The Travis Theory Original Posted Sept 5 2010 By Remmy Meggs
This is a fictional story of boys and teens growing up and as such, is a work of total fiction. Any resemblance to real people, dead or alive, is purely coincidental. By reading this story, you agree that you are at or above legal age in your location, and you are not breaking the laws of your country. I own all copyrights to this/ these files or stories and they may not be posted on USENET or any other site without my express permission.
If the laws in your country make it illegal to or read fantasy stories about minors, or if you are under of age of eighteen or have someone in your presence under the age of eighteen, you must leave this site immediately. This site may cover gay issues, extreme violence and sexual situations.
Copyright © 2012 Remmy Meggs I reserve all rights. You may not upload this file to any site or reprint it in any media format.
For those that are interested, I write Action/Adventure stories with a strong boy hero growing up in different situations. Since I base my writing on the future or history as I know it, then as far as the story goes, it is indisputable. Remember my stories are in the future, or they fall into the historical fantasy genres.
The Travis Theory By Remmy Meggs
CH22
Although I spent time with Declan, Joey, Chase, and Greyson, and we had good times, none of us saw the others. Most would have extended stays in the hospital, while these guys had been moved to tent-city and were living well there. There were only ten thousand soldiers to watch and care for the Phoenix Metro area, which included Mesa, Tempe and a score of other cities. The police had retreated to the military bases where they were still policemen, but with automatic weapons when they did leave the airbase.
One day Joey and I counted things. There were twelve tanks, thirty-six if you included the ones roaming the streets on patrols. Guessing, we believed that there were over ten thousand men on the base. We knew of twenty-four attack helicopters, about twenty troop ships, hundreds of trucks and armored cars.
"What are they doing?" Joey asked.
"I think they are getting ready for a war. They have the city protected. They have even been talking about families moving back into pre-selected areas that they can protect." I answered.
"They have been at war for a few months now. I wonder how many other army and air bases there are. What about the ships? I mean the Navy?" He asked.
"I think the flu got most of them Joey, it probably made it impossible to get back. I would guess that they are just floating along in the water somewhere. Some will live I suppose if they ever reach land, but I doubt there is enough crew to bring those big ships into dock."
A Lieutenant came walking up to us, "You boys need to get to the center of camp. They are doing roll call and trying to get the families together."
I stood up and the Lieutenant saw my badge, "Sorry, I thought you were with the others."
"What is going on?" I asked as Joey stood up.
"They are going to start moving families back to safe areas, but with so many parents gone, we have to get families to take in other kids. At that point, we will move them into homes, and give the families things they can manage to get back into a decent life. We hope at least."
That was exciting news. The three of us walked to the center of camp. There were several doctors there, including my dad and the commander of the base. The people that lived in the tent-city had their brains together even though they seemed lifeless. The commander tried to explain that the government was working as fast as possible to get families together. Some parents would have to take friends of their children in as their own. They would have elections, at first for neighborhoods, then a complete subdivision and then cities. The post office would start working and others would be taught to keep the electric and other utilities going.
Although all the dead had been removed from the metro area the military had only begun to secure areas for habitation. There were still looters and cannibals on the loose that would be taken down as soon as possible.
He introduced my dad as the Surgeon General, even though he only had the rank of Colonel, which I thought was strange. Dad stepped up to the podium. "We want this to be as easy as possible on everyone. As many of you realize, there are about ten children for every adult, at times this has been quite overwhelming. Over the next few weeks, we will be putting these children with families that can accept them. However I want to make it clear, we do not have a sociology or child welfare system. So if a child is reported as being abused, by his or her parents or siblings, the court will be swift. These children are our future, and not one adult will get away with abusing a child. Bullies, whether children or adults will be pulled out of families immediately and dealt with harshly, for the last three months we have been doing just that."
"We do not expect everyone to get along; however we do expect a family to admit that and let us help place a child elsewhere. There is no reason for making a bad situation worse. If you have at least one parent, and you have friends here, we would like to see you work together for that parent to adopt or think about adopting those friends. For now, take those children in and let's move you out of here. Food will be provided for each child just as we have done here at the base."
