Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2006 19:15:41 -0500 From: Dwedno Smith Subject: Tunnel Chapter 69 Okay now before everyone gets all cranky on me and starts to complain about reading the same thing over again. This is chapter 69 and it is a lot of the same in the beginning but i promise it will get better as soon as you read into it. So hold off on the "what is he doing to us" comments until the end of the chapter. ALSO... this will probably be the last time that this much of the story is repeated on both sides of Tunnel/BT so that should tell everyone that yes the boys will be going home soon and that is all I am going to say so I don't spoil it. I hope everyone has a very very good holiday season and this is my present to all of you for Christmas. Another chapter just in time for Christmas day (if the planning to post it works out fine that is...) I can write them but nifty still has to send them up and my proof reader has to check my mistakes. Which brings me to a thank you. I want to thank my proof reader Colin who has graciously offered to check the story for errors now so I can offer a better read to all of you. So THANKS Colin for your time and reading over (and might I add spoiling his chance to enjoy the story because he has to look for mistakes rather then just enjoy the story) even though he does get first crack at the new chapters. SO I guess its a bonus of sorts... but anyway thanks Colin and Happy Holidays to all my readers and many, many thanks to all of you who took the time to write to me all year with your comments. They mostly have inspired me to keep going and keep Tunnel and BT alive and (SLOWLY) putting along as i find time for a new chapter every so often... In closing... this is my vacation week so I am going to do my best to get at least one more chapter out before the end of 2006. AS I SAY... DO MY BEST... but i do hope to have at least Chapter 5 of BT out before this year ends. By the way to anyone who is interested... Chapter 69 marks another milestone for this story.... it takes me over the 6 megabyte size for total mass of the story file and makes me wonder if and HOW I really have typed over 6 meg of storyline for all of you... No wonder my hands hurt... LOL Take care all and see ya in a few days or so.... Chapter 69. Brothers reunite, tensions ease and new neighbors? "BRYAN!!" Ben yelled out. They embraced and hugged. They held on tightly for a good minute before they broke apart. Everyone including Kate, Travis and all the boys stood and watched without an immediate clue. Bryan looked over at Kate. "Kate its Ben! MY brother Ben!" She took off running for the elevator and Bryan looked at Ben. "Benny that is Kate she is the girl that gave me my son and your nephew! Do you remember her?" "Yes I do." Ben was beaming as he turned to us and walked Bryan back over. "Bry this is Tommy and the guys. I have been living with them and of course you know Luke." He looked at Luke. "My God Luke you have grown and you are alive!" Luke gave Bryan a big hug and was smiling widely. Not everyone was happy as Travis had a look of total disgust on his face. Mike lowered his gun as Bryan turned and told the other three boys to take off leaving Just Travis, Bryan and now Kate who was approaching from the elevator. Ben looked at Kate and they embraced and hugged. She pulled away and they smiled as the family reunion continued. Ben turned to Tommy. "Tommy this is Kate, she and my brother were very close a while back." Tommy approached them with a lot less fear but the boys stuck close to him as confusion still reigned strong among the group. "Nice to meet you Kate." Tommy said. "Nice to meet you too Tommy and my do you have a large group of boys. It's great to see so many others have survived. How did you find us?" "Totally by accident Kate. We wanted to check out this mall for stuff and do some shopping so we decided to take a long ride here as a group not knowing what to expect." "Wow that's kind of risky isn't it Tom?" "Yes but four of us were carrying guns we thought we would be okay." "Apparently you didn't know you would have ten guns on you when you came in did you Thomas?" Travis replied from a few feet away with some attitude in his tone. Tommy looked at him but didn't reply as he looked back at Kate. "What's his problem?" "I am not sure Tom, as she turned and looked at him, but he might need an attitude adjustment soon." Travis just rolled his eyes at what she said. "Yeah, added Tommy, that might be needed... and some... after he grabbed Shawn from us. I might have to give it him too!" "Well there is no need to worry now boys, she said as she looked at the others and spoke to them. No one will harm you here; you are all welcomed and are our friends now." Again Travis rolled his eyes as Kate made the announcement aloud. Something was wrong with him but Tommy really didn't care at the moment even though he was making a bit of a scene. At the same time Bryan was handing back the guns to them. "Thanks." Kyle said to him as he took them and gave them back to the others. "No problem...he said, sorry... your name?" Bryan asked him. "Kyle, my name is Kyle I am Tommy's brother." "Oh well nice to meet you Kyle, and you are welcomed." Bryan went back over by his brother and put his arm around him. "Good to see you Benny. I got the note and all but I never in a million years thought it would end up like this!" "Yeah I saw that and read what you wrote on it and I never thought I would see you or any family again Bry even with what you wrote down. After that comet hit I just figured everyone was gone!" They both smiled at one another. It was a great feeling for both boys. "So boys why don't all of you follow us back and you can meet all the others." Kate said. "How many of you are here?" Asked Tommy. "Including my son there are eighteen of us." She replied. "Wow that is a lot of people!" someone said. Tommy turned and looked to see who yelled that out. "Who said that?" he asked. "I did Tommy, why?" asked Luke. "No reason just that everyone has been quiet so far and I was surprised to hear any of you guys talk. He looked at all of them. Its okay guys, Tommy said we are fine, relax, and enjoy this now no one is going to hurt you they are our friends!" He said that like they needed to hear it but for the moment it didn't seem like Tommy's words meant much. The boys were still being cautious. The whole group now started to walk and follow Kate, Bryan and the others to their home area. Travis walked with them but didn't say anything. He carried his gun at his side and if looks could kill he wanted Bryan dead but most of all he focused on Shawn! His mind was going a million miles a second while he tried to come up with an idea how to get the very cute young boy away from the others. Shawn got really close to Tommy. "Tommy that kid keeps looking at me." "Who Shawn the one that took you before?" "Yeah. he keeps watching me." "You will be fine don't worry about him if he touches you I'll break him in two." Shawn smiled back at him. "Thanks." Tommy put his arm around him and gave him a hug. In the meantime they had walked a ways and arrived at Bryans home area. As Tommy and the boys looked on Kate asked Mike to go get everyone. Bryan took the radio and called the boys from the other location and told them to come over for a special meeting. They made some small talk on the radio for a bit that Tommy couldn't hear because he was too far from Bryan. Finally Bryan came back and went over to his brother. "Why don't you introduce me to everyone Ben?" "Sure." Ben then walked his brother around and introduced him to all the boys that he lived with while they waited. This calmed some of them as Bryan shook hands with every boy in our group. Finally all the other boys from Bryans group arrived and after a brief meeting that Bryan hosted everyone was filled in on what was going on and all boys were introduced to one another. Then Kate yelled out for everyone's attention. "Thank you. She said as she stood on top of one of the seats and was