Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2023 00:05:44 +0000
From: bradhonny <bradhonny@proton.me>
Subject: A Matter of Chance chapter 1 gay adult/youth

A Matter of Chance

Chapter 1

Safe Haven

By

Bradhonny



Hello everyone. It's me again with another story inspired by the love of
my life. Of course he's the main character along with his mom and a few
new characters. This story is different from my other projects because I
wanted something that wasn't just one sex scene after another. Don't
worry I've got plenty of them left in my collection to share with you,
but I wanted to broaden my work and show you I can write a story that has
a plot and a good story line. Some of the geography comes from areas I
grew up in and a few names will sound familiar to those who grew up in
New England. There will be sex but not as much. I hope you enjoy.

The list of characters is small. Bradley is a 14 year old teenage boy
about 5'8" tall and slender. He's wrestling with his gay desires which
has given this story its main theme.

Kathrine Dix is his mother. Her family came from Venezuela which has
given her that fine dark Spanish skin. She's in her mid-30's with long
dark hair. She only stands 5' tall and has a very slender body. Most men
would call her beautiful. She's a hard working beautician who has
scraped to buy her own shop since Bradley's dad left them. She's a
devout Catholic going to church every Sunday.

Jack Sully is a 36 year old single engineer who works at a power facility
in the heart of the New Hampshire white mountains. Jack has purchased and
is outfitting a cabin on the Appalachian trail in Maine. Jack stands
5'11", is fit weighing in at 175lbs. He has light blond hair and has
been told he was handsome by more than one girl.

Buster is a retired Forest Ranger in upstate Maine. He owns and runs the
general store on the way to Jack's cabin in a small town near the
Appalachian Trail situated near the Mt. Will Farm Rd. Buster stands
6'3" and for 60 is very fit. The hard work up north has kept him lean
with the body of a man half his age.

A couple characters mentioned in the beginning of the story are
Bradley's dad, Brad Sr and his brother who's name is not given. Billy
and Sam, who works with Jack, are also mentioned.



Now I don't want to forget to remind you that it's important we open
our pocketbooks and help support nifty. Let's help them keep this forum
going so we can enjoy each other's efforts at writing.

Now enjoy another story in the adventures of Bradley.

.....................................

"It doesn't fucking matter to me whether you believe me or not. I
don't want to be the poor shmuck that isn't prepared if it's all
true."

Jack Sully has been arguing with Billy now for months about whether the
Y2K scare is real or not. All the evidence he's seen suggests that the
world's economy could collapse and he's not alone thinking that.

He bought a cabin in the deep woods of Maine near the Appalachian Trail
and has been stocking it up ever since with all the survival supplies
he'd need to last for a couple of years. Everything from weapons for
protection and hunting to MRE's. Extra clothing, solar panels, fuel for
his generator when the batteries get low. He has an underground
refrigerator that requires no energy. He even stocked up on entertainment
for those long frosty winter nights. VHS tapes and the newest compact
disks. He downloaded about one hundred movies on several disks to play on
his computer. He acquired gardening supplies for planting and had plans
to bring in some chickens and goats for food, eggs, and milk.

"You know if you helped I'd let you share with me. Better to be safe
than sorry." Jack said to Billy for the 100th time.

"I'm not wasting my energy or resources preparing for something that
isn't going to happen." Billy argued.

"Look it's no skin off my nose, suit yourself but remember all the
drills we're going thru preparing for the ultimate disaster at the power
plant. If it were all a hoax do you think they'd be spending all that
money and those resources preparing?"

"You can't pretend not to believe Bill Gates won't have something up
his sleeve to take care of all the computers that you say are going to
crash causing world chaos." Billy argued.

"You give that man way too much credit Billy. Last chance. I won't ask
again. But don't come running to me when the shit hits the fan and
you're out in the cold."

Billy laughed, turned, and walked away headed for the control room. They
were both engineers operating a wood chip burning power plant in
Tamworth, New Hampshire.

...................

"Mom I'm sorry. It wasn't my fault. Dad just went crazy. He was drunk.
He told me no son of his was going to be gay and he was going to fuck the
gay right out of me." Bradley said crying.

"I was scared, and the lamp was right there. I didn't know it would
kill him."

.................

Bradley was fourteen and had known he was gay for a few years. When the
rumor got around at school that he was gay he became a target for the
school's bullies.

He got beat up one afternoon by some of them when they set him up. One of
them asked for a blow job. Bradley got caught with his pants down around
his ankles and the boys dick in his mouth. One of them took a lot of
photos and had them posted before the guidance counselor broke up the
beating.

