Little Big Man

By Travis Creel

Published on Oct 22, 2023

LITTLE BIG MAN – a serial novel by Travis Creel

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: RPS

Previously: Stopping at Equatorial Guinea, the Tops are locked in their cabins while the Russians auction off four Bottoms and four Eunuchs, including Utah, over whom Alex felt some guilt because he and Matti had double-crossed him into Bottomhood on the first night of competition.

Back at sea, the sixteen remaining Tops – unaware of what has happened at port – find themselves randomly seated at four separate tables at dinner time, apparently grouping them for the next competition Monday night. They are uncertain whether their tablemates are teammates or competitors. Alex's new tablemates are his friend Illinois, and two guys he doesn't know well, Kansas and North Dakota. He and Matti worry that if either loses, they won't be able to see each other anymore, as Tops and Bottoms have been kept segregated.

Latronius visits Alex yet again, and tells him that "more than four" of them will still be Tops at journey's end, when `a few of you' will wind up in Russia.

[Note: as usual, results of all competitions are determined randomly, unless they would alter the planned story arc of the two main characters.]

DMITRI: MONDAY, 13 JUNE, MORNING – OFF THE COAST OF NAMIBIA.

We held our planned Strategy Meeting at 9:30.

So, Yuri, where do you stand?
(Yuri) We're in good shape. Sergei worked up the puzzles and I am mostly done with the base videos. I have maybe an hour's worth of work to do and then I'm ready to begin work on the subliminal inserts. I've got the generic ones done, about red. But not the individual ones, of course.
(Sergei) I've seen his work. They're very convincing.
(Yuri) All I need to know is which four to target with the inserts.
(Boris) Which we won't know until after tonight.
(Yuri) After our meeting tomorrow morning. But I can get the material ready for the contingencies.
(Boris) Which is why we're here. You can do eight, right?
(Yuri) Right.
(Boris) So we need to figure out which eight.
(Sergei) The mock draft.
(Yuri) I can predict a couple of targets without even the mock draft. But let's go ahead and do the mock draft.
(Sergei) I love the mock draft.
Draw cards for the order.
(Yuri) This is silly. We each have distinctive preferences, there's not a lot of overlap.
Tradition, Yuri, tradition.
(Yuri) You sound like we've been doing this for a hundred years. This is voyage number five.
(Sergei) Shut up and cut the cards. You're spoiling my fun.
(Yuri): Jawohl, mein kommandant.
(Boris) Okay – ah, I go first. Then . . . Sergei. Dmitri third, and Yuri, you're last.
(Yuri) In this sense only.
(Boris) Of course. So – my turn. As you know I like my boys black, and there are five of them. Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Mississippi, and South Carolina.
And you choose - ?
(Boris) It's tough, but I'm going with Iowa.
Boris chooses Iowa. Sergei?
(Sergei) Well, as you know I go for the more ethnic types. And we have two Asians, a Latino and a Native American. California, Delaware, Nevada and South Dakota. And I choose to protect . . . drum roll, please.
(Yuri, laughing) He's so dramatic.
(Sergei) California. It's close but I get another pick.
Sergei chooses California. My turn. I know you think my picks are obvious, because I've always chosen blonds.
(Yuri) And you will again.
Uh, probably. There are only two blonds – North Dakota and Wisconsin, but Minnesota is calling to me as well. He's not blond, but he has some of those same wholesome Scandinavian features –
(Sergei) Not to mention a shapely ass.
Well, now that you mention it . . .
(Boris) So are you going to break with tradition and choose a brunet as your number one?
Uh, . . . no. Dmitri chooses North Dakota.

You may be surprised to learn that Alexei was not my initial choice – it was North Dakota. What happened to North Dakota? I'm not ready to tell that story yet.

