RotW&AofS Issue #1 – Welcome to Halpin Hope: Three



The following a work of fiction. All names, characters and incident's contained herein are fictional, resemblances to actual persons alive or dead are purely coincidental. The character Kibu is the creation of the artist Sladerang. All other characters were created by the author.

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Welcome to Halpin Hope (Doyler X Kibu)





Three

Kibu and Doyler had been trekking through the forest for half the day - the sun breaking through the leafy green canopy above them - dappling the forest floor in swirling puddles of light. The Black Forest was alive with sound - Black-bellied Plover and Gambel's Quail, Wandering Tattlers, Yellow-billed Cardinals and White Terns - their calls echoing through the wood. In the trees the constant movement of the the branches betrayed grey squirrel as they leapt from tree to tree. The mating call of the Coqui frog - occasionally whistling and beeping like some forgotten 1950's science fiction Robot would have the boys laughing.

Doyler stopped and looked around before sitting on a moss covered log - he pulled the compass his brother had given him from his pocket and lay it on the map. Kibu, still shirtless and barefoot, leaned over to watch the needle settle.

"I think we're going the right way. I can hear the river up ahead - I'll have a better idea of where we are once I can see it." Doyler put the map and compass back in his pocket - he took Kibu's offered hand and pulled himself back up.

"I'm getting kinda hungry." said Kibu - his stomach growling on cue. “Don't suppose you bought any sweet buns back at that store did you?”

"Apples, trail mix and hamburger meat. Maybe we shoulda stopped at The Cuckoo Bakery to satiate that sweet tooth of yours.” Doyler looked over at Kibu as he rubbed circles around his flat belly: “Seems to me like you're always hungry."

"I'm a growing boy!" said Kibu straightening himself up bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Well If you say so short stuff! But I think you're only gonna grow out the way from here on in." Doyler extended his arms around - stroking an imaginary large soft, round belly.

Kibu reached across and punched Doyler on the shoulder before darting off and hiding behind a tree giggling to himself.

"Right!" Doyler dropped the bag and leapt after Kibu. They sprang around - circling trees chasing each other and tossing off playful insults as boys are want to do.

"You think you can take me Bro? You think you can take me?" Kibu jutted his chin out and beckoned Doyler with both hands. "Come at me bro!" Smiling he jumped left as Doyler sprung forward and swung his body around - using Doyler's own momentum against him he turned and tackled the boy to the ground.

The two boys laughed as Kibu lay on top of Doyler - his hands either side of the boy's head - flat on the dead leaf and moss covered ground. As their laughter faded the two boys began to catch their breath but neither moved - Doyler's clear icy blues stayed focused on Kibu's large emerald ones - on his pink wet lips. For both of them - Kibu atop of Doyler, their bodies close - laying like this was good.

"I never thanked you for earlier. With Tony." said Doyler quietly.

"You don't have to. You would have handled it. I just got impatient is all."

Doyler wondered if it were possible to stay like this. If he weren't already laying flat on his back with this wild, strange, handsome boy on top of him he'd worry that he might fall.

"We should err..." Doyler stuttered.

"We should what?" asked Kibu leaning down just a little - the tips of their noses almost touching - he could feel Doyler's breath on his face - warm - faintly sweet smelling.

"We should head to the river." Doyler rolled Kibu off him and stood, brushing off his t-shirt, shorts and bare legs. He reached out a hand and helped Kibu stand - neither boy looking the other in the face.

While Kibu picked up the rolled sleeping mats, Doyler went back for his bag. They walked the further half mile to the river's edge side by side - their hands occasionally brushing against one another - in silence.

Standing on the bank of the fast moving river the leaves above their heads broken - the air had cooled and in a few hours they would start losing natural light. Kibu sat himself down on a rock and bathed his feet - wriggling his toes in the water.

"Careful. The current's strong." warned Dolyer.

"It's OK, I won't fall in. And if I do you can save me." He pulled out his right foot and rested it on his left knee - running his thumb and fingers between his toes, removing the day's collected grime.

"I don't swim any more Kibu." Doyler reached into his pocket... "Shit!" he went into the other one: "Shit! Shit! Shit!"