Kathrine was called and had to come to the school to pick him up. Because
of her strict catholic upbringing she couldn't even look Bradley in the
eye.

Being frustrated she hastily called his father whom she had divorced
years ago for fucking around on her with a high school senior. The only
reason he didn't go to jail was because the age of consent was 16 and
the girl was 17.

He came to pick Bradley up and on the ride to his house he didn't say a
word.

Bradley felt like his world had ended and only wanted to run as far away
as he could get.

Brad stopped out front of his house, got out of the truck and came around
to the passenger side door and yanked Bradley out by his shirt.

Bradley couldn't escape and before he knew it he was in his dad's
bedroom on the bed with his pants off and his dad's dick pounding his
ass mercilessly shouting that no son of his was going to be gay.

"I'll fuck the gay right out of you. Your sissy ass will be sore for
weeks when I'm done with you. and you won't be sucking any dick either
after I'm done slapping the shit out of you." he yelled as he took
another pull on a bottle of cheap whiskey.

Bradley was crying pleading with his dad to stop. He was hurt bad and
when his dad took a break to down some more whiskey he saw the lamp on
the night stand and reached for it.

"Go ahead you little fuck, that'll be the last thing your faggot ass
ever does because I'll fucking kill you." Brad spat out the words as he
took another pull from his bottle.

In his unsteady drunken state he stumbled. In his haste to punish his son
he had left his underwear around his ankles and fell forward almost
landing on Bradley. Without thinking Bradley quickly grabbed the lamp and
struck his dad on the head.

Brad stopped moving and Bradley ran. He made it out to the front yard and
climbed into the truck. Brad, forgot the keys in the front door and
Bradley grabbed them on his way out.

With no pants or underwear on he managed to drive the truck back to his
house. He ran into the kitchen where his mom was and began sobbing
telling her what had happened.

She sent him to his room and drove the truck back to Brad's house where
she found him on the floor dead in a pool of blood.

She panicked and called Brad's brother who came to the house.

Brad's brother was gay and the whole family knew it but because the town
was mostly redneck he hadn't been outed so the family didn't have to
suffer the humiliation.

"Get Bradley and get out of town. I'll take care of things here. Just
disappear Kathrine. Don't let me know where you go for at least a month.
They'll be looking for you, so I don't want to know."

Kathrine left the truck at Brad's house and took a cab back to her
house. She told the cab driver her ex-husband got drunk at her house and
she drove him back and didn't want to stay with him. The cab driver
bought the story knowing Brads reputation as a drinker.

...................

Kathrine walked into her house crying wondering just where in the hell
they could run too. She went to Bradley's room to tell him his dad was
dead, and his uncle was taking care of the body but that they were going
to have to run as far away as they could .

"Mom I'm sorry. It wasn't my fault. Dad just went crazy. He was drunk.
He told me no son of his was going to be gay and he was going to fuck the
gay out of me." Bradley said crying.

"I was scared, and the lamp was right there. I didn't know it would
kill him."

"It's too late to worry about how it happened Bradley. No matter how
bad what you did at school is I can't see you go to jail for something
that wasn't really your fault. We're going to run. I'm not sure where
but I've got enough squirreled away to get us by for a couple of months
so pack a back pack and let's get going."

The two waited for night to come and when it got dark and the neighbors
where all asleep they headed down the driveway and drove north.

They reached Philadelphia by lunch time the next day and Kathrine pulled
into a Budget hotel. They checked in giving as little information as
possible paying cash for a night.

"Mom, where are we going? We've never been up this way before." Asked
Bradley scared because she wasn't talking to him.

Kathrine hesitated then broke down and began to cry. She cried for
several minutes before she wiped her eyes and looked at Bradley.

"I'm not sure Bradley. I just know we have to get as far away as we
can."

She hesitated for a minute, looked at Bradley and continued.

"I want to understand but I just can't. Why would you want to have sex
with other boys? Everything I've been taught tells me it's wrong and a
sin.  But I can't believe that being gay deserves the treatment you've
gotten especially at the hands of your father."

Bradley began to cry.

"Mom it's not something I can explain. It's not like one day I just
decided I was going to be gay. It's not something you decide, at least I
don't think so. I can't describe how I feel because it's something I
didn't have to think about. I just like boys. Why did God make me that
way if it's so wrong. I thought God doesn't make mistakes and if he
made me this way why is it so wrong?"

Kathrine reached out and took Bradley into her arms and hugged him. She
didn't say anything, but Bradley felt better knowing she didn't hate
him.

"Mom I'm really scared. If they catch us will I have to go to jail?"

