All rights reserved. Other than downloading one copy for personal enjoyment, no part of this story may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, except for reviews, without the written permission of the author. As in real life, the sexual themes unfold gradually and are kept to a realistic level.
This story contains descriptions of consensual sexual contact between males, adult and minor. As such it is homoerotic, designed for the entertainment of mature adults. If you are not of legal age to read such material, or if the subject matter would create irresolvable personal moral dilemmas, please exit now.
Note: I would like to thank Matthew for his unwavering support and editing skills while I write this story.
Many, many thanks to all those emails full of well wishes. It's taken a while using the pick 'n peck system, but here's the next chapter. I'll still be on the pick 'n peck for a short while, but hope to have another chapter ready soon.
Comments on the story are appreciated and may be addressed to the author, Dwight Wilson, at adm2780@yahoo.com
Chapter One-Hundred-One: New Horizons
"Daniel, want to talk about it?" Michael felt as though he was talking to a statue. There was no doubt that Daniel's mind was anywhere other than with them.
"Hmmm? Oh, sorry. Talk about what?"
"Whatever it is that has your mind a thousand miles away; away from us."
Daniel and Michael lay together in their bedroom. After beginning initial treatments at the hospital in Orlando, Michael had been forced to leave his patients' care in the hands of residents while he was called back to the hospital in Tampa. The two men, who had long ago committed themselves to one another, had been able to find little time to spend together privately. Both understood the commitments and responsibilities of the other and accepted that there would be times when they had to be apart for extended periods of time. Lately, the separations had become more frequent, and longer. This was their first alone time in more than three weeks.
"I was thinking about something Dad said to me when I first tried to get New Horizons approved. He told me that I had to be patient and understand that things may not always go the way I hoped. At the time, I more or less laughed that off. I'd been around politics enough to know it was going to be a tough battle and he wasn't telling me anything I didn't already know. Looking back, I can see that I was looking through blinders. His advice wasn't just about the politics, it was about the whole picture."
For the next few minutes the two lovers lay quietly, each lost in his own thoughts. Michael finally broke the silence.
"Are you going to tell me the rest or do I get to lay here the rest of the night and try to read your mind?" Michael didn't mean to sound sarcastic, but Daniel wasn't helping matters.
"I think I was more than a little naïve when I set my personal goals for New Horizons. The boys we got that had been taken off the streets didn't seem to have too much trouble adjusting to what we wanted to do for them. They put forth a lot of effort to help us help them. They've worked to help take care of this place, they do well with their school work, they even work hard at helping each other.
"We knew that most of them lost their families and would stay with us till they were grown. However, we have been able to return some of them to their families. I had hoped that we could reverse those numbers and send most of our new boys home fairly quickly. I failed to consider the toll that slavery took on them. It's been over two weeks now and we don't have any ready to return to their homes; not even close."
"Isn't there another part of that equation you've overlooked?" Michael said more as a statement than a question. "You talk about what losing a child to slavery does to the child. What about the parents? How can you tell if they are prepared to accept what the child has been forced to do and give the necessary support? After all, the boy going home will be far different than the innocent child that was taken away." Daniel was silent for a few minutes before he responded.
"You're right. We didn't give that enough consideration. Somehow, I always thought simply having the child back home would be enough for child and parents to overcome any issues. Now that I think about it, that's a pretty naïve perspective."
"There's something else you failed to take into consideration," Michael stated as he propped himself up on his elbow and leaned over Daniel. "Sometimes you have to take time for yourself. If you worry about these kids and their problems twenty-four hours a day, you'll be an old man long before your time. If you allow yourself to burnout, you won't be able to help them at any time. Right now, be thankful that they are safe and then address the problems one at a time."
"Any suggestions on what priority I should address the problems?" Daniel answered as he turned to Michael and wrapped an arm around his neck.
"As a matter of fact, yes. I suggest you put yourself first, then us, and let the boys wait till morning."
"Oh, really," Daniel responded with an amused smile. "Any suggestions on how to resolve our problems?"
