Flight 12

By Travis Creel

Published on Mar 23, 2024

Flight 12 – a serial novel by Travis Creel

CHAPTER 22: ALTERING THE PLAN

Previously, on the island's surface:

Jordan and Miles, brought to the island by Sean, are progressing northward; they set a course for a multi-colored object they've spotted in the distance.
Seth, aware that Augie's birthday is upcoming, is trying to protect him from exposure to the green dodecagon, his `danger color'.

In Switzerland:

Aware of intruders on the island, Jesús orders up a rainstorm, drawing the Twelve inside the tower and locking it to keep the intruders out.

Underground:

Leo, having discovered that Percy's route to the surface requires entry of a code, develops plans to abduct him and force him to surrender it; he recruits Stan, Al, Theo, and Piers to join him in his escape attempt, and targets Paul and Dai as well.
Ian learns that Stan, like all left-siders, is slated for castration and probable execution.

In not-exactly-a-flashback:

Augie once showed up unannounced at Jordan's apartment, catching him out of drag. Jordan passed himself off as `her' fictional brother, Jeremy.

FLASHBACK: JESÚS (ST. MORITZ, SWITZERLAND) - June 12, 2018 (five and a half years ago)

[Author's Note: the above date aligns with the story taking place in 2023; however, the days of the week don't match with the 2023 calendar. This is either deliberate or a mistake – I can't decide which. – T.C.]

I'd assembled the Board for a status report on The Project:

Most of Betaworld has been constructed, after cloning Alphaworld. All that remains are the island and ZTA, which need to be built from scratch. They should be finished by the end of next year. We will install Hamish on the island in December 2020 and begin populating his underground domain with lieutenants and bottoms, one lieutenant and eleven bottoms every three months, culminating in Flight 12, which will arrive on the island on December 1, 2023.
Our biggest task is identifying the 27 occupants of Flight 12 – both crew and passengers.
Crew, totaling three: According to the physics, the pilot must be born on December 1 and be the same age as the Trigger Man or separated from him by twelve years. The database has turned up the ideal candidate – one Barry Russell, age 35 – who, as a bonus, engages in male-on-male bdsm. We will ensure he is hired by ZTA. The flight attendant will be Percy. The co-pilot is irrelevant; he won't be around long.
Passengers will total twenty-four: twelve on the left, twelve on the right. The Trigger is to be seated on the right, along with the remaining members of the Twelve, who must meet the following criteria:

o they must be gay or bisexual, with some complication or unresolved issue, which may include denial of being gay; they should not be romantically involved, though this may not be an absolute requirement.

o they must have a December birthday on a date that is a prime number;

o they must be geographically separate in a way that divides the country into twelve regions. The metric that best satisfies this criterion is the twelve Federal Reserve Districts, with the best simulations resulting if the Twelve reside close to a bank.

o in a rather surprising requirement, each must be born in a different year under the Chinese calendar, although not necessarily twelve consecutive years;

o each must have a previous encounter with one of Hamish's lieutenants or one of us. This encounter must have a sexual context, though not necessarily sexual relations.

This last requirement means we must identify The Twelve before sending any lieutenants to Betaworld. Fortunately, we've got two and a half years to do that, and have extensive data on every adult male on the planet. The left-siders, aside from the Trigger's boyfriend, don't matter much, as long as they're male, under thirty-six, and have no gay partner. They will be used sexually and meet the same fate as the bottoms sent to the island on the previous ZTA flights.
(Fred) And that fate is – ?
Castration and subsequent execution.
(Ari) Excellent!
I knew you'd approve, Ari. As for the rest of you, please, no hand-wringing over ethics: this will only befall the Beta versions of these men. Their Alpha-lives will continue uninterrupted and oblivious to what is going on in Betaworld. Remember that Betaworld is only temporary and will disintegrate the moment The Project is activated. There is no real harm done to these men, but the physics requires their Beta-lives to be terminated.
(Dion) I thought that once you were on the island, you disappeared from Alphaworld and no one remembered you.
In general, that's correct, Dion, but it's a bit complicated. The Twelve will indeed cease to exist in Alphaworld, including in the memories of others. Bottoms, however, will co-exist in both worlds, at least until their Beta-lives are terminated. The lieutenants are a bit of a hybrid: they will be purged from Alphaworld, but because they are linked to a Twelve, that Twelve will remember him, as will anyone he mentions the lieutenant to – temporarily.
(Arturo) Temporarily?
Say a Twelve mentions a lieutenant to a friend, in conversation. The friend will know who he is talking about during the conversation, but won't remember it afterwards.
(Sean) Tell us about the Trigger - he seems to be the critical component.
He is, Sean. His criteria, according to the extensive computer modeling Thibaut and Dolph have done, are, sad to say, exacting:

