Elios

ELIOS

CHAPTER 6

SURVIVAL INSTINCTS

BY ARTHUR

Artcart65@vodafone.co.nz

The next morning the boys awoke to the first blush of dawn showing in the sky and the soft swishing sound of the gentle waves lapping at the shore, the three heads poked out of the top of their warm and comfortable sleeping bag and sniffed the freshness of the salty air, a slight dampness from the morning dew had settled on the outside of their sleeping bag and the light chill made all three shiver slightly and wriggle closer to each other to try and keep the body warmth a little longer.

It took them a little while to orient themselves and then ready everything for their next move, after their meal they rechecked their quads and supplies and after eating, were ready to move out on another search towards the far end of the shore where they could see in the distance the face of a cliff, had they been walking it would have taken them more than a dei to make it but on the quads and at a leisurely pace they were close well before high sun.

The boys had been looking out to sea most of the time they had been travelling and the number of broken cave systems buried in the water surprised them although, most were crumbling and showed no signs of the gles that they had been used to seeing in the land based caves, these were definitely ancient cave systems but why they would build them out in the Oshun was a mystery to the boys.

Their concentration was so riveted on the Oshun that they almost missed the movement of dark spots at the top of the distant sand hills and it was only at the last minute that Elvan saw the movement out of the corner of his eye, he quickly pushed the button that made the quad beep to call attention of his friends, as they turned to him he pointed to the hill and shouted out loud so he could be heard above the noise of the quad.

The boys stopped and looked ahead at the line of Renegs on the hill top, they had also stopped and were looking down at the three boys on their strange artifacts, there were over ten of the Renegs and the boys were not about to try to challenge them here in the open, with a shout, Elios turned his quad and took off in the opposite direction from the mounted men on the hill top, the other two boys were quickly behind him.

The sound of the quads drowned out the shouts and yells of the Renegs as they urged their Haws forward in an attempt to catch the fleeing boys, Elam took the second place and Elvan the rear as the boys pressed down on the speed button under their thumbs, the Renegs were at full gallop as the descended from the sand hill after the fleeing boys, their yells and shouts echoed down the shore as they tried to close in on their escaping prizes.

Elios, being lighter than the other boys was slowly pulling ahead but he could also just hear the beat of the chasing hooves as the Renegs did their best to catch up, they all kept their eyes on the sand in front of them, until, Elvan felt a hot burning sensation on his thigh and the distinct sound of metal hitting metal, Elvan looked down as he raced across the sand, on the top of his thigh was a deep cut that was bleeding but in front of that was the back half of a crossbow bolt sticking out of his fuel tank and the cold wetness of the fuel spilling out over his injured leg.

Just as Elvan looked up to call out to his disappearing friends, his quad hit a bump in the sand and at the speed he was travelling he was elected high into the air and came smacking down hard on the sandy shore, as he landed his instinct was to curl up into a ball and roll to avoid breaking anything, to the side his quad spun into the air as well and, as the fuel sprayed from the ruptured tank there was a flash and a deep boom sound as it caught fire and exploded in a ball of fire.

Elvan rolled to his feet and reached for his Beretta as he settled onto one knee to steady his shaking hands, the shock of the sudden tumble had not had time to take any effect on his nervous system as yet but the fast approaching Renegs were not going to give him a chance to run, far ahead Elios and Elam heard the sound of the explosion and slowed enough to turn around just in time to see the Renegs galloping down on the lone figure kneeling in the sand.

Elvan watched the approaching danger and, just as they had practised at the bunker, he began to follow the fig pictures, `pull back slide, safety off, hold with both hands firmly, squeeze gently and slowly' The loud bang would have startled Elvan had they not had the practise, his fist shot missed the approaching group but settled his nerves, with slow deliberate actions he continued to fire off his shots until the Beretta clicked empty, he had hit two Haws which had thrown their riders, one of which didn't move any more and the other was struggling to stand, he also hit two of the Renegs, one falling over the side of his Haws and the other grasping his stomach.

Elvan reached for another `mag' but before his fingers could release the button on his webbing, he felt a stunning blow to the side of his head and all he could see was the sand coming up at his face before he blacked out and lay still. Elios and Elam were in the process of turning around the quads when the first bangs of Elvan's Berretta were heard above the noise, they watched in fear and fascination as they saw two Haws stumble and their riders fall badly to the sand followed by one more Reneg and then another wobbling on his Haws.