(Yuri) North Dakota. Blond North Dakota. So predictable.
And you're not? You're choosing between Kansas, Wyoming and Rhode Island, no? You go for the muscle boys.
(Sergei) Also, they're the only ones left.
(Boris) Not true. No one has mentioned Oregon.
(Sergei) Ah, yes, Oregon. He is a bit of an outlier, I guess.
(Yuri) Note to self. Target Oregon. Anyway, you are right – I am choosing between those three. And I choose Wyoming.
Yuri chooses Wyoming. Okay, California, Iowa, North Dakota, and Wyoming are safe. Round Two. Boris, back to you.
(Boris) This is not fair. I have more to choose from, it's more difficult for me.
(Sergei) We're all weeping for you, Boris. You can only protect two. Who else – Illinois, Maryland, Mississippi, or South Carolina?
(Boris) Eenie, meanie, miney – Mississippi.
In Round Two, Boris chooses Mississippi. Sergei?
(Sergei) South Dakota.
Sergei chooses South Dakota. And Dmitri chooses . . . Wisconsin.
(Yuri) Ha! He chooses the two blonds. So much for unpredictability.
I can't help it. I like blonds. And you? Kansas or Rhode Island?
(Yuri) It is difficult – I want to protect them both. But . . . Kansas.
Yuri chooses Kansas.
(Yuri) Very well, eight protected, eight possibly targeted. I'll begin with Oregon, but – who are the others?
(Boris) I have a list. Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina. Beyond that, we have to wait until after tonight to see who we seat at the red table for Round Five.
(Yuri) I'll get to work.

ALEX: MONDAY, JUNE 13 - ATLANTIC OCEAN, OFF THE COAST OF AFRICA

Nothing much happened that Monday until the evening. At breakfast and lunch they continued to seat us in tables for four, with what seemed to be color-coded tablecloths. The new arrangement did give me the chance to get to know Kansas and North Dakota better and learn their stories.

Kansas was the adopted child of parents who divorced. He lived with his mother, who developed relationships with a series of abusive boyfriends, one of whom also beat him up from time to time. Kansas moved out and lived for a while with a friend and then at a series of shelters in Wichita, to his mother's indifference. She chose her dangerous boyfriend over a son who was not of her own blood. Fortunately, he got a scholarship to Wichita State and was holding his own – but the Little Big Man Contest seemed like a windfall to him.

North Dakota's story was even more tragic. While he was a freshman at the University of North Dakota, his father went on a rampage and shot his mother and his younger brother. He was now behind bars for life without parole. North Dakota had been close to both parents, and could not understand what had happened that had triggered this behavior in his father. North Dakota had never visited him in prison and had not even attended the trial. His father had never contacted him from prison either.

I liked both of them, and had mixed feelings about the implications of our seating arrangements. I didn't want us to be competitors, and doom one of us (especially Noisy) to Bottomhood. But if it was table versus table, then either Matti's group or Rhody's group might end up losing.

Of the two, I had more of an affinity toward North Dakota – was it our blond Scandinavian heritage? – and I began including him in activities outside of meals. We adopted a nickname for him – Nodak.

It had been a while since I had seen a single Bottom or Eunuch. We heard them being called to mealtimes – at different times from us – but didn't run into them on the sunning deck or at the pool or in the recreation room. With only sixteen Tops the ship seemed almost deserted.

On my way to the rec room with Nodak and Noisy (Matti wanted to stay in his cabin and read) I ran into Latronius, and decided to take a risk. I stopped in front of him and raised my hand, like a student in class.

Yeah?
Could I ask you a question?

Noisy looked at me with astonishment.

Depends on what it is.
Where are all the others? I haven't seen the Bottoms since lunch on Saturday.
They're locked in their cabins.
Why?
That, boy, is a question you never ask.

And then he stalked off.

(Noisy) That was foolish, Wisconsin. You don't want to get on a maroon's radar if you can help it.
(under my breath) I'm already on his radar.

Fortunately, neither Noisy nor Nodak followed up on that remark and we continued on to the rec room, where Noisy humiliated us in a one-on-two game of basketball.

Tension slowly grew throughout the day, as a competition tonight meant Bottomhood for some of us. Even Matti's wall of breezy confidence was starting to show cracks. It showed up in his wanting to be apart during a good bit of the day. We did spend some time together sunning but then it started to cloud over and we went back to our rooms separately. There was no particular tension between us, but maybe he figured we needed some time apart, especially after the difference in our perspectives about how deep our friendship was. And maybe he realized there was a good chance we would soon be separated, and wanted to distance himself in advance to make it less painful for both of us.

At dinner, there was a surprise: Bottoms and Eunuchs were present, though the room was partitioned off into separate areas for each group. We could hear their conversations, but the partitions were too tall for us to see over, so we never actually saw them.

By now we were familiar with the colored tablecloths and sat down at them automatically, without thinking.

After the excellent dinner (roast lamb, green beans, some kind of polenta, and cherry pie), they took down the partitions separating our three groups. I couldn't figure out why they were needed in the first place, but didn't have the energy to worry about that. All my focus was on DeJuan Brooks when he stood in front of us.

