Date: Fri, 14 Oct 2016 22:36:06 +0000
From: Douglas DD <thehakaanen@hotmail.com>
Subject: The Survivors (Revised)  Chapter 49

      CHAPTER 49
      PREPARATIONS


This story contains sex between minor boys and teen-agers.  If such things
offend you, or you are not at least 18 years of age, then please don't read
on.  This story is not true, but who knows, maybe someday it will be.

Welcome back. While Douglas deals with the incident in the cave and his
failure to deal with Robert Charles, it was becoming apparent to all that
time to leave Inferno was coming close—if the starship could be made
spaceworthy.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

When Douglas woke up he felt pain all through his left side. He looked for
Scooter, but it hurt to even move his head.  He moaned, rolled slowly on
his left side and saw his lover.  Douglas untied his feet and then crawled
painfully to where he could reach Scooter's hands and feet. Scooter was
either unconscious or asleep. After untying Scooter, Douglas passed out.

When he woke up again, he saw that Scooter was awake.

"Good morning or whatever it is," Douglas said. "I'd kiss you but it hurts
to move."

"Good day," Scooter mumbled through his swollen lips. "It would hurt for me
to kiss you."

`Think it my love. Think it,' Douglas told Scooter. `That way it won't
hurt.'

Scooter's thought came roaring into Douglas's head. `I love you.'

`I love you, Scooter. You saved me.'

`You saved me! You kept him off of me. If he had
done...that...rape...I...I...'

`Don't even think about it. He didn't do it to you—he never went that
far. But my pain went away. I know you took it away.'

`Yes, I did'.

`Where did it go?'

Scooter's mind went quiet, but Douglas saw tears in his lover's bruised
eyes. `You felt my pain yourself?'

`Yes.'

`Plus all of your own pain?'

Scooter nodded.

Douglas started to hug Scooter, then he moaned with pain. `Well, you didn't
take it that time,' he thought with a touch of humor.

Douglas smiled and Scooter started to, but he stopped because of the pain
involved. The two boys simply faced each other and communicated their
love. They didn't move—at the moment their entire universe was in that
cave.

`Scooter?'

`Yes?'

`I wasn't going to try to save him. I wanted to let him fall to the bottom
and die.'

`I know.'

"I hated him.'

`I know. I felt it. It was part of all your pain.'

`I'm sorry.'

`It's okay. I love you.'

They returned to their love trance. Douglas wished he could hug Scooter,
but all he could do was touch him lightly, using his index finger to trace
circles around Scooter's nipples.

`Scooter, did you...did you...you know...give like a mental command?'

`I don't understand.'

`Did you command me to save Robert Charles? I hated him. I wanted him to
die, but I tried to save him instead.'

`No. I never did that. I don't even know if I can. Whatever you did came
from your own heart.'

`Did you take away my hate when you took my pain?'

`Douglas, you're thinking too much. You know you could never let somebody
just die, even somebody as evil as Robert Charles. If you did then you
would be just like he was.'

Another long pause as Douglas rubbed his finger all along his lover's body.

`I love you, Scooter.'

`I love you, Douglas.'

`It's cold in here.'

`I know. There are blankets in one of the saddle bags. Let's go out and get
them.'

They rose painfully from the hard ground. Douglas moaned—it hurt him to
even sit up.

`Stay here, I'll go get them,' Scooter told him.

`Be careful—the ground is rough and rocky.'

Scooter took the flashlight and left. Douglas still had the light of the
lantern, but with Scooter gone it suddenly seemed too quiet and too
dark. He could hear his heart thumping in his chest. Then the quiet was
broken by a noise coming at him. He hoped it was Scooter, but then who else
could it be?

His heart thumped faster, but he could see the light coming at him. He knew
it was his lover, yet he was still worried that it might not be. Scooter
reentered the cavern carrying two blankets. Douglas shivered; the Hakaanen
custom of wearing little or no clothing wasn't always a good one.

"The unicorns seem okay—I hung their feedbags so they could eat.  Right
now it is dark out. We can leave when it gets light."

"Scooter, I don't know if I can leave."

"What do you mean?"