now looking down at close to thirty something boys surrounding her. Everyone I would like to welcome the boys who arrived at our mall today and to all my boys please greet these people and make them feel welcomed while they are here. I don't want any problems. She looked directly at Travis as she said that part and I want their stay to be a good one without any issues." With that Jon who was standing next to Tommy leaned in and whispered in his ear. "Ya know some of these boys are kinda cute. What do you think it would take to get a few of them to come back with us?" "Probably a lot you fool, I would guess most of them are straight." "Oh, he replied I didn't think about that part." "Yeah I know Jon you have been around us too long and probably forgot that most of the world was straight when they were alive." "Yeah..." They went back to listening to Kate just as she was finishing up. She went on to chat a little about the mall and where some of the things were before she finished. As soon as she was done she walked over to Tommy. "Do you have any idea how long you will be staying?" "Not yet Kate we planned on a day or two just to shop and then we were going to head back home. It was going to be a group decision but since we met all of you I really don't know. I am going to have to talk to the boys and see what they want to do. It's their decision as much as mine but I do have final word." "Oh well that is very diplomatic of you." "Thanks but that's how I usually run things unless they get out of control and then I have to I kick ass!" He laughed after he said that and a few of the boys that heard him laughed too as did Kate and Bryan who walked over to her side during their chat. Slowly and cautiously the boys started to meet one another, chat, and mingle. It was obvious that some were not going to get along and some would hit it off immediately. Caleb started talking to Shawn right away. Something attracted Caleb to Shawn. Caleb asked him to walk away from the others and then they started to chat. "Hi. Your name is Shawn right? Caleb asked him. "Yeah what's your name?" Shawn asked. "Caleb." "Neat name." "Thanks. So how did you guys find us?" "Tommy who is our protector decided he wanted to take a ride to this place and do some shopping because he heard it had a lot of stuff in it." "Yeah well it sure does. I have been here for weeks and I still haven't seen most of the stores. Wanna go see some?" "Yeah but let me tell Tommy so he doesn't worry about me." "You have to tell him?" "Yes I do it's a rule and besides he loves me and would be really upset if he tried to find me and didn't know where I was." "Oh... really he loves you? That sounds gay." Caleb said. Wow Shawn thought to himself that isn't what I expected him to say. I bet he is straight. Darn it! "Let me go ask okay?" "Sure." Caleb waited while Shawn walked over and got Tommy's attention. "Yeah Shawn you need me?" "Yes I want to go look for a game store with Caleb is that okay?" "Sure love just be careful and yell out if anything happens and you need help Try to stay close if possible." "I can do that and I have my cell too." "Even better. Have fun." Shawn headed back to Caleb smiling. "We can go he just said to stay close." "Sure we can. We will just go up a few floors and look around with them below us okay?" "Yeah." Caleb took off and Shawn followed as they headed for the elevator. He pushed the button and it dinged. The doors opened a few seconds later and Travis was standing there. "Where are you two munchkins going?" he asked curiously. "For a walk." Caleb replied callously. He looked at Shawn. "Hey cute boy just be careful around stinky he might give you something like a disease if you get too close." He walked away and they got in the elevator. "He scares me." Shawn said as the doors closed. "Yeah he does that to me all the time. He says I stink and all but I just don't like to shower it bothers me that someone might look or..." Suddenly he stopped taking without reason. "Why did you stop telling me about that Caleb, its okay... I am not gonna laugh at you." "Really? You don't care what I say to you?" "Hell no I talk about private things a lot with most of the guys. It's how we live. We are pretty open and get along great together back home." "You mean all of you live together?" "Yeah in a house about seven or so hours from here." "Wow that's awesome, I wish I had a house like you do with people that cared and didn't scare me all the time." "It might be too early but if you want I can ask Tommy and he might let you come back with us if you want." "Ya think I could, I mean there is nothing here for me except Travis and Mike scaring and always threatening me. I'm afraid they might hurt me some day." "I can ask, I can't promise because it's not up to me." "Awesome!" Caleb said. That makes me feel a little better about him. Shawn thought to himself. They walked on and Shawn's eyes suddenly lit up. "I gotta go in there man, that is why we came!" "Huh?" Caleb said. "The games... ya know Playstation, X-box and so on..." "Oh yeah...I remember... a few of the guy took some and brought them to their areas and they play in their free time." "They didn't take all the games did they?" "Heck no that store is huge and has a lot of every game and besides Shawn there are three more game stores in this place... remember its huge! Everything is here... ya just have to look for it." "AWESOME!!" Shawn said. Shawn ran towards the door and looked in. Row after row of games, music and electronics... anything you would ever want was in front of him. "This is too intense! He said. I have to tell the others." He went over to the railing and he looked over some. Way to his left were most of the guys. "HEY! He yelled down. This got most of their attention and they looked up. You guys gotta see this it's amazing! The game store up here has tons of stuff!" With that most of the guys ran over to Tommy and he told them to be careful and one of them interrupted Bryan who was talking to Tommy and asked how to get up there. "Go right over there. He pointed see the elevator or you can go down there some and take the escalator up." Immediately six boys took off as Shawn and Caleb watched and laughed from above. They went back in the store. "Do me a favor Caleb don't tell them about the other stores for now just incase there is something I want and I can't get it." "Sure, he laughed but you really don't have to worry Shawn like I said I have been in here lots and there is plenty of almost every game you need. The other stores probably have some different titles and games but this is the biggest." "Shawn where are you?" Someone yelled from outside. He ran to the entrance and waved. "Over here!" he waved to them. They came running after him and met him at the doorway with Caleb. "Who's your friend Shawn?" asked Kyle. "This is Caleb. Caleb this is Kyle my best friend... Shawn said then he turned to Caleb to introduce the guys... That is Joey, he pointed to them... that's Billy and Danny and Luke and Jordan." "Nice to meet all of you." "Same here." Said Kyle. "Well go look guys its massive!" Caleb said. With that they looked past him in at the store. A ton of ohhhh's and ahhhh's went up and then they headed inside and started to run around like kids in a candy store. Caleb and Shawn went inside with them and Shawn also started looking around and grabbing anything that looked good for his system. The frenzy continued as the boys started grabbing more then they could carry. "This place is totally awesome Shawn!" Kyle yelled to him. "I know we should have one by us this big!" he replied. Kyle was the first to get a hand held basket and filled it quickly. The others saw this and Jordan yelled out `great idea Kyle' as they all wound up with a basket shortly after that. Their shopping ended after a good fifteen or so minutes passed and every one of them seemed content with their choices. They all left the store happily smiling and headed back downstairs. As they got off the elevator they approached the group and Kyle walked