The good news is: Everyone on this boat will have sex tonight.

This was good news?

(grinning meanly) I guess that may not be good news for everyone. But I certainly look forward to it. So who will be having sex with whom? Eunuchs: you will be the exclusive overnight guest of one of our four Event organizers. Bottoms: you will each entertain one of our enforcers. Tops: you will be having sex with each other. And maybe a few others, like the mechanics and cooks. Or me. Round Four will determine that.
You're probably wondering what kind of competition will take place. Let me say this – strategy may play a role. But physical strength will not help you, nor will mental acuity. Psychological prowess might – but there are elements you can't control, and it is anyone's guess who will be bending over for whom.

With that, he released us to our cabins. The five of us who had been friends all week - Rhody, Noisy, Del, Matti and I – congregated in Matti's room to digest the news along with our dinner.

Rhody suggested that we form alliances ahead of the competition. If it was table against table, there was no point to it. But if it was intra-table, it was best to form three-against-one alliances. Strategy would be a factor, he said, and there had to be a reason they gave us time to think about it beforehand.

(Matti) Or they could just be trying to psych us out.
(Rhody) Or that, yeah.

The Red group members - Matti and Del - opted for Mississippi over California, since Mississippi had been rocking competitions all week. Noisy and I chose Nodak – nothing against Kansas, we just liked Nodak better. Rhody chose Iowa and Oregon over Nevada, whose best friend was Wyoming. We went out and recruited our selections, finding the idea of alliances well-received.

(Nodak) There's strength in numbers.
(Mississippi) I was never too crazy about California anyway. Dude's a little full of himself, totally L.A.

Then Matti – as is so often is the case – said something thought-provoking.

(Matti) There's something that's been bothering me ever since dinner. It's the numbers.
It usually is with you.
(Matti) He said that the Bottoms would each be having sex with one of the maroons. And that the Eunuchs would be the EXCLUSIVE guests of one of the organizers.
(Del) Yeah, so?
(Matti) There are twenty-eight Bottoms and eight Eunuchs. There are only twenty-four maroons and only four Russians.
(Mississippi) There are guys missing.
(Matti) Exactly. There are guys missing.
(Nodak) THAT's why the partitions were up. They didn't want us to notice there were guys missing.
(Del) Would we have noticed, though? I'm hardly going to count the people in the room.
(Mississippi) We might have noticed specific guys that were missing.
(Nodak) The port of call. They took some of the guys off when we stopped in . . . wherever we stopped.
Equatorial Guinea.
(Nodak) Equatorial Guinea? How do you know?
Uh . . . I asked one of the maroons. I forget which one.
(Del) And he told you? Amazing.
(Noisy) Damn, Rhode Island was right. Equatorial Fucking Guinea.
(Rhody) Wes, I think you owe me. Fifty-to-one, you said.
Let me get my wallet out of my pants pocket.
(Mississippi) Wherever we were, think about what happened. They SOLD them. If there are only four Eunuchs left, they must've fucking SOLD the other four.
(Matti) They sold four Eunuchs and four Bottoms. Or at least got rid of them somehow. We don't know that they sold them.
(Mississippi) I don't think they just set them free.
But who did they sell? And how did they choose them?
(Nodak) More importantly, where are they now? What happened to them could happen to us.

They didn't call us until 9:00. When we arrived, the Bottoms were lined up in a row, looking nervous. Across from them were the twenty-four maroons. We were placed on the side – the Bottoms on our left, the maroons on our right. DeJuan Brooks stepped into the middle, holding a bowl similar to that used at dinner time for us to select marbles.

This competition is for the enforcers. However, in the spirit of some competitions, there are no losers in this competition – there is just a question of who gets to choose first. And the answer to that question is . . .

He paused dramatically and then pulled out a slip of paper from the bowl and read it. "Joey." Joey gave a "woof" of approval and called out.

(Joey) I'll take . . . Florida.
(Brooks) Florida, your bed partner tonight will be Joey.

At first, I was surprised that uncooperative Florida would be the first choice. But Joey was strong as an ox, and would probably enjoy the challenge of overpowering Florida and subjugating him.

(Brooks) Each enforcer is committed to using you at least twice overnight – once in your mouth and once in your ass. They will be armed with erection needles, so I'm sure they will manage to fuck you a third time, if not a fourth. (picking up another slip) The next enforcer to pick his victim is – Yasiel.

