Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2012 01:54:36 -0400 (EDT) From: ErastesTouch@aol.com Subject: A Throw Away Kid, chapter 11 Throw Away Kid - by Erastes Copyright 2012 by Erastes Chapter 11 -- Joey Gets His Revenge. Sunday morning, the boys ate their breakfast and then began working on their school assignments. They did this off and on until lunchtime, because Big John didn't allow any customers in until after church was out. This policy wasn't put in place because Big John was religious, but he had agreed to this arrangement at the behest of some of his regular patrons, in particular a couple of the local religious leaders who didn't want to have to compete during this time. They were afraid that some of their parishioners would choose to go to the 'farm,' rather than church, so it would limit church attendance and what they received in their collection plates. The local mayor had also stepped in and asked Big John to make this compromise as well, because he wanted to keep peace between the religious community and his desire to keep the 'farm' operational. This was due to the fact that those same religious leaders who enjoyed coming to the farm and using the boys at their convenience had threatened to have it shut down, if this small restriction wasn't put in place. Therefore, Big John gave in to their demand. Bryce was having some difficulty remaining focused on his assignments, because he kept wondering about the number and types of customers he was going to have to deal with today. He was hoping he wouldn't have to service another collection of overweight or elderly men today, but he knew the likelihood of avoiding those types of 'Johns' wasn't very good. He was, however, able to concentrate on his studies long enough, so that he finally completed the majority of his schoolwork by lunchtime and then took a break to eat, Once he'd finished his lunch, he went to sit in the living room, while he waited to be called to greet his first customer. He wasn't in there very long though before he heard his name called. Bryce headed toward the foyer and was surprised to discover that his first trick was a younger man, probably in his late twenties or early thirties, but he was dressed in a suit and fairly handsome. Seeing how he was attired, Bryce immediately wondered if this guy had just come from Church. Bryce led him up to his room and they sat on Bryce's bed together. The man introduced himself as Jared and asked Bryce about himself, after mentioning that he'd never seen him here before. This led Bryce to conclude that this guy must come here fairly often. Bryce gave him a little information, but not much, and then he asked the man what he wanted to do. After the man stripped down to his underwear, he did the same thing to Bryce, and then they got on the bed and lay side by side, as the man cradled Bryce in his arm and began kissing him, passionately. This puzzled Bryce slightly, but he was definitely enjoying it and thought that if all of his customers were like this, then he wouldn't have any problems at all. After making out with the man for a while, they removed the rest of their clothing and then got back on the bed. This time, the man made sure Bryce was in front of him, so they were arranged front-to-back, and then he had Bryce turn his head and look over his shoulder so they could continue kissing. While they were doing this, the man managed to slip on a condom and lube it up, without Bryce even noticing what he was up to. He also began fingering Bryce's hole with his lubed fingers, as he slowly prepared the boy. He was then nearly able to slip his penis into his young partner without Bryce even realizing what he was doing, because the boy was totally into and focused on the kissing, but the man had also began to fondle Bryce's genitals vigorously before he attempted penetration. Once the man had slipped his shaft into the boy's rear entrance, he began to slowly do the old bump and grind. After continuing in this position for a few minutes, the man coaxed Bryce into getting on all fours next and they did it doggy style for a while longer. Then the man pulled out of Bryce, lay in the middle of the mattress and asked Bryce ride his cock for a few minutes more. After they'd done this for a while, the man sat up, slowly lowered Bryce's back onto the mattress and then rode the boy in the missionary position for a while longer. He was driving into Bryce forcefully, which caused Bryce's body to begin sliding across the mattress, a few millimeters at a time, with every inward stroke. When the man tired of that position, he rolled Bryce up onto his neck and shoulders, so that he was basically standing above Bryce and forcing his penis downward and into the boy. After a few minutes of doing it like this, Jared began panting like a long-distance runner beginning his sprint toward the finish line. Finally, he slammed his cock into Bryce one final time, stiffened and groaned, as he dumped a huge load inside the condom buried deep within Bryce's well-used love canal. Bryce was panting too, because this guy had given him one hell of a workout, more than anyone else he had ever been with. Eventually, Bryce was able to lower his back onto the mattress again, guiding his customer with him, so they returned