"What's up?" asked Kibu standing.

"The map and the compass. They must've fallen out of my pocket when we were messing around back there."

"We'll go back and get them, it's not a problem."

The boys trudged back into the dense mass of trees - retracing their steps - eyes glued to the forest floor. For an hour they circled the area where they thought they had been but neither could find the compass or the map. They turned over dead branches and kicked at loose rocks. Eventually Doyler fell to his seat on the forest floor: "I give up! We're not gonna find them."

"OH MY GOD DOYLER!" Kibu threw both hands to his head in crazed frustration! "Don't you see what's happening." He leapt over to Doyler and grabbed him by the shoulders: "It's the mole men! The GOD DAMNED MOLE MEN! The mole men took your map and compass." He began to shake Doyler by the shoulders. "They took your map and your compass and they're going to use them to invade your town."

He let go of Doyler's shoulders and began to pace around in frantic circles waving his finger emphatically as he spoke: "They'll take the town Doyler! They'll take the town, then they'll take the island, then... THE WORLD!"

"If the mole men stole my map and figured out how to read it," began Doyler playing along, "then maybe they deserve to take over the town. Maybe it's their time!"

"You could be right! There's no other choice. We'll have to try to blend in. We'll have to disguise ourselves as Mole Men. Take Mole Women for our wives and..." Kibu scrunched up his nose in disgust, "...inseminate them."

"Super race of mole people/people people. Makes sense." said Doyler nodding. "Only way to survive in a Mole Man world is to become one of the family. As long as they don't figure out our disguises."

"Shit! You're Right! And I'll never pass as a mole man!" cried Kibu falling to his knees, "I'm not... hirsute enough."

Doyler laughed: "That's it then. Slaves of the Mole Men it is. Working the Mole Mines by day and... bedding their ugliest Mole Women by night for scraps of stale Mole Bread."

Kibu laughed: "I like you Doyler!" said Kibu grinning widely and sitting down on the forest floor. "You're fun."

"Ditto Kibu."

"If we go back to the river you'll be able to work out where we are right?"

"I should be able to. If we get lost and have to live out here like wild boys though you're gonna have to promise me that you're not gonna devolve in to a monkey."

Kibu sprung up on bent knees and elbows and waddled among the leaves throwing his arms around - chattering like a chimp: "Arw arw arw!" He bounded over to Doyler and began to beat on the boys chest with his limp hands.

Doyler laughed: "Come on Monkey Boy. Let's see if we can find the river again."

Kibu bounced up and down waving his arms like an excited chimpanzee.

It took the boys another hour before they reached the river again, although both knew that this wasn't the same place they had reached earlier - the bend was wider and the river flowed faster.

"I dunno man." said Doyler peering up and down the river. "We definitely took a wrong turn somewhere."

"Does it matter? A river's a river and we gotta cross it either way." said Kibu yawning.

"Yeah but there should be a rope swing about here. An easy Alley Oop and you're over you know?"

Kibu and Doyler looked up and down the fast flowing stretch of water before walking East along the rocky river bank.

As the air began to cool and Kibu's stomach grumbled they came to a small still pond about 60ft across - the blue sky open above them.

"It'll start getting dark soon. We should stop here." said Doyler dropping his bag to the ground. "I'll go get some kindling and branches for a fire," He reached into the bag - pulled out an apple and tossed it to Kibu taking one for himself. "Can you gather some rocks and build a small fire pit?"

"On it!" Kibu took a bite of the apple and bounded down to the pond looking for rocks.

