WACO’S
LUMMOX
By
Waddie Greywolf
Chapter
23
The Olsen’s
reunion was the beginning of it all. Other pieces of land were
taken over the next several years. Lazarus needed places to store
those folks who were saved from the neo-fascist regime. It was
tricky because he had more to contend with than just the federal
government becoming increasingly paranoid about vast areas of land that
disappeared overnight. It was a bit more difficult to explain
away than crop circles. Ben and Joe, the two old British sods who
claimed credit for the early cereal symbols as elaborate hoaxes on
their part, didn’t have a large enough board or nearly enough rope to
pull off the theft of several hundred thousand acres of prime farm and
ranch land.
Every time a
piece of land disappeared it stirred up the black suited neo-Nazis like
a hornet’s nest. The area would be swarming with paramilitary and
scientist who were still cooperating with the fascist. Most of
the more liberal, and it might be argued, brilliant scientists were
either rotting away in detention camps or chained to a workbench in a
piece-work factory as a common slave. For all their interviews
with the rural folks and tests, they found nothing. Security
around the Goodnight ranch and in the small town became tight and no
one outside the family was ever confided in.
Like UFO’s, the
government and military tried to hush up as much of the land and people
disappearances as possible. They certainly didn’t want to admit there
was something going on right under their noses they couldn’t
control. When the new theocratic regime took over, they were
supported by and overwhelming majority of the military, because the
neo-cons made sure the military was packed with right wing
Christianist loonies who saw themselves as Holy Crusaders for God and
country. They were only too happy to subjugate their fellow
Americans who didn’t believe the way they did.
Unfortunately,
for them, they became aware they were duped too late to do anything
about it and were ultimately replaced and imprisoned with the very
folks they sent to detention camps. The president and his cabinet
contracted with private mercenaries composed of criminals and
foreigners who wanted to come to the new theocratic republic and earn
money frog marching American citizens around. The paramilitary
the neo-cons paid were the best they could get for the money.
Unfortunately, they didn’t have enough money to buy brains in the
deal. The military was just smart enough to know they were a part
of an illegal coup and weren’t serving the needs of Washington from
patriotism. Naturally, the people they were responsible for
keeping in check hated them and resistance was heavy. After a
while, the mercenaries began to develop their own ideas and agendas and
were only kept in check by government paying them basic slave wages.
There was less
and less cooperation or communication between the government G-men,
local constabulary, and the paramilitary. The local sheriffs and
police chiefs soon learned they couldn’t tell either camp what they
knew or risk having good citizens arrested and never returned from mere
suspicion they may have been even remotely involved or had knowledge of
a crime against the state. The G-men and paramilitary often
clashed with each other and the local police or sheriffs quickly
learned to play one against the other. Fortunately for
Lazarus and Charlie they had a rock solid ally in Sheriff Don
Lassiter. He was smart, intelligent, and cunning. He was
always one step ahead of the other two factions.
The Olsens, like
so many of the rescued families, saw their rescue as their salvation,
but along with it came a mixed bag of blessings. While they could
live free of fear and relate to their families, they were not free to
go and do as they pleased. Most families, like the Olsens, were
so grateful for another chance to be together and away from the
detention camps, they settled into steady routines. New folks
were helped greatly by their neighbors who were in the same situation.
It wasn’t like
Lazarus made them feel captive. The Olsens, in particular, could
have their kids visit regularly, but they had to give them up to stay
with Hoot and Cotton the rest of the time. They were provided
video feedback from the robo-cams which followed the kids
everywhere. Lee Ann could tune in several times a day to see how
they were doing and where they were. They could also tune into
local television stations for news and programs. Lazarus never
tried to censor what or how much they watched.
Lazarus and
Charlie had monthly meetings with the communities where everyone would
be brought up to speed as to what was going on. There would be a
question and answer period; however, Lazarus made it clear from the
beginning, until they could be relocated, which may be as long as ten
years, they were not living in a democracy. Lazarus made them
understand, even though they were living a comfortable rural life, they
were aboard his starship and as Captain, he made all the rules.
It might be difficult for a while, but it was necessary to maintain
order to achieve their long term goals.
He stressed he
didn’t foresee having to correct anyone, but he wanted it understood he
would if the situation arose. He urged them to consider their
blessings being out of the clutches of the theocracy. He didn’t
rescue them to only provide another form of slavery for them. The
fruits of their labor was not going to anyone but themselves for their
upkeep, that of their families, and ultimately for trade, barter or
share with others in their community. He required nothing of
them, but their loyalty and patience.
Anyone who even
thought of dissenting against Lazarus’ policies was taken aside by the
men of the community and reminded how their lives were outside the ship
before Lazarus rescued them. A stern lecture of reality therapy
usually took care of the situation. There was the added
psychological cushion they would be inconvenienced only for a given
period of time. They all received the long-shot, and with the
promise of an extended life, it would seem like a short time out of the
totality of their lives. The Olsens became two of Lazarus’
strongest and most vocal supporters. While they longed to have
their children with them, they had to be satisfied seeing them for
quality time. It was certainly better than never seeing them
again and that’s what would’ve happen had they not been rescued.
Families were
not the only people on Lazarus’ list who were rescued over the
years. There were a great number of single folks including gay
men and women who were rescued. It was a time of new beginnings
for many. They had been chosen. It
was not theirs to reason why. They didn’t need to know why. The
reasons might never be available to them. It was enough for them
to know they were safe and considered worthy to be saved for the
future. Lazarus’ indoctrination was to set new standards of
identification and self-awareness for them as individuals and as a
community.
Once again,
Lazarus let it be known that his rules were not created or intended to
be democratic. At best, he considered himself a benevolent
monarch, and at worse a control freak. Just as he did with the
family communities, he reminded them he was the Captain, and as long as
they were aboard his ship they would abide by his rules and laws.
There would be no arguments on that point. As with the families,
he emphasized they would only be confined to the ship for a short
period in consideration to the extended lives they would enjoy.
When they left his ship, to form communities on another world, they
could set their own rules. If they found his ways not to their
liking, he would be happy to return them to their previous life.
No one took him up on his offer. It didn’t take them long to
realize they had it a lot better in their communities on the
Bandersnatch than with the theocratic regime.
One of Lazarus’
first rules within the context of a gay community was to abolish and
forbid the use of a several terms such as ‘Lesbian,’ ‘queer,’ and the
word ‘gay’ to define homosexuals. He explained his reasons and
whether they agreed with him on not, he insisted they must
comply. He stressed they had a chance to start anew and to reset
the former values of another time and place to have them become more
acceptable and capable of being understood, but it had to begin with
them. A new acceptance and way of thinking also had to begin with
the straight community, but there had to be some give on both
parts. It had to have its germination within the homosexual
community.
He would not
allow homosexual women to use the term ‘Lesbian’ to define
themselves. Lazarus explained it was separating and
elitist. Within its use contained the connotation homosexual
women were somehow either better, above, or removed from their
homosexual brothers. For years homosexual women insisted on their
part of any bipartisan cooperation be know as “Lesbian and gay
men.” Lazarus was firm in his pronouncement, and he would not
waver. He stressed in his arguments they were no better or worse
than homosexual men.
The term ‘queer’
was an unacceptable term for a biological function rampant throughout
the whole of nature. (No pun intended.) Before the Christianist
rewrote and “sanitized” the school books, it was an accepted scientific
fact, animals exhibit the same sexual diversity as humans. One
should not even consider referring to a homosexual water fowl as a
‘queer duck.’
Last, but not
least, the term ‘gay’ was a label stuck on homosexual men and women by
straight elitist theater people before times of enlightenment who
didn’t know what else to call them. It was as incorrect as it was
demeaning. It suggested all homosexuals were bubble headed,
hedonistic, carefree twits who had little other purpose in life than to
flit from one sexual partner to another as a butterfly might garner
nectar from a flower. (Okay, so it might define a few, certainly
not all.)
Surprisingly, to
many, Lazarus didn’t have any problem with the inter-social catty
appellation of ‘queen.’ He saw the term as innocuous and
humorous, if somewhat accurate put down when a homosexual man was
trying to be more than he was in a pompous, flamboyant manner.
The only problem came when they deluded themselves into actually
believing they were unrecognized royalty who, as an infant, was
left in a basket on the doorstep of some poor, unsuspecting straight
peasants. If homosexuals absolutely had to have a term to define
themselves, Lazarus stressed their creativeness was legend. He
would consider anything they brought before him. He suggested
they might consider starting by referring to each other as ‘brother’ or
‘sister’ for women. He made it quite clear he was on a mission to
improve their self-awareness as well as the image of their community.
In the beginning
of the rescue program, Lazarus thought the brothers and sisters, as he
referred to them, would probably be the most difficult to deal with,
because they were forced to live in communes. He was wrong.