to the missionary position with the man still inside of him. Once that happened, Bryce reached up, wrapped his arms around the man's neck and pulled his head downward, so he could kiss him again. It was a passionate kiss, and Bryce not only opened his mouth, but he eagerly offered up his tongue, as his way of thanking this man for the incredible session. The man praised Bryce for his amorous and cooperative nature before he left, but he also thanked him and stated that he'd had a great time. Then, he began putting his clothes back on, but before he headed for the door to leave, he handed Bryce a folded up bill as a tip. Bryce thanked the man for the tip and then watched as he exited the room, but Bryce remained hopeful that he would see a great deal more of this guy and a lot less of a few of the others. After a short breather, Bryce got dressed again and headed downstairs. He'd barely had a time to get a drink, before he heard Big John call his name. Slowly, he shuffled his way back to the foyer, where Big John introduced him to his next customer. This guy was about average height, average build and probably in his late thirties, but once they got to Bryce's room and the guy stripped down, this man was anything BUT average in the dick department. It was probably seven or eight inches soft, but once it got hard it must have been ten or eleven inches long, but fortunately for Bryce it was only medium thickness. Bryce's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he first saw the guys cock and the 'John' chuckled when he noticed Bryce's reaction. He probably got the same type of response the first time anyone saw his penis, either flaccid or erect, but it seemed he still enjoyed the level of surprise and awe their faces registered, anytime he was with someone new. Bryce tried to take the man orally, and although he could get his mouth over the helmet and was able to start sliding his head up and down on the shaft, he was only able to take about the top quarter into his throat. Then again, it might have only been a fifth of the man's dick he had in his mouth, but he couldn't be sure, but he was doing the best he could. As he was pleasuring the man orally, Bryce thought back to one of the comments the Judge had made, after he saw Bryce sizing up his small cock. "More than a mouthful is a waste," he had told Bryce. Now, Bryce knew what the Judge had meant by that. Bryce looked at this guy's cock and thought that there sure was a lot here that was, and would be, going to waste. After the guy put on a condom, Bryce noticed the thin piece of latex was barely able to cover the man's lengthy appendage. After the man lubed it up, he slowly began to enter Bryce anally, but he didn't attempt to give Bryce more than just the top half of his cock to begin with. However, after the man had driven into the boy a number of times, Bryce discovered that not as much of the man's penis was still being wasted now. With every thrust, Bryce's tunnel of love accepted more and more of the man's dick, so before the guy blew his wad it was almost entirely inside of him. Bryce was surprised that he had been able to accommodate so much of that lengthy tool and was determined to take it all if the man ever came back again. What was even more surprising to him was the fact that he didn't feel any discomfort from having it rammed into him. Maybe it was because it wasn't really thick too, but Bryce was actually proud of the fact that he had taken so much without complaint. Before Bryce went back downstairs this time, he sat on his bed for a few extra minutes and watched Cam and his customer first. He couldn't help but admire Cam's body and cute face, all the while wishing he were the one over there doing things with him. When he saw Cam look over and noticed Bryce staring at them, Bryce flashed him a smile and winked at his friend, which brought an immediate smile to Cam's face. This happened in between the grunts he was making, each time the man's cock slammed into his body. Bryce actually was able to enjoy a short break this time, so he grabbed himself a snack and a drink, as he waited to be called again. When that happened, Bryce went in to the foyer and found a fairly short guy, probably in his forties, but he was clean, neat and not ugly. He wasn't handsome either, but at least Bryce wouldn't have trouble looking at him. Bryce was somewhat amazed that this guy was more interested in screwing his face, rather than his ass. Bryce didn't have a problem with this, seeing it gave his butt a chance to recuperate, and he found himself curled up in a 69 position with the guy, as he sucked on the man's penis, while the guy worked on Bryce's miniature package. His 'John' brought Bryce to a powerful dry climax fairly quickly, but he didn't stop there. He actually kept attacking Bryce's penis and brought him to a total of three mind-blowing boy orgasms, before he gave up his own load. Bryce was actually exhausted when they were done, not so much from working on his customer, but from the draining effect of the three climaxes the man had elicited from him. When Bryce finally started down the stairs, he discovered his legs were wobbly and he felt weak. He did make it all the way to the bottom without incident however, so he went out to the kitchen and