Ethan led the way, with Peter tiptoeing behind him, his eyes wide. As they entered, invisible sensors detected their presence and the lights flicked on with a distinct click. The room was narrow yet long, with a small door situated on the far wall about thirty feet away. Between them and the door was an empty, shallow pool with gray tiles at the bottom. The pool was only two feet deep and looked... plain and boring, like a place to dip your feet in after a long day.
"Well, I expected a challenge," Ethan muttered and took a step into the pool. But just before his foot touched the nearest tile, something yanked his hand back.
"No!" Peter yelled, louder than necessary, and pulled Ethan back with such force that they both tumbled to the ground.
"You alright?" Ethan asked as he stood up. He had landed on the smaller boy, who now held his ribs, pain clearly etched on his face.
"I'm... good..." Peter managed. "I've never saved anyone's life before."
"Thank God I didn't break your... wait, what?"
Peter only pointed at a yellow sign next to the door they had come through. Below a skull symbol, a brief line of text read, "Danger. High Voltage. Fill the pool with insulating fluid before proceeding. Unprotected use can result in injury or death."
Death. The five-letter word sent a different kind of electricity down Ethan's spine. His stomach churned, and he collapsed on the floor again, his legs feeling soft and weak. Had he really been just a few inches away from fatal electrocution?
"You're fine," Peter reassured, patting his head while kneeling next to him. "Let's just read the instructions before we touch anything from now on."
"Yeah, you're right," Ethan whispered, although his heart was still racing. He winced and cringed every time he visualized his foot touching the deadly tile. Would he look like characters from the old cartoons?
"Come on, look at this," Peter called him, and with some effort, Ethan got up. Peter was examining a strange mural on the left wall. It was an odd fit in the cold, sterile environment of the facility. The paintings seemed ancient, resembling cave paintings or Egyptian hieroglyphs, yet simultaneously unlike anything he had seen before.
"What are we looking at?" Ethan asked.
"I don't know," Peter replied, grazing the painting with his fingers. "The surface is all gritty."
"Maybe let's not touch anything unless we know it's safe," Ethan said, his voice tight. "These paintings. What do they remind you of? To me, it's like an old tree made of arms and fingers."
"More like snakes. Or tentacles," Peter added, taking a step back, suddenly feeling very small and insignificant.
"Look!" Ethan pointed at the tree's roots. The entire painting had a gritty texture, but the roots were even more pronounced, their indentations feeling almost lifelike, resembling the bark of an ancient tree. The root structure melded into the floor, where it disappeared. Ethan reached out to touch it, but an invisible impulse made him retract his hand at the last second.
"Quite bizarre," Peter whispered. "I'm sure this is part of a riddle we're supposed to solve, but I can't discern its role."
Ethan observed Peter as he spoke in a somewhat uptight, articulate manner. It was more than he had heard the boy speak over the past week - or however long they had been here. So far, Peter had seemed distant, dull, and beaten down. Now, there was a spark in his eyes fueled by curiosity. He was cute. Maybe not exactly Ethan's type, but he realized he enjoyed watching the boy without distractions. After a moment, he reminded himself not to stare and looked around the room for more clues.
"Here," he said, discovering a small, unassuming keypad on the wall opposite to the mural. It looked brand new, with keys showing no signs of previous usage.
Peter approached to get a better view. "Interesting," he remarked, scratching his chin thoughtfully.
"What's interesting? Do you know the code?"
"Not yet. But I think I know how to figure it out."
"Really? How?"
Peter squinted at the mural, his mind racing. He tilted his head to view it from a different angle. "If we decode the positioning of each tentacle and correlate it with the root structure, perhaps we can uncover a sequence to input into the control panel," he mused, his fingers sketching invisible patterns in the air.
"Uh. It makes sense, I guess," Ethan agreed politely, although struggling to comprehend how they were supposed to translate the chaotic painting into numbers. There was some symmetry to it... if he squinted hard enough... but the wiry branches seemed to dance before his eyes whenever he focused on them. He found them captivating, almost mesmerizing, and alive. As Peter muttered calculations under his breath, Ethan let himself become immersed in the piece of art - because by now, he was sure it was art. It shifted and changed before his eyes like those magic images that reveal hidden layers if you stare long enough.