Without a word, Michael leaned over his best friend, partner and lover, and they kissed. At first gently, but then Michael pressed his tongue into Daniel's eager mouth as he pulled him over on top. Daniel was still receiving treatments for his back, which remained sensitive to anything rubbing his skin. Michael had no trouble supporting both of them. The heat between the two began to build.
A kiss between lovers. At first gentle and loving, then ravenous and full of need. The young men broke their kiss as Daniel lifted himself just enough to look into his lover's eyes. The two young men knew one another well enough that no words were needed. It had been a long time since they last lost themselves within the other; too long. Their passion and animal lust quickly pushed them into a special world of both giving and taking their pleasures.
Daniel bent down and nibbled Michael's neck, sinking his teeth in deep enough to leave the unmistakable mark before running his tongue up to Michael's ear. Michael squirmed and whimpered, Daniel laughed to himself. While Daniel concentrated on making Michael squirm, he forgot to maintain control. Without warning, Michael grabbed Daniel's shoulders, flipping him. The two young men had traded positions with Michael now on top. Michael paused a moment to read Daniel's expression, aware that Daniel's back could be too sensitive for Daniel to be on the bottom. When Daniel didn't grimace, Michael continued.
"Turn about's fair play," Michael said as he raised himself up on his arms and dove for Daniel's neck.
The friends-lovers-partners wrestled with each other; neither being dominant, but both being dominant. This was an old game they enjoyed playing with each other. They wrestled and rough-housed until one of them decided they'd had enough. Both of their bodies had become slick with sweat, making it easier to move into a sixty-nine position, or any other position they desired.
Quick sessions of sex and venting pent up passions and needs were something Michael and Daniel had never shared. Both men were young and virile. Their shared ability to experience multiple orgasms meant their sexual games lasted well into the night. Michael lay on his back, his legs wrapped around Daniel. Daniel supported himself on the tip of his toes and the palms of his hands as he pounded into his lover. Sweat caused both young bodies to shine, reflecting the moonlight coming through the window. The unexpected sound caused both men to return almost instantly to the reality around them.
"NOOOO!!!! . . .AAAAAHHHHHH!! . . .NO MOOORE! . . .PLEEEEEASE! no more."
It began as a scream, a pleading for mercy. It ended with sobs.
Daniel and Michael immediately ran outside, neither bothered to grab any clothes; a boy was in trouble. When they got outside, they were joined almost immediately by other staff members and some of the older boys. Daniel stooped between the dorms, waiting to hear anything that would let him know where the cries came from.
"He's in here, Mr. Dan'l," Josh called out as he stood on the entrance stoop.
Daniel ran for the dormitory, followed by other staff members. On entering, Josh told Daniel the boy was upstairs. Daniel saw several of the younger boys up, most clinging to their big brothers. Daniel asked the staff and older boys to help the younger boys that appeared frightened. Danny was being held by Sean.
When Daniel and Michael went upstairs they saw a group huddled around one of the beds. Several boys appeared to be talking to another boy. Richard, a sixteen year old, sat with an arm around David, a fifteen year old; both were part of the new group that had recently joined New Horizons. David almost looked as though he wanted to crawl inside Richard. Both boys were in the group receiving treatments for their backs.
"Boys?" Daniel spoke gently, wanting to soothe the upset boy. "What happened?"
Richard looked up at Daniel and answered without removing his arm from around his friend. "Bad dream, Mr. Daniel. This is the first time in a long time."
"You say it's the first in along time. Does he have the same dream over and over?"
"Yes, sir. It's about a bad time he had when we were slaves and he can't seem to put it behind him."
"If he had dreams like this when he was a slave, I'm surprised the masters didn't punish him."
"Sometimes they did, Mr. Daniel. They'd give him a bad whippin'; they knew that's what caused the nightmare in the first place. Other times, they just laughed when they saw him get scared and cry."
"You said this hasn't happened in a while. How, or what, made it stop before?"