found a can of Red Bull, hoping that would help to restore some of his strength. He quickly downed the drink, and it did help, so he made his way back to the living room, where he sat and chatted with some of the other boys for a while. Bryce was beginning to feel that he was going to escape the rest of the day without having another customer, but then he heard Big John call his name again. When he went out to the foyer, he found the young Sheriff's Deputy waiting for him. He was surprised to see him again, but not because of the way he had treated him the first time. It was due to the fact that he didn't think the guy would have enough money to comeback again so soon, especially since he didn't have a really high paying job. Sure, he felt the guy probably made decent money, but with the higher fee Big John was charging for him, because he was a limited quantity that seemed to be in high demand, Bryce felt most of his customers would only be able to do this on an occasional basis. Bryce soon learned this guy had also brought a friend with him, who had paid to be with Cam, but once they got to their room, he discovered the two men wanted to make this a foursome. After Bryce talked this over quickly with Cam, the boys agreed and all four of them climbed onto Cam's bed together. To start off, the men kissed and made out with the boys, as they slowly undressed them, but then they had Cam lie in the center of his mattress. Once he was in position, they had Bryce position himself between Cam's legs and told Bryce to work on Cam orally, while the other customer straddled Cam's head and fed him his cock. The Deputy then got behind Bryce and attacked his rear entrance with his tongue. Bryce thought he had the best of both worlds, since he got to work on Cam, while he also enjoyed the sensation of his asshole being eaten out by the Deputy. He had a feeling Cam was more than ok with this too, since he and Bryce were close and the two men they were with were both fairly good-looking. Once Cam and his customer had both ejaculated, they switched positions, so that Cam was blowing Bryce, while Bryce did the same to the Deputy and the other guy ate Cam out. Once that session ended, they took a couple of minutes to recuperate, before the two men fucked their boys. When that happened, Cam and Bryce were positioned facing each other, so they began kissing, at least as much as they could. This wasn't easy, because their heads would sometimes bang together, because of the force the guys were using to fuck them. When the two men saw what the boys were doing, they tried to be considerate and would pull back on the boys' hips as they drove into them, hoping that would prevent the boys' heads from slamming together. Sometimes it was effective and at other times not so much, but the boys were also limiting how much they were using their tongues, after Cam bit his when their faces accidentally collided. Once this session ended, the two men handed the boys $20.00 each as a tip, and then they kissed the boys passionately for a few minutes, as a second thank you for the great time they'd just had. When the boys went back downstairs, Big John told them both to call it a night, since it was almost time to close up shop for the day. The boys were relieved they didn't have to see anyone else, so they went up to their room and discussed notes from today. Bryce told Cam that even though he'd had four customers, none of the men were disgusting or offensive. When Bryce told Cam about the first guy, Cam confessed that he'd been with that man before and had a great time with him too, although he was beat by the time they'd finished. When Bryce told Cam about the second guy, with the big dick, Cam said he'd heard some of the others talk about him, but he'd never had him as a customer. Bryce didn't say much about the third guy, but Cam informed him that he thought the last two guys, the Deputy and the other man, might be boyfriends and lovers. Cam said he and Steve had a duel session like that with them before and he hoped they might have more sessions like that again. Cam also admitted that he liked the fact that Bryce and he had been able to do things with each other, as well as with the men. When Bryce mentioned to Cam about his thoughts about the Deputy and his wondering about how he could afford to do this so often, Cam mentioned that he had heard the Deputy also had outside money. He wasn't sure whether it was an inheritance from a relative or possibly a lottery windfall, but he saw the Deputy here quite often and had been with him many times, although he thought the Deputy and the other guy were lovers at home. If that were true, then those guys must have amazing sexual appetites, especially the Deputy. Cam told Bryce about his other customer too, since he'd only had that one other guy that Bryce had seen him with. When Bryce commented about how the men he saw today seemed to be cleaner, better dressed and nicer to him than most of his other customers, the boys decided that it might have had something to do with it being Sunday and maybe the men had not only had gotten cleaned up and dressed for church, but they were also displaying their Sunday manners. Bryce said if that were the case, then he definitely would look forward to Sunday, over both