Written by Sarge AKA Aldric <pietar_the_fearless@yahoo.com>
(C) 2019
This story is based on the story "Kids of Indian Spring" (KOIS) by Jonas Henley. It is still available at the Nifty Archive, in the `Young Friends' section, and creates an imaginary community in semi-rural America. What Jonas Henley created was a culturally rich world populated by realistic teen and preteen boys that lead stimulating and attention-grabbing lives. Unfortunately, the series was never completed. Charles Well took on the task to add to the story and tried to continue it under the original name, but Nifty would not allow him to do that, so his title is based on the name of the main character in his story, Sandy Jacobs (SJ).
KOIS can be found at: https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/young-friends/kids-of-indian-spring/
SJ can be found at: https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/young-friends/sandy-jacobs/
List of Characters added in this Chapter
Duncan Cormack: 15 years, 7 months. One of nine Cormack kids, if you count the oldest two who are in their twenties. Duncan has auburn hair, and generally a pleasant demeanor. He is not beyond playing tricks on his younger siblings however. He is a minor character in this story.
By the time Kathy got her bikini back on and left the sauna, Kelley was gone. But standing there waiting for her was a boy she hadn't been introduced to.
"Are you going to show me your tits too?" the boy asked.
Kathy couldn't believe that Kelly had told this boy, and was worried that he might tell everyone. She tried to move past him, but he stepped in front of her, blocking her path no matter which way she turned. After three failed attempts to get past him, she gave up.
"What do you want?" she asked. "I don't know what that other boy told you, but the truth is he tried ..."
"Don't do it," the boy said. "Don't blame Kelly for what happened. He would never, not in a million years, do what you are about to accuse him of doing. You took your own top off, and we both know that is what happened."
"Well, if you were waiting for your own chance with me, you can go to hell. Who else did Kelly tell?"
"No one. Just me. He might possibly tell his brother later. But Kelly doesn't go around hurting people that way. You don't need to worry, what happened in there won't be a subject at school. He just told me to tell you to stay the hell away from him and his house. Kelly is a cool person and has a good soul, but he doesn't trust you and doesn't want you to keep trying to put him in a compromising situation. What were you going to do, accuse him of rape? Who put you up to this, Darrell Mackey?"
"I don't know anyone named Darrell," Kathy said. "I wasn't going to accuse Kelly of anything. You've delivered your message, now let me pass."
The boy stepped aside. Kathy looked around and saw Andrea, and motioned with her head for them to leave the pool area.
They met in the hallway outside. "What did Nathan want?" Andrea asked.
"Who?"
"Nathan Carlin, the boy you were just talking to, what did he want? He's totally gay. And a good friend of Kelly, which by itself means that Tucker is probably the one who made my brother gay. Were you able to prove it in the sauna?"
"You're plan sucked. It made him angry, and he left. He opened the door when I was still topless!"
"Well, I guess that proves it then. A good-looking topless girl in a private room and he was not interested. I think you've done what I asked you to do. Kelly Tucker is gay, otherwise he would have waited to see if he could see more. Thanks for the help. Now if only that dweeb brother of yours would accomplish something."
Kathy was about to tell her that when she grabbed his crotch, he was erect, but Andrea was already returning to the pool area. That was one place she didn't really want to be right then. She turned back towards the lobby where the elevators were. On the way, she passed Casey, who was heading in the opposite direction. She wondered why he wasn't with Kurt. They nodded at each other as they passed, but each were lost in their own thoughts.
"You guys look like you've just seen a ghost," Duncan said as Ian, Jack, Ashton, and David entered the house.
"Are there really ghosts?" Ian asked.
"No more scary movies for you," his brother said. "Ghosts don't exist."
"Do you know that for sure?" questioned David. "Some people say they've seen one."
"You too?" the fifteen-year-old Cormack boy asked. David Mackey was, in his opinion, too old to be scared of ghosts. "Some people say they've seen bigfoot, but I'm very sure that he doesn't exist either."
