Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 10:38:45 EST
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: The Castaway Hotel - book 6, chapter 7

Legal Notice:
The following story contains descriptions of graphic sexual acts.
The story is a work of fiction and has no basis in reality.

Don't read this story if:
**You're not 18 or over,
**If it is illegal to read this type of material where you live,
**Or if you don't want to read about gay/bi people in love or having sex.

The author retains copyright to this story.  Placing this story on a
website or reproducing this story for distribution without the author's
permission is a violation of that copyright.  Legal action will be taken
against violators.

I wish to extend my thank you to Ed for his editorial assistance with this
chapter, and to Art for proofreading it for me.

E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions, or other 'constructive'
comments or advice may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com.

                 *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Although the boys in these stories have unprotected sex, I strongly urge
all of you out there to be smart and protect yourselves from various
sexually transmitted diseases by using condoms when having intercourse.

                  *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

The Castaway Hotel-Book 6-by BW (Young-Friends).  Copyright 2000 by billwstories
Chapter 7 - Another autumn.                       September 2002

I had wondered what we were going to do about Halloween this year, as I
wasn't sure we could top what we did last year.  The boys had enjoyed that
Halloween so much that they wanted to do something similar again this year.
I told them we could repeat what we did last year, but I doubted I could
think of anything to improve on that, so the boys agreed that would be
fine.  Although they were excited about what we were going to do, no one
wanted to tell Cody what was going to happen.  They agreed that they wanted
him to experience it for himself, just like one of the visitors to our
home, so he could fully appreciate what we were doing.

Once again we put together our haunted house, setting it up so everyone
would have to enter through our backdoor again.  We put out our tombstones
from the pervious year, making our little cemetery, and then we set up our
haunted rec room, through which the trick-or-treaters would pass next.  It
was once again lit with black lights and filled with the moans, groans, and
other pre-recorded weird noises that we hoped would amuse or unsettle our
visitors.  We had placed our pine coffin, so it would be in full view as
they entered, and they could have an unobstructed view when Dracula popped
out of it.  After that, they'd have to pass a skeleton and a headless
corpse to get to the basement stairs, which they'd have to take to get
their treats.

Now they'd have to make their way through the artificial spider webs that
we rigged up over and around the stairs.  These webs were arranged so they
would drag across the unsuspecting guest's body, at various points, as they
made their way down the steps.  Once they reached the bottom of the
stairway, they would be directed toward the treat table, where the next
surprise awaited them.  We had strategically placed one of the boys under
the table again this year, with his hand extending upward, through a hole
in the table, making it appear to be just a bloody stump.  As the children
would reach to get their treats, the hand would move, or grab ahold of one
of them, as they reached for their treats.  When this happened, the
basement would echo with the screams of the surprised victim, which would
in turn cause others to scream, and that would be mixed with the laughter
from my other boys and some of the other Halloweeners.  All in all, the
costumed visitors concluded that their rewards were worth a little fright,
and they thanked us for being so creative.

The treats they received were the same as the previous year, and consisted
of white chocolate eyeballs, gummy worms, thumb lollipops, pretzel bones,
and white chocolate and jujy tongues.  This was all designed to add to the
flavor of the night and to give them something more to remind them of their
visit, when they consumed them later.

The boys had taken Cody through our haunted house first, before anyone else
arrived, and he was totally surprised by the elaborate nature of our
preparations.  He was enjoying the whole effect, including Dracula's coffin
and the spider webs, but he was unprepared for the hand that grabbed him,
as he went to check out some of the treats.  He became our first screamer
of the night, but he also instinctively fought back, trying to break free
of its grip.  The other boys thought this was hysterical, except for the
boy at the other end of that arm, who was now crying out in pain, as Cody
scratched the back of his hand.  After checking out the wound, he decided
it wasn't too bad, and he would leave it like it was for the remainder of
the night, primarily for added effect.  He thought the redness, open
wounds, and blood would add visually, increasing the impact it would have
on the others when they saw it.  We talked it over, and sprayed it with a
clear disinfectant, but he wouldn't bandage it until later.  Once Cody
realized what he had done, he apologized for his instinctive reaction, but
we all told him we kind of expected that might happen at some time or
another, but he reacted so quickly that we didn't have time to stop him.
After that, we let Cody take his treats and move on, and he volunteered to
be one of the guides, so he could watch others, to see if they reacted the
same way he had.