"They're not going to catch us Bradley. Your uncle is going to leave a
false trail for the police officers to follow and everyone in town knows
your dad's a drunk and likes to fuck any young pussy he can get his
hands on. They'll think we left town because of what happened to you at
school. Being a redneck town they'll be happy that the gay kid is out of
their town. I'm sure they won't be looking for us either way."

"So why are we going so far away?"

"I don't know Bradley, I'm not sure how long they'll be looking or if
they'll be looking I just don't want to take the chance. We don't have
to be gone forever and we'll be able to go back."

"I don't want to go back there mom. I hate it there. Let's just find
somewhere else to live."

"We'll talk about that later Bradley, let's get something to eat then
get some sleep. I want to travel at night so there isn't any traffic.
I'll figure out somewhere to go tomorrow."

They ate in silence at the truck stop down the street. When they were
done they went back to their hotel room and slept. Kathrine woke up
around 3 in the morning and shook Bradley awake and the two got in the
van and continued heading north.

They continued north until they hit Concord, NH and stopped at a bed and
breakfast for the night.

When she woke up the next day Kathrine noticed some flyers on a table
next to the front desk. She spotted one for the Appalachian trail.

She took it back to their room and woke Bradley.

"It says in this flyer that there are several places on the Trail where
it intersects with the road system up there. We're not far now I think
we'll head that way and hope there are some cabins or something that we
can rent for a while. It doesn't look all that populated, and the people
there probably keep to themselves. It's as good a place as we'll find
to disappear."

They had breakfast and got in the van. She drove north on state route 93
until they got to Lincoln then headed east on the Kancamagus Hwy towards
Conway NH.

They stopped at a little bar restaurant called Almost There to have some
lunch.

................

"Yah Sam you wouldn't believe that nut Jack. He thinks that Y2K shit is
real and the whole country is going to go into an economic collapse and
the world's nations are going to war because the computers are going to
launch all the nukes." Billy said as he and Sam laughed over a couple of
beers.

Kathrine overheard what they said and decided to listen more. This could
be their ticket to safety. If the world were going into melt down than
they could disappear, and everyone would be too busy to worry about
them.

"He's so convinced some catastrophe is going to happen he bought a
cabin up in the out lands of Maine near the Appalachian Trail where he's
going to survive." Billy said to Sam.

"Where in the hell did he find a cabin up there?" Sam asked.

"He told me it was on Bear River Rd. just south of Grafton Notch State
Park. Before he realized I wasn't buying into his ridiculous plan he told
me how to get there and all about his hidden entrance." Billy said.

Kathrine listened and took mental notes of all they discussed and as soon
as she'd heard all they had to say about the cabin she went to the
cashier and asked if they had any maps of the area. After buying what
they had she took Bradley to the van and opened them.

"Here it is Bradley, Gorham isn't that far, and I see Route 2. It goes
right into Maine. That man says he takes State Route 2 east of
Gorham."

"But if we find it and he's there what then mom. Do you think he'll
just let us stay there?" Bradley asked trying to discourage his mom from
following what he figured to be a foolish plan.

"We don't have much choice Bradley and besides if he has stocked as
much stuff as that man said we can survive for a long time before the
first of the year when this Y2K is supposed to happen."

"Mom, if he bought the cabin to survive this Y2K thing don't you think
he'd be a bit pissed to find us there using up all his supplies."
 Bradley said shaking.

"By then we'll have come up with a plan. That man said this guy Jack
stocked up weapons so I could learn how to use one before he gets there.
Or even offer myself to him if he lets us stay."

"Mom this is scaring me, why don't I just turn myself in and say it was
self-defense. They'll figure he was drunk, and I was just defending
myself."

"Bradley I couldn't watch you go to jail even for a day. If this Y2K
thing happens it could open up something that will keep us away long
term. Isn't that what you want, to run away for good?"

Kathrine spent the next hour convincing Bradley that things would work
out and that the worst that would happen would be the guy would kick them
out and they'd have to find somewhere else to go. Bradley reluctantly
gave up the argument. They got back in the van and headed out.

They drove into the late afternoon and stopped at a small town called
Bethel, Maine where they found a small bed and breakfast that had a
vacancy to spend the night.

The next morning they drove in the direction that the innkeeper had
pointed them in.  They stopped at a small general store with a gas pump
by the road. It was situated near the Mt. Will Farm Rd. When they went
inside to ask the attendant about getting gas they noticed it looked like
it stocked all the essentials the locals would need.