"Could someone have the ability to see things, like ghosts, while most people can't?" David asked.
Duncan considered the question from two sides. One, it seemed like the Mackey was asking about abilities that most of the Cormack kids had. And second, it sounded like something had scared the boys. A prank perhaps. He could talk about that, but he would not discuss abilities with the kid.
"I don't know. Were you guys watching Ghostbusters? Or did someone play a prank on you?"
"No," Ian said. "We just wanted to know. Some other kids thought their house was hunted is all. We were just wondering."
"Okay," Duncan said. "But you guys, especially Jack, do look like something scared you. I'm pretty sure ghosts don't exist except in fairy tales, campfire stories, and the movies." He moved away as the boys took off their jackets and shoes, thinking he needed to talk to his mother who knew far more about things that go bump in the night.
"He didn't suspect that Jack has the ability," Ian said. "He thinks someone played a joke on us." He turned to his cousin. "Jack, if Duncan is right and this is a prank, it's a good one. But please let us know before you start making us look like fools. And if what you told us is true, then why can't we see it in your head?"
"I'm not pulling your leg. I saw her. She had a hole in her head, and she told me just what I told you. I found the note right where she said it would be. We have to figure out how to get Ashton the protection he needs without letting your brother know."
"I'm not letting him, uh, you know. Do that," Ashton said.
"We'll find another way," said Ian. He turned to his cousin. "How about Geoff? Could you ask him for some help?" Geoff was Jack's older brother.
"I don't know. Maybe a charm would work. He's good with those."
"Ashton said Grandma Corbin specifically told him to get protection from Duncan," David added. "We shouldn't forget that."
"Hello, I'm Michael McEwen. I see you've recently moved in. I'm pretty handy with tools and know a bit about construction. I was wondering if there is any work you need done?"
"Hi, I'm Jared Upshaw, and this is my wife June, and the boys, Glen and Brent. Come on inside out of the cold."
Mr. McEwen entered and Mrs. Upshaw took his coat. The boys went to watch T.V. while the adults sat at the kitchen table.
"Could I get you anything Mr. McEwen?" June asked.
"It's Michael, and no, but thank you."
"Well, as you can see, there is a lot that could be done," Jared said. "The door to the back is stuck in the frame and very hard to open."
"Would it be possible to add anything on to the house?" June asked.
"The way the house was built, it would be fairly easy to add onto the side," Michael said. "The roof probably needs replacing anyway, the shingles look bad and I saw a few are missing. You'll have water damage inside soon if it isn't taken care of. It does of course require a permit."
"Are you licensed Michael?" Jared asked.
"I am not, but I used to be," he responded. He paused. "And if you were to ask your neighbors if you should hire me, most of them would tell you no. They would tell you that I'm a drunk. All I can promise you is that I will do quality work at a cheap price, and I will not arrive under the influence and will not drink while here."
"You said most would recommend against us hiring you," June began. "Who might give a different opinion?"
"Mr. Tucker. Halford, goes by Hal. He can also help with getting the permits for anything you want done. He and his wife have done the right thing by my son when I was not being a good parent. With their help, my son is working without pay at Morrison Industries, learning building design, something he wants to study in college. I've got a good kid, and he needs a good dad. I've decided to give up drink, but I need something to keep me busy."
The Upshaw's looked at each other. Jared turned back to Michael.
"We wanted to add six feet to the side of the house, and we've talked to two contractors from Sweetwater. Their price was beyond our budget."
"Could I trouble you for a paper and pencil?" Michael asked. When they supplied it to him, he began estimating the materials he would need and the time it would take to do the addition. When he was done, he gave them a price.
"That is a long way below what we were quoted," Jared said. "I must admit, I'm worried about you starting the work and not being able to do it for that price."
