Chapter 10C - The Choosing – Final Voting - Saturday July 15, 1995

Written by Charles Well <charles.well@yandex.com> and Sarge AKA Aldric <pietar_the_fearless@yahoo.com>

(C) 2018)

The original Kids of Indian Spring (KOIS) story by Jonas Henley can be found here: https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/young-friends/kids-of-indian-spring/

and if you wish to read Jonas Henley's account of the 1968 Mackey Choosing Ceremony, look here:

https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/young-friends/mackey-tails/

This story is about sex between boys and is therefore a total fantasy. It was written by an adult for the entertainment of other adults. No children or animals were either involved or harmed in the writing of this story. Please leave now if you are not supposed to be here.

Writing the continuing saga of the Kids of Indian Spring has become a real community effort. My co-author on this chapter was Sarge AKA Aldric. His ideas, drafting, hard work, and constant support in too many areas to mention made this chapter possible. A special thanks also goes to Mike for help with editing and proofreading.

Please consider a donation to Nifty for allowing us to have this resource to share our stories. To donate go here: http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html

Comments or suggestions may be directed to either of the authors mentioned above. We welcome feedback from readers. It's the only payment we receive for many hours of hard work.

Character List

General background:

There are two categories of kids living in Indian Spring, on the edge of a large city in Ohio. One group is the Mackeys, and those that are part of that extended clan through family and blood connections. They were the original European inhabitants of the region dating back to 1832. As a result of generations of isolation, self-reliance, and often living on the wrong side of the law, the family developed many unique traditions and rules that governed the everyday lives of their youngsters. That group includes Sandy Jacobs and his brothers, Kevin Mackey and his brothers, all the deep and very deep Mackeys like Tolley, Seth, or Chris Corbin. The second category is kids that are not part of the Mackey family, but happen to live in Indian Spring. That would be kids like Kelley and Ethan Tucker, the Cormacks, Nathan Carlin, Cal Brewer, Casey Harris etc. They are called "Near Springers" and are generally not bound by regulations affecting Mackey youth, but may find themselves caught up in the "old traditions" in certain circumstances.

In order of appearance, the major characters are:

Sandy Jacobs (13 years, 5 months) (Full name Alexander Corbin Jacobs, which only his mother ever uses). A dirty blond boy who looked like he belonged in a country baseball commercial and was now at the point where you could tell he had once been very cute, was now simply good looking, and moving quite easily toward handsome. Oldest of four brothers in the Jacobs family. Main protagonist in my story (the reason why it's called The Sandy Jacobs Story). Part of the extended Mackey clan.

Kevin Michael Mackey (13) Good-looking. He has dark brown hair, as thick as you could make very slightly curly hair yet still have it look dreamily soft. Part of the extended Mackey clan. One of the two Mackey community bottoms selected in the 1994 Choosing Ceremony. He is gay and confident in his sexuality.

Tanner Mackey (13) Middle son of Frankie Mackey. Brother of Spencer Mackey (15) and Cooper Mackey (12). Second Community bottom from 1994 with Kevin.

Tim Hardin (14) brother of Paul Hardin, Mackey Junior Council member. Tim is part of the extended Mackey clan and was Community bottom from 1993 with Harry Mackey.

Brad Jacobs (12 years, 1 month) aka Bradley. Dirty blond like his 3 brothers. Part of the extended Mackey clan. On this year's Mackey Choosing List.

Stephen (Stevie) Jacobs (11) Dirty blond hair like all his brothers – Sandy (13), Brad (12), and Chass (10). He has a light sprinkling of freckles across his nose and cheeks. Exploring being openly gay for the first time. Part of the extended Mackey clan.

Chase (Chass) Colton Jacobs (10) Just turned 10. Brother to Sandy (13), Brad (12) and Stevie (11) Jacobs. Part of the extended Mackey clan.

Ethan Tucker (10 years 7 months) Younger brother of Kelley Tucker (12). Exploring being openly gay for the first time. A non-Mackey from Indian Spring.

Jared Tilton (10) son of Cynthia Mackey who married Mark Tilton. He has one sister Belle Tilton (13). Part of the extended Mackey clan.

Boys on the Choosing List

1. Theodore Oliver (Tolley) Mackey – 12 years, 1 month. Son of Amos, grandson of Seth. Very deep Mackey clan. His siblings are: Hayden (15) Member of Junior Council, and Hinton (13y 5m).

2. Seth Mackey - 12 years, 5 months. Son of Hollis, grandson of Jacob. Very deep Mackey clan. He is an only child.

3. Sean Mackey - 12 years, 4 months. Son of Jebediah, grandson of Seth. Very deep Mackey clan. His siblings are: Jason (17) Member of Junior Council, and Kevin (13) Community bottom 1994.

4. Cooper Mackey - 12 years, 2 months. Son of Frankie, grandson of Michael. Deep Mackey clan. His siblings are: Spencer (15) and Tanner (13) Community bottom 1994.

5. Dean Mackey - 12 years, 11 months. Son of Austin & Esther Mackey, grandson of Seth. Very deep Mackey clan. His siblings are: Dorothy (Dot) (18), Fairlane (14), and Hunter (11)

6. Chris Corbin, 10th Kinset - 12 years, 1 month. Son of Jack, grandson of Joshua, great grandson of Christopher Corbin and Katherine Mackey. Lives in Bartlett (The 10^th Kinset covers Mackey living outside Indian Spring). His siblings are Michael (14) and Harry (11)

7. Joey Mackey - 12 years, 6 months. Son of Camden, grandson of Tyler, great grandson of Clarence. Not as religious as Clarence's other descendants. His only sibling is Boyd (14)

8. Gabriel Mackey - 12 years, 9 months. Son of Gordon, grandson of Colin. He is an only child.

9. Bradley Jacobs - 12 years, 1 month. Son of Sam Jacobs, grandson of Porter, great, grandson of Gloria Mackey and Prescott Jacobs. His siblings are: Sandy (13) the bottom's bottom 1995, Stevie (11) and Chase (10)

10. Malcolm McEwen - 12 years, 3 months Son of Michael McEwen and Natalie Anderson, great-grandson of Horace Mackey. He is an only child.

11. Judge Mackey - 12 years, 10 months. Son of Phil Mackey, grandson of Randall. His siblings are: Joshua (14), Ruth (10), and Samuel (8)

12. Jeff Garvin - 12 years, 6 months. Son of Therese Mackey and Corey Gavin, grandson of Prentiss Mackey. His siblings are: Chase (13), Jeff (11), and Tilton (10)

13. Mitchell Garvin - 12 years, 2 months. Son of Emily Mackey and Chris Garvin, grandson of James Mackey V. His siblings are: Keaton (22), Whitby (20), and Rosemary (13)

14. Kelley Tucker - 12 years, 6 months. Son of Halford Tucker, grandson of Calvin Tucker. His siblings are: Ethan (10), Ashton (9). Kelley is a Near Springer, not directly descended from the Mackey family. He is on the Choosing List because of the Dawson Exclusion.

16. Stephen Carrigan - 12 years, 11 months. Son of Alice Mackey and James Carrigan, grandson of Randall Mackey. His siblings are: Andrew (11); and Lydia (8)

17. Albert (Bert) Mackey - 12 years, 2 months. Son of Foster, grandson of Gerald Mackey. His siblings are: Gerald (13), Sam (11), and Vince (10)

18. Quentin Mackey - 12 years, 4 months. Son of Dong-Yul Mackey who was the adopted son of Prentiss Mackey. His siblings are: Flint (14), and Kai (13)

19. Matthew Mackey - 12 years, 5 months. Son of Christian Mackey, grandson of Harrison. His only sibling is Timothy (Tim) (10).

20. Cal (Calvin) Brewer (12) Eldest son of Jonathan Brewer and brother of Ben Brewer (10). A Near Springer. The Brewer family have been long term residents of Indian Spring, but are not directly related to the Mackeys by blood.

Please see the mackey-family-tree.pdf for a complete list of the boys and other characters listed in this chapter.

Public voting opens

Sheldon gave the now very noisy audience several minutes to review the latest figures for the initial voting status of each boy on the line and the checkmarks accumulated so far. He went over to the side table and chair, sat down, and took a long drink from a water bottle he'd placed there earlier in the day. After some time had elapsed and he felt the crowd was settling down, he got to his feet and called for silence.

"I will shortly open proceedings for the general voting. Before I do that, however, just a reminder of the procedure. All registered Mackey between the ages of 11 and 17 should already have been issued with your voting passes – this year, bright pink in color. If you didn't get one, you need to see Raymond immediately. If you lost it, tuff titty! You don't get a replacement."

While the entire crowd burst into laughter, he held one up for everyone to see. He knew most of the boys would remember the procedure from previous events, but was aware there was a large group of 11-year-olds present this year that had never voted before. With the change of policy of including all 12-year-olds on the Choosing List, most 11s saw no advantage in staying away.

"Write or sign your name on the back of the boy you want to be selected as one of the bottoms this year and write that kid's name on your pink pass and then hand them in to the Score-Keepers. Any votes not correctly processed will be ignored. You must complete both steps for your vote to count. The tally on each boy's back must agree with that of the pink papers. If there are discrepancies, it's the pink voting sheets that will be recognized as final. Are there any questions?"

As no one raised their hand, Sheldon announced,

"I now officially open the public voting period, which will run for exactly one hour from now, according to my watch."

Those new to the Choosing Ceremony might have expected a mad dash at this time by the boys in the stands to sign the backs of the 20 bent-over 12-year-olds waiting to learn their fate. Some boys did that, of course, and a bunch of votes were registered within the first few minutes. But for most, this didn't happen. Rather, small groups, clusters and even respectable crowds gathered together at pre-arranged meeting spots around the clearing at Old Knot. Friends joined together and formed alliances with others to push for one boy or another. Lone wondering kids, generally ignored by the more popular guys, suddenly found themselves being enticed to join the cool kids. Deals were discussed and argued over. Promises were made in exchange for votes. Most involved priority access to the new bottom assuming the boys who had already signed were given full access rights. Older boys offered priority access to younger ones in exchange for votes because of the age rule requirements. Every vote counted and veterans of these affairs were well aware one or two points could be the deciding factor in the final selection, and thus the Mackey came together like no other time of the year.

A Judah's deal with Ishmaelite traders

The boy felt like he was being ripped apart – torn between what he wanted, what he feared and what he now saw. Since his meeting with Raymond, Holden Mackey's second son, Daniel, had thought of little else than making sure Bert got selected as one of the bottoms this year. The blow-job he'd received from Ethan Tucker was fresh in his mind. Sex now occupied more and more of his waking thoughts (and most of his sleeping ones, too, he knew.). And now he deeply regretted not fucking Ethan when it had been offered. Indeed, it drove him crazy just thinking about it. The BJ was brilliant, but to fuck another boy's ass would certainly be one-hundred times better. He wanted it now. He knew he deserved it. But when he approached Ethan two days ago, the kid had gone cold on the idea. He might have insisted, perhaps even being forceful, but he feared the repercussions from Kelley. Those could not be taken lightly. In addition, the unquenchable fires of revenge for what had been done to his father all those years ago still smoldered away in the background. Having Bert as a bottom under his complete control would be true justice and provide some closure for what happened to his Dad in his youth at the hands of Uncle Foster. In theory, his religion taught him to forgive his enemies, but even at just 13 years of age, he knew that was bullshit. He loved history and understood that tolerance or forgiveness rarely played a part in Christian values. Just look at the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Protestant and Catholic purges of the Reformation, and the subjugation of the New World. But there was something darker, as well, that played a role. He wanted to dominate Bert. Fuck him whenever he wanted. Force him into different positions, make him beg to be fucked harder, and all while staying within the Mackey guidelines for use of a bottom. That was when the plan to solve all his problems started to take shape. He hadn't made much progress with Raymond, but Darrell had a better reputation in the community for getting things done. He had gone out looking for him, or his buddy Hiram, over the past few days, but they had both somehow disappeared into thin air. Now they were here, sitting in the front row of the bleachers with the other Council members. He would go and speak to them. He knew those two never gave anything away for free, but he did have something to offer. A bit like the story in the Bible of Judah's deal with the Ishmaelite traders for his brother Joseph. But that had all been part of God's plan and had worked out well in the end. This could, too.

As soon as general voting was opened, Daniel intercepted Darrell and Hiram as they left the bleachers.

"We need to talk," said the thirteen-year-old nervously. "I've got a deal to make."

Hiram recognized the kid, but couldn't immediately put a name to the face.

"You're Daniel, right? One of Holden's kids, right?" put in Hiram helpfully.

"Shit," responded Darrell. "What the fuck are you doing here? I thought the descendants of Randall were too religious for this sinful place. Fuck off now before we bend you over with all the others out there."

"My brother Mark and me both have exemptions. We have every right to be here. And as for descendants of Randall not being welcome, I think that Judge lying out there naked as a jay bird disproves that."

"He's right about the exemption, Darrell." said Hiram. "Remember that Council meeting where his dad turned up yelling and screaming at Raymond and everyone else."

"Yeah, how could I forget? Okay, kid, what 'do yah want?"

"A deal, as I said. I want complete, unrestricted ownership of Bert Mackey's ass when you make him a bottom today."

Both Darrell and Hiram laughed out loud.

"Fuck kid! You've got a lot of cheek, I have to give you that. But, Hiram, tell him he's dreaming."

"You're dreaming, Mackey!" said Hiram dutifully.

"And why is he dreaming?" Darrell asked.

"The Council will never grant unrestricted access to a bottom to any kid who never went through a Choosing," responded Hiram.

"But you haven't heard what I'm offering," said Daniel, now sounding less certain of his position.

"It don't matter one bit," said Darrell, now losing patience with the kid. "Me and Hiram here ain't exactly flavor of the month in the Council just now. Sort of on a short leash, if you get my meaning. No, we don't need more shit associated with us just now. You go and talk to Raymond."