After getting the information on the gas pump Kathrine asked the man
behind the counter where they could find the Bear river road. The store
keep showed them on their map to head north a short distance after
turning north on Rt 26 and they'd see the Bear River Rd sign.

"It's a rough road lady and it's about 10 miles after the turn before
you hit the trail. Be careful of potholes. That van of yours isn't 4
wheel drive so if you get stuck it could be days before anyone comes
along."

The store keep shook his head.

"Why in blue blazes do you want to head that way, you don't look like
the types for that part of the wilderness." He asked.

"We have a friend that is going to help my son learn how to survive in
the wilderness as part of this Y2K thing that's supposed to happen."
Said Kathrine hoping that would stop the man from asking more
questions.

"You aren't talking about Jack Sully are you? That crazy nut has been
toting supplies to that cabin of his for a year now. I suspect he thinks
things are going to get nuts. I for one don't believe all that shit but
I got to hand it to him if he's gonna take you in. you're not a
bad-looking lady if you don't mind me saying. Just be careful that's
all." The store keep said as the two got back in their van and drove
off.

It was a rough ride, and the van had a tough time in spots navigating the
pot holes.

"Just how are we supposed to find this cabin mom? Don't you think he
would have thought of people trying to find him and take some kind of
measures to hide it."

"That's the secret that Billy shared with Sam. He knew how that guy
Jack had hidden the turn off to his cabin. We are supposed to be looking
for a tree that has no leaves and has been split by a lightning strike. A
couple yards beyond that there will be a drive off to the left that is
marked by a birch tree surrounded by a circle of rocks."

"Whatever mom, I still don't think this is a good idea. I hope there's
a way out if we can't find it."

Kathrine drove slowly for the next few miles when Bradley spotted the
tree described by Billy. He never expected it to be true and was shocked
when he spotted it.

"There it is mom, see it?"

"I see it Bradley, that's great and there's still lots of
daylight."

They inched their way along the road looking for the birch tree
surrounded by a circle of rocks. Bradley realized that this might all
work out after all. He studied the left side of the road, never taking
his eyes off even when his mom nailed a huge pot hole.

Excited, Bradley shouted out "There it is, on your left mom. But just
how are we supposed to get passed that to this cabin of his?" Bradley
asked as he couldn't see any real path.

Kathrine stopped the van, and they got out. They walked up to the tree
and when they got there they noticed the hidden drive to the right of the
tree camouflaged so you would think it was all over grown. It opened up
to a clearing and they saw the cabin just at the edge of the trees In
front of a hill.

"All we have to do is remove these few branches and we can drive right
through and then cover the entrance back up like he left it." Kathrine
said. She directed Bradley to stay by the branches while she drove past
then to cover the entrance back over.

They parked the van on the edge of the clearing so that it couldn't be
seen by someone driving by and made their way to the cabin.

"So how are we supposed to get in mom, do you think he'd be fool enough
to leave the front door unlocked?" Bradley said questioningly.

"No son I didn't think he'd be that foolish, but I do believe he'd
leave a key somewhere."

The two searched for what seemed forever to Bradley when he stumbled over
a rock just on the edge of the porch and there it was.

"I can't believe it mom I think this might be it." Bradley said
holding up the rusty key he found under the rock.

Kathrine took the key, wiped it off, and inserted it into the lock.

The lock turned and the next thing they knew they were looking into the
living area of a very well stocked cabin. Kathrine was able to find food
they could eat without using a stove or anything. Bradley went in search
of water. He found a small brook not fifty feet from the cabin and filled
two buckets.

Looking around Kathrine found a water purification kit and made sure the
water was ok to drink.

They both ate the MRE meals by following the instructions for
preparations.

After they ate they were both exhausted.

"Let's get some sleep Bradley and in the morning we'll explore. We'll
be ok I'm sure of it. That bed looks comfortable and big enough for the
two of us. Pick a side and I'll lay down on the other. I love you."

Kathrine pulled Bradley in for a hug and kissed him on the cheek.

"I love you too mom, sorry I gave you a hard time back there."

"Don't worry Bradley, I know you were just nervous and upset with
everything going on. I promise I'll be more understanding of how you
feel. We'll get through this; I just know it."

As soon as the two laid down on the bed they were fast asleep.

..........................

It was early morning, around five he noticed looking at his watch, when
Bradley woke up. He was disoriented. `what the f,, oh shit it wasn't a
bad dream after all' Bradley thought to himself as he swung his legs
around to put them down on the floor. He looked over at his mom who was
still sleeping and got out of bed quietly so as not to wake her.

It had been a rough couple of days, and he knew she needed sleep.

