They were surprised and pleased to see Bandar and Hajo
waiting outside for them. They had left their school early and rode to
Orkyl with Mayor Andorn.  Bandar had been searching the area around the
school for anything suspicious but didn't find anything.  He had his eyes
wide open and was carrying a laser rifle with him. His father, the mayor,
given him the rifle for protection.

Orzano watched them go down the street, then mixed himself in with the rest
of the Hakaanen kids coming out of the school.  It was so strange seeing so
many of the kids, both boys and girls, naked.

"So, those are the famous round ears," he said to a boy who looked his age.

"Yeah.  They're in their own class right now, but as soon they learn our
language they will be right with us in our classes.  That's what they say
anyway," the boy answered.

"Everybody says they're so brave.  I came all the way from Kanshua (a
village at the north end of the Big Valley) to look at them.  Are they
staying up that street?"

"They're staying all around here.  They are all leaving together home all
together because a couple of the round ears are like the Shkah and want to
hurt people."

"So that's why the one Hakaanen boy is armed?"

"Yeah. But I've heard the round ears have guns stored somewhere. I bet they
all have rifles tomorrow.  Two of them got attacked yesterday."

"Where does Dooglass live?  I'd love to see his house. I mean he's so
famous because he is the round-ears' leader.."

"They live in a big white house.  It belongs to a doctor and his
Meshanna. It has flower baskets hung all around the front.  You can't miss
it.  The house across from it is empty.  An old guy lived there and he got
so old he had had to be moved to an old people's home.  I heard some new
people will move in soon."  Orzano was pleased that he had picked the right
kid to ask.  He seemed to know a lot and he loved to talk.

"Hey, thanks.  This is all so awesome. I have to go meet my parents now."

Orzano left the school, but went in a different direction than Doug's
group.  After going a couple of blocks he circled back to Douglas's
street. He walked until he came upon a white house with flower boxes and
baskets hanging in front.  Across from it was an empty brown house that was
two stories tall.  The top story had a wide balcony that was built over a
big front porch. Orzano checked it all out and then headed out of town to
meet the rest of his gang and report to them.

"This is too good to be true," Robert Charles said after hearing Orzano's
report.  "Douglas's little cabinet walking up that street all together. All
we have to do is sit in that empty house and just pick them off. It would
be nice if those little twins were with them, but I guess a guy can't have
everything."

"I thought you were going to do this slowly," Jordan said.

"I was, but I can't pass this chance up.  Douglas, Scooter, Mike, and Alex,
will be lined up like ducks waiting for us to knock them off.  Tomorrow
won't be too soon."

"And then what?  We stand around waiting to be caught?"  This was not the
first time Jordan had started considering the consequences. After this
attack they would have to go into hiding. There was no doubt they would be
caught—the valley simply wasn't big enough to hide in for long and from
what he could see, they'd have to go into hiding for a lifetime.

"Hell, no.  We escape back to the small valley and the Shkah will protect
us, right Vordkan?

"Look Jordan, these poor fools on this planet couldn't lead a man dying of
thirst to water.  Without Douglas the Hakaanen can't fight.  We go back to
the Shkah, I get Arkron and Bazel and their other leaders to help us, and
then it will be me, and not that faggot Douglas, who leads somebody to
victory on this hell-hole of a planet. All Douglas won was a battle, I plan
on winning the war!"

That night Jordan was lying under his blankets aching to be hugged.  He
remembered listening to his father come back to their cabin after spending
most of the day in Engineering. Jordan would wish for his father to come
into his room and hug him and tell him he loved him. Instead his dad would
sit in the living area and drink booze.

He remembered how by drinking his father's alcohol he could get drunk,
which got rid of the hurt.  He remembered how he always tried to find a
smaller boy on the ship and find ways to make the boy like him, like he had
done with Matthew. But with Matthew he found himself getting strong
feelings for him, especially after the crash landing.  And he remembered
how he loved it when Robert Charles did sexy things with him and how much
he loved the attention from the older boy.

He pulled the blankets off and crawled into Robert Charles's sleeping bag,
waking him up.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"I want you to fuck me," Jordan whispered.

