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"The Littlest Spermpire"

Chapter #8

By Paul S. Stevens & Hans Schreiber

Back at the bus, Donny made sure that Marcus had secured the bus before he made any attempt to confront Malik. Marcus had closed the hinged door and stood guard at the front of the bus to try and prevent, or at least discourage, anyone from rushing out to change the balance of power between Donny and Malik.

As Donny closely watched what was going on outside the bus, time started running out and everyone's nerves were beginning to wear thin. As he stood there in silence, he wondered why he and Malik had to be at odds with each other. Another John Denver song haunted his agitated mind. It had inadvertently played after Marcus had left and Tony was still messing around with the Karaoke machine. His dad's favorite singer's voice was playing through his head as clearly as if it were being played on some invisible stereo. It was oddly apropos for the predicament he found himself in. Donny concentrated on the lyrics and strained to remember them. It made him think of his dad and how he wished he could come to his rescue right about now. This was by far the most grown up thing he ever had to do and he was growing more terrified by the minute. He knew, however, it was too late to back out and the time for action was upon him. Being a spermpire made him have to grow up far sooner than he should have had to. As he bided his time for an opening, the lyrics to the song started coalescing in his mind and solidified in his consciousness.

Opposite Tables By: John Denver

Father oh father please hear me. My song is a cry of desperation.

All of the words I hear have lost their meaning.

My life is a well of confusion, drowned out by the sound of the lost and lonely.

Only the voice inside speaks your name to me.

If they only knew the things that I know, if they only could see the things that I see.

My brothers at opposite tables like fire and water against each other.

Only a fool can't see the obvious ending.

Are we as ashes to wildwood? Is life just a fire that can only consume us?

Is there no vision of love to bind us together?

If they only knew the things that I know, if they only could see the things that I see.

He and his spermpire brother, Malik, were at opposite tables like fire and water against each other. He wished he could resolve this conflict without having to lift a finger against anyone. It was a nice thought but unfortunately, it wasn't just up to him. Fighting was not in his nature, but a commitment to right wrongs and defend others definitely was.

Tensions were high as he tried to wait for the right moment to make his move, but the perfect opportunity never presented itself. He realized there would be no perfect time and all he was doing at this point was procrastinating. Donny dug deep inside himself to find the courage he so desperately needed. He thought about all the disrupted lives of all his spermpire brothers on the bus, many of whom he'd never met, in turmoil, all over a well crafted lie. He thought about his own family and being forced to leave his dad and brother. He thought about how Malik had captured his brother and put him at risk. He recalled the dark, evil feeling he'd gotten from Malik on the night of his ceremony, and in doing so, roused the spermrage within. He took a deep breath, swallowed hard and stepped out into the open, growing more and more confident with each step.

He emerged from the wooded area, determined to go through with what he was now forced to do.

"Malik!" Donny spat out. "Your game is up. I know what you're trying to do and I'm not going to let you get away with it. I'm calling you out!"

Everyone on the bus heard the commotion outside and all of them rushed to one side of the bus, crowding together to get a look out the windows. One of Malik's paid hoods, who had been patiently waiting inside the bus along with everyone else, was unaware of any trouble outside until everyone suddenly reacted. He instantly sprang to action, noticed Marcus attempting to man the door and overpowered him. The goon shoved Marcus to the rear of the bus and then manned the door himself to keep Marcus and everyone else contained. He watched in anticipation of Malik crushing this younger, new kid who was so full of himself.

"You foolish little brat," Malik growled as he turned towards the voice emerging from the darkness. "I sensed you were trouble from the start. Back down now or I'll be forced to kill you. It's better that one little hotheaded spermpire die than the whole colony be endangered."

"Kill me to silence me... like you did to Brock? You killed him to acquire his power, didn't you? This is all about you and your power trip. This isn't about protecting us. You just want to control our lives and expand your influence."

There was a gasp amongst the spermpires on the bus as they began to see that they were about to be transported as prisoners rather than refugees. They witnessed Marcus guarding the door and then watched this bigger clown take over and were confused about what was happening until now. But now, with the heated accusations flying back and forth outside, they began to understand that more was going on here than a simple relocation of the colony.

"How dare you accuse me of that you little shit. You know nothing about it," Malik declared, turning toward the bus and raising his arms as if he were a preacher preparing to deliver a sermon to his congregation. "Brock was weak. He would have left us to dwindle and die out or worse, be hunted down and slaughtered by organized Sybil raiders. The colony needs my leadership, my guidance, my wisdom, my vision. My very name `Malik Waldemar Kamari' means `king and renowned master of the moonlight'. I'm simply fulfilling my destiny. I'm liberating our community from this pit of despair and delivering us to the Promised Land where we will gain greater strength and security through greater numbers. Under my rule, we will grow strong. One day, we will have our own worldwide colony with willing slaves to feed upon without shame or humiliation. There will be too many of us for them to control or destroy. I have foreseen it and you will join me or be swept away. No one, especially this impish fool, will stand in the way of our future."

Hearing what Malik had to say, Donny suddenly realized he was dealing with a complete narcissistic psycho.