"I did already. Last week. But I didn't mention the deal," said Daniel, not keen to speak to Raymond again. "At least hear me out and take the idea to the Council if you like. They're all here today. It's all about payback for my Dad for what Uncle Foster did to him back in the 1960s. You know my Dad was a Mackey bottom back then for a full three years, and Foster pulled some slimy deal where he got ownership of both his ass and mouth for that entire time. And he fucked him at least once every single day – sometimes more, and blew in his mouth 2 or 3 times daily on top of that. And that didn't even count as part of his bottom duties. I heard my Uncle Trey talking one time when he got drunk. They didn't know I was listening. He said my Dad was the most fucked bottom in Mackey history and had to give blow-jobs to everyone as well."

Darrell and Hiram both smiled. They hadn't known that, but they were both intrigued.

"He must'a run foul of the magic number," suggested Hiram.

"I don't know all the details," answered Daniel, "but my Dad had a real bad time for all those years. It's only justice that Foster's kid gets the same, I reckon.

"Well, there's no harm in listening to the kid," said Darrell. "After he saved our asses from my Dad, I promised Raymond, no more schemes from us, but we could always take a possible deal to the Council. Okay, kid, you've got 5 minutes."

Machiavellian Doings at the Choosing

Sheldon loved this part of the show. There was generally very little for him to do except keep an eye on things and make sure nothing got too out of hand. He knew the other Council members would also be circulating around the crowd and doing the same thing. But it was always amazing to see the voting boys in action and how serious they became. It was the same every year. He noticed that Bert Mackey's brothers, Gerald (13), Sam (11), and Vince (10), their cousins Alex and Gordon and all their brothers had formed one large group behind the new bleachers. This block appeared to be now led by 14-year-old Brandon Mackey, eldest son of Trey, who had been coming to Choosing Ceremonies since he was 11. Like his father Trey, Brandon knew how to manipulate community rules. He had a very easy ceremony when he was 12, earning only one checkmark and insufficient votes to make him a serious contender against the likes of Tim Hardin or Harry Mackey, who were made bottoms that year. And last year, he had fared even better, being given the honor of busting the cherry of the then-virgin Tanner Mackey. Indeed, he had put on such a performance and extended the deflowering so long that the event was still spoken of with reverence and awe in the secret conversations of Mackey youth. Sheldon noticed that Brandon had sent his younger family members out to round up all their buddies. They had accumulated a sizable crowd and he guessed poor old Bert didn't have much hope of a happy outcome today.

Another group making its noisy presence felt was just off the central stage area and run by a very animated 14-year-old Fairlane Mackey. He was accompanied by his brother Hunter (11) and a bunch of the descendants of Tate Mackey, who died back in 1973 at the age of 62, but not before producing a large bunch of equally prolific children. There were a few Havers there as well, he noticed. Sheldon knew he was pushing hard for his brother Dean to be made a bottom and was loudly offering deals to the younger boys in exchange for votes. Sheldon guessed that made sense. Fairlane had to know that Dean was off limits to him, at least for a short time. The only boys who could fuck the bottoms for the first six months of their service had to be no more than 12 months older. Another one of those 1991 refinements to the rules that he wished existed in his terrible first year as a bottom. It had been three years back then and he guessed his asshole was still recovering from the abuse in those first few months until he adjusted to accommodate virtually anything thereafter. Fairlane was offering unrestricted access to any boy of 13 or 11 for 6 months, and then more limited sessions thereafter. Clearly, he was intending on making good use of Dean once the 6-month grace period ended. Sheldon guessed there were about a dozen boys in that group. With the 4 points he already had, Dean looked like another kid in real trouble.

Two competing groups had formed themselves on opposite sides of the clearing: the pro- and anti-Tucker factions. After giving his protection vote to his brother Sean, Kevin rushed off to join the chorus of boys calling for Cal's ass, if not his blood. Kevin had seen the kid in action at the White Party and was determined to exact a full measure of revenge for what he'd done to Kelley Tucker. Tucker was a good kid, he was only now starting to get to know. He didn't deserve that. No one did. Kevin couldn't vote again, but as a popular, well known, and respected community bottom he did have a great deal of influence with other boys. And now that Sean was safe, he'd be pulling in every favor owed to him, to insure Cal was selected. It turned out that the Brewer kid himself appeared to have few supporters or anyone willing to use their influence to protect him. Rather, the pro-Tucker mob were loudly calling for revenge against the kid for putting Kelley in this mess. Kevin saw his role as pressuring other guys to join this group and vote to make Cal Brewer one of the four community bottoms.

At the other end of Old Knot, some Deep Mackeys had come together under the direction of Darrell and Hiram to push for Kelley Tucker as payback to his father, Hal, for what they saw as interference in Mackey affairs. Sheldon understood family politics and knew this group was acting at the behest of old Elijah Mackey. But he was astute enough to realize the political zeal of this particular group was half-hearted at best. He suspected most in this crowd were more likely motivated by the fine ass the kid had. But if numbers meant anything, and they did on this of all days, both Tucker and Brewer would need to be concerned.

The final two sizable groups worthy of note were being most secretive and had actually moved into the surrounding trees. One set from the very deep run by brothers Tad (17) and Clay (14) would no doubt be pushing for Judge. They were the part of the family that still produced moonshine, grew pot, magic mushrooms and lord knows what else in those lands even other family members feared to enter. They hated Randall's descendants and their strict religious views that opposed everything they represented. And it had been years since someone from that branch of the family had been on the line. This was an opportunity too good to miss as far as many of the very deep Mackey were concerned. If Judge got picked the Council would need to set some pretty strict guidelines for his use. There were some mean sons of bitches back there in those woods, Sheldon knew from first-hand experience.

The final congregation of boys of any significance were a bunch of eighth and tenth Kinset Mackey who were no doubt pushing for Chris Corbin. A lot of the more sensible members of the family had joined the group, as well. Chris was certainly a stunner and had a great personality, too, as far as Sheldon could see. These two Kinsets had the reputation as the most dependable and least volatile in the family. Sheldon guessed his suggestions of the fun to be had with the completely flexible gymnast had struck a chord with this mob. He, himself, had witnessed the kid do a series of five cartwheels in a row after scoring a goal in a basketball game just a few days ago.

A few other smaller clusters of boys had gathered about. The Hardin brothers were pushing heavily for Brad Jacobs and making promises Sheldon knew they couldn't keep. They had some converts, after all, Brad was another of the beauties on the line this year, but the MC guessed some in that audience were starting to see through the lies Paul was telling. If he hadn't been another Council member, Sheldon might have said something. And several boys were trying to gather support for Cooper. They, too, were having some success, based purely on the boy's stunning looks, but the fact that Tanner still hovered about with his -10 points in hand put many voters off.

When groups determined they had wrestled up as many votes as they could, they went off en masse to vote on the unfortunate boy's back. No secret ballots here. Sheldon knew it was a very depressing time for the guys on the line to have kid after kid come up, often have a feel of your naked ass, grab your balls or cock, or insert a finger in your hole and then sign their names. Comments like, "cute ass back here," or "nothing personal," or "looking forward to trying this" were also common.

While all this was happening in the background, there was a small but steady flow of individual voters not swayed by the herd mentality. These tended to be boys who voted with their hearts, or was it their cock. They ignored the pleas from others and voted for the kid whom they considered would make the best bottom for the Mackey community – based on "looks and fitness for office," had explained Sawyer Mackey, who at 17, had no real vested interest in the outcome of the day. He had long since given up boys for a very jealous girlfriend who was now providing for most of his physical needs.

And boys on the line were still earning themselves checkmarks. Tolley got 3 for getting up and punching 11-year-old Andrew Carrigan in the stomach when the kid stuck two fingers up his already greased asshole. Sheldon said he was very lucky he didn't get more. Sean, Judge, Quentin, Cooper, and Joey got one apiece for wriggling, and Chris Corbin had the misfortune of getting two for flat out refusing to answer Bennett Mackey's question about whether he had ever been fucked before. After giving the kid the two checkmarks, Sheldon had whispered to Bennett that if he came near this boy again today, he'd be giving every member of the Council blow-jobs for the next month.

The Feud

Sheldon settled back in his chair, relaxed and was taking another few swigs from his water bottle when he became aware of a disturbance around Brad Jacobs. A heated argument between groups of boys was in progress that had quickly degenerated to yelling, and violence was clearly threatening to break out any minute. The MC rushed over to see Sandy, who had clearly abandoned his duties on the vote-counting table, and his best friend, Toby Sanders (13), in face-to-face confrontation with Paul (16) and Tim Hardin (14). The youngest Hardin boy, eleven-year-old Tyler, and another of Sandy's friends, Kelson Mackey (16), stood by, following the argument and getting ready to jump in on their respective sides when the fighting started. Several others stood further back, including the younger Jacobs brothers and a bunch of kids he didn't have time to recognize.

"What the hell is going on here?' screamed Sheldon. He wanted to make his presence known.

"These assholes are trying to stop us voting," answered a now much calmer Paul Hardin, who knew he'd get support from his fellow Council member.

"You just won't let this go, will you?" spat out a very irate Sandy Jacobs. "Tim did his worst to me and I let him. Far worse than anything I did. And I thought it was over. But now, you're going after my brother. He never did anything to you."

"Take a step closer, Tim, and be ready to lose some teeth," added Toby Sanders, with his fists ready to strike. Although a year younger than the kid he faced, they were about the same height and weight.

"What are you doing?" asked a worried looking Sheldon.

"My brothers and me and our friends have the right to vote for any of the boys on the line we choose. And we choose Bradley Jacobs to be one of the Mackey community bottoms for this year. Nothing more and nothing less."

"He's going after Brad because of his vendetta against me," hissed Sandy.

"Well, that's as may be," said Sheldon. "But Jacobs, you need to step aside. You can't prevent people from voting. If you don't back off now, it'll mean checkmarks for Brad. Is that what you want?"

Sandy didn't move and Sheldon walked over a drew a check on Brad's back.

"Okay! Okay! Enough!" screamed a near apoplectic Sandy. "But Hardins, know this. All of you. You have made it personal now. It won't be forgiven. This will end in blood."

"Are you threatening me, Jacobs?" demanded Paul.

"Just warning where the path you started down ends!" jeered Sandy. He grabbed Toby by the shoulder, herded his two youngest brothers, a bunch of their friends and walked away.

"How come you aren't giving the Jacobs kid a bunch more checkmarks for his brother's outburst?" said Paul, now turning on Sheldon. "I think I'll complain to Raymond about that."

"I always pegged you smarter than this Paul. But you do as you want. Raymond and me have an understanding," said the MC as he too walked away.

Sheldon was disgusted at his friend's actions. The tradition was, at least in recent times, that Council members refrained from voting on Choosing Day unless compelled to do so for some strategic family reasons, or perhaps to protect a younger sibling, especially if the family already had a current bottom. No one would speak against Jason for helping Sean. His other brother Kevin still had a year to serve as a Mackey bottom and a somewhat vague, but unwritten law, said there shouldn't be two in the same family at the same time. And none would question Raymond Mackey and James Cormack, the two most respected members of the Council, for protecting Malcolm. Not even Sheldon completely understood all the reasons behind that. What he did know was there was general community uncertainty on how to treat that kid and an important member of the Deep Mackey wanted it that way. Other Council members knew it was always best not to ignore such edicts.

Paul Hardin picked up one of the blue general voting sharpies from the side table, walked over to where Brad Jacobs was lying and wrote his name and "+5 (Council member)". He handed the pen to Tim who signed with a "+5 (Bottom)". The youngest Hardin boy, eleven-year-old Tyler, also signed his name, as did the two brothers, Aaron (13) and Travis (11), from the deep part of the clan. They had both been promised break-in rights and unrestricted access to Brad, if he got chosen. Sheldon knew Sandy was correct about the vendetta. Neither Paul at 16 or Tim at 14 (almost 15) would ever be officially allowed to do anything with the 12-year-old. As he said, he always thought Paul was smarter than that. Nothing to gain but revenge. Stupid!

But Sheldon was still dumbfounded. He had never witnessed such a reversal of fortune before at a Choosing. In seconds, Brad Jacobs had gone from an almost unassailable -12 points to +1. Clearly, his ass was now in play, as the voting had scarcely started. He guessed the three Hardin brothers and Aaron and Travis would now be spreading out around Old Knot attempting to drum up support for their choice. He strongly suspected this was not the end of the matter as far as the Jacobs boys were concerned. Sheldon just hoped he could get through the day without a real brawl breaking out.

Intermission

After watching what had happened with Brad Jacobs, Sheldon noticed that, by this stage, like the Hardin gang, most of what he called the "group schemers" had broken up and already voted. Some boys on the line were starting to build up a sizable number of signatures on their backs. These were not evenly distributed around the bent-over 12-year-olds, of course, and there were others with nothing at all. He also became aware that many of the boys were starting to fidget and move about more than should be allowed. He could have moved in with his red checkmark sharpie, but guessed some would start suffering from cramps if they didn't move soon, so he went back to center stage and announced,

"I'm extending the general voting period by 10 minutes, but giving the boys on the line that same amount of time to get up, stretch, take a drink, or head off to the bathroom. They are not allowed to dress, but can talk if they wish. All voting is suspended during this break period. However, any boy not back here and bending over at the expiration of the 10 minutes will earn 2 checkmarks for each minute, or part thereof, he is late. I will provide a warning in 7 minutes."

Sheldon could see there was currently nobody waiting to vote, and he added,

"The time starts now. Remember, 10 minutes and not a second more!"

This seeming act of kindness was also strategic on Sheldon's part. It gave more impetus for deal-making when 12-year-olds appealed to older siblings or close cousins for help if they were building up a good number of signatures on their backs. If nothing else, it added to the fun, as a bunch of naked boys mixed with the fully clothed ones and gave him more legitimate opportunities for handing out checkmarks if boys delayed getting back into position. He knew some of them certainly would now want to avoid those benches like the plague.

As the boys on the line scurried about deciding whether to go to the bathroom, take a drink, or talk to someone, Sheldon looked over at the vote-counting table and saw Sandy and Hinton hard at work again. "Well, that's a relief," he thought to himself and he announced,

"Raymond, perhaps your worthy assistants can produce an updated score sheet while we wait?"