"Hey, sure, why not.  We can have some fun before the killing starts.
Thinking of tomorrow had me really horny anyway. I was just thinking of
maybe fucking that cute little Shkah boy." Jordan's heart sank some when he
heard that.

Jordan offered his ass to the teen, who mounted him and entered him without
fanfare.  They went at it doggy style with Robert Charles thinking only of
his own pleasure.  Nevertheless, Jordan loved the feel of Robert Charles
hammering his insides.

"I love you, Rob, I love you," the twelve-year-old called out as the teen
fucked him.  Sweat poured off both naked boys as RC humped the preteen whom
he knew worshipped him. Orzano and Vordkan watched as they masturbated. The
four boys came within seconds of each other.

Jordan snuggled up to Robert Charles.  "I love you," he whispered. "Do you
love me?"

There was a long silence and then Robert Charles started laughing.  "Oh,
man, you're a funny dude.  Hey, you're a great fuck, but no way do I love
you.  I mean, I'm not queer like most the guys on that fucking starship
seem to be.  Now, why don't you crawl back into your own bed and quit
getting mushy on me. Be a man."

Jordan crawled out of Robert Charles's sleeping bag and back into his
bedding and broke down sobbing. Orzano heard him and crawled under the
covers with Jordan and held on to him, giving his round-eared friend the
kind of loving friendship that Jordan craved.  Jordan accepted Orznano's
hug, even though the boy was an alien. The hugs and the love he really
wanted was from Robert Charles, just like he had wanted them from his
father.

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

The "Starkeeper" boys spent a restless night.  They were worried about
Robert Charles.  Since they couldn't sleep, some of them took care of their
worries by making love to each other.

Travis and Ryan didn't get to sleep until after midnight.  They spent three
hours working each other up to satisfying orgasms each.  Two sixty-nines
and a rub off with deep kissing finally sated them and they fell asleep in
each other's arms.

Jeremy made love to Warren, his partner.  Warren loved having Jeremy inside
of him, and Jeremy loved making love to the skinny little teen he'd fallen
in love with.  He was proud of Warren for fighting through his asthma and
taking a big part in their battle against the Shkah.  His boyfriend had
come a long way since the crash landing on Inferno, and his courage made
him that much sexier.

All of Matthew's love was for Enghar.  Matthew couldn't get enough of the
Hakaanen boy, and Enghar couldn't get enough of the Earth boy.  Enghar was
thankful every day for bringing this wonderful, sweet, loving boy to
him. In a very selfish, but loving way, he prayed every day that the round
ears would never find a way to return home because he wanted Mattoo with
him for the rest of his life.

As their sex progressed, Matthew was usually the bottom and Enghar was the
top.  Both of them loved it that way.  Matthew knew deep in his heart that
if his "big brother" Mike had not helped him that night on the "Starkeeper"
when he wished he wasn't alive any more, he wouldn't be in this bed making
love to the beautiful boy with the pointed ears, the emerald green eyes,
and the soft golden mane.  Matthew rubbed his fingers along the tops of
Enghar's ears, something Enghar loved and found very erotic.  He rubbed
Enghar's firm round butt. He relaxed and let Enghar make love to him until
they both were close to orgasm.  Then Enghar popped out and they pushed
close to each other and rubbed their hard dicks together, kissing deep and
lovingly.  Their bodies writhed and humped and it didn't take long for them
to climax.  The fierce orgasms produced a surprise.

Enghar told Matthew he had something wet on him.  Matthew looked down and
could see that one of them had shot some clear drops of boy cum.  Enghar
didn't have a cast holding him down and could move easier, so he took the
tips of their cocks and rubbed them.  He told Matthew he couldn't be sure,
but he thought that maybe both of them had shot something.  Now they had
something to check out the next time they had sex.

"Ost lesha drey, Enghar."

"I loff yoou, Mattoo."

Mike, Alex, Stevie, and Brandon were staying together in the same house.
They had bedrooms side by side, but on this night the four of them slept in
one room.  Brandon was with Stevie, and Mike with Alex, but before they
fell asleep they had all been on the floor sharing their love.  Their
bodies touched each other all over, and when they ended up cumming it was
on or in whomever was closest. They all lost track after two or three cums
with each who had done what with whom.