What upset the two young boys the most was the sight of Elvan falling under the blow of a big Reneg as he swung a blunt weapon at the smaller boys head, Elvan collapsed and the sight brought a new fear to the remaining boys, should they go and try to help him or try to escape before they were all caught, the confusion from the sudden and deadly attack made it difficult to make a decision.

Finally Elios called Elam over as the Renegs had stopped and circled around Elvan's limp body.

"We have to save him; we can't leave him for them to kill."

"I know but what can we do, there's got to be more than ten of them and only two of us?"

"Let's get up into the sand hill away from their sight and then we can plan."

"Ok."

The boys turned their quads around and raced further down the shore before they turned up into the hills to hide and plan. As they rode over the hill and out of sight of the group on the shore, the first tears began to appear, both boys sucked in big gasps of air to calm themselves, they needed to be calm and concentrate on the task ahead, they both knew that Elvan was in grave danger and to break down now would not help him.

"We've got to get him free, they're going to rape him and kill him or take him for a slave, we can't let that happen." Started Elios.

"I know, but what can we do, there's only the two of us, Elios?"

"We've got those `rifles' we can find a place and try to get as many as we can and hope the run away so we can get Elvan."

"Do you think it could work?"

"Yes, they only have crossbows and have to get close before they are any good, we can stay well back and if they come after us we can jump on the quads again and escape then turn back and do the same again, their Haws will be slow going up the hills so all we have to do is find a place where we are above them and then move before they can catch us again."

"How are we going to do it?"

"Let's fill up the quads and check the rifles' put the small red lights on the rifles' " the boys had discovered during their long practices, that the red light under their rifles' made it easier to hit the targets'. "It'll make it easier to hit what we are looking at. We'll go along here behind the hill until we're close to where they are, if we keep low we can sneak up to the top of the hill and try from there, we will have to leave the quads running in case we have to make a run for it."

Elam nodded his head in agreement of Elios plan and turned to get his quad and `rifle' ready as Elios did the same, as they worked away the heard the first high pitched cry from along the shore, it was made faint by the distance and height of the sand hills but they knew what it meant to their friend Elvan.

While he worked on his gear, Elios mind worked out their problem, they had to find more boys to live with them and train, with just three of them they were open to attack from bigger numbers, that would be their next search, to find more boys to come with them to `Bunker #42'.

At last the two boys were as ready as they could be and so, with their quads moving slowly to keep the noise down, they made their way along the base of the hill until they thought they were close to where the Renegs were holding Elvan. Both boys crawled carefully to the top of the hill and with slow deliberate movements slowly poked their heads above the sand hill, below them the sight nearly made them jump up and run down to help Elvan.

The group of Renegs had elvan down on the sand, even from the distant vantage point the boys could see he had been badly beaten and was now the object of multiple rape, worse than that the Renegs had made him lay on his back and two of them were holding his legs up while a third was pounding into him with savagery, this position was the worst one that a boy could be in, when boys played their games it was always agreed that they were boys and would never have sex in the same position that a breeder is put, that was not only a disgrace but was the worst insult that could be given to any boy, the Renegs were delighting in the total degradation of their captive as Elvan's cries and screams went unheard by his attackers.

Elios looked at Elam with a stoniness in his eyes that boded hate and destruction to the gang below them, the boys slowly eased their rifles' over the lip of the hill making sure not to send any loose sand down the hill to warn the Renegs, switching on the red light under the rifle' they took their first aim at the group, Elios picked the biggest man as it was more likely to be the leader, while Elam took aim at the man on top of Elvan.

"Ready?" Whispered Elios.

"Yes."

The resounding crack of the two shots could be heard along the length of the shore as the two boys pulled the triggers, the large man that Elios could see through the eye piece of the `scope' suddenly took a step back and clutched his chest with both hands, he looked down and saw the blood seeping between his fingers and then his eyes rolled up into his head as his knees buckled under him, the rapist had no such chance as Elam's shot took him in the centre of the back and exploded out through his chest to spray Elvan with his blood, this Reneg had only time to mutter something under his breath and then rolled over sideways, pulling out of Elvan at the same time.