But Raymond had guessed what was coming and was way ahead of him. He signed the newest version with a flourish and sent Sandy and Hinton over to the bulletin board with the latest figures.

Voting Scores at Intermission

Most of the 12-year-old boys on the line had very mixed feelings about the extended intermission. Some were pissed that it would prolong their suffering, as now they were required to walk about, if that's what they chose to do, completely naked. Others were pleased at the opportunity to get up and stretch their legs. Being forced to remain still and quiet in one place for an extended period of time was no easy task for any kid of that age. And boys who were leaders on the scoreboard had other more immediate concerns. They rushed off to older sympathetic siblings and close cousins, begging for help.

The Council

While the audience had hushed and the boys on the line stopped in their tracks to carefully read through the newest list, Sheldon had a moment for a quick word to Raymond.

"About 40 votes still outstanding and about 25 minutes of voting time left," he said.

"Actually, 42. I registered Derek (14) and his brother Zane (13) since we last spoke. You know, Dylan's kids. They just turned up unannounced about half-an-hour ago. They were supposed to be visiting an aunt in Mississippi, but got out of the trip somehow," replied Raymond.

"Okay, fine," said Sheldon. "Time for a quick meeting. The favorites are pretty clear."

"I'll get the others and we'll meet at your table."

The impromptu Junior Council meeting convened a few minutes later. They made sure other boys stayed far enough away not to overhear what was said.

Raymond started the discussion.

"Our likely bottoms are any four of Cal Brewer, Chris Corbin, Judge, Dean, or Bert Mackey and Kelley Tucker. Any last-minute issues on any of these?" He looked around the assembled group.

"I'll start off. Cal Brewer's dad is still totally pissed with his son for approaching the Council and actually wants his son chosen. Thus, no issue there." He then turned to his right and said,

"James, your family are close to the Tuckers. What's your report?"

"Kelley's parents aren't happy, but will go along with what's decided here today for the sake of keeping peace in the community. However, if I know Mr. Hal Tucker, he'll have a surprise up his sleeve, and be ready for that."

"Tad, anything new on Judge? He's the one I'm most worried about."

"According to Mouse (he was referring to his 12-year-old cousin Mitchel), Judge is looking for ways to escape the confines of his strict religious upbringing. Potentially a bit of a rebel, if he could get away with it, apparently. His father Phil reportedly had some fun back in the day, and hardly shares the views of his wife. The other point to note is that Judge himself seems happy to involve himself in boy-on-boy stuff. At the sleepover, he took part in BJs, both receiving and giving."

"Thanks, Tad," said Raymond. "We need to monitor this for awhile if he does get chosen. And I'll get my Dad to have a few words with Uncle Phil."

"Hayden, the Corbin kid was yours. Anything new to report?"

"Nothing new. Chris is the son of Jack and Katherine Corbin from Bartlett. They're best friends with Sam and Karla Jacobs. Apparently, Jack was a bit of an operator as a kid, and I don't see an issue there. But he always rated immediate family loyalty highly, so who knows what he'll make of the two brothers voting for Chris to be made a bottom. I guess Michael knows what he's doing."

"Good," said Raymond. Jason, I assume the same still applies to Dean?"

"Yeah, well, Dean's dad Austin was also famous back in the day. According to my source, Austin fucked more Mackey bottom than any boy in the history of Indian Spring. Whether that's true or not, the family is not an issue. The dad knows Fairland and Hunter are pushing for their brother, and as long as the usual rules are followed, he'll not interfere. I also heard rumors of large bets being place on Dean from his dad, but my father wouldn't give me any of the details."

"Okay," said Raymond. "That leaves Bert – the little kid. Bert, you know your namesake and the family. Anything new?"

"Bert's the son of Foster Mackey, and from what I heard, the dad could easily have competed with Austin in using the bottoms back then, and no issues there."

"Great!" said Raymond. "But due to his physical size, we need to protect him a bit more than the others, at least for awhile."

"I've got an idea on that," said Sheldon.

"Hiram and me also have something to report on this kid," said Darrell, speaking for the first time at the meeting. Everyone stared at the two of them. Although officially the Council had put past events behind them, none had really forgiven Hiram, and particularly Darrell, for the near disaster with his younger brother David.

"What about?' asked Raymond.

"As soon as the public voting was opened, we were approached by Daniel Mackey – Holden's third kid, with a deal."

"Daniel?" cut in Raymond. "He spoke to me already."

"Yeah, he told us that. But now he has a deal in exchange for what he wants. And that is ownership of Bert."

"Okay, you two walk with me down the track a bit and fill me in. The rest of you mingle. Sheldon, your watch is slow today. And Paul – not happy. You and the Jacobs kid – not happy. I expected more. We'll discuss this later tonight." said Raymond, looking most displeased.

But the angry countenance was brief. He smiled broadly before continuing, "Don't forget about the BBQ at my place tonight, starting around 7:00. A bunch of the dads will be there, and keen to hear all the gory details of the day. Obviously, no dates are invited this time. The dads have probably spent the entire morning at the Mackey-Sanders tavern, but apparently, they're even turning on beer for us. So be there, or be square! "

"Darrell, Hiram..." and Raymond walked off down one of the tracks leading away from Old Knot.

Sandy and Brad

In another part of the clearing, Sandy met up with Brad, his two other brothers, and Toby Sanders (13) and the brothers, Kelson (16) and Ron Mackey (13). Brad was starting to panic.

"I've got six points and two checkmarks!" he winced. "My ass is toast. Save me, bro. You promised!"

"I promised to do everything I could to save you, but I never made any guarantee. You know I'd be lying if I did. I think I did everything I could. It's my fault that you got that last checkmark. I would volunteer to take your place for that, if they'd let me. But I know they won't. Besides, you're not as badly off as some of the others. You're tied in for seventh place and they're only picking 4 bottoms. Cal Brewer, Chris Corbin, Judge, Dean, Bert and Kelley Tucker are all way ahead of you on points. Even Cooper has +6 like you."

"But his brother still has the minus 10 points he hasn't used yet," Brad complained.

"Yeah, well," said Sandy, not sure what else he could say to reassure his brother. "Hinton and I have been keeping an account of the votes. Most have been cast already. I figure there's only about 40 guys still to vote, and Raymond reckons those will go to the already out-front leaders. I'll go and talk to Sheldon when he's free. He knows more about what is likely to happen than anyone."

"Yeah," put in Kelson. "Toby, Ron and me can stand guard near you. We can't stop people voting, but maybe we can scare off a few."

"You also still have my protection vote," put in his brother Stevie.

"Yes, I forgot about that. Thanks, man," answered Brad, feeling a little better.

"Well, don't use it yet, Stevie," said Sandy. "I'll give a thumbs-down sign if Brad needs it. Like this." He demonstrated. "If enough votes are in for Brad to be safe, I'll give a thumbs-up." He showed that as well.

"In that case, you go vote for Chris Corbin or Bert Mackey. I reckon they're both goners already. Who do you prefer?"

"Chris!" answered Stevie without hesitation.

"Tell him no hard feelings. But wait till I give you the signal."

"I've still gotta suck 2 cocks!" whined Brad.

Yeah, well, it won't be your first time, and it won't kill you. And I've done worse, so stop your bitching. You'll be okay."

"Me and my gang will get the Hardins for you," said Chase.

Everyone had forgotten the 10-year-old was there.

"No, you won't Chass. Stay away from them. I lost my temper before and got Brad a checkmark. The last thing he needs right now is you and your buddies making trouble. They'll take it out on Brad. Understand?" said Sandy.

Chase Jacobs nodded, but without much conviction. Sandy would have pushed him harder, but he suddenly noticed the impromptu Council meeting had ended and Sheldon was free. He needed to talk to him before the voting restarted. If anyone could sway the votes away from Brad, he could. And Sandy was ready to pay a price to protect his brother, if it came to that. Kevin had told him of Sheldon's interest. And honestly, he wasn't that opposed to the idea. But he was determined that Brad would never know, if anything did happen.

Sandy rushed over to the 17-year-old and asked, "You got a minute?"

Sheldon looked at his watch and said, "Sure, Raymond's busy for a while, and I'm sure the kids on the line won't mind extra free time. How can I help?"

"That thing with me and Tim and Paul Hardin – making the threat – I was out of line. I just lost my temper when he went after Brad."

"Yeah, well, don't worry about it. Paul didn't exactly cover himself in glory with that, either."

"You won't take it out on Brad?"

"What? No way. Bradley got that extra checkmark for what you did. That's the end of the matter, as far as I'm concerned. I know you're doing all you can to protect him. I admire that. A pity, `cause I reckon he'd make a great bottom. He's a real stunner, like you. But I think you can rest easy. I doubt he has any chance of being picked. I won't be mentioning him when I restart the voting. No point in encouraging uncertainty with candidates who just don't have the votes."

"Thanks," said Sandy. "Oh, and I'm still desperate to get my hands on that new PC computer of yours. I guess they're the thing of the future. Will you really teach me how to use it?"

"No problem. We'll do the typing of the old rules together. I'll show you the word processor. That's the program we'll use. It's a bit complicated, but you're a smart kid – you'll get the hang of it soon enough."

"Thanks," said Sandy once again. "Wednesday night? After dinner? Maybe I could sleep over?"

"That'd be fine," beamed Sheldon, looking like a kid on Christmas morning.

Planning Mayhem

Shortly after, in another part of Old Knot, a small group of 10- and 11-year-old near, deep, and very deep Mackey were plotting a little fun. Trevor Havers (11), the brothers Shawn (11) and Joey Sanders (10), and Carl Mackey (11) and Joey's best friend, Chase Jacobs (10), had decided things were getting a bit boring, and it was time for some fun. They had heard Sheldon's dire warning to the boys on the line, "any boy not back here and bending over at the expiration of the 10 minutes will earn 2 checkmarks for each minute, or part thereof, he is late." And they thought it would definitely be fun to delay some of the guys and get them in trouble.

Tolley and Chris Corbin looked good candidates for interception. They both had 3 checkmarks already and 5 would mean that many fucks and blow-jobs, whether they were picked as bottoms or not. Joey argued for his fellow deep Mackey Seth, but several of the "merry men" (they had all seen the Robin Hood film showing at the cinema in the city) pointed out that two plus two only added to four and that would not achieve the desired result. The band split up to seek out their victims.

They found Chris Corbin easily enough. It looked like he was ready to shit his pants, except he wasn't wearing any. He hadn't left the stage area and would therefore not be an easy target. On the other hand, Tolley was happily wondering around, even in his stark-naked state, chatting to different boys just in front of the bleachers. The matter was decided.

Shawn Sanders, as unofficial leader, took charge.

"When Sheldon announces the one-minute warning, follow Tolley. When he starts moving back to the stage area, we go in. Joey, you kneel on the ground as we've done before. Me and Trevor will push him back towards you so he trips over. Then Carl, you grab his right arm, I'll get his left, Chase and Joey, you get the legs, and Trevor will sit on his chest. He'll fight like hell, and he's pretty strong, but guys, we can do it."

"But can we hold him for three minutes?" asked a dubious sounding Carl.

"I reckon. If we hold tight. When Sheldon says time-up we let go. Remember, there's five of us."

"What if other guys help him?" asked Chase.

"I reckon they won't. I reckon a lot of kids wouldn't mind seeing Tolley fucked."

The plan was agreed. Gathered in a circle, they each extended their right hand into the middle, and then raised them up with a collective cheer of "Go team," as they did in Little League.

From Merry Men to The Famous Five

After a good period of free time had elapsed, Sheldon announced that the boys on the line had three minutes to get back into position. In fact, it took far less than that for most to resume their places. But Sheldon notice one spot was vacant. It was only then that he heard a loud disturbance coming from the side of the new bleachers. Now everyone was looking that way.

It was immediately obvious what was happening. A large group of small kids were pinning a naked boy to the ground. Many in the stands nearby were egging them on. Sheldon looked at his watch. Two minutes left. He went over and started lifting the small boys off the kid he now saw was Tolley. The youngsters didn't resist as he pulled each one off. Eventually the naked boy sat their alone and looked dazed.

"You have 10 seconds to get back into position across the bench, Tolley."

The boy recovered his wits quickly and literally streaked back to the benches as everyone laughed.

Sheldon made a show of looking at his watch yet again, but actually had no idea of the time.

He made his way slowly back towards the stage area as the band of "merry men" followed to see what would happen to the unlucky boy.

"Hmm," announced Sheldon slowly. "Touch and go, Tolley. Very touch and go. I think one checkmark, though, as I believe you still had one second to spare."

Tolley looked up, ready to protest, but Sheldon held up a finger to his lips. The message was obvious. No talking.

The group of "merry men" all gave themselves high-fives. They were standing barely a yard from the stage. Tolley hadn't been given two checkmarks, but one was near enough. It had been a lot of fun and many in the audience were cheering them loudly. That made the boys even happier.

"Vote recorders," said Sheldon loudly when things settled down. "Please add one checkmark to Tolley's score."

He could see the boy was about to try and protest again, and Sheldon put a hand across his mouth.

"And Tad. You are recording the minutes of today's activities? Is that correct?"

"You know I am, Sheldon."

"Good. Please add the names of our fine young hooligans to the records. Trevor Havers, Shawn and Joey Sanders, Carl Mackey, and Chase Jacobs. Ensure the 11-year-olds get all the negative points they are entitled to for attending today."

The "merry men" all jumped up together and gave themselves high-fives again. Many in the crowd were laughing. The older, more astute boys knew Sheldon wasn't finished just yet.

"But..." and he let the word hang in the air for several seconds. "Also record that each of the boys listed will start with one checkmark already recorded against his name when his year comes to join the naked 12-year-olds on the line."

The smiles were immediately wiped from the faces of the "merry men."

"And as there are both 10- and 11-year-olds in that group, also record that Tolley Mackey will have the uncontested right to one checkmark blowjob from any of these boys of his choice for the next two years."

Sheldon looked towards the vote counting table where he received a thumbs up from Raymond. But it was not lost on Tad Mackey, James Cormack, and several others in the audience that the MC also looked to Sandy Jacobs, who gave the slightest nod of approval with his head. Several of the older boys knew of Sheldon's interest, but had it gone further?