The twins had learned about sixty-nine from Travis and Ryan and used what
they learned on each other.  Not so much to be lovers, but because it felt
good and because they wanted to show their love as brothers. For a few
moments it made them forget the horror of their encounter with Robert
Charles.

Finally, there were Scooter and Douglas.  Their lovemaking was like that of
Matthew and Enghar.  Rubbing and humping and kissing and touching and not
able to get enough of each other.  When they were finished, Douglas
wondered if there was lovemaking going among the others in the group. He
decided most of them were probably doing something together that night.  He
knew there could be no group of boys in the galaxy who were as beautiful
and as full of love as the boys from the "Starkeeper". He was proud to be
their leader.

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

All of the boys received rides or walked in a large group to school.  Once
again they met before the lessons started.  Nobody had heard anything from
Robert Charles and his friends.  There wasn't even a raid or a food robbery
the day before. All they knew was Robert Charles, Jordan, and the two Shkah
boys were near the city. Mayor Andorn was going to use the two policemen
from his town to hunt for the four boys, but he knew it wasn't enough. What
they really needed was the cooperation of the governor.

Robert Charles, Vordkan, Jordan, and Orzano had snuck through the woods and
fields to the outskirts of the town an hour before dawn.  Orzano had done
some scouting .Vordkan still had green and blue dye in his mane, although
his natural golden hair was showing at the roots. He couldn't do any public
scouting, but Orzano was showing his worth. Robert Charles decided that he
wanted to fuck the young Shkah boy that night to celebrate winning their
battle.  They were able to use all of their information to map out a way to
the abandoned house across the road from Kallama and Gorgio's house that
made it unlikely they would be seen in the predawn darkness.

After the boys found the empty house, they entered it through the
backdoor. Like all Hakaanen houses, it was unlocked. Robert Charles
couldn't help but laugh at how easy it was to take anything from the
Hakaanen.

The house still had furniture in it, but they could tell nobody had lived
there for a while.  They went upstairs and looked out of the windows and
surveyed the house across the road.  Coming around a corner were Mike,
Alex, Brandon, and Stevie along with Bandar and Hajo.  Bandar was armed
with a laser rifle, but the rest of them were unarmed.

Robert Charles and his gang watched Mike ring the doorbell. Douglas and
Scooter stepped out onto the porch. He watched as the boys exchanged
greetings and then walk down the road towards the school.  Robert Charles
lined up his rifle with each of the boys and faked some shots through the
glass.  Jordan followed his example.

Vordkan and Orzano watched what the two Earth boys were doing.  Robert
Charles had told Vordkan that he and Jordan would have first pick of whom
to shoot, and that they could have the leftovers. Then he laughed the evil
laugh that was becoming more and more a part of his persona. .

At lunch Enghar was talking with his new friend, Mycroff.  Mycroff told him
about the stranger he met after school and how interested he was in the
round ears. He told Enghar how he had helped them out.  Enghar thought that
was cool and didn't give it much more thought.  His round-eared friends
were now famous heroes and everybody wanted to know about them.

Robert Charles napped on one of the beds.  He was trying to remember the
last time he had slept in a totally comfortable bed.  He told Jordan to
keep watch for the next hour while the rest of them slept, and then to wake
up Vordkan for the next hour's watch.

Jordan looked out of the upstairs windows.  He thought of his father, whom
he loved but who would never hug him.  He thought about the boys he'd
started seducing on starships since he was ten.  He thought about the
"Starkeeper" boys on Inferno.

They all seemed to love each other.  Robert Charles was right, they were
all a bunch of queers.  But maybe I'm one too, he thought. He liked sex
with other boys, and had been doing it for almost three years. Recently
he'd had special feelings beyond just being horny—both for Matthew and
for Robert Charles.

Jordan had always done things with boys his age or younger. His
relationships always ended when the voyage of his ship was over and were
always about sex instead of friendship. But with Matthew and RC, there had
been more, especially with Matthew who had never been able to return his
feelings because he'd been hurt. Only queers felt the way he did about
other guys, he thought.

