Uncaged

By Wes Leigh featuring the contributions of Rob the Scribe

 

This is a work of fiction intended solely for the entertainment of our readers; any resemblance to any real people or places is purely coincidental. Readers who would like to chat are encouraged to contact us at weston.leigh@protonmail.com and robthescribe@protonmail.com.

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Chapter Ten

 

Erin Masters handed RJ's essays to Mickey's mother, Susan Daniels. Susan worked in the DA's office, so she'd know what to do. Erin's conscience objected, but she ignored it. Clearly, what she was doing was in a gray area of ethical behavior. She had no proof that RJ was being molested, but if he was, she couldn't stand by and ignore it. Not if she had information that could make a difference. Not if taking action could prevent RJ from serious psychological harm. Not when waiting could be dangerous for the boy.

Susan read the essays, shaking her head when reading the more damning passages.

"I could get in trouble for providing you with student documents without a court order," Erin mentioned.

Susan placed her hand on top of Erin's, smiling sympathetically. "You're doing the right thing, Erin. I won't tell anyone I saw these."

"It's just that I worry about any delay. RJ could be getting hurt as we speak."

"You don't have to explain. I'm a mother. If anyone hurt my Mickey, I'd tear them apart. I understand how you feel, and I'll look into this right away."

Erin nodded, suddenly unsure of herself. Had she done the right thing? She had to step in, for RJ's sake. Right? Then why did she suddenly have a sick feeling in her stomach that she'd made a terrible mistake?

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Auntie's mini-burgers were a huge hit with the church youth at the Lock-In. She'd prepared around a hundred of the delicious snacks, but with Roderyk, herself, and eleven ravenous mouths to feed, they disappeared quickly. It would have been twelve, but Mickey had backed out at the last minute, claiming his parents had changed their minds about letting him go.

RJ didn't mind. Mickey had been acting strange the last few days. Nervous and fidgety and moody. Not his usual carefree self. RJ wondered what was going on with his friend, but Mickey insisted everything was fine and refused to talk about it. If he was going to be that way, he'd probably bring down the mood at the Lock-In. It was supposed to be fun, so RJ was glad in a way that Mickey had decided not to come.

"Cake and ice cream for anyone who isn't stuffed to the gills," Auntie announced.

The young people cheered and rushed the table where Auntie was placing cake on plates. Roderyk served up large scoops of ice cream next to the cake, shaking his head in amazement at how fast the food was disappearing.

"When you finish eating," Roderyk announced, "get cleaned up and come into the auditorium. I need your help getting it ready for the competition."

"What competition?" Jared mumbled while chewing a huge bite of cake.

"Don't talk with your mouth full of food," April ordered.

Jasmine, her twin sister, agreed. "We can see the cake you're eating. Disgusting!"

Jared opened his mouth wider and asked, "WHAT COMPETITION?" He spit out bits of cake, making the other youth squeal. Jared's brother Timothy fell out of his chair, laughing.

Chuckling at the boy, Roderyk put his hand on Jared's shoulder and squeezed. "It's top secret. You'll have to wait to find out, no matter how many cake crumbs you spit on the floor."

RJ put his plate down and walked up to Roderyk. Glaring at Roderyk, RJ squinted and said, in a terrible German accent, "Top secret, you say? Ve have vays of making you talk."

Michael and Timothy jumped up and grabbed Roderyk by the arms. RJ held Roderyk's face in his hands and leaned in until their noses were inches apart. "Tell us everytink you know or you vill suffer as you haf never suffered before!"

Roderyk laughed derisively, playing along. "I won't talk, not now, not ever. Especially to someone with such a horrible German accent."

RJ lost his composure and began laughing. He gently shook Roderyk's head from side to side. "Come on, Roderyk. Tell us, please."

Roderyk lifted Michael and Timothy into the air, one in each arm and carried them laughing into the other room. RJ, not wanting to be left out, jumped onto Roderyk's back and threw his arms around Roderyk's neck, hanging there as the man carried all three of the boys to the doorway. He turned and looked back. "Well? Are the rest of you going to keep stuffing cake into your faces, or do you want to have some fun?"

There were cheers of excitement as the cake rapidly disappeared and the young people followed a laughing Roderyk and Auntie into the church auditorium.

Roderyk dropped Michael and Timothy to the ground, then reached around to grab RJ, who squealed in delight. RJ squirmed in Roderyk's arm, stopping suddenly when he realized his boner was pressed against Roderyk's hip. Roderyk noticed, looking down with surprise at RJ's tented out pants. RJ gulped, embarrassed. Roderyk set RJ on the ground and leaned in to whisper, "Don't let it bother you, little man. It happens to all of us."

RJ looked up at Roderyk, thankful that his hero hadn't embarrassed him.