up to Tommy. "Bro we need to put this stuff away can we take a walk out to the bus?" Tommy looked at Bryan. "I guess I need to walk them out to the bus." "Sure no problem, he said I can come if you want." "That would be great." Bryan escorted them to the exit doors and as they got there they looked out. Everything had a small covering of snow on it now and it was still coming down. "Wow it snowed more then I thought it was going to." Tommy said. "Yeah I didn't even know it was snowing out Tom. This is the first snow we have had since I got here a few weeks ago and from what the others tell me by now there is usually a lot more on the ground." "Well that might mean we leave a lot sooner or get stuck here." Tommy said to Bryan. "Its up to you, it doesn't look like its going to pile up too deep but we have plenty of space and from what I know the mall has tons of food and a great back up generator system so I am sure all of you will be fine if you stay." "Thanks Bryan but we weren't planning on a long stay and I will take the guys aside after if you don't mind and we will have a private chat." "That's fine with me. Bryan said. Hey I don't have a coat so I will wait here if it's okay. You guys are still wearing your coats." "Sure, thanks. I am gonna walk these guys down to the bus and then we'll walk back as fast as we can." "Why don't you just pull the bus up to this door Tommy it's a lot easier then hiking back here." "You talk like you know where I parked." "I do. We caught you on camera when you came in. One of the boys told us a big bus was coming and we ran over and watched you till you got to the front door." "Well that explains a lot." "Huh?" Bryan said. "We thought we had everything under control but when ten guns were suddenly pointed at us out of no where it was quite a shock." "Oh, well sorry about that but we had to be careful till we knew who it was." "Yeah I know that now but it really threw me and the guys." "I bet it did." "Well anyway we'll be back shortly I will bring the bus here." With that Tommy walked out with the six boys and Bryan watched. Things were calm now and the remaining boys stayed behind with Ben, Kate and whoever else they met back at their home area probably chatting up a storm. Bryan waited about ten minutes and finally Tommy pulled up with the bus and opened the door. Bryan went out and hopped on the bus to see what it looked like inside. "Wow this thing is really huge and great. Its got a lot of things from what I see." He said as he gave it a quick look. "Yeah we like it a lot. Said Tommy. It was easy to get everyone here this way." "I bet. How long did it take?" "Well we slept over last night at a motel but the drive was close to eight hours total." "Yeah that sounds like right for something this big. It took a few more hours for you to get here then it took me to get here." "Oh yeah... you were by us a while back that's right." "Yup it took me about six hours to get here but I was driving faster till I hit a little snow and boy do I have a story to tell you later. Remind me and I will tell you and Ben about the run in I had at a motel. I forgot about it till you mentioned hotel. I never even told the others this story." "That doesn't sound too good." "It wasn't good at all; it scared the shit out of me!" "Damn... I can't wait to hear that story now." Tommy said. "After when we settle in for the night if there is time I'll get to it. I mean all of you will be here at least one night right?" "Yeah without a doubt maybe two or more depending on the weather. We have to talk it over but one night for sure." "Okay let's get back inside if you want." Bryan took a quick look around the bus and then they all headed back inside the mall. They walked back to the others and Ben came over. "Where did you guys go?" he asked them. "To the bus, Kyle said. We got a ton of games and wanted to put them away so we went outside and there is more snow now so Tommy drove the bus back here and we parked it right outside." "That's great at least when we get back we can play something different." "Yeah! Said Luke. You gotta see what we have now that we didn't before Ben. Then sarcastically he added... It was getting boring back at the house with only fifty or so other games!" They all started to laugh at that and then they walked back to the others. They were now a group of approximately thirty with all of them together and some of Tommy's boys were starting to complain about being hungry. "I gotta feed these kids Bryan any suggestions?" "Sure, not all the food is good but most places had a load of frozen stuff that is still good. What are you looking to eat?" That brought about ten different ideas from the group. Bryan looked at Tommy. "Bad idea huh?" "Yeah you can't ask them what they want its murder." They laughed. "Well you can go over to the food court and let them go crazy but there is nothing cooked obviously so I am sure you have been through this before. I think we are gonna join you and make it special tonight rather then just what we usually do." "What is that?" Tommy asked. "Let them choose what they want and get it themselves." Kate yelled out. Tommy turned around to his group. "See you guys are so spoiled they make their own get whatever they want and I usually cook for most of you." Kate looked at Bryan when Tommy said that. "He really does take care of them hon, if he cooks and all I guess he is a good guy after all." Tommy focused on something while they talked privately for a bit then he looked back over and heard bits of the end of their chat. "Well talk to Tommy and see what he says." "I will later." Said Bryan. She smiled at him and gave him a hug. Tommy came over and interrupted their talk. "Sorry to bother you two but I need to feed these monsters they are bitching about eating and I better feed them before they eat me." "Sure, Kate said. We don't want that now do we." She smiled at Tommy. "No I don't, I like living." They laughed. "Okay anyone who wants to eat we are going to the food court! Bryan yelled out to them upstairs in the rooms. Then he got on the radio and told the others who went back to their side of the mall. Okay we can head over now and whoever shows up will eat." "Great, said Tommy. Before he could turn around six boys flew down from upstairs to meet them at the bottom. Wow, he added that was fast!" "Yeah I suppose they are hungry too." "Are you gonna cook something for us?" Caleb and Todd asked. "Yes guys we are going to make a few things for all of you to have a decent meal for a change." "AWESOME!" they shouted. They headed over to the food court as a group and were almost immediately met by a group from the other side. "Who is this?" Tommy asked. "The same guys from before but there isn't enough room for everyone on our side so we decided to live half on one end and half on the other. That way we can protect the mall too." "Oh I guess that's a great idea." "Yeah it's been working so far. So what are we up for?" "I was thinking if there is a burger place that might be best and easiest to make." "Yeah sure there is a few of them and fries and lots of other things you will see shortly." "Great." Tommy replied. "Is there anything other then burgers we can have? asked Danny. I'm really tired of them." "Sure, answered Bryan. What's your name?" "Its Danny and I would love something besides a burger." "Well Danny there is an Italian place there and if Tommy wants to cook burgers I will make spaghetti." The boys heard him say that and a huge roar went up. "That's awesome!" one yelled out. "I haven't had spaghetti in a long time!" Yelled another. "Guess we are both gonna make something." Bryan said. "Sounds good to me I could use some pasta myself." "Yeah me too." They walked the rest of the way there and when they arrived Bryan stood on a chair and when the boys quieted down, with a little bit of help from Bryan yelling shut up. Finally he spoke. "Okay guys look you have two choices. Either spaghetti or burgers. Show of hands for burgers?" Three of the boys raised their hands. "Okay so everyone