There were also a couple of other differences this year, as this was the
first time we had a handicapped trick-or-treater.  The boy's mother had
been told about our haunted house from the previous year, and then she was
told that we were going to do it again this year, and she thought her son
would really like to see it.  She called me first, to make sure we could
accommodate her son, and I assured her we could and would, and I'd take him
up and down the basement stairs personally.  I told her to bring him early,
before we expected other kids to arrive, so we could give him the personal
attention he would need.  I was kind of intrigued when he arrived, as he
was dressed as a die (like in one of a pair of dice), with his head popping
through the single hole in the 'one' side of the die.

I had gone out to meet them at the end of the driveway, so I could take him
around to the back of the house and through our graveyard.  His mother
followed as we went along, just enjoying her son's reaction to everything
we had done.  The boy got a kick out of the cemetery, laughed at the coffin
when it opened, and he also told me he liked our sound effects.  As I
tipped his wheelchair back, and began to take him down the basement steps,
the fake spider webs brushed against his skin, and he screamed out, "What
was that?"  After I explained to him what he just went through, he began to
laugh and told me that was a great effect.

Now we were in the basement, and I told him to take whatever candy he
preferred.  As he reached for something, the hand moved, and he slammed his
body back into his wheelchair, his eyes wide open and his questions stuck
in his throat.  I quickly explained to him that it was just one of my boys
under the table, and he began to relax, and then he told me that was the
best effect of all.  Once he had his treats, I pulled his wheelchair back
up the stairs, and then his mother thanked all of us for doing that for
him, and then they got back into her car, to continue their
trick-or-treating.

I also planned one more surprise this year, and that was originally
designed to make sure everyone went to our backdoor, instead of the front.
I had a scarecrow costume made for me, complete with straw sewn in at
various points, to look like I was losing my stuffing, and complete with
the white bag head, with small slits for eyes.  I put it on and sat in a
lawn chair on the front porch, to tell people who came to the front door,
to go to the back.  I sat motionless as one family headed toward our front
door, and just as they were about to push the doorbell, I moved and told
them, "Go around to the back, that's where they're expecting you."

Just as I moved and spoke, everyone jumped and screamed, but finally they
began to laugh, telling me they really thought I was just a scarecrow
propped up in that chair.  Seeing that worked so well, I thought it would
be fun to continue to surprise people, and it really worked out, as I
scared a number of visitors who approached the wrong door first.  As the
night wore on, and I was just about ready to give up and go back inside,
when a pack of young hoodlums approached our house.  I recognized them
immediately, as boys who were constantly in my office when I was principal,
and I watched them carefully, without moving a muscle.  There was
definitely no love lost between these boys and me, as I had been called
upon to discipline them many times before, for the stunts they had pulled
at school.

As I watched them, I started to add up two and two in my mind, coming up
with answers that had eluded us earlier.  Over the past couple of years
things, several things had been done to our house at Halloween, nothing
really terrible, but things that were extremely annoying.  The first year,
someone egged our cars and house, and if you don't clean that off quickly,
it will actually eat some of the paint away.  Last year, they put shaving
cream all over our doorknobs and on the porch, in front of the door, and
they smashed several jack-o-lanterns we had carved for the holiday.  They
smashed a couple of them on the porch, a couple more on the sidewalk, and
then they smashed the others on our cars.  I was always curious as to who
had done this, but I never heard any rumors or facts linking anyone to
these acts, but now I thought I knew who had done it.

As they got closer, I began to overhear snippets of their conversation.
"Get the bag of dog crap ready," one of them told another.  "You sure it's
soft enough to make a mess?"

"Yeah, I got some fresh stuff, but I sprinkled some water over the rest, to
make it juicy again.  I'm glad they have plastic bags we could use for
this, cuz it would have broken through a paper bag."  Then all the boys
laughed.

"Well, I want to smear it all over his porch and his cars.  I just wish
somehow he'd know that it was me doing this, to get even with him for all
the times he gave me detention or for the time he called the cops on me."