"He's not so bad if somebody sleeps with 'im. When we were slaves they kept us all in the same room," Richard paused a moment. "Well, I used to sleep next to him. I'd spoon him into me and hold him. Usually, that kept him from havin' the nightmare. Here, we all have to sleep by ourselves, so it started all over for 'im. That's my guess, anyway."
Daniel knelt before David. Placing two fingers under the boy's chin, Daniel turned the boy's head to look at him.
"David, I'm not going to ask you to tell me what happened right now, I'm more concerned that you're alright. You heard what Richard said. Is there anything else you want to tell me?"
"Only . . . only, I'm . . .I'm sorry for bein' such a bother. I didn't mean to cause so much trouble." Daniel could hear the trembling in the boy's voice. The concern wasn't whether the boy was frightened by the nightmare, but that he might be in trouble.
"You haven't caused any trouble. It's like I tried to tell you boys before, we're just here to try and help you. However, you boys have to let us know when there's a problem. Would you feel better if you and Richard could sleep together?"
"Yes, sir," David answered, sounding a little less frightened. "Mr. Daniel, we don't mind sleepin' on the floor. That's what we had ta do all the time anyways."
"I think we can do a little better than that," Daniel responded, smiling. "Why don't we go and let these other boys get back to sleep?"
As Daniel descended the stairs he saw Sean standing to the side with Danny. Jacob and Josh were holding Ian and Ryan while Kevin had Ben. When Daniel got close, Danny didn't wait for Daniel to offer to take him. The young boy just reached out for Daniel.
"Little man, you're supposed to be asleep," Daniel said as he lifted the young boy in his arms.
"I got scared. Some boy up there was screamin' like he was hurt."
"I know. I guess those screams were kind of scary, huh? But it's okay. David was just having a bad dream. We're going to let him sleep somewhere else tonight so he won't be so scared and maybe we can make that bad dream go away. Now, how 'bout if you get some sleep, young man. After all, we have a big day tomorrow that should be full of fun."
"Okay," Danny answered as he gave Daniel a hug and let Sean pull him from Daniel's arms. Daniel then turned to Mark and Kevin.
"Can you get everyone settled back down? I'm going to let David and Richard sleep in one of the spare rooms tonight. Rick will need to make accommodations for them tomorrow."
Patrick and Brad walked towards the river. Daniel had asked them to try and talk to Richard and David and find out just what was happening with David. Daniel understood that the boys were willing to trust the adults only up to a point. He also understood why. It was too early for the boys to let their guard down.
Patrick and Brad walked behind the orchard which was the last place anyone had seen the two new boys. The new boys had been at New Horizons long enough to learn about the places boys liked to go to be alone. They didn't have to go too far before Richard and David were spotted sitting on the ground, leaning against a fallen log near the river. The two boys turned as Patrick and Brad approached.
"Hey, guys," Brad greeted the new boys. "What's up?"
"Nothin'," one of the boys answered as they both shrugged their shoulders.
"Can we sit with you?" Patrick asked in a serious tone. When David nodded, Patrick and Brad sat on the ground and Patrick continued.
"Guys, I'm not gonna bull shit ya. Mr Dan'l asked us to come find you and see if we could talk. He's worried about David 'cause o' last night. He also figures you might be more willin' ta talk to us instead of an adult." All four boys snickered as they understood the truth of the statement.
"There's nothin' ta talk about. I'm okay," David told the boys. Patrick and Brad looked at David and smiled.
"Uh-uh," Brad said. "When you've been around here long enough, you'll know that there's no way Mr Dan'l's gonna believe that. You were screamin' loud enough last night for all of us to figure out you were dreamin somethin' pretty bad. Mr Dan'l's decided that you're getting' some help to work out the problem and he won't stop till it happens. He don't give up easy."
"Hunh!" Patrick added. "He don't give up, period."
"Actually, he figured you'd say somethin' like that," Patrick continued, "so he wanted us to talk to you and, if we needed to, tell you what happened to us and how it got worked out."