else wants pasta?" They roared out yes to him. "Okay then I will start to heat the water. He said aloud. I am telling all of you now this is going to take a while to cook so much so all of you need to be patient!" He got off the chair and went inside the pasta place. Tommy went over to the burger joint and looked for a way to fire up the grill. Jon and Kyle joined him to help out. All in all about an hour total later... both were close to being finished and the place started to smell of burgers on one side and Sauce for the pasta on the other. There were a few small complaints but everyone knew it would be ready soon. Sparing all the details of cooking, about twenty minutes later Tommy had cooked up about a dozen cheeseburgers and a dozen regular ones. "If you don't make enough someone is gonna want a burger that didn't before and they still bitch no matter what." Bryan heard him and laughed and then they both went back to their cooking. Bryan made about twenty pounds of pasta and was starting to fill plates as the boys got online. Kate was assigned to sauce or butter as they handed out the food. They all started to sit and eat either or both foods offered by the guys. Eventually everyone was full and quite content as a burping game started up after many of the boys drank way too much soda. It was dark outside now and Tommy asked Bryan about ice cream privately. He said good idea and stood up. "Now guys I want everyone to clean up their tables and when the place is clean and ONLY when it's clean we will all have ice cream!" A loud cheer went up from the group as they began to quickly throw out their garbage. After it was all clean three of the boys that were assigned by Bryan earlier collected the bags of garbage and brought them out a side door to a dumpster and got rid of the garbage so it wouldn't stink up the mall. One of the few things that Bryan demanded was to keep the place clean. They all headed over to one of the ice cream places right after that and with a bit of patience and lots of scooping by both Bryan and Tommy another half hour went by and now everyone that wanted ice cream had a full bowl of it to enjoy. Their dinner ended with all of them having full bellies for probably the first time in weeks for Bryan's boys and what wound up being an almost normal night for Tommy's boys when it came to food and eating. Next up was where to sleep and how things would be handled with that. Obviously the boys that already live there had their places and before they thought about settling in for the night a brief discussion was had. "I need to talk to my boys for a bit Bryan." "Sure we are gonna head back and you can meet us there when you are done." "Thanks." He watched Bryan and the others walk away and yelled out to the other boys as Bryan and the others were out of site that he wanted a meeting. Tommy decided after talking with Bryan before that they would go off to one of the bed stores and sleep on the mattresses that were already there. "Okay guys here's what's up. They all gathered around and focused on him. We are going to find a place in the mall to sleep tonight as a group its safer and even though I feel good about how secure we are now I still want us together." "So does that mean that we all have to put up with one another and the snoring and noise that some of us make all night long?" "Yes Zack I am afraid you are going to have to deal with everyone and their noise tonight especially since you make most of the noise you are bitching about!" That brought some laughs from the others and a `look' from Zack who realized he probably should have just kept his mouth shut. "I usually let all of you help decide when we have a big decision but this time I have thought it over and tomorrow around noon we are out of here. Its been an interesting visit but I want my room and house back and I am sure you guys do too." A stirring of opinions went up after that but the consensus was yes they had a good time for the most part but tomorrow would be time to go. "So with that said I think we can walk the mall as a group tonight before we turn in and get some pillows, blankets and anything else you guys want to take...within reason!!! Then bring it back and load up the bus before we go to bed tonight." That brought on some loud cheers as they liked Tommy's idea so they all gathered together and as a group started to walk the mall with a few shopping carts from one of the stores. They began to get what they came for... Cloths, electrical stuff and all kinds of miscellaneous goodies began to fill both carts. Several hours later with carts overflowing and some boys carrying their stuff they were all back at the bus filling up the storage spaces underneath it. "Looks like everyone did good! Tommy said. We hardly have any spare room left and we had 4 empty compartments." "Yeah I know, Jon said. At least we can leave with new clothes and a bunch of games and so on..." "I agree it was worth the ride just for what we found here. I am beat how about you Jon?" "Yeah I think its bedtime." "Okay guys! Tommy yelled out. Let's get back to the mattress store we found and make ourselves comfortable for the night." Slowly and with little complaining the boys headed for the walk halfway down the strip and finally they arrived at their so called bedroom for the night. "Kyle... Jon..." They both looked up from what they were doing and came over to Tommy. "Yeah what's up?" "I'm going back over to talk with Bryan for a bit before I go to bed. Keep everyone here and I'll be back in a bit. The radio is over there on the counter if you need help but I am sure everything will be okay tonight." "Okay bro, Kyle said. No problem I don't know how we are gonna sleep tonight but I have a feeling with the lights on and all its going to be a long night for most of us." "I agree but at least we can lay down and rest. See you two a little later." "Okay." They said. Tommy headed off and back over to see Bryan. After a fifteen or so minute walk he was back where they lived and climbing the steps to greet Bryan and Kate who were at the top waiting for him. "Hey you two can we talk someplace where there aren't too many ears?" "Sure head back down and we'll be right behind you. Just want to make sure Joel is being watched. As soon as I ask one of the boys to take care of him we'll both be down." "Okay thanks." A few minutes later they both came down together and met Tommy at a bench. The three of them sat down. "Hey Bryan one of the boys asked how safe we would be in the mattress store and I couldn't answer him so I need to know if you can tell me." "No problem Tommy, you and your guys should be fine we have two boys watching out the windows on both sides of the mall and all the other doors locked all the time and we have extra monitors in the main room on our side and the radio I gave you before will give you instant contact with us. The boys know they have to stay away and there is two of them awake all night just incase. They know their job is very important and only once have both boys fallen asleep and thankfully nothing happened but as weird as it might sound they are actually trained now and can stay awake most of the night without a problem." "Great that makes me feel better even if we are armed I still like the radio as a back up." "Yeah it's a good security blanket if you know what I mean Tommy." "Yeah Kate I do, thanks." "We are all set and ready to turn in now and as soon get back I am calling it a night. Should be fun with all of us in one room." "I bet that it will be interesting Tom." "What will?" Tommy asked. "All of you sleeping in one store." "Yeah I am sure it will take some of us a while to fall asleep but at least we will try. I can't wait for the bitching and crying to start when someone is noisy." The three of them laughed together at Tommy's comment. "I'm gonna head back I am tired so I'll see you a bit later." Caleb and a few others had gathered while they talked. Bryan shooed them away for now. They waited over by the steps for them to finish. As Tommy walked away