"You made this whole emergency up!" Donny challenged. "The whole thing about the police rounding up spermpires and interrogating them was all fabricated so you could have a reason to move us to the neighboring colony in Coalsville. The only reason we're being forced to do this is so you can expand your influence. Jonah told us all about how you tried to coerce him to lie about it for you. When he refused, you just got someone else to do it for you. Your lust for power will be your downfall. Your plans to assassinate the colony leader in Coalsville the way you did to Brock will not succeed as long as I have anything to say about it."

An audible gasp rippled through the bus. Then Donny looked directly into the faces of the passengers that were all plastered along the windows down the length of the bus. "Has anyone even seen or heard from Vladimir, the Grand Master of this community? It's been said that he doesn't even know what's going on here! Are we going to stand for this? Do you really want to leave your homes and put your trust in this madman?"

Then Donny turned back toward Malik. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"All lies!" Malik said, and then caught a glimpse of the passengers on the bus as they shot questioning and accusing stares at him.

The thought that he was losing control made something snap inside Malik's head and he suddenly felt he'd been backed into a corner. This triggered a natural instinct to defend his territory and establish his alpha leadership status. Without warning, he charged Donny where he stood. Donny's spermrage automatically flared into high gear when he intuitively sensed Malik's pending attack. As Malik lunged forward, Donny lowered his head and rammed Malik forcefully in the gut, propelling both of them to the ground. Malik grunted loudly as the wind was knocked from his lungs. Malik was splayed across the pavement of the parking lot, spread eagle and Donny quickly rolled off him and sprang back to his feet.

Almost everyone on the bus had a cell phone and a blitz of photos were taken of Malik on the ground and Donny standing over him, readying to deliver a second blow if necessary.

When Malik recovered his breathing, he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and punched the call back button. Donny prepared to finish him off, once and for all. Before Donny could pounce, Malik yelled into the phone, freezing Donny in his tracks.

"Turn Tony unless you hear from me in five minutes!"

"No! Leave my little brother out of this you creep," Donny demanded. "He's too young."

Malik sneered and stood up as he prepared to use his ace in the hole.

"Submit to me now and I will spare your precious little brother from becoming the littlest spermpire ever." Malik said with false benevolence as he waved the phone in the air, demonstrating his unwavering intentions. "If you think it's hard for us to find feeding victims, imagine it at his age." Malik was sneering, spitting out the words like venom from a hissing snake.

Donny slumped in defeat as Malik held Donny's only weakness in the palm of his hand. Malik continued to hold the phone in one hand and grabbed Donny viciously by the back of the neck and slammed him against the bus with all the force he could muster. The passengers groaned as they felt the impact of Donny's body get slammed against the side of the bus.

Donny's nose began to bleed and he almost lost his footing from the debilitating collision of his face and body against the cold hard steel. Malik continued to hold Donny by the neck with every intention of delivering a second devastating blow as Donny struggled just to remain standing.

"Cooper! Bring me the rope." Malik ordered. When his order was not immediately acknowledged, he shouted, "Cooper! Now!"

Just then, he heard the rustling of footsteps as David and Dylan emerged from the woods with their arms folded in triumph.

"Uh, sorry to have to inform you, but Cooper is all tied up right now," Dylan said. "It's over now Malik. Let Donny go!"

Malik waived his cell phone in the air with his finger poised over the redial button.

"Ah, I don't think so!" Malik called out. "Donny, explain the situation to your little friends over there!"

"Stop, he's got Tony!" Donny shouted to David and Dylan. "He's going to turn Tony if we don't cooperate with him. We have to back off!"

David and Dylan looked at each other in shock but firmly stood their ground.

Inside the bus, Marcus was freaking out over what Malik was doing to his friends outside. Since he couldn't exit out the front door, he crept to the rear of the bus using the commotion to cover his actions and began clawing at the emergency escape hatch. Try as he did, it wouldn't budge. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that Malik had welded the mechanism shut. Malik had anticipated there might be some resistance and didn't want anyone slipping through his fingers.

Marcus collapsed on the back seat of the bus in defeat as he realized he was trapped like a helpless rat in a cage and had no way to help his friends while Malik used the threat of turning Tony to gain the advantage.

Malik held the phone in one hand and with the other hand, released his hold on Donny's neck, shoving him to the ground.

"You two," Malik ordered as he pointed to David and Dylan. "Tie him up."

They stood motionless looking at each other, unsure what to do.

"Go ahead, do what he says. I have to keep Tony safe," Donny said as he sat up and reluctantly put his hands behind his back.

Malik was prepared for almost any contingency and had ample rope to restrain anyone who resisted him. Reluctantly, Dylan grabbed a small bundle of rope from a pile of gear lying on the side of the bus and tied Donny as ordered. Just as Dylan finished binding Donny's wrists, he assisted him to his feet. Malik inspected the knot to make certain it was secure. Then he went back to address his reluctant followers and enforce his authority and power.

Inside the bus, Marcus's phone signaled an incoming text. He read the text and then scrambled to his feet, pushing and shoving people out of his way to acquire a position near an open window.