Jordan fought back tears.  He had said it. He was queer. A faggot.
Gay. And in love with Matthew.  He wanted him any way he could, even if
that meant hurting Matthew's pointy-eared friend.

If Robert Charles knew he was queer, he would probably hate him.  He
thought about last night, and how RC had laughed at him when he said he
loved him.  But he did love him.  Or did he?  He didn't really know.  He
was twelve.  How could he know?  But he did know—he knew that he loved
Matthew, not Robert Charles. He started stroking himself, thinking of
Matthew, then Robert Charles, then back and forth between them, until he
shot three streams of clear cum over his belly and down his dick.  He
rubbed it over himself and sleep overtook his confused young mind.

At the afternoon break Douglas met with Mayor Andorn and Bandar.  They had
brought all of the laser rifles.  The Mayor said they would be left with
the principal, locked in his office to be picked up after school.

This isn't like Earth schools, Douglas thought.  Nobody would ever allow a
weapon inside an Earth school. Then it occurred to him that the Hakaanen
were not experienced with weapons. They didn't have any guns except for the
laser rifles that the "Starkeeper" boys had brought. As a result they
probably didn't have any policies or laws about them.  He was grateful for
that and grateful to have the weapons.

Back at the abandoned house, Robert Charles shook Jordan awake.  He saw
that the preteen's belly was sticky with cum.

"Wake up, dumb shit," Robert Charles growled.  "Some lookout you are.  Get
responsible and do your job.  I should make you watch for the next hour,
but I'll wake up Vordkan to relieve you. You'd probably just fall asleep
again, or jerk off again, or just be a dumb shit again. Well, only have a
couple more hours before school is out and we take care of Douglas and his
gang of assholes for good."

Robert Charles woke up Vordkan, who left his bed to replace Jordan on
lookout duty.  Jordan then replaced Vordkan on the bed and sulked.  Guard
duty had been his chance to make Robert Charles proud of him and he blew
it.

He was certain he wouldn't blow it when Douglas and everybody came walking
home from school.  Robert Charles had it all planned out.  He planned who
was going down and when.  Jordan knew he was going to be ready. He would
shoot whomever Robert Charles told him to shoot.  With that thought he fell
into a restless sleep filled with fleeting, disturbing dreams.

At the end of the school day, Douglas held a meeting in the
cafeteria. Bandar, Hajo, Alex, Mike, and Douglas brought the stored
weapons.  The two Hakaanen were armed, though they both knew it was mostly
for show, since they had never fired a weapon before.  But then, with a
laser rifle, it was easy to make up for mistakes.  The principal had an
announcement to make to the boys.  He told them that there would be no ride
available for the twins' group and the governor forbade the use of an Orkyl
policeman to accompany the boys home.

It was decided that Bandar and Hajo would walk with Logan, Ethan, Warren,
Matthew, Jeremy, and Enghar.  Matthew was getting on well with his crutches
and was certain he could walk to the house where he and Enghar were
staying—it was only a couple of blocks away.  Ryan volunteered to help.
Logan smiled, happy his big brother would be with them.

Mike, Alex, Stevie, Brandon, Douglas, Scooter, and Travis would travel as a
group to Kallama and Gorgio's house.  They were all older boys, which was
why Bandar and Hajo would be needed to help the younger ones.  Bandar,
Hajo, Ryan, and Jeremy had rifles.  Mike, Alex, Douglas, and Travis carried
them for their group.  Neither group took the smaller laser pistols.

Douglas was upset that Governor Rebosh refused to help them. The governor
was so different from any of the Hakaanen he'd met that he wondered how he
managed to get elected. He lacked any of the friendliness and charm that
seemed to be such an integral part of the Hakaanen being.

Vordkan looked at his watch.  It was time to wake everybody up—Douglas
and his crew would be coming home from school soon.  He woke up the other
three boys. The four of them went out on the upper balcony. The balcony
fence was almost solid wood and if they kept low, they couldn't be seen
from below.  There were openings three openings between the wooden panel
where they could see who was coming up the street.