`Might as well do some exploring and see what's around here.' Bradley
thought to himself as he quietly opened the door and stepped out onto the
porch. He put on his shoes and stepped off onto the ground in front of
the cabin. He looked around. Things looked a bit clearer with the morning
sun which was shining directly at the cabin. He looked down at the stream
he had gotten water from last night and saw a deer drinking as if it
didn't have a care in the world.

`Must not see many humans around here, didn't even flinch when it
looked up at me.' He thought to himself as he watched the deer join a
couple of others deeper in the field surrounding the stream. He did a 360
and took in the entire landscape surrounding the cabin and noticed the
small mountain directly behind them which had its base nearly touching
the edge of the cabin. There was a small pond just at the edge of the
field which was probably ½ mile wide in front of them and maybe a mile in
the other direction. No chance anyone or anything could sneak up on them
from the field at least. The woods behind the cabin were thick with small
growth standing at least six feet high.

`I'd sure hear anyone trying to get through all that underbrush, but I
think I'll suggest to mom we make some booby traps or alarms at least.'
He said to himself as he walked to the other side of the cabin.

As he turned the corner of the cabin he noticed a door in the ground set
at a shallow angle. `looks like a tornado shelter I saw in an ad. But I
doubt they get any of those around here.'

He walked over to it and noticed it had a padlock keeping it closed.
`I'll have to find that key, gotta see what's down there.'

That's when he spotted what looked like the pump house for a lawn
sprinkler system. He saw that it wasn't locked and lifted the cover
noticing that only one end of the pump had a pipe attached and it looked
like it went underground in the direction of the stream. He looked
straight at the stream and headed towards it hoping to see the other end
of the pipe.

When he got to the stream he began to search the banking and noticed a
spot where the ground had been dug up then covered back over by some
rocks. The water was pretty clear, and he could see the end of the pipe
submerged about two feet down. It had a screen wrapped around it.
`don't know much about piping but I bet that's the suction for the
pump.'

He walked back up to the pump and looked around but couldn't see any
other piping. `guess he hasn't had a chance to finish it yet.'

He continued his exploration to the back side of the cabin. `damn that
mountain is steep.' He thought to himself as he tilted his head up to
see the side of the mountain climb steeply disappearing in the thick
woods just feet from the cabin. `I bet when it snows it piles high on
the back of the cabin. I'm surprised he'd build it so close to the base
of this mountain.' But it was then that he noticed the roof. The peak
was right there at the back of the cabin and sloped steeply down to the
front. `the snow wouldn't get much of a chance to pile too high before
it would fall down the front.' He thought. `pretty smart I guess after
all.'

He climbed up the slope and noticed that it was only a short gap from the
slope of the mountain to the edge of the roof and if he weren't afraid
of falling he could easily step out onto the roof.

He slid down the side of the slope and worked his way around to the
opposite side of the cabin and found the shed about 50ft from the cabin.
It was also locked. `damn he sure was afraid of someone getting at his
shit.'

He worked his way over to where they had hidden the van and found a few
more branches to conceal it better.

He went back to the porch and sat down on the edge.

`wish I had the porn magazines I had hidden under my bed at home. Damn
I'm horny and need to jerk off. I guess if I'm quiet I could do it
right here. Mom will sleep for at least another hour, which should be
enough time.'

Bradley closed his eyes and pulled his teenage dick out and began to
stroke it thinking about his dad plowing into his sore ass.

`I really hate that man and it just wasn't right that he forced himself
on me but damn I'm horny right now thinking about his dick buried in my
ass. Fuck I must be really screwed up getting hard thinking about my dad
raping me.'

He was lost in his thoughts and beating his dick pretty hard when his mom
opened the door and stepped onto the porch. She heard then saw him
moaning and beating his penis pretty hard. Her jaw dropped and couldn't
help but get a little tingle in her pussy watching her son jerking off
right there in front of her. She was lost in that thought when Bradley
grunted loudly and lifting his hips began to spray his cum all over his
lap.

Kathrine didn't know what to do or say but realized that she was just
going to have to accept that her son was gay and had to relieve himself
like any other normal boy. She watched as the last of the sperm left his
penis and his stroking stopped.

"Ahem." She coughed into her fist.

Bradley jerked around and saw her standing there looking down at him with
his pants and underwear down around his knees and his hand on his dick.

"Fuck, mom I'm sorry, I thought you'd still be sleeping. Sorry."

He quickly began to pull his pants up to cover himself.