o he must be born on the cusp of a new year, within one minute of midnight;

o like The Twelve, he must be gay but with an unresolved issue about it;

o he must be under thirty-six, attractive, and have leadership qualities;

o he MUST be involved in a relationship, but one undergoing some kind of stress; his lover is to be among the left-siders; and

o there must be a tragedy in his life related to his homosexuality.

Despite our extensive database, no one meets all five criteria. Only six men in the entire world even meet the first three conditions; we have targeted the lone American among them to be our Trigger. His name is Lee Seth Herrick, known as Seth. He was born so close to midnight on New Year's Eve that the doctors weren't sure which date to put on his birth certificate. He is gay, but married to a woman, with triplet sons – satisfying the second requirement. He is handsome, well-built, a natural leader, and twelve years younger than our pilot. Thus, ideal. However, he lacks the last two criteria. We'll wait on the romantic relationship – something may develop organically; if not, we'll take steps about a year before Flight 12 – that will allow time for the relationship to both mature and develop complications. The more difficult need is the tragedy. Sean, I'm assigning this to you. Insinuate yourself into his life, confuse him, discover his vulnerabilities – then set things in motion that will emotionally devastate him.
(Sean) Roger, chief.

- - - - FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8 * * * * * * * *

THE PHALLIC TOWER - JORDAN

When the storm hit, we retreated to the woods. It wasn't exactly shelter, but it was better than being out in the open. The trees deflected a lot of the rain, but we got drenched anyway. It lasted for maybe an hour, and then we pressed on toward the brightly-colored object we had spotted. If it was a building, it could be where Augie was. Or it could be where Stimulever was. Or it could be just another piece of art like the twelve-sided piece of teal granite we'd found, or that incredible sculpture of a penis.

So we proceeded north in wet clothes until, at dusk, we finally saw what the brightly colored object was.

(Miles) Holy shit, it's another penis.
What is it with this island and penises? First the black one in the field and now one that's forty feet high.
And painted in a rainbow of colors.
It's not a pride symbol. Too many colors. What do you think it is? Just a giant piece of sculpture? Is this place some kind of haven for conceptual artists?
Mind what Sean told us. Stimulever is here somewhere.
Yes, and I remember Jen's joke. Stimulever' is an anagram for multiverse', but maybe it also has to do with stimulating your lever. An obsession with cocks?
It might be a building, not a sculpture. It looks like there's a door there at the base.
Should we approach it? What if it's Stimulever's headquarters?
Wait here. I'm going to take a closer look.
Miles, be careful. If you get caught, we're dead.

We were at the edge of the woods, opening out into a clearing where the sculpture or tower or whatever- it-was was. I retreated into the woods, staying out of sight should someone emerge and hold Miles at gunpoint. I didn't see any windows, so I didn't think Miles was being observed; on the other hand, Sean had dug up some kind of motion sensor; maybe they could detect our presence.

I saw now what Miles thought looked like a door. He went up to it, felt around it cautiously, circumnavigated the entire structure, then turned around and headed back to me.

It seems to be a door, but there's no way in. Nothing like a doorknob or keypad.
Maybe it only opens from the inside?
How would they get back in? There's no other point of entry.
Knock on the door and someone admits them. That would be good security, I suppose.
Which sounds like Stimulever, protecting themselves from outsiders like us.
I'm getting hungry. Let's go back to where we saw those breadfruit trees and eat. Then we can camp out overnight and come back in the morning and see if anyone emerges.
And if they don't?
I don't know. Sean says Augie and Vic are on this island. We didn't come all this way to give up. But I'm scared, Miles. I don't trust Sean.
I do. He'll be back, Jordan. He won't abandon us.