"Dylan! Stop what you're doing! Untie Donny!" Marcus shouted. "Jonah freed Tony. I just got a text from Jonah showing Tony standing over Malik's man. Tony's free!"

"NO! He's lying. Stay away from him," Malik screamed at Dylan.

"Quick, untie me, Dylan," Donny fumed, countermanding Malik's command. "Malik has just issued his last order!"

Dylan quickly knelt and fumbled to untie Donny as Malik charged at them both before Dylan could get the ropes loosened. As Malik attacked, he kicked Dylan in the face and knocked both him and Donny to the ground. Then he lifted his boot to smash Donny's skull into the pavement. Before he could deliver the crushing blow, David barreled into Malik's back and they toppled over the top of Donny, tripping onto the asphalt as they each attempted to gain the upper hand. Malik quickly overpowered David and delivered blow after blow to his head, leaving David dazed and bloodied. Dylan recovered from being kicked in the face and jumped furiously back into the fray to assist his spermpire boyfriend.

Donny struggled against his bonds, but was unable to free himself, even with the ensuing rage he was experiencing. His struggles just seemed to cause the ropes to tighten even more. Donny wondered if Dylan was a scout or a sailor or something. Then he remembered that David had said he came from a military family where tying such a strong knot was probably drilled into him at a very young age.

Even with there being two against one, Malik was maintaining the advantage over the two dazed teens, yelling for help, as he struggled.

The two spermpires who had been searching the woods for the stragglers had discovered Cooper tied to a tree and freed him. The three of them heard the commotion from a distance and came running to assist Malik. They quickly arrived on the scene and pulled David and Dylan off Malik and easily subdued them. Then Malik ordered his two scurrilous companions to tie David and Dylan's hands together and ordered Cooper to secure Donny's ropes once again that had been partially loosened. Once David, Dylan and Donny were securely tied up and were no longer a threat, Malik ordered his two mercenaries to guard his three prisoners while he sent Cooper out to find Tony and his young rescuer, who were still at large somewhere nearby.

Malik went over to the door of the bus and ordered his man guarding the door to open it for him. He stepped into the bus and pulled out a medium sized pine box that was positioned under the driver's seat. He opened the box and withdrew an ornate hunter's knife with a serrated six inch blade. His eyes widened at the sight of the weapon as the dull street lights from above, shined off its meticulously polished surface. This was no ordinary knife. It was the very knife he had killed Brock with after he managed to disarm it from him during their deadly battle.

Malik felt a rush of power from the adrenaline that began to surge through his body as he held his prized battle trophy in his hands. Then he faced his hostages in the bus who were now becoming hostile and mutinous. He waived his precious knife in the air at them while he raged into a tirade, threatening anyone who tried to challenge his authority.

"All of you get yourselves back to your seats and stay there!" Malik ordered. "The first person to try to escape will find out what my blade feels like as I cut you open like a fish!"

Then he turned to his man stationed at the door and issued even more orders.

"Nobody leaves this bus, you hear me?" Malik instructed his henchman. "If anyone attempts to leave, use whatever force necessary to prevent it. If that means deadly force, then so be it. Understand?"

His goon shook his head in the affirmative and everyone found their way back to their seats as a deafening silence befell the bowels of the bus.

As Malik turned to exit the bus, Marcus, who was unwilling to just sit idly by, attempted a foolhardy rescue. He attacked Malik, blindly rushing him from behind. Malik was too quick as he heard Marcus's approaching footsteps against the floor of the bus and turned unexpectedly, plunging his knife into Marcus's gut.

Inside the bus, the passengers all gasped at Malik's cold blooded attack. Outside the bus, Donny screamed in terror as he witnessed the full extent of Malik's malevolence.

Slowly, Marcus fell to the floor in a heap as Malik extracted the knife from his bowels. "You weren't even worth the effort," Malik muttered under his breath as he wiped the bloody blade off on Marcus's shirtsleeve.

Once again, Malik turned to exit the bus and his flunky then rose to his feet and stood at attention, watching to make sure that no one else was going to try to be a hero. Then he crossed his arms and scowled at the passengers as he bowed to Malik, allowing him to confidently walk past him and exit the bus in safety.

Being distracted by the events on the bus, the two guards lowered their vigilance, allowing Donny the opportunity he was looking for. Donny amazed everyone with a surprise attack. Donny waited for Malik to come out of the bus and get a few steps away. As he did, Donny rushed Malik, not allowing his bindings to get in the way. Once again, Malik was quick and stabbed at Donny, but missed him as Donny dipped, a mere inch away from Malik's blade. The momentum of Malik's failed attempt caused him to lose his balance and fall across Donny's shoulder. Donny used Malik's momentum to flip him over onto his back. Malik's knife flew from his hand as his body hit the ground. Donny rushed over to retrieve the knife from where it came to rest on the ground. He picked it up with his fettered hands, kneeled and placed it squarely between his heels, squeezing it tightly while he cut the cords that gripped him.