Friday night and Saturday. When the boys went down for dinner, Big John called Bryce over so he could speak with him before he went into the dining room. Bryce was surprised when Big John came over and gave him a huge bear hug, but he was even more surprised by what followed. "Son, I'm going to take good care of you," Big John told him. "I've heard a lot of compliments about you since you've been here and you sure are attracting a lot of business. There have even been some new guys coming in, once one of our regulars told them about you. The Judge was right, because you are definitely a gold mine." Bryce understood most of that, but he wasn't exactly sure what Big John meant when he told Bryce he was 'going to take good care of him.' When Bryce mentioned this to Cam, his roommate explained it to him. He told him that Big John was just letting him know that he's been making a lot of money off of him and that when they went into town, Big John would make sure he got plenty of spending money, so he would be able to get whatever he wanted, within reason. Bryce thought this sounded pretty good, since none of his other foster homes ever spent much on just him or gave him money to buy things he might like to have. This money, when combined with the tips he had received so far, meant this place might not be so bad after all. If Bryce worked hard at it and made his customers happy, maybe it would help to keep him happy too. The next time Big John took the boys into town, Bryce discovered that Cam had been correct when he explained the meaning of Big John's comments to him. Before they left, Big John gave Bryce three times more money than he gave Cam. Once Bryce talked to Cam about it and discovered how much more he had received, he decided that he didn't think it was fair, so he offered Cam a deal. From now on, they'd pool their tip money and whatever Big John gave them and then split it evenly. Cam objected to this at first, saying Bryce should be getting a lot more than him because he had to work harder and had more customers, so Cam didn't want to take what his friend had earned. Bryce, however, had made up his mind and wasn't about to change it. Bryce felt they were not only friends and roommates, but he also had developed deep feelings for Cam, so Bryce wanted to do this for him. After insisting that Cam accept this arrangement, Cam reluctantly gave in, but he was going to make sure he didn't take advantage of Bryce or abuse his generosity. During the week, because they didn't often have any customers to service, Bryce and Cam would often take care of each other. Most of the time these sessions weren't just about the sex, but rather about exploring their closeness and just being affectionate with each other. About half of the time, they would also invite Steve to join them, since both boys liked Steve nearly as much as they did each other and didn't want to leave him out. They had all bonded with each other and grown very close, so the three of them always sat together on the bus and at meals, but Big John had also assigned them to do most chores together too. He wasn't a fool and had noticed how close they were as well. Due to this unique closeness they all shared, the others began referring to them as 'The Three Musketeers,' 'The Three Amigos,' or on some occasions, 'The Three Stooges,' because of their antics around the house. The trio also picked up the nickname the 'Three Blind Mice,' because they often walked about so engrossed in their conversations or were consumed with horsing around with each other that they would not see the other objects or people around them. This often resulted in them bumping into an individual or piece of furniture with considerable regularity. The trio did, however, promise to be more observant in the future, after damaging a few items and causing a few minor injuries to the other boys. After the latest report cards came out, the triumvirate also picked up the additional nickname of 'The Three Wise Men,' because they had done better, academically, than nearly everyone else in the house. The boys didn't mind any of these nicknames though, because they knew it was all done as good-natured ribbing. They were also happy that everyone paired them up this way, as a family unit, so to speak, so no one's feelings ever got hurt. Over the next few weeks, Bryce was getting quite a workout. He had become very popular and was making big money for his foster father and foster home, which translated into making good sums for himself, which of course he shared with Cam. On Friday night, Bryce would usually see two customers, and on Saturday he would have five or six more visitors, and then he also almost always had at least four 'Johns' on Sunday. On average, he'd also have one or two special appointments during the week, which Big John would set up for some of his very 'special' clients, at a premium, of course. It soon became a known fact that Bryce was seeing three to four times as many customers as the others, plus the fees for these sessions were higher, so he was doing quite well monetarily as well, between the tips and the money he got from Big John. Big John was thrilled to give him lots of spending money, although in reality it was only a very small percentage of what he was bringing in, and