Turning to the other youth, Roderyk explained, "First, we need to make some room. These pews need to be out of the way and the middle of the room opened up."

No sooner had he said that than the youngsters sprang into action, working in teams to move the wooden pews against the walls. While they worked, Roderyk walked to the front of the room and opened a large bag, pulling out everything they would need and setting it on a table on the dais.

The youth finished moving the pews and gathered behind Roderyk. He turned around and put a phony plastic laurel wreath on his head, then passed out one to each of the young people. Laughing, they put on the wreaths and looked up at Roderyk with puzzled expressions.

"Welcome, Olympians!" Roderyk exclaimed, grinning. "Today, you shall test your fortitude, your stamina, and your determination. You will also test my patience." The youth giggled at that comment. Roderyk gestured behind him. "Here are the instruments by which you shall be tested." He dramatically held up a pillow case and pillow. He returned them to the table and held up a roll of toilet paper, which caused the boys to titter. Next he held up balloons, a boot, and a deck of cards. All the kids were giggling now, looking at each other with wide-eyed anticipation.

"You must first be divided into two teams. Jasmine shall be captain of the Athenians. April shall lead the Spartans." Roderyk pointed to the two seventeen-year-old twin girls. They smiled and nodded.

"Shouldn't Jasmine's team be called the Trojans?" Michael asked. "Then it can be like in the movie. The Spartans versus the Trojans!"

"Don't be silly," said Kitty, Michael's younger sister, who always enjoyed picking a fight with her brother. "The Trojans were from Troy. They weren't Greek. Only Greeks were in the original Olympics."

"Huh? They didn't say that part in the movie," Michael replied, causing the rest of the group to laugh.

Roderick moved quickly to stop the sibling rivalry and prevent Michael from being ridiculed any more. Putting his arm around Michael's neck, Roderyk said, "The ancient Greeks did not want the Trojans to participate in their Olympics, because they were scaredy-cats and knew the Trojans might beat them." Roderyk winked at April, who immediately picked up on what Roderyk was doing.

April gave the others her most haughty look. "We Spartans are not afraid to accept the challenge of the puny Trojans. We invite them to our Olympics because we will triumph and send them home to Troy in disgrace."

Jasmine grinned and said, "We Trojans accept your challenge. We will enter your city, compete in your games, and leave the victors. And for my first teammate, I choose Michael, a valiant warrior of Troy."

Michael grinned, his pride restored, and marched to stand next to Jasmine.

Not to be outdone, April said, "For our first champion, the Spartans choose ... RJ!" It was a noble gesture on April's part. RJ was rarely chosen first, not when the athletic Jared and Timothy were available.

RJ was surprised and excited, jumping up and running to give April a hug. Roderyk nodded at April, giving her a subtle sign of approval. These senior girls were a blessing to the youth group, and he hoped they would continue helping even after they graduated.

The teams were quickly chosen. The Trojans were Jasmine, Michael, Sarah, Timothy, Kitty, and little ten-year-old Anthony. That left the Spartans with only five teammates: April, RJ, Jared, and Rebecca.

Rebecca frowned and tugged on Roderyk's sleeve. "This won't be fair. They have more people."

The Trojan team smiled at each other. Timothy gave Aaron a high-five, anticipating an easy win over his brother and the rest of the Spartans.

Auntie, having planned the Lock-In with Roderyk, stepped up and said, "There is yet one more athlete to be chosen. He also wears the silly leaf thing around his head, so he must participate too." She pointed at Roderyk.

The Spartans began clapping their hands. RJ threw his arms around Roderyk's waist and gave him a fierce hug. Looking up into Roderyk's eyes, RJ asked, "You're really going to be on our team?"

Roderyk nodded and squeezed RJ's neck. "I am Sparta!" He exclaimed, chuckling.

Anthony began pouting. "That's not fair. They'll win easy with Roderyk on their team."

"Ah," Roderyk interrupted, holding up one finger, "but these games are not for the biggest or strongest of athletes, but for the ones who use their brains!"

"Then we'll still win," said Rebecca, sticking her tongue out at the Trojans.

RJ leaned into Roderyk and whispered, "I know another thing the Greeks did for their Olympic games."

Roderyk smiled and whispered back, "What's that, RJ?"

RJ giggled and said, "They were naked when they competed!"

Roderyk chuckled. "I don't think we'll go that far." He threw his arm around RJ's shoulders and squeezed, then Roderyk glanced at Auntie and nodded.

"Let the games begin!" she cried.

͠ ͠ ͠

The first game was the Pillow Case Relay. Each teammate had to put a fluffy pillow in a slightly too small pillow case, then remove it again, before handing both off to the next person in line. The shouts of encouragement and groans of frustration had Auntie screeching with glee as she watched the relay from her place up on the dais as the referee of the competition. The Spartans narrowly won, to the consternation of the Trojans.