Patrick and Brad each told their story of how they lost their families and wound up living on the streets. Brad included the story of his younger brother, Sean, and how he lost Sean. The boys told how Sean and most of the other boys had already been placed at a holding center to be shipped to the slave auction house when Daniel and his group saved them. After the boys were at Fort Ogden, Brad was picked up as part of a group and placed in New Horizons. Later, the police asked some of the boys to assist in a sweep, ordered by the court, of some vacant buildings downtown.
"Wait, wait a minute," Brad interrupted Patrick. "Before you say anymore, you gotta tell 'em how we were good friends and then hated each other after I whipped ya."
"You whipped your best friend? Why?" Richard and David were shocked.
Patrick did tell the story in detail, being sure that the two new boys understood that Brad really had no choice about what he did. Patrick also admitted he knew Brad had no choice, but that didn't make it hurt any less.
"When we did the sweep, I went in first. The Captain thought there'd be less chance of anybody tryin' ta run or getting' hurt."
"Yeah, and when he came through that door and I saw who it was, I laid his little butt out on the floor," Patrick added, laughing as he remembered the look on Brad's face as he went down.
"Yeah, he blindsided me and I hit the floor. You can imagine what I thought when I rolled over and saw the king of the a-holes standing over me. He looked like he wanted ta kill me."
"Back then, I did," Patrick added. "Now, I just like poundin' your ass a different way."
"Yeah, when you're not wantin' me ta pound yours, bottom boy."
Richard and David sat watching and listening to the two friends exchange friendly jibes, wondering how much of the story was made up. The two boys were obviously close friends and lovers. The problem was whether they should feel bad for Patrick and Brad, or laugh at some of what they said.
"We were still arguing with each other here and, I guess, it was just a matter of time before we went at each other. When we did, that's when Mr Dan'l stepped in, and there was a big, BIG, problem. Fighting among ourselves, physical fighting, is one of the biggest sins around here. About the only thing worse would be for an older boy to force himself on a younger boy.
"We got confined to our barracks and had ta face the discipline board. It looked like we were gonna get kicked outta here and probably enslaved."
"Did Mr Daniel save you?" David asked.
"Not really," Brad answered. "He did try to help us, but everybody pretty much thought we were creatin' too much tension around here and didn't trust us. Mr. Dan'l said if the board kicked us out that he'd find a place we could go so we weren't out on the streets again. He also said we wouldn't hafta worry 'bout bein' slaves.
"At the first hearing they kept askin' what caused all the problems and neither of us would talk. The board punished us for fightin'; we each got five swats with the heavy paddle. The worst part of that was the younger boys gave us the first three. For some reason they thought they had ta swing the paddle as hard as they could."
"Yeah, they his so hard, we didn't know what was gonna bust first, the paddle or our butts," Patrick interjected, laughing.
"After we got our butts heated up, Mr Dan'l used cuffs ta connect us and said we had ta be buddies and do everything together. He said we had ta talk and cooperate and then come back in two days to finish answering their questions. Two days later we still weren't willing to talk and Mr. D wasn't happy with us."
"That's when Sean jumped up and surprised everybody," Patrick added with a grin. He continued.
"During the hearing, it was lookin' pretty bad for us. We didn't really expect anything else 'cause we did what they said we did and about eighty guys saw us. There wasn't anything we could do. When it was really lookin' bad, all of a sudden Sean jumped up screamin'. I don't mean hollering some, I mean he was SCREAMIN'! Brad and I just sat there looking at him. We were dumbfounded.
"Sean's face was all red and he was cryin', I mean real hard bawlin' kinda cryin'. He told everybody that he'd had enough and to just plain shut up. We did, too! He looked at us and told us how he'd had enough of our stupidity. He managed to call us a few names and even used some cuss words on us that we didn't even know he knew. Neither one of us, I guess, ever thought about how our fightin' affected him. We had to spend some time with counselors. They helped us work through a lot of stuff that didn't have anything ta do with our argument."
Richard and David looked at one another. Neither said anything, but looked back and forth at each other and themselves. David broke the silence.