- - - - SUNDAY, DECEMBER 9 * * * * * * * *

THE PHALLIC TOWER – JORDAN

Our clothes were still wet in the morning. Oh, well. We emptied our bowels, filled our stomachs, and headed back to the giant multi-colored phallus. And were greeted by a shock: the door was open.

We stayed under cover of the woods, peering out between the trees at the activity around the phallic building. There were two men outside. One was exercising, the other was heading off north of the structure. I didn't recognize either of them.

And then a third body appeared – an older man, shirtless.

Miles! That's the British knight I saw in the airport with his son.
So you think –
I think we've found them!

THE PHALLIC TOWER – AUGIE

Another morning and I was still here. Everyone was still here. But today was not my danger day – that was Tuesday, two days from now. The recon mission Seth had organized yesterday had confirmed the location of the green medallion – the one I needed to avoid. I still like calling them `medallions' even though everyone else calls them something else.

Jasper had gone to the latrine; Cody said he was going to exercise, then go search for his cattle, something Gary's Cody personality did often. Ed exited the tower a couple of minutes later. All of a sudden I heard him shout "Stop! Don't come any closer!"

Dang, what was that about? A stranger? Had they come for me two days early? I looked to Seth; his posture grew stiff and he went immediately into command mode.

(Seth) Don't move, Augie. Harry, stay with him. Vic, Tim, come with me.
(Tim) On it.
(Harry) Don't worry, Augie. It's probably nothing.

He wanted to reassure me, but his body language screamed, "I'm worried." Someone or something had taken four of us in the last week, and now a stranger had shown up in person. But then:

(a new voice) Vic! Omigod, Vic. You're all right!
(Vic) Miles, is that you? Is that really you? Who's that with you?
("Miles") Someone looking for Augie.

Harry held my hand. Looking for me was bad. But Vic had seemed happy to recognize the other person.

(Vic) I'll go get him. Seth?
(Seth) Yeah, I think it's okay. Bring Harry, too.

Both of us a bit nervous, we got up and headed to the door. And I couldn't believe my eyes.

JEREMY????

What on earth was Jordan's brother doing here?

STAN'S CELL – STAN

Ian?
Yeah?
Can you be twenty-two years old and gay and not realize it?
I've never tried it, so I can't really say. I've known I was gay since I was twelve. Is there any particular reason you are asking this question? Asking for a friend?
Don't be coy, Ian. I'm totally confused.
. . . Talk to me.
Magda's from my home town in Poland. We came to America to attend university, we got married two years ago, maybe that was too young; I don't think either of us was ready. We aren't that happy, she claims I'm not really attracted to her. We make love, but my heart is never in it. I'm not sure why, but I never for a moment thought it was because she was the wrong gender.
And now?
. . . Now I think she's the wrong gender. Or at least that I'm bisexual.
You like it when we make love.
I love it when we make love. I love the feeling of your cock inside me. And even when the lieutenants – when they have their way with me, I'm like, okay, let `er rip. I feel . . . liberated. I've discovered an aspect of myself I never knew existed. I'm pretty damn sure I like sex with men, Ian, and I'm pretty damn sure that when I get out of here, I want to be with you and not Magda.
. . .
What?
. . . Getting out of here. That might . . . not be so easy.
And it might be. At least it might be possible to get to the surface.
What are you talking about, Stan?
There's a way out. There's a group of us that are going to try to escape tomorrow. I was wondering if . . . hoping . . . you'd want to join. I mean – do you really like it here? Being Hamish's puppet?
Stan –
If you went with us, you and I could start over someplace, we could –
Who's behind this? Who is this group you're talking about?
This guy Leo, he came around and -
Leo? Leo's an idiot. Don't pay attention to him.
He's found a way out.
Oh yeah? What's that?
There's a secret exit and Percy has a code. We could kidnap him and force him to give us the code. He's got a bunch of us who –
Stan. Listen to me. Leo is a hothead having a hard time adjusting to getting fucked. His plan is doomed to fail. You just told me you wanted to be with me. I'm not going. Do you want to escape without me?
No, I want you to come with me. I'll be honest, Ian. I could go on like this for a while. For a WHILE. But I don't see any end to this `for a while'. I want off this island, I want to go back to Portland and live with you.
I don't live in Portland.
Then wherever you live, I'll live there. I'll switch jobs. I'm in love with you, Ian, but I'd like to do it back in America.
. . . I'm in love with you too, Stan. But . . .
But what?
. . . Nothing.
Ian, I can tell from your face that it's not nothing. What is it?
I . . . I don't . . . It's not something I can talk about. Listen, I – dammit, Stan, I'm . . . sorry, I just can't talk about this right now.

