Date: Sat, 13 Feb 1999 19:16:46 EST
From: Phaedrus57@aol.com
Subject: Isle of Refuge--Part IV Young Friends, tt/bb, consensual

Here is Chapter V.  Readers may note that the title is not the one promised
at the end of Chapter IV.  I had originally intended this episode to be the
beginning of a longer chapter about the boys' discovery of their new
environment, but found Mike's story growing to unexpected length.  So I
decided that it should stand on its own.  It contains lots of love and pain
and healing, but no actual sex. Sorry, guys!  "Explorations" will now be
Chapter VI, which should be along in a few days.

Caveat: This is a story of love and adventure among a group of teenaged
boys.  It contains scenes of sexual activities between boys.  If this
offends you, do not read the story.  Please go to some other site.  If the
laws of your country or locality say that it is illegal for you to read
this type of story (i.e. that you are too young to have erotic thoughts or
sexual questions and your innocent little mind shouldn't entertain such
possibilities as are portrayed in this story), you should obey the law.  If
you read this story nevertheless, don't get caught!  Hide your downloads
and delete your history.

For obvious reasons, the characters in this story do not practice safe sex.
Remember that they are fictional products of my fevered imagination, but
the dangers of unprotected sex are real.  In this respect, I hope that
readers will not follow their example.

Enjoy the story, which will go on for many chapters.  I hope that it will
appeal to your minds and hearts.  It isn't primarily a sex story, although
it has its erotic moments.

Comments are welcome and strongly requested.  Flames will be ignored.
E-mail me at phaedrus57@aol.com.

This story is dedicated to the memory of my beloved foster son David, who
died of AIDS in 1992, a week before his twenty-ninth birthday.

Isle of Refuge

Chapter V: Scars

The first rays of the morning sun woke Francois.  No one else was stirring
yet.  Francois looked in wonder at the white boy who still slept in his
arms.  Mike looked peaceful and vulnerable in repose, his chest slowly
expanding and relaxing in sleep.  In the light refracted through the nylon
fabric of the hammock, Francois could see the contrast between his own
long, slender, dark brown body and Mike's lightly tanned, more compact one.
Mike's brown hair, tousled from sleep, fell across Francois' dusky,
muscular shoulder.  Francois was transfixed by Mike's physical beauty, his
combination of softness and strength.  He was overcome by feelings of
tenderness and affection for Mike, remembering how this boy who had once
seemed so hostile and aggressive had opened his heart and surrendered his
body to him during the night.  He lightly ran the fingers of one hand down
Mike's arm, across his chest, and down his belly.  He shivered as he felt
Mike's breath on his neck.  His eyes followed his hand down the fair,
smooth skin of Mike's well-muscled torso.

Abruptly Francois' eyes and hand stopped.  He saw a livid, jagged scar
running from Mike's hip toward his groin.  What injury had left this mark?
Was it an accident?  Had someone done this to his beautiful friend?  He
felt a flash of anger at the thought that anyone would try to hurt Mike,
whom he now cherished above everyone else in the world.  Suddenly he knew
why Mike had not wanted to take his boxers off.  He realized how much Mike
must trust him share himself so completely.  Francois ran his forefinger
along Mike's scar as if he could somehow heal it or wipe it away, drawing
out the pain that Mike still seemed to feel from it.  A tear ran down from
one eye as he drew Mike closer and kissed him.

Mike's eyes slowly opened.  He experienced again the pleasure of Francois'
warm embrace and the exquisite closeness of the bond that now united him
with his new lover.  He had never felt so relaxed and peaceful.  After they
had made love, Mike had drifted back to sleep and re-experienced in his
dreams the pleasures they had shared.  He had also dreamed of an endless
future with Francois by his side.  "Mornin', Fran," he murmured, returning
his friend's gentle kiss.  Then he looked up at the black boy's handsome
face and saw the tears welling in his eyes.  "What's the matter, bro?  Are
you okay?" he asked.

"Mike -- I love you so much.  I could never let anybody hurt you," Francois
whispered with great intensity.  He ran his finger along the scar again.
"What happened to you?"