The remaining Reneg stood rooted to the spot at the sharp unknown sound, the Haws however, knew danger when they heard it and all of them began to bolt for safety up among the hills leaving their riders on foot, two more crashes sounded out loud along the now still and quiet shore line, two more Renegs crumpled onto the dry sand, the remaining eight looked about for their Haws and only then realised that they were at the mercy of the invisible killers with their strange new weapons.

One of the Renegs ran towards Elvan with the boys combat knife raised high in the air to strike down the boy and finish him off before any more of his fellow Renegs fell, he never made it to the boy as the twin sounds echoed around the shore again, the Renegs were down to six and still confused as to where the death was coming from, two more crashes and they were reduced to four, it was time to call a halt to the carnage so they fell to the sand on their knees with their hands empty and high in the air hoping the loud crashing and death would stop but it didn't, two more fell never to rise again, of the last two one was now crying out for the magicians to show themselves, the other one lashed out with his hand and knocked the younger one to the ground only to feel a hot knife pierce his chest and then he fell to the sand not moving anymore, the last Reneg curled up in a tight ball and sobbed loudly as he waited for his end as well, the magicians were showing no mercy for Renegs.

A soft groan came from the young boy they had captured as he tried to roll over and sit up but the effort defeated him and he collapsed back onto the sand in pain, the young Reneg didn't want to move so he turned his tear stained eyes to look at the boy, as he did he saw movement from the sand hills above him, another young boy was coming down the hill carrying a strange black pipe in two hands, when he was at the bottom of the hill he knelt down and pointed the pipe at the Reneg, when this was done another boy appeared at the top of the hill and began to run down it.

Elios knelt at the bottom of the hill and kept the red light on the chest of the last Reneg, why they had not killed him as well neither Elios or Elam knew, they had just decided to stop firing, Elios never took his eyes off the Reneg as Elam crouched down beside him and took up the same stance with his rifle pointed at the Reneg as Elios ran over to where Elvan lay groaning on the sand, one glance and Elios was ready to kill the last Reneg.

Both Elvan's eyes were closed shut and very quickly getting blacker and blacker, there were small cuts over his chest from a sharp knife and bruises over most of his slender body, from his boy hole there was blood and man juice leaking and his thighs were also bruised, Elios knelt beside his friend and tried to talk to him but his life long friend only tried to hide his battered face from him, the ignominy and shame of being raped like a breeder was having its effect along with the serious injuries, Elios slowly put his arm around the boy as Elam came up beside him still pointing the rifle at the Reneg who was still face down on the sand shaking in fear.

Normally the Rover boys would not fight back with the Renegs but these two very young boys had not only fought back but had killed all of their enemies with some new and strange weapon the Reneg had never seen nor heard of before, he could see the two boys looking down at their friend but he was not going to chance them seeing him move so he stayed as still as he could although the sobs were hard to control he tried not to bring attention to himself, he had only been with the Renegs for two yarn and didn't want to die yet so he waited for the boys to make the first move.

Elios left Elvan to Elam and walked over to the Reneg, with his rifle he poked the body on the ground.

"Turn over; have you got any weapons on you?"

The Reneg shook his head and rolled over and sat up to face the young boy with the pipe, it touched his skin and he felt a faint heat to the end of it. Elios stared at the Reneg and then gave a slight gasp, the Reneg was only a few yarn older than they were, he was dark haired so he wasn't from their Breeding Cave, he was also very dirty and his hair had not seen water in a long time.

"Why did you try to hurt our friend?"

"I...I didn't want too, that's what they did to me, then they made me join them or I would be killed, I...I like your friend, but, well I couldn't stop them."

"What's your name?"

"Mita."

"Are there any more Renegs around here close by?"

"No, no more, we were on a hunting search and only stumbled onto you when we heard those funny wheel things on the shore, there's a big group about one dei away from here."

"How many is there?"

"I don't know for sure but about five plus ten at least."

Taking a short time to think, Elios continued.

"Turn around and put your hands behind you, don't make any other moves or I will kill you."

