Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2002 21:10:50 EDT From: Bwstories8@aol.com Subject: The Castaway Hotel - book 5, chapter 4 Legal Notice: The following story contains descriptions of graphic sexual acts. The story is a work of fiction and has no basis in reality. Don't read this story if: **You're not 18 or over, **If it is illegal to read this type of material where you live, **Or if you don't want to read about gay/bi people in love or having sex. The author retains copyright to this story. Placing this story on a website or reproducing this story for distribution without the author's permission is a violation of that copyright. Legal action will be taken against violators. I wish to extend my thank you to Ed for his editorial assistance with this chapter and to Ataan for his suggestions about the storyline. If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me at http://members.tripod.de/wolfslair, in the 'Other Stories' section. E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions, or other 'constructive' comments or advice may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com. * * * * * * * * Although the boys in these stories have unprotected sex, I strongly urge all of you out there to be smart and protect yourselves from various sexually transmitted diseases by using condoms when having intercourse. * * * * * * * * The Castaway Hotel-Book 5-by BW (Young-Friends). Copyright 2002 by billwstories Chapter 4 - Picking up the pieces. January 2002 The events of 9/11 were still fresh in our memories, when Graham approached me one evening. I knew something had been bothering him, because he hadn't been himself, but I thought it was just the recent events that had unsettled him. I thought it best to wait for him to come to me with his problem, though I would have approached him if he didn't show improvement or waited too long, but he beat me to the punch. "Dad, can we go somewhere to talk?" he asked me, with the most serious expression I had ever seen covering his face. "Sure. Why don't we go for a walk and you can tell me what's on your mind then?" "Okay. That will work," he told me. We went out the front door and began to walk up the road. At first he said nothing, and I could tell he was trying to form the words in his mind before he spoke them aloud. Finally I decided I had to prod him. "Graham, what is it that's bothering you?" I asked him directly. He looked at me and looked at the ground again, before he began to speak. "Dad, why do I have to have this ability?" I looked at him and saw the pain etched on his face, and I had a pretty good idea about what he meant and what he'd been going through. "Do you mean your ability to see the future and communicate with those who have passed?" He nodded his head. "Did you know about the plane crashes and all those terrible things before they happened?" I was sort of expecting a startled reaction to my question, hoping I had guessed incorrectly, but he simply nodded his head as he turned to face me. "Sort of, but I didn't understand what I was seeing. Dad, I don't want to know when these things are going to happen, especially if I can't stop them from happening. I don't want to go through life with things like this happening to me." I could empathize with him, imagining what it would be like to have his abilities, but I wanted to make sure about what I was dealing with here. "What exactly did you see or know before it happened?" I asked. "Remember that movie we watched, which took place in New York City?" I told him I did. "Well, every time I saw the World Trade Center, it was always shadowed in black, like Brent was before the accident. I didn't know what it meant, in fact I thought it was just part of the movie, but I guess I should have known and warned somebody." "Graham, who would you have warned and what would you have told them? I don't really think you could have prevented it. Did you see anything else?" "Well, I also had several dreams about planes crashing into things, but it was generally into mountains or into the ground, though I saw one crash into the Empire State Building." "Well, that was still not enough to tell you what was going to happen." "Yeah, but I think Brent was trying to tell me things too, but I just didn't understand. Why didn't he just tell someone older and smarter? Why does it have to be me?" I put my arm around his shoulder and drew him closer to me, trying to reassure him with that simple gesture. "Graham, as I've said before, God never gives us more than we can handle. Maybe he's just helping you develop your skills, so you can prevent something from happening in the future. I don't know, but there must be a purpose for your gifts. Besides, not many people are blessed with such unusual gifts, maybe you should consider yourself lucky." He looked at me, as if I had three heads, but I knew that he was wondering how to respond to that, until finally he did. "Sometimes I think it's neat, but other times it's just a pain, especially when bad things happen." He hung his head again. "Well, I'll just have to help you learn to cope with your special talent and do the best you can with the information you learn from it." This time he smiled at me before he responded. "Well, I kind of figured you'd say that, and I'm glad you're willing to try to help me. I know I can't get rid of any of this, so I guess it will be easier with someone to help me figure things out. Do you