"We'll work in accordance with a contract. I'll have Hal draw it up unless you have your own lawyer. The price will be depended upon the actual cost of materials from my estimate. You will also have to get the permit, but like I say, Hal can help with that. Three things though. I'll be working alone, so it will take longer than it would for a team of carpenters to come in. Second, the addition will not match the house unless you also spend money to paint the entire outside, which I can do as well. And third, fixing the existing roof is not included in this estimate. However, shingles don't cost much, stripping the old ones off and disposing of them is where the cost will come from. Again, if you don't do the roof, it will not match the addition and within a year you'll start having leaks."
"The other estimates we got didn't include making the addition match the existing house either. In fact, neither of the companies even mentioned it."
"The contractors get a better price than you or I would on materials, and then mark it up above what we would pay. The standard estimate is 1/3 materials, 1/3 labor, and 1/3 profit. My labor is a small fraction of what they are charging, and I don't own a company, so I don't need to make a profit beyond my labor cost."
He paused, and saw them look at each other again for consent.
"Something else you aren't considering is work on the rest of the inside. Doors, moldings, everything in the new part will look new, the rest of the house will look old. What are you going to do with the addition? The price I gave you is for a weather-proof exterior."
"We wanted to give the boys separate bedrooms and a second bath," June said.
Michael went back to the paper. After several minutes, he handed them a new price. "This price includes wiring, plumbing, drywall, finishing, and lighting. But again, just for the extension."
They talked for nearly an hour and when he left, Michael had a deal. The work would last until summer, and while he wouldn't earn much, it would be a start on a new life. And if he could really stay sober, it might lead to steady work here in Indian Spring. There was a lot of talk these days of new families moving in now that proper land title had been established.
"I wonder what's going on over there," Nathan asked from the edge of the pool, his legs dangling in the water.
Jason was in the water trying to stare up the shorts of his boyfriend. He flipped around in time to see Kelly storming out of the sauna. Just before the door closed, he thought he saw a girl putting on the top to her bikini. He didn't recognize her. "I don't know."
"Wait here, I want to talk to Kelly."
Jason waited. As Nate was finishing his talk with Kelly the door to the sauna opened again and the girl came out. Nate stepped right in front of her. They talked for a few minutes before he returned to the pool.
He slid into the water. They were at the deep end of the pool so it took a few seconds before his head rose above the water. He put one hand on the side of the pool. Jason placed his own hand on the edge, right next to his boyfriend's.
"Neither of them looked too happy, did they?" Jason questioned. "Do you know what happened?"
"According to Kelly, she took her top off and grabbed his dick. She denied it, but I'm sure that Tuck wouldn't lie about something like that."
Jason wondered if they should go over there, but Kelly looked like he was a bit angry. He decided they should probably give him his space. "Have you ever been in a sauna?"
"I've never been to a hotel with a pool before. My family is not big on traveling," Nathan replied.
"I've been in one. Last year, I had to go to a wedding in Cleveland. We stayed in a nice hotel. They had a big one. You can sit in one for a few minutes and almost be completely dried. Come on, let's go check it out," Jason said.
Nathan wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but it wasn't much of anything. "Do you think it's working?"
"I guess not," Jason said as he looked around the room for a switch or controls. He finally found some on the side of a box with some rocks in it. Flicking the switch to the on position, he held his hand up to the rocks. "It must be turned off at a breaker somewhere, I'm not feeling any heat."
"No, but there is a lock on the door," Nathan said with a suggestive tone. "I bet we could make it a little steamy."
Jason smiled and quickly sat down on one of the benches. He watched as Nathan slid the door latch over. He was still thrilled by the novelty of how easy it was to have a boyfriend. There was no need for subterfuge; you and your boyfriend could do things. It was only when Nathan turned around and started to pull his swimming trunks down that Jason had a thought.
"Wait, what if somebody wants to come in?"
Nathan left his swimming trunks on the floor right by the door. "That's why I locked it. You can tell people from Indian Spring helped to build this. A lock on the sauna? They must have known this would happen. We'll be the first to christen it."