The young Reneg just did as he was told and waited for the young boy to tell him what to do next, taking his old sling from around his neck, Elios quickly tied the Renegs hands behind him, once that was done he left Mita where he was and went back to the now calmer Elvan, his shirt was torn and laying on the sand, Elios picked it up and ran down to the Oshun to wet it and try to clean Elvan up a little, once he was back he asked Elam to go back over the hill and bring their quads back one at a time, they would have to take elvan back to their home cave and treat him properly there, he was sure the ancients would have some sort of medicine to help his friend, of the young Reneg he was not sure yet as what to do.

Elam left to get the first quad as Elios continued to clean the cuts on Elvan's chest and then he carefully tried to clean the blood and man juice from between his friends legs, when he had finished Elvan was calmer but still not able to look his friend in the eye from his shame at being taken like a breeder, the rape had been bad enough as had the beating but the shame he felt was far more disastrous to his sense being a boy.

Elam brought the first quad up as Elios finished with his cleaning duties and then Elam turned again to get the last one, they would have to double up to get Elvan back to the home cave, Elam still had a hatred for the remaining Reneg and was only stopped by Elios from killing him immediately, Elios explained that they might learn a lot from the young Reneg but they would have to keep him from either escaping or attacking them on the way to home cave.

Elios had thought out a plan to take the Reneg with them, Elvan would have to ride with Elam and Elios would tie Mita's hands to the rear bars of his quad, they would have to make their home cave in what was left of the dei so they could help Elvan, so they would refuel here and head off at top speed for their base, Elios went and picked up Elvan's webbing and Beretta before going over to Mita.

"We have to get our friend back to our cave, you'll come with us but if you try anything I'll let Elam kill you slowly so no funny tricks."

Mita could only nod his head, he would rather be a slave to these boys than be dead, besides, they had so much ancient artifacts they must be very dangerous, maybe if he did as they said he would get something to eat at last, it had been two dei since he had been allowed to eat by the Renegs and he had little energy left to fight these boys.

When Elam had returned they fuelled their two remaining quads and sat Elvan on the back of Elam's making him as comfortable as they could for the long run back home, Elios told Mita to sit on the back of his quad facing backwards, he then took both his sling and the one Elam had and tied Mita's hands to the metal pipe at the rear so he could not try and attack Elios as he drove the quad, there was not much space but it would have to do, besides he was only a Reneg captive so he would just have to put up with it.

"If you try to escape I drag you along behind until your dead so don't fall off, we're going to be going fast so hang on tight to that pipe." Elios told him.

Mita nodded his head in understanding but his stomach was gurgling with fear at the strange artefact that the boys used, it alone was terrifying enough he was not going to take any chance of being dragged behind it as well, Elios gave Elam the signal and they took off for home, the speed built quickly as they pushed as hard as they could on the speed button, there was no time for being careful, their friend needed help as soon as they could give it to him.

The dark was approaching quickly as they hit the flat sand of their valley, with a quick burst of speed the boys made a final short dash for the door to their home cave, Elios made sure that Mita was still looking backwards as he got off the quad and went to open the door, all Mita could do was sit there and wait as he first heard a deep rumbling sound and then a small vibration from the pipes he was sitting on.

Elam went in first followed by Elios who stopped to close the door and then took off after Elam to park the quad in the garage' where he helped Elam take the now almost unconscious Elvan from the back of the quad and helped him to support Elvan down to the ablution' room where they could wash him and then put him in one of the bunks to rest as they tried to find a way to help him from all the `manuals'.

Mita tried to look around this new huge cave, there was so much in it and he didn't understand any of it, none of it had been seen by him before and although his hands were hurting from the tight skin thongs used to tie him up, he thought it better not to say anything unless the boys got angry and killed him, he sat and waited as far off noises came to his ears, the sound of water made his dry throat constrict and somewhere he could smell some sort of food being cooked. Mita's biggest amazement was the amount of light in the cave, it shone down strongly from long gles strips high up in the roof, there was a real freshness about the cave that he had never felt or smelt before in all the caves he had been in.

After what seemed forever, Mita heard the sound of approaching steps, looking up he saw the smaller boy come into the cave, in his hand he had another black artefact and it was pointed right at his head, it was smaller than the long pipe he had seen earlier but looked just as dangerous in the smaller boy's hand. Elios went over to Mita and stared at him, his hand holding the Beretta was still and firm as he pointed it at the Renegs head.