"Bradley I'm sorry for watching. I realize you have needs like any
normal boy and I know boys masturbate. I'm not upset that you are
masturbating but I do hope in the future you can find somewhere else to
do it instead of the porch. Now if you could, let's see if we can find
something for breakfast and sit down and make a list of the things we
need."

Bradley finished putting himself back together and swallowing his pride
joined his mom in the cabin. With it being a bit lighter they found
several cabinets that contained all sorts of survival gear. The usual;
flashlights, matches, lighters, cooking utensils, pots and pans, clothes
pins, rope, a first aid kit that had more than your usual home kit, extra
men's clothing, boots and shoes, tool kits of all sorts, more MRE's and
an assortment of nuts, bolts, and screws. The cook stove was different
from anything Kathrine had seen. One end of the stove looked like the old
fashion wood stoves she'd seen in an antique store complete with an
oven. The other looked like a modern electric one with 4 burners and an
oven. A small stack of wood sat next to it. There was a small apartment
sized refrigerator next to the counter off the sink. She noticed it was
plugged in right next to where the stove was.

"Bradley do you remember seeing any power lines coming to the cabin from
the road?"

"No mom I don't believe I saw any power lines on the road either."

"Well part of that stove is electric, and that refrigerator certainly is
and even though I see some gas lamps there are electric ones too. Did you
see any generators?"

"There's a shed on that side of the cabin but it was locked. It might
have one in there." Bradley said pointing in the direction he'd seen
the shed.

They did another search of the cabin but couldn't find anything other
than the MRE's so they each picked out one and proceeded to devour them.


Bradley finished eating and continued exploring the cabinets.

"Aha, a key box mom, I was hoping to find this. I've found a few things
outside that are locked. Let's try these keys maybe we'll find more
things we can use."

Bradley took the keys and his mom followed. The first door to unlock was
what he thought was a tornado shelter. He located the right key and
opened the door. It was pretty heavy and appeared to be insulated. Steps
led down into the darkness.

"I'll run back into the cabin and get one of the flashlights, don't
want to get hurt going down those stairs in the dark." Bradley said to
his mom as he turned and headed back into the cabin.

He returned and the two descended the steps, it went down about 8' then
opened up into what appeared to be a massive walk in refrigerator.
Shelves lined the walls. Upon inspection they noticed the floor, walls,
and ceiling were made of fiberglass and felt cool to the touch.

"This is an underground refrigerator. But I don't think there is any
refrigeration equipment unless it's super quiet. I'm sure it would have
started up by now since the door's been open." Bradley observed. "And
to my knowledge there's no electricity to run it anyway."

"No you're right I don't think it's any kind of refrigerator I've
ever seen." Kathrine agreed.

Bradley scanned the ceiling with his flashlight and noticed a couple of
light fixtures and a switch on the wall just at the base of the steps. He
flipped the switch, but nothing happened.

"Doesn't appear there's any electricity available mom."

They left the structure and closed and relocked the door then Bradley led
his mom to the shed after pointing out the pumphouse and the pipe that
led down to the stream below.

They made it to the shed he had located on the opposite side of the
cabin. Without measuring Bradley figured the shed was around 15ft by
20ft. He found the key that opened the shed door and opened it.

They looked inside with the aid of the flashlight and found what appeared
to be a generator in the middle of the floor, several electrical boxes
where bolted to the wall with wiring attached leading to a box on the
side of the generator. More wires left the boxes on the wall and went
into a pipe in the floor of the shed.

Several sections of pipe were leaning against the wall along with boxes
of assorted pipe fittings.

There were at least a dozen solar panels leaned up against one wall with
boxes labeled panel hardware on the floor.

"I've read several articles on the use of solar power in the home but
haven't seen anyone I know take advantage of them." Kathrine said to
Bradley who just shrugged his shoulders.

"Looks like this guy might be counting on them for power and come to
think of it that roof is angled perfectly and facing east so it would get
the sun until at least afternoon before the sun went on the back side of
that mountain behind us." Bradley observed.

In further exploration of the shed they found two ladders that were hung
from the ceiling, both extension ladders that Bradley guessed would
extend high enough to get up on the roof. There were several shovels,
rakes, hoes, and a wheel barrow to round out the equipment they saw.

Bradley noticed a couple of large gas cans and a 50 gal. tank, and three
large propane tanks set on the floor near the generator. He hit their
sides with a wrench he found on a small bench, and they all sounded full.
He smiled at his mom.

"Looks like all we have to do is figure out how to start this thing and
we'll have electricity."

They both looked around it and found an access panel that they removed.
On the back of the panel were step by step directions on how to do a
prestart check and detailed startup instructions.