The two groups of boys walked off of the school playfield.  The boys
exchanged hugs and then started on their own way.  Mycroff decided to
accompany his new friend Enghar's group, which pleased Enghar, Bandar and
Hajo.

The rest of the Hakaanen boys had left the school in a hurry, determined to
avoid the round-ears.  They were all afraid of an attack, but Mycroff
thought the affair sounded like an adventure.  He was twelve and life in
Orkyl was usually boring.  Besides, he liked Enghar a lot.  Even though
he'd just met him, he thought the two of them might be Meshannas someday.

Douglas and his group covered the first two blocks quickly but
cautiously. It would be hard to find a hiding place close to the school. As
they reached the edge of town, the houses were farther apart with bushes,
trees, to hide in, and there was the turn in the road just before their
destination house. There were also a couple of open fields they needed to
skirt. The boys were well aware that a good hiding place for them could
also be a good hiding place for Robert Charles and his gang.

Mycroff was chatting away as the first group got to Enghar's house.  Enghar
planned on dropping Matthew off there and going with the rest of the group
in case they needed help.  Enghar gave Matthew a big hug and a kiss, which
Mycroff noticed.  Then they headed off to where Warren and Jeremy were
staying.

Robert Charles looked at the turn in the road.  It looked like he would
have a clear view of the group as they came around the turn.  They wouldn't
be in range of the rifles right away, but everybody would be ready as soon
as they were.

Douglas came up to the last cross street before the road started heading
into the country.  They would cross the street and walk almost a block
before they reached the bend in the road.  This was where they would have
to be really careful. Douglas was becoming increasingly angry at the
situation. He would have to meet with Mayor Andorn and the adults taking
care of them the next day and let them know this could not happen again.

They would either get rides from adults, or they would stay at home or at
school—but they would not expose themselves in the open. Douglas
wondered if the adults couldn't supply rides after school because, like the
Hakaanen students at the school, they were afraid of Robert Charles and his
gang. Douglas didn't blame the kids for being scared, but his group
depended on the adults for safety. The governor apparently wasn't the only
coward among the Hakaanen.

Enghar and Mycroft jogged along a side street as they tried to catch up to
Douglas's group. Enghar was trying to check out the area around him and
ignore Mycroff's constant chatter.

"..and then I told him about the abandoned house across from where they
were staying."

Something caught Enghar's attention.  "Told who about what abandoned
house?"

"The stranger kid from the north end.  I told him about the abandoned house
across from where Doctor Kallama lives.... he was real interested in it
and...."

"Shit!" Enghar said. That stranger kid wasn't from the north end; he was
the Shkah boy with the raiders. "I hope I'm not too late!" Enghar yelled.
He started running full tilt to warn Douglas of the ambush Mycroff looked
at Enghar like he had lost his mind.

Douglas's group got to the bend in the road.  There was a house on the
right and an open field on the left, then they saw the abandoned house
across from the doctor.  Douglas felt that they were out of
danger—nobody could hide in the field. They started around the bend.
Douglas looked up at the second story of the abandoned house.  Something
about the balcony didn't look right—something about the door.

Robert Charles saw the figures coming around the bend.  He counted seven of
them. He could see that now they were now armed.  He gestured to Jordan to
be ready.

Enghar cut through a couple of yards as he tried taking short cuts.  He had
to warn Douglas before it was too late about the danger in the abandoned
house. He didn't know if they would think to look there.

The group came around the turn.  There were four houses in sight.  The
doctor's house, the empty one across the street, and two large houses a few
hundred feet down the road.  They didn't think anybody would be able to
hide on this part of the road, but they looked carefully.  Alex and Mike
took a quick look behind the abandoned house, but saw nothing out of
place. As far as Douglas knew, Robert Charles didn't know where he was
staying.

Bandar led his group back to the house where Enghar and Matthew were
staying.  Something was wrong and he needed to go after Enghar to find out
what it was.  He didn't know where he was going, but Ryan did, and using
gestures and what little Hakaanen language he had learned, he let Bandar
know he should follow him.