"I'm going to untie you, you do anything silly and I will put a hole in your head, understand?"

Mita nodded his head, besides, the way he was feeling without food for so long he had little energy left to try and fight this boy, the boy smelt clean and looked as though he had just eaten, he had to find out more about this new cave system, maybe, just maybe, if he was good and worked hard for them, they would let him stay, he had not enjoyed the last two yarn with the Renegs, even now he was still treated like a slave boy to them.

Elios held his Beretta with one hand while he loosened the two slings with the other, once he had the Reneg free he stepped back out of reach and pointed towards the door, by the smell of the Reneg he would need a wash before he was allowed into the living and eating area. Elios followed along behind and a little distance away from Mita as he directed the Reneg to the `ablution' room.

"Strip your skins off and stand under that pipe over there."

Mita looked at the clean shirt that Elios was wearing and then down at the roughly tanned skins he had on, these boys were way better off than any of the Renegs had ever been apart from the big leader who was a long way away in the Reneg cave town. Mita did as he was told, the strange white squares of stone under his feet felt cold as he stood and waited. Elios went closer to Mita and turned on the two levers to start the water flowing, he then reached for a yellow bar they used for washing and threw it to the Reneg.

"Use that to wash, it will make you cleaner and make sure you use plenty on your hair, it's like a rat nest up there."

Elios stood back and watched as the Reneg boy took off his skins, his boyhood was a lot bigger than any of the three friends and he stood staring at it and wondered what something that big would feel like inside him, his eyes glazed over a little at the thought but then he shook himself as the Reneg got under warm water. At first Mita couldn't make out what it was but the water was definitely warmer than any river or other water he had washed in so long ago, he stood in awe as the warm water ran over him, he felt his sore muscles begin to relax and, just as he got used to the water, Elios turned the lever a little more and the water became hot, Mita jumped and then began to relax as he felt the new sensation run over him, taking the yellow square he began to rub it over his skin, the scent making him relax even more, it smelt of strange flowers and the dirt seemed to just run off him.

Elios watched as the dirt ran from the body of the young Reneg, what appeared made Elios like the look of the older boy more and more, once the hair was washed it had a soft shine to it and while it was way longer than any boy he had seen, nearly down to the middle of the Renegs back, it also intrigued him, his breach-clout was beginning to get tight as his reaction to the older and bigger boy took effect.

Elios waited until the Reneg was clean and then told him to leave his dirty skin on the floor and walk ahead of him, Elios directed him to the main room where they had some of the left over spam pie from their meal, it was still warm from the heating oven and Elios directed him to sit and eat, the Reneg didn't need a second invitation, he sat and began to shovel the first food he had had in deis into his mouth with his fingers.

It wasn't long before the metal tray was as clean as though it had never been used, Mita was still hungry but wasn't about to ask for more, he had been lucky so far and didn't want to push his slim luck any further while the boy stood there with the strange black weapon pointed at him.

"Right, you're going to be put in a room to sleep, I have to tie you up again until we feel we can trust you, get up and go down there." Elios pointed in the direction the Reneg was to take.

"What about my cloths?"

"You don't need them yet, if you turn out ok we will find some new ones for you to wear but for now, you stay as you are until then." Replied Elios.

Mita walked ahead of the boy until he was told to stop at a door, the boy opened the door to a dark cave, he was then pushed into the dark and then a bright white light came on showing a number of strange sleeping platforms, each one had another above it. Mita was told to stand back against a wall and not move while the boy went about taking some strange rolls and laying one on a sleeping platform; he then placed two grey thick cloths over the base and signalled Mita to lay down.

Mita did as instructed and, as soon as he was laying on the soft pad, the boy put the two grey cloths over him and told him to put his arms above his head, once that was done the boy then got two of the unusual belts and tied his hands firmly to the pipes at the top of the platform, he could relax his arms but not get them close enough to each other to untie them, the boy then told him.

"Stay here and don't try to do anything silly, we only sleep over the other side and can hear you if you do, then you will be killed."