Blood was flowing to Jason's cock. He could feel it pushing against his swimming trunks as his boyfriend approached. He licked his lips, though the air wasn't dry. Another boy was standing naked in front of him, wanting sex. It was almost too much for the tween. Standing, he pulled his own swim trunks down and flung them at Nate, who caught and then threw them over his shoulder.
Nathan came over and placed a knee on the bench and a hand on Jason's shoulder. He stared up at the boy, and their eyes met as they both moved in for a kiss. It was just their lips, soft flesh meeting soft flesh melting together. Jason could feel the other boy's hand slide up his back to his neck before a second hand found its way to his other shoulder.
He reached out then, taking his boyfriend in his arms as Nathan joined him on the bench. The slightly smaller boy straddled him, their lips never breaking the kiss as both their hands started to explore the other's body. Jason's hand slid down to feel Nathan's rear. His mind couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to slide inside of there. If not today, that time would come soon.
Nathan kept kissing. His knees began hurting a little on the bench as he wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. He pushed forward until his erection began rubbing against the soft belly. Jason wasn't fat, but he didn't have that hard muscle either. The feel of his cock pushing against the other boy's stomach was wonderful. Relieving the pressure on his knees, he continued to grind against the other boy and felt his climax start to rise.
Nate had taken pleasure from both anal and oral sex, but another boy's stomach? It was like nothing he'd ever felt before. The kissing alone was amazing. His climax was building rapidly and almost came on him as a surprise. It was like cresting a hill and discovering a spectacular view. The orgasm caused him to hold on to his boyfriend even tighter, pushing his crotch into the other boy's stomach, even as he spilled his liquid. Nathan could feel how warm and slippery it was. Only as the intense sensations of his orgasm subsided, did it occur to him that Jason probably wouldn't appreciate the cum sprayed across his belly.
Jason had been enjoying the kissing and even the grinding. It was strange to feel somebody else's erection pushing against you. He hadn't hated it, but when he felt the liquid on his stomach, he broke the kiss and had to look down. He wasn't angry. If anything, he was frustrated, having nothing to rub against. On some level though, he liked it. He had caused this. That was mostly his very hard and very neglected cock thinking at the moment though.
"Sorry," Nathan muttered in a whisper before slowly dropping down to his knees and sliding between Jason's legs. He then used his own mouth to give the real apology. First, he licked up his own cum from the belly of his friend. Then he slowly wrapped his lips around the stiff rod jutting out below the kid's belly and started bobbing his head up and down. It wasn't just the second time he had done it that day, but almost a second time within the hour. He like the feeling of it and the reward wasn't really bad.
***
Things had finally settled down after the strange morning. Kelly observed Nate and Jason go into the sauna and heard the inside latch being turned. He noticed something he hadn't seen before – sliding the latch over on the inside only exposed a flag on the outside that said, "In use, please wait." It appeared that the door could still be opened from the outside.
He looked across the pool and saw that Ethan was still with Dennis, and they seemed to be getting along. Casey was also in that direction and with a boy Kelley didn't know. He decided to go and say hello.
"Hey Kelly," Casey said with a laugh. "This is Kurt Noble. His family is moving into a new house. He'll be in school with us as soon as the break is over."
"Hi," he said to Casey. He turned to Kurt. "I'm Kelly Tucker. Good to meet you. That girl in the bikini, Kathy, I take it she's your sister?"
"Yeah, she was looking for you," the boy said. Kelly noticed he was looking down and not at him.
"I think she had some kind of agenda," Kelly said. "A plot, or plan. You know anything about what she was doing?"
"We don't talk much," Kurt said. Kelly sensed that it was a true enough statement, but it purposefully evaded the question he had asked. And then Kurt said something that was even more odd.
"Did you want to be alone with Casey? I know you two are, uh, special friends."
"What the hell does that mean?" Kelly asked.