"We will start with adult last names beginning with A through C. It will be up to you to gather the children you can over the next week. Once it is approved, we will start moving the new families to the `Moon One' section of the base. We hope to have enough teachers to start school by next season." Dad stopped and gave the podium over to Major Davies, who gave the particulars.
I smiled at dad. It was my idea to keep friends together, and he agreed. He came over and hugged me and then looked at Declan, "You better gather up the boys, and get with your mother. You have a lot of things to do in the next week."
Declan hugged me and ran off to find his mom. I knew she would take as many as she could. She was just that way. I wiped my tears, "Thank you daddy."
He looked at me, "You are not going to ask about Travis?"
"No sir, he has made it clear that he wants nothing to do with either of us. Mac is old enough now and has a house that they can live in." I said.
He nodded and walked me back to Headquarters Company where his office was at. He sat me down in front of his desk, "Most of the troops will be leaving for Los Angeles next week." He said out of the clear blue. I nodded. He looked at me funny, "Do you know why?"
"They are going to take back the city from the hoods." I answered.
He sighed, "We will not be going. This is where they will bring the wounded, and I will be needed here."
"Are we ever going to own a real house again like we used to?" I asked.
He ignored the question and looked at me with a grimace. "I have to ask you questions that only you can tell me Stevie. If you didn't notice, this is the first time in the last two-hundred years there have been a lack of girls. Before Black Sunday, there were ten girls for each boy. Many of them practiced lesbianism since there were not enough men to go around. Do you know what lesbianism is?" I just sat there like an idiot, "I didn't think you did. Now there is only one girl for every five boys. For some reason the flu hit the women and girls the hardest, from babies to even your grandparents. We are still trying to find out why."
That is a fact that everyone was aware of, even though we didn't know the exact numbers, I fidgeted in my seat. He bit his lip and continued, "Are you or any of your friends producing sperm yet?"
I wasn't sure what he meant, but I knew something about it, "Joey had talked about shooting daddy before the flu, but none of the others have said anything. What is wrong?" I asked.
Then it was my dad that was fidgeting and he looked up at me with dreadfully pouting eyes, "We think the flu has done something unimaginable to the boys."
I waited for him to continue, "We think the older boys have been sterilized, like Mac and many of the others, including the adults."
I had no idea what all this sex talk had to do with me, "So?"
He leaned forward, "We are going to need to know when the eleven to thirteen year olds start having orgasms that produce sperm."
I shifted uncomfortably, "What does that have to do with me?"
"When they do we have to test the sperm for live active sperm Stevie. If we cannot procreate, then humanity is near its end." He answered searching my face.
"You want me to go around to every boy and ask them to orgasm in front of me and have me catch it?" I asked dumbfounded, "What if it lands on my belly button and I get pregnant? Then what are you and everyone going to say. That I am a bad boy?"
Dad sat back in his chair and studied me, "You have no idea how it works do you?"
I shrugged, "Well I have never seen a pregnant boy, but under the circumstances maybe it is possible now."
"Who told you if sperm got on your belly button you could get pregnant?" He asked.
"Travis told us all that. Although no one actually believes him, it really is the only thing that makes sense." I answered.
Dad rubbed his chin, "Okay forget what I have just said. Don't tell any of the other boys, because it will spread like wildfire in tent city. Instead, give me time to figure this out." I shrugged and he got up and we went to eat.
Maybe my dad has lost it, and then again, maybe it was true. I could not believe he came to me wanting me to catch what shot out of a guy's wiener when they were old enough. That was disgusting, even though he did not say it like that; it is what went through my mind. My mind imagined a circle jerk, with me, sitting there with little glasses trying to catch anything that came out of them. Then there were hundreds of boys under thirteen. I tried not to giggle at the table but could not help myself. From what I had heard the older boys say, I would have all that stuff all over me instead of in the cup. Then I would get pregnant and everyone would laugh at me and call me bad names.
Then there was Travis. He finally agreed to eat and Mac got on base housing. It was smaller than ours was but they still had two bedrooms. Travis did not want to see me, so I stayed away. I kept up my Karate, maybe it was more to spite him more than anything, but I did it with a fury I had never done before.