Many had given up all hope, but when rescued, they were so damn happy
to be out of the horror and squalor of the slave or detention camps,
they saw life with other men in a rural setting as a new
beginning. Homosexual women lived separately from men. As
with everything else, both groups took the situation and made it their
own.
No matter how
strident or politically incorrect they might have thought Lazarus’ “thy
shalt not” commandments, he won them over to his ideas by announcing as
Captain of the ship he was fully authorized to perform legal wedding
ceremonies, and he would if a couple felt they wanted it for
themselves; however, he wouldn’t do it until they lived together for
three years in a monogamous relationship. He would not marry two
people who had an ‘open’ relationship, because he thought the sanctity
of marriage, if there was such a thing, should not be looked at from a
religious point of view, but rather from an aspect of commitment.
Lazarus told them, while it was true certain animals and birds mate for
life, it was scientifically questionable whether mankind, as animals
and a part of nature, were specifically designed for monogamy.
Either way, a three year ‘holding pattern’ was one of his criterion for
performing the ceremony.
Lazarus
announcement struck a cord of acceptance and liberalism that was
appreciated by all, but there were some who failed to see the need to
buy into a ritual which, at best, seemed archaic, and for the most
part, unsuccessful. They reasoned if straight people couldn’t
make such unions work after thousands of years, what made homosexuals
think they would have a greater success ratio. Some argued, if
the slaves from Africa could consider a man and woman married after
jumping over a broom, as Lazarus pointed out, they had enough
inventiveness to create their own bonding ceremony; however, to the
mainstream, it came down to freedom of choice to make the decision for
themselves if they wanted. For them, it had to do with family,—
it had to do with belonging.
There was a wide
and varied assortment of talents and skills found among those who were
taken. New abductees were assigned a brother to care for them,
explain things, see to their needs and find out what skills or talents
they might have. Somehow they managed to find a place and a job
for everyone and their communities began to thrive.
* * * * * * *
Lucas and Travis
were quiet at breakfast the morning after the birthday party.
They spent the night together in Lucas’ room. Waco and Little
Bear were going on about the party, the football game and looking
forward to a good week. Charlie and Lazarus were pretty
quiet. Arlen had an emergency and had to get back to the
Raven. Bryce spent the night with Blake Tindell in his room at
the other ranch.
From Waco and
Little Bear’s chatter there was no question who had the best night of
the three pair at the table. Hank Morgan and JR winked at each
other. There were few secrets in the Goodnight house. Gavin
was aware, but his little brother wasn’t mature enough to pickup on
things. Bron understood and smiled. Bronc and Ts’gan were
too busy eating to pay much attention. They loved Ms. Ida’s
cooking. They never missed a meal, and they were really filling
out. They were going to make immovable defensive ends.
Lazarus walked back to his house with Lucas after breakfast.
“Well, . . .?”
Lazarus asked.
“Well, what,
Dad?” Lucas grinned.
“How was it?”
Lazarus asked like a proud but concerned papa.
“Pert-damn good,
Master. It was everything I thought it would be and more.
Thank you for your wonderful gift. It worked very well. I
think my partner was satisfied, and I took what I needed.”
“Fine!
Fine! That’s what I like to hear.” Lazarus dropped his big
arm around Lucas’ shoulders and pulled him close. “The way Travis
was look’n at you at breakfast, I dare say he got what he needed.”
“He said he did,
Dad. Asked me for some more early this morning.”
“Damn,
Son! Don’t wear the thing out.” Lazarus joked. Lucas
laughed.
“I don’t think
that’s gonna’ be a problem, Sir.” he said. “I peeked into Travis’ mind
while I’s fuck’n him. I asked him first,. . . he said I
could.”
“I been teaching
Charlie how to share with me. I have to be careful ‘cause ever’
time I do he shoots right away, and I don’t get my nickel’s worth.”
Lazarus laughed.
“I thought that
was gonna’ happen with Travis, but he’s learned great control. He
worked with me as long as I needed. You were right, Dad, he’s a
great partner. I’m glad he was my first.”
“Good!
Glad to hear it. How did you feel inside him?”
“I never thought
it could feel so good, Master. I don’t wanna’ wait. I will
though, because it’s important to me. It’s something worth
waiting for.” Lucas stated.
“It will be here
before you know it, Son. Don’t try to rush it. You only grow up
once. You done good for your first time. Let that be enough
for now.” Lazarus consoled him.
“Yes, Sir.”
Lucas said quietly.
“I’m proud of
the way you’re handling Caleb’s brothers. I’ve watched you
respond to them at social gatherings and when Sam got hurt. You
connect with them just enough to keep them coming back for more, but
you don’t give them too much. They can’t seem to get enough of
you, especially since they found out I’m their owner and they have some
closer connection with you. How do you feel about them?”
“I don’t really
know, Master. I don’t think about ‘em much. I was worried
about ‘em up until the time you bought ‘em. After that, I knew
they’d be taken care of and looked after. I sort of lost interest
in them. I feel like my prayers and whatever small influence I
may have had with you saw them into a more stable and better life for
themselves. They have their lives to live, and thanks to you, I
have mine.”
“Do you love
them, Lucas?”
“I guess, but I
don’t know. I don’t know if I know what love is. I think I’m
learning. You’re a good teacher. You don’t preach, you lead
and live your love as an example to others. I wonder sometimes if
there’s such a thing as genetic love because someone’s DNA is close to
yours. Some think there is. I’m not so sure.”
“The Kryscells
been talking with you about that?”
“Yes, Sir.
I don’t think I would a’ thought of it on my own. I’m beginning
to think they might have something. I won’t never love them the
way I’ve come to love you, Master Charlie, Master Jones, Waco, Travis,
Little Bear, JR, and even Gavin, Jerry, Bron, Bronc, Ts’gan and Bryce;
but, one of Caleb’s brothers I can’t help love more than the rest.”
“Sam?”
“Yes, Sir.
He’s the most honest and innocent of the five. With Sam there’s
no pretense or hidden agendas. What you sees is what chu’
gets. Sam was born with the soul of an old cowboy. I see
him growing apart from them and becoming his own man. Sam’s hard
not to love.”
“He is at
that. Damn. I couldn’t a’ put it better myself. I
don’t know if you realize it, but next Friday, a year ago, was the day
we brought you home, here, to the ranch. You’ve come a long way
in just a year, Son. Your insights and attitudes are growing more
mature and sophisticated by the day. I’m gonna’ turn around
twice, and you’re gonna’ be sixteen. Stay like you are, Son, as
long as you can — if not for you, for me. Don’t try to grow up
too fast, boy. You’re one of the best investments I ever
made. I’m proud of you, Lucas, and I love you.”
“Thanks, Dad. I
love you, too. Of that, I’m certain. Don’t say no more—
please — or I’m gonna’ start bawling like a new born calf, and h’it
won’t be purtty.”
Lazarus pulled
the boy closer, stole a kiss and laughed.
* * * * * * *
Little Irene
Olsen was only five years old. She didn’t want to live with her
brothers, she wanted to live with her parents. Lazarus talked
with Charlie and they decided they’d let her. They explained she
would have to grow up living on the farm with her parents and be either
home schooled or attend a school within one of the
micro-communities. She agreed and was allowed to move in with
them. The boys were carefully coached to tell anyone who asked,
she was sent back to Michigan to live with an old maid aunt of
theirs. Since Leon and Willie had the Stamper boys to back them
up, no one bothered to check. Most people were too worried about
their own lives to be overly concerned for the little girl. The
boys would visit their family a couple of weekends a month, but were
always in touch with them through their computers.
Time began to
move fast. Ping gave birth to a male and a female of their
species. Ping and Pong gave them names no one could pronounce so
Ping asked Lazarus to get suggestions and for him to decide names for
them. It was Ida Mae Wallace who came up with the winning
names. She suggested Jack and Jill. It was simple and
seemed to fit the youngsters. Ping and Pong seemed pleased with
the names.
After their eyes
opened and they gained the facility to move about and play, they went
everywhere with Ping and Pong. They were either riding on her
back or Pong’s. They were active and curious about
everything. The boys loved them. They spent a great deal of
time with the boys, because they could communicate with them.
Until they got too big they would ride around on the boy’s shoulder and
swing from their arms. They were fascinated by Ranger and loved
riding on his back with one or more of the boys.
The world was
their oyster and they were gathering information at a rapid rate.
Ping started them on computers when they were a little over six months
old and in a short period of time they became more proficient than the
boys. They grew very fast and were fully grown in about a
year. Ping and Pong were very proud of them and they were
becoming great additions to the family.
* * * * * * *
The fall came
and the boys were getting ready for school. Lazarus decided he
wanted Lucas to have a computer of his own. Charlie thought it
was a good time to get computers for Travis and Little Bear. On
one of his weekly meetings with Lazarus and Charlie, Blake Tindell
urged Lazarus to let him give the two older boys access to their old
computers Cotton and Hoot packed up and stored. They gave
the boys computers to Lazarus to have Ping go through them to see what
the boys were up to. She didn’t find much except both boys were
interested in nude pictures of men as well as women.