"Hey, we're all getting even with him, not just you," another told him.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but I ended up going to juvy because of him, after he
called the cops on me.  That didn't happen to any of you."

The boy was right, I had called the cops on him, but that was because I
discovered he had been part of a small group that had vandalized our
school.  He and one other boy were sent away for that, not because they
broke into the school and destroyed things, but because they had also
started a fire.  It was discovered that they were actually trying to burn
the school down, to cover up their crimes and to make it so they wouldn't
have to go to school for a while.  If there were others involved, they
never squealed on them, but I suspected some of these boys might have been
in on that too.

Now, they walked toward the porch, and the first boy took the bag with the
dog crap in it, and he was just about ready to dump some on my porch when I
made my move.  I jumped up from the chair and screamed, "What the hell do
you think you are doing?"  The boys were all startled by this sudden and
unexpected move, and they jumped backward, to get away from me.  The boy
with the bag of dog feces spun and leapt away from the porch too.
Unfortunately for him, the bag had been positioned to dump its contents
before he did this, and it did just that, with him falling into a pile of
it.  The rest of the crap spilled in front of him, covering a rather large
patch of ground.  As he and the other boys tried to run, they all stepped
or slipped in the scattered dog poop, with one of the boys knocking the
first boy back down into it, as he tried to get up. It seems their joke had
backfired this year, and hopefully they won't try anything of this nature
again in the future.

Those boys had made so much noise when I startled them, and as they tried
to flee, that some of my boys came running out of the house, to see what
was going on.  By this time the other boys had scrambled away from the
house, and were fleeing down the street, so I explained to my boys what had
happened.  They wanted to chase and catch these boys, but I told them they
had received their own punishment for what they had tried to pull, so we
let them get away.  As we reflected on what had happened, and my boys
thought about what had transpired before they got there, they all
considered it hilarious.  Even though they hadn't seen it happen
themselves, they could picture it in their minds, and we all had a good
laugh when it was over.  We also got a few flashlights and went out to
clean the rest of the mess up, so none of us would step or fall into it in
the morning, and even that seemed funny to the boys.  As they complained
about how disgusting it was, or how awful it smelled, someone would say
something like, "But how did you think it felt for that boy who fell or was
pushed into it?" or "Do you think his parents will let him in the house
when he gets home?"  We all had our chuckles, and I felt those boys might
have learned a lesson from this episode.

November began with Vinnie's retaking his driver's test, passing it this
time, and with his adoption by the Shays being formalized.  Judge Shay had
one of his other friends, who was also a judge, hustle things through, so
it happened much sooner than normal.  In talking to Steve, I discovered
that Mary and he were quite excited about doing this, and he was telling me
that they wanted to get more involved in helping me raise my boys.  What
had started out as admiration, when he helped me adopt that first group,
had grown into friendship, between the two of us, and then into a
relationship with the boys, as a substitute uncle and aunt.  Now they were
truly beginning to have feelings about the boys and wanted to increase
their role as that of a real aunt or uncle, doing as much for their nephews
as they could.  It just worked out that Vinnie's situation gave them the
perfect outlet to do so, and they weren't taking that role lightly.

Kevin and Vinnie had talked about this adoption in great detail.  At first
Kevin didn't understand why Vinnie didn't want me to adopt him, although
Vinnie tried to explain.  Kevin thought that if he didn't have any problems
with having a brother as a lover, then why should he.  Finally, however,
Kevin came to understand why Vinnie was so adamant in his view, and Kevin
agreed that this would be a suitable arrangement to resolve his concerns.
At least Vinnie would still be living with us, as I would be made his
permanent guardian, and the boys would be able to maintain their room
together, so everyone was happy.

The next thing that happened was I was finally able to get Cody in for a
complete physical.  I had told the doctor, in advance, that I wanted to him
to check everything, and when he asked me why, I just told him that Cody
had been through a lot and I wanted to be absolutely certain that there was
nothing wrong with him.  I think the doctor thought I was being a bit
paranoid, but he said he'd do as I requested, and he gave Cody a physical
examination, and then he ran a host of other tests on him, including a full
blood work up.  After his examination of Cody, he told me everything seemed
to be fine, but he would give me the results of the other tests, as soon as
they came back.  I thanked him for his help, and then Cody and I left, and
I felt a little better as we drove back home.  Was it possible that Graham
was wrong this time?