Next was the Roll Your Mummy race, which Roderyk explained was stolen by the Greeks from their neighbors in Egypt. Each team chose one teammate to be the mummy. The Spartans chose Roderyk, thinking his muscular body would give them an advantage. The Trojans chose little Anthony.

When Auntie explained that the goal was to wrap the mummy from head to toe in toilet paper, the Spartan team groaned, realizing they would have twice as much to wrap with Roderyk as their mummy.

"Why didn't you warn us?" Jared complained.

Roderyk smiled and shrugged.

"Get ready to wrap your mummies," Auntie cried. "GO!"

The kids yelled and started running around Anthony and Roderyk with rolls of toilet paper, shouting instructions at each other and crying out with dismay when the paper broke. Roderyk whispered for his team to stand still, holding the rolls in their hands while he spun in a circle. Doing it that way, they quickly took the lead, but Roderyk became dizzy and had to stop, which allowed the Trojans to catch up.

Anthony was giggling like mad the entire time, loving his moment of glory as the Trojan mummy.

Roderyk urged his team on, surprised at one point to feel his crotch squeezed as the young people circled him. He turned his head quickly to see who had grabbed him. RJ had been the only near his groin at the time. Was that a grin he saw on RJ's face?

Despite their valiant effort, the Spartans had only managed to wrap Roderyk up to his neck when Auntie declared the Trojans the winners. Anthony did indeed appear to be a mummy, wrapped from head to toe in toilet paper. He tried to walk and fell over into the arms of his teammates, who laughed and cheered.

͠ ͠ ͠

The Trojans also won the Static Balloon Obstacle Coarse, a race around the room with balloons held to the body with only static electricity.

The Spartans won the Pennies to Boot contest. April and Jared had an uncanny eye for landing their pennies inside the boot with every toss.

The final contest, House of Cards, required the teams to work together to build a ... house of cards, of course. The first team to use all their cards would win. April whispered instructions to the Spartans, dividing them up into three pairs and assigning each pair to make smaller houses. RJ paired up with Roderyk, and he gave Roderyk a quick hug before the contest began.

April's strategy worked amazingly well. While the Trojans struggled to stay out of each other's way, the Spartans finished their three houses in record time. RJ leapt into Roderyk's arms when they finished, almost knocking over their table and sending all three card houses toppling to the floor. The other Spartans surrounded Roderyk, hugging him as they celebrated.

"That's not fair," Sarah complained. "The game was called HOUSE of cards, not HOUSES of cards." She turned to Auntie. "It isn't fair, right Auntie?"

Auntie hobbled over and bent down to inspect the card houses carefully. She straightened back up and said, with a twinkle in her eye, "This game tested your teamwork, your dexterity, and your wits. The Spartans showed they got some smarts about `em, and that's as important as muscles. The Spartans win the House of Cards and the Olympics."

The Spartans cheered and danced around Auntie.

The Trojans frowned until Roderyk grabbed Anthony and tossed him in the air. Jasmine hugged her twin April and congratulated her on the win.

"Where's our gold medals?" the ever-competitive Jared asked.

Roderyk pointed at the plastic laurel leaf crowns on their heads. "The victors of the Ancient Olympics were not given gold medals to wear, but crowns made of laurel leaves."

Jared frowned. "But we're all wearing laurel leaves."

Roderyk nodded. "That's because you're all more than conquerors."

All the young people smiled when they heard that, finally realizing that there was a point to the competition they had just enjoyed.

Auntie motioned for all the kids to gather around her as she sat down in a chair and opened her Bible. She began reading, " `In all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.' What did Paul mean when he wrote those words? More than a conqueror? Hmmm... Paul was in prison in Rome when he wrote that, so I imagine he was feelin' pretty darn bad at the time, bein' held like that by the people who had conquered every nation thereabouts. And yet that old Paul didn't mind, `cause he felt like knowin' Jesus made him more than one of those old Roman conquerors. I wonder why ..."

͠ ͠ ͠

The youth enjoyed Auntie's lesson, then headed to the other room for snacks while Roderyk and Auntie tidied up the room, picking up the scattered remnants of the games they'd played.

Then they all returned to the auditorium, where they were each asked to demonstrate a hidden talent. Jasmine made everyone groan by bending her hand backwards at the wrist, demonstrating her double-jointed flexibility. Anthony made them all laugh by causing his eyes to look in opposite directions.

Roderyk sent them all to get their sleeping bags and had them scatter them out across the floor, with the girls on one side and the boys on the other. Auntie and Roderyk placed their own sleeping bags in the middle of the room, strategically dividing the boys from the girls.