"And let it also be recorded that," the MC continued, "in future, any boy or boys seen doing anything similar will immediately be bottomed. And there will be no right of appeal."

Sheldon looked at the group of no longer merry-men (decidedly un-merry in fact) and said, "I will refer to you boys henceforth as `The Famous Five'. I know for a fact that Raymond has read every letter, record, or minutes of meetings kept in the archives at the Clubhouse. And over the past week, Sandy Jacobs and I have been working tirelessly to bring some sort of order to the mess in there. We are currently in the process of publishing a properly typed and indexed copy of all our rules and bylaws. Based on all that, you are indeed famous boys. Never in the history of the family has anyone ever received a checkmark before Choosing Day. Well done. You have made history."

"But perhaps, one last thing," and Sheldon left the Famous Five and the rest of the audience hanging for almost a minute as if thinking hard. "If over the next three months, each of you individually," he continued, looking meaningfully at the five, "were to come to a private arrangement with Tolley for, shall we say, 3 blowjobs witnessed by at least five voting age Mackey, then the checkmarks for later Choosing Ceremonies could be expunged – that means forgotten. Normal Mackey rules will, of course, apply to any blowjobs given to Tolley over the required period. I will leave it up to our Famous Five themselves if they wish to take this latter option. Perhaps older siblings may have advice on the issue?"

"You boys, get back to your seats in the bleachers."

The "normal Mackey rules" for blowjobs, of course, required the passive boy doing the sucking to drink every last drop of cum produced. Do-overs were required and expected if anything was missed.

It seemed the punishment was popular with the crowd, as the audience cheered enthusiastically as the now sorry Famous Five, as they would quickly become known, made their way back to their seats. The nickname would stick for years to come.

And ten-year-old Chase Jacobs would have further bad news at home later that night. His older brother Sandy informed him,

"Chase, you're going down on Tolley as soon as I can arrange it. And you will give him at least three top quality blowjobs, or until you get it right. And starting tonight, you will practice on Stevie, Brad, and Cousin Ron." (Kelson Mackey's 13-year-old brother and longtime friend of the Jacobs family from Bartlett).

When Sandy saw his kid-brother about to object, he held up his hand.

"It's happening, Chase. Get used to it. It's way better than the alternative. Starting a Choosing with a checkmark already would be like drawing a target on your back and having a sign with an arrow pointing to your ass saying 'fuck here.' It would attract voters like flies to honey and mean you would be more likely to get even more checks. Get over your squeamishness fast and accept it."

Voting Reopens

"I will shortly reopen the public voting period for the 1995 Choosing," announced Sheldon in a loud commanding voice. "If you haven't voted yet, I want to mention a few things to consider. You have seen the accumulated scores of each potential candidate and now have a pretty good idea of who the front-runners will be. I have always considered it best if the official bottoms are selected with widespread community support, so unless you have some family or strategic reason for endorsing one of the also-rans, consider which of the top-scoring boys you would prefer."

"In first place, with 16 points so far, we have Cal Brewer. A nice firm round ass on that one, and a butch boy to boot. There's nothing better than getting an alpha male to bend over and do your sexual bidding. And he's a bigger kid as well – capable of taking the largest 13-year-old cock today, and you 14s in 6 months. And with 6 checkmarks to his name, some lucky older boys who sign his back will be first in line for those happy events. Plus, he's looking good for the Magic Number."

"In second place, to date, with 15 points, we have Chris Corbin, the gymnast. I see his strong-looking body, olive complexion, curly caramel-brown hair, and lithe supple body bringing years of pleasure to the Mackey boy community. And with 3 checkmarks already, Chris could also be in the running for the Magic Number if he continues to misbehave. But you need to have your name on his back to get that benefit."

"In equal third place, we have Judge and Dean Mackey with 14 points each. If the preppy look is your thing, you couldn't go wrong with Judge. He's a stunning looker with exceptional facial features, lustrous sandy blond hair, and a lithesome body to die for. Also a gymnast in the same club in the city as Chris Corbin. If both are selected, perhaps you'll have an opportunity to compare some of those Karma Sutra positions with both boys. Judge has only 1 checkmark so far, but I suspect he's the type of kid who gives value for money. Don't be put off by that."

"However, if butch is more your thing, Dean is the perfect boy for you. He's only one week from his 13th birthday and clearly looks the part. He's a strapping lad with powerful upper body strength and with good looks to boot. You 14s who haven't voted yet might consider approaching the Council to make Dean open to older boys from day one, after the five day "recovery period" all new bottoms get after Choosing Day, of course. Something to consider? No checkmarks as yet, but we can live in hope"

"Finally, among our front-runners, we have Bert Mackey and Kelley Tucker with 13 points each. Bert may look young, but I assure you, he is the required age. And, with his long fiery-red hair, piercing blue eyes, and a mass of freckles covering his entire face, would be a total delight. And Bert is likely to keep those handsome boyish looks for years to come. You may find this kid in high demand from his own brothers and cousins, but they will need to share. I assure you of that. And what can I possibly say about Kelley Tucker. The pick of the litter is the only term that comes to mind immediately. One of the best in every way possible in a boy of this age."

"Without further ado, I officially reopen the public voting period for the 1995 Choosing. There are now only 25 minutes remaining, so, gentlemen, make your selections."

The Boys on the Line – Trepidation and fear?

Brad Jacobs

The 20 naked 12-year-old boys had all resumed their places across the four sides of the benches with vastly different levels of worry and concern. The intermission and the published scores had left many more sanguine about the day. Some like Sean, Malcolm, Joey, Jeff, Stephen, and Matthew, who still had negative scores, had no immediate concern at all about being bottomed. But the front-runners like Dean, Chris, Judge, Kelley, Cal, and Bert were now in a near panic. The scores were all very close and a few votes either way looked likely to decide the winners - or the losers, as the boys thought. But all still feared checkmarks and Tolley and Chris had the added fear of the five-checkmark rule looming close on the horizon for them. Five checkmarks meant you not only had to give five blowjobs, but you would be fucked five times whether you were picked as a bottom or not. And after the recent incident during the intermission, Tolley, with 4 checks, was extremely concerned.

Bradley Jacobs was nervous enough leaning over the bench with his naked butt and hole available for every boy out there in the audience to see. And having Kelson, Toby, and Ron standing guard just two yards away wasn't helping all that much. Sheldon had insisted on that distance between the boys on the line and any sponsors or protectors, but as far as Brad could tell, they weren't stopping many boys from voting for him. The brothers Oz (Oswin 15) and Warn (Warner 14) had come up and signed his back shortly after the voting had resumed. "You and Matty Corbin have the two most attractive asses on the line this year," Oz had explained. "And our family knows a thing or two about bubble butts. My brothers Zane (16) and Stefan (13) are off voting for Matty right now. A damn shame neither of you are likely to be picked, though. A damn shame!" he said before walking off.

And perhaps even more disconcerting was the fact that every time Brad looked around at his "so-called protectors," he was sure 13-year-old Ron was staring right up his asshole. He just hoped Sandy's friend didn't expect a fuck or whatever for his help today. Ron was very shy, and not generally regarded as one of the cool kids, but Brad guessed, like every teen, he was horny as all `get-out.'

Brad was certain every boy on the line was counting each vote in his head and keeping a running total. He certainly was. Positive 8 points was not a complete disaster, but a minus score would definitely be preferable. He was also somewhat comforted by the steady flow of traffic on the backs of Cal Brewer, and Judge and Dean Mackey, he could see on the opposite side of the square. But it didn't help a few minutes ago when his brother Stevie and a bunch of his friends (Ethan Tucker (10), Rickey Mackey (11), Tilton Garvin (11), Jared Tilton (10) and Luke Mackey (11)) all came up, started asking him questions, and several played with his ass. He had barely escaped getting another checkmark by the skin on his teeth when he yelled at Jared Tilton to stop fingering his asshole. Fortunately, Sheldon just happened to look the other way at the time and Kelson had told the little kids to go back to their seats in the bleachers. But Brad felt sure this nightmare of a day would never end.

Chris Corbin

Chris Corbin was only now starting to come to terms with a potential future he feared. The day had started badly when his own two brothers had voted against him. He had more or less expected it from 14-year-old Michael, who was still pissed with him about the time he caught him and Samantha Duncan in bed and told his parents. But the vote from 11-year-old Harry was a total bolt from the blue. He had always got along well with his younger brother and still couldn't understand why the kid had voted that way. He guessed Michael might had pressured him somehow, but he was not in a forgiving mood. If the worst happened, and it increasingly looked like it would, and he ended the day as a Mackey bottom, young Harry better start worrying about his own ass. This time next year he'd be where Chris was now and bottom points were not to be taken lightly. Sean Mackey was still sitting on -17 and no other boy had gone near him since his two brothers signed. Why couldn't he have brothers like that?

Then there was that traitorous Bennett Mackey, who made promises, fucked him and then just walked away. If he did get picked, Chris knew he'd apply to the Council to ban Bennett from having anything more to do with him. They might agree to that, if he explained what the kid did. The only good thing about that was, unlike most of the kids on the line (well maybe not Kelley Tucker, if the rumors were true) he wasn't a virgin. He knew what to expect. And for all Bennett being a prick, he had never really hurt him.

Since the voting had restarted, Chris had had a steady stream of boys signing his back. He had lost count now since the intermission, but he knew his situation was not good. And he was now totally sick of answering the same stupid questions. "Could he stand on his head? "Could he do the splits? Could he suck his own cock? Did Bennett Mackey really fuck you? How many times? Did anybody else do it?" And on they went. Boys on the line couldn't speak unless asked a question and then they had to respond truthfully or face checkmarks. But Chris was sick of answering them. When 11-year-old Henry, one of the very deep Mackey whose family were still involved in the moonshine business, but more with marijuana these days, asked why he'd allowed Bennett to fuck him, he yelled out,

"Because the prick promised to be my sponsor and protect me. Never trust a fucking Mackey." he screamed in anger and frustration.

Chris was a Corbin, not a Mackey, and didn't believe he should have been here. If they hadn't put every 12-year-old on the List this year, he would be safely at home now watching TV or playing on his Gameboy. But here he was. And he knew he had been fortunate with his little outburst. Sheldon was on the other side of the square at the time, and didn't see who yelled out. He came over with red sharpie in hand, clearly keen to punish someone, but in the end, it seemed he couldn't decide if it was one of the boys on the line, or someone from the audience. Guys were milling about everywhere talking to the potential bottoms. And little Henry had slunk off without even voting for him. A very close call, Chris decided, and knew he needed to rein in his temper, which was volatile at the best of times. He was in such a precarious situation already, he didn't need to add to his problems.

The only thing that might save him was the fact that a bunch of the other guys were racking up the votes, too. His best guess was that Cal and Kelley were a sure thing, and Judge was pretty certain. The only question was, would Dean, Bert or him come in fourth place. "Shit!" he thought. More guys were coming in his direction.

Judge Mackey

Judge had been escorted into Old Knot this morning by his 14-year-old brother, Joshua, who had given him his one vote protection and then disappeared. Had he gone home because this place was too sinful? Maybe, he always took his religion more seriously than Judge. But his new best friend and maybe lover, Chase Garvin, had barely left his side. After his brother, Chase had been the first boy to sign his back, and told Sheldon, and anyone else who asked, he was sticking around to protect his rights. If Judge was selected, he told people, he wanted what they called "break-in-rights" – the first fuck. Well after what they'd done in the treehouse, he guessed that was fair. But Judge knew that wasn't honest. Fair had nothing to do with it. He wanted Chase to be his first.

After the bowling trip with his Dad last night, Judge knew things would work out okay. That was a night he'd never forget and totally unexpected. He got home from school at the usual time (Edge City Baptist had a year-round program and they didn't get the long summer break the other kids got) and he found his Dad (Phil Mackey) at home from work already and waiting for him. He said the two of them were going out for a boys' night on the town. Pizza, then bowling, and maybe ice-cream after that.

"What about Joshua, Ruth and Sammy?" he'd asked.

"No," his Dad said. "Just you and me, buddy."

Judge was astounded. They had always done everything together as a family. But he was no dummy and felt certain this was about the sleepover at the Jacobs house or maybe the Choosing Ceremony he had to go to on Saturday.

He was right. After eating too much pizza and drinking gallons of Coke, his dad started asking about the sleepover. And from the beginning it was clear Dad already knew pretty much what happened there. Judge, never one for lying, told his version of what happened. Well, not about the strip poker game with Tolley, Seth, Bert, Chass and Stevie Jacobs, Ethan Tucker and Jared Tilton. Not straight away.

But they talked about what happened to Sandy Jacobs for a long time. Judge was surprised his Dad didn't seem shocked or even angry. The sympathetic response encouraged the boy to eventually admit he liked watching it. He then listened, open mouthed, as his father talked about some of the things he'd done when he was a kid. He never mentioned any names, but he talked about the Mackey bottoms and doing "stuff" with them. Judge knew what "stuff" meant after the sleepover, the strip-poker game, and that time in the treehouse with Chase Garvin. In the end, he confided to his father about those things as well. The man never got angry or judgmental, but just asked how he felt about the things that happened.

"It's probably too early to know if you're gay or not. I'm pretty sure, when I was your age, every kid in Indian Spring was fooling around in one way or another. But if you are, it'll make no difference to me. You're still my son and I'll still love you just the same. Your mother's a different proposition, but she's coming around slowly."

Then his dad changed the subject, "I guess after the sleepover at the Jacobs' house, you know what happens at the Choosing?"

"They pick the Mackey bottoms. There's 19 of us and they're going to pick 4." said Judge without hesitation.

"Yeah, that's right. But what you may not know is that there are certain groups in the family that would be happy to see you as one of the four. But it's not about you. The thing is there hasn't been a bottom from our side of the family since the 1960s and a lot of people think Grandpa Randall's descendants are way due for another."

"Tolley told me about it, Dad."

"Did he now? How would you feel if it happened to you?"

"I'm not sure, Dad. I guess I'd be okay. I liked what I did with the guys in the strip-poker game. And I like...Can I say fucking?'