Robert Charles watched as the boys got within range of their rifles.  He
and Jordan knew what order to shoot down the boys.  Douglas was going to be
last and belonged to him.  He checked his rifle to make sure it was set to
kill.  He pointed to Jordan's rifle.  Jordan looked at his setting and
nodded yes.

Enghar felt his lungs burning as he raced down the street.  He had only one
more block to cover and he would be meeting the street that Doctor Kallama
lived on.

Douglas and his group were almost at the gate into the yard of the doctor's
house.  He looked over at the house across the street.  He saw that the
door to the balcony was open.  That was what wasn't right, he thought—it
should be closed.  He raised his rifle and turned to tell Alex about the
door when he saw a flash of light and saw Travis drop to the ground.  With
his rifle ready he was able to get a shot off, which splintered the wood at
the top of the balcony fence.

Another flash from the balcony knocked Stevie down.  Alex and Mike raised
their rifles up to fire.  Another flash hit the house.  Douglas knocked
Scooter down to the ground, then squatted in front of him.

Robert Charles watched Jordan hit Travis and Stevie.  Damn fine shooting,
he thought.  Then he aimed for Scooter, but fucking Douglas knocked him
down.  Douglas was going to be last, so he avoided shooting the leader.  He
fired, but his shot was wild and it hit the garden fence behind the boys.
Alex and Mike fired back, hitting the balcony and a window, shattering the
window.  Then they tried to run through the gate and behind the fence to
use it as a shield.

 Jordan fired a long burst.  Alex and Mike were both hit before they could
run through the gate. Jordan's father had often taken Jordan to the crew
training area on the starships he had been assigned to, and the boy had
become an excellent shot.

Douglas was squatting in front of Scooter.

"We've gotta go through the gate," Douglas yelled.  A burst of fire hit in
front of him.  Jordan had fired it and knew better than to shoot Douglas.
Scooter stayed low and scurried though the gate while Douglas shot off a
covering shot.

Robert Charles had been almost frozen by the whole exchange.  He wasn't
ready to take return fire—the boys hadn't had any weapons that
morning. He was certain the rifles weren't set to kill, but they still
scared the shit out of him.

Except for his one wild burst by Robert Charles, Jordan had done all of the
shooting.  Neither Earth boy noticed Vordkan and Orzano slink through the
open door to the house .  Robert Charles looked up over the top of the
balcony fence and took aim at Scooter, who was scrambling into the yard.
Jordan saw him ready to fire at Scooter and Douglas. He knew that Robert
Charles had his gun set to kill.

The action then turned into slow motion for him.  In his mind he heard
Douglas in the hospital saying they would all love him no matter what. He
remembered Douglas said he loved him, and nobody, not his dad, not Robert
Charles, not anybody had ever told him he loved him.  He saw Robert Charles
taking aim.  Robert Charles, the one who had laughed at him and had shunned
at his love.

Jordan's mind exploded and he screamed, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!"
Robert Charles hesitated, giving Jordan time to attack. Jordan dropped his
rifle, grabbed the rifle in Robert Charles's hand and tried to wrestle it
away.  In the struggle the rifle went off, hitting Jordan in the chest.
Jordan fell against the fence, breaking it, and fell down into the bushes
below, his fingers still clutching Robert Charles's rifle.

Robert Charles grabbed Jordan's rifle off the deck.  Douglas could see
Robert Charles clearly through the broken fence and fired off a quick
burst. It was low and hit the side of the decking.  Robert Charles aimed
Jordan's rifle at Douglas.  Douglas took another aim at Robert Charles.
They fired at the same time.  Robert Charles hit Douglas in the chest and
Douglas's burst hit Robert Charles in the belly.  Both boys dropped to the
ground, unconscious.

Enghar came running around the turn just as the last bursts were fired.  He
looked at nine boys lying on the ground in front of the house and he knew
he was too late.  He sat on the ground and started crying. He didn't notice
a Shkah boy and a Shkah teen running out of the back of the empty house and
into the yard behind it. All he saw was nine round-eared boys, seven of
whom had become his friends, and now they were all gone.

NEXT: Chapter 43.  Ost Lesha Drey



Comments are welcomed.  E-mail me, Douglas DD at TheHakaanen@Hotmail.com