As soon as Donny freed himself, he got attacked from behind by Malik's two hoodlums and the knife was knocked back over toward Malik. As Malik recovered, he regained possession of his knife. Then he ordered the two hoods to hold Donny down to the ground. Malik slowly sauntered over to Donny, swaggering and showing off as he repeatedly tossed the knife into the air, overconfidently catching it by its blade. Having allowed his earlier rage to be quelled over risk of Tony being turned, he was unable to overpower his captors. Maintaining the rage was not easy to do once the fight is taken out of you.

By now, even the most diehard Malik supporters were changing their allegiance as they watched in horror at what Malik had done to Marcus and what he was about to do to Donny, David and Dylan outside as his goons blindly followed his deadly commands. It became obvious that Malik had chosen and turned this group of wicked criminals for this very eventuality. Against Malik's threat to the passengers, they once again gathered together at the windows and pointed their cell phones at the horrific spectacle.

Malik knelt beside Donny, crazed with intense, uncontrollable anger, and raised his knife to plunge the blade deep into the heart of his newest adversary who had exposed and humiliated him in front of his followers. As Malik began his downward thrust, something flashed in his peripheral vision. Before he could react, Tony ran headlong into Malik, using his body as a battering ram to knock him off balance. The knife came down, narrowly missing Donny and instead went plunging into the right leg of one of the two slimy thugs holding Donny down. The impaled brute let out a horrifying shriek as he screamed in excruciating pain.

The passengers on the bus gasped as many of them turned to look away. Some of the bolder ones snapped even more pictures as the mortal conflict continued just ten feet away.

One of the older passengers knew exactly what to do and took advantage of the pandemonium. He went through his list of contacts and called up the name of the spermpire who had unintentionally turned him, Vladimir himself, and sent him a text message briefly explaining the situation along with the picture he had just snapped depicting the situation that was escalating out of control.

Malik cursed and then jerked the knife free from the wretched hooligan's leg as Malik's unintended target let out another shriek. Malik rolled over to his right to reestablish his position and Donny used the ensuing chaos and confusion to break free and scramble to his feet. He lunged toward Malik, only to stop suddenly, dead in his tracks at the unexpected sight in front of him.

Malik had managed to overpower Tony. He held Tony tightly against his chest with the bloodied knife pressed against Tony's throat so closely that he nicked the skin, causing a trickling of blood to run down the panicked boy's vulnerable neck.

"That's right," Malik spat out. "Enough. Back Off... Now!"

Donny complied and the misanthrope, who had not been impaled by Malik's knife, took charge and seized him. The ruffian got more rope and yanked Donny to the back end of the bus where he tied Donny securely to the bumper.

"This whole evacuation was supposed to be quick and easy," Malik muttered under his breath.

Malik felt that it was time to take desperate measures in order to maintain control. He truly believed that things would settle down once he could relocate everyone and make an example out of these troublemakers. From here on, he was going to have to do whatever might be necessary to regain control. He went back into the bus and returned to the pine box that was stowed under the driver's seat and withdrew two hand pistols hidden in a secret compartment within. He handed them to the two lackeys standing closest to him and issued his next commands.

"You, make sure everybody behaves themselves, and you collect everybody's cell phones. I don't need anymore surprises from somebody else trying to be a hero tonight. And if anyone so much as looks at you sideways, shoot `em!"

The two gunmen systematically went through the busload of passengers and confiscated everyone's cell phone and were offered no resistance. After watching the drama unfold, everyone knew that Malik and his paid assassins were now playing for keeps and willing to take any measure to succeed.

Meanwhile, Jonah, who had waited for the right moment to spring a surprise attack of his own, saw Cooper skulking about in the shadows after following him from the fight scene back down near the girl's bathroom in search of him and Tony. Jonah used the opportunity to take out his second victim. He snuck around to the darkened doorway of the bathroom and hid there just inside the partition. He watched as Cooper walked past, peering out toward the trees. Jonah gripped the fallen tree branch he'd picked up as a weapon, crept up behind him, and whacked him in the head. The older spermpire went down like a ton of bricks.

"This just isn't your day is it?" Jonah said.

He stood over Cooper's body with the branch still in his hand in case he wasn't really out. He worried for a moment if perhaps he'd accidentally killed him. Finding feeding donors would prove difficult from behind the bars of a jail cell. While Jonah stooped over Cooper's motionless body and contemplated his potential fate, an excruciating pain exploded in his crotch. The big goon with the crooked dick he'd laid out earlier in the bathroom, had regained consciousness, heard the commotion, and took great pleasure in dishing out a little payback. He kicked Jonah between the legs from behind with such force that he lifted Jonah's poor body a foot off the ground.

"Take that you cock sucking little shit," growled the filthy ex-con. "For being such a little spermpire, you got some big balls coming back around here."

Jonah was lying on the ground, clutching his groin and feeling like he needed to vomit at any second. His filthy attacker descended to the ground and put his suffering victim into a smothering chokehold. Jonah's hands left his aching crotch and clawed at the strong arm that was wrapped around his neck until everything went black. Once Jonah was out, the goon pulled the boy's shirt off and took it into the bathroom where he soaked it in cold water. He used it to clean the gash in the back of Cooper's head until he regained consciousness and could walk.