"Yes," his Dad said. "You and I might need to get used to that word."

"I liked fucking Chase Gavin and I don't mind if he does that to me."

"You understand that if they pick you as a bottom, it won't be just Chase, though?"

"I know that, Dad. I've been thinking about that a lot. I got a real hard boner. Can I say boner?"

"Yes, Judge, use any words you're comfortable with. I'm pretty sure there's not much you could say to ever shock me."

"Well, Dad, I got a real hard boner watching the three guys fuck Sandy. Tim Hardin was a real meanie, but Kevin and Tanner were nice – real nice. And I often think about what I saw that night while I'm in bed – you know - alone and I know Sammy's already gone to sleep. What if that was me? And I masturbate, Dad."

Judge looked sheepishly up towards his father. Should he have told him about masturbation? But he guessed, correctly, after all the other things they'd told each other tonight, it was no big deal.

"Thanks for being honest, Judge. You have made this easier than I ever dreamed."

"That's okay, Dad. But, one last thing I've got to tell you. You know Joshua's faith is stronger than mine. Dad, well sometimes I have..."

He never finished the thought before his father cut in. "If I tell you a secret, do you promise to keep it just between the two of us?"

"Yes, Dad, of course."

"Your mother's faith and Joshua's - well they're stronger than mine, too."

Judge looked up in surprise at his dad. If he lived to be 100, he knew he'd never forget the conversation they had that night.

They never did go bowling. But they got the sundaes and talked well past Judge's normal bed time.

Some of the kids who came up to him today had been mean and said bad things about his family. But they were a minority. Most were pretty good. Some asked questions about what he knew about sex and laughed when he told them the truth. They weren't laughing at him. They just thought it was funny that "the religious family kid" knew so much. Many slapped him on the back and many more on the ass and said they were looking forward to spending more time with him. A lot wished him well and said they were glad he was here.

Dean Mackey

Dean Mackey was totally pissed off by this stage. It wasn't being at the Choosing that worried him. He had grown up with the idea that he'd have to go through it as far back as he could remember. All his family did. They were strong supporters of the old traditions. No. it was the fact that he was 13, well almost, and clearly bigger than any other kid on the line. He didn't belong here this year. They'd asked him if he wanted to be it the event last time. He thought he was smart saying "no" then. But that decision had now come back to haunt him. They only picked 2 bottoms last year and he guessed, correctly, that Kevin and Tanner still would have got more votes than him. He looked real weedy back then, but a growth spurt in the last 12 months had changed him out of all recognition. And this year they wanted 4 bottoms and he was definitely in the firing line.

Worse still, all his best buddies – the kids he went to school with and hung with in the neighborhood, had been through this in 1994 and now they were coming up and voting on him for a piece of his ass. His best buddy Hinton (13) had been the first to vote for him after his asshole brothers Fairlane and Hunter. He was quickly followed by Jim (13) and Kirk (13). He played basketball with these guys all the time, they sat in class at school together, and gym class. The thought he'd have to bend it for them whenever they wanted was messing with his brain. As he signed his name, the little shit Kirk had said,

"It will be great having a bottom sitting next to me in math class next year. If things get boring, we can both get hall passes and head to the boys' room for a quickie. A great idea, right?"

Well, Dean was pretty certain it was not a great idea – certainly not for him. And then there was his worry about Fairlane. He was one hell of a horn-dog and he'd be wanting boy ass 24/7. He knew there were restrictions, even on brothers, about the number of times he could do it. Maybe he could get Fairlane to break the rules and then get him banned. Now that was an idea. And what about his other little shit of a brother. Hunter at 11 would be here next year and ought to be watching out for his own ass. But the thought of the little twerp forcing him to bend it for him was appalling. And Dean knew Hunter would be sure to offer his ass around to all his buddies. "Fuck!" he thought. At least he hadn't got any checkmarks yet.

Bert Mackey

Bert was trying to ready himself for what he knew would be a terrible onslaught of life changing experiences. The votes on his back had been building steadily since the day had started. In his heart of hearts, he had never imagined he would be selected. But he didn't know about the scheme his brother and little cousins had somehow hatched together. And they had somehow pulled in dozens of other young boys into their nefarious scheme. And even older guys were voting for him. Just now, Kevin Mackey, the current bottom, had tried getting the three brothers Scott (15), Sid (14), and Sandy (13) to vote for Cal Brewer. But they made a beeline straight to his now very precarious ass. They didn't say anything nasty or even play with his bottom the way a lot of kids did. They wished him well, voted, and walked off talking about what a great Choosing Ceremony it was this year. But it was 3 extra votes on his back.

Cal Brewer

Cal Brewer still couldn't believe any of this was happening to him. It just didn't seem real, but he knew it was. He was going to be fucked. He was going to suck cock. And not just once. That was to be his life for 2 or 3 years. He had let his family down. He had disgraced his father. And now it was time to pay the piper. He would live through it. He was determined he would. Whatever happened would alleviate the guilt he felt inside. He had hurt his father, made Kelley Tucker's life miserable, almost raped Ethan, and was mean to Ben and dismissive of his buddies in the scouts. They weren't his friends any more. A bunch of them had told him that already. But the day was going from bad to worse.

His so-called best friend, Bennett Mackey, had just come up and voted for him to be a bottom.

"Hey, man. Looking good back here. Lots of signatures," said Bennett cheerily, as if counting girls' names in his Year Book.

"I came with Chris Corbin, but I've fucked him already. Like a dozen times so far. He's okay, but he's gonna be one of the bottoms anyway. I really wanted to vote for Cooper, but there's no way he's gonna get picked. Not with minus 17. And you're gonna be one of the bottoms. That's for sure. Your Dad's penalty of starting you off with 4 checkmarks pretty much guaranteed that. And the word in the bleachers is you're in line for the Magic Number with 6 checks already. I'm getting my name on your back. Nothing personal. But I ain't fucked you yet and the thought of getting 6 blowjobs from you over the next year pretty much seals the deal. And you do have a real nice ass. I'm gonna be using it a lot, and I gotta get my name down."

Bennett signed his name and then pulled Cal's ass cheeks apart and started poking a finger in there. Two weeks ago, Cal would have slugged any prick who even thought of doing that, but now he needed to come to terms with his new reality. Besides, the checkmarks were hanging over his head. And then he would be fucked! Him! Cal Brewer! He was not the type of kid that took it up the ass. It was kids like Kelley Tucker that did that sort of thing. Maybe Kelley would do so again today. Tucker was racking up votes, too. He took some small secret pleasure in that. But Cal knew he had to get his head into the right space. He guessed Bennett Mackey wouldn't be the only boy wanting to play back there.

Kelley Tucker

Kelley Tucker was not a happy camper. A whole bunch of kids had already voted on his back and he dreaded what might happen if he got picked. His only consolation was that he knew he could cope. He'd hate it. But he'd survive. He had actually faced worse at the White Party. He didn't have any checkmarks yet, like a lot of the other guys. Everyone seemed to think that was a big deal.

And where the fuck was Casey Harris? He should have been here long before now. He had promised. The voting would be finishing soon.

Stevie Votes for Chris Corbin

Stevie Jacobs was sitting in the second row of the new bleachers with his friends Ethan Tucker, Rickey Mackey (11), Tilton Garvin (11), Jared Tilton (10) and Luke Mackey (11), Daniel's younger brother. They had also taken Ben Brewer under their wing when he seemed lost and alone. He sat mesmerized as the "real Mackey" explained what they thought was happening and Stevie and Rickey tried explaining what Sheldon was saying. The MC wasn't exactly going out of his way to make himself understood by 10-year-olds.

Near them was Chase and a bunch of his friends. All were fascinated by the events of the day and, like the rest of the over 150 boys present in the audience, involved in endless debates and arguments about who the final selectees would be, what happens next, would any of them get to fuck or get blow-jobs from the boys on the line. They knew the official voting period would end soon. After an initial flurry of activity since the intermission, it now appeared the numbers voting had dropped dramatically. They had heard Rickey's 15-year-old cousin Adam Koch, sitting two rows behind them, say that most of the kids must have voted already. It was then that Daniel's brother, Luke, noticed Sandy was giving the thumbs-up signal.

"Stevie, I think your brother's sending you the message," he said.

They had all been told to look for this.

Stevie returned the signal, smiled and said,

"Back in a minute, or maybe 5. Sorry, guys. Got a job to do." They all slapped him on the back, or gave high fives as he made his way down to the stage area.

He would be the last in their little group to cast his ballot. Rickey had already voted for Bert at the suggestion of his brother Dexter, who at 14, was a veteran of these events. Tilton Garvin had voted for Cal Brewer because his family were big supporters of Hal Tucker, and he liked Kelley and thought Cal was a prick. And Luke had also voted for Bert, but only under threats from his brothers Mark (14) and Daniel (13). Ethan, Ben and Jared, as 10-year-olds didn't get a vote, which pissed them off no end.

Holding out his pink voting sheet, Stevie made his way directly to Chris Corbin who now sported a whole back full of names.

"Chris," he asked in a very soft voice, "Are you okay?"

But Chris kept his head hung low and just shook it to say no. The younger boy felt sorry for his friend, but knew he was expected to put on a show. As he'd seen other boys do, he played with the ass cheeks, pulled them apart, and slowly but carefully inserted one finger, then two. Then he withdrew and took hold of poor Chris's cock, and squeezed, stroked and prodded until it was completely hard. He only stopped when Sheldon noticed what he was doing and started walking in his direction. He picked up one of the sharpies and signed his name. Then he completed the pink voting slip as required. Sheldon had moved over to the other side of the square by this time, and was screaming at a kid trying to push a thick candle up Dean Mackey's ass.

Stevie took the opportunity of the distraction to bend over to Chris's ear and whisper, "Sorry for voting for you. Sandy told me to tell you that it's nothing personal. Well, that's just not true. You're the best-looking boy here and I want sex with you." He took hold of Chris's cock again and continued, "I want this to be the first cock that fucks my ass. I want to fuck you, too, but only if you let me. Is that okay?"

An astounded Chris Corbin looked up as best he could and said the only thing he could think of, "Err, okay." He had many kids today telling him how much fun they would have in his ass, but this was his first and only offer of reciprocal sex. And the Corbins and Jacobs of Bartlett had been friends forever.

"Oh," Stevie added as an after-thought. "If you and me start a regular thing, I'll push my brother Sandy, and all his friends, real hard to protect you as much as he can. He's a good guy. You can rely on him. Trusting Bennett Mackey was a big boo-boo." For anyone who knew the Jacobs boys well, it was always clear that Sandy and Stephen had inherited more than their fair-share of the brains in this family. Stevie very rarely missed much.

He smiled at Chris, then made his way over to the voting table.

"Only 7 votes outstanding," Sandy whispered to him as he completed the formalities with Hinton.

Raymond speaks to Daniel

While the final voting was taking place, 17-year-old Council President, Raymond Mackey decided it was time to speak to Daniel.

He regarded the younger boy with concern. He thought this matter had already been settled the day Daniel visited him at his house. And the fact he was prepared to sell his 11-year-old brother, Luke, down the river in exchange for what he wanted only pointed to an even darker side of this kid's nature he was reluctant to contemplate.

"Darrell and Hiram came and spoke to me of your request for ownership of Bert Mackey and what you proposed with Luke. I thought I had made this clear the last time we spoke. Except in exceptional circumstances, the Mackey Youth Council no longer allows individual ownership rights over any bottom. I know that was the way it was done in your father's day, but it provided too many opportunities for abuse. By keeping the bottoms as community property, the boys police each other, at least to a certain extent, and it ensures they don't come under the thumb of one, or any small group of individuals. We will make a slight exception this time in the case of Bert Mackey. That will be explained later and is done solely for the protection of the boy because of his size. But after 60 days, he will take up the duties of a full community bottom and you and your brother Mark (14) will be entitled to get in line with all the other boys who wish to avail yourselves of his services, assuming he does get picked. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir" answered Daniel, seeing his schemes all going up in smoke.

"And Daniel, take this warning seriously. A mere complaint from Bert can have you banned from anything more to do with him. And in the case of more serious abuse, the penalties only escalate dramatically. Remember, 13 is not that far away from 12. And if my reading of the old archives is correct, your own father was bottomed at that age. You don't want to follow in those footsteps, do you?"

"No, sir!" said Daniel emphatically.

"I don't know what you've been told, but I suspect you have only heard one side of the story about what happened between your dad and Foster Mackey back in the 1960s. I don't know all the details myself, as a lot was never written down, but I got the impression Foster was trying to help your father, and the Council rejected some of his wilder schemes. However, it's only the people who were present at the 1968 Choosing who know the truth."

"And one last thing. A one hundred percent iron-clad guarantee this time. If I ever hear of you offering your kid-brother to be fucked against his will, you will be bottomed immediately by five boys with the biggest cocks I can find who fit the age restrictions on 13-year-olds – that's any guys under 16 for you. And some 15-year-olds are pretty big, believe me. And thereafter, you will become a full access community bottom open for any boy over 10 and under 16 and for a guaranteed full 3 years. And I strongly doubt your own father would try to intervene in such an arrangement were he to learn the details of what you attempted. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir!" Daniel answered this time with tears in his eyes.

"Luke will be in the Choosing Ceremony next year and will take his chances with all the other boys his age. Unless you are offering brother protection, you stay clear of him. Make sure you repeat everything I just told you to your older brother Mark. The same rules and penalties will apply to him. If he does something against Bert and claims not to have been warned, he will still get the penalties, but so will you."

"Understand that?"

"Yes, sir," answered Daniel, now shaking violently and desperately attempting to hold back the sobs.

"Good! Go and tell your brother and maybe the two of you should go home. But Luke can stay if he wants. He's going through this next year and has the right to watch. You two never did. You have Mackey rights only through your father's intervention and out of respect for what he went through in the 1960s. And don't push your luck in future is my advice."

Casey Harris to the rescue

By this time, it was now clear to everyone that the voting was just about complete and a general distracted air had taken hold. Boys moved about, argued, laughed and joked loudly, or made their way to the bathroom. But nobody had left. They all knew the best part of Choosing Day was still to come.