And he left. What the hell was going on?

THE PHALLIC TOWER – SETH

What the hell was going on? It wasn't enough that we magically appeared on this island, that clothes vanished, that dodecagons swallowed guys into the earth, that I received messages telling me to stay naked and that they `had' Abe, that – well, I could continue indefinitely.

Now this. Two strangers suddenly appear in our midst – who were, in fact, not strangers, but knew Vic and Augie. What the fuck were they doing here? They had not even been on the plane.

I had heard Vic talk often about his lover Miles – and this seemed to be that Miles. But I had never heard Augie describe anyone named Jeremy. And while Vic seemed unabashedly thrilled at the reunion, Augie seemed perplexed. Something was off. I drifted over to where the white newcomer was standing, while Augie nervously approached him.

(Augie) Jeremy, what are you doing here? Is Jordan okay? Does she know I'm alive?
(Jeremy) Jordan knows, Augie. Listen, we've got to talk.
Augie, you know this guy?
(Augie) Yeah. This is Jordan's brother Jeremy. They're not twins, but god, they could be. How did you get here? This is –
(Jeremy) Look, Augie, this is difficult to explain. Let's go somewhere where we can talk privately.
Absolutely not.

Maybe this was Jordan's brother and maybe it wasn't, but there was no way I was going to let anybody go off alone with Augie, even if his birthday wasn't until Tuesday.

(Jeremy, to Augie) Who is this guy? And, jeez, get some clothes on, dude – what is this, some kind of nudist colony?
(Augie) That's Seth. He's kinda our leader. He can't wear clothes, it's –
(Jeremy) What do you mean, he can't wear clothes – he's allergic? Augie, let's take a walk and –
You're not going anywhere. I'd explain about my clothes but I have higher things on my priority list right now, like protecting Augie. You have no idea how much danger he's in.
(Jeremy, suddenly concerned) Danger? What kind of danger?
Augie, how well do you know this guy?
(Augie) He's – well, I actually only met him once.
(Jeremy) Listen, Seth, I really need to talk to Augie. It's important. And I can't do it in front of all these people.

There was true pleading in his voice, something approaching desperation. I looked at him, and at Augie, and decided Jeremy was probably not a threat. But he was also unaware of our situation, and I wasn't about to let him go off alone with Augie. I spotted Harry and motioned him over.

Okay, here's the deal, Jeremy. Augie IS in danger, and needs to be accompanied by at least two people. I –
(Jeremy) Is he in danger from Stimulever?
Stim-what? . . . Never mind, here's what's going to happen. You can say what you need to say, away from the others, but Harry and I are going with you. This is Harry.
(Jeremy) Oh, yes, I remember you from the . . .
(Augie) What? When did you meet Harry?
(Jeremy) Oh, hell. Let's go into the woods. This is going to be a disaster but I need to get it over with.

AN UNDERGROUND HALLWAY – IAN

Well, that didn't go well. I couldn't force myself to tell Stan that Hamish planned to have him castrated and then killed. (A fate I might face myself if Hamish's threat was not an idle one.)

Escaping to the surface was a fool's errand, and Leo was a fool. But there is a concept, sometimes attributed (falsely) to Lenin, called a `useful idiot'. Maybe Leo could serve as a useful idiot.

He was not hard to track down. He saw me coming and sighed. My being a lieutenant, he saw me only as someone who wanted to fuck him, which he clearly wanted to avoid.

Leo!
(grudgingly) Please, not again today. Can you wait until tomorrow?
No worries. I'm not after your ass.
You're not?
Come to my room.
Do I have a choice?
Not really.