The following Sunday something else came up, and I got a phone call from
Frankie, telling me about a situation he had found himself involved in.
"Dad, I wanted to call you and tell you about something that happened here,
before you heard about it on the news or saw it in the newspaper.  I'm
fine, but something did happen here at school."

"What happened, and is everyone all right?"

"Yes, everyone will survive, except I have two friends who almost died.
They're okay now, but it was close, and from what I gathered, they weren't
the only ones taken to the hospital that night.  The college is suspending
two of the fraternities where the parties took place, and I knew this would
probably make the news.  That's why I wanted to tell you first, so you'd
know I was okay."

"Frankie, I think maybe you should back up and start at the beginning.
What exactly happened to your friends?  Why did they almost die?"

"Oh, yeah, I guess I forgot to tell you that part.  I'm not going to try to
pretend I was an angel in all this, because you'd know I was lying, so I'll
tell you straight up what happened."

"I appreciate that."

"It all started when I, and some of my friends, went to this party."  He
hesitated, as if he was waiting for me to say something, but I didn't, and
I think that surprised him.  "What, no comment about my going to a party?"

"Frank, you're old enough now to make your own decisions, but I hope you've
learned enough living here, so you make the correct choices."

"I guess I blew it this time, then," he told me, and then he paused again.

"Okay, go ahead and tell me what happened.  I take it there was some
drinking at this party."

"It was a college party, what would you expect.  I didn't drink that much,
but I did have a few beers, but my buddies started chugging beers and doing
shots.  I didn't want to get into that, so I found a girl and went off to
talk to her, while my buddies made fools of themselves."

"Well, I take it something more than that must have happened."

"Yeah, well, I don't know exactly how long those guys were drinking, but I
heard they drank a lot in a very short period of time, and when I came back
to find them, I knew they were in trouble.  They didn't barf or anything
like that, but they were both passed out and I couldn't wake them.  Their
skin looked really pale and they felt cold, and then I noticed some blue in
their skin color.  I checked to see if they were breathing, and it seemed
like they barely were.  I got scared, and called 911, to get an ambulance
for them."

"That was probably a wise thing to do," I interjected.

"That's what I thought, but it sure put an end to the party.  As soon as
that siren came up the street, the place cleared out, and several people
have given me shit about making that call since then."

"Don't worry about what they have to say, you did what you needed to do,
and what you thought was right.  How are your friends?"

"Well, they both are okay now.  One's blood-alcohol was .22, and the
other's was over .30.  The doctor said they both could have died from AOD,
that's an alcohol overdose.  My second friend had an irregular heartbeat
when they brought him in, his breathing was about half of what it should
have been, and he was suffering from hypothermia.  That's why his skin was
turning blue."

"It looks like your friends owe you their lives then."

"I guess."  Frankie hesitated.  "Is that all you're going to say?  Aren't
you going to chew me out or anything?"

"Frankie, I don't think that is necessary.  It seems that you knew enough
not to drink that much, and you were the one who actually saved their
lives.  I'm just glad you were there for them and you were smart enough to
not indulge to that extent."

"Not everyone feels that way.  Some of my friends hate me now, saying I
ruined that party and then telling me I'm the one who got the fraternities
banned from campus."

"And what do you think about that?"

"Hey, it wasn't me, it was the guys who were encouraging all the binge
drinking, especially the guys who brought the liquor, including the 151
rum."

"And did you ask them what they thought would have happened if those boys
had died, instead of you getting help for them, so they'd make it?"

"No, I didn't think of that, but I should have.  I think next time someone
says something, I'll ask them that."

"That sounds good, but are you going to be able to handle people like
that?"

"Hey, they aren't going to start any shit with me, cuz I can kick most of
their asses, and they'll probably get over it in a few weeks.  It's just
that most of them won't invite me to things any more.  Oh, well.  Guess
I'll just have to make some new friends."

"I'm glad you're keeping a positive outlook on this.  Frank, I'm glad
you're who you are, and I'm proud to have you as a son."