Then Roderyk started a movie, and everyone settled down on their sleeping bags to watch.

RJ had placed his sleeping bag next to Roderyk's. Roderyk was painfully aware of how close the two of them were. Though it might have been his imagination, Roderyk thought he could actually feel the heat of RJ's body next to his.

From time to time, Roderyk glanced over at RJ. The boy's body was round, not fat, but curvy. He would probably lose all his baby fat as he grew into a teenager, though the boy was well on his way into manhood, judging by the lump in his pants. Roderyk tried not to look, but RJ was turned on his side, facing Roderyk, and his pants seemed to be slightly tented out.

Roderyk closed his eyes and sighed. He recalled the feeling of RJ jumping against him earlier in the evening, with a very obvious boner poking into Roderyk's hip. It felt big, bigger than it should be on a thirteen-year-old boy. Was RJ going through puberty early? How big was he down there? Roderyk swallowed and commanded his mind to stop thinking about such things. It was wrong. He was in CHURCH! He shouldn't be thinking about RJ's boner.

RJ watched Roderyk while pretending to be paying attention to the movie. He saw Roderyk close his eyes, almost as if he was in pain. RJ hoped Roderyk wasn't upset about something. He was such a nice man, and sexy too. RJ remembered the feeling of Roderyk's cock in his hand from the mummy wrapping game. It had been too tempting for RJ to resist when he saw the long lump in Roderyk's pants. It was right there. In front of RJ. He hoped Roderyk didn't know that it was RJ who had squeezed him there. It was an incredibly bold and naughty thing to do, especially in CHURCH!

Roderyk opened his eyes and caught RJ staring at him. RJ grinned and looked away. Roderyk took a deep breath and sighed. RJ was so cute when he was bashful like that. It was obvious that RJ wanted Roderyk's attention but was too shy to ask for it. Roderyk had seen the signs before, and he was worried. RJ had a crush on him. That much was obvious, and Roderyk was worried that it would end up hurting RJ. He would just have to find a way to let RJ down easy, though everything in his being wanted to take the boy and ... no, he couldn't let his mind go down that path. No.

RJ grinned to himself. Did Roderyk know how handsome he was? He must. He had to see his own muscles when he was in the shower or bath. RJ felt his cock stiffening up as he pictured Roderyk taking a shower, rubbing soapy water on his arms and legs and other stuff. How big would his other stuff be? Probably huge. He was a grown man, after all. RJ quickly rolled onto his stomach to hide his growing erection. That was better, although it was very uncomfortable. His cock was pushing into the floor now. He hoped no one noticed.

Roderyk noticed. Why was RJ getting a boner? Seeing RJ get hard sent unwanted signals to Roderyk's own cock. He turned over on his stomach to hide his own tenting pants.

RJ smiled. Why was Roderyk on his stomach now? Could he be getting a boner too? That would be awesome, the two of them having boners at the same time. RJ's cock got even harder, forcing him to reach down and adjust it so it was pointing in a less painful direction.

Roderyk saw RJ adjusting himself and knew what it meant. He buried his face in his arms and groaned. What was he going to do about this?

͠ ͠ ͠

It was quiet in the church. Most everyone was finally asleep. Gentle sounds of sleeping youth told Roderyk all was well.

But all wasn't well.

He lay on his side, looking up at the cross hanging at the front of the church. The symbol of his faith. The reminder that he couldn't allow the thoughts he was currently thinking about the boy lying next to him.

RJ was beautiful. Innocent. Precious. Eyes closed and mouth slightly open as he slept.

Roderyk wanted to protect the boy from harm, hold him, keep him, watch over him.

And he wanted to kiss the boy's lips, stroke his face, touch him, caress him.

"I'm in Purgatory," Roderyk whispered.

͠ ͠ ͠

Roderyk was awakened by banging on the doors of the church. He rolled over and blinked his eyes. What was going on?

The banging continued.

Roderyk sat up. His body ached from slumbering on top of a sleeping bag over a hard floor. His clothes were wrinkled. His mouth was dry. And someone was still banging on the door.

He stood up and carefully stepped over sleeping bodies as he headed for the front door. He unlocked it and opened it.

Sheriff's deputies stood on the front porch of the church. Behind them were RJ's mom, Rachel, and a woman Roderyk didn't know. The strange woman was hugging Rachel, reassuring her.

"Where's my son?" Rachel demanded.

Roderyk pointed over his shoulder. "He's asleep. In here with the rest of the youth."

Rachel pushed past Roderyk and hurried inside the church.

The woman who had been hugging Rachel stepped forward. "I'm Mickey's mom, Susan Daniels. I'm also the assistant DA for the third judicial district. We have a few questions for you, Mr. Meyer."

 

The end of UNCAGED, Chapter Ten