A darkly handsome Hispanic maroon I had never interacted with called out, "Idaho".

Idaho, as I had remarked previously, was as handsome a guy as there was on board. And he had a perfect bubble butt. His early selection didn't surprise me in the least.

Brooks picked a third slip. "Latronius." I felt a thump – a bad kind – as the big African-American walked forward, looked over the line of available bottoms and then turned and looked straight at me.

Wisc – I mean West Virginia.

I nearly fainted. That was no accident. He meant to almost say Wisconsin' and he wanted me to know he meant to almost say it. I suspect he chose West Virginia only because the first syllable of his name' was similar to the first syllable of Wisconsin, making it easy for him to pretend it was an accident.

While the rest of the maroons were choosing their bedmates, I had a chance to figure out who was missing. The Eunuchs were easy. The four remaining were sitting together, and it was easy to identify Texas, New York, and Georgia among the vanished. And Utah. A pang of guilt. But then I heard Matti's voice: Remember, he's an asshole. And it was true – Utah WAS an asshole (his snicker upon seeing Indiana's severed balls replayed in my mind). No one deserved Utah's fate, but others deserved it less. And karma is a bitch, as the saying goes. Indiana was still on board.

Bottoms were tougher. I quickly noticed that Puerto Rico was gone – which would upset Noisy. Eventually, I identified the other missing Bottoms: Arizona, Alaska, and Connecticut. Where were they, what were they thinking? And where was Utah now? Utah, whom we had betrayed, who wouldn't be a Bottom if not for Matti and me.

I watched the ship's remaining Bottoms get picked off, one by one, by horny maroons until finally, it was just Washington. I felt bad for him, as if he were the last kid chosen when picking sides for basketball in sixth grade.

The Bottoms were sent back to their cabins to await their dates' arrival. And then it was time for the main event – us. The four tablecloths used at dinner were laid out on the floor. We had to stand on one of the corners of our respective tablecloths. This put us close together, but with enough room for something to happen in the middle – I wasn't sure what, though.

DeJuan, a tireless emcee, addressed us.

Welcome to Round Four of the Tops Competition. We begin Round Four with sixteen Tops; we will end it with twelve. On Wednesday night, Round Five will reduce the number of Tops to eight. That will be the final competition; we will disembark with eight Tops. As for the other eight? The initiation will be rigorous - you'll pull a train of eight.
Here is how it will work. It is ironic that Nebraska is no longer a Top; he would have appreciated this, having become a Top in the first place by this method.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He didn't mean –

You are going to play 'Rock, Paper, Scissors'.

He did mean.

We will divide each group into two pairs by drawing matching marbles. Each pair will contest each other, the losers to meet in the finale, which will produce our new Bottom. We will go in the following order, determined randomly: Yellow, Red, Green, Blue.

Great. My group was last.

There is one other thing we need to do, to prevent cheating.

They blindfolded us. It seemed unnecessary – like we could tell from someone's downward movement what choice they were going to make? I suppose it was possible. But – really?

The Yellow table contained the obnoxious cowboy Wyoming, two coal-black guys (Maryland and South Carolina) and South Dakota, the Sioux from Sioux City. He was Nodak's friend, so I was rooting for him.

South Carolina bested Maryland in the first round but South Dakota and Wyoming tied and had to go a second time, which Wyoming lost. Victory for the two Souths.

Maryland and Wyoming, you will play the next round, and one of you will be the first man in the stocks.

I soooo wanted it to be Wyoming.

Okay, here we go. Maryland versus Wyoming. Winner fucks the loser. Ready? One. Two. THREE!

A big cheer. It wasn't a tie.

We have a winner – and a loser. When I announce the results, the loser is advised to keep his mouth shut – or pay the price.
Maryland, you are now officially a Bottom. Grease him up, boys, his black ass is going to be busy. Inject his tablemates.

I heard some movement as maroons seemed to be carrying out DeJuan's impassive instructions. I heard them dragging poor Maryland away, presumably to lubricate his ass to facilitate penetration.

Damn, I so wanted it to be Wyoming.

Ready, Red?

My heart skipped. Matti was in Red, along with California, Delaware, and Mississippi. I remembered how Mississippi had described California as "full of himself, totally L.A.", so it was ironic that the two drew each other as opponents. Which meant Matti was up against Del. Damn.

One. Two. THREE!