Bryan and a few of the others watched him head off. Caleb was walking towards Bryan as Tommy left. He wondered to himself what was going on but he was really too tired to care at this point so he ignored it and walked back. It didn't take long for Tommy to get back and when he arrived some of the boys were laying down and others were still awake and chatting quietly. "So far no complaints." Kyle said to his brother as he walked in the store. "That's good. I am gonna go and get ready for bed now." "Okay bro, good night." "Nite Ky." Kyle went his way and Tommy went to see Jon for a second and make sure the bed was all set then after Jon said everything was fine he went to use the store bathroom. Tommy finished up and came back out and was about ready to get in bed when Kyle came over to him for a second. "Hey bro got a second?" "Sure, what's up?" "Nothing important I just wanted to ask you about how we were going to do things in the morning before you went to bed." They discussed it for a bit and then they heard a noise behind them and not knowing what was going on both got up quickly with their guns in hand. "I am here." Someone yelled out causing them to turn quickly. The kid opened the store door and walked in. Tommy and Kyle both spun towards him with guns drawn. "Don't shoot! Please don't shoot its only me Caleb." He wined. "That's not a smart thing to do kid!" Tommy yelled at him as they lowered their guns. "Sorry I was just trying to be friendly." Caleb replied. "Friendly is fine but not sneaking up on us like that! That's just plain stupid!" yelled out one of the other kids as Caleb disrupted the whole room. Tommy turned to see who yelled. "Its okay Jeremy, you don't have to get upset he wasn't doing it on purpose." "I know Tommy but he scared us half to death. What does he want here anyway?" With that question Tommy turned back towards him. By now Shawn was up and at his side and greeting his new friend at the front door. "Caleb what do you want here and why did you come all the way over here?" "I wanted to ask you if I could go back with you when you go home." The whole room was once again quiet as they listened to him and some attempted to go back to sleep. Everyone heard his question and stopped what they were doing to look his way. A few laughed at his request but Tommy remained straight faced. "We really don't have a lot of room back at the house for anyone else Caleb and I couldn't tell you without talking to everyone else first." "Why not I will be good and why would you need everyone's permission? I thought you were in charge." "I am in charge to a point but you would be living with all of us and that requires a group decision so if you want to know we will talk it over and let you know in the morning. That's the best I can do." "Okay I guess then I will have to wait." "Yup. We'll let you know in the morning." He turned to go and standing in the doorway looking just as surprised as Caleb was Bryan. He had found them now and was curious what Caleb was doing there. He walked in and looked at Caleb. "What are you doing here bothering these guys?" "Nothing." He said fearing a problem if word got out that he wanted to leave here. "Nothing huh? So you checked the mall to find them and came in to talk to them for no reason?" All this was once again going on in front of the entire group of boys and without any problem everyone knew what was happening. "Yup nothing." Caleb said. Then he headed to the door and walked past Bryan and out into the mall. Bryan looked at Tommy. "He wanted something, what was it?" "To come back with us." "I knew it! I had a feeling he was here for that. He said he didn't want to stay here to me before and I thought he might ask but I didn't think he would look for you guys." "Yup he did and what brings you here?" "I wanted to talk to my brother before he fell asleep." "Oh, sure." Ben heard him and dropped the pillow he was holding and walked over from the bed he was standing at. "What's up bro?" "Can I talk to you privately?" "Sure. He turned to Tommy. Be right back." "No problem Ben take your time." They both headed outside and walked a few feet away. "So what's up Bry?" "Do you think that we can come back with you?" "Are you serious? Ben said with glee. You want to come live by me, I mean us?" Bryan smiled at him. "Yeah we would love to get out of his mall and live some place safer and I really would like to have a real roof over my head and be closer to home. So would Katie." "That would be awesome. I don't know but I can ask Tommy." "That would be great Ben but do you think he will say yes?" "Why wouldn't he besides if he didn't you could always move back to our house." "Yeah I suppose we could live there but I would really like to be with all the gang just for safety." "I understand." "It would really be great Ben you could live with us and we could be a family all four of us." Ben's smile washed off his face. "What's wrong Ben? Don't you want to live with me and Katie?" "I... I really love that you want me with you Bryan but I am happy where I am and I am sorry if this hurts you but I really think it would be better that I stay where I am, I mean even if Tommy says okay I want you there and I really want to get to know my nephew and Kate and all but do you really mind if I stay where I am?" "No, no it's fine Ben. You could hear the gloominess in his voice as he answered his brother. You stay where you feel comfortable; after all I don't want to make you do something that isn't okay with you." "I'm sorry Bryan but I like it there and I really hope Tommy says yes and you can be close by but really I do want to be with the guys." "I understand and I hope he says yes too but I was hoping you could watch Joel sometimes if Kate and I needed some space." "I can and I will be happy to do that for you but just at our place. I supposed if you were to go out or away or wherever I could stay there for a night or two also but I hope you understand..." "Yeah I do. How about we ask him now?" "Sure. I'll go get him." With that Ben turned and headed back inside while Bryan waited and watched from a few feet away. "Tommy? Ben yelled over to him. Can you come outside for a minute?" Tommy looked over at Ben. "Sure. He walked around the mattress in front of him and headed towards Ben. They walked outside together and over to Bryan. "What's up guys? What can I do for you?" "Ummm, well I have a question for you Tom." "Sure Bryan ask me anything." "Okay here goes. He paused and took a deep breath. Do you think you would have some place for us to live out by you?" "You mean in a separate house or with us?" "No a separate place. We don't want to cause any problems just get the hell out of here to a better and safer place." Tommy paused and the silence was deafening... "I really have to think about it and honestly I should ask the others since we all talk about any major decisions. Can it wait till morning?" "Sure I suppose so. You aren't going right away are you?" "Right away? You mean first thing in the morning?" "Yeah are you leaving bright and early?" "No we are gonna leave around noon." "Oh okay well if you can discuss it and let me know privately I would appreciate it." "Sure thing. As soon as we talk about it I will let you know." "The morning is fine Tommy." "Great then we will see you after I get up and I will let you know privately." "Thanks a bunch Tom. We really want to get out of here as soon as possible." "Well honestly I would like neighbors but its up to everyone." Bryan and Ben both smiled at his comment. "Okay I am gonna head back over to Kate and the boy see you in the morning." "Yup, nite." "Nite Tommy, nite bro." "Night Bryan, love ya." "Love you too little brother." With that Bryan turned and walked away heading back to his family for the night. "Tommy before you go back inside do you think the others will say yes?" "I really don't know Ben. It all depends on what they think of these guys and how well they will accept newcomers. Its their neighborhood and something this big needs to be put to a vote." "Yeah