Bryce would use some of it to have fun with or buy the things he wanted, but he was also hiding a good share of it and adding it to the stash he had begun to accumulate at his previous foster home. Bryce had found a good hiding place for it in his room, in the small closet he shared with Cam. He had discovered a loose board against the back wall, and while exploring it further, he found that it opened up into a hollow compartment, made by the 2 x 4's used to frame the closet and the wooden cross-boards nailed between them to attach electrical boxes and other devices to. This made for a good place for him to keep his money, and he didn't tell anyone, except for Cam, that he had hidden the money there or how much he'd saved up. The fact the Bryce was earning so much led Cam to question their arrangement again. No matter how hard or how much he protested that he felt as if he were cheating Bryce, things never changed. Bryce was insistent that he wanted to do this for Cam, because he had very deep feelings for him and was beginning to hope that maybe they would be able to stay together for a very long time. As a compromise, Bryce did agree to store some of Cam's money in his hiding place as well, to keep it safe. In Cam's mind though, he was merely giving the money back to the person to whom it truly belonged. As time went on, Bryce was also getting to know more about the men who visited the farm, seeking a little fun. Not only was there the Judge, the Sheriff's Deputy and the deputy's friend, there was also the local police chief and a couple of his officers, at least two state troopers that Bryce knew of, a local Boy Scout leader, a couple of coaches, a couple of clergymen, a few businessmen and other professionals and at least one teacher. The teacher he knew about worked for a neighboring school district and not where the boys went to school, but the rest of the men that came there were farmers, store clerks or other lower-level laborers, but there sure were enough of them who came regularly to make this type of business profitable. This doesn't mean that Bryce serviced all of these men, but they were the people he'd begun to recognize seeing around. He'd received the additional information about them from Cam and Steve, so he was beginning to learn a little about the difference types of men that frequented the 'farm.' Big John had been in an extremely good mood during this time, since he was making a lot more money than before and everything was going smoothly. That was until late one evening, when the main phone for the house rang. One of the older boys answered it and then called Big John and told him that it was an emergency call for him, so Big John got of the call he'd been engaged in on his private line. Shortly after he picked it up, Big John started screaming at the person on the other end and he also turned a bright shade of red, which was a result of his rising blood pressure. As the boys found out later, this call had to do with the kid named Joey, the boy Bryce had heard the other boys commenting about on the night Big John had broken him in. The others had said that Joey hadn't been able to cope with the sex he was forced to perform and had some sort of breakdown because of it. When Joey 'lost it' and reacted so badly, Big John had him examined by a psychiatrist friend of his and that man ended up declaring that Joey suffered from a severe mental disorder, so he had him confined to an institution. The place they put him was an adult institution, which wasn't supposed to take in minors, so the staff kept Joey hidden in an area away from the other patients. They also kept him heavily medicated, so he couldn't tell anyone about what had happened to him and why he'd suffered his breakdown. The arrangement to 'take care' of this problem all began to unravel when a new mental health investigator was assigned to this institution. While doing an unannounced, routine investigation, he discovered attendants going in and out of an area that he thought was an unused section of the building. He snuck back there later, when no one was around, so he could find out what they had been doing there. That's when he discovered the boy and realized they were housing him illegally and there was no record of the kid being there. The man managed to do this without anyone discovering what he was up to, so the staff didn't realize he knew the boy was there. Therefore, when he went to have the boy removed later, he did it in a way that didn't leave any of Big John's 'cronies' time to block the move or hide the boy somewhere else. He also did it without anyone at the institution or in 'the loop' from gaining knowledge of his plans to rescue the boy, so they were totally unprepared to prevent him from moving the boy to another facility. The way he accomplished this was by using subterfuge and deploying a method that was a common practice for dealing with patients that had ailments that were best treated elsewhere. He also did it at a time when most of the staff at the institution, those who might have had the ability to prevent his actions, was tied up in a departmental meeting. Since he suspected the boy's confinement was being done through a 'special' arrangement, he realized he had to take this precaution so those who had