That next week helicopters came. They picked up troops, big ones picked up tanks and other vehicles. Within two days, the airbase seemed almost deserted. The troops seemed to be ready even though many would not come back at all. No one knew when they would actually attack Los Angeles, but most were betting all the major cities were going to be hit at the same time from posts all over the country. One thing was for certain, they would be going in to kill anyone that raised a rifle. Unlike movies I had seen, by talking to a lot of the men, it was going to be a bloodbath on both sides. They were not to take prisoners. They were to save the population the best, and fastest they could.
The hospital was cleared of minor cases and those people were put into tent-city. Trucks brought medicines and equipment in, including food for everyone. High-ranking nurses started giving sex education lessons, not just to us little ones, even to the teenagers. After what dad said, I thought maybe it was a different kind of sex education for each group.
There we learned about girls and making babies. Declan and Joey whispered to me, "Travis is dead meat for telling us all that." I had to agree with them, Travis was so convincing he had to all look like fools. Especially Joey, who stood up and told everyone how babies were made, we thought the teacher was going to die laughing. So combined with Joey's embarrassment and Travis' story they were ready to mess with Travis big time.
But we did learn and we learned a lot more than the Catholic school would have ever told us. We learned about boy girl sex, and boy boy sex, we learned about the clear stuff that came out of Joey sometimes and sperm. When the teacher was in the middle of the weeklong course (2 hours a day) he asked how many made the pre-cum and how many made sperms.
Joey of course raised his hand as well as eight other boys. They all puffed up like big shots, until the nurse told them how great that was, and they were going to test their sperm right in the classroom! We all giggled, while those that made sperm were dying of embarrassment. Lucky for them the teacher gave them each a vial and put each one's name on it and had them take it to the bathroom and told them to have fun. There was a sigh of relief. One by one, the boys came back in, and the nurse took the vials from them. He took a little from each vial and put like a needle tip worth of red dye on each slide. Then he covered the slide with another piece of glass. He turned on the microscope and a picture the size of the wall came on. He adjusted the microscope and smiled, "Now all of these little wiggling things that look like tadpoles are sperm. They love to get out and search for eggs. The problem is that most of the time they don't find any eggs because we play with ourselves and they get tired and wore out and die. But sometimes a lucky one will find itself inside a girl and find one of those girl eggs and presto a baby is made. Joey giggled, "That's why Mac calls us squirts all the time."
The class broke out laughing. So did the teacher who finally said, "And he would be right. At one time we were all little squirts. Then he got to Joeys. He looked a few minutes and grinned, "Now this one just has pre cum in it. This boy does not make sperm yet, but he will soon, but you can bet he is having a good time trying."
Joey turned red and so did Declan, which was sort of a giveaway since Declan didn't go with the other boys. Four of the oldest boys that were fourteen and fifteen didn't have sperm either, at least live ones. To that, the teacher grinned, "And these four are not having enough fun!"
The class roared and the teacher continued, "Yes, you have to play with them a lot to make nice healthy swimmers."
I swallowed hard. I knew what it was all about now. They were finding out who could make babies and who could not, I knew this was dad's idea. If each classroom was doing the same thing, by the end of the week they would know the names of every boy old enough to make live sperm. Now I had to find out what dad was going to do with that information, somehow.
What it looked like to me is that the ones that didn't do anything before the flu had live sperm and the older ones did not. Dad would have to find out why as well as make a list. Those boys would probably have more tests, again ones that they didn't realize they were taking.
Friday came and we had learned all the basics of sex, not first hand, but from books. I shared my thoughts and we all giggled as we left the school. Travis was standing outside with some kids his age. They too had gone to the sex-ed class, but in a different room.
I ignored him and kept walking home. Declan and Joey went over to talk to him, probably about his false teachings. I wanted to talk to him too, but being hated as much as I was, I was not going to get my feelings hurt worse than they were already.
I was not the only boy that was the son of a soldier. There were several and we hung out together too. Most of them did not go into tent-city, they really didn't know anyone there. They were raised in the service and really had no outside contact, except with each other. They too had lost friends, siblings, and parents. There was not a day that went by without hundreds of people crying. It was not for lack of food, or clothes, or even friends, they cried for the past and those they loved. Together three of us walked to the commissary where I looked for military shorts. They were easy to find and they had my size. The shorts had pockets all over. They were a little dated, from forty years ago at least, but it was after all we are talking about the military. I bought a matching shirt with pockets, and for signing a paper, they would have my name printed up on a tag to put above the pocket, as real soldiers had. I had them put Stevie, and the Korean guy made it in just a few minutes. Then he sewed it on my shirt.