I suppose so. But anyway worst case they can always live back where I am from." "True but something makes me think that your brother will be happiest close to you. Ben smiled. "Yeah I know I will be happy too if he is close. Hey they could live in the house next door couldn't they? I mean Luke is in there growing stuff and it's been checked and all right?" "Yes I suppose. But I don't really want anyone interrupting what Luke is doing and if they move in there that might cause a problem with the growing work Luke is doing. I don't see that working but..." "But what?" "Let me think before I answer okay?" "Sure Tom so first thing tomorrow after everyone is awake you are gonna talk to them about it?" "Yes that's the plan." "Great." With that Ben headed back inside followed by Tommy. Tommy walked back over by Jon to see if he finished setting up their bed. "What was that all about?" Jon said in a low voice. "Not in here. We can talk about it outside if you want." "Oh okay. Here comes Kyle I bet he wants to know the same thing." "Yeah I think you're right." "Hey bro what was that about?" "Not in here Ky, Jon just asked me too. Let's go outside." So once again Tommy headed outside with his brother and Jon following. As he exited he looked back inside and Ben and a few others were watching them go out. "So what happened bro? What did Bryan want?" "He wants to know if he can move back in our neighborhood with Kate and his son." "Really?" Jon exclaimed. Both Kyle and Tommy looked at Jon. "Will you keep it down! Tommy barked out at him. We don't need the others knowing just yet." "Why its not a huge secret bro." "I know I just don't want to deal with this tonight with half the boys asleep and the other half about ready to go shortly." "Oh, I thought you had plans." "No KY, just thinking about what it would mean. So far Caleb wants to go and now the other three want to go. How many more are going to ask if we say yes?" "Good point I don't mind some of them but where would they go and how many would want to come with them?" "Good questions Jon I don't have the answers just yet." "You think maybe the house we found at the end of the tunnel?" "Yes I was but we aren't done in there yet and I don't want them finding that room or the porn stash." "PORN?" they both yelled out causing heads to turn in the store. "SHUSH! Yes porn I didn't tell either of you because I didn't want DJ to know and I wasn't sure I wanted either of you knowing too." "Gee thanks for you trust." "Oh knock if off Jon you will see it soon enough." "What did you find bro?" "Videos and tons of them." "Really good?" "REALLY good KY good enough to cum to!" "Damn!" Jon said aloud. "Calm your hormones over there!" Kyle said to Jon. I started to laugh at both of them. "Okay so we need at least a day before we allow them to move in IF they vote yes and IF we let them take that place." "Yeah that's a lot of IF'S TJ." "I know Jon but that's all I have now." "Okay lets get back inside before they really get curious." Kyle said. "Good idea." I added. We headed back in and Shawn immediately came over to me. "TJ are we gonna let Caleb come with us?" he said quietly "I haven't decided yet and right now we have bigger things to think about." "Like what?" "I'll tell you in the morning love, right now I just want everyone to settle down and relax." "Okay I am gonna go lay back down then. Night TJ." "Night cutie." Shawn gave him a nice strong hug and then headed back to his bed. "Man I am beat. I said as I turned to Jon. I could use a blow job too..." I commented quietly. "Yeah I bet, Jon said. But not here." We both chuckled and I put my head down on the pillow. Jon sat up. "What's with you?" "Not that sleepy. I think I am gonna go take a walk if you don't mind." "I really wish you wouldn't just incase but if you take your cell I guess you can go." "I won't be too long I just want to stretch my legs some. It should tire me out too." "Okay just be careful!" "I will, I promise." With that Jon headed to the door and a few boys watched as he opened it and left. "Where is he going?" asked Billy. "He needs some air." I replied. "Oh." Billy answered and that seemed to end that. TJ put his head down on the pillow and closed his eyes. The room was all but quiet now other then some whispering and low voices across the room. It was getting late now at least 11:30 if not later as Jon started to walk the mall. Not sure what he wanted or even why... he just strolled around for a bit looking at the stores and enjoying some alone time. As he approached what was labeled the midpoint of the mall on a sign he noticed above, he also heard something ahead and he immediately hid and watched to see if anyone was coming his way. No one was around as he waited safely out of site but the voices remained steady and about the same distance away from him. He cautiously walked on now following the voices. Suddenly ahead he saw something but he wasn't sure if his eyes were playing tricks with him because of the hour it was but he swore he saw a kid hiding in a bush ahead. He got a little closer and the voices he heard were coming from beyond where this kid was hiding. They were somewhat muffled but he heard two different people. He continued to watch from a close but safe distance. There was definitely a kid in the bushes about 25 yards in front of him and he was doing something. Suddenly there was a loud yell from the other side and the kid tore out of the bush and took off running down the mall walkway. From the other side two kids half dressed came up running the slanted walkway on their side. One had his pants off, looked familiar, and was in a tee shirt, boxers, and socks. The other one Jon didn't quite recognize was holding his pants up like he needed a belt... his sneakers on but no shirt on. They ran to the top of the walk that was in front of him. Neither of them could see Jon from where he hid but he could clearly see them as they yelled at the boy who took off. They stood there looking in the direction the kid took off apparently trying to decide what to do now. He must have been spying on them Jon thought to himself. He heard the one kid who looked familiar say he was dead meat when he gets his hands on him this time and the other said something about just wanting to finish what they started last time on him. The first one said that might be the only way to keep him away from us and they seemed to agree that it was time for some kind of punishment. The more Jon thought about it the kid that ran away looked like the one who came to the store just before and asked about going back with them. Caleb or something he thought his name was. I guess that kid is in some serious trouble now he thought to himself. I bet they were doing something sexual over there he thought to himself and that Caleb kid was watching. I wonder if I can catch them but I don't want to get shot or something if they find me. It would be interesting though I just don't want to get caught like that kid did. He thought about it for a bit as he stood his ground. Things got real quiet over there and he took a chance and walked closer. Not totally sure if he wanted to know but curiosity had gotten to him. He snuck up closer. Being taller he could see more then what that other kid could see. He went to the same spot and looked over cautiously. Down below he saw a couch and on it both boys were kissing and each had a hand in one another's boxers feeling each other up but with their underwear on. Nice! Jon went on to watch for a few minutes but felt quite uncomfortable spying even though the whole thing also made him grow too. He now had a small tent in his pants from his voyeuristic play. Finally after seeing that this wasn't going much past petting he backed off and headed back towards the store while still ahead of the game and uncaught. Once a safe distance from the boys he took a deep breath and gave his own cock a squeeze. Then he smiled realizing he had a story to tell Tommy. He recognized one of the boys just didn't know his name and his thought was to find out