This was the moment Mike had dreaded.  He could hardly bear to re-live the
agonizing events of that terrible night, but he knew he could not withhold
the truth from the person he now felt closest to in all the world.  He
swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

"The night I told my parents about getting accepted for the Venture, my
father got really mad.  He was drunk as usual, and he started going on
about `rich fairies' and `do- gooders'.  He said they just wanted to
bugger me and turn me into a faggot and give me ideas.  I argued with him
and he got madder and madder.  Usually when he got like that, he hit my
mother or my little sister, `cause they're weaker than him and can't
fight back.  Finally I just went to my room and got ready for bed.  I had
just stripped down to my underwear when he kicked open my door.  He had a
bottle in his hand.  He came at me, and I told him to stay back, but he
kept on coming and I hit him.  I didn't hit him very hard, but he was so
drunk he fell down.  He hit the bottle on the floor, and it broke.  There
was whiskey everywhere.  I didn't know what to do!  I'd never hit him
before, but I'd thought about it often enough."  Mike took another deep
breath.  Francois stroked his back reassuringly.

"He got up, all slow-like.  He had the neck of the bottle in his hand.  I
could see the jagged edge where he had broken it off.  He started coming at
me again.  I held myself back from hitting him this time.  Then he--he--"
Mike stopped, unable to go on.  He felt himself convulse with sobs.
Francois face was now awash with tears of rage and compassion.  He wished
he had been there to beat the very life out of Mike's father.  He held Mike
very close and caressed him with his large brown hand.

"Its okay Mike!  I'm here!  I love you! He'll never hurt you again!"
Francois whispered over and over in Mike's ear.

Finally Mike calmed down enough to continue.  "It was like in slow motion.
It didn't even seem real.  He brought the bottle up toward my stomach.  I
remember the glass cutting right through my underpants and then through my
skin.  He cut down toward my dick, like he wanted to cut it off.  Blood
started spurting out.  I didn't feel any pain.  I brought my fist down on
his head, really hard.  He fell down on his face with the bottle still in
his hand.  I fell down on my bed. There was blood all over, my blood."
Mike stopped for breath.  Francois was caressing and kissing him.

"The next thing I remember was some guys putting me on a stretcher and
trying to stop the bleeding.  I saw the cops handcuff my father and take
him away.  Then I was waking up in the hospital.  My mother was there.  She
said I had been in the operating room for three hours, but the doctors told
her I'd be okay."

"Where's your father now?" Francois asked.

"He's in jail upstate.  The judge sentenced him to seven to twenty years.
I hope he never gets out!  I never want to see him again!  I know I
shouldn't, but I hate him!  I just hate him!  I'd rather die than be like
him!  He's always treated all of us like shit!"

Mike was crying quietly.  Francois gently pressed Mike's face into his
broad brown shoulder.  "You could never be like that, Mike," Francois
whispered.  "It's okay.  You're here with me now.  I love you no matter
what!"  Mike put his arms around Francois' neck and held onto him like a
drowning boy clinging to a life ring.

"I'm so glad we found each other, Fran.  Please don't ever let me go!" Mike
murmured.  He breathed in deeply, inhaling the odor of Francois' sweat,
flesh, and boyhood.  It seemed to Mike the sweetest of perfumes.  "You
smell so good!  You're so beautiful!  I love everything about you!"

"Same here, bro!  Have you talked to anyone else about this since it
happened?"  Francois asked.

"They made me give statement to the police.  I was still in the hospital
when my father went to court.  He plead out, so I didn't have to testify.
I just felt so ashamed.  I've tried to forget the whole thing, but then I
look at that fuckin' scar.  And I have dreams.  I was afraid to talk about
it, but I keep reliving it."

The two boys clung to each other, kissing each other tenderly on the lips.
"Thank you a million times for listening to me, Fran," Mike said.  "I feel
like this huge stone has been rolled off me.  I feel like there's nothing
to be afraid of, `cause I'm not alone any more."  Mike sighed deeply and
drifted back to sleep, safe in his lover's arms.

Francois lay awake, thinking with amazement and gratitude of all that had
happened between him and Mike in the past few hours.  He felt as if a new
life was beginning for both of them.  The longings that had weighed on his
heart for long months had been fulfilled in a way he had never expected.
He thought back to his father's lingering death two years ago, and his
mother's long descent into depression and madness as she struggled in vain
to keep the family together in their Brooklyn apartment.  He remembered the
day the ambulance took her to Bellevue, and his own despair as he realized
that he had failed to take care of her and his younger brothers and
sisters.  The social workers had promised to find families to take care of
all of them, but Francois had found himself locked up like a criminal in a
juvenile detention center.  There weren't any foster families for
fourteen-year-old Haitian boys, and the Department had nowhere else to put
him.  At first, his feelings of guilt made him accept incarceration as his
due.  A social worker helped him recognize that the breakup of his family
wasn't his fault, but month followed month and still no family was found
for him.  Francois felt alone, friendless, and increasingly hopeless.  He
prayed every day for a way out of his situation.  He tried to be good.  He
volunteered to help the priest serve Mass every Sunday.  One day, Father
Aherne told him about the Venture. His letter of acceptance reached him on
his fifteenth birthday.  For the first time in months, he felt hope in his
heart.  And now there was Mike, and Richard and Kevin and all of his new
brothers.  Despite everything he had been taught about homosexuality, about
white people, Hispanic people, and others of different colors, Francois
felt utterly certain that God had put them together on the island to love
and care for each other, and that his and Mike's newfound love was right
and good.  He felt blessed.  His heart filled with joy and contentment as
he looked at Mike sleeping peacefully in his arms.  He breathed a prayer of
thanks