While Doyler walked through the trees picking up dried sticks and twigs he tried looking for any sign that he'd been in this part of the Black Forest before. While by no means a woodsman of great note, Doyler had spent many summers playing in the woods with his friends. He knew the best spots for war games - where he and Ilan, aged twelve, had lead a group boys in a siege against Calum's army: held up in a mighty tree top fortress - that that fortress was actually a ratty tree house made of stolen tarpaulin and rotten wood that crumpled with more than three boys in it bared no real weight in his child's mind. He knew an excellent spot for swimming - with great rocks for diving into a clear deep pool of fresh water - a small rocky island in the middle where aged eleven he and Asher had decided that they would live forever. He knew the tree he sat under with Jamie when at age thirteen he plucked up the courage to tell his friend that he liked him - that he liked him as more than a friend - that same tree where Jamie, with grazed knees and dead leaves in his blond hair, told him that he liked him that way too - beginning something that they both thought would last forever. Doyler stopped and listened to the forest but it was quiet. No birds, no frogs, no breeze to sway limp branches and rustle leaves - an eerie quiet broken only by the sound of the blood pumping in his ears. Tomorrow he'd get up early and look for the rope swing crossing - but now, arms loaded with sticks and twigs, a couple of sturdy logs, a particularly fine barkless stick and pockets loaded with dead leaves he headed back to Kibu at the pond.

"You've done this before?" said Doyler smiling to Kibu who had dug a small shallow circle in the grass and placed rocks and stones around it.

"Ya boy here got dem mad wilderness skillz fam!" nodded Kibu while pointing both of his thumbs back at himself.

Doyler pulled out a pocket knife from his bag and shaved some of the dry sticks into the circle - he placed a few of the thinner twigs around the shavings - added a handful of dry leaves and pulled a box of matches from his bag. Lighting one and throwing it in to the centre he slowly added more sticks and gently breathed a little more life into it as he crouched down while Kibu began to unbutton his shorts.

"Um... what are you doing?"

"Going for a swim!" Kibu tossed his jean shorts onto a nearby rock and waded into the water. "Dude it's warm!"

As the fire started burning, Doyler added some of the larger sticks until he was satisfied it would hold - he then placed a couple of the logs he had found on top and prodded it with the barkless white stick that he had set aside special.

While the fire took, Doyler took off his shoes and scrunched his toes in the soft grass - enjoying the feeling of the earth under his bare feet. Looking over to the pond he walked to the edge and watched Kibu floating on his back looking up at the puffy white clouds in the darkening blue sky above him.

"You make an excellent bit of drift wood you know that?" called out Doyler.

Kibu smiled back at him spun over onto his front and disappeared under the water. Doyler could see the boy swim gracefully under the surface of the water - his legs doing all the work with strong supple dolphin kicks. He emerged at Doyler's feet spitting out an arch of water.

"Dude! Come in for a bit."

"I told you Kibu I don't swim any more."

"Doggy paddle then. Bob! Float! Wade! Whatever... Just come in the water with me... please?" Kibu pressed his hands together as if praying and stuck out his bottom lip in a pout simultaneously making his eyes go wide - pleading like a puppy sitting at your feet at the dinner table.

"Really. Just enjoy yourself. I'll cook the hamburger meat and..."

Kibu sprung from the water like a frog from a lilly-pad - in seconds his arms were wrapped around Doylers chest and his legs around the boys waist. Doyler panicked! Kibu didn't notice - he'd positioned his weight just right and jutting his backside out, fell backwards - pulling Doyler into the clear waters of the pond.

Doyler thrashed in the water - his breath quickly left him - his lungs constricted and his heart raced. He couldn't breath - the water was so cold - that pain in his chest like being stabbed by a blade of fire licked ice. He kicked trying to get reach for the surface - screamed - but was all but silenced by the water. He was drowning - lungs filling with water - it would get him - after all this time it would get him. He felt the familiar tightness around his wrists and ankles – burning under the water. If he opened his eyes he would see only that hideous shadow – malformed and unutterable – it's hot burning breath on his cheek... He lashed out as the boys broke the surface and tried to throw Kibu off of him - pulling at the boy's fingers in a tight grip around his chest. Kibu realised that something was wrong - he let go of Doyler and was just about to pull him back to the bank when Doyler threw an elbow backward in hysteria. The elbow made contact with Kibu's face, knocking him back as Doyler lunged for the grass on the side of the pond - gasping for air. He pulled his t-shirt off and brushed at the blistering sensation on his chest with his hands - looking down - trying to wipe away a stain.