"Oh, nothing, I didn't mean it like it sounded," the kid lied. "I, uh, just wanted to use the rest room and meant you two could be together if you wanted." He turned and left the pool without giving Kelly or Casey a chance to respond.
"I'm pretty sure he's gay," Casey said. "And I think that was an invitation for you to join him. I'll give you five bucks if you do." Casey laughed.
"His whole family must be weird," Kelly said, not taking the bait. "His sister tried to get me to have sex with her in the sauna."
"Really? Did you?"
"Of course not," Kelly said. "But I did get to see most of her tits. And she grabbed my dick."
Casey looked at his friend. "You're pulling my leg, right? She's strange, but that?"
"It happened, I swear it did. And if you're right, now her brother wants me too. Very weird."
"Okay, with that in mind, I'll give you ten dollars to follow him to the restroom. Just to see what he tries to do."
"You need to get to three figures to get me even thinking about another encounter with him or his sister. What room are you in?"
"228, come on up anytime. But just so you know, I'm sharing it with Kurt."
"So, are you happy about that or not?" Kelly asked. "He isn't bad looking, just odd."
"I wouldn't mind it if he didn't keep denying he's gay. He and his sister are staying at our house until school starts. I guess their house isn't quite ready yet so their parents are in a motel. Andrea met her in town and invited them to come stay with us without asking me how I felt about it."
If a sudden disturbance hadn't happened by the sauna right then, Kelly might have put the pieces together. Instead, he saw a boy running from the sauna with two bathing suits in his hands and Nate and Jason sitting on the bench naked. Then the door swung closed.
Ashton wished Kelly was around. He would know what to do. And he could talk to Duncan for him, and ask him questions. Even though his brother treated him like a little kid sometimes, when he needed help, his oldest sibling was the one to go to.
But Kelly had gone to the waterpark and wouldn't be home until tomorrow sometime.
"Hey, Ashton," Jack said from behind him. "We can't read your thoughts. Where are we going?"
Ashton had wanted to get out of the Cormack house, to get away from Duncan. He didn't want to ask how to get the protection. Ian had already given him that answer. And there was no way a boy as old as Dunc was going to do that to him.
"I want to go to where you saw the trail split," Ashton said. "I want to see if the monster is still there."
"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Jack said. Ian agreed.
"You wouldn't even stay here by the road last time you smelled it," stated David. "In the woods there are a lot of smells, and you might miss it. Why do you want to do this?"
"Because I don't know what else to do." Ashton stopped and turned to face his friends. "I'm scared. I won't get the protection, and we're on our own. It was moving away from us last time. According to you, it had been under the bridge, and then it moved into the woods. Maybe it's moved further away. Maybe I don't need the protection now."
"This is a horrible idea," said Ian. "And I should know, I'm a master of horrible ideas." But Ashton continued moving towards the stream and the others followed along behind.
***
Soge sensed them getting closer. She had thought she would have to search out the one she intended to kill, but he was there, leading the group. She sniffed, and recognized a Cormack was with them. It gave her a chill; Cormack creatures were the reason she hadn't been able to wail over a death and thus return home. But this one did not seem very dangerous. Still, she'd have to be careful. The tracker was with them, and he would be doubly hard to fool a second time.
Not all like her could kill, but not all like her had lived above the ground for as long as she had. She still had to sing three times, but with her enchanting dances, after the third, her chosen victim would either kill itself or become easy prey, falling under her muse-like spell. Then she could nab his blood and return home with it, where she could heal properly and use the essence to give her beauty so she could live near humans.
And even more importantly, the stones over her grave had been moved. Now free of the ground, she was able to heal much faster. She remembered Orenda, the Indian girl, had used magic on her. She saw to it that the girl's wounds would become infected and kill her, but she had to run from the girl's husband, Nootau. The red-headed hunter had Irish blood in him, and was able to track her. The fight had been tough, and in the end she died, but with the knowledge that her attacker would not recover from the wounds she had given him. The warrior buried her, stacking stones over her grave to hold her to the ground.