There was no money, the personal cards for purchases died with the flu. Now there was credit. I you worked you had a tag on, or if your parents worked. A kid only had so much in spending credits, and I have no idea what parents had, but most of the kids on the base just shrugged. No one knew anything. The people in tent city did not have tags as yet, but jobs had to be assigned to the capabilities of the adults. It seemed pretty fair. There was a test, and based on the test and previous employment they were given a job they could deal with.
Then they would get a tag, along with their kids and be shipped out nice new home that no one had actually died in. There they were protected by guards at the gates. The people could go to work by car or bus, but the military preferred the buses, they did not want people being killed going back and forth. Keep in mind the only working petrol stations at that point were at the military bases, and there was no word on when what was now called "Transport Locations" would begin.
Declan's mom took in Joey and Chase, and that week they got their tags. She would be an electrical plant manager on the first shift so she could be home at night with the boys. They came running up to me, outside tent-city to tell me the news and show me their tags. They were free now, and they were a family back together. Instead of being happy, I started crying for my loss and we hugged many times before they got on the bus with their mom. I waved as they left and went back to our house and hid in my room and cried myself to sleep.
They were still on the base but far away so, for another two weeks, I felt very alone. The battles in Los Angeles raged on, with airplanes and helicopters bringing in wounded and the dead. Although most of us didn't see the soldiers, it had to be a bloodbath inside the hospital. Dad was worn out completely, and only slept a couple of hours a day for those weeks. He, as well as the other two doctors, were busy trying to keep the soldiers alive.
Then the news came that the battle for Los Angeles had been won. There would still be pockets of resistance and murdering scum to get rid of, but the major battle for the city was over. In a few weeks, the survivors would start on the road to recovery. The estimations were not that great however. With over sixteen million people in the Los Angeles metro area, less than 200,000 were expected to be alive. Dad had hoped for ten times that amount, but the field officers reports had not been good.
Starvation and lack of water killed as many as the flu did, and on top of that, the rotting bodies caused more diseases, which were something dad and others didn't think about, or at least talked about. Now it was in plain sight, disease was all over the larger cities of every country, and it was getting worse by the minute. The base had been moved to Vandenberg air force base where the Air force, Marines, and Army locked in place. Three hospitals had been setup; the one at Vandenberg was for the ones that were physically safe, while the other two hospitals were for those with diseases that could be contagious.
It would take them weeks to get the ports open for shipping again. Their plan was to open those ports and try to get as many war ships as possible and the men on them, back safely.
Cell phones still did not work, but land phones did, even though they were rare. It was if phone services had deteriorated to those of pre-rock music. The satellites were still in the sky waiting for commands, but all space industries had stopped on Black Sunday. Phones, intelligent television nationwide were gone and television and radios that were working were operated by the military and only putting out public service announcements, which generally told me more than my own dad told me. Dad said we were lucky to even have that much. He felt the road to recovery was going rather quickly, considering the circumstances, but the death toll was rising higher than he ever imagined. There were no lack of jobs, but finding the people to work those jobs was an insurmountable task.
Each day I watched the soldiers being brought in by helicopter or jets. Every day I watched the trucks bring in dead bodies to burn and each day I saw and even helped survivors being brought in. Some of the other boys and girls that were "military brats" helped as well. We would either take names, or take them to the clothing center, and sometimes we took them to eat. Others were asked to help in tent-city but the volunteers were slow to come, the kids were afraid of the big guys in tent-city unless they had an armed escort.
The military had their place. These new people had no idea how hard it would be, but to most, they felt they had been saved. The soldiers knew of the hardships these people would face, and like my own father, had become strict and edgy, they did not treat the survivors like slaves, or badly, but their commands were to be carried out immediately, and to the letter. A boy or girl may get smacked to the ground, or a man or woman may get hit with a rifle butt, but then again each time a soldier would apologize and tell the ones hurting they need to straighten up and get with the program, "This is a new life, and takes a new breed to make it work." I heard repeated in many different ways.