arranged it or were in collusion with them were busy with other matters. An hour before the scheduled time for the departmental meeting for the administrators, supervisors and senior staff, the investigator took a smoke break outside and used his cell phone to alert the special team he had assembled to assist him. When 'rescue team' showed up, after the departmental meeting was in full swing, only less experienced staff members were on duty. When he went to get Joey, he pretended that he didn't realize it was illegal for a minor to be there and merely told the man on duty that he was having the patient transported to the hospital to have additional tests conducted. Since this was something that frequently happened with the residents, the staff member saw nothing wrong or improper with his explanation or request, so he allowed the inspector to remove the boy from the premises. Once his associates had whisked Joey away from that location, they had him placed in a more suitable situation and began weaning him from the drugs the others had kept him sedated with. The institution Joey had formerly been housed in didn't realize anything was wrong until the boy never returned, but by then he was in another facility and there was no way to reverse what had happened. Big John's friends did attempt to get a court order to have the boy returned, which they had the Judge who often frequented the 'farm' sign, but the institution where the boy currently resided appealed the order. They managed to get the order reversed and, thus, prevented Big John's friends from getting Joey back. When they realized they could no longer do anything to protect themselves, they called Big John to let him know what had happened. Fortunately, they would have some time to react to the situation, because it would take time for Joey to be weaned from the drugs and be able to 'spill the beans' about what he'd been through. Once Big John got over his initial shock and anger over hearing the news, his complexion went from being bright red to a very pale shade of white, as all the blood drained back out of his extremities. This happened when the reality of what this could mean had sunk in. Immediately, Big John began to make a series of very hasty plans, so he could 'get out of Dodge before the marshal arrived.' Over the next few days, Big John made several trips into town, which was a very rare occurrence for him, and he closed out his various bank accounts, which were housed in several different financial institutions or held within an assortment of safety deposit boxes. Once he had gathered everything together, he returned to the house and prepared to leave. Big John had been continually receiving updates from a 'source' on the inside, as well as the assorted law enforcement departments that were being used in this investigation, so he basically knew what was going on. Big John had learned that after Joey had been taken off of the drugs he had been on and had regained his voice, he was using it in to reveal what had happened to him. He was singing like a canary and telling everyone that would listen about many of Big John's secrets. He had also managed to shine a spotlight on the activities that had been taking place at the 'farm' and some of the other people involved. Before this all came to a head, Big John packed up many of his belongings and all of his cash, and then he made a hasty exit out of town. He figured that if anyone wanted to prosecute him, they'd have to find him first, and he had enough money left to stay hidden for several years, at a minimum. Once the boys discovered what was going on, mostly from overhearing conversations Big John had on the phone or from listening in on his visits from some of his more connected customers, the boys decided that this was not going to be good for them either. They had already been labeled as boys who were 'sexual predators' and this would only add to that impression, so they had their own meeting in the barn, where they discussed their own options. "Man, this is going to come down as hard on us as it will on Big John," one of the older boys announced. "How do you figure that?" Cam wanted to know. "Look, DSS already thinks were all sexual deviates," he said, snottily, "and this will only make them more certain of it. After all, we did this somewhat willingly and never tried to tell anyone about it, so we could get out of having to do it." "Well, what difference would that have made?" Steve asked. "Unfortunately, it will make them think that we did it because we wanted to or because we enjoyed it." "Well, that is partially the truth, isn't it?" Bryce asked. "Yeah, but that will only make them more convinced that they'll have to keep us away from normal people, especially normal kids, so we don't corrupt them too," Butch added. "So what would happen to us?" Bryce followed. "Well, it would probably mean that we would all end up in some isolated group home or some juvenile facility, Derrick replied. "No matter where they put us, it won't be a nice place." "So, what can we do about this?" Steve asked, hoping someone had an answer to his question. "I think the best thing would be for us to not be here when they come to take us away," Derrick offered. "I think we'd do better on our own now, than wait for them