"My side hurts. I mean it hurts bad. You might have taken away the pain for
a while, but I think when I tried to pull RC up I injured myself worse. I
don't know if I can get up on a unicorn. I don't know if I can ride it even
if I can."

"Then what should we do? I don't think anybody knows we're here except RC's
two Shkah friends.  We have to get back on our own."

Douglas knew Scooter was right. He needed to test himself, so he could
leave with Scooter when it got light out. He tried standing up. He felt a
sharp pain in his side and he couldn't breathe. He sat back down. Scooter
started to hug him and then stopped. He wanted to smile, but he knew his
face would hurt even more, and he had to fight the smile. About all the two
boys could do was to share a light kiss on the lips.

They decided that when it got light, Scooter would ride back to the valley
and get help while Douglas stayed in the cave. Scooter was an experienced
rider and should be able to reach the valley quickly.  Even if Douglas had
been healthy, Scooter would have been able to travel faster. There was
food, water, and two blankets in the cavern.

`It should only take a few hours for help to come,' Scooter assured
Douglas.

`I'll miss you.'

They both tried sleeping, but the pain from their injuries made it
difficult to do more than fitfully doze off.

Scooter eventually fell asleep. He awoke with a start—he wasn't sure
how, but he knew it was morning and time for him to leave.

`Douglas, wake up.'

Douglas's eyes flew open.  `What? What's wrong?'

`It's time for me to go.'

`How do you know?'

`I just know. I love you.'

`I love you. Be careful.'

Scooter managed a painful giggle. "Yes, mother," he mumbled aloud.

`Somebody has to remind you."

Scooter turned on the flashlight and then turned on the lantern. He gave
Douglas a light kiss with his swollen lips.

`I have the computer boards,' he informed Douglas. `I'll keep them in a
saddle bag.'

Douglas nodded and Scooter headed up the passage to the entrance of the
cave.

Douglas was now all alone. He almost hoped it was still dark out, so
Scooter would come back. He quickly realized that wasn't going to
happen. The other unicorn is still out there, he thought. I have a way out
if I need it. If it became necessary to mount it he was certain he would
find a way. He turned off the lantern to save the battery.

He wished he had a book. He wished the pain in his side would quit. He
wished he was safe at home with his parents. He wished he could have left
with Scooter. He felt one of his bruised ribs and the pain was so bad he
stopped. He was certain it was broken. He tried fighting the pain but he
couldn't, so he turned his mind to other things.

He thought of his old home on Earth. He thought of playing baseball at
home. He remembered being seventh grade president, and getting elected
school president the next year. In a way he wished he had never been
elected. Then people would never have thought he was some kind of leader
and he wouldn't be all alone and naked under a blanket in a dark and cold
cave. He felt his mind drift off into sleep.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

After what seemed like hours he heard a noise and jerked awake. It sounded
like rocks falling in the dark. He tried reaching for the lantern or the
laser gun. He couldn't find them. The noise was coming from the drop
off. There wasn't a hint of light, but he could sense something moving. He
heard more rocks fall, and heard them crash against the sides of the cliff
and to the bottom of the crevasse, the sounds echoing through the cave.

Whatever was making the noise sounded like it was coming closer. He could
hear breathing, and then he could smell foul, stinking air. Something
touched him and he thought he shrieked. The lantern suddenly lit up,
seemingly by itself. The light showed a face—the face of Robert Charles!
Then he saw the teen's entire body. He was naked and had a huge boner,
bigger than he had ever remembered.

"Thank God for hidden ledges, Dougie—they are lifesavers," Robert
Charles rasped.  "Now it's time for me to finish my business with you. It's
time for me to rape your tight faggot ass, then throw you over the side of
that cliff so far that you won't hit anything but bottom."

Douglas was fixated at Robert Charles's huge erection—bigger than any
fourteen-year- old should have. Douglas never noticed before that Robert
Charles had shaved off his pubes—his pubic region was as smooth and bare
as a two-year-old, making his gigantic erection look even larger.

"You let go of my wrists, Douglas. You wanted me to die. I felt your hands
let go! Now you will pay for trying to kill me, you sissy faggot!"