Kathrine picked up the panel and began to read off all the steps to
Bradley and with a little help from the pictures on the side of the
machine they finally got to the last step of the startup procedure.

"Well it looks just like the pull chord I use to start pappas lawn mower
so this should be easy." Bradley said as he braced himself and gave it a
pull. Nothing happened.

"It probably hasn't been started in a while it might take several
pulls." Kathrine said to him giving him encouragement.

After what seemed an eternity to Bradley the engine finally came to life.
The light on the ceiling of the shed got bright and they could see the
electrical panels more clearly. They opened each of them and found the
panels to be very clearly marked. They chose the breakers supplying power
to the lighting in the cabin, the underground refrigerator, and the pump
house.

Bradley wanted to know if the pump worked, even with the piping not
finished if it lifted water up to it he could collect it in the buckets,
so he didn't have to hike down the hill every time they wanted water.

While Bradley went to the pumphouse Kathrine went back into the cabin to
start exploring a little more in depth what they had available.

`Now let's see, here's the start button for the pump. Now for the
startup instructions' Bradley didn't have to look long before he found
the pump's start up instructions, but it required priming before
starting. `I've never heard of priming before. Shit I hope mom
knows.'

Bradley got up and headed into the cabin.

"Hey mom have you ever heard of priming? The pump won't run until I
prime it the instructions say."

"Well you're in luck Bradley, look what I found in one of the drawers
under the bed. Books on everything we've found around the cabin
including that pump, the underground refrigerator, the generator, and
even the solar panels. I even found his notebook with a detailed diary of
everything he's done along with things he wants to complete before this
Y2K event occurs."

"That's awesome mom, let's take the book on the pump to the pump house
and maybe I can figure out how to get it primed."

"OK, Bradley but I have to think about how long it's gonna take us to
get to that store and back here before it gets dark. We need food and I
don't want to eat anymore of his MRE's, they're all right but I'm
sure they were intended to last when he couldn't get to a store."

"Yah and with that refrigerator we can store a lot of stuff needing
refrigeration like milk, eggs, bacon, and bread." Bradley said to his
mom. "And lots of meat."

"Don't forget vegetables as well. I think we should leave now so we can
get there and have plenty of time to get back. You can figure out that
pump later now that we have power."

They shut down the generator, locked everything up, and got the van out
on the road covering up the secret entrance before heading out for the
store.

....................

"Hey Jack, how's it hanging." The store clerk said to the phone.

Jack had just called to see if they had a certain few things he would be
needing when he came out in a couple of days.

After listening to Jack's list he spoke up.

"Yah I shouldn't have any trouble having those things ready when you
get here. And hey that lady is a surprisingly good looker. Never figured
you'd attract anyone so pretty and be into mentoring a teenage boy but
what do I know."

"What the fuck are you going on about. What fucking lady and what
teenage boy?"

"Shit she was just here yesterday evening; said you were having them at
the cabin so you could teach her son how to survive in the wilderness.
She talked like you'd known each other for a while. Now that surprised
me Jack, I've known you for a lot of years and found it strange but hell
I always hoped you'd come around and find someone. And she did seem to
know all about how to find the cabin. She just needed directions to Bear
River road."

"Have you seen them since? Damn I'm gonna have to come up there sooner
than I thought."

"They didn't look like they were in trouble or anything. They looked
like they'd been on the road for a while, just wanted to get to the
cabin to rest. I didn't figure them for criminals and neither one of
them looked nervous, just tired. Are you sure you didn't get drunk one
night and invite her to stay with you? Hell Jack if I wasn't gay I'd
let her stay with me in a heartbeat."

"How old were they? Did they have any weapons?"

"Well hell Jack I don't know she was maybe in her mid-thirty's and the
kid was maybe 13 or 14. She looked Spanish, Black hair and a dark
complexion, very pretty. She was short maybe only 5' tall, and the kid
was only around 5'8" and really skinny. Fuck I don't think she would
know which end of a gun to hold onto let alone how to shoot it."

"OK, listen don't tell them I'm coming if you see them. I don't want
them to be on guard or anything. I want to have complete surprise. Got
that?"

"I got it Jack but damn it, I don't want you coming up here to hurt
them. She's a nice lady and the kid seemed harmless. Just tell them to
get the fuck out and I'm sure you won't have any trouble from them.
I'd be more than happy to let her stay with me."

"Yah we'll see. I won't hurt them unless they give me a reason. I'll
see you tomorrow."

Jack hung up just minutes before Kathrine and Bradley walked thru the
door of the store.

"Well hello pretty lady what can I do for you and your boy this
afternoon?"