"Thanks, Dad, but I had a good teacher.  When I'm not sure what I should
do, I just ask myself what I think you'd do.  Sometimes, I don't remember
to do that, like with the drinking, but I do know better."

"Well, I'll forgive you your small indiscretions, because you've come a
long way since I first met you.  In fact, I once wondered if I'd ever be
able to get through to you."

"I know.  I was really bad back then, but I'm glad things worked out after
that.  I'd hate to think where I'd be now, if you hadn't given me another
chance."

"You earned it, and you proved I was right in giving it to you, so I won't
blow this out of proportion.  I'm pretty sure it was your level head that
kept those two young men alive."

"Thanks, Dad, and I'm glad I called to tell you about this, cuz you've
actually made me feel better about what happened."

"Thanks, Frankie, and I'm glad you called too.  Please keep in touch and
don't be afraid of telling me anything.  I'll try to keep everything in
perspective."

"I know you will, Dad, and that's why you mean so much to all of us."

After I got off the phone with Frankie, I called the rest of the boys
together, so I could tell them about what had happened.  I thought it would
be good for them to learn from this incident, so maybe I wouldn't lose one
of them to AOD some day.  I think it was a good lesson, and the boys seemed
to catch my drift, without my having to preach to them.  I always find it
best to use issues, such as this, as they arise, because the boys seemed to
get more from them, knowing they really happened.

Around mid-month, I got a call from the doctor's office, telling me he had
the results in from Cody's blood work.  He asked if I could stop by his
office, after work, and I told him I would.  After classes had been
dismissed, and most of the day was behind us, I drove over to his office
and waited for my turn to speak with him.  He came out and greeted me, took
me back to his office, and then he got this concerned look on his face.  I
was afraid something was wrong.

"Josh, there are some things in the blood work that I'd like to investigate
further, so I'd like you to bring Cody back in, so I can run a few more
tests on him."

"Doc, what did you find?"

"Nothing definite, it's just that I think we need to do further testing, to
make sure your boy is okay."

"What do you suspect?"

"I'd rather not say, until I'm certain, but if you'll bring him by the
hospital tomorrow, we'll do some more blood work, and I'll let you know
more, once I have a chance to see how those tests come back."

"Won't you at least tell me what you suspect?"

"No, I'd rather not worry you, until I'm sure.  It may just be false
positives.  Those happen sometime."

"But I'd feel better knowing."

"No, you wouldn't, especially if it isn't true.  Go home and spend time
with your boys, and I'll see you and Cody at the hospital tomorrow."

I left the doctor's office and headed home, wondering what I was going to
tell Cody, about why the doctor needed to run more tests.  I ran all kinds
of ideas over in my mind, but none of them sounded any good and they
probably brought up more questions than anything else.  By the time I got
home, I just decided to tell him basically what I had been told.  I went to
Cody's room, and he was in there with Graham, and I asked Graham if I could
speak to Cody alone.  He left, and then I began.

"Cody, the doctor called me today, and told me your test results were back.
However, some things weren't clear, so he wants to run some more tests
tomorrow."

"Why?  Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just to make sure.  Just kind of double-checking."

"Ah, okay.  That's fine.  What time do we go?"

"We have to be there by 8:00, so we'll go there directly from home."  Cody
seemed fine with that information, never asking me for any more details, so
I left it at that, thankful that I didn't have to answer a whole series of
questions.

The next morning we headed to the hospital, and I took Cody to where the
lab work would be done.  I was also surprised that the doctor actually
showed up, talking to us while we waited.  I just thought it was just an
expression he used, when he originally said that, and I was actually
surprised when he appeared.  He didn't stay long, but it was the thought
that counted, and I was very impressed that he had done that.  When Cody's
name was called, I asked him if he wanted me to go with him, and he said
'yes', so I followed him into the same room.  We had to wait briefly,
before the technician came in, so we talked a bit, mostly about what we
were going to do, after the tests were concluded.  The technician arrived
shortly, a cute young lady, who was very sweet and gentle with Cody, and
she told him everything she was doing, as she did it.  I think Cody
appreciated that, because I know I did, and he let her poke him, stick him,
and siphon off some of his fluids, and then we were told we could leave.
Cody didn't talk about that, as we headed to the school, but he hugged me
good-bye and then ran off, to report in.