He must've zoned out for a bit because when Peter's voice snapped him back to reality, he found himself touching the painting with his open palm.
"It doesn't add up," Peter admitted with frustration, having tried yet another combination on the keypad. "What are you doing?"
"It's warm," Ethan said without looking away. "I think I feel a heartbeat. It... it responds to touch."
"How would it..." Peter began, but then Ethan placed his other hand on the mural and a soft, dripping sound emanated from the pool. Peter walked to the edge of it and peered down.
"It's working," he gasped. "I don't know what you're doing, but it's working!"
"Come here," Ethan said calmly. "It craves our touch and closeness."
Peter was taken aback by Ethan's weird choice of words, but he joined the older boy and reluctantly placed his palm on the gritty wall. He felt it immediately - the warmth, the pulse... the aura.
"Oh boy..." the blond boy whispered. "I think... I think it's afraid. What happened to it?"
"I don't know," Ethan said. "It feels like it's hurt. And... lonely."
"Imprisoned... Like us"
"Yes."
The boys stood there entranced, tuned to the mural's heartbeat. Ethan focused, trying to recapture the voice that spoke to him earlier, but there was no sign. He caressed the mural with his cheek, attempting to offer a sense of calm and comfort.
Minutes passed, and suddenly the entire room hummed, as if exhaling with relief. Peter took a step back and looked inside the pool.
"Ethan, look. It's filled. And... oh god, oh god!"
"What?" Ethan joined him at the edge. The pool was now filled with a glistening fluid that resembled a soft gel or diluted resin in the way it refracted light. But it wasn't the fluid that had frightened Peter. Emerging from a hole in the ground they hadn't noticed before, was a glowing, round entity. The hole, the size of a small fist, allowed passage to what looked like a weird take on a jellyfish. As it wiggled and pushed its way through, slowly emerging from the underside, its long, faintly glowing blue body soon revealed itself. In less than a minute, the creature emerged completely, now swimming gracefully around the pool. It resembled a strange, transparent eel. The boys took a few steps back, though it showed no interest in leaving.
Ethan dared to take a step closer. The eel's serpentine form gracefully navigated the pool, but every so often, it would emit angry-looking red sparks of electricity that briefly lit up the surroundings. The fluid seemed to pulse in response, creating ripples that spread out in every direction.
"What the fuck is this thing?" Ethan mouthed.
"I... I bet it's just some rare fish," Peter said, though his voice wavered, more attempting to reassure himself than anyone else.
"Yeah, I bet it's rare. From Australia, maybe?"
Peter swallowed, not ready to say out loud what was on his mind. Whatever this creature was, it must've come from farther away than even Australia. "But supposedly, it's safe to cross the pool now. That's what the sign said.
"Do you volunteer?"
Peter held up his hands and took another step back in response.
Ethan kneeled before the pool. "There's only one way to find out. Maybe this fish isn't dangerous."
"Or maybe we should just go back where we came from," Peter suggested. "I've never failed a test, but I don't mind failing now."
"You know there's only one way out," Ethan said. "Okay. I'll do it. Let's take it slow. If something happens to me... well, you'll be on your own. Don't try to play a hero."
He took a few deep breaths and touched the surface with his finger. Tiny sparks spread from his digit, but nothing else happened. Ethan rose to his feet. "Alright, here goes nothing. Let's hope our fish roommate is friendly." With Peter holding his breath, Ethan took a careful step into the pool.
The moment his foot touched the bottom, the pool exploded. It boiled around Ethan, and bright red sparks ignited it, casting wild shadows all over the room. The eel creature let out a piercing screech and zigzagged across the pool in his direction. Ethan jumped out at the last second, landing on the edge, his heart racing. The fluid slowly calmed down, as did its strange inhabitant.
"I almost died," Ethan said. His foot was wet with the strange fluid, but the burning sensation was quickly fading away. "We're not going to cross it like this, Peter. We need to think of something else."