But that was long ago, and now she was free and gathering strength and power with each passing day. She could return home on her own now, if she wanted, but first she needed to extract revenge on the Cormack family.
***
"Can we please turn back?" whispered Jack. "I'm scared."
"Of what?" David asked. He'd been watching so carefully for any unusual signs that he wasn't paying attention to anything else. "Do you sense something?"
"No, I just don't like this," Jack responded softly. "And Ashton doesn't have the protection he's supposed to have."
"Every now and then I think I get a whiff of it, but then it goes away," Ashton said. He drew in a big breath through his nose. "Nope, nothing. I think it is gone."
The three boys gathered in a semicircle, David at the center front, with Ian to his right, Ashton to his left, and Jack behind. They had entered the woods ten minutes ago, well past where the game trail ended at the stream. David wanted to come back to the area he had found earlier from an angle instead of following the same path. They had come to a small creek, a tributary that flowed to the south and west into the Crazy Indian.
"Let's go just a little further," David said. "I haven't seen anything strange, and we're still almost a quarter-mile from where I saw the circular trail before."
Reluctantly, they continued forward, falling back into a single file line with David in the lead. They'd only gone a short distance when David stopped and the other three spread out to his sides again.
Ahead of them they saw an old woman with long white hair, red eyes and wearing a green dress. She was washing clothes in the stream.
"Dia Duit," she said to them without looking up. Only Jack recognized the words as an Irish greeting, but he was frozen solid.
"Have you come to help me?" the woman asked in heavily-accented English.
Ian and Ashton stepped forward, but David had realized that his connection with Jack was broken, just as it had been in the Old Anderson house. He put a hand on the shoulders of both younger boys to stop them, but Ashton pulled forward.
"No, Ashton, come back here," David demanded. "We've got to go."
Jack saw the old woman dressed in black with long grey hair. Her face was covered with a veil. He immediately recognized her as a spirit. Not like the ghost of Malcolm's mother. This thing was something else entirely. Something threatening and dangerous and he was unable to move or speak. His connection to Ian and David no longer existed. But he could see parts of her mind. Thoughts, things, places. She kept blocking him out, but he persisted.
***
The Cormack boy was powerless! Soge saw. He was standing there, frozen with fear. She didn't even need to envelope him with her mists. And the boy she desired, the one being called Ashton, was approaching, drawn by her power. She had to hurry now, as the Lanham boy was working hard to break free of her. Injured, she had only so much to fight with. And who ever heard of a Lanham being able to sense spirits?
"Ring the clothes out like this," she said to the boy. "No, turn them in this direction. Always the same direction as me." She smiled as the boy followed her instructions. Seconds only, and the spell would be cast and she could sing. She used those seconds to reach out to the Cormack boy with her power. But she found that he was protected. Damn Cormack's! The boy couldn't be hurt, and he didn't even know it.
"Let him go!" Jack yelled, making the banshee take on her true form to the others and not just to him. He bent to pick up a stick, but suddenly the four boys heard a howling wind, and the most awful shriek. It went on and on, and it chilled the boys to the bone. And Jack saw in his mind what the spirit wanted. It was celebrating the demise of one of them.
Then the pond filled with mists, holding David and Ashton in place until she was gone. She now knew far more than she knew before, and it would enable her to be even more effective at the next meeting. And now she had the ability to summon the boy called Ashton to her.
"Come on, let's get out of here," David said once his connection to Jack was re-established. He grabbed Ashton and pulled him out of the stream and then pushed him to the front.
They ran, as fast as they could, back to the Crazy Indian, which they crossed without worrying about getting their shoes, socks, and pants wet. They didn't stop until they reached Lower Spring Drive, about midway between the Anderson and Kerns houses. From there, they continued, walking now but without speaking, until they got back to Ian's house.