mind if I tell you everything I see like that?" "Not at all. In fact, I would feel honored if you did." "You're crazy, Dad, but I'm glad I have you to count on." "And I'm glad I have you, with all your special talents. It sure makes life interesting." We laughed a bit as he hugged me, and I hugged him back, then we walked back to the house, having at least settled on a temporary solution to his problem. The following weekend was parents' weekend at Frankies' college, but this weekend I took the next group that would be considering college. I hoped this might motivate them into deciding on what they wanted to major in and where they might like to go, as they would send out their letters of application in a couple of months. As we loaded into the Suburban this time, I had Pat, Ricky, Jay, and Shannon with me. Even though Jay didn't live with us, he was still part of the family and one of the juniors, so we included him in our plans, with his parents' consent of course. Jake also went with us this time, so he could be with his son and encourage him about going to college, as Jake never went himself. I was happy to have Jake join us, and it was an eye-opening experience for him too. We left Danny, Brandon, and Kevin in charge while we were gone, with Sally, the Shays, and the Spences on alert, in case they needed any assistance. This time I had reserved two rooms at the motel, one for the boys and one for Jake and me, and not just because of the numbers of people involved. I also thought it best that Jake and I should have some privacy, just in case either of us was feeling frisky. This weekend was very similar to the one with Dustin, as we attended a football game, took a tour of the campus, and unwound a little at the evening's social function, but this time there was no other set of parents for us to get to know. Frankie's roommate's parents did not come to participate in parents' weekend, and I learned later that the boy and his parents had a strained relationship. Nonetheless, we asked him to join us in everything we did while we were there, including taking him to meals and church with us. The only real major difference between the two weekends, besides the lack of a second set of parents, was later that evening, back at the motel room, when Jake and I started to move our relationship to the next level. When we arrived home that Sunday evening, we were greeted by the boys and then told that everything had gone smoothly. Later, as we sat relaxing, Graham told me that he needed to talk to me, in private, so I took him to my room. I couldn't imagine what was on his mind this time, but I would have never guessed what he was about to tell me. "Dad, Brent came to me again, while you were gone, and he told me something he wanted you to know." "And just what would that be?" "He told me about this boy who just lost his parents, and he wants you to take him in. He says this boy can just take his place in the family now." I was sort of stunned by this news, and I didn't know what to say at first. After thinking this over quickly, I finally responded to Graham. "Even though I think I understand what Brent wants us to do, I'm not sure that I'd even be allowed to take in another boy, after my current health problems. Maybe Brent doesn't understand that." "I think he does, but he let me know this kid needs to come live with us, not just anyone. I think he was telling us we need to find a way to do this." "Why just us?" "I'm not sure exactly why he's telling me that, but I think he was trying to tell me there is something different about this boy, something that most people wouldn't be able to deal with." Now I was really uncertain if I wanted to get involved in this, because I knew I couldn't deal with the same types of things I had to handle with Frankie or Pat, at least until I got my strength back. "Graham, I know Brent probably means well, but I'm not sure he fully understands what has happened since he left us." "Oh, he does, because he told me that you were going to get better and be all right. He also says that you have to do this. He's let me know that if you don't take this boy in, no one else will, and he'll end up growing up in some institution." "How can he know all that?" "I don't know, but that's what he showed me." "Well, I haven't even heard of such a boy, but I'll consider it when, and if, I do." "No! Brent says you have to find him." "And just how would I do that?" "He has let me know that you have to use your contacts, like Aunt Sally and others who could find out about such things." "But what would I tell her? I'd have to have more information than I have now." At this point Graham seemed to be staring off into space, and I wasn't sure of what was going on, but after a few minutes he spoke to me again. "Brent just told me that he'll find a way to either get this information to you or that he'll find a way to bring the boy to your attention. I guess he's not sure how he's going to do this, but he said he'll find a way." I decided that was a good place to leave this, as I didn't have to commit myself to anything just yet, and I thought maybe this thing would just kind of fade away. Graham seemed content too, figuring that Brent would let us know the details when the time was right, so for now I was off the hook and didn't have to make any hard and fast decisions. By the end of October, I was doing quite well and the doctors told me I was progressing quite nicely. They