Then gasps of amazement caused a sudden hush to spread rapidly. The large crowd of assembled boys was stunned when a lone kid walked up to the center of Old Knot where the proceedings were taking place and announced in a loud voice,

"I demand these proceedings be halted while I address the full Mackey Junior Council on an issue of the upmost urgency. This matter cannot be delayed, or an appeal to the full Adult Council will be made forthwith and all decisions made here today will be null and void. Sine qua non."

Everyone was too dumfounded to speak for several seconds. All the younger kids knew Casey Harris and never conceived he would be this audacious. How could he walk, bold faced, into a Mackey-only event and speak in front of over hundred and fifty boys. The kid had to be crazy. The older guys, who didn't know Casey, also assumed the kid must be suffering from some mental aberration. He was speaking gibberish.

It was only Raymond, the Council President, who actually listened to the words. His warning radar went on full alert. That was not kid's language.

Sheldon Redd, who was about to ask some of the older boys to remove this interloper and perhaps teach him some respect on the way out, was surprised when Raymond grabbed his right arm firmly.

"Who are you?" said the Council President.

"My name is Casey Harris," and then he repeated his original demand. "I demand these proceedings be halted while I address the full Mackey Junior Council on an issue of the upmost urgency. This matter cannot be delayed, or an appeal to the full Adult Council will be made forthwith and all decisions made here today will be null and void. Sine qua non."

"Casey Harris," said Raymond, "you have a lot of cheek interrupting our sacred ceremony today. Would you be so kind as to give me your definition of the Latin phrase, `Sine qua non'?"

"No specified consequence. Similar to null and void. It means that unless the full Junior Council listens to my petition, every decision you make here today can and will be challenged in front of the Adult Council. The bottoms you pick will not be bottoms."

"Get this moron out of here," yelled Sheldon to no one in particular. He hated having his show interrupted with such nonsense.

"No," said Raymond. "I think we need to listen. That language isn't coming from this kid. There's an adult behind it somewhere." Raymond had taken legal studies classes in high school whenever he could. He was planning to pursue post grad law after college. He told Sheldon to suspend voting again for the time being and asked all the Council members to join him away from the main stage area.

Sheldon took center stage and announced,

"There seems to be some sort of issue here we will get sorted quickly. Voting is suspended for now."

Then he joined the other Council members. When they were all assembled, Raymond said,

"Okay, Casey Harris. You now have your meeting. Give us your story."

Casey pulled a legal pad from a small bag he was carrying, looked at something written there and began to read.

"I, Casey Harris, demand the immediate and unconditional release of the bottom boy that belongs to me, to wit, Kelley Tucker. I first anally penetrated Kelley on Tuesday, June 13, 1995 at around 2:35 pm and have exercised continuous and uninterrupted ownership privileges, according to the "First Use rules" as set out in 1949 by the then Mackey Youth Committee. Here is an affidavit, attesting to my ownership status and signed by Mr. Hal Tucker, father of the said bottom boy. This is a legal document recognized in any court of law in the country. As the "First Use" rules of 1949 predate the Dawson Exclusion rule of 1968, the US common law phase of `lex posterior' (meaning "prior in time, superior in right") applies and Kelley is not subject to the Dawson Exclusion rule. He therefore has no place in attending this event and must be released immediately into my custody. The term "habeas corpus" must be applied."

Having finished his little spiel, Casey looked around at all the older boys, expecting some reaction.

But the members of the Council were just too stunned to speak.

Clearly, Mr. Hal Tucker was behind this whole stunt, thought Raymond Mackey to himself. But what am I supposed to do? I'm not a lawyer, and he knew it was unwise to take on that man in any matter related to the law. Raymond sensed everyone looking at him.

He turned to Casey and asked,

"If I go and ask Kelley Tucker, he will confirm your ownership?"

"Yes, sir. He will," answered the 12-year-old, trying his best to project an unconcerned tone. He could see all the naked boys his age bent over benches arranged in a square.

"And how often, since you first fucked Kelley Tucker - on June 13, you say, that's over a month ago now, - how often have you exercised those rights?"

"Tucker has asked me to fuck him at least once every five days as per the rules, and I have done so whenever I was in town," said a still resolute sounding Casey Harris. Secretly, he was sure he was about ready to pee his pants.

"And Tucker will verify that?" demanded Raymond.

"He will."

"Why didn't you approach the Council with your claim?"

"That is not required under the "first use" rule. Remember prior to 1949 there was no Council. The arrangement needed to be agreed between the owner and the bottom's older brother or another responsible family member. Council approval became an alternative in 1960 but did not supersede the old rule."

Raymond was astounded at how well this kid had been prepared. He didn't even look the type to take on a bunch of older teens.

"What's all that mean?" asked Hayden Mackey.

"What he said about the `first use' rules is correct," said Raymond. "They were written down in 1949 from far older precedents. I read over them when Calvin Brewer made his claim. I also looked at the Dawson rule at that time. That does go back to 1968, as he said. And what he claims about the once in five days use is also correct, as is the Council being an alternative verification method since 1960."

"What are you saying?" asked Hayden.

Raymond looked around at the other Council members and said, "We have to grant this claim. All the facts fit and there's no way we can take on Mr. Tucker on a matter of law."

There were rumblings of discontent. "Shouldn't we get Kelley Tucker over here and grill him?" asked a very pissed off looking Sheldon Redd.

"No use," responded Raymond. "He'll give us the same answers. Clearly, this whole thing has been set up by Mr. Tucker well in advance. The paper here," he said taking it from Casey, "is a thing called an affidavit. If Mr. Tucker was to lie here, he goes to jail for ten years. I doubt he would do that. No, we have to let Tucker go."

There were more rumblings from some, but others on the council appeared rather pleased.

"You know, if we do that," said Paul Hardin, "we're gonna have a riot on our hands."

"If we don't," Raymond replied, "we may as well cancel the rest of the Choosing. Mr. Tucker will appeal against everything we do here from now on to the Senior Council."

"What makes you think that letting the Tucker kid go won't do the same thing when the audience wants to lynch us?" argued Paul.

"Nothing!" said a very concerned looking Raymond.

Sheldon Redd had expected something like this from Mr. Tucker. That was why he played such a big role in the delay of releasing this year's Choosing List. He didn't want to give too much time to the man to work his schemes. But now that Kelley was naked and bent over the padded bench, Sheldon felt confident. Uncle Elijah had been secretly pushing him, Darrell and Hiram to make sure the son of Mr. Hal Tucker was set up to get royally fucked every day for the next two years. Then the old man would use his influence in the family to reduce or eliminate that obligation if Hal would withdraw from interfering in Mackey business. Sheldon had never been comfortable with most of the obnoxious schemes proposed by Uncle Elijah. He generally stayed away from the creep. He was a self-centered old fart only interested in money as far as the teen could tell. But Sheldon had a vested interest himself this time. His own parents stood to make a load of money if the redevelopment project went ahead. Being a senior in high school, he understood that colleges (at least the ones he wanted to attend) were not cheap.

But even if Kelley were pulled now, he had a backup plan, and it was time to put that into play. Maybe his whole future was riding on this.

Sheldon turned to the others when no one said anything for several seconds.

"My Dad does business sometimes with that rent-a-cop, Bowers, over at Coolspring. Remember him? He protects family interests on occasion. Seems his two kids are telling anyone who'll listen how they fucked Kelley and his gay buddy, forgot his name, in the middle of the street one day when they caught the two doing gay stuff together. And there are rumors a Coolspring guy and maybe even a bunch of Mexicans all had fun in Kelley's ass. He's not the sweet innocent he makes himself out to be, you know."

Casey, still listening quietly to the discussion, looked physically stunned by this new revelation.

"What's your point, Sheldon?" asked a frustrated sounding Raymond.

"Those stories are gonna get around. I'm thinking that Kelley Tucker here is going to have a lot of problems when school starts up in the fall. I reckon he'd like it if we could offer some Mackey protection. I'd be happy to have a few quiet words to the Bower kids. Maybe Darrell and Hiram could come along as well to make sure there are no misunderstandings. Any other kids that pop up, we can say, they're just full of shit, and they can shut up, or face some very painful family retribution."

What Sheldon didn't say was that if Kelley were pulled now, he'd make sure that every kid in Coolspring heard about it. He'd put the word out that Kelley enjoyed it. And then he'd let Indian Springers know about how Kelley put out. Hal Tucker would look bad because of his son. He would never be able to pull in support again.

"Get on with it, Sheldon," Raymond said, getting frustrated at the delay. "I still don't see why you're bringing all this up. Talk with the boys if you want. We all want that; it's nice of you to offer to help."

But Sheldon wasn't trying to be kind. He had another agenda in mind and said,

"It's just that if this kid here were to withdraw his claim, then Tucker would be a bottom. He would be a Mackey, entitled to full rights as such. Those rights include protection. No Coolspringer kid is gonna take on the family. They know they'll pay in kind if they do. But if the kid keeps his claim, and you release Kelley, he'll have to go it on his own. Mackey's don't protect non-Mackeys."

Raymond knew the threat was real and he saw that Kelley's reputation was at stake. He understood this could short-circuit everything Mr. Tucker was attempting to do. If Kelley stayed voluntarily, Sheldon was offering to keep kids from talking about sexual encounters they may have had with the kid. He didn't see how this could possibly help Sheldon's family or even Mackey interests. But it wasn't a decision he could make. He turned to Casey Harris, who had been listening in on the entire conversation and said,

"I guess the ball is in your court, Casey. Do you still want to assert your claim? Or do you want to leave now and let us continue?"

Casey didn't know what to do. Kelley had never told him about any other boys fucking him. Maybe this was all bullshit just to get him to leave.

"I'd have to talk with Mr. Tucker, Kelley's dad, about this."

"No," Sheldon said. "He sent you to do his dirty work. He didn't want to interfere. You're here, he isn't. Decide. And one more thing."

"Save the one more thing until after he's made his decision," Raymond said. He looked at the expressions on the faces of the other council members and could see support for Casey was slipping. Raymond understood that if Kelley was released now, the Mackeys would wipe their hands of the matter and place the kid in a near impossible position.

"Can I talk with Kelley first?" Casey asked. "He deserves to have a say in the decision."

Raymond nodded, and Casey started to leave, but was stopped by Sheldon.

"You made a legal claim for pulling Kelley out, and I for one will support that," Sheldon said. "As I'm sure Darrell and Hiram will, too. Raymond has said he'll support it. But If you now want to drop that claim, I demand a sacrifice from you before I'll agree to that."

"You can't do that," Raymond said. "He's not bound by our rules."

"I think I could challenge that, based on him having dealings with Mackey traditions and coming here uninvited and all, but I won't. This needs to be decided." Sheldon turned his focus back to Casey.

"You have been using a rule you don't even know about to NOT fuck Kelley. He calls you and asks you to fuck him, and you say no, and he's good for another five days. If you want us to allow you to drop your demand, then you have to fuck him at least once every five days."

"But, I can't be home that often," Casey said. "Once a month at best."

"Then when you're gone, you'll select a standby to take your place. Only I demand it be a Mackey, someone I know I can trust to do what's right. I'll give you three names - Tanner Mackey, Tim Hardin, or Dexter Mackey. You need to choose one before you leave."

"Go and talk to Tucker. If he wants out of here now, we'll support it and he'll leave with you. I reckon I'll find a way of explaining it so we don't have a riot. And one more thing. If you do withdraw your claim, the one-year period starts today, not the day you first fucked him."

Then, as if a bolt from the clear blue summer sky, Raymond remembered something from the archives that would impact on all this.

"Wait up, Casey," he yelled out.

Raymond could tell the crowd was getting restless. They had no idea what was going on and wanted the fun to continue. He announced in a loud voice,

"Casey Harris came here today to claim ownership of Kelley Tucker's ass under the old 'first use' rules."

There were cheers, yelling, boos and jeering from all over the bleachers until Raymond held up his hand for silence. No one knew exactly what this meant for the ceremony today.

"These are ancient precedents in our family dating back to the time when the first Mackeys came to this country. They were codified, that means written down, shortly after World War II in 1949 and it was confirmed in 1967 that these rules applied to all boys living in Indian Spring, both Mackey and Near Springers. Can anybody guess the name of the Near-Springer representative who negotiated the terms of the agreement in 1967?"

Several boys called out names as Raymond waited for the tension to build. None of them were correct. Three or four younger kids had even called his name. How old did they think he was?

"It was none other than Mr. Halford Tucker, the father of Kelley Tucker here. It was also agreed by Mr. Tucker in 1967 that the Council had authority to adjudicate disputes on this matter for either Mackey or non-Mackey."

There were a few tentative cheers from some of the boys, but most remained quiet, not sure where this was going.

"I do hope you all love irony. If you don't know what that means, ask one of the older boys."

Raymond again remained silent for several seconds to allow brief explanations to be passed around the audience. In the meantime, he conferred with Sheldon and got his agreement.

"The Council has agreed to recognize Casey Harris' claim for ownership of Kelley Tucker's ass. However, we direct said ownership be on the same terms that Kelley's father, Mr. Hal Tucker, negotiated back in 1967 with the Council, when Casey's uncle Steven Harris, was the bottom in question. Three boys will share joint ownership - two Mackeys and one Near-Springer. And as in 1967, the rights of ownership are limited to a maximum of three times a week for each of the joint owners and plus the caveat that the Mackeys have to go up to Near Spring and find Kelley for at least two of those times each week. In other words, the Mackey co-owners can only expect Kelley to go all the way to their house once per week."

There were loud cheers and cat-calls from the crowd at this news. The great Kelley Tucker was about to become a Mackey bottom.

The Council president then went into a quick huddle with the rest of the board members, in particular making sure he got approval from James Cormack, the Near Springer representative. He then announced to the entire audience,

"Sheldon has proposed Tanner Mackey as the first new joint owner and I'm suggesting Jason Mackey Jr. (13) as the second. Jason's father was one of the original owners of Steven Harris back in 1967, the boy he shared with Mr. Hal Tucker. It seems appropriate to keep this all in the family."