who they both were tomorrow before they left. He arrived back and hurried over to his bed partner but Tommy had fallen asleep and he decided it was best to just let him be for tonight. Of course if him getting into bed next to him woke him then... well then he was fair game to talk to but for now he was prepared to hold onto his secret till morning. Jon carefully got into bee wanting to share his excitement with TJ but also didn't want to hear it from him if he woke him up. Still excited and now wide awake Jon slowly drifted off to sleep. Both boys among some of the others slept pretty restlessly during the night tossing and turning quite a bit with the bright lights on overhead and the new surroundings causing lots of restlessness but eventually morning came. As usual Luke was up early and went out into the mall to check out the stores and see if anything interesting struck him. He wandered about going in and out of stores close by and finding a thing or two he wanted in clothing. Eventually he headed back and by the time he got there DJ, Danny, and Christian were awake and quietly sitting on their beds. He waved and they waved back and for now they kept things quiet. Eventually they got up and headed for bathrooms to do their morning deeds and soon the others began to awake, Tommy being one of them and within another thirty minutes almost everyone was now up. Noise started to fill the area now as they all began to have some form of conversation. Jon came back from the bathroom and pulled TJ aside. "When you get a chance I have to tell you what happened last night after I left here." "Oh? Is it good?" He shook his head yes. "Then now is as good a time as any." Both boys headed outside into the hall. "So spill it." TJ said. "While I was walking I came across this kid ahead of me." "Did he see you?" TJ asked. "Hell no he was too busy with his hand on his cock and watching the other two." "Other two? Hand on cock? What the hell did you find?" "There is a spot about a ten minute walk from here with a couch down below a wall. Above that spot that kid was standing there looking over spying on two others below." "What kid?" "The one that you and Kyle almost shot last night." "You mean Caleb?" "Yeah him. He was looking over the side of the wall in the bushes spying on two kids below." "Really and they were... fooling around?" "Yeah how did you know?" "Well why else would anyone spy? So what happened?" "They caught him after a bit and he took off like his ass was on fire as they ran up after him." "Mmmmmm, that might explain why he doesn't want to stay here and he came all the way down to see me and ask about coming back with us." "Yeah well the way things were TJ if he survived the night he won't live much longer." "What are you talking about Jon?" "I heard them say they were gonna get him and sorta finish what the didn't do to him last time." "Ohhhh, sounds like poor Caleb is gonna get his ass beat." "Yeah or worse. They were super pissed at him." "I bet. Did you know either of the kids?" "One looked familiar and the other no but if I saw him again I would." "And how did you happen to see all this without getting caught yourself?" "There is an excellent hiding spot right across the mall from there and I saw it all without them seeing me. They were hardly dressed TJ. one kid was in boxers and the other was holding his pants up and had no shirt on." "Nice! Bet if I know you, you got wood from that!" Jon smiled. "Not as much as I did when I spied on them after that." "You suck! You know I don't know if I should yell at you for risking that or just because I wasn't there too!" They both laughed. "Yeah but it didn't last too much longer. They didn't get serious and nothing more came off after pants so I left a little after that." "Why didn't you tell me last night fool?" "You were asleep and I didn't want to pull you out of bed just to get your cock hard like it is now!" Jon reached out and gave it a squeeze as it tented out of his shorts. "Hey stop that we are right in front of everyone's view." "And that matters why?" "Well I don't want them seeing that right now and I am sure someone is watching us out here." "So what?" "Come on lets get back inside before I really get hard!" With that Jon laughed and both of them headed back inside. As they walked back in a few asked what the plans were now that everyone is awake. "In a few minutes I am gonna get everyone's attention and tell all of you." "Oh okay." Said Joey. "Besides we have a few things to discuss that are important." "Oh really? Jon said like what?" "You will find out with everyone else in a few minutes. As soon as my hard on goes down!" Jon laughed. "Okay I'll wait." Around the room the boys were gathering their belongings after taking care of their morning business. It was about 8am now as Tommy finished what he was doing and yelled out to get everyone's attention. "Guys! Yo! Everyone..." He stood and watched as one by one he got everyone's attention. "Can everyone please come around and sit by me." He waited as the boys took a seat and within a minute all were seated close by. "Okay guys first off we have a few things of major importance to discuss before we leave." "Are we leaving soon?" "I am planning to go around noon Ben and after we are done here I am going over by your brother and discuss what we talk about." "Oh so we are going to talk about that now?" "Yes as soon as you are done with your question I am going to start." "Oh okay Tommy I am done sorry to interrupt." "Its fine Ben, thanks." "Anyone else have questions before I get into this?" No one raised a hand or spoke out. "Okay good. Then I will begin. First off as I said we are leaving around noon and heading back home so that gives all of you one more chance to walk the mall and get something you might still want and so on. While I am gone you guys can go look around and I want all of you back by 11am the latest so that's a good two or more hours of free time. While you are gone find something to eat and make sure you are not hungry before we leave. Now for the important thing..." Tommy had everyone's full attention right now as he finished talking about their shopping and eating. "Last night if most of you remember Caleb came in and scared most of us. As he looked at Jeremy and smiled. Jeremy smiled back. What he wanted was to know if he could come back and live with us at our home incase some of you didn't hear that or know by now... murmurs and some talking started to fill the room after Tommy said this to them... okay... okay guys listen up I am not done... he got everyone's attention once again. There is more... after he left Bryan came over to talk to me if you don't remember he is Ben's brother. He asked me something very important and we need to talk about it now. He asked me if it would be okay for him to move into our neighborhood and live close by with Kate and his son." Knowing this would raise a lot of issues Tommy went silent after saying that and gave the boys a chance to voice their opinions. Immediately Jeremy, Joey and Billy stood up and said no. this caused everyone to get loud. Tommy yelled out to get them under control. "GUYS! HEY QUIET DOWN!" "Okay it seems like you three have something going on here. Now I am not going to point fingers but why did all three of you say no so fast and come to an agreement about this unless you have been talking already knowing something was up." None of them said anything as the room grew quiet again. "DJ? You and the other two have been talking haven't you?" "Kinda... after Caleb came last night Billy and Joey came over to me and asked me what I thought about having more kids in the house. I think its too crowded now but I am still new to your place so I didn't want to say too much." "Okay first off its not my place... its YOUR place. You and everyone in this room! So that should say something right there. Every boy in this room has a vote in this decision and its important to say something if you have a problem or even if you like the idea... and to clear the air DJ they