Lazarus decided
not to let them have their old computers. He wanted them to all
start off on the same basis. They worked their asses’ off
building the new slave quarters for them and any other new slaves
Lazarus might want trained by Hoot and Cotton. They moved into
their new facilities two weeks before the end of summer and were
wondering if they were going to get to go to school in the fall.
Blake asked, but Lazarus didn’t give him a direct answer. He told
him he would tell the boys the day of their open house to celebrate and
dedicate their new quarters. They were rightfully very proud of
it.
Lazarus confided
in Charlie he planned to buy all five of the Stamper boys computers and
thought if they contracted with a company for a large order they should
be able to get a sizable discount. Ida Mae got wind of what they
were doing and decided she didn’t want JR left out. Lazarus had
already contracted with Bron to get computers for Bronc and
Ts’gan. While they were at it, Lazarus decided he and Charlie
should have new computers as well.
Charlie knew
Lazarus put out considerable money for the upkeep and care of the
Stamper boys as well as footing the bill for construction of the new
slave facility. He was also meeting Hoot and Cotton’s charges for
training. He paid Charlie a rental fee for the use of his slave,
Blake. Charlie would never ask Lazarus his financial status, but
he couldn’t help but wonder where he was getting his money.
Lazarus let the
boys do the shopping for the computers with the most bells and whistles
they could find. Lazarus stressed he didn’t want junk. He
wanted machines that wouldn’t become obsolete for at least five
years. The boys laughed at him. Lazarus knew why.
Technology was still moving as fast as ever and every year new models
with faster computing times were coming out. After three years a
computer was almost obsolete.
One afternoon,
after his work day, Lazarus asked Charlie to take a walk with
him. Lazarus took him onto the Bandersnatch and lead him down a
dark corridor which seemed to have multiple storage bays on each side.
Lazarus finally stopped at one and waved his hand in front of an
identification lock. The huge metal door slid back into the wall
to allow access to the room. The lights came on and Charlie
couldn’t believe what he saw. The bay measured twenty feet wide
and approximately forty feet deep. Inside, lined up on either
side of a narrow metal walk ramp was treasures of all kinds.
There were huge crates of diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and all sorts of
precious and semiprecious stones. Along the other side, stacked
almost to the ceiling was gold bullion bars. They were stacked
about ten feet deep by twelve feet in length. Charlie could only
guestimate the fortune which lay inside the vault.
Lazarus lead him
to a stack of steamer trunks. They had no locks on them and
Charlie raised the lids on several. Each was packed with
different denomination of large currency bills of money from the old
republic which was worth twice what the current Amero dollars were
worth. There were stacks of hundred thousand dollar bills, ten
thousand, fives, ones and then another had hundred dollar bills in
thousand dollar bundles.
“How much is
here?” asked a stunned Charlie.
“Believe it or
not, I have no idea. Ping did a rough estimation before we got
here and came up with a figure close to a thirty trillion Amero
dollars. And that guess was from being able to consider the gold
and the paper money only. I have no idea what the precious stones
are worth. There are a couple in those boxes that are the size of
a watermelon. There’s one blood diamond the size of a cantaloupe
in that box there. They’re worthless on most other worlds.
We simply walked through fields and filled our pockets with them.”
“Unbelievable.”
whispered Charlie in awe.
“Do you need any
money, Charlie?” Lazarus asked sincerely.
“No, we’ve lost
a lot of cattle this year to the space critters, but we’re better off
than most. There’s a couple of ranchers who might go under this
year. We might consider buying extra stock to be neighborly and
keep them afloat. It would shore’ go a long way to cementing
loyalty bonds with ‘em.”
“I like the way
you think, Sir.” Lazarus smiled. “We’ll do just that.
Here!”
He handed
Charlie a stack of fifty-thousand dollar bills.
“How many are in
this bundle?” Charlie asked in awe.
“I think a
hunnert.’ If’n you need more, let me know.” Lazarus said.
“No, no, I think
this’ll do nicely.” Charlie smiled. “Banking money with
bills this large might raise suspicion.”
“Don’t bank
it. Do what I do. Only cash transactions. It’s harder
to track, and it somewhat launders the money. Also, remember
those bills are worth double the Amero. I have some Ameros, but I
don’t wanna’ use ‘em less’n we have to. I don’t foresee that
happening.” Lazarus said as they turned to walk out of the
storage bay.
“Dare I ask
what’s in these other bays?” Charlie smiled at Lazarus.
“More of the
same.” sighed Lazarus
Lazarus didn’t
bother to say anything to Charlie about confidentiality. He knew
Charlie wouldn’t tell a soul, not even his beloved brother. The
men put their money in a pair of leather saddle bags they carried on
the ship slung over their shoulders. As they walked off the ship
and out of the old barn, no one would suspect the two fine looking
cowboys had close to a million dollars between them in their old saddle
bags.
* * * * * * *
The Stamper boys
were given their computers the day of the open house for the new slave
quarters they built. Lazarus told them he was proud of them, and
they could go to school starting the fall semester. They were
thrilled and promised they would work after school and do their
chores. Lazarus told them he expected nothing less than a ‘B’
average from each of the boys or they wouldn’t be allowed to
continue. They promised they would do their best. Lazarus
planned to make sure they did. He intended to keep Blake on as
their trainer/house mother to make sure all homework was done and done
right.
Ping placed her
adjusted operating system into all the boys computers and had Lazarus
explain to them the significance of the system. The wouldn’t be
able to transfer it to another machine so don’t even get the idea of
trying to share such an advanced system with an online buddy. It
was provided for their protection as well as edification. Waco,
Lucas and the boys explained the ins and outs of the new system and the
advantages it had over a standard MS system. The Stamper boys
were wowed. The more they came to know Lazarus, the more
mysterious he became to them. They also liked and trusted him
more.
Burt asked
Lazarus if they would ever get to take a ride in one of his
spaceships. Lazarus told him he would give them all a ride if
they made straight ‘A’s in school and won the football championship
that year. Then during the summer he would take them out one
night. They agreed they would try to meet his requirements.
* * * * * * *
The principal
and guidance counselor called Lazarus to come to the school to talk
with them about his boy. They wanted to know Lucas’ history and
what schools he attended before. Lazarus explained he was a
cowboy most of his life and worked as a ranch foreman for several large
ranches in different states. He was widowed and Lucas was the
only child from his marriage to his wife. Lazarus couldn’t take
care of him alone so he left him with his mother, Lucas’ grandmother,
until she recently passed away. Lucas got into some trouble and
was indentured into slavery until he was sixteen with two years
probation after that. Lazarus learned of it and bought his son to
become his own personal slave. Lazarus could see the school
people were sympathetic to his story and seemed not to be concerned
that Lucas was his dad’s slave.
“Is there
something wrong?” Lazarus asked.
“What kind of
education did your boy have before he became a slave, Mr. Long?”
the counselor asked.
“Normal
schooling, I suppose. We ain’t talked much about it. Since
he’s been my slave I’ve tried to teach him a few things, but I ain’t
much on book learn’n.” Lazarus played the dumb cowboy until Lucas
thought he would burst inside. “Howsomever, the boy goes through
books like they was candy, and he’s got a sweet tooth. He’s got
his head stuck in a book ever’ damn time I turn around. If’n he
ain’t working or doing his chores, he’s read’n.”
“Humm.” mused
the principal.
“We gave him all
the standard placement tests for a boy his age to determine his current
knowledge level and I.Q. and quite frankly, Mr. Long, we don’t have a
test to determine how much Lucas knows or his I.Q. for that matter.”
“‘Damnation!
‘At’s what I’s afeard of, . . . the boy’s same as his daddy, . . . .
dumb as a box a’ rocks?” Lazarus poured on the West Texas cowboy
dialect, turning his hat in his hand, shaking his head in
disgust. Lucas had to bite his tongue and turn his head away to
keep from laughing.
“Oh, no, Mr.
Long. You misunderstand, Sir. Lucas made perfect scores on
all the tests. We even gave him several advanced tests. He
scored perfect on those. We have no way of judging just how
intelligent your boy is. According to our test— right now— he
knows enough to graduate high school. He made a perfect score on
a highschool GED test. He made a perfect score on the SAT test
and college entrance exams.”
“Ya’ll
mean to tell me, he’s smart?” Lazarus asked in mock awe.
“Not only smart,
Mr. Long, brilliant. We don’t know if Lucas could learn anything
in our school. At the very least, he should be in
highschool. We worry about him becoming bored and losing
interest.” said the counselor.
“Hail!”
exclaimed Lazarus, softly, “He must a’ done got it from his
momma. She was a smart woman, . . . purtty, too. Smarter’n
this old cowboy. Don’t know what she ever saw in me.”