Mita had no doubts that the boy meant what he said, it was obvious that the three boys were old friends and wouldn't hesitate to protect each other, Mita had no doubts and decided to do as he was told, besides, it was also obvious that he was in a much better place than he had been for the last two yarn, good food, plenty of water and warm cloths, that is if he was ever allowed to have any cloths.

Elios returned to their sleeping room and saw Elam lying beside the injured Elvan, the boy`s eyes were now completely closed and showing the dark blue of the bruises, his chest was covered by a new cloth that Elios had not seen yet, it was only about three fingers wide and went around and around Elvan's chest and stomach, there were faint splotches of red coming through the strips of cloth but looked as though they were drying rapidly.

"Where did you get that cloth from?" asked Elios.

"I looked at all the remaining manuals' until I found one that had a description of injuries, the symbols were to big to understand so I just looked for some fig pictures, they showed a box with a red + on it and inside was another small manual' on how to use the cloths and some of the mixtures inside, I use something called an `antiseptic' to clean the cuts and then covered them with the long cloths, he seems better now and the wounds aren't bleeding anymore."

"Is he going to be alright though?"

"Yes, but he still feels bad about being taken like a breeder, I think we're going to have to be careful for him for a while, what about that Reneg boy?"

"I tied him to a `bunk' in the other room, he can stay there until sun rise, then I think we should question him about the Renegs and what they do or where they come from, we might have to fight them again one dei so the more we know about them the better for us."

"Yes I agree, are you going to sleep here now?"

"No I think I should give Elvan space to heal, I'm going over to that `bunk' are you coming? I really need you after the dei we've had?"

Elios went to the `bunk' he had pointed too and made it up ready for use, by the time he had stripped off and got into the bunk, Elam was also ready, he too was naked and hard as he slid down behind Elios, his rigid boy hood pushing urgently into Elios asking for entry, both boys need some relief after the tough dei and the attack on the Renegs.

The following sun rise, Elam changed the cloths on elvan who was now awake but feeling very sore and so was told to stay where he was and they would look after him until he felt better, Elios went to the other room and released the Reneg boy and took him to their main room, after making sure the boy was tied to a chair he went to the galley' and took another of Elvan's dishes from the cool room' and put it in the `oven' to heat for their meal.

As Elios put the tray of food on the table, Elam arrived and after giving the Reneg a murderous look, sat down and began to eat while Elios took out his Beretta and laid it on the table in easy reach then released the Reneg boy so he could also eat, they all stayed silent as they ate and when Elam had finished he filled a plate and took it to Elvan while Elios stayed to watch their prisoner.

Mita was still hungry and there was still some left in the tray but he was not going to risk his neck by asking for more, the small boy looked as though he too was ready to kill him, Mita sat back and waited for his next orders and the one that came surprised him completely.

"You can finish the tray if you're still hungry, we have plenty of food in here, when you're finished I want information about the Renegs, no lies or only half stories, I want to know everything you can remember about them."

Mita could only nod his head in agreement as he refilled his plate with the unusual but great food, he had no intention of giving the boys any reason to kill him or throw him out of this great and secret cave system. When Mita had finished eating and Elam had returned, Elios told Mita to tell his story starting with why he was with the Renegs. It turned out to be a horrifying story and when Mita got to the end the boys could see why he had joined the Renegs, after being repeatedly raped by any Reneg that saw him, he was given the chance to either join them or die, if he joined them he would stay their slave for three yarn and then he would be old enough to be a full Reneg, the boys attack had put a stop to that end.

Elios and Elam began to question him about the Renegs, how many, where they stayed, what they did, what weapons they used, who was their big man, it took a long time but both Elios and Elam could tell that the Reneg had told them the truth and not held anything back from them, they both stood up and went over to a far corner where they couldn't be heard by their prisoner, after a short discussion, the two boys went back to the table, Elios looked down at the Reneg and took out his Beretta, looked at it and then at Mita, he could see the fear in the Renegs eyes as he held the Beretta loosely in his hand.

Elios replaced his pistol and looked hard at Mita.

"Here's what we agreed, you can take it or you can die, there's no other way for you. You become our slave for one yarn, you will do all the cleaning and anything else we want for that time, if at the end of one yarn we are happy with your efforts and you want to stay with us then you can, we will give you plenty of food and cloths, you will sleep in the room you were in last dark but we will not tie you up, we will block the door so you can't get out while we sleep, if you agree then you start now, if not then you die right now, your choice?"