As it did Travis, they settled down at least some. Then they were taken either to the hospital for recovery or straight to tent-city. If they went to tent-city that is where we kids took over, making sure, they had bedding and clothes. A soldier would guide the group to where they would be staying. One of us would tell them what to expect and how soon to expect it.
On this particular day, I was going to lead the hospital group. I took the clipboard and led the way. Over all the entire group was excited, but several boys seemed lost. Their mother or father would ask me about them. I answered honestly, "It seems we are getting more boys in a daze and mumbling to themselves lately. But daddy says they are working with them. They will be okay." I reassured them. It was true many more boys were coming in glazed as if they were in shock, but why no one knew. They reminded me of a cross between Justin and Mattie? Their minds just seemed to have vanished.
Then I heard a voice behind me, it was very weak, "Stevie is that you?"
Smiling I turned around expecting to see someone from the base, but no one was behind us. Then I heard it again, "Is it really you?"
I stopped and looked around the group. It sounded like a boy's voice but it could have been a girl speaking. Not one face was looking up. They were either staring off in space or looking at the ground. "Yes, I am Steve."
"I miss you." The voice said.
I heard where the sound came from and walked over to a skeleton of a boy. He was about an inch taller than me and I raised his chin up so I could see his face. "Oh my gosh." I whispered to no one. Then I grabbed him and held him tight while a few of the others looked on. One of the corporals saw us standing still and came over, "Stevie everything alright here?"
I would not let go of Benito, but I answered, "It's just fine sir, we will be moving along in a minute."
He smiled and tipped his hat, and then he walked away. "Benito you are alright now, I will take care of you."
He held me tight, "No, I am dying. I can feel my body changing."
"We have doctors here, and dad is here. I will have him see you right away. Let's get you inside and get you a shower, some clothes, and some food." I took his hand and led him the rest of the way. Orderlies waited for everyone and took charge of Benito and the rest of the boys. A female nurse came out and helped the girls. A sergeant took care of the men, and married couples.
I took Benito to his room last, "Get undressed and let's get you in the shower." I said putting clean clothes on the bed.
It looked at me in a way now one looked at me before. I could not explain,
"I do not want you to see me naked."
I shrugged, "Okay." I said leaving the room, "I'll be right outside the door." I did not think him wanting to be alone after all that time was unusual. I waited patiently outside the door.
A few minutes later I heard him call for me. I went in and he was on the bed with his shorts on. He wanted to know what had happened. He truly was a walking skeleton, and before I started, I got a peach for him to eat. He ate it slowly while I talked about the events I knew about. Then I asked him about his story.
We were both crying already, but he went as best he could. "What you call
Black Sunday missed us. Mom and dad couldn't go to work, and we weren't allowed to leave the house, not even to go outside and play. You remember my big brother Taddeo? He got in a fight with my dad and ran away." Benito shrugged as he wiped his eyes. "I don't know what happened to him. I do know that mom and dad and I got really sick the day the electric went off."
He grabbed me and hugged me tight, "I don't remember anything after that Stevie! I don't even know if you are real!" We bawled together, for his parents and for my mother, for the nightmare we were all experiencing.
He fell sound asleep and then I went to the bathroom and washed my face, and then left the room. I stopped at Declan's room and made a note to ask dad to put them in the same room. Then as I turned the corner, I saw the `No Admittance' sign in front of a hallway. I had not noticed that before, and I had no real reason to go down that hallway, but something made me stay looking down the hall. I could hear the voices of boys, a couple of men, doctors, by how they were talking. I heard some whimpering and whining.
As I walked away, I kept looking behind me toward the hallway. Then, not paying attention, I ran into dad. "Hey puppy, what are you doing out this late?" He asked picking me up, "I was just on my way home."
"I was wondering about Travis. I found Benito today. I think he will be okay. I went to talk to Greyson again and they said you moved him once more. I think Greyson and Benito should be in the same room or next to each other at least." I explained.
He carried me outside patting my back lightly, "We will see, son. I can't make any promises until Benito has gone through physicals." He stopped and hugged me tightly, "Have you seen Travis?"