Lazarus said in self-deprecation. “I wouldn’t worry none about them
things if’n I’s you good folks. I ain’t send’n him to school for
what he can learn from no books or no teacher no how. I’m send’n
him ‘cause he needs to learn how to get along with others his
age. He’s been pretty much a loner most of his life, and I want
him integrated into polite society. I don’t plan on keep’n the
boy as a slave all his life. When his indenturment is up, if he
does well and stays out of trouble, I’ll see to it he’s legally
freed. I’m more interested in him becoming a good citizen than a
misfit genius who don’t fit in no wheres and cain’t earn a decent
live’n for his-self.”
The school board
reluctantly agreed to take Lucas on a trial basis. If he behaved
himself and did the work like every other students, he could
continue. Lucas was quiet on the drive back to the ranch.
Finally, he broke out into hysterical laughter. He got Lazarus
laughing so hard he had to pull the truck over to the side of the road
to get himself together. He gabbed Lucas and held him. They
were still laughing.
“You must really
love me to have gone through that, Dad.” Lucas said through his
laughter.
“Ah, shucks, I
held back from ‘em folks. Y’ain’t never seen me spread it on
really thick. Believe me, h’it’s a wonder to behold.”
“Oh, Lord, . . .
I can’t wait to see that.” Lucas allowed. They shared
another laugh.
* * * * * * *
Lucas started
school in the eighth grade with Waco, Travis and Little Bear.
Joining them were Gavin, Bronc, and Ts’gan. Gavin’s little
brother started in the sixth grade along with JR. The Goodnight
ranch boys, as they became known, had only one year left of secondary
school and the next year they would be freshmen in highschool.
Also among their ranks was Zeke from the Stamper boys. His
association during the year bonded him with Waco’s posse and he was
considered one of their gang. They did everything together,
including going out for football.
Of the Stamper
boys, the four oldest boys were in highschool and went out for the
highschool team, but they were allowed to go to the junior high games
and support their little brother and friends. Burt, Paul, Sam and
Jeb all made first string on the highschool team, and their little
brother and Waco’s men made first string on the junior high team.
The fall was filled with football. When Waco and his men weren’t
playing they were attending the highschool games. Every small
town in Texas revolves around football.
Little Bear’s
tribe always attend his games and cheered the boys on. Once in a
while, Little Bear would see his dad, John Tin Penny, sitting in the
stands away from the rest of the tribe. Little Bear would ignore
him. John Tin Penny knew better than to try to see Little Bear
after a game. John knew his dad, the Chief, would cause a scene
and berate him in public. He didn’t want to be embarrassed any
more than he already was. Once in a great while, Elam Stamper
would attend one of the highschool games to see his boys play. He
thought he was clever disguising himself so no one would recognize
him. Someone always did and called him on it several times.
He would just turn and walk away.
The boys kept in
contact with each other through e-mails. The Stamper boys would
send Waco and his men e-mails several times a week. They became
good friends and encouraged each other. For some unknown reason,
Lucas would receive e-mails from all of them several times a
week. He was convinced they didn’t discuss their e-mails with
each other. The ones that always got to him were from Sam.
Sam shared with Lucas what was going on in his life and how he felt
about things. He was slowly becoming the big brother Lucas always
imagined Sam could be; however, Lucas was more aloof with him.
Lucas wouldn’t let his emotions get him into a situation which might
prove uncomfortable for him as well as Lazarus. He was warm,
understanding, cordial and giving with Sam, but he maintained his
distance.
Lucas did fine
in school. He adopted Little Bear’s attitude of being quiet,
paying attention, but not volunteering too much. The teachers
soon learned they could call on Lucas as well as Little Bear and always
get a correct answer. It became standard practice of the school
administration to place all the boys associated with the Goodnight
ranch in the same classes; however, by the eighth grade, Waco and
his crew became the dominant social alpha-males of the small school and
there was little worry on Waco’s part his mates were going to be
bothered by bullies. They were all football players and idolized
by the rest of the school. Most of their freeman teammates were
jealous of Waco and his men.
There was only
one other boy who was the slave of a small rancher. He was quiet
and shy, and at first, was picked on quite a bit by the other
boys. His name was Stan Edmunds. Waco put an end to
that pretty damn quick. Since Stan couldn’t fight back to protect
himself he got beat up a couple of times by a couple of the boys who
wanted him to give them a blowjob. He knew his rights on school
property and tried to refuse. After hearing the other boys brag
about it, Waco hit the roof and told them if he ever heard of them
doing that again he would personally kick them off the team. At
school, Stan was as much a member of their team as they were and as
such would be treated like a valued member. Stan later thanked
Waco for standing up for him.
“You’re welcome,
Stan, but I don’t need no thanks for doing what’s right. If’n you
wanna’ take care of them men as a slave, then that’s your
business. Jes’ let me know so’s I won’t be butt’n in where I
ain’t wanted.” Waco smiled at him.
“I don’t want
nothing to do with ‘em, Master Waco, but I shore’ wouldn’t mind take’n
care of you some evening, Sir, if’n you’d let me.”
Waco smiled at
the handsome boy.
“Jes’ might take
you up on it, Stan, but you don’t have to service me jes’ ‘cause I
stood up for you. I ain’t that kinda man.”
“I know you
ain’t, Sir, that’s why I would like to take care of you sometime.”
“I’ll keep it in
mind, Stan.” Waco smiled at him and slapped him on the back.
* * * * * * *
One day, in
English class, Lucas forgot to bring his book and the class was reading
Shakespear’s “Midsummer’s Night’s Dream.” The day before the
teacher assigned Lucas to read the part of ‘Bottom.’ The teacher
started the class, and the students started reading. Their
assignment for homework the previous night was to be able to read their
lines as if they were performing the play. The other students
were good but Lucas was perfect and rattled off his lines like a true
Elizabethan thespian. The teacher, Mr. Chambers, became
more and more impressed by Lucas’ reading.
Unnoticed by
Lucas, his teacher walked to the back of the room to listen and
observe. He saw the book Lucas was suppose to be reading from
wasn’t his textbook for the class. He stopped the reading and
walked over for a closer look. He didn’t want to embarrass
Lucas. He just looked at it and saw it was Lucas’ algebra
book. He smiled to himself and instructed the reading to go
on. Lucas never missed a cue and was perfect in his
delivery. The other readers would get lost in Lucas’ recitation,
forget they were next to read and Mr. Chambers would have to prompt
them.
At the end of
class, Mr. Chambers asked Lucas if he would remain behind for a
minute. Lucas thought he was in trouble. Waco looked at him
as if to ask if he wanted him to stay with him. Lucas smiled and
shook his head. Waco went on with Little Bear and Travis.
“Mr. Long,” his
teacher started, “how is it you can read Shakespear from an algebra
textbook?”
“I’m sorry, Mr.
Chambers, I inadvertently left my English textbook at home. I
didn’t want to disrupt class or get into trouble. Was my
participation in class poor?”
“On the
contrary, the rest of the class had difficulty keeping up with
you. They became entranced with your reading. I have to
admit my mind strayed a bit as well. How did you do it?”
“I did as you
told us and read the complete act. I guess I cheated a bit
because I read the whole play last night.”
“And you
recalled the part of ‘Bottom’ from memory, Son?”
“Yes, Sir.
I like Bottom.”
“And why is
that?”
“He’s turned
into an ass, has a wonderful, dreamlike adventure, falls in love with a
fairy queen, returned to being a normal man, but he’s never quite the
same again. He’s learned a great lesson about love and life.”
“Astute, Mr.
Long. And how much of the play have you memorized?”
“All of it, Sir.”
“No!
That’s not possible!” exclaimed Lyle Chambers.
“Yes, Sir, Mr.
Chambers, if you say so.” Lucas conceded quietly.
Mr. Chambers
open his book to the next act and told him to play the part of Puck in
a scene. Chambers started in to read and Lucas followed faster
than Chambers could. He was flawless in his delivery. When
it came to other parts, Lucas recited them as well for several pages
until the bell rang for the next period. Mr. Chambers was
flabbergasted. He closed his book and got a crooked smile on his
face.
“I’m sorry I
doubted you, Lucas. I believe you. You’ll need a note from
me for being late to your next class, Son.”
He quickly wrote
a note to Lucas’ algebra teacher and sent him on his way. That
afternoon, as Mr. Chambers was leaving he walked by the athletic field
and stopped to watch the boys practicing football. He saw Lucas
performing as a topnotch athlete and marveled at the young man’s talent
and physical beauty. Coach Baker, the main secondary school
coach, walked over to him and greeted him.
“Howdy,
teach.” he seemed more than a little friendly with Mr.
Chambers. “Are we on for tonight, sport?” he smiled.
“It’s Thursday
night ain’t it, cowboy?” Mr. Chambers smiled back.
“It is at
that. Been look’n forward to it all week.” said the Coach.