still wanted me to limit my stress and exertion, and to take things easy, but I was told that, with a few restrictions, I could go back to doing most normal things. I did have to continue to watch my diet, making sure I limited the fats, fried foods, and such, take a few medications, and they suggested that I try to shed a few more of those extra pounds I had put on over the past few years. I was thrilled that things were getting back to normal, so to speak, and I couldn't wait to be active again. When talking this over with the family, later that evening, they were also excited to hear that I could begin to do more, but they did suggest they'd do most of the work. Shortly thereafter, someone asked me when I'd be able to start teaching the next group to drive, and I told them I'd be willing to start this weekend, as long as Jake was agreeable to helping me out. At first he wasn't sure I should be doing this, as teaching young people how to drive can be very stressful, but I assured him that having been through this two other times, things would be fine. He agreed to help, so I committed myself to working with the boys. It was now time for Ricky, Jay, and Shannon to learn how to drive. Pat should also be included in this group, but I wasn't sure if his eye problems would interfere with his ability to get a license. I took him aside, to discuss this privately with him, so I could see what he wanted to do. "Pat, you know I'm going to start teaching the next group how to drive," I began, "and I was wondering if you wanted to be included with this group? If you do, then I'll set up an appointment with your eye doctor, to see if this would be possible." "Dad, I'd really like to be able to drive, but I don't want to do it if I won't be a safe driver. I've seen people behind the wheel who shouldn't be driving, and I don't want to end up being one of them. I really want to have my license, though, so I don't have to depend on everyone else all the time." "You're a very wise young man," I told him, "and I know you're too smart to let that happen. I'll set up the appointment, and then we'll find out if your doctor thinks you'd be able to pass the eye test and get your license. How does that sound to you?" "It sounds great! I really hope he'll tell me it's okay for me to drive." The next day I called for an appointment, but the earliest they could squeeze us in was the next week, even after I explained the purpose for this visit. Even though we weren't sure if he'd be allowed to drive, I decided to include him on that weekend's driving lesson, so he wouldn't miss out or fall behind if it was permissible. Besides, we'd only be driving around an empty parking lot, so I couldn't see what harm it would do. Pat was thrilled that I'd decided to do it this way, and I even let him go first, after I had given the group their first set of driving instructions. The boys all did very well for their first time out, and they were very excited about having reached this plateau in their young lives. For me, it just felt good to get back to doing some of my normal tasks and take my place as a contributing family member again. The following week I took Pat to his eye exam, and he was a bundle of nerves as we drove there and waited to be called in. After the doctor concluded his examination, Pat began to pepper him with questions about the chances he'd be allowed to drive. After listening to all of Pat's concerns, the doctor told him what he thought. "Pat, even though you only have vision in one eye, it is good enough to allow you to pass the required vision test. There are many people driving who can only see out of one eye, it's just that you'll have to learn to adapt in other ways, to accommodate for the lack of peripheral vision. I don't see the sight in that eye deteriorating any more quickly than for anyone else, so I can't foresee any particular future problems either. Other than that, I see no reason you can't get your license." Pat was so excited after receiving this news that he leapt from his chair, but he quickly regained control of his emotions. The doctor smiled at Pat's reaction and told him he expected him to be a responsible driver, so they wouldn't 'run into each other' any time soon. Pat caught the double meaning behind that phrase and he promised the doctor he would make sure that never happened. As we drove back home, I watched Pat out of the corner of my eye, seeing he was having trouble containing his excitement. He was wiggling around in his seat, drumming on the dashboard, and grinning like the proverbial cat that had just swallowed the canary. I was really glad to see him this happy. Now that things were getting back to normal, it took me a while to get used to the fact that I wouldn't have to get up mornings and go to school any more. Eventually I began to enjoy not having to work, especially when it meant I got to spend more quality time alone with my boys. Now I didn't have to worry about attending meetings, school functions, or board meetings, and I was able to utilize this extra time doing special things with the boys, even if it was just to take them shopping with me, stopping for a special treat alone, or just sitting and talking to them about their day. I now began to wonder how any of us had carried on before this, knowing how special this time was to me. Over the interim Jake and I had grown closer too, and the boys didn't miss out on the signs indicating this. Jake and