Back at the bus, the battle was over but the fight was far from finished. With Donny's threat out of the way, Malik released Tony and shoved him into the arms of his able bodied thug. The other creep continued writhing in pain, clutching his bleeding and wounded leg. Tony struggled and cried to no avail. Cooper, who had regained his wits with the help of Jonah's assailant, entered the bus area followed by the big goon from the bathroom, carrying Jonah's limp body, naked from the waist up, in his arms. Jonah's arms swung so freely, he appeared to be dead.

"Is this the guy you were looking for? For being such a little guy, he sure put up one hell of a fight." Cooper stated, holding Jonah's shirt against the bloody gash in the back of his own aching head.

Malik was too distraught to give a civil answer.

"It's about fucking time you showed up. Too much time has been lost over this nonsense," Malik complained. "Load everybody in and get this gear stowed. We're leaving, now!"

Malik's guys loaded Tony and Jonah's unconscious body onto the bus and banished them to the back seat. Then they pulled Marcus up off the floor and tossed him in the back with Tony and Jonah as he clutched at the hemorrhaging wound to his gut that he had sustained during his encounter with Malik. Lastly, they tossed David and Dylan into the bus, their hands still tightly bound to one another. A healthy goon assisted the lame one who'd been stabbed to get on board and then he took the rope and other gear that was sitting in a pile on the ground and loaded it into one of the storage compartments. He then boarded the bus, took one last head count and gave the `all clear' signal that everyone on the roster was now present and accounted for. Malik dusted himself off and gathered his composure. Then he lifted his head up high in exultation, boarded the bus and took the driver's seat from the trucker he had hired.

"I've decided to drive," Malik declared. "You sit there in case I need you to take over."

Then Malik turned to the busload of passengers and issued his warning.

"This is what happens when you challenge me! I swear I will kill everyone and anyone who tries to defy me now!"

With that being said, Malik started the bus and pulled away.

Donny, who had been proficiently tied to the rear bumper, heard the bus start and coughed when a cloud of black exhaust fired from the tailpipe that extruded directly beneath him. As the bus began to move, Donny realized he was about to die. His life began to flash before his eyes.

Everything that meant anything to him flashed like a strobe light in his mind. He saw his mom again through his young eyes as he remembered how beautiful she was before she passed away. Then he remembered how scared he was that night in the hospital when he almost lost his dad. His dad had been accidentally exposed to something from a medical lab near a construction site where he was working. Donny was six years old when his dad went through an experimental procedure that failed and left him near death. Then he remembered holding Tony that night in bed and trying to console him while his own heart was breaking.

Then his thoughts jumped to Marcus as he remembered getting a boner the very first time he saw him at school, sitting across the room and not even knowing he was alive. Then he got overwhelmed with regret for not reaching out to Marcus sooner and all the lost time that they could have spent together, loving each other.

His life review was cut short as the bus began to move and Donny was forced to run along with the bus to keep from being dragged. He summoned the energy from his rage and ran as fast as he could to keep up with the vehicle. When Malik stopped the bus at the stop sign at the end of the parking lot before entering the road, Donny doubled over at the waist and gasped for breath, praying for it to be over quickly.

Tony pounded at the back window of the bus and screamed Donny's name as he watched his brother struggling. Tony somehow thought there had to be a way to ease Donny's suffering. Tony was dying inside knowing that Donny was just beyond his reach, so close, yet so far.

Malik pulled out onto the roadway and began accelerating. Donny managed to stay afoot for about half of the block until he tripped and fell to the pavement. The bus dragged his body as the ropes mercilessly burned his wrists and the road grated his flesh.

Tony became hysterical to the point that he lost his voice when Donny hit the pavement, screaming in utter silence. He pounded the window and clawed at the sill so hard his hands started to bleed leaving streaks of blood across the window pane. Despite the escalating pain, Tony continued to pound his fists against the glass, consumed with the irrational prospect of possibly smashing the window out so he could reach out to his loving brother and save his faltering hero.

Outside, Donny cried out in agony as he started to lose the will to live. Suddenly, the bus came to an unexpected stop following a deafening crash.

A white, construction utility truck had suddenly swerved out of its lane and crashed headlong into the front of the bus, throwing Malik into the windshield and scattering the busload of passengers around the interior of the bus like rag dolls. The driver of the white truck jumped out of his vehicle and ran around to the bus door. He kicked it several times until it collapsed inward, folding up like the bellows of an accordion. Once open, Donny's father rushed onto the bus. In a flash, he grabbed Malik, who was severely stunned by the force of the impact, and hurled him from the driver's seat straight out the door and onto the road below. He quickly scanned the bus and saw what looked like Tony facing the back window that was clouded with red handprints. When he didn't see Donny on board anywhere, he raced back out the door.

"Oh my god, did you see that?" one of the passengers said.

"Yeah, he threw Malik right out the door," another passenger said.

"Who was that guy anyway?" a third passenger said.

"That was our Grand Master, Vladimir, my old friend and mentor," Preston smiled. "We're going to be all right now."