“Y’ain’t alone.”
replied the English teacher in his best West Texas speak.
“Good. Be
at chore’ place a little after seven. I’ll bring the beer.”
“I’m on my way
to pickup the pizza.” Mr. Chambers allowed. “By the way,
Wayne, . . . that Long boy. Does he have a difficult time
memorizing plays?”
“Are you
kidding? I can show that kid a play once, and he’s got it.
Ain’t never seen another like him, less’n it be the Goodnight
boy. He’s damn near as good. They’re both well above
average.”
“I have to agree
with you. You ain’t gonna’ believe what I got to tell you.
I’ll tell you over dinner.” smiled Mr. Chambers to his part-time mate.
“I’d believe
anything you told me about them boys, pod’na.” Baker smiled,
winked at his friend and turned to blow his whistle at the end of the
play.
* * * * * * *
Later that
evening, as the two men enjoyed the afterglow of their lovemaking,
Baker turned to his buddy.
“What was you
gonna’ tell me about Lucas Long?”
“I heard rumors
from the admin staff he’s some kind of gifted child, but he’s always
been so quiet and polite it was difficult to tell. Then today,
something unusual happened.”
Mr. Chambers
went on to tell his partner what happened that shook him to his
core. His cowboy-coach buddy listened intently, nodding his head
from time to time.
“What makes you
think I wouldn’t believe you? I believe every word.”
commented Coach Baker. “There’s something different about all
them men from the Goodnight ranch. We watched Little Bear and
Travis Jessup grow up in grade school. They weren’t never much
special until they went to live on the Goodnight ranch. Remember
we thought Little Bear was gonna’ be lost in the slave system staying
as long as he did with the Tennents? I think he missed— what— a
whole year of school? Then after them boys went to live with the
Goodnights, suddenly they began to grow and develop almost
overnight. The first time Coach Grant invited me to one of their
Sunday afternoon football games I damn near shit ma’ pants. You
was there. You remember how I couldn’t believe them two, to say
nothing of Lucas Long?
Then them two
boys, Bronc and Saigon, (Coach Baker was lazy, he didn’t want to bother
with saying Ts’gan), there’s something about ‘em don’t seem quite human
sometimes. They run faster and got quicker response times than
any of them boys. They got the smarts to go with it, too.
Look at Waco’s cousin, Gavin Goodnight. He’s right in there with
‘em. To say nothing of Waco’s little brother. He’s coming
along as well as their other cousin, Jerry. Remember when JR
couldn’t even participate in PE because of them headaches he used to
get. He don’t git ‘em no more. We got us an unbeatable team
this year. It’s ever’ coaches’ dream.
Each time I’ve
been out to the Goodnight ranch, there’s strange critters what be
roaming around the place. Several of them big furry men who look
like Bigfoots is all the time playing with the boys. J’ever see
that one young furry man play football with ‘em. He’s
sensational. As good players as them other boys are, they
couldn’t stop him. Then how ‘bout them beautiful racoon like
critters what’s all the time playing with the boys and on the back of
that big horse. J’ever notice how them boys talk to that horse
like he can understand ‘em? Have you ever heard that dog
talk? He can, you know. He can talk jes’ as good as you and
me. Probably better’n me. I don’t know what’s going on out
there, but I got me a feeling it’s something we should look into.
I want to know about it. I wanna’ be a part of it.”
“Yeah, me too,
buddy. I’ve heard talk around town from them Jesus freaks, they
think something’s not right out there. God, why can’t them folks
mind their own business. Why do they have to poke their damn
unwanted noses in everybody’s private lives. Look at us, we been
in love with each other for so many years it ain’t even funny. We
sneak around and see each other when we can. I ain’t complaining,
mind you. We’re lucky we got a good situation. You couldn’t
a’ found a better woman than Carol to understand us and give us some
time together. You got a fine family,. . . two great little girls
and a fine, strapping little cowboy. He looks jes’ like his
daddy.”
“I know it’s
been hard on you, Lyle, but you could a’ married Leta Jo Mc Bride.”
“Naw, I don’t
want you to feel that a’ way. I’m fine. I get what I need
from you. Carol lets me share everything. She treats me
like I’s one of your family. I love her almost as much as you
do. Jes’ don’t do nothing to fuck it up, brother, or we’re both
dead men. I don’t fancy being a slave to no man. Well,
maybe one of the Goodnight men or their ramrod.” Lyle Chambers
grinned and winked at his mate.
“Me neither, but
if’n I had to be a slave, I’d wanna’ to be owned by one of them
cowboys. Why we talk’n like this? H’it ain’t gonna’ come to
that. We been friends too long for anybody to suspect a
thing. We don’t never flaunt our relationship and anything we
have between us is behind closed doors. Ain’t nobody’s business
but our own. I remember that old underground movie you and I went
to see when we’s in college ‘Brokeback Mountian.’ Remember? ”
“Yeah, it was
tragic, but I never could understand the way Ennis handled his
wife. He could’ve made a greater effort to be the husband she
needed. He certainly didn’t try to be what Jack needed.
With a little bit of understanding and effort on his part he could a’
had it all. He jes’ ended up being an all ‘round loser. You
ain’t nothing like him, Chet, and Carol ain’t nothing like her.
She would never betray us. She loves you too much, and I think
she loves me.” said Lyle Chambers.
“She does love
you, brother. She thinks on you as one of our family. She
jes’ ain’t like that. We don’t never talk about it, but I give
her more than she wants most of the time. She seems
satisfied. She ain’t never said a bad word about what little time
we spend together.”
“That’s my
point. You try to make her happy. Not because our
relationship depends on it, but because that’s the kind of man you are,
Chet. You’ve always been that way, long’s I know’d ju. I
don’t know’s I’d be as attracted to you if’n you were a man like
Ennis. You and me, . . . we grew up together, Chet. Played
ball together all through school and went to the same college on
football scholarships. We knew the day would come when we had to
make other commitments in our lives, and we faced it like mature
men. When you decided to marry Carol, I couldn’t a’ been happier
for you. I never counted on us continuing our relationship after
you got married. If’n it weren’t for Carol, I don’t think we
would have.”
“Remember that
night she sat us down and talked to us like a Dutch Uncle? She
told us she knew we was in love with one another and she knew what men
do with each other. Her daddy was an old cowboy and owned his own
slaves. Her momma told her all about it. Told her it was
okay for her daddy to have sex with his cowboy-slaves. He never
looked at another woman, never refused her sex and was always willing
when she needed it. She told Carol she’d be lucky to find a man
like her daddy.”
“Yeah, I
remember that night. Like to have shit ma’ Wranglers. You
know I love you, don’t chu’?” Chet asked his mate.
“Of
course. You always have, I know you always will.” Lyle
answered.
The men embraced
and shared a deep kiss. They didn’t hear the slight popping noise
made by the micro-video transmitter placed in Lyle’s apartment earlier
in the day by the Jesus Patrol.
* * * * * * *
The next day was
Friday and class was the same as usual except Lyle Chambers found his
other students must have really taken Lucas’ reading to heart the day
before, because they were all greatly improved in their reading and
they finished reading the act in record time. Lyle had seen it
happen before when one student excelled in something they often
motivated the others to do better. He complimented them all and
asked if they would be interested in doing the play in the
spring. They looked at each other and agreed. After the
bell rang, Lucas stopped by Mr. Chamber’s desk accompanied by
Waco. Waco waved Little Bear and Travis on to their next class.
“Mr. Chambers,
Coach Baker and his family are coming to Sunday dinner at the Goodnight
ranch. My dad and Master Waco’s dad told us to invite you to
Sunday dinner. We’d be honored and proud if’n you could join us,
Sir.”
Lyle Chamber was
a bit taken aback. He was out to the Goodnight ranch only a
couple of times before but always as a guest of someone else. He
was touched and flattered to be invited himself.
“I would be the
one honored, young men. Thank you for your kind invitation and
thank your fathers for me. I think I would enjoy it. I’ve
enjoyed every time I’ve been to one of the Goodnight ranches.”
“It’s important
to us that you come, Mr. Chambers.” Waco added with all sincerity.
“Thank you, Mr.
Goodnight. I will be there. What time?”
“Eleven or
whatever time you get out of church if you go.” Waco said.
It sounded kinda
funny the way he said it.
“I go sometimes,
but I think I might not this Sunday. I’ll be there about eleven.”
“Good. If
you arrive a little early we can show you around. Maybe answer
some questions you might have.” Lucas said quietly.
It was another
strange statement, but Lyle took it in stride.
“I’ll look
forward to it, men.”
Then the boys
did something totally unexpected. They each shook his hand like
two mature gentlemen. He was touched and impressed by their
decorum. On the way out he stopped by the field and Chet Baker
came running up to him.
“Heard you were
invited to the Goodnight ranch Sunday, Coach.” Lyle said.
“More like a
command performance, buddy. I got the feeling it was important
for some reason.”