I had been discussing various things about the boys before we made any decisions, and I noticed sometimes that the boys were playing us like they would a mother and father, occasionally using the 'divide and conquer' technique to get what they wanted. Even though those attempts rarely worked for them, they did seem to enjoy the effort of trying to pull something over on us. Occasionally we would knowingly let them succeed in their attempts, but only with minor issues that we knew wouldn't impact them in any significant way. I think Jake and I had as much fun playing these games as the boys did, except we knew in advance when they were going to win. Eventually the boys began to question our relationship, asking us if we were going to get married or do anything like that. We told them that for now we had decided to share many of the household duties, including making decisions about them, but we had made no long-term commitments. The boys seemed to be disappointed with this announcement, and I could see the wheels turning in their heads, as they attempted to discover a way to make this work out like they wanted. They seemed to enjoy having both of us around, especially since this meant the family would continue to stay together, even if something happened to me. I had changed my will to make Jake the boys' guardian if I wasn't there, and I had legally added his name to most of the household accounts and such. I had even given Jake power of attorney, in case I was ever incapacitated, but of course Steve Shay had helped us in drafting all of these changes and Jake was more than willing to take over, if that time should come. Needless to say, that gave me a great deal of comfort, knowing the boys wouldn't be split up, should I suddenly cease to be around or become incapable of taking care of them. The end of October meant a couple of other things were going to take place. First, of all, Cole's birthday fell on the 22nd, and he was going to turn sixteen, a very significant milestone in our family. Due to that fact, we were going to make this a very special party. He'd also be in the next group of new drivers, after I got this group through their test, and he probably would be grouped with Trey and Nick. I checked with Cole, to see if there was anything special he wanted for this party, and the only thing he asked for was to have a co-ed party. Cole was one of my straight boys, though he did still occasionally have a good time with the others, but he'd become more infatuated with girls, as time went on. I told him that would be fine and he should make up his party list and give it to me, which he did in plenty of time. When the day of the party arrived, there were quite a few outsiders in attendance, which wasn't typical for these events. No one had any problems with this, but it just wasn't the norm. Cole had invited a couple of his male friends from school, but most of his invitations went to girls. He felt there were enough guys going to be there already, meaning his brothers, and enough of them were straight or bi that they'd be mingling with the girls too. The party actually went off quite well and everyone was having a good time, so it continued on into the evening. I did have to send some of the older boys to the store on a couple of occasions, to pick up additional items, but everyone was having such fun that I couldn't bring it to an end. Cole was correct in thinking that some of his brothers would be out there getting to know some of the girls better, and no one was disappointed with their effort. Ricky, Jay, Pat, and Dion moved about talking to everyone, and soon I began to notice some of the boys pairing off with a particular young lady and heading to various places for some privacy. I was a bit surprised that Dion was one of the boys doing this, but soon he was taking an attractive girl out for a walk. I also noticed the pained expression on Trey's face when he noticed this too, but he seemed to keep his emotions under control. I knew this wasn't going to be anything serious for Dion, because he continued to let Trey know that he planned on their being together for a very long time, it was just that he still had some wild oats to sow, at least where females were concerned. I was pretty sure this wasn't anything romantic, just a guy doing a little flirting with an attractive member of the opposite sex. As Dion walked along with this girl, the conversation quickly turned to his 'uniqueness'. "I've heard from some of the other girls," she told him, "that you've got some special qualities." Dion grinned, thinking she meant his personality or his charm, and he didn't readily catch on to the true meaning of what she said. "Well, I don't think I'm special," he told her, "and I'm not any different than any of my brothers." "That's not what I heard," she replied, giving him an evil grin. Now Dion was beginning to get the drift of her innuendos, but he thought he'd better make sure. "What do you mean? I'm not so special." "Well, I hear there are parts of you that are, shall I say, bigger than normal." Dion blushed, but no one could really tell, and he just kind of stood there with his mouth hanging slightly open. "Do you think I could see it?" she continued. Now Dion wasn't sure how to respond. He was pretty sure she was referring to his penis, but he didn't want to jump to conclusions and be wrong. "Ah, what exactly is it you want to see?" he asked her. "You know, that love