He knelt down between Douglas's legs, his face lit by the lantern had a
look of pure evil.  He took his cock and rammed it into Douglas's ass as
hard as he could, shoving it in all the way to his bare pubis.

Douglas let out a scream that filled the entire cave. The pain was bigger
than anything he had ever felt in his life as Robert Charles's huge boner
started ripping his guts apart.

"Douglas! Douglas! Hey, calm down. It's okay. It's okay, buddy."

He knew he should recognize the voice, but he couldn't. The voice made
Robert Charles change into somebody else. It wasn't Robert Charles at all,
it was Mike.

"Mike?" Douglas choked out. "Where is Robert Charles? What happened to
him?"

"No Robert Charles here. Just you. I think you were having a bad dream."

"It seemed very real."

"Speaking of Robert Charles. Where is he? Where is Scooter?"

"Didn't you see Scooter? Didn't he bring you here?"

"I did not see him.  Douglas, what's going on—where did everybody go?"

Douglas told Mike about the kidnapping. He told them about the trip to the
cave and about Robert Charles's attack on him and Scooter, about how Robert
Charles tried to rape Scooter, about the fight, and about Robert Charles
going over the side of the cliff. He didn't mention how Scooter took his
pain for himself, or about his own hatred for Robert Charles.

"I tried to save him, Mike, but it hurt too much to hold on to him. I lost
my hold on him and he fell."

"Well, he got more than he deserved then," came a voice in the dark. "I
don't know if I would have even bothered. I would have let his ass go." It
was Alex. "He was pure scum.  He deserved to die."

"I feel the same way," Mike said. "I would never have tried."

"That's not true. You both would have tried something and you know it,"
Douglas protested.  "He might have been evil, but if we don't try saving
him then we're as bad as he is," repeating what Scooter had told him.  For
a moment, Douglas actually believed it.  Did he really let go because all
of the pain came back to him, or did he let go because deep inside he
wanted to see Robert Charles die?

Alex and Mike said nothing, but they knew Douglas was right. As evil as
Robert Charles was, they wouldn't let him die without trying to save him
first.

"How did you find me? I mean, I know it wasn't Scooter who brought you
here."

"Well, the two Shkah kids Robert Charles knew suddenly got a conscience, I
guess, especially after one of the guards he shot died." Mike told
him. "The big kid, Vordkan, or something, turned himself and the little kid
in. He told where you were and said you were in danger. Looks like even
Shkah kids can have a conscience."

"But how did you get here so fast?"

"The flier. Quan, the Chief Engineer, knows his stuff," Mike said. "He took
some spare parts from the other shuttle. He had what he needed to make some
new computer boards, put Alex in the pilot's seat, and here we are."

"Alex flew the flier? Awesome."

"It was nothing compared to flying the space shuttle," Alex said
modestly. "The regular pilots were both an hour or so away, so we figured,
what the hell, let's go now. We knew every second counted. We were worried
big time. We were afraid of what Robert Charles would do to you."

"He was crazy," Douglas said.  "He lost touch with reality. We got lucky."

"It was more than luck," Mike said. "You guys did it together. Good and
love defeated evil. Now, where is Scooter?"

Douglas didn't think it was that easy, but he let it go. He did know that
without Scooter's mental help he never would have made it.  They did indeed
do it together.  "He left to find help. We need to find him now."

"That should be no problem," Alex said. "We know where he is going. We'll
find him fast from the flier."

Mike and Alex got on either side of Douglas and very carefully lifted him
by his underarms to a standing position. It was very painful for Douglas
for the first few minutes, but as he took a few tiny steps the pain became
bearable. He let Mike and Alex help keep him steady on his feet as he took
small steps to test his ability to make it out of the cavern.

They slowly and laboriously walked up the path and out of the
cavern. Douglas stopped and looked back into the darkness. A chill went
down his spine. Somehow it seemed extra cold back there in the darkness.
But, he also felt relief that he was once again in the open, smelling fresh
air, and no longer had anything to fear from Robert Charles.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It didn't take them long to find Scooter. He was riding his unicorn at a
quick gallop near the lake at the end of the narrow trail that wound down
the cliff from the plateau. The lake was where the Earth boys had first
made contact with the Hakaanen boys. He was very tired and his face was
hurting.