The applause that greeted this decision could be heard miles away. Raymond continued, although it was clear Sheldon was getting annoyed by him taking over like this.

"If Kelley accepts the Council's ruling, he will be fucked publicly here today by his two new joint owners."

More tremendous cheers went up from the crowd. Raymond smiled and continued after a half-a-minute.

"But then he is free to leave."

"There were boos and cat-calls this time, until Raymond held up his hand again.

"Alternatively, should he decide to stay, the decision just made will become null and void. Kelley will have full Mackey community rights at the end of the ceremony today, as do all the other boys on the line this year. If he is selected as a bottom in the voting, he will become a community bottom without any additional ownership obligations, even to Casey Harris. If he is not selected in the voting, Kelley walks away scott-free with no further obligations to anyone."

The crowd started yelling, "Stay! Stay! Stay! Stay!" until Raymond got control again. They remembered the scores announced before the intermission. If he stayed, Kelley was sure to be a full community bottom.

"So, Tanner and Jason," Raymond smiled broadly. "It's time! Please step up and do the right thing. Be ready to protect Kelley Tucker from the rest of the Choosing Ceremony by fucking his ass, if he wishes to leave. If he stays, you get any checkmarks he owes."

While the audience was screaming "Tanner" and "Jason," Raymond turned to Casey Harris and said,

"Casey, go and speak to Kelley and see what he wants to do. You have 3 minutes."

Casey made his way to Kelley. There were hoots coming from the kids in the stands, and Kelley and all the other boys bent over the benches were looking very uncomfortable. Casey was trying to control his anger. He never wanted to own Kelley's ass. Well, maybe he did... sometimes. But he never wanted to be part of these rules. And now he learned, not from Kelley, but from Mackeys, that he'd been out giving his ass to kids in Coolspring and lord knows where else. Then there was the devastating news about his favorite uncle Steven. He couldn't imagine that in a million years - Mr. Tucker and Uncle Steven.

"I guess you heard all that. I pitched the plan your dad had to get you out of here," he said, speaking slowly to not let Kelley hear the anger he was feeling. Not that he owed Kelley anything. "The Junior Council will accept it. You don't meet the Dawson Exclusion and should never have been put on the list, but you get two new co-owners."

Kelley had to think. He didn't want to be here. He didn't want to be a bottom. He didn't want any of this. All he wanted to do was destroy the Mackey. Put an end to these selection ceremonies forever. No kid should have to go through what he and the other kids bent over like him were going through.

"If I leave, there's going to be a lot of pissed off kids."

"Why do you even care? You're not one of them. You never were. I thought it was just you and me."

There was still more. Something inside of Casey that he wasn't saying. Kelley wanted to know what it was. But the noise from the background was getting louder, and angrier. This was taking too long.

Casey said, "I don't want to be part of this. I never did. If you leave, I'm going to give up my rights, and this time you're not going to change my mind."

He got up before Kelley could see the tears in his eyes or the anger on his face.

Kelley turned towards him. "Don't do it now. Wait until we can talk. Please. If I leave here, I'll be disgraced. I won't have any sway over anything. I have to stay. I have to show them I'm not afraid. I have to become a Mackey in order to beat them." He paused and took a deep breath. "Thanks for trying, Casey. I'm staying. I have to."

Casey walked away without saying another word.

Sheldon came back out front as Master of Ceremonies again and acknowledged the crowd's cheering for the ceremony to continue.

"What's your decision?" Sheldon asked in his showman's voice once again.

"I'm a Mackey and I'm staying," yelled Kelley as loud as he could from his naked and bent over position.

The crowd loved this answer and cheered wildly yet again.

"Let the voting continue," Sheldon announced.

Jason Mackey Jr. looked rather forlorn as he went back to the bleachers. He never got the fuck he'd been promised. Several boys kidded him on the way back to his seat. But his loss was their gain. Kelley was still in play as a full community bottom. The number of signatures on his back was obvious to everyone.

What nobody in the crowd noticed was the reaction of Tanner when Raymond said those fateful words,

"It's time! Please step up and do the right thing. Be ready to protect Kelley Tucker from the rest of the Choosing Ceremony by fucking his ass, if he wishes to leave. If he stays, you get any checkmarks he owes."

Tanner's jaw had dropped. He'd been told many times by his dad that someday someone would tell him to step up and do the right thing and it was up to him to protect a Tucker. A prophecy given to his father 27 years ago by his great Uncle Angus, the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son who, according to family tradition, had the Sight. His Dad was just a kid his age at the time, but he'd believed it all these years. Tanner was the middle son of Frankie Mackey – the first part of the prophecy. He'd be told to step up – the second part, and protect a Tucker – part three. It all fitted, just like his great Uncle Angus had said decades before. A chill ran down Tanner's spine. This was definitely creepy.

Providing protection with a fuck was no longer an option, so there was only one thing he could do. He hadn't given his brother the minus 10 points he had as a bottom. All morning, a voice in his head was saying "not yet, not yet." That was definitely even creepier.

"I'm very sorry, Cooper, I wanted to protect you, but now I can't. It's that thing Dad told us about. You know I have to do it!"

Instead of giving his brother the negative points to protect him as he intended, Tanner went over to Kelley Tucker and wrote,

"-10 TM (bottom)"

There was a collective "Err – What?" from the audience. Some cheered while others booed, but everyone was clearly stunned. The minus 10 points from Tanner would almost certainly be enough to take Kelley out of the top four places. No one was completely sure, of course, because Raymond's little group of election monitors had not released updated figures since the intermission. But the collective wave of disbelief at such a reversal of fortune continued to reverberate around Old Knot.

Sheldon's jaw dropped. His visions of Harvard or Yale had just flown out the window. If Kelley wasn't a bottom, Uncle Elijah's scheme would come to naught. Worst still, he'd promised Mackey protection to Kelley in school and would be expected to do just that. The kid had stayed for the selection process and with only 6 or 7 votes to go, no way would Kelley Tucker become one of this year's community bottoms. But by the end of the Ceremony, Kelley Tucker would be considered a full Mackey with all the rights and privileges that came with that.

"Fuck," Sheldon thought to himself, "Choosings never go as you expect."

There were very few votes outstanding by this stage and nothing happened for several minutes.

"Last votes please," called Sheldon, still stunned at what had happened.

The four brothers Michael (17), John (15), Dale (14) and Tom (13) came forward as a group. They were the sons of Bill Mackey from the very deep part of the tribe. They had no particular dispute with the Tuckers. Hal had saved their lands from the logging company many years before and they had never forgotten that. But all 4 had taken part in Choosing Ceremonies over the years, and Dale had had a particularly rough time of it 2 years ago. A hyperactive kid who had real issues keeping still for anything more than a few minutes, he had run afoul of the five-checkmark rule. Not only was he forced to suck that many cocks, but he was fucked five times as well.

As a group, they had always resented the fact that Randall's descendants had been skipped year after year because of their "so-called" religious views. But not this year, and the choice was obvious – Judge.

But they were not a mean or vindictive lot. Michael, acting as spokesman for the group, said to the audience as each brother signed,

"It's not about you, Judge. It's just time for someone in your line to be a bottom. And sorry! You're it!"

Matty Corbin

A short while later, Raymond got up from the vote counting table, walked over to Sheldon and whispered something into his ear.

"I`ve just been told that we are down to our last outstanding vote," announced Sheldon, "and Eli Corbin has it."

"Are you going to vote or not, Eli?" Sheldon asked. "I'm guessing it's a very close race. Maybe you have a chance of making history by breaking a tie."

"Yeah, give me a minute," Eli said. It was not an easy choice, and he'd remained indecisive all morning. He had been unsuccessful in rounding up any more than a few votes for Tolley.

"Eli, maybe you weren't paying attention at the start, but the Council has approved a special deal for the first and last voters. Chase Gavin had the first vote and did a fine job of filling Cal's mouth. Now we're at the last vote, yours. You get to fuck the boy you vote for. Think about it. Any boy you want to fuck right now?"

The crowd cheered loudly. This was an old, and seldom used rule at Choosing Ceremonies, but always wildly popular when invoked. The fucking would start early. Even before the final results of the selection were announced, so no one complained – well, except for the boy chosen, perhaps.

"Any boy?" Eli asked. He glanced at Kelley Tucker.

Sheldon stepped up close and said very softly, "Not Kelley and not Malcolm." Then in a louder voice, he said, "Yeah, Eli, that's right, any boy. All you have to do is choose one and vote for him."

That was a major game changer in Eli's mind. But who should he choose? Tolley? He knew that little fucker had told Mackey secrets. He just couldn't prove it. And Tolley wasn't going to be selected, he had too few votes. This might be the last chance he'd ever have to drive his hard dick into Tolley's glorious ass.

Or Dean? In a few days Dean would be thirteen. And Fairlane wouldn't mind. But Dean had a lot of votes. If Dean got selected, he'd get to fuck him anyway.

Or maybe Brad Jacobs. Now that was a boy who deserved to be fucked. He had some votes, but clearly not enough to be considered as a potential bottom. Yeah, maybe him.

Then he heard a sigh from his crap of a cousin Matty. Because he didn't live in Indian Spring and seldom came here (and probably never would again after what happened today), this was likely to be the only chance to break in that virgin ass. Yes, Matty.

"Got it," Eli said to Sheldon. He took the Vaseline and the pen and went over and signed the boy's back.

"What?" Matty asked. He turned around and saw his cousin. "No Eli, this is wrong, don't do it, please."

"Shut up or I'll put another check mark on your back myself. You know what happens if you have five of them?" Matty shook his head. "You won't like it, trust me." He moved in front of Matty and handed the Vaseline jar to his cousin. "You'd better put a bunch on my dick lcause in one minute, it's going to be in your ass."

For the first time all day, Matty had nothing to say. There was no way out of this. He wondered if it would hurt. He wondered what his dad was going to say. And most of all, he wondered if he had put enough of the Vaseline on Eli's dick.

Eli took hold of both hips and held the boy in place. But he paused a minute to take in the beauty of the round, soft, pale, smooth derriθre he was about to deflower. It was clearly the boy's best feature. Matty was not handsome in any traditional sense of that word from the front view. Certainly not ugly, but hardly noteworthy either - just average. But it was the ass where the beauty of this boy lay hidden. Not the typical flat, boring 12-year-old rear end some boys had. No, this one was unique and stood out from all the others he had seen at Choosing Ceremonies he'd attended over the past few years. Perfectly round and naturally parted almost all the way down to the still hidden treasure within. And the prominent tan line, both above and below, only emphasized the magnificence of this anal peach. A butt that looked like the circumference of half a bubble. Eli had no doubt that if he looked up the definition of bubble-butt in the dictionary, there would appear of photo of this magnificent form. That was the reason he chose the boy. Eli knew, with some certainty, he would be the only person to ever penetrate this premier example of boy magnificence. He guessed Matty was probably straight and such opportunities only came along once in a lifetime. "Carpe diem" (seize the day) came to mind – something his 7^th grade English teacher always said. But carpe puer (seize the boy) had a better ring to it just then.

The crowd yelled, "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Clapped, cheered and stamped their feet on the bleachers.

Matty gulped as Eli began his penetration. The boy could feel the large bulbous head of his cousin's 5.25-inch circumcised dick push its way painfully past his ass cheeks and enter his anal canal. Eli leaned forward and Matty pushed back hoping to expel this unwelcome visitor. Unfortunately, the younger boy's actions had the opposite of the intended effect. The muscles in Matty's ass first resisted, but then suddenly stretched and opened, allowing Eli to drive one, then two inches into him.

Matty grunted out loud and tried pushing his older cousin off his back. But Eli was stronger and held him firmly in place. He moaned loudly as another inch penetrated his previously virgin hole.

The crowd cheered wildly – these two were putting on an unexpectedly good show.

It hurt more than Matty could believe. Tears came to his eyes and he wanted to cry, but the overwhelming peer pressure of over 150 boys in the audience prevented it. Matty had carefully cultivated his reputation as a bully his entire life. He would not be a wimp, whatever they did to him. It went against his nature to show weakness in front of other kids. Still, on this occasion... No, he would remain strong.

Matty felt a now dull burning sensation as his cousin finally bottomed out in his ass. All 5-and-a-quarter inches were inside. He could feel Eli's pubic hair brushing against his butt. He took a deep breath as he felt winded.

But Eli's cock didn't remain stuffed into the hilt for long. His cousin suddenly pulled out three inches and almost immediately pushed back in two. The action was repeated, a second time, a third, and before long a steady in-out motion was established and quickly became routine. It was only then that Matty realized he was being fucked. Clearly being fucked by his 13-year-old cousin in front of over 150 witnesses around his age and there was nothing he could do to stop it. It wasn't unbearable, but still painful on the instrokes, and he groaned out loud. But this only appeared to make the crowd wilder. The steady clapping, the chant of "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" And the stamping feet in the bleachers seemed a never-ending crescendo.

Matty lost track of time as his cousin fucked away. Yes, fucked. He couldn't comprehend he was getting fucked. But he was. The audience knew it. Eli knew it. And Matty himself understood what was happening as the never ceasing in-out thrusting continued unabated.

But then stop it did. Eli let out one tremendous scream of triumph as his body suddenly tensed. The in-out motion restarted, more urgently now, and then Matty felt the bursts of hot cum being shot deep inside of him. The thrusting slowed and quickly stopped.

A large part of the audience had got to its feet and were screaming at the top of their voices. The older boys, also standing, were applauding enthusiastically at the demonstration they had just witnessed. The noise travelled for miles. A large group of fathers who had gathered at the Mackey-only tavern a mile away, raised their glasses. "The first of the bottoms has been broken in," said one, and they all took a drink to recognize and celebrate the event.

Eli pulled out with a loud plop that Matty guessed only he would hear through the excited screaming and yells of the spectators. The older boy raised both arms in the air as if lifting a trophy and the crowd cheered more.