“They invited
me, too, Chet, and I got the same damn feeling. While they were
perfect gentlemen, Lucas and Waco stressed it was important. It’s
my first invite out there. I been out twice, once with you and
once as a guest of the Dawkins family. Had a good time, both
times.”
“Yeah, it seemed
strange to me, but I ain’t got a clue. Does it seem funny to you
they invited both of us?” asked Chet.
“Naw, I don’t
think so. We’re their teachers. I know they like us.
I think they know we’re friends. They see us talking.
Anyway, I gotta’ run. Look forward to seeing you, Carol and the
kids Sunday.”
“Same here,
buddy.” Coach Baker ran back to the field yelling instructions to
his team. Lyle watched him run away from him and felt his dick
move in his dockers.
* * * * * * *
Sunday came and
Lyle was up early to get ready for his day. He almost talked
himself into attending church. He was a member of the Episcopal
church in the small town and attended regularly. People were
watched closely to see who was going to church and who wasn’t. If
you wanted to stay out of trouble with the extreme right
fundamentalist, you had to be a member of another church and attend
often. Lyle had been to church the week before. He thought
he could get by not going that day without the sky falling. He
was in a good mood as he drove his small hybrid car to the ranch.
He was greeted
by the boys who showed him where to park. They were excited to
see him and each shook his hand like mature gentlemen. Lazarus
and Charlie moseyed out to greet him and shake his hand. They
made him feel at home.
“Welcome, Mr.
Chambers, we’re glad you could join us for the day.” said Charlie.
“Our boys is
always talking about you and Coach Baker, how they admire both of you
and learn a lot from you.” added Lazarus, “Welcome to the
Goodnight ranch, Son.”
“Thank you,
gentlemen. I’m honored by you and the boys invitation. I’m
sure I’ll have a good time. The boys promised to show me around.”
“We’ll let them
do that. Mr. Goodnight and I have some last minute things to
attend to and then we can join you. So, go with the boys and have
a good time. They have a lot to show you. Some of the
things you see today may surprise you, but the boys have full
permission to explain everything to you.”
“Thank you, Mr.
Long. I’m looking forward to it.” Lyle Chambers said
sincerely.
The boys took
him to show him around the ranch. Scraps and Happy were here and
there and everywhere. Once in a while he heard another voice than
the boys and saw them talking with Scraps and Happy; however, the other
voice was coming from the male dog. Lyle was stunned even though
Chet told him about the dog speaking.
“Does the
female, Happy, speak, too?”
“Naw,
Sir.” answered Lucas, “she carries the active gene which she can
pass on to her offspring, but only Scraps can speak right now.
Most of their pups should be able to speak. We’re hoping so, but
my dad says it might be a mixed blessing, having four to six pups
around all talking at the same time. It might get
confusing.” Lucas laughed, “We’re hoping to teach Happy to
speak. She’s been trying and Scraps has been encouraging
her. She don’t really need to speak. We can hear her jes’
fine anyway.”
Lyle didn’t know
what that meant, but accepted it. Lucas tossed it off like it was
just an accepted thing among the boys. They took him to visit
with Ranger and he petted the big horse. Waco let Ranger out of
his area to follow them around and roam free. Lyle had never seen
that before. It was so unusual but the horse acted like he was
one of the boys and they were all over him. Lyle looked up and
two beautiful, small creatures came running up to the boys and jumped
on their shoulders, then up on Ranger’s back. The big horse
turned and actually looked like he smiled at them. They looked
down from the horse at Lyle.
“Mr. Chambers,
this is Jack and Jill. They’re Ping and Pong’s son and daughter.”
“Hello,
Jack. Hello, Jill.” Lyle greeted them politely.
They each
offered their small hand and Lyle gently shook them. They looked
like they were highly intelligent. The boys laughed. Lucas
smiled at his teacher.
“They just told
us, you look highly intelligent to them, too, Mr. Chambers.” the
boys laughed.
“Is that what
you mean by ‘hearing’ Happy, Son?” Lyle asked.
“Yes, Sir.
We all can. We don’t know why it happened, but all us boys here
at the ranch can hear them and each other if we have to.”
“Can you hear
me?”
“Naw, Sir.
We could if’n we wanted to, but our dads taught us h’it ain’t mannerly
or polite to intrude on another’s thoughts less’n they give you
permission. We would never break that rule. H’it just ain’t
done. Maybe if’n you’s in trouble and we needed to find you in a
hurry, we would, but it would depend on the situation. Then we
still wouldn’t do it without adult permission.”
“There’s one
other time we would try’n read a persons mind. If’n he had a gun
as was threatening people, we’d tune in to see what he was
thinking. If we could do anything to keep him from killing
somebody, we would. We wouldn’t hurt him, but jes’ try to
immobilize him until we could determine his intent.” added Waco.
“I see.”
said Lyle, “What other wonders do you men have to show me?”
About that time
Ox and Strom came from the newer barn. Lyle was always a little
taken aback by their size. The bigger one they called Strom they
ran to and gently patted the lump in his lower abdomen. The boys
were chattering away.
“You’ve met
Waco’s slave, Ox, before, Mr. Chambers. Ox extended his giant paw
and Lyle took it to shake. Ox’s paw felt soft and warm like it
was welcoming him.
“Ox said his
hand is welcoming you, Mr. Chambers.” confirmed Lucas.
Lyle laughed and
thanked him. Strom did the same, except he looked deeply into
Lyle’s eyes and almost shook him to his foundation. It seemed
like the most natural thing in the world for Strom to gently pull Lyle
into an embrace and hold him. He placed one big paw behind
Lyle’s head, pulled him to his breast, and began to sing to him.
Lyle was
stunned. He wasn’t the least afraid, but something about the
gesture and the song Strom was singing struck a chord in Lyle’s soul
and he started shedding tears. He never was so moved by any man
or creatures actions before. It was also very sexually arousing
to him. His dick began to stir in his Wranglers, and he was sure
he could feel Strom’s huge genitalia growing strong. Strom kissed
Lyle on the top of his head and released him. Lyle stood looking
into the big creature’s eyes.
“Thank you,
Strom. That was very kind of you.” Lyle spoke as he wiped
away a couple of tears.
“Don’t feel bad,
Mr. Chambers, Strom affects everyone that way. He is so loving
and good natured he captures everyone’s heart.”
Lyle wondered
why Strom’s lower abdomen seemed extended. Lucas gently patted it
and smiled at Lyle.
“Our newest
brothers are in his pouch, Mr. Chambers. They’re twins, and my
father is their dad.” Lucas said proudly. Lyle looked
dumbfounded.
“Ox and Strom
are Volgorons. On our planet they are known as Lummox, Bigfoot,
Sasquatch, Yeti, and several other names. They are another
species from us; however, their DNA and ours is compatible in several
remarkable ways. In fact, instead of a double helix, their DNA is
made up of a triple helix, which makes them sort of like a chamaeleon
when it comes to reproduction. In their world, males impregnate
the female and she becomes pregnant; however, after about six months
she gives birth to the bairn and the father takes over. The bairn
crawls into his pouch and lives there for another six months until it’s
fully formed. The male lactates and feeds the bairn.
Volgorons or Lummox, as we sometimes call them, milk is delicious and
extremely nutritious. We drink it all the time. It has the
extra added value it is capable of correcting our DNA and can cause
miraculous cures of mammalian diseases and physical malfunctions.”
The men came to
the old barn and Strom sat on a couple of bales of hay and lay back
against a post.
“It’s time for
our brothers’ morning feeding, Mr. Chambers. You’ll get to see
them.”
Lyle watched in
awe as two small, human looking infants crawled out from a pouch in the
big furry man’s lower abdomen and started climbing hand over fist, over
the thick fur, up his front toward his teats. Lyle looked at
Lucas and smiled and then returned his attention to the two
babes. They hooked up to Strom’s tits and began to feed.
Lyle laughed.
“Hungry little
beggars, ain’t they?”
“Yes, Sir.
They feed twice a day. They’re late this morning. Strom
told them to wait until you got here. We wanted to show you so
you might better understand us.”
“Can you
communicate with them, Lucas?”
“Yes, Sir.
When they’re awake we talk with them all the time, but they sleep
a lot. They’re still growing. My other dad only gave birth
to them about two months ago. They got a lot of growing to do
before they can leave Strom’s pouch.”
“Your other dad
gave birth to them? How? Who is your other dad, Lucas?”
“Captain Arlen
Jones. He’s my dad’s mate. You’ll meet him. Him and
my brother will be here today. They’re currently in the Amazon
jungle collecting endangered species and plants to be preserved for the
future.”
“Who’s
future?” Lyle asked.
“Why, yours and
mine, Mr. Chambers, and my baby brothers.”
“He’s visiting
from the Amazon?”
“Yes, Sir.
They’ll be here in a while. We’ll take you to meet him when he
comes in.”