Stan was in the room; I ordered him to make himself scarce. He looked at me as if I was rejecting him in favor of a newer model, but he complied. Alone with Leo, I set things in motion:

Leo, I've heard a rumor.
So? I imagine you hear lots of rumors in your job.
It's a rumor about escape. (Yes, well, that worried him.)
. . . You can't believe everything you hear.
What I hear is that you're going to abduct Percy and force him to give you a code so that you can slide up a pole to the surface. Does that sound like something I shouldn't believe?
(after a long pause) Who told you that?
A little bird.
Stan?
(time to lie) No, not Stan.
Al? Theo? Piers? Dai or Paul? Which of them was it?
Leo, you are even stupider than I thought. Do you realize you just named your co-conspirators to one of Hamish's lieutenants?
(rapidly trying to cover up, and failing miserably) Do you think I'm so stupid I'd name my actual co-conspirators? Those aren't the guys I talked to.
Actually, I DO think you're that stupid, and that those ARE your actual co-conspirators. But you needn't worry, Leo. I'm here to help.
Help? How?
You're taking a huge risk, trying to kidnap Percy.
That's why there's a bunch of us. We'll be able to –
You'll be able to immediately get every lieutenant in the place to respond to the fracas you've caused. Including me – and, to be honest, I want in on this. It's no fun being one of Hamish's thugs. I want out, and I have the means to get you out of here without kidnapping Percy.
Go on.
I've got the code.
How did you get the code?
I heard him recite it before I saw him use it. I was hiding nearby.
I don't believe you.
Come with me.

I took him over to what I now knew was the Egress Room. .

Here it is. 1-3-8-5-7-0-9-1-2-3-5-4.

I spoke as I pressed the buttons on the code. There was a click and the door unlocked. I pushed it open to reveal the pole Percy had used to reach the surface.

See, Leo? He just grabbed hold of that and pressed that little button on the wall and it zipped him right up to the surface.
Wow.

I quickly shut the door before Leo could seize the opportunity to escape right then and there.

(Leo) What do you want in exchange for the code?
I want to go with you. And you have to keep Stan out of it.
Stan? Why Stan?
(time for another lie) He's important to Hamish. If Stan escapes, they'll go nuts and hunt you down. Here. I'll teach you the code.
I'm not good with numbers. Teach it to Dai. He's Asian, they're good at math.
(ignoring the racial stereotyping and moving on...) It's easy. There's a trick to it.

There WAS a trick to it. The trick was that it was the code for odd-numbered days. Today was the 9th – it worked today. But Leo was going to try to escape tomorrow.

THE PHALLIC TOWER – MILES

(Vic) But how did you get here? I mean, I can't believe we're together, it's too freakin' weird!
Helicopter.
That was you? We thought maybe we were being rescued and – why didn't you rescue us?
There's this guy Sean. He told us you were alive. And we were like, prove it. So he brought us here. But then he left us here. He said it was safer if he wasn't seen. But this place – it's really weird. I mean – you're living in a giant penis?
We call it the phallic tower. Miles, I can't describe to you how weird this place is. It has . . . magical powers, Miles. And it's dangerous.
I don't know about dangerous, but it is strange – and kinda sexy. We saw another phallus on our way here – a black one six feet tall. And a round disk several feet across that –
A decawhatzit.
Sorry?
It wasn't perfectly round. It had twelve sides, right?
Maybe. It did have sides, I didn't count them. It was sort of turquoise but more bluish. What's that color? Teal.
Shit. That's my color.
What do you mean, your color?
Whatever you do, don't let me go near it. And stay away from it yourself.
I thought it was wonderful, actually, It lifted my spirits, made me feel sexy, I wanted to hug Jordan for hours.
You mean Jeremy? You said `Jordan'.
No, Vic, I meant Jordan. That actually is Jordan.
. . . ?
Yeah.
. . . Augie's Jordan is a GUY? He's been lying to us this whole time about his girlfriend?
Not exactly. I think he's just finding out now.