I leaned back in his arms, "Has he asked about me?"
"I haven't seen him. I just thought the two of you maybe have made up by now." As he walked, he kept talking, "Sometimes when both people think they are right, they wait until the other apologizes."
He could not see my face but I frowned, "I don't think I was right daddy. I was totally wrong; not for trying to help but for how I did it."
"Yes and so was I, but these are trying times, and he was going off the deep end Stevie. What would you say to him if he gave you the chance?"
"Dad that's kind of personal." I giggled.
"Well no not really, I am the only one you have to talk to about such things." He laughed. I hit his arm and he laughed more, "Now seriously, what would you tell him? Here we are, I'm going to set you down." He said when he stopped walking.
I looked up at him, "I would say I am sorry. I would say Travis I love you and I can't live without you and you are my best friend in the world and you can't be mad at me forever because I know you feel the same way."
Dad smiled, grabbed my shoulders, and turned me around. Travis was standing there and Mac was setting ten feet behind him on a chair. Travis was biting his lip. He looked up at dad and then he looked back at me, "You should have called before you came over."
"There are no phones to call you on." I answered.
He gave me that I do not believe this smile "Then you could have yelled really loud so I could prepare what I was going to say." He looked at dad again, "Why did you do this?"
"Because, you both need each other." Dad answered.
"Maybe, maybe not, I am well now, I am not trying to hurt myself or anyone else. I haven't asked for anything I haven't been yelling and fussing? What is that word everyone says I used to do?"
"Manipulating." Mac called out.
"I have don't that either. Now you're here in front of me apologizing for trying to save me." Travis rolled his eyes, "Just admit it, you love me. It will save a lot of grief."
Mac yelled out, "Don't push it squirt!"
I frowned, "I do love you I just said that."
"No you said that, thinking you were talking to your daddy! Say it and look at me!" He grumbled.
"But I just said that! Never mind. I love you Travis." He was getting me upset.
"Just so you know that day, I didn't beat you up only because I love you. And just so you know I have been just fine without you." He began. Mac started laughing in the background. Travis fumed and turned on him, "That is enough! I can make your sex life hell with all those girls and guys you perv!"
Travis turned back to me, trying to regain his composure, "So if you want to hang out sometimes, I suppose it would be alright, just as long as you are nice and let me know in advance."
My eyes were watering, I was not ready for this in any daydreams that I had almost every day. I shrugged, "It's okay Travis. Sorry we bothered you." I turned back to dad. He had left me there. Tears were pouring down my face and I was not going to give Travis a bit of triumph by seeing me like that. I just walked away as cool as a twelve year old who lost his best friend could, not very well.
The gravel crunched under my shoes, my tears fell down my open shirt onto my chest. Was he just being spiteful? Did he really hate me? Or maybe he was just trying to hurt me as bad as I had hurt him. I was far enough away where it would not look silly if I started running home.
Before I had a chance to run, Travis grabbed my arm and spun me around. He wrapped around me tight, "I am sorry! I love you too! Don't ever leave me again." He pulled me to him and wrapped around my neck. He was bawling so much he could not have even noticed my tears, but he would have felt my shaking body riveted by weeks without someone to hold. "I just can't take anymore of being away from you the last few months was terrible and I need you so much!"
I held him close. I did not want to let him go. Several people walked nearby and saw us. I leaned over and kissed him because not only did I want to show my love, but also so he knew I did it in front of others. I used my shirttail to wipe our eyes. If I would have been strong enough I would have lifted him up and swung him around, but a ninety-pound bag of potatoes was hard to pick up in the first place.
Mac walked over to us, "It's late so you guys go in the house. I'll tell your father you guys need time to talk and you will be spending the night."
We woke the next morning with sirens blaring, gunships in the air, ambulances flying out of the compound, following anti-personnel carriers and the UH-80Q Black Hawk troop transports above them. Quickly they left the area. Most of the base went outside their homes to see what was going on outside. There was nothing really to see, so Travis and I went back inside and dressed. Mac had already left so we went to the mess hall for breakfast.
It was a pretty good breakfast. He had orange juice, pancakes, syrup, and hash browns. The rest was uneventful, until we got back to the house, undressed, and showered. Then the fun that I missed started!
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