Mike and Alex loaded Scooter into the flier, and Jeremy, who had come along
for the ride and to help with muscle if they needed it, said he would ride
the unicorn back. He and Warren had been doing a lot of unicorn riding
where they were staying, and he said he was confident he would be able to
ride the unicorn back to the valley. Mike and Alex had already radioed for
someone to retrieve the unicorn that was left outside of the cave.

Alex flew the flier back to the airport. He and Mike told Scooter about
Vordkan and Orzano turning themselves in and telling where Robert Charles
had taken him and Douglas.

"So, in the end RC even lost his Shkah friends. He died without a single
friend," Scooter said. "That is sad. That is very, very sad. He could have
been a somebody, and he died being a nobody."

After the flier taxied to the terminal, and Scooter and Douglas were taken
to the hospital, Bandar boarded the flier and was flown to the plateau to
rescue the unicorn left behind at the cave.

Doctor Lokor and Doctor Kallama met them and quickly started to work fixing
them up.  Douglas had a cracked rib and Scooter had a couple of loose teeth
and some bruises and cuts, but nothing serious. He was told his jaw would
be very sore for a few days. It was milkshakes for him until it felt
better.  Kallama sent Scooter to a dentist to check out the teeth. One
thing about the Hakaanen, even with all their problems, their doctors,
medicine and hospitals were of superior quality.

But even in the medical field, things were wearing out. The Hakaanen knew
that for them to survive on Inferno, the round-eared boys would have to
make it to Hakaan, and hope the planet had recovered and was able to send
machinery and supplies back to Inferno.

That was a big reason the boys were getting every kind of help possible
from the Hakaanen. They hoped that if the round-ears made it to Hakaan it
would be the start of a rescue mission of their remote planet.

Governor Andorn agreed the round-ears were the ones who would have to save
them, but he hated to see them go. They had become very special to so many
of the Hakaanen, including himself.  Bandar was very fond of Douglas,
Scooter, Mike, and Alex.  Enghar and little Mattoo were Meshannas. He knew,
however, that they all needed to leave together. They had parents,
families, friends, and their own world, which he hoped they could return
to.  But, first, they needed to find out if the starship could even make it
back.

 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Two weeks had passed since the tragedy in the cave.  Douglas's ribs were
sore, but healing nicely. The black and blue was almost all gone from
Scooter's face, and all the swelling was gone. Matthew was walking normally
and Travis's arm was in a soft cast.  Everybody and everything was healing,
including the shuttle. Petras had everything working perfectly.

All of the data downloaded from the "Paxton" showed the starship had the
fuel and the air to make it to Hakaan. The navigation system was set for
the return trip. All they had to do was load the starship with food and
water, start the rockets and then the warp drive, and they would be heading
for Hakaan.

They had been taking lessons on running the starship. Scooter still had to
do a lot of translating, but it also helped that Orzano was available to
translate, as well. It was decided that since he was a young boy and had
helped to rescue Douglas and Scooter, if he helped the round-ears get to
the ship and on their way to Hakaan, then they would drop all of the
charges against him. Vordkan would have to serve some jail time, but the
judge gave him a light sentence thanks to his cooperation.

A new adventure was about to begin for the boys of the "Starkeeper". They
would be returning to space. They would be flying a starship into the
unknown. While they knew their destination would be the planet Hakaan, they
had no idea what they would find there.

They were familiar and comfortable with what they had on Inferno, but
nobody had a clue about what had become of the Hakaanen on their home
planet. This would be their only chance to return home to their families.

Their trek through the desert and mountains had been to find safety. This
time they were leaving safety for the unknown. The trip would either be
their way home to Earth or it would be a dead end where they could be worse
off than they had been when they stumbled into the Big Valley. Almost all
of them were ready to take the risk.

Next: What is a Home?

Please email me your thoughts. Your email is my salary. Thank you to all
who have sent me your wonderful emails.

Douglas
thehakaanen@hotmail.com