ST. MORITZ, SWITZERLAND - JESÚS

We just heard from Sean. He left Murdock and King on the island, figuring that Hamish would dispose of them. He said he hadn't considered that their presence would throw off the physics, he apologized for that, admitted it was foolish.
(Ari) It certainly was. So, Hamish will terminate them?
Ari, that's your solution to everything. We need to consider carefully before we act. That's why I invited our consultant Dolph to join us at our Board meeting. I asked him and Thibaut to run simulations now that intruders have come to the island. Dolph?
(Dolph) This has, indeed, affected the parameters established at the outset for actualizing The Project. While eliminating the outside element directly may ultimately be necessary, none of the projections work well with an immediate termination.
(Fred) So leave them alone, to interact with those still on the surface?
(Thibaut) Yes – and no.
(Dolph) That is to say, yes, for now. But they should be sent to Hamish within a few days.
That won't create an imbalance?
(Dolph) It will, but, surprisingly, disposing of them beforehand is not the best route. Their arrival has totally changed the parameters. Strangely enough, it now seems we must sacrifice one of the Twelve.
One of the Twelve? The Twelve were all to be present at the launch.
(Dolph) `Were' being the operative word.
After all of our careful planning, this is rather disturbing.

THE DORMITORY – PAUL

Dai, are you okay? You look exhausted.
I am exhausted.
They milked you again?
They did. Paul, it's scary. The four guys who make me blow them while I'm being milked – I knew them. It was years ago, but it's stuck with me. It was – you'll pardon the expression – a seminal event in my life.
Like I knew Anthony from before.
Can't be a coincidence. Hamish and Percy – they know so much about us. Look, I haven't told this to anyone but I've always had a prodigious output when I come. I think that's why they milk me instead of fucking me. And Anthony made you wear a jockstrap when he took your virginity.
And now I have a jockstrap I can't remove.
Exactly. How did they get all this information about us – and how is it that people we knew from the past are here now as lieutenants?
Cody would say it's a government plot.
Ha, Cody. I've been here two days and I've almost forgotten him and the others on the surface.
I haven't. Though I've been consumed with those down here. One guy in particular.
As have I.
I want so badly to have sex with you, Dai. And here I am, unable to get my cock out of my jock, and here you are, milked dry and then some. Neither of us can manage to do the other.
Well, Lucas is happy to do both of us. Especially you.
I seem to be his first choice. But thank you for saving me yesterday. I really was so sore I don't think I could have taken another cock up my ass.
But you could now?
If it was yours. I'd have taken yours then, just not Lucas's.
Because my cock is so much smaller than his?
No! Dai, no! Because it would be YOUR cock, and I want it so badly I'd take it no matter how sore I was.
I was just kidding. But I know what you mean. Right now my mouth is rather tired – but I think it would welcome being connected to yours.
You mean - ?
Come here and kiss me.
. . .
. . .
That was nice. Let's do it some more.
. . .
. . .
. . .
That was nice again.

Prior to Dai's arrival in the room, I'd been really depressed. Anthony was brutal in his fucking – then he passed me on to others who ridiculed me as they used me. I felt so alone, so unloved, so miserable. And I was becoming Lucas's personal toy at night. The thought of Lucas entering the dormitory at that moment filled me with dread.

But it was Dai instead, and my spirits soared. The feel of his bare skin against mine when we kissed – the tautness of his chest, his nipples rubbing against mine, the smoothness of his back as my arms coursed its length, the perfection of his buttocks – and that glorious face of his. I've always been attracted to Asian men, and Dai was among the handsomest I'd ever met.

In that moment, while we were kissing, I was as happy as I had ever been in my life.

ST. MORITZ, SWITZERLAND – JESÚS (continued)

Which one needs to be sacrificed?
(Thibaut) It seems not to matter, which is curious. In fact, the simulations run best when the choice is made not by Hamish but by the Twelve themselves.
You expect them to nominate one of their own for execution?
(Thibaut) I'm just repeating what the models indicate. Allowing Hamish to choose is not ruled out – it can still work. But the probability of a successful launch is slightly lower.
(Dolph) One thing the simulations are clear on – the termination must take place soon. It cannot wait until after both Murdock and King are underground.
So . . . one of the four there now. Niemann, Heidekker, Eton, or Omi.
(Ari) Not Heidekker. Hamish raves about him, he's practically a lieutenant himself.
(Paolo) Maybe Heidekker should be the one making the choice.
I'll suggest that to Hamish.