Mita didn't hesitate in his decision, even being a slave to younger boys was better than he had with the Renegs and here he had good food, could wash all the time as he hated being dirty like the Reneg were, and he would have a chance to be a part of this secret cave system, Mita told Elios he would like to stay, even as a slave to younger boys he would be better off than outside or dead.

"Right then it's agreed, you go with Elam and he will show you how to operate the water levers in the galley and clean up the eating tools, when that's done come back here and we'll give you some more work to do, if you've done good work in the galley we will give you some cloths to wear, it's all up to you."

Mita nodded and quickly followed Elam out to the galley where he was shown how to use the water levers and where everything went after washing and cleaning the galley, Mita set to work straight away, the plates, trays and eating tools the boys had used took a little while but when he finished he started on the rest of the galley so everything was again shiny and clean.

It was five deis before Elvan was up and about with any sense of freedom from his pain and injuries, he eyes were both still black but he could now see clearly, only the bruises ached a little but his cuts had healed remarkably quickly with the aid of the medicine Elam had found and used. Elvan was still very suspicious of Mita and would not let the Reneg close to him even though he could see the new addition to their small family was trying very hard to do as he was told and with no complaints.

At their dark time meal the three boys decided to talk over what they would do next while Mita was in the galley cleaning, he was not included in any decision making, he was their slave and that was that, Elios brought up the question of numbers again.

"From what Mita told us the Renegs are many more times than we are, if we run into a big gang of them we might not be as lucky as last time, I think we have to go out and look for more boys, we need more numbers to train so we stay safe from them."

Both of the other boys nodded their heads in agreement as Elios continued.

"Elam, do you think you can operate the APC properly?"

"Yes, I've been practicing a lot in the garage but it will take the three of us to operate it properly, what do you have in mind?"

"Well, we can't leave Mita here on his own and I don't want him trained in anything until he has finished his one yarn so he will have to come with us and that means he can't ride a quad, if we fill the APC up with everything we might need we will still have space to put some new boys to bring back here, also the Renegs have nothing to break into the APC so we'll be safe inside it, it'll only be when we have to go outside of it that we will need to be very careful."

"Ok, so when do we go looking and what will we need?" Asked Elvan.

"We'll need food, fuel and weapons as well as the sleeping and cooking things, the food will have to be more than last time because we might have other boys to feed, how many people do you think will fit inside along with everything else, Elam?"

"Uhm, let me see, I'll drive, Elvan on the big weapons, you reading the directions and Mita sitting in the back, plus fuel, lets say ten of the jerry cans full, the boxes of food and there's places to store the hand weapons on the sides so that leaves enough space for about ten plus five boys on each trip."

"Good, Elvan can you cook enough food for every one if we get that many?"

"Yes, I can use Mita to help cooking when he's not doing other stuff, I think we should take that big rifle out of the box and use the box to store the food in, it's the right size to take a lot of trays then we only have to heat it up like last time."

"Good, ok, now what about you using the big weapons in the APC?"

"Elam will have to teach me about it but I think I can do it."

"Good, right now all we have to do is work out what to do with all the boys when they get here, what do you guys suggest?"

Elam spoke first.

"Why not make a list of what has to be done then, we can tell each boy where he has to work each day and we can leave enough time for them to do training as well, like, if there's going to be lots of boys then Elvan will need a lot of help cooking and cleaning, then there's the transport that will need looking after according to the manuals they need something called a `SERVICE' done every so often so they don't break, I'll need some of the boys to help with that sort of thing, what do you need Elios?"

"I think I should try to teach some of them about reading the symbols and how to work a map, there's also the items in the administration room, they call them `COMPUTERS' I haven't worked them out properly but they seem to hold a lot of information inside them that we might need or be able to use, some of the boys might be able to learn about them."

The three boys ran through the list of needs in the head before all agreeing to call it time for sleep, they sent Mita to his bunk and locked the door before going to their own room where they could all now sleep again together as Elvan was not as sore anymore, at the rising of the new sun they would start to put their plans in operation so they could go looking for new boys to join them as soon as possible.

TBC

Artcart65@vodafone.co.nz