"I... I think I know," the blond boy said, barely audible. Ethan crawled to him.
"What? What do we do?"
Peter hesitated for a moment, his eyes darting to the floor. He looked uncomfortable, but the gears were turning in his head. "We need to consider how electrical current works," he began, choosing his words carefully. "The fluid, and that creature... They're all highly charged. When you stepped in with your foot, the resistance created an imbalance in the charge."
Ethan looked confused. "What does that mean?"
Peter exhaled, "For the current to flow without harm, it needs an uninterrupted path. It's why birds can sit on power lines without getting electrocuted. Their body offers a path of least resistance. The current just flows through without harming them. Your clothes... they might've interrupted that path."
Peter looked up at Ethan with startled eyes, as if apologizing for what he was suggesting.
Ethan sighed. "I get it. We have to strip. You know what, Peter? Somehow I'm not surprised." He looked around for hidden cameras but if there were any, he couldn't spot them.
"I mean... this is just a theory. This doesn't look like any other fluid I've seen before. There might be another way."
"Easy, dude. Physics is not my strong suit, and I didn't understand half of what you were saying, but I like this theory. It's the only one we have, so let's test it. I... I'll go first."
He was halfway down unbuttoning his shirt when Peter grabbed his wrist. "No, I'll go first."
"Why?"
"Because... because if something happens to you, it will haunt me for the rest of my life."
Ethan stared back at him, and his face lit up with a warm smile. "Oh dude, that's sweet. But it's not like you're sending me to my death, you know? That's the best idea we've been able to come up with, and I'm alright with this. Don't fret so much. I stepped into it before and it didn't kill me."
"I know... I just... Please let me do it."
"Alright, alright. If something happens, I'll be right behind you."
Peter's cheeks went red as he dropped his shirt and pants to the ground. He modestly covered his private parts with his cupped hand and stepped closer to the edge. The eel had calmed down and was circling the pool lazily and aimlessly, releasing a flurry of red sparks every few seconds. The boy looked up at Ethan, who was already down to his pants and smiling reassuringly. Slowly, he lowered his foot and touched the surface with his big toe. Nothing happened. Then, he submerged the whole foot. Still nothing. One deep breath later, he stepped inside with a soft splash. The eel wiggled and danced in response but then returned to its blind loop. The fluid was only knee-deep, and Peter looked down, expecting something terrifying to happen at any moment. But nothing did.
"See? You're fine," Ethan said. "You really know your stuff."
"T-thanks. It was a wild guess, really."
"We all know it wasn't. So, how does it feel?"
"Funny..."
"Good funny, or bad funny?"
"Uh... nice funny. Tingly... wait, you see this?"
"What?"
"The tile I'm standing on. It lit up yellow."
"Oh shit, it did. And there's a blue one here."
The lit tiles were in the row closest to the edge. It was immediately clear to the boys what they had to do.
"Okay, I'm coming in. Right on the blue one," Ethan said, dropping his pants down without bothering to cover himself. Peter looked away but then immediately stole a few innocent glances. "Hey, it's fine. You've seen me in the showers, right?"
"I don't really remember much," Peter said and finally allowed himself a longer look at Ethan's teen cock.
Ethan took a confident step toward the pool, but the moment his foot connected with the fluid, there was a sudden, violent surge of electricity. Bright red sparks burst up around Ethan's ankle, accompanied by a loud, crackling noise. The eel reacted instantly, darting towards Ethan with a speed they hadn't seen before.
Ethan reacted on pure instinct, yanking his foot out of the fluid with lightning speed. His heart was pounding wildly, and he could feel the warmth from where the sparks had ignited around his ankle.
Peter screamed more in shock than pain, his eyes widening in alarm. "Ethan! Are you alright?!"
"I think so," Ethan responded, still in shock. He looked down at his foot, expecting burns or blisters, but it seemed to be unscathed, though he felt a mild tingling sensation.
"That doesn't make any sense," Peter muttered. "You were right; physics doesn't fully explain this. Or maybe... maybe we're missing something."