muscle of yours. I hear it's pretty big and that you're pretty good with it." "Well, I guess it might be a little bigger than normal," he stuttered out, though he was quite proud that certain girls had found this an interesting topic of conversation. "Well, are you going to show it to me, or do I have to rip your clothes off you?" she asked him again, giving him a seductive pose. "Well, we can't do it here. Follow me and I'll take you someplace where we can be alone." She followed him willingly, as he led her to the old tree fort where he'd had success before, and he got her to climb up into it with him. As they stood there facing each other, he slowly unzipped his pants, undid the snap, and gave her a good look at what she wanted to see. "Oh, my God. It's bigger than I thought it would be, and it's not even hard," she squealed out, though Dion wasn't sure if she was excited or afraid of it. Soon that question was answered for him. "Do you mind if I touch it?" she asked, with a great deal of sincerity and excitement. "I don't mind, as long as I can touch you too," he said, with a sly grin. She looked back at him and responded. "I wouldn't have it any other way." As she reached out and grasped his organ, slowly stroking it and bringing it to life, Dion made himself busy fondling her breasts, soon removing her shirt and bra. By now she had pushed his pants down around his ankles, so he undid her snap and removed her pants as well. It was then that she told him what she was really after. "I want to see what that feels like inside me. Do you mind?" All Dion could do was flash her a big toothy grin, and get out a feeble, "Unt uh", letting her know that she had struck gold. Dion pulled a condom out of his wallet, which he had put there before the party, just in case, and then he gave her what she wanted. He had to take it slowly with her, and she couldn't quite handle everything he had, even though he could tell she wasn't a virgin. I heard they both seemed to enjoy what took place in that lofty perch, as he showed her what he could do with that monster. Everyone pretty much knew that Dion had scored when he returned, as he couldn't cover up that huge Cheshire cat grin or hide the fact that her hair was pretty mussed up. Noticing that, Trey left the party quickly, heading for the solitude of his room, but Dion had anticipated his reaction and followed him there. Once he caught up with Trey, Dion explained what had happened, told Trey that it wasn't anything more than just sex, and then he hugged and kissed Trey, letting him know that he was the one who was important to him. After a bit of this type of apologizing, Trey finally forgave him, but only after making him promise that he'd make it up to him later that night. Dion quickly agreed, so the incident ended up being catalogued as one of those 'no harm, no foul' types of call. The end of October brought another special time at our home, Halloween. This year the boys decided to make a haunted house in some of our rooms, so they could attract more kids to come where I could see them. They knew that I always loved to see the little ones in their costumes, which I usually did at school, so they concluded this would be the best way to make sure it happened. They asked me if I minded if they used the recreation room and basement for this purpose, and I told them no, so they started working on their plans to make it memorable. They also made sure to publicize what they were doing, so everyone would know. Their first plan was to have the trick-or-treaters come to the back door, which led into the rec room, so they had set up tombstones with the names of some of the world's most famous mass murderers on the lawn outside. They had tombstones for Jack the Ripper, Jeffrey Dahmer, Son of Sam, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Vlad the Impaler, and even Osama Bin Laden. Once the visitors passed through this 'cemetery', they would enter the rec room, which was bathed in black lights and filled with the sounds of moans, groans, and other weird noises. There was an old fashioned pine coffin set up just inside, which would open after a few seconds, exposing one of the boys made up like Dracula. This would elicit a few screams from the younger children, and some laughs from the older ones. Then they'd parade past a skeleton and a headless corpse, before they walked down the hallway toward the basement. As they passed the downstairs toilet, which had been fitted with fake prison bars, a bunch of hands would reach out for them in that narrow corridor, as horrid looking creatures tried to grab them. Following that, they would go down the stairs into the basement, having to walk through spider webs made of thread and foam as they did so. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they soon discovered what other surprises awaited them. First they would pass a table, where the bloody stump of a hand would seem to move and try to grab them, and then they would pass the severed head of Osama Bin Laden, but his eyes would open as they passed. From there they would go to the far corner, to collect their treats, and this was a collection of items the boys had either made themselves or selected especially for this occasion. The children were now allowed to choose what they wanted, selecting from white chocolate eyeballs, gummy worms, thumb lollipops, bones made from pretzels and white chocolate, and jujy-tongues. The majority of our guests seemed to really enjoy themselves and the haunted house was quite a hit. It also accomplished what they boys had hoped for and I got to see and talk to many of the children who visited. It was one of the most memorable Halloweens ever. It was now early November and my recovery was going well. So well, in fact, that I even began to regret the fact that I had taken the early retirement. By this time, Jake was working during the day, the boys were in school, and I was spending much too much time alone, trying to find ways to fill my free time. My once busy and hectic life was now riddled with long, inactive days when I longed to be roaming the halls of my school. The boys were all to the point where they didn't rely on me as much as they once had, not because they didn't care, but because they were growing up and becoming independent, as I prayed they would. It was just that it left me with another big void in my life. I tried to maintain a positive approach and display a happy face when the boys or Jake were around, but when I was alone I was having to stave off a sense of depression. During this period Dustin was calling on a fairly regular basis, to tell me how his classes were going and to keep me informed on how he and his roommate were getting along. Frankie was also calling from time to time, also telling me about his roommate, but for him it was more that he was trying to help his roommate cope with the fact that he and his parents weren't all that close. The boy was kind of jealous of our family, telling Frankie that he wished he had a brother or two, or that even his parents were as concerned about him as I was, but he knew that would never happen. It was not that they hated each other or didn't speak civilly when they conversed, it was just that his parents had their own life, which seemed to take precedence over whatever was happening in his life. With Thanksgiving break rapidly approaching, Frankie wanted to know if he could have his new friend join us for part of that time. He said his roommate would spend Thanksgiving Day with his family, but the boy wanted to join us on Friday and spend the weekend, returning to college with Frankie on Sunday evening. I agreed, as long as it was no problem with his family, and I was assured it was not, as he explained that his parents probably wouldn't even notice he was gone. I felt sorry that he had to be subjected to such a lack of concern. As far as I was concerned, no child should ever have to feel unwanted or unloved. Before Thanksgiving arrived, something else also began to develop. Graham's communication with Brent seemed to be getting more and more frequent. When this would happen, Graham would come to discuss what he saw with me, and we'd try to decide what it meant. He had already told Graham about this boy he wanted us to take in, but so far we had been unable to locate a boy that he was telling us about. I told Sally what we knew, had her alert her contacts to that information, but still nothing. Now Graham was starting to get other images from Brent, ones that we had to decipher. The first clue was the sense of a plane crash, but we weren't sure if it meant that the boy had been involved in or survived a crash, or if it carried other significance. I privately wondered if this had anything to do with the 9/11 crashes, but I didn't say that to anyone else. Then Graham told me he kept seeing a pair of crutches, so we began to conclude that the boy had been injured in a plane crash and was now either temporarily or permanently on crutches. We passed this information on to Sally, but still nothing developed. We were all very perplexed. Graham was also getting multiple images of Kevin, which we assumed meant that Brent still cared for Kevin and was possibly watching over him. Kevin seemed pleased by this information, though it also would sadden him. I still wonder sometimes why God allows bad things to happen to good people, and Kevin is one of my biggest questions. For a boy as young as he is, he'd gone through his parents turning on him because he was gay and throwing him out, he had to deal with testicular cancer and the loss of one testicle, and he had also gone through several failed relationships. The first was with Dustin, who decided he was straight. The next was with Nicky, who couldn't commit himself to just one boy, and the last one was with Brent, who had been killed in the vehicular accident. Kevin was a good kid, smart, good-looking, and willing to please, so why had so many bad things darkened his few years of life? I certainly had no explanation for any of that. Shortly after that, Graham also began to get a barrage of images that we finally concluded were related. He would get glimpses of the Bunker Hill Monument and the Minute Man statue, and then he would see President Kennedy, followed by a map of Massachusetts. We finally concluded that these were all meant to direct us to the state of Massachusetts, and I thought maybe we would find the boy there. I asked Sally if she had any contacts around there, and she told me she did have one, so I asked her to call that person to see if these clues might help her locate this boy. Sally agreed and we decided to wait to see if anything developed. * * * * * * * * If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me at http://members.tripod.de/wolfslair, in the 'Other Stories' section. E-mails may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com.