Heart pounding. There was a small groan. I figured what that meant. California and Mississippi had tied. They tied a second time, which was agony. For fuck's sake, get it over with, so we can move on to Matti. The suspense was killing me.

Finally, Mississippi emerged victorious, and it was Matti's turn. It didn't take long – there was a cheer, and an announcement.

Who will advance to the finals against California? (incredibly long pause) Delaware.

I nearly collapsed in relief. Matti would stay a Top. He was safe.

But Del wasn't. He had to go up against his fellow Asian, California. It drove me crazy to not be able to see what was going on. The nice thing about Rock, Paper, Scissors was that it was immediately apparent who won, or if there was a tie. Unless, of course, you were blindfolded.

One, two, THREE!

A cheer.

Our new Bottom is . . . California. Green group, you're next.

Matti was safe, and Del was safe, and then it was time to worry about Rhody. But he won his first round, and in the final Oregon bested Iowa.

I wondered what Rhody was thinking at this moment – he'd won, he'd avoided being raped, but now he had to be one of the rapists. And I couldn't help be reminded of his despair over having raped Maine on Monday night.

But I had no time to consider Rhody's moral dilemma. The Blue group – MY group – was up next. What was I going to choose? Somehow it was my turn and I didn't know. I hadn't even thought about it.

Okay, Blue group. Get ready.

Nodak and Kansas went first, quickly settled in Nodak's favor. That was good – I guess. I liked Kansas, but Nodak was quickly turning into a friend, and I was rooting for him.

Which meant I had to go up against Noisy. Hell. I didn't want to compete against any of these guys, much less Noisy, who had been my friend since before they lowered the boom on us.

They positioned us on opposite corners of what I presumed was the blue tablecloth and –

Ready?

Uh, no, actually, I'm not.

One. Two.

What should I choose? What should I choose?

THREE!

Scissors. I chose scissors. There was a groan of disappointment. I exhaled, in my own way as disappointed as they. Noisy must also have chosen scissors.

Again. One. Two –

Wait, again I'm not –

THREE!

Paper. I threw down Paper. I don't know why, I never choose Paper. But what had Noisy chosen? From the cheer, I knew it wasn't Paper. If he switched to Rock, I was safe. If he stuck to Scissors –

Our fourth new Bottom tonight will be either Kansas or . . . Wisconsin.

Shit shit shit shit SHIT!

Matti was safe. Rhody was safe. Del was safe. Noisy was safe. Nodak was safe. All my best friends were safe.

And I wasn't. Here I was, worrying so much about the others, not realizing it was ME who was in true jeopardy. The odds were fifty-fifty. Not good.

Time to think.

Ready?

Would I ever be?

One.

First time Scissors, second time Paper. Should I stick to those or switch to –

Two.

Stupid. Kansas doesn't know what you chose bef-

THREE!

Rock. I hadn't chosen Rock yet. I'll do Rock. No idea why.

The loudest cheer yet. It was over. One way or the other, it was over. My heart was in my mouth. Oh my God, Matti, I'm so glad you were saved, but was I?

Was I?

Congratulations, we have a loser. When I announce the results, remember to take it like a man. Very soon you will be taking a lot of men, and I think you'd like to keep it to single digits. If you make a sound, we can arrange for every enforcer in this room to take his turn with you.

I heard someone shout "Yes!" and I froze.

That was Latronius.

Omigod, that was Latronius. If he was happy, that could mean only one thing.

Wisconsin –

No, no, please God no!

Wisconsin, you are still a Top. Kansas, you are now officially a Bottom.

I felt him reach out to me and hug me. Yes, Kansas hugged me. I hugged him back, in consolation.

And then I felt something else – a hand on my ass, squeezing it. And another one on my shoulder. And there was a presence near my ear.

Had you worried, didn't I?

Latronius. He pulled off my blindfold.

You escaped me this time, bitch. But there's still Round Five. And I'm going to make damn sure you lose Round Five.

He opened his big mouth and a dozen white teeth flashed a huge grin.

I'm going to fuck your sweet ass, little bitch, I promise you. I don't know when, but I am going to fuck it. That is a promise. And you're going to love every minute of it. But in the meantime –

In the meantime he injected me at the base of my penis. And shortly I had a raging hard-on.

Which I used to fuck the shit out of a nice guy from Wichita State. And - dammit - I enjoyed it.

[COMING UP NEXT: CHAPTER NINETEEN - THE CAMPAIGN BEGINS]

Next: Chapter 20

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