Everyone in the bus knew the legendary name of Vladimir but only a privileged few had any idea what he looked like.

Vladimir took one look at Malik's dazed body and fought the urge to kill him outright. He hovered over Malik's body for a moment and then grabbed Malik by the throat and shook him violently.

"Where's Donny? Where's my son you son of a bitch?" Vladimir screamed at the top of his lungs, losing all control of himself.

"Vladimir! Where did you come from? I... I can explain."

"No explanation needed. I see everything I need to know."

He grabbed Malik by his miserable ears, lifted his head up a good foot and a half off the ground and smashed his head into the pavement. Malik's body went limp and a pool of blood formed on the road as it poured from his head. As Vladimir saw Malik's blood redden the roadway, his entire world turned red right along with it. Kneeling above Malik, he got an idea that would solve a great many problems. He pulled Malik's shirt up to his neck, exposing Malik's chest and belly.

Then Donny's father recognized the whimpering cries of his son coming from the rear of the bus. He stopped what he was doing and rushed around to the back to find that his son had been mercilessly tied to the bumper. He was barely conscious as his body hung limp from the ropes. His hands were tied and his clothes were shredded. His arms and legs were bleeding profusely from being dragged over the asphalt. He looked as if no one could possibly have survived such a trauma. Tears welled up in Vladimir's eyes at the sight of his beloved son's condition. A resurgent spermrage overcame him as he freed Donny from the cruel and malicious torture he had been made to endure. He scooped his son's body up ever so tenderly into his arms and delicately carried him to his truck. He lowered his battered body into the back seat of his crew cab and covered him with an emergency blanket that he carried with him at all times. Vladimir surveyed his boy's wounds and determined that the bleeding was not life threatening and propped a jacket under his feet to treat him for shock.

All of Malik's hired hands, who had taken part in the savage rumble, saw the spermrage in Vladimir's eyes.

"No amount of money is worth this!" One of Malik's hired hands exclaimed as he looked at his accomplices.

Then the two paid thugs with the guns dropped them where they stood and as if with a single mind, they all either ran, staggered or hobbled off into the darkness. Marcus made his way to the front of the bus and sifted through all the confiscated cell phones, found the one that belonged to him and called 911. He requested an ambulance for Donny, himself and all the others who were in need of immediate medical attention. The other passengers took the opportunity to retrieve their own cell phones as things began to get unbelievably complicated.

Donny's father, Vladimir reluctantly left Donny and momentarily stepped back into the bus to temporarily take charge of the highly volatile situation Malik had instigated.

"Has anyone called for an ambulance yet?" Vladimir asked the passengers first and foremost before he did anything else.

"I did," Marcus said clutching his mid-section.

"What's your name son?"

"Marcus, sir."

"Marcus. You're my son Donny's new friend, right?"

"Yes sir."

"You look pretty beat up. How are you holding up?"

"It hurts pretty bad sir."

"You hold on son. I'll make sure you're taken care of."

"How's Donny doing sir?" Marcus asked as the stress in his quivering voice revealed his deep concern for his friend.

"I don't know. I hope all of you will pray for him. As for right now, we have to move fast. Before the police arrive, I need every able bodied spermpire to go straight home and don't talk to anybody about this until you hear from me personally. Just lay low for a day or two. I will get in touch with each and every one of you with an `all clear' message once we've taken care of all the loose ends here."

"What about the stuff we brought with us?" one of the teens asked. "I need my stuff."

"Yes, yes, take everything, he answered. "Leave no trace that any of you were here."

David took charge of opening the storage areas along the side of the bus and those who had gear stowed under there grabbed it before running on their way.

Fortunately, most of the passengers sustained only minor cuts and bruises from the impact and didn't require any medical attention. Vladimir apologized to each spermpire brother as they exited the bus and disappeared into the night. He especially thanked Preston, his undercover brother, for tipping him off to the cloak and dagger scheme that Malik was trying to pull off.

Once all the able-bodied spermpires had disembarked and disappeared from sight, seven boys remained. Marcus was in considerable pain from his abdominal injury, David and Dylan were still unable to free each other and Jonah was just now waking up to an enormous headache and sore throat. Donny was in the back of his dad's truck, Malik was out cold on the asphalt just outside the door and Tony came running up the aisle to hug his father. It was a tearful reunion, albeit a short one.

"What are we going to do now dad?" Tony asked.

"We have to make sure that Malik never hurts anybody again," Tony's dad, Vladimir, said as he worked to loosen the ropes from David and Dylan's hands.

"Are you gonna kill him?" David asked.

"We won't tell anybody if you do." Dylan added.

"I think you should!" Jonah stated very dryly.

"No! We're spermpires, not murderers! I have an idea though that will put Malik away and keep all you boys safe from him, permanently."

"How can we help?" Dylan asked as Vladimir finished untying the two boys.

"You go outside and expose Malik's dick and balls," he said to Dylan. "And hurry before any emergency personnel show up."

Then speaking to David, he said, "You go check on my son in the back seat of the truck please. Tell him that I'm here and to stay where he is and not move, help is on the way. Try to keep him talking to help prevent him from slipping further into shock."