"Well we didn't want to eat up all of his food, so we thought we'd get
a few things to eat."

"Well help yourselves to the store and I'll help you check out when
you're done. Oh hey, so I forgot to ask yesterday what your names are, I
like to be friendly and although I don't mind calling you pretty lady
I'm sure it would sound nicer if I knew your names."

Kathrine thought for a second and didn't think this man would be a
danger but if they were being hunted she didn't want to give out their
real names.

"I'm Betty and my son's name is Philip. Jones is our last name."

"Well it's mighty fine to meet yah Betty that's a right pretty name to
go along with your pretty looks." Blushed the store owner.

"Well while we're at it we never got your name either mister."

"Oh hell they all call me Buster around here although my real name is
Ben Ferguson. I got the handle Buster because when I was younger I used
to bust poachers as a Ranger. The name stuck along with the reputation as
a hard nose officer that didn't take no shit from poachers."

Kathrine giggled. "You seem like a harmless man to me Buster, but I
suppose you probably were a firm man. Philip come over here and introduce
yourself to Mr. Buster here."

Bradley came over and with a shy look and a limp handshake; "Hello Mr.
Buster I'm Philip glad to meet you."

"Well I can see the first thing that old Jack is going to have to do is
toughen you up boy, you aint gonna survive long up around these parts if
you don't have a firmer handshake than that."

Bradley turned red then let go of his hand and turned to go back to the
cooler with the eggs and milk.

They made quick work of the groceries and before long were on their way
back to the cabin.

"He was a really rough guy mom. He scares me."

"I don't think he meant to scare you Bradley, he sounded genuinely
concerned that you needed to toughen up a bit that's all."

"Yah well we won't be here long enough for me to worry about that."

"I'm not sure how long we can stay, it might only be for another day or
two or we might be here for a long time. It all depends on what Jack
does. We'll have to wait and cross those bridges when we get to them."
They drove in silence back to the cabin.

They unloaded the van into the cabin.

"I don't want to keep the generator going all night, so we won't use
the refrigerator here in the cabin. Sorry Bradley but you'll just have
to make the trip to the underground frig."

"I don't mind mom."

While Bradley made his way to the underground frig, Kathrine put the dry
goods in the cupboards above the sink.

Dinner was nice since they didn't have to eat another MRE. Bradley had
missed his mom's cooking and savored every bite. He decided he'd wait
until tomorrow to try out the pump so that evening while there was still
daylight he walked down to the stream and brought up a couple of buckets
to the cabin.

They finished off the first full day at the cabin reading more of the
material Kathrine had found. Bradley felt he had a pretty good handle on
how to prime the pump and gave a yawn and turned to his mom.

"I'm gonna get some sleep mom, maybe tomorrow we can figure out how to
make up a second bed. I love you but need to sleep by myself."

"I understand Bradley, we'll make it a priority I promise."

Kathrine stayed up a bit longer, long enough to hear Bradley snoring then
turned off the remaining light, took the flashlight and walked out to the
shed to shut down the generator. `tomorrow I'll have to figure out how
much fuel we're burning in this thing so we can replace it before Jack
shows up.'

She closed and locked the door then made her way back to the cabin. She
stopped on the porch and looked out towards the pond. The moon was up and
shining on it giving off a very comforting shimmer on its surface. `this
is a very beautiful spot; I pray Jack doesn't kick us out and we can
figure a way to co-exist here.'

She sighed and went into the cabin locking the door behind her. She
stretched out on the bed next to her son. She looked towards the ceiling.


`I know I've done wrong Lord and as soon as I can find a church I'm
gonna confess.  I'm glad you led us here. I really love my son and I
know that him being gay may go against your law, but I pray you have
mercy on him, and our situation. I pray you make it possible for us to
have a new life here.

Forgive us for the death of his father but Lord he made it happen not
poor Bradley. Maybe if he's there you can make sense of what's happened
and intercede for us. Tell him we don't really hate him, just what he
became.

Anyway I'm not trying to tell you what to do, I just want to stop
running and make a good life for Bradley. Maybe even find a good man for
him to look up too. Thank you Lord for listening to me. Oh and help
Bradley's Uncle see his sin and help him too. Amen.'

Kathrine closed her eyes and for the first time in several days found
peace.

.............................

Well that's the end of chapter one. I hope you aren't too disappointed
that it wasn't full of sex and can understand my desire to write
something a bit more meaningful. Don't worry there will be sex. Just not
as much as my earlier writings. Stay with me everyone, there's much more
to this story that needs telling.

Bradhonny