I spent the next half-hour wondering what these tests might show, worrying
that something was already seriously wrong with Cody.  Graham's visions had
a history of being very accurate, and I was afraid that he was on the money
once again.  Although I prayed this time that he had given me early enough
warning to help fend off anything more serious, I couldn't be sure, and I
was truly concerned.  My thoughts were finally interrupted when my
secretary buzzed me, reminding me about a meeting I still had to attend.  I
thanked her and went to the boardroom, where the meeting was to be held,
putting on my game-face, for the others in attendance.  Once I became
focused on the topic being discussed, I put Cody's problems in the back of
my mind, at least for the time being.

After the meeting I went home, and Cody seemed so normal that I didn't
continue to worry.  We'd cross that bridge when we came to it, and
hopefully it wouldn't be too long or too treacherous a journey.  As I often
told my boys, it did no good to worry about things over which we had no
control, so I thought it best to follow my own advice, though it would
still concern me.

We were already beginning to make plans for Thanksgiving now, as it was
only a couple of weeks away, and we were going to have a houseful again
this year.  Brandon's parents and Nick's parents were joining us, along
with Carlos and his mother, Sally, the Spences, the Shays, Little Ricky and
the Beckers, and my children and grandchildren, so I needed to do a great
deal of planning.  I was going to borrow some tables and chairs from the
school district, so we could all sit down together, as this would be one of
the largest gatherings we will have had, up to this point.

Sally, the Shays, and the Spences had volunteered to house some of our
guests, as my house would be filled to the rafters.  It was decided that
the Lawrences would stay with the Shays, while the O'Haras stayed with the
Spences, and Sally would take in Carlos' mother.  Carlos had already made
plans to stay here, with the boys, and we thought it would be good for him
to spend the time here.  I thanked the Shays, Spences, and Sally for doing
this for us, but they just smiled or laughed, and told we were all family.
That just reinforced my perception of what truly great friends I had.

It would also be during the Thanksgiving holiday when everyone would get a
chance to meet Cody for the first time, even though I'd told them all about
him.  I knew my children were looking forward to meeting him, though I was
hoping Cody wouldn't be overwhelmed by the mob that would be arriving.  If
he were going to live here, he'd have to get used to such gatherings, so I
wasn't too worried, but I still wanted to make this as easy and painless
for him as I could.

It was just a few days before the holiday, when I received another phone
call from the doctor, once again asking me to come to his office.  He
wanted to go over the results of Cody's latest tests.  I asked him if I
should bring Cody with me, but he said 'no', so I planned to go alone
again.  I thought this was strange, unless he just wanted to clarify things
for me before we said anything to Cody, so I was hoping that it wasn't bad
news.  The more I thought about it, the more worried I became, so I tried
to distract myself with school business, until the time of the appointment
arrived.

That strategy did work a little, though not enough to make me feel better,
but soon the school day was over and I headed to the doctor's office.  I
pulled into a parking space, not too far from the door, but it seemed as
though the walk took forever, as the feelings of dread and fear began to
overwhelm me.  I was the one who always tried to calm the boys, whenever
they let their fears run away with them, and now I was the one who needed
someone here to reassure me.  Why was my logic failing me, when I knew that
it did no good to worry about things that had not yet happened?

I walked into the office and announced my arrival to the receptionist.  She
told me to have a seat, and the doctor would be with me shortly.  As I
looked around at the other parents and children who were there, I wondered
if any of them were facing anything like this.  I hoped they were merely
here for minor illnesses or routine check-ups, as I wouldn't wish any of
them to be going through all the doubts and the anxiety I was feeling now.

It was a few more minutes before I was led back to the doctor's office, and
then I waited a few more minutes before he came in.  He wore a concerned
look on his face as he entered, and I prepared myself for the worst.
"Josh," he began, "I believe Cody has A.L.L., and there are a few things we
need to discuss."

                   *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me
by clicking on the Nifty author link and scrolling down to "BW".  This will
give you the links for everything I have posted there.

E-mails may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com.