One by one, the other boys had awoken to the sounds of the voices coming
from the hammock.  As they overheard Mike's harrowing story, Tommy's and
Miguel's eyes filled with sympathetic tears.  In each other's arms, Richard
and Kevin listened spellbound.  Terry, Joey, and Angelo gradually
disentangled themselves from each other, started to chatter as usual, and
then grew silent.  The voices from the hammock subsided, and the campground
was again quiet in the morning sunshine.

After a few minutes, Richard and Kevin walked hand in hand to stand beside
the hammock.  They looked inside to see Francois awake, an expression of
profound happiness on his face.  Richard whispered to Francois, "You guys
are just beautiful!  I'm so happy for you!"

"How much did you hear?" Francois asked.

"Everything, I think," Kevin replied. "Francois, you've created a whole new
Mike.  You're incredible!"

"Naw, he was there all the time.  He was just afraid to let anyone see.
I'm so lucky he let me see!"

Still in a whisper, Richard said, "Everybody heard Mike's story.  We can't
pretend it's not important.  What should we say when he wakes up?"

"He just needs to know that he's okay, that people aren't grossed out by
his scar, and that everybody really loves him now that they know what
happened," Francois said.  Richard watched as Francois once more ran his
finger along the scar at the base of Mike's belly.  He had an idea.

By this time all of the other boys had gathered beside the hammock behind
Richard and Kevin.  Mike began to stir.  His eyes opened.  He saw Richard
and Kevin looking down at him, and looked back at them with an almost
beatific smile.  Richard took a deep breath and began, "Mike, dude, we all
heard what you told Francois, and we want you to know that we're all with
you.  We love you, and we think you're beautiful, and we're really glad
you're here with us."

A series of expressions crossed Mike's face in rapid succession:
consternation, fear, acceptance, and finally joy.  "Richard, I'm really
sorry I said those things about you and Kevin.  I didn't mean `em at
all.  I just hope we can be as good together as you two are.  Thanks for
showing me the way!" Mike said.

"No apologies needed, dude.  Everything is totally kewl," Richard replied.
Then he said, "Can I touch your scar?"

Mike looked surprised and a bit uncomfortable, but he said, "Okay, I
guess."

Richard very gently ran his finger along the scar.  Looking into Mike's
eyes, he said, "I wish I could take the pain away, dude."  With great
affection, he ran his hand up Mike's stomach and chest, then leaned down
and kissed his face.  Richard stepped back so that Kevin could follow suit.
He beckoned Terry, Joey, and Angelo forward, and each did the same, minus
the kiss.  The three thirteen-year-olds, who seemed to have formed an
almost mystical bond that included telepathic communication, weren't into
kissing.  Finally, Miguel and Tommy stepped forward.  Miguel, whose slender
body held a heart that felt everyone's pain, was in tears once again.  He
took Mike's hand.

"Mike, dude," he said, "you been through a lot.  You really strong, as a
person I mean.  I'm really lucky to have you for a brother.  I really love
ya, dude!"  He bent down, put his arms around Mike's neck and kissed him.
Mike hugged Miguel close and said, "I'm the one who's lucky, dude.  You've
got heart enough for everyone.  Please don't cry!  I'm okay.  In fact, I'm
a lot better than okay.  You dudes are the best!"

Tommy climbed on top of Mike, then slithered down and planted a big, wet
kiss on Mike's scar.  "There, all better!" he grinned up at Mike.  "I'm so
happy you're my big brother!"

"You make me feel so good, l'il dude!  Don't ever change!" Mike said,
pulling Tommy up until they were face to face and kissing him.

Tommy giggled.  "Pretty soon I'm gonna be as big and strong as you, and
I'll be able to spurt cum on Miguel like he did on me last night!"  Miguel
grinned with embarrassment, and everyone else burst into hilarious
laughter.

As they began to recover, Francois called out, "Dudes, I gotta get up and
piss, and Mike's my crutch!"

The business of the day began.


Next--Chapter VI: Exploration coming soon!