"What the fuck Kibu! I told you! I FUCKING TOLD YOU..." He stopped - when turning he saw Kibu standing waist deep in the water - blood pouring from his nose - his eyes wide and mouth agape as he stared at Doyler. Doyler could only see the blood.

"Fuck! Kibu! I'm so sorry!" He jumped from the bank back into the pond - his hands reached for the sides of Kibu's head and tilted it upwards. "I'm so sorry Kibu. I didn't mean to... I'd never mean to..." He wiped the blood from Kibu's face, splashing water to clear the red stain on the boy's lips and chin. It wasn't as bad as he had thought the blood was thin and diluted - the water had made it look worse.

Kibu though hadn't noticed he was hurt. His eyes were fixed on Doyler's naked torso and soon his hand joined them as his fingers reached for Doyler's chest. Noticing what he was doing, Doyler stepped back.

"What's that?" Kibu asked - his eyes unmoving.

Doyler looked down and sure enough it was there - running diagonally from his left shoulder over his chest to his waist like a sash: two columns of dark red rings circling inch wide puffy white centres.

"What is it?"

Doyler looked at his chest: "It's a scar."

Kibu stepped toward Doyler - his fingers running around the red rings, his thumb brushing against the raised white centres.

"It only shows up when it gets wet."

"It... It looks painful." Kibu looked into Doyler's eyes but he was focused on Kibu's fingers on his chest. His finger tips didn't leave the scar tissue on Doyler's chest - then he suddenly pulled his finger's away when a thought occurred to him: "Shit! Sorry. Does it hurt?"

"Sometimes. The pain comes and goes. Like anything though, wounds heal if you don't pick at them."

Doyler turned his back to Kibu and sat by the fire - staring into the low orange flames. Without looking at his friend he pulled out the pack of hamburger meat from his bag along with the two metal skewers and the grill rack he had purchased from Pappa John. Kibu sat next to him - unsure of what to say - unsure of what was relevant. What could he say that would make Doyler realise how sorry he was?

Doyler tore at the hamburger meat, rolled chunks of it up into fairly even sized balls and pierced them with the skewers - four to a stick. He placed the metal grill rack over the low fire. He didn't hate Kibu - he wasn't even angry. He was ashamed that he had hurt the boy though. When he saw the blood on Kibu's face he ran right back into the water. He didn't even think about it. How long had it been since he'd done more than dip his feet into the ocean from the jetty at his house? How long hadit taken before he would even do that? As Doyler turned the skewers - grilling the meat balls he reached into his bag again and pulled out two of the glass bottles of Cherry Cola that Pappa John had given him. He popped the swing top cap on one as it gave off a satisfying fizz and he handed it to Kibu - their hands touching as the bottle passed between them.

Kibu took a swig and coughed. Scrunching his face at the taste he looked at the handmade label on the bottle.

Doyler smiled.

"Man! This is some whack Cherry Cola!"

"It's fermented. I think she puts rum in it as well."

Kibu took another drink and nodded his head as it went down easier a second time. "Was not expecting that!"

Doyler took a drink from his own bottle and turned the skewers over again on the grill.

Unsure of himself for the first time in a long time - Kibu stared at his wet bare feet as he wriggled his toes in the grass - he looked at the lip of the bottle while running his tongue against the back of his bottom teeth: "Can I ask how you got it?"

Doyler looked up and tapped the neck of his bottle to the side of his face: "Can I ask how you got yours?"

Smiling back as he scratched the scars on his cheek with his thumb nail Kibu chuckled: "We could lie to each other."

"Would you believe me anyway?"

"I would. I would if you told me it was true."

Doyler and Kibu held each others gaze - a soft smile shared - something recognized between the boys.

As the fire spat Doyler quickly pulled the skewers away from the grill - wrapped a thick slice of bread around the meat and handed it to Kibu - as he took the meatball sandwich Doyler pulled away the skewer.

"Thanks."

Doyler did the same for himself and the two boys ate in silence - only the crackle and pop of the fire and the occasional bird call in the distance. Neither really sure of what to say to the other.