Ethan slowly regained his composure, rubbing his temples as he tried to think. "You mentioned birds on power lines earlier, right? What makes them different from one bird to two birds sitting side by side?"
Peter blinked. "The connection! Birds don't touch each other on power lines, so they're isolated entities. But in our case, if we're both in the fluid and we connect... it might create a stable, continuous path for the current, making it safer."
"I don't get it, but... you weren't wrong the last time," Ethan said, offering his hand to Peter who grabbed it, still covering his boyhood with his other hand. "Okay, here we go, please don't kill us, Mr. Eel." Ethan confidently stepped on the blue tile next to Peter. The fluid felt nice around his legs, only a bit thicker than water. The little waves crossed the pool, and when it was clear that they were safe, the boys grinned at each other.
"Look what a team we are, Peter."
"Yeah, I'm really proud of us."
"We can pat ourselves on the back."
"My hands are kind of busy, unfortunately," Peter smiled meekly.
"Just relax. It's just your dick, I've seen my share and yours isn't different."
"I know but... I've got a bit of a situation down there..."
"Oh," Ethan chuckled and looked down at himself. Maybe it was something in the fluid, or something about holding hands with a cute naked boy, but his cock was rising slowly, stimulated by the tingling sensation that traveled from his feet all the way up to his balls. "I'm not going to let it bother me," he said. In less than a minute, he was hard as rock. "Just let it go, I won't judge."
"Uh... fine," Peter said and uncovered himself. The boys smiled awkwardly. "Now, quit staring! Let's get out of here. Look, it seems to be showing us the way."
Two tiles in front of them, one blue and one yellow, lit dimly from the bottom. "Okay, one slow step at a time, let's time it well."
The boys moved slowly, the tiles showing them the way. They kept looking at the weird blue eel, but it seemed uninterested in them, gliding lazily and emitting red sparkles with every turn.
"We're doing good," Peter whispered, mostly to himself, but Ethan answered "I know." Led by their throbbing erections, they made it almost to the other side. But then only one tile lit before them. Green. They considered it for a second, then looked at each other.
"Even I get it," Ethan smiled.
In unison, they placed their feet on the green tile. It was barely big enough to fit both of them and they had to hold each other for balance, their cocks touching more than once in the process.
"What now?" Peter asked, but the answer came fast. Before he finished his question, the water around them bubbled gently. They gasped and would've jumped away if not for holding each other. Bubbles of air exploded everywhere on the surface, but the fluid remained cool.
"Don't move," Ethan warned and pulled the smaller boy closer to himself. With a corner of his eye, he saw the eel creature slowly drift closer. The familiar tingling intensified when it touched his legs and traveled up his spine.
"I'm scared," Peter whispered and hugged Ethan closely.
"Don't be scared. It won't hurt us. Just relax, I promise it'll be fine."
Peter still trembled in his arms as the eel made a loop around their ankles and slowly climbed to their knees. There, it stopped, just under the surface and continued circling around their legs at a lazy pace. It felt like a water balloon with a touch of electricity. It didn't cause any pain though, quite the opposite. Ethan felt butterflies and lightness in the stomach that seemed to radiate from his groin.
In the silence, Ethan felt Peter grinding against his hip slowly. He only hugged the boy tighter, feeling his shaft slide up and down. He badly wanted to do the same, but he remained still, only gently petting Peter's head as the smaller boy yielded to his instincts. With each passing second, Peter moved faster and more urgently, shamelessly moaning and nipping at Ethan's collar bone. Ethan felt the urge too, but maybe his experience with the chair made it easier for him to resist. With a groan, Peter came and warm seed splashed on Ethan's thigh and trickled down his leg. Peter continued to move, slower now, allowing himself to come down from the rush, sweat slowly cooling down on his skin. Ethan silently hoped that the shame would be bearable for him when he came back to his senses.
Unseen by the boys, when Peter's seed dribbled down into the pool, the boiling ceased. The eel seemed to lose interest, as if satisfied with the task well done, and drifted away. All the tiles in the pool lit up in green. However, the boys hadn't noticed yet. They remained in an embrace, glad to hold each other, afraid of what might happen if they let go.
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