"I want to help too," Tony said.

"Oh you will. You're the key to making this plan work," Tony's father replied.

"What am I going to do?"

"I hate to ask this of you, but I need you to spread your blood and spill your sperm all over his dick, balls and underwear."

All the boys got a sudden look of surprise on their faces at Vladimir's unbelievably bold and strange proposal.

"I'll tell the police that I followed him here and discovered that he was a hardcore pedophile who ran a sexually explicit cult targeting underage boys. That would be you guys. The sperm that Tony shoots on him will be all the DNA evidence the cops will need to put Malik away for a long time. That's why I said that Tony is the key to the plan."

"Dad, I need to tell you something first. I'm a spermpire now too. I'm the littlest spermpire. Is it still okay if I do this?"

Vladimir choked back a sob and held his hand to his mouth. He feared what might happen if the spermpire element was detected in Tony's semen during the investigation. He remembered the failed medical procedures that had nearly killed him. He wavered and then asked, "Have you had your first feeding yet or received the serum from other spermpires?"

"No, not yet."

Vladimir breathed a sigh of relief.

"Then yes. I want you to still do it."

Tony knelt, smeared the blood from his hands on Malik's balls and gripped his limp penis. Then he started furiously jerking off over the top of Malik's body. Tony's hands, which had gotten thrashed during Malik's malicious abduction, bloodied his own small penis and caused a small degree of discomfort as he stroked himself. Even so, he continued on with a single minded purpose. He was finally getting his chance to help save and protect Donny for a change along with all the other spermpires who were about to become his brothers of sorts.

Having been freshly turned was making Tony hornier than he'd ever been in his life up to now and he found himself falling into a trance from the awakening spermpire drives within him. When Malik started to squirm, Vladimir realized he was semi conscious and wisely grabbed the psycho's dick and masturbated him into an erection. As he watched his father masturbate Malik's dick, he imagined he was having a contest on who was going to bust their nut first. Tony felt a wave of power come over him as his balls began to undulate beneath his pumping fist. Then his mind wandered to the basketball game and to the perfect sized cock of his new friend Kirk. The memory of their sucking and sixty-nining experience began to push Tony to edge of orgasm.

A sudden wave of delightful tingles rippled through the very core of Tony's loins as his climax approached. Just as the sirens could be heard in the distance, Vladimir urged Tony to hurry. He squeezed Malik's dick harder and pumped him faster. Tony also quickened his pace as his glorious orgasm crossed the threshold of inevitability. His body tensed and a warm feeling originated from deep within him, surging upwards with such intensity that it caused him to close his eyes and take in a deep breath. Suddenly, Tony erupted and spilled his semen all over Malik's crotch and underwear, giving them a good soaking. That seemed to trigger the instinctive, human male reaction in Malik. After Malik's first shot of cum, Vladimir quickly directed the remainder of his cum into his free hand. After getting a palm full, Vladimir spread it on the back of Tony's underwear. Then Vladimir quickly dressed Malik as Tony squeezed the last drops from his small, quivering dick.

"Wow, that was amazing," Tony remarked with a degree of adolescent pride. "I'm sure glad I was able to do that in time. Did you see how much I shot?"

After the evidence was planted, Tony's dad stood dumbfounded for a moment as he realized his baby boy had grown up all too fast.

Vladimir had Marcus sit on the bottom step of the bus where the paramedics could easily render their emergency aid once they arrived.

Now that he had taken care of the immediate needs of his spermboys, Vladimir went back to his truck and stood vigil over Donny's severely battered body until the paramedics and police arrived.

As Tony bent down to pull his pants up, he became inexplicably distracted and dropped them back to the ground. He caught a whiff of Malik's fresh hot fragrant sperm that had just been smeared on his underwear. The aroma filled Tony's senses and he became enraptured with a second wave of fragrant sperm that emanated from Malik's first shot that pooled across his chest. Then Tony dropped to his knees and started salivating over the idea of taking just a little taste.

"What are you doing?" Jonah asked Tony in a strained raspy voice, as Tony started moving closer to the heavenly cream that was calling to him.

"It smells so good! I gotta have some," Tony said as he slipped into yet another trance.

"Oh, no you don't!" Jonah growled as he pulled Tony away by his arm.

Tony yanked his arm free from Jonah's grasp and fell back to his knees again.

"I gotta have some," Tony insisted. "You can't stop me!"

Jonah grabbed Tony with both hands this time and pulled him forcefully to his feet.

"David! Dylan! Help me get Tony's pants up quick!" Jonah said, enlisting their assistance.

David and Dylan managed to get Tony's pants up as he struggled to break free from Jonah's hold. Just then, everyone was able to see the flashing lights as the emergency vehicles finally reached the quiet wooded park. Between the three of them, they managed to drag Tony away from Malik's body.

"I gotta have some," Tony said again as he grabbed at Jonah's crotch. "Let me suck it, I could do it quick."

"I can't Tony, you're caught in a solitary spermpire feeding frenzy," Jonah informed him. "Snap out of it!"