“You mean he’s
flying in today.”
“In a way, but
not quite, Sir. We’ll explain as we go along. We’ll show
you a film a little later about how Lummox and human males can have
bairns together. It will explain everything in detail.”
“Perhaps a
little too much detail.” added Little Bear. The rest of the
boys laughed and giggled at his statement.
The men watched
as the babies feed and their small stomachs ballooned up from the
nutritious Lummox milk.
“Makes me hungry
just watching them.” Lyle said.
The boys laughed
at Lyle’s observation.
“Strom said you
can have some of his milk after they finish. He’s got lots
more.” Lucas told him.
Lyle
laughed. He thought the boys were pulling his leg.
“We drink it all
the time, Mr. Chambers. How do you think we’ve developed so
quickly and overcame several physical problems? Travis used to be
asthmatic. He ain’t no more. JR used to have massive
migraine headaches. He don’t no more. Little Bear had
rickets so bad when he first came to the ranch he could barely
walk. He don’t have rickets no more. They helped me,
too. You can’t imagine what they done for me, but we’ll share
that with you as well.”
Lyle had to
admit the prospect of sucking on the huge creature’s tit for some of
his milk stirred something deep inside him of a deeply sexual
urge. No, it was more than that,. . . it was a need. If
offered he knew, beyond a doubt, he wanted to be held and feel the
giant’s arms enfold him one more time. He saw Strom’s beautiful
golden eyes looking at him. He knew the monster had heard his
thoughts, and he blushed a deep red color. He continued to watch
a genuine, loving smile cross Strom’s face as one big tear formed in
the corner of Strom’s eye and ran down the fur of his cheek. Lyle
didn’t need the boys to tell him what that tear meant.
The men watched
as the young bairns disconnected from their dad’s teats, blew bubbles
of milk from their mouths and noses, sputtered and made faces as Travis
wiped their little faces with a warm, damp cloth. They turned and
raced each other back to the comfort and protection of their father’s
pouch. Travis gently cleaned Strom’s teats and gave him a kiss.
“You’re the best
daddy, Strom.” Travis told him softly and gave Strom and peck on
his cheek. Strom smiled and stole a kiss from Travis. He
reached up and took Lyle’s hand and gently pulled him into his
arms. Once again he put his hand behind Lyle Chamber’s head and
directed his mouth to his left teat, with his other strong arm around
his back. Lyle didn’t know what to do, but when he heard Strom
singing to him again in his deep rumbling voice he knew he had to
sample Lummox milk. He thought it would be rude of him not to.
Lyle hooked up
to Strom’s big teat and gently began to suck. He wasn’t prepared
for the amount of flow produced and quickly had to swallow. The
taste was phenomenal. It was unbelievably good. It was like
a thick custard or sweetened condensed milk. It was so rich it
was almost sickeningly so, but the more he sucked and drank, the better
it tasted until he was afraid of making a pig of himself. He had
to fight with himself to withdraw. He was about to pull away when
he thought he heard a voice in his head.
<< Just a
little more, my handsome young human. Drink until I release you.
>>
Lyle didn’t know
if he really heard a voice or if his imagination was making it up to
convince him to drink more of the wonderful milk. He drank more
and more, until he felt Strom relax his grip on his head and begin to
stroke and pat him like he was a beloved pet. He pulled away from
the big creature’s teat and lay his head on Strom’s huge chest.
“My, God, in
heaven!” he exclaimed softly. “That was incredible!”
Lyle looked up
into Strom’s handsome face and eyes.
“Thank you,
Strom. That was, indeed, an unexpected and unusual treat.
I’m honored and most grateful.”
Strom petted him
several times. Lyle could feel the love that passed between
them. He was shaken to his core. He felt himself tremble
several times. He never experienced anything like that in his
life. He wondered if male Lummox ever bonded with human
males. All of a sudden, he heard a deep, booming, masculine voice
in his head.
<< It
happens a lot, my son. It is said, bondings between a Lummox male
and a human male are the strongest in the universe. You will meet
Captain Trong and Commander Fielding today. They are a bonded
pair and have several bairns together. Three humans and three
Volgorons. Gavin and Jerry Goodnight are their boys. They
just took Master Goodnight’s last name for school. Their real
last names are Trong-Fielding. Bronc and Ts’gan are my bairn Ox’s
grand-bairns. Their daddy, Bron, is my great grand-bairn.
>>
<< How can
I hear you, Strom? >> Lyle thought in his head.
<< My milk
triggered your latent genetic power to do the same as the boys.
You will be able to hear them and the animals from now on. >>
<< My,
God! That’s amazing. Thank you again, my friend. I
hope I’ll see more of you, Strom. >>
<< You
will, Mr. Chambers. The boys tell me about you all the
time. They love you very much and wanted to answer some of the
questions you’ve had about them and their lives. They want you to
become a part of them. They want to protect you from harm.
Now that I’ve met you and shared my milk with you, I have to admit, so
do I. >> Strom smiled at Lyle. Lyle blushed a deep
red color.
“We don’t have
to interpret for you any more, do we, Mr. Chambers?” Lucas watched the
exchange between Lyle and Strom.
“No, Son, I
don’t think so. I can hear all of you now. This is frick’n
unbelievable. It’s a whole new world for me. Thank you,
gentlemen for inviting me today. I don’t know what to say.”
“There’s more,
Mr. Chambers.”
“I don’t know
how? What you’ve shown me so far is pretty damn remarkable.”
“Trust us, Mr.
Chambers, there’s a lot more.” confirmed Waco.
The boys thought
Lyle Chambers was going to shit his Wranglers when Lucas opened the
portal to the Bandersnatch. His eyes got really big. Jack
and Jill scrambled down from Ranger to stand on either side and take
his hand. He looked down at them in amazement and smiled.
<<
Not be afraid, Lyle Chambers. Is but a door to another
place. It is door to Lucas’ father’s starship. Walk with us
through the blue water, follow the boys and you will be aboard a great
ship. >>
Waco, Ox, Little
Bear, Travis, Gavin, JR, Jerry, Bronc, and Ts’gan disappeared, one by
one, through the blue, shimmering water-like door. Lucas and
Strom stayed behind to help Lyle. Jack and Jill were gently
urging him through.
“Come, Mr.
Chambers, it tickles a little but once your through it will quickly go
away. We go through these gates all the time. If it won’t
hurt Strom or the bairns, it won’t hurt you. Close you eyes, take
a deep breath and go.” Lucas urged.
Lyle took his
advice and with Jack and Jill he walked through. There was
applause for him on the other side and three of the most handsome,
beautiful naked men he’d ever seen in his life greeted him. Lucas
and Strom followed right behind.
“Mr. Chamber,
I’d like to introduce my brothers to you.” Lucas said, “This fine
looking gentleman is Cable. He’s in charge of my dad’s ship when
he’s away and these handsome men are his assistants David and Jonathan.”
They shook
Lyle’s hand. Lyle was in awe of these perfect men.
“You men are
Lucas’ brothers? Are you sons of Mr. Long?”
“Yes, Sir, we
are; however, we were not born unto him. He had us created.”
“I don’t
understand.” Lyle looked confused.
“Cable, David
and Jonathan are sentient bio-mechanically engineered men. They
ain’t robots, Mr. Chambers. They are free thinking, feeling,
reasoning, highly intelligent and good looking men, as you can see.”
“I certainly
can. All this technology, . . . it can’t be from our planet.”
“You’re right,
Sir. It’s from a number of civilizations.” Cable said.
“This is all too
much. No wonder you men are more intelligent than my average
students. You’re much further advanced than them.”
“No we ain’t,
Mr. Chambers.” spoke up Little Bear, “We jes’ have good men who
love us and are seeing to our well being. We have a few more
options available to us than most students, but please don’t discount
our own hard work. We may be able to retain information at a
greater speed and rate than most, but we’ve learned how to do it.
We’ve been taught by the best. Not all is as it seems to be at
first glance.”
“My, God.”
was all Lyle Chambers could say. Then he added, “Why, me, men?”
“Why not you,
Mr. Chambers?” Lucas answered, “You’re one of our favorite
teachers, and we don’t wanna’ lose you. You don’t only teach, you
inspire your students to go beyond learning and help them
understand. We want to protect you. You’re here, because
you and Mr. Baker are about to get into a lot of trouble, but we’re
doing everything in our power to see it doesn’t happen. My dad
and Master Charlie will talk with you men later today, but before that
we wanted to tell you everything so you wouldn’t be troubled.”
<< Oh, my
God, what have they discovered? Do they know about me and Chet?
>> the moment he thought it Lyle knew he projected it out
to everyone in the room, and he almost died of embarrassment.
“We also plan to
teach you how to control your thoughts and block anyone from hearing
you who you don’t want knowing your private thoughts. Of course
we know. If we had the least doubt of your goodness or Coach
Baker’s, you wouldn’t be here. You’ve trusted us this far, Mr.