to lock us up in a place that is much more secure than here." "But how can we survive on our own?" Cam asked. "Look, you all have a way to make money..." Butch answered, He then hesitated briefly before continuing, in order to give the younger boys time to think about what he meant. When they seemed to catch on to his implication, he continued. "So, I'd suggest you head out on your own, or in small groups," Butch offered. "Try to find an empty building to sleep in during the day, especially during school hours, and then go out and make your money at night. You know how to dress to attract interested guys and you certainly know what to do afterward. Use the money you make to buy food and whatever else you need, and you should be able to hold out until you're old enough to be on your own." The boys all thought about this for some time and discussed the situation further amongst themselves, and then they all went up to the house and packed up the essentials they would need to take with them. Cam, Steve, and Bryce decided to stick together, so they could help keep each other safe. This would also give them company, but they could also act as their own little family for the time being. They all knew they could turn tricks to get enough money to purchase the things they would need and they were also determined to get a membership to the YMCA or the Boys' Club, so they would have a place to take showers. They could use the Laundromat to wash their clothes and they could buy food to eat where they were staying or they could eat at fast food restaurants. Their biggest challenge would be finding a safe place to sleep. The boys went up to their rooms, stuffed their duffel bags and backpacks with clothing and blankets, but they were also going to take what food and drinks they could find to take with them that wouldn't spoil without refrigeration. Bryce also made sure he went to his hiding place and retrieved the cash he had stored there. Now, he realized it was a good thing that he had thought ahead and set aside some of the money he had earned for future emergencies. Cam knew about it, since some of the money was his too, but they didn't tell Steve that they had it. They thought it would be best to 'surprise' him with it later, or just seem to come up with the extra cash whenever they needed it. They knew Steve would never question them about it or try to steal any of it from them, because they all trusted each other implicitly. What they didn't want to happen was for him to feel that he, being the oldest, was the one who ended up being dependant upon his younger friends. Once they had everything packed up, the three boys left the house and started walking across the fields. They suspected that the authorities would be looking for them along the roads, once those in charge of the investigation arrived at the house, so the boys thought it would be best to travel through the countryside by day and then find a quiet place to sleep during the night. They would continue to move this way until they reached one of the nearby cities, where they could blend in with the larger crowds of people. All three boys were scared, yet excited about being on their own, but they also knew that as long as they remained together they would be ok. They set out on this new adventure completely free of adult supervision, so for the first time in their lives they would be making decisions on their own. The boys spent several days hiding out in the countryside, figuring that if the authorities were looking for them, they would be searching harder for them now than later. The\three boys concluded that if they stayed out of sight for a while, the intensity of the search would eventually die down and then they would be able to move about more freely. The trio spent several days hiding out in the hayloft of a barn they happened across and they only left it to sneak out to grab apples off the tree or berries from the bushes when they could, which they added to the meager supplies they'd brought with them to keep their stomachs from growling. It wasn't so bad, for those few days, but they did decide to move on, even venturing into a very small rural town at one point, so they could buy some more food and drinks they could take with them. The boys also spent a couple of nights sleeping out in the open, under the stars, and it wasn't too bad for them, since the weather was mild and dry enough to accommodate this. There was definitely nothing to make them regret their decision, but after a few days of enjoying this primitive lifestyle, they started walking again and concentrated on getting to their next destination. It was now about ten days since they had left the 'farm' when the boys arrived at the first decent sized city on their list. They waited until late afternoon before they entered the city limits and then they began walking around and looking for a place to stay. They felt it was safe enough to do this now, because all of the other kids were out of school by this time, so they wouldn't look out of place walking up and down the streets. They stashed their gear in some bushes, which they felt was out of direct view from anyone, so it would be safe there, and then they set out looking for a suitable place to stay. The boys spent two days looking for