Matty hung his head in shame. He had been fucked. Well and truly. Even now, he could feel the steady dribble of cum leaking from his much abused and now very sore hole and running down his legs. A crowd of boys gathered around Eli congratulating and saying what a great job he'd done. What astounded Matty, though, was when an even larger group of boys surrounded him, gave similar slaps on the back and told him how great he'd been. He then felt several towels dabbing carefully around his hole and cleaning up the leaking cum. And most bizarrely, he was raised up, still completely naked as he had spent the morning, onto the shoulders of two strong older boys and paraded around the central stage area at Old Knot to the unending cheers of the entire crowd. Poor Matty didn't know whether to laugh, cry, smile or scream back at all those boys who had witnessed his shame. But by the time the second circuit around the stage had been completed, he couldn't help but feel some pride. It had hurt, but he didn't cry. And the other 12-year-old boys were still lying across the benches looking up at him as best they could.

He would learn later that the shoulder lift of the first boy fucked on each Choosing Day was a tradition started some twenty years before. He was not that good at sport and the disturbing thought occurred to him – this might be the only time in his life it would ever happen. And it would take years for Matty to understand that the applause and cheering wasn't because everyone was celebrating his humiliation and pain, or even because his own cousin conquered his virginity. No, it was because the first boy fucked at a Choosing Ceremony initiated the continuation of a tradition that separated the Mackey from all the other families that had settled generations before in the Ohio Valley. Almost all the boys at the event understood that, if not also being equally pleased it wasn't them.

Breaking the tie between Bert and Dean

After Matty Corbin was put down, he was told to return to his bend-over place on the benches with the other 12-year-olds. He may have just felt he had gone through hell, but his day was far from over. He still had checkmarks to perform.

The boys at the voting table hadn't joined in the "first-fuck parade." They had been busy counting and double-checking the final scores now that all the votes were in. Raymond had hoped that Eli would vote for Dean, as that would have broken the tie created when Tanner gave Kelley the 10 protection points. But he could understand why Eli had decided on Matty. The boy did have a magnificent ass. If he hadn't lived out of town, was virtually unknown to everyone present, and didn't have that shitty personality, he would have received a load more votes. But that hardly mattered now. The deed was done and now there was a tie for fourth place which had to be broken.

Raymond stood up from the vote-counting table and went and had a word to Sheldon. They spoke for several minutes.

When the crowd had settled down sufficiently after the excitement of the last few minutes, Sheldon took center stage again.

"Well, my Mackey brothers, this is the point in the ceremony where I would normally announce the names of your new bottoms, but it seems we have a problem."

There were several boos, as some feared something might go wrong with the best part of the show. Sheldon held up his hand for silence.

"I have just been told by Raymond that we have a tie for fourth place, and that tie must be broken. The Council intends to remain neutral in determining which boy will occupy this important community role. We will follow a precedent set in 1973 and allow the two boys themselves to negotiate their fate. Then you, the audience, can make the final determination."

There was steady, but somewhat half-hearted applause from the audience this time. Very few had ever heard of a 1973 precedent, and had no idea what it involved.

"Let me explain the process. First, I ask our two tied candidates to rise from the bench and join me in here at center stage. Dean and Bert Mackey come forward, please."

Both boys reluctantly did so. They were still completely naked. Lying down and exhibiting your asshole to an audience of over 150 boys was bad enough. Now they had to stand in front of them.

"Hands by your sides," ordered Sheldon.

To even the least astute member of the audience, the difference in development of these two 12-year-olds was readily apparent. Dean had the all-boy masculine body and well-formed tight ass that wouldn't look out of place on a kid of 14 or even 15. His thick bush of black pubic air above the cock, some on the balls, and the first signs of a happy trail leading upwards only added to the mid-teen look. By contrast, Bert was a real prize in the looks department with longish fiery-red hair, piercing blue eyes, and a mass of freckles covering his entire face. But in terms of physical development, he looked more like ten than his actual age. No trace of any body hair below his head, other than some almost transparent downy fluff-hair along his arms.

Even Sheldon had to prevent himself doing a public double-take. They were both 12 years old, but in reality, almost a year apart. Clearly, that made a world of difference.

Still, he had a job to do. Turning away from the boys to the crowd, he announced,

"This will be a simple game to see which boy can accumulate the most points. That boy will be dropped into 5^th place and therefore will not become a Mackey community bottom. Of course, the boy with the fewest points will receive that great honor."

"Boys, are you ready?"

Both nodded reluctantly, and Sheldon continued.

"First, I will allow our contestants to select up to any four boys to fuck them. Right here, right now. Because this is a private arrangement, no age restrictions apply."

The previous subdued applause suddenly rose to wild adulation at this news. Cheers and stamping of feet from all quarters were accompanied by dozens in the crowd yelling, "Pick me, pick me."

Sheldon waited for the noise to die off before continuing.

"I will award 1 point each for their choices. Second, as I mentioned at the beginning today, I asked each boy on the line to write down the name of a kid he wanted no sexual contact with. If our candidates pick that named person as one of the boys selected to fuck him, he'll receive another point."

More ecstatic cheers came from the bleachers and the same yells of "Pick me, pick me."

Sheldon waited patiently for the noise to die off, knowing that the boys beside him were getting more and more worried.

"Finally, our two contestants can make deals with the boys they choose. Blowjobs, fucks and even outright ownership rights are all valid currency in these negotiations. Finally, I will ask you, the audience, to decide which contestant made the best arrangements. That's worth two points."

As I said, the boy with the most points will NOT be one of your bottoms this year. But please exercise care, Dean and Bert. Whether you win or lose, you will both be expected to live up to the last letter of every deal you make."

This time the cheers were much louder and lasted a lot longer. The audience wanted a show, and Sheldon was certainly giving them one.

"I will now give Dean and Bert one minute to work out their strategy for winning. They must do this themselves and cannot receive help from brothers or friends."

Bert couldn't believe this was happening to him. His first strategy was to do anything to keep from being made a bottom. He had heard that long ago, his father was the owner of Uncle Holden and one of the man's sons, only a year older than him, brought that up every time they were together. It was Daniel's name he had written on the paper back at the beginning. Choosing Daniel and giving him some kind of ownership would be the best choice he could make to win the contest, but perhaps the worst choice overall. Daniel would ensure his ass was full of cum every day. And every fuck would be done in public, too.

Then a radical alternative asserted itself. What if he just gave in? He'd be a community bottom. As much as he didn't want that, it was perhaps the safer bet. He'd been told at the sleepover about the rules that protected the bottoms from over-use. He knew these were strictly enforced and any abuse could be complained about to the Council. There could be an advantage if he went that route. But if he started negotiating private deals, not covered by community protections, who knew where that could end.

Dean's only thought was to ensure he was not made a community bottom. The last person he wanted fucking him was his older brother Fairlane. This was closely followed by his younger brother Hunter. Perhaps if he chose Hunter, Fairlane would respect the arrangement, as it would give his kid-brother some protection next year. Then again maybe a deal with Fairlane wouldn't be too bad. He needed all the points he could get, but didn't want to suffer too much. Then he had a brilliant idea. He knew who his first two choices would be. Then he'd have to make good deals. Better than anything Bert would do, and thus ensure he won.

Sheldon gave them their minute, knowing the choices they had to make would be excruciating. He separated the two boys so they couldn't hear the choices the other made. He went to Bert first.

"Okay, Bert, times up. Who are you going to invite to fuck you? Remember, you get one point each, plus another one if he's the one you did not want to fuck you."

In a high-pitched, squeaky voice, Bert said, "My 13-year-old brother Gerry."

Sheldon waited for the next name, but Bert didn't offer one.

"That's it?" Sheldon asked, confused. "You realize you could choose four boys."

"Yeah, I know. But just Gerry."

"You're sure? Just your brother?"

"Yeah, Sheldon, I'm sure. Just Gerry."

"Okay, then," Sheldon said, confused by Bert only picking one person. He went over to were Dean was waiting, noticing the worried look the kid had on his face. He asked him which boy or boys he had picked.

"Carter and Michael first, then Hunter, and finally, Fairlane," Dean said when asked. "That's five points. How many did Bert get?"

"You'll have to wait until all the decisions are in to find out what choices Bert made, but you're right, since you chose Fairlane, you'll get five points. Tell me about the deals you are going to offer."

Dean explained his ideas. Sheldon had to turn his head so the kid couldn't see him smile. He already knew the tie was over. But Dean was going to regret those deals for a long time to come.

Sheldon went back to Bert.

"What deals do you propose to make with your brother Gerry?" Sheldon asked. He wasn't sure if Bert was even going to offer a deal.

"Full ownership of my ass to Gerry for the time I'm a Community Bottom. And Gerry can use me without it counting against the maximum number of fucks I have to give per day, if I'm a bottom."

Sheldon finally understood Bert's strategy. He had put total trust in his older brother. Gerry would be able to control access to his ass. He'd still have to make Bert available to the community, but, as owner, he could pick and choose which boys got access and when. He knew Raymond didn't like these private ownership arrangements, but Sheldon guessed the brothers were close and Gerry would make Bert's time as a bottom as easy as he could within the rules. Raymond would probably agree in this case. But he made a mental note to tell Gerry what he could and couldn't do to help Bert.

Sheldon stepped to center stage and spoke to the audience.

"I apologize for the delay," announced Sheldon to the audience. However, I think you're going to agree it was worth it. I now have all I need to break the tie. Bert and Dean Mackey, face the audience."

He waited for the boys to do as he ordered.

"Dean, you first. Call upon those you hope will agree to fuck you. Ask them to stand, and tell them the deals you made."

Dean swallowed hard, hoping he'd gone far enough to win this contest and ensure he would not be made a bottom.

"Carter and Michael Mackey," he yelled out, trying to sound brave. He had picked these two deep Mackey because they were only 11-year-olds and would no doubt have tiny cocks. And better still, since the incidents at the bench in Tucker Wood between Sandy Jacobs and Tim Hardin, and the more recent "rematch," they had established quite a reputation in the Spring. Had they been adult, you could say they had dined out for months on that story. But they were only kids, and got no free lunch or dinners. Still they had happily described the two "grudge matches" in ever growing exaggerated and lurid detail to any Mackey who would listen. Dean hoped their fame and notoriety would make them a popular choice. But he was surprised to hear a large number of boos from the audience and wondered if maybe he'd made a mistake to pick these two eleven-year-olds instead of older boys.

The two youngsters were surprised. Michael was sitting with Carter and his brothe's Eddie (13) and Tom (10). They had never expected to be called upon at a Choosing. But they stood proudly, ignoring a few comments made by those around them about Dean `choosing babies'.

"You two, if you will fuck me, will become shared owners of my mouth. If I'm selected, you will own my mouth for the entire time I'm a Community Bottom. If I am not selected, you will own it for three months. Terms of ownership means that you can make use of my mouth when you want and can give others access up to 4 times a week."

The boos changed to a mixed assortment of quiet cheers.

"Hunter," Dean said next. His little brother stood.

"All I can offer you is protection for next year. I'm inviting you to fuck me, and since you signed my back, that will be another negative point for you. And next year, if I'm a bottom and you're on the list, I promise to give you my protection vote."

Again, a few cheers, but there were no boos this time.

"Fairlane," Dean called next. His older brother smiled as he stood.

"If you will fuck me..."

"Oh, you can count on that happening," Fairlane said, interrupting Dean. "I AM going to fuck you."

Laughter broke out all around Old Knot. By now every boy there knew Fairlane had been pushing hard for his brother to be chosen as one of the bottoms this year.

"Yeah, I expected that," Dean said. "Uh, okay, after you fuck me, you will own my ass. If I am made a Community Bottom, you will own it for my entire term, within the rules for maximum use and age. And you can decide public or private for any fucks you assign. If I am not made a bottom, you will still own my ass for the next three months. But you can only use it once per day yourself and make it available to the community another two times a day for that three months." There were wild cheers this time from all sections of the bleachers. But Dean wasn't done yet. His last idea would make anything his rival offered look cheap.

"In addition," he continued, "On New Year's Eve and New Year's Day this year, I grant you ownership of my ass. For those two holidays, you can use it twice each day for yourself and offer it to the community five additional times on each day."

This time, Dean knew he was going to win. The cheers were thunderous and lasted until Sheldon had to step up and quiet them down. Dean also knew that, in five and a half months' time, he was going to be the guest of honor at the worst New Year's Eve party he could ever imagine.

"Age rules still apply," Sheldon hurried to add.

"Okay," Sheldon said once he got the excited crowd quieted down somewhat. "Now it's Bert's turn. Bert, call those you want to invite and explain the deals you made as they stand."

Bert's voice was high, and with him facing the audience, everyone could see that he displayed no signs of puberty yet.

"Gerry," he said.

Gerry had expected it and stood. He wished he could go up on stage and stand in front of Bert to shield him from the gaze of the spectators.

"Gerry, I know I'm going to be made a bottom today. I give you full ownership of my ass for as long as my Community service time lasts. And you can use me without it counting against the maximum number per day, as established by Council rules."

There was a minimum of cheers, mostly from Gerald's grandkids.

"You don't know you'll be selected. It hasn't been decided yet," Gerry said. "Call the next person."

"There is no next person. Just you, and the deal I just made."

The audience suddenly went quiet. They realized that Bert wasn't fighting being made a bottom. Then people recalled the deals Dean had made and some of the older boys began laughing. Dean had been bluffed, like some rookie card player – sucker punched by a younger, but far smarter, boy. Soon the laughter spread as older siblings explained and before long the entire audience was laughing out loud. Bert would be a bottom, but with his brother and all community protections. Dean was effectively making himself a full access community bottom for the next three months, even though he wouldn't be selected. And all Fairlane's friends were already scheming how to wangle an invitation to the New Year party.

Sheldon stepped to the front and addressed the audience.

"I think it is clear that Dean has the most votes and will not be made a bottom. However, I still need you to determine which boy gets the 2 points for best deal. Is it Bert?"

A light applause, again, mostly from his family and first cousins.

"Or Dean?"

This time there was deafening applause.

"By a score of seven to one, Dean wins and Bert is the fourth of your new Community Bottoms for 1995. I will announce the names of the other three winners shortly. Raymond, Sandy and Hinton are just rechecking their figures now."

To be continued...