As the sun began to sink into the West, behind the trees, the sky bruised a deep purple and the clouds a dark grey - backlit with golden halos. Sprinkled throughout that dusken sky soft pinpricks of silver light appeared above them as stars that no longer burned began to shine.

After they had finished eating - the two boys sat next to each other on a rock on the bank of the pond, both dangled their bare feet into the water of the lake, enjoying the cooling air around their uncovered torsos. Each was on his second bottle of the fermented, rum infused Cherry Cola - each enjoyed the warm feeling it put somewhere deep in their chests and the light fuzzy feeling it gave their heads.

"We'll need to move off early tomorrow so we can find our way back to rope swing."

"What's for breakfast?" asked Kibu hopefully.

"You've just had dinner!" Doyler nudged his bare shoulder in to Kibus as the two boys laughed.

Kibu swallowed down the last gulp of his fermented Cherry Cola and tossed the bottle over to their bags. He stretched his legs out of the water and wriggled his toes - watching the last of the days light reflect through the drops of water on his nut brown tan skin.

"Wolves!" said Kibu out of nowhere.

"Huh?" Doyler turned to his friend.

"My scars!" Kibu tapped the raised white lines on the side of his face. "It was wolves. Six of them."

"Wolves?" said Doyler finishing his own drink.

"Yeah man. I was raised by wolves but when Akela died, he was the Alpha, the other males in the pack wanted me out so they attacked me and..."

"OK Mowgli!" Doyler laughed slapping the back of his hand against Kibu's thigh.

"Read that one huh?"

"Kipling was a childhood favourite."

Kibu squinted as across the pond a faint flickering light caught his attention: "What's that?" He pointed to the small yellow orb flashing softly between the trees across the water.

"Good!" said Doyler smiling and standing excitedly. "It's starting."

"What's starting?"

"When I didn't recognise where we were I was worried we'd miss it. Come here." Doyler beckoned Kibu to join him. "I wanted to show you this."

As Kibu stood another light, close to the first, sparked to life and swayed in the darkness - then a third - a fourth - and then two more. Doyler took Kibu's strong young hand in his - hoping he'd accept it: "Watch."

In groups of three - then twenty more - more and more little golden lights ignited and danced leaving wispy luminescent trails in the darkness behind them. Then fifty more joined the illuminated chorus – then a hundred - a thousand quivering tear drops of radiant light.

"Oh man... It's... It's beautiful Doyler!" Kibu's broad open smile stretched wide across his face.

In the dense darkness of the forest with only the sounds of the wrinkle of the flames from the fire and the river flowing into the still pond - thousands of golden and burnt tangerine fireflies pirouetted above the water and in the trees.

Doyler's eyes were fixed on Kibu's face - that smile - his own stomach was turning somersaults. He was nervous. Kibu made him nervous. A wonderful kind of nervous that accompanies butterflies flittering in your stomach upon seeing joy on that one special someone's face. The kind of nervous that has made fools and gods of men for centuries - for millennia.

"Is it like this all the time?"

"For about a month every year."

Kibu's face - full of the joy and wonder that this sight offered him was grinning from ear to ear, open mouthed, his green eyes alight with endless glowing sparks - Doyler could see Galaxies in them. Galaxies teeming with life...

"I really wanna do something..." Doyler gupled. His mouth was dry. He wished he still had some of that Cherry Cola left. "I... If... If you're OK with it?" said Doyler squeezing Kibu's strong hand.

"What?" Kibu turned to Doyler as the slightly taller boy pulled him closer to him - with one hand holding Kibu's he raised the other to the boys face - leaned forward and tenderly kissed his soft plump lips. His fingers winding into the boy's brown hair at the back of his head.

A series of explosions crept from Doylers abdomen - a firework display of air bombs and ball rockets, blockbusters and Chinese crackers; popping and whizzing, multiple eruptions - passing from his open mouth into Kibu's as their tongues met.

One of Kibu's hands gently held Doyler's waist - the other braced the back of the boy's neck as both sighed deeply into their kiss.

The two boys stood on that rock by the river bank - their lips locked - holding on to each other for dear precious life - surrounded by the inky black night as a thousand tiny torches quivered around them - burning bright as stars.



To be continued...