Chambers, trust us to do the right thing by you.”
“Amazing.” said
Lyle quietly. Then he asked, “Why are these men nude?”
“They rarely
leave the ship. They don’t like wearing clothing and my dad likes
to look at them in the raw. I think every man here would agree,
it would be a damn shame to put clothes on such beauty.”
“I can’t gainsay
that. Now that I think about it, it was a pretty stupid question
on my part. Forgive me, gentlemen.” Lyle spoke directly to
Cable, David and Jonathan.
“No offence
taken, Mr. Chambers. It’s perfectly understandable.” Cable spoke
for them.
“And in case
you’re curious, Mr. Chambers, my bio-mechanoid brothers are fully
functional sexually and have no hangups or preferences. They are
capable of strong emotions. They know what fear, anger and love
is and are capable of as many variations as we are. Us men love
them very much. They are very good to us and an important part of
our lives.” Lucas smiled at Lyle.
About that time
a small alarm went off and Cable responded.
“Captain Jones
and our brother Bryce are arriving in the large portal bay,
gentlemen.” Cable told the assembled men and Lummox.
“Come with us,
Mr. Chambers, and you can see how they arrive from the Amazon. We
have to go through another portal.”
The boys were
excited and already going through the new portal which sprang up from
Cable pushing a button. Lyle didn’t have any problem this time
and followed Scraps and Happy through. Everyone was there waiting
for the two men’s arrival. The large portal was activated and two
fine looking cowboys came through the gate. Lyle was impressed by
the older one’s size and the younger man’s beauty. Introductions
were made all around and the men began to talk when another alarm went
off.
“Captain Trong
and Commander Fielding are about to arrive with their family.”
Lucas told Lyle.
He no sooner got
the words out when the entire family walked through the gate.
There were two Lummox males and a younger female clinging to their
human father and one human female obviously too large to be carried by
her Volgoron father, but there she was with her head and shoulders
peeking out from Captain Trong’s bulging pouch. Gavin and Jerry
ran to their huge Volgoron dad and hugged him. Gavin took his
little sister from his dad and chided her for still needing the
protection of her dad’s pouch. She was happy to see her older
brother again.
Introductions
were made and Lyle Chambers was in awe of what he was witnessing.
He learned the Trong-Fieldings were from a ship near the arctic circle
called the Archimedes. The big handsome Vologoron male was
Captain and his mate held the rank of Commander, in what military Lyle
could only guess, but he bet it wasn’t a military that was part of any
country on Earth. Lyle was really impressed and taken with
Captain Trong and the Commander. The big lummox actually spoke to
him. It was the first time he ever heard one speak. Captain
Trong had a booming, deep, bass voice that resonated throughout the
transporter bay.
They all
returned to the sickbay area and from there went through another portal
to the barn on the ranch. Other guest were arriving and the
boys had responsibilities. They promised Lyle they would have
more information for him and Coach Baker later in the day. Until
then, feel free to tell Coach Baker anything he felt like and be as
open with him as he wanted to be. They would reveal all to him in
time anyway.
“Why are you
doing this, Lucas?”
“Because you are
part of our family, Mr. Chambers. You and Coach Baker and his
family. You are separate from most of the community in which you
live. You don’t believe the same way those folks do. You
are a secular humanist. You are important to us and to our
community. Trust me, you will understand more after today.
Right now, it should be enough for you to know you are loved,
appreciated and needed.”
Lucas stuck out
his hand and Lyle took it. They shook hands.
“Thank you,
Lucas, for trusting me.”
“You’re worth
it, Mr. Chambers. Don’t ever forget that, Sir.”
Lucas excused
himself and ran off to find his brothers and get last minute
instructions from Lazarus and Charlie. He ended up helping Ida
Mae in the kitchen. Lucas had become her right hand man when it
came to organization. Ida Mae trained Lucas like she wanted him,
and he got things done.
Lyle Chambers
turned and saw Chet Baker and his family coming up over the rise and
heading down into the main compound of the ranch. Travis and
Little Bear were out directing traffic. They were followed by a
van full of American Indians who were obviously Little Bear’s
tribe. Little Bear jumped up and down and waved to see
them. He directed them to park over behind the old barn.
More and more cars and trucks were coming over the rise. Lyle was
beside himself to speak with his buddy. Lyle met Chet’s ranch
wagon when he parked and helped Carol out of the front seat. They
hugged and kissed.
“Lyle, I swear
you get better looking ever’ time I see you.” Carol flirted with
him.
“I knew there
was a reason I love you, Carol. You’re so full of it.” Lyle
joked back. Carol Baker giggled like a school girl.
Chet came around
the front of the wagon and extended his hand. He was all decked
out in his cowboy duds and looked as handsome as ever. The men
shook hands and then Chet pulled Lyle into a hug and patted him on the
back.
“Glad you could
join us today, brother. Carol ain’t talked about nothing else but
git’n to see you again. I keep tell’n her you ain’t nothing
special, but she don’t believe me.”
“That’s fine, I
always did love her more’n you anyways.” Lyle laid on him.
Carol broke up laughing.
“Did ju’ git
here early, bro?” Chet asked as they walked toward the main house.
“I was told to
arrive a little early. The boys wanted to show me around the
ranch and show me some things the average person don’t get to
see. Remember our talk about something being different with them
boys, Chet?” Lyle asked quietly.
“Yeah.” replied
Chet in a low voice.
“They ain’t only
different, brother, they’re amazing. I can’t tell you everything,
but I know they will later. You’re gonna’ shit chore’ pants,
bubba. I damn near did mine.”
“Gimme’ a hint,
Son!” Chet begged.
“I can’t,
bro. You gotta’ see it for yourself. You wouldn’t believe
me if’n I’s to tell you.”
“You know I
would, Lyle.”
“Just have a
good time, and I’ll point out a couple of things to you. Remember
what you told me about them communicating with that big horse and the
dogs?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, they can,
but the craziest thing is, . . . I can do it now.”
“No!” said
Chet Baker quietly.
“See, I done
told ju’ you wouldn’t believe me. I drank some lummox milk
straight from the monster’s teat. See that big ‘un over there
talk’n with the boys? After he got through feed’n Mr. Long’s twin
sons he’s carrying in a pouch in front like a Kangaroo, he let me have
some. It must have flipped a switch in my brain, ‘cause now I can
hear ‘em and talk to ‘em. Remember us saying we want to know more
and be a part of them?”
“Yeah, I still
do.”
“Don’t worry,
brother, I have a feeling after today we will be a part of them.
They’ve already let me know too much to back out now. You have no
idea what I’ve seen and experienced in the brief time I been
here. Amazing shit, Chet.”
“Jes’ tell me
one thing, bro, what did the milk taste like, and was his tit as sweet
as mine?” Chet grinned wickedly.
“The milk was
unbelievably good. I didn’t think I was gonna’ be able to stop,
but you got the sweetest tits I ever did suck on, cowboy, you know
that.”
Chet broke up,
pushed his hat back on his head, and threw his arm over his friend’s
shoulder.
The day got
underway and Sunday dinner was served. It was country style
buffet fried chicken with all the fixings. The freemen guest went
though the line first, and then, the slaves could go through.
Travis didn’t care, he went through with his parents and new little
brother. They were right behind Ranger Gibbons, his wife and new
son. The boys were already communicating with the young ones and
Lyle couldn’t help overhear some conversations. Chet introduced
Lyle to Angus and his family and they all ate dinner at a table
together. The boys sat as close to their teachers as they
could. They idolized both men.
“We hear great
things about you and Coach Baker, Mr. Chambers.” Angus drawled
good-naturedly, “Them boys of ours can’t say enough good things about
ya’ll.”
“Wish all our
students were like the men from the Goodnight ranches, Sir.
They’re a joy to teach. They’re quite, attentive, polite and
intelligent. They always do their homework. What more could
a teacher want from a student?” Lyle responded.
“I never have to
tell them boy something twice.” agreed Coach Baker.
While they were
eating, a van from Hoot and Cotton’s ranch came over the rise and the
Stamper boys, their trainer and several cowboy-slaves got out and
headed for the food line. They waved and acknowledged
everyone. Two of the highschool coaches and their families
arrived followed by Sheriff Lassiter and his family. Charlie and
Lazarus got up from eating and went to welcome them. The sheriff
sent his family on to get their dinner and remained behind with Charlie
and Lazarus to talk for a minute. Lyle thought he saw the sheriff
looking over at him and Chet several times. His heart leapt to
his throat. He didn’t know whether to mention to his buddy what
he heard from Lucas. He thought better of it. No sense
upsetting his partner and ruining both their day. They would find
out soon enough. Better they learned what and how bad together.
End of Chapter
23 ~ Waco’s Lummox
Copyright
2006/2007 ~ Waddie Greywolf
All Rights
Reserved~
Mail to:
waddiebear@yahoo.com