will not be living with us. If they come they will live on their own in a separate house." "Ohhhh, DJ exclaimed. Then that is different. I thought they were going to squeeze in our house and make it even harder to live there. I am okay with that. I don't know about Billy or Joe but if they just want to move close by I am fine with that." "Good so that is settled. How about you Billy? Still against it?" "No just like DJ I only had a problem if they were gonna be in the same house. Sorry Tommy we didn't know they wanted to live separate." "That's okay. Joey? How about you?" "I really don't care now either. Like they said I just don't want anymore kids in our place. Its too crazy in there now." "Well you too have your answer now. As for the rest of you... as Tommy looked directly at Zack. IF any of you feel that you want to find a place less `GAY' this might be the perfect time. I am sure when we tell them they are welcomed someone who is here will probably want to join them in traveling back with us. Now the only question left to all of you is where they live. Now I realize we don't have much to say about the house they choose unless they are totally unsure of things. I suggest that they move two houses down from us. That is one house past where Luke has everything in the greenhouse if any of you aren't sure of the place I mean." Kyle and Jon immediately looked at Tommy like he was nuts. "Are you sure you want them to have THAT house bro?" Kyle said. "Yes I have thought this out and I am going to ask them to give us a day or two to get back and get it ready for them." "Ohhhh, I got ya." Kyle said. "You okay with that too Jon?" "Yeah that sounds better." "Anyone else have a problem with this?" No one said anything. "So do we need to vote or shall I just tell them its fine?" "I think we should vote." Someone said. "Who said that?" "I did." Zack stood up and said back to Tommy. "Okay I don't have a problem with that. All in favor of inviting Bryan and whoever else he brings back raise your hand." Ten arms went up. Two didn't vote. "Okay now I can understand why Christian didn't vote but why didn't you vote Shawn?" "Because I really don't know what I want TJ. I mean I want Caleb to come back but I don't know what I want if he can't live with us." "I'm sorry Shawn but we don't have any extra room for him in our place." "But what if he lives in my room?" "Then where will you live?" "In there too." "But you only have one bed Shawn and you have one of the smaller bedrooms its gonna be very tight and if you two have a fight or something then who gets the room?" Everyone was sitting and quietly listening to Tommy and Shawn discuss this. "I don't know TJ I didn't think about that." "Well I did. I thought about a lot of things last night after Bryan asked me. I was in favor of having them come right away but I immediately thought about food, cars and all the other things that they will need to survive and what happens if the power goes out and so on." "But you still want them to come Tommy right?" "Yes Ben I do. I really want this so you can be with your brother and nephew. I suppose you are going to live with them when they move in right?" "Ummm... no I am not. My brother already asked me and I told him I want to stay where I am because I am happy there." "Really. ok well that's fine I wouldn't tell you where to live its totally your choice." Tommy looked at Shawn. "I was going to give Caleb Ben's room if he was going to live with his brother but since he is staying I am afraid he is going to have to figure out what to do with Bryan on his own Shawn. I'm sorry kiddo." "Its okay. I'm sure he will be fine if he stays here." "I doubt that!" Jon said aloud. Shawn immediately turned and looked at Jon. "What do you mean you doubt that Jon?" "Oh boy here we go! Tommy said in a low voice. Jon did you have to go there?" "Sorry it slipped out." "Jon why did you say that?" Shawn asked. "I'm sorry Shawn it slipped out but I can't talk about it." Shawn looked at Tommy. "TJ what is he talking about?" "Okay look all of you. Some things are private and even if Jon has a big mouth and said something he shouldn't have we still can't talk about it. He looked at Shawn. So I am sorry Shawn but even though you want to know what Jon means he cant tell you right now. It's a private matter." "But Caleb is my friend and I wanna know what Jon knows." Shawn was starting to whine since he wasn't getting his own way all of a sudden. "Okay Shawn this isn't open for discussion, especially in front of the group. It is a private matter and we will not be discussing it now. End of subject." Shawn just pouted and sat back down with his arms crossed. "Okay all of you that takes care of things, as I said you can all go out and check out the mall for what you want for the next few hours. It is now 8:45 and I want everyone back by 11am the absolute latest. If you break away from Jon and Kyle or cause any problems for us while any of you are out there without me. You will have a serious problem when you get back so please everyone stay in line and don't give Jon and Kyle any problems while you look around. DJ you also have a gun so I would like it if you joined Kyle and Jon and watched over the others." "Sure Tommy. No problem." "What about me Tom? I have a gun too." "Ben I thought you might want to come back with me when I go see your brother. But if you want to go look around its fine and totally your decision whether you go with me or with the group." "Oh okay. I'll let you know as soon as I think it over." "Very good Ben. Anyone else have a question?" No one said a thing. "Okay great then this meeting is over and in a few minutes you can all go with DJ, Kyle, and Jon to get more stuff." With that they all got up and went to do something while they waited. Ben came over to Tommy right after the group disbursed. "Tommy... what do you think I should do?" Ben asked. "It's up to you Ben. If there is something you want out there go with the guys. I was only offering to you since you have the most to gain from all this." "Thanks Tom but I will be seeing my brother plenty from now on I suppose so I think I am gonna go with the group and get a few more things." "No problem. Talk to you later." Tommy walked over to Kyle and Jon. "You guys okay with this?" "Sure bro. Is Ben going with you?" "No he wants to go with you and the others he has a few things he wants." "That's fine with me. So you are going to see Bryan by your self?" "Yes when I meet up with you guys later I'll let you know what the plan is." "Okay TJ see ya in an hour or so." "Yes and remember KY, if there is a problem no matter how big or small call me on the cell." "No problem." He gave TJ a hug and then went over to Jon and the others and they started to walk away as a group. As they left Tommy headed towards the other end to meet with Bryan and the others. He was on his way and about five minutes into his walk and he thought he heard something. He stopped and looked around but it was quiet so he continued to walk. Once again he heard something. This time it was muffled but there was little doubt someone was around. He took out his gun and started to look around. So far nothing but its gone quiet again too. He continued to look around for a few minutes and still had seen nothing out of sorts. Finally he figures its nothing and he turns and heads back on his way. No more then five steps and he hears a cry. Someone yells out. Its close by so he draws his gun again and starts to walk towards the noise. Cautiously he rounds a corner into a well lit area. It's a small but well lit corridor with two store fronts. One on each side and no more then twenty feet to the end of the corridor. "Hey! Cut it out!" He screams out as he sees what the noise is. Just then someone whacks him across the back with something and he falls to the ground... To be continued... dwednomail@hotmail.com Next up: Chapter 5 of BT... Its time to leave this place but will there be any permanent scars to anyone before they go? Also who is going with Bryan and who is staying?