THE DORMITORY – PAUL

Dai, do you think we should do it?
I'd love to, Paul, but I don't have the juice.
Not that. Leo's plan. Do you think we should join him?
Hell, yeah.
It seems risky.
If we can get to the surface and connect with the others – maybe by banding together we could protect ourselves – and them. Keep them away from the dodecagons.
You knew to avoid the dodecagons. And they got you anyway. It might not be possible to save whoever's next on the birthday list.
Augie. But there's strength in numbers, Paul. If we can get up to the surface –
IF we can get up to the surface. I don't know about this crazy scheme of Leo's. Can we really overpower Percy without the lieutenants getting in the way? What if we get caught?
Paul, we're already caught. What are they going to do to us? Torture us? They already do.
Kill us.
If they wanted to kill us, we'd already be dead. This whole thing with the birthdays – they want to bring all of us down here, one by one. They want us alive. One thing I'm certain of, Paul. At least until we're all here – they won't kill any of us. Lucas might, just for fun – but THEY won't.
A good thing, then, that Lucas isn't the one making the decisions.

NEAR THE PHALLIC TOWER – AUGIE

I thought nothing else that happened on this island could shock me. And then this happens. Jordan is not Jordan. That is, she is – or rather, HE is. The Jordan I fell in love with is a dude.

I am definitely going to hell.

Augie, can you ever forgive me?
The question is, will God ever forgive me.
Forgive you for what? For being gay? Augie, God loves everyone.
Pastor Markson says –
Pastor Markson is wrong. Gay people don't go to hell just because they're gay. Personally, I don't believe there is a hell. And even if there is – being who you are is not a sin.
What if I was a murderer? Then being who I was would be a sin.
Being a murderer is a choice. Being gay is not. I was born gay, and I think you were, too. I've known all my life, Augie, that I liked boys and not girls. I wished I was a girl so that I could be with a boy without people staring at me or condemning me like your pastor –
Or my parents.
Then one day, I met a boy I liked so much that I was willing to actually be a girl for him. He was a very special boy; he IS a very special boy. I should say `man' because you're not a boy anymore, Augie. You're a lovely, lovely man – and I love you.
When I was fifteen – something happened with another boy. His name was Alfonso. We got caught, but he covered up for me. He got expelled from the church; I didn't. Pastor Markson never knew, my father never knew. And it's been torturing me ever since, because I was attracted to Alfonso and I'd never met a girl I was really attracted to. And then I met you – and you sent me into ecstasy. The moment I got a hard-on being around you, I thought I'd been redeemed. I was in love with a girl – I got a hard-on from a girl! I couldn't be gay. I'm NOT gay. . . . Only now I AM gay. . . . I'm not sure I can accept this, Jordan.
Augie. Dear kind, sweet Augie. I came all this way here to be with you. Because I love you. You're not the only gay man on the planet. You probably weren't the only gay man on that plane.
(bitter laugh) That's funny. I'm not sure ANY of the others here are straight, except Ed – that's the older guy over there. But his son, Leo, is gay. Seth's gay. Harry's gay. Gary – Gary's sometimes gay, sometimes not, I'll tell you about him later. Jasper – dunno. Tim's straight, I think. But you can't be sure, can you? I mean Vic – man, I was sure Vic was straight.
From the way he's kissing Miles, I'm pretty sure he's not.
So is the helicopter coming to take you back? To take us all back?
I hope so.
When?
I don't know. It might be safer to stay here for a while.
Safer? Are you in trouble, too?
Kinda, yeah. . . It sounds like we both have stories to tell. What I have to tell you – well, you won't believe it.
Ha. I'm sure I can top that. You won't believe the things that have been happening here.
Maybe. Maybe I would. But, Augie, one thing I do believe: I believe you're a good person. I believe you're not going to hell. And I believe that if you just accept that you're gay, you can live a happy life. I'd like that life to be with me, but if it isn't, you can live the life that's right for you. Not for Pastor Markson. For you, Augie. You deserve that.
If I ever get off this island.
If we ever get out of this world.
Huh?
I'll explain later. . . . Kiss me?
. . . I don't think I'm ready for that.
You kissed me plenty of times before.
Yes, but that was when you . . .
. . . It's okay, Augie. Take your time.

[COMING UP NEXT: CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE – REUNION BLUES]

Next: Chapter 24

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