acceptable accommodations in the city, but they ended up spending the nights holed up on the back dock of a burned out store. The even moved their belongings there and stored them in an area that would keep their things safe and dry. After conducting their search for a third and fourth day, they didn't find anyplace they deemed acceptable, so they retrieved their gear, left the city and headed out for the next city, which was quite a few miles away. Before they hit the road again, they picked up a few more supplies, because they didn't know when they might be able to find another fairly safe place to shop. The boys were a little discouraged that they hadn't been able to find any suitable lodgings in this first city, but they were still optimistic that they would fare better at their next destination. It took them several more days before they reached this new destination and they slept wherever they could while they made their way there. One night the trio slept in an unlocked tool shed, another night was spent in some kid's tree house and the next few evenings were spent in other abandoned buildings, barns or sheds they had chanced across along the way. None of these places were ever the best or most comfortable of accommodations, but each served its purpose and the boys were able to keep their hopes up that something better would eventually come along. The first day the boys reached the next city, they stashed their gear first and then walked around for several hours looking for more permanent accommodations, but they didn't find anything that would suffice as a suitable dwelling for them. They did find an abandoned, old-fashioned gas station that would serve for a night or two, but there were so many holes in the roof that it wasn't much better than sleeping out in the open. There were also a great many openings in the pieces of wood used to board it up that it would be nearly impossible to keep out intruders or animals, if they tried to get inside. With the exception of the small front office, most of the interior was fairly damp, dirty and moldy, so it wasn't exactly conducive to staying there for more than a few days, at most. During the second day of their investigating around the city, the boys found an abandoned, boarded up and outdated factory building, but they couldn't find a way inside, so they could check it out. After walking around it a second time, Steve found a metal bar, which he picked up and took with him. Later, he was able to use the bar to pry one of the secured doors open enough for them to slip inside. Once they were safely standing inside of the building, they waited for their eyes to adjust to the dimly lit interior, so they could look around. What they found was a brick and cinderblock structure, with cement floors and ceilings, but it was dry and fairly clean, so they felt it just might do as a temporary residence. While checking it out, they discovered a stairway that led up to the second floor, so they walked up to check that area out next. The felt they should see if the second floor would be any better, or safer, for them. What they found was a large open area that was fairly well lit, because the boards covering the windows didn't go all the way to the top. Whoever had done the job only covered the bottom two-thirds to three- quarters of the openings, which allowed daylight and moonlight to filter inside, so the boys could now look around more easily, but this would also be advantageous if they decided to stay here. That's when one of them found another stairway, and this one led up to the uppermost floor, so the trio set out to check out this area too. The boys immediately concluded that the third floor was in far worse shape than the other two, and it looked as if kids had been throwing rocks at the uncovered windows at this level and had broken many of them in the process. These openings made it possible for birds to get inside and they had made this into a nesting area for themselves, so the cement floor was covered with bird droppings. This made this floor not only less inviting, but also revolting to be there for very long. After seeing what that area was like, the boys decided to make the second floor their home and picked out the nicest part of the building to settle into. Then, they made their way out to retrieve their belongings and waited until it was a little darker out before the carried their duffel bags and backpacks back with them. They did it this way so they would be less noticeable to others who might see them moving about and possibly question what they had in the bags. A casual observer might have concluded they were thieves and had burglary tools or the booty from their last heist stashed inside them, and the boys knew they couldn't risk bringing attention to themselves like that. By traveling in the fading light, it would make them less obvious as they moved about, so it would be less likely they would be observed or stopped. Once they reached the old factory again, they took everything inside, spread their blankets out on the hard cement floor, stashed the food in one of the duffels, to keep the insects and other animals out of it while they were gone or sleeping, and then they looked at each other, pleased with how much they had accomplished on their own.