"Then let me suck you guys!" Tony raved on as he grabbed David and Dylan by the crotch.

They pulled Tony aside, far enough away from the enticing scent of the openly spilled sperm to get him to come to his senses. They weren't entirely successful since a gob of it had been smeared all over Tony's underwear. Then they explained why he was craving sperm so voraciously, why none of them can donate their spermpire sperm to him, and what was going to happen to him in the next twenty-four hours. Tony knew a few things from watching and listening to Donny but many of the cold hard facts were news to him.

Just as they got Tony calmed down, a squad car arrived onto the scene followed closely by the paramedics and fire department.

Vladimir quickly directed the medics to the two boys needing the most immediate medical attention and he even made sure that Malik got looked at as well. Now that the medics were there and taking control of the scene, his role shifted from spermpire leader to terrified parent, worrying over the severity of Donny and his friend Marcus's uncertain condition.

Even though he kept quiet, he recognized the spermpire signs that Tony was exhibiting earlier and the distressing realization that both of his sons had been turned sunk in like a dead weight. After all, he was responsible for their safety and he realized that he had become negligent for not keeping closer tabs on Malik. He realized he'd been away from home too often, trying to secure their financial future, not to mention having to appease his own spermpire feeding requirements. He began to feel that all this could have been prevented had he taken a more active role in being the one and only Grand Master, a title he was determined to fulfill and honor more diligently in the future. He cursed himself for not taking action when Malik started turning ex-cons into spermpires.

He thought he had found the perfect person to run the day to day duties of his growing spermpire order after Brock's untimely death. Since many of the newer spermpires were young adults like Malik, putting him in charge of that younger group seemed to make sense at the time. He'd been concerned about the trend of the spermpires becoming younger and younger and now his youngest son had become the littlest spermpire of all. He was seriously concerned for both his sons' abilities to find feeding victims required to sustain their lives.

At first, Malik seemed to handle the responsibility for the younger group quite well and there were no complaints lodged against him. Vladimir was counting on Malik to hold things together for him so he could pursue larger contracting jobs and finally provide a financially stable home for his sons. Being the father of a single parent family was tough enough without having to deal with the rigors of being a spermpire leader. He had no idea things had gone so terribly wrong. It appeared that something inside Malik changed and he managed to keep his illicitly secret operation well hidden from nearly everyone except a few devoted co-conspirators.

While the medics went to work on the wounded, the police investigator questioned Vladimir. He told them straight out what he told the boys he would say about the sex cult. The boys all told the same story since Vladimir had prepared them.

"He had some kind of deranged idea that he was a sperm vampire," Vladimir told them. "He called himself a spermpire leader and took on the name of Malik. He's depraved. He was kidnapping these boys when I was alerted by my son's friend over there, that they had been kidnapped by this maniac."

Suddenly the entire area became a crime scene. In moments, they sectioned off the area with yellow and black crime scene barricade tape. Malik's clothes were taken off his body and bagged as evidence. Tony was taken to the back of the bus by another police investigator and was directed to remove his underwear. Tony complied, removed his underwear, dropped them into a plastic bag that the officer held open for him and then slid his pants back on over his bare bottom. The investigator meticulously tagged and catalogued the incriminating evidence and released Tony.

Three ambulance transport vehicles arrived on the scene and Malik was the first to be transported. Even though he was still semi-conscious, the medics were able to stabilize his vitals quickly. They covered his half-naked body with a white sheet, lifted him onto the gurney that they had handcuffed him to, and whisked him away with a police escort.

The medics managed to get Donny and Marcus's vitals stabilized next. Donny and Marcus were loaded onto two different vehicles since their injuries were so vastly different. They were to be taken to two different hospitals that specialized in their particular needs.

Then the medics treated David and Dylan's rope burns on their wrists and treated Tony's battered and bloodied hands. They gave Jonah a thorough examination and then released them all to seek more medical attention at their own discretion once they established that Donny's father was in fact the legal guardian for all of the boys. Thinking on his feet, Vladimir requested that the police investigator collect a blood sample from Tony there at the scene to corroborate the DNA evidence on Malik's body. By then, the crime lab crew had arrived and one of the medical personnel on that team drew the sample and sealed it.

A deafening silence grew as Vladimir, David, Dylan, Jonah and Tony watched all the emergency vehicles drive away in different directions leaving the smashed up bus and the totaled pickup truck behind. Only the crime lab crew and one squad car remained behind. A few minutes later, a regular tow truck and a monstrous one to haul the bus, arrived. After the lab crew gave clearance, they removed the two vehicles, leaving nothing behind but the remnants of Malik's bloodstain and some shattered glass on the deserted road.

It was a good thing that the Marsh home was just a few blocks from Mangelson Park. Tony's dad invited David, Dylan and Jonah to come home with them until things blew over. Besides, Tony was going to need some spermpire assistance tonight and with Donny being in the hospital, Tony would have someone near his own age to help him through the turmoil his body would have to endure throughout the night.

End of Chapter #8

Special thanks to our editor, Flip McHooter for his invaluable editing skills that helped improve our story beyond measure.

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