"Has anybody ever been sent away from here?"
"No, 'cept to go back home to their family," Brad answered.
"S'pose you don't wanna go back home? Maybe what you done, even though you were made ta do it, was so bad that you couldn't go back home? What do they do to ya then?"
Patrick and Brad looked at one another before answering. They couldn't understand what any boy could do that was that bad.
"We're not goin' home. We don't have a home to go back to. We'll stay here and keep goin' ta school until we're grown. There's a lot 'o guys here like that.
"Hhhmmm, can we ask what you mean by doin' somethin' so bad you can't go back? We didn't think that could happen." Brad wanted an explanation, but tried to give the boys the opportunity to say no if they were uncomfortable.
Richard and David looked at one another and then talked in a whisper so low that Brad and Patrick couldn't understand what they were saying. The two new boys took a couple of quick glances at Brad and Patrick and then seemed to come to an agreement. The boys nudged each other, each trying to get the other to talk. Finally, Richard spoke up.
"We told Mr. Daniel that we were in a club where the men tied us up and whipped us and played dumb games with us. All that was true, but there's really more. We were afraid if he knew everything, he might not want us. Me and David know we gotta tell somebody sometime and guess we might as well do it now. One thing though, you can't tell nobody, and we mean nobody! If you did, we're afraid nobody'd want anything ta do with us." Brad and Patrick gave their word not to say anything unless given permission. Richard continued.
"We were part of that BDSM place and they did tie boys up and whip 'em like they did in Sparta. There was also other boys, like us, where the games were sicker and the members paid a lot more money. My slave name was Tolu and David's was Solu. Our master and trainer told us they came from some kind of ancient words that said we was specially trained sex slaves. They started training us right after they got us. Boys picked as part of the group didn't take clients or get whipped like the other boys. For us it was a lot worse.
"We were party slaves trained to hypnotize ourselves so we didn't feel pain. A party was set up and everybody paid money, a lot of money by what we heard, to torture us. They had to make us beg for mercy to win the prize. The prize was to be able to keep us for a week and do anything they wanted except kill us. If the torture ended, we were supposed to thank the master and beg for more. If we failed to beg for more, then after the party the master beat us or there was some other punishment."
"What good would that do if you could hypnotize yourself to not feel anything?" Brad interrupted.
"We were tied down on a table and our legs hung from chains. The master had a special paddle he used to beat us on the bottom of our feet. Even if you managed to hypnotize yourself, the pain was bad enough to bring you out of it." Brad and Patrick looked at one another as Richard continued.
"All the slaves was kept naked, but those of us called special wore fancy chains and stuff. They put collars on us that had a pointy bump on the inside and rings on the outside at the back, front and sides. We had metal bands around our upper arms with smaller bands around our wrists and ankles. All the bands had hooks on 'em. We had rings in our nips with a chain between the rings. If somebody wanted to hurt us or control us, they just pulled on the chain which pulled our tits. Believe me, you'd follow wherever that chain went. But hooked on the chain was another chain that went down to a ring that our boy parts was stuck through. The ring had hooks on it so they could hang weights from it.
"We also had stuff stuck in us that'd make fuckin' our face or us givin' a rim job more pleasurable; at least to the guy we was takin' care of. David, show 'em your tongue." David stuck his tongue out so the boys could see the flat surface. "You see the four holes in his tongue? Mine the same way. They pierced our tongues and stuck balls in 'em. Each ball was a different size. If we licked somebody's butt, the balls stimulated 'em. If they face fucked us, the balls ran along the underside of their dick. They were called erotica studs."
Brad and Patrick listened intently. They had heard about those kind of things but never talked with anyone that had actually been a part of them. The two boys also noticed that as Richard talked, David became more solemn and was now leaning into Richard with Richard's left arm draped across his friend's chest.
"The chains and hooks was so they could tie us up any way they wanted. Usually we were hung from chains hanging from the ceiling with our feet off the floor. Our legs were spread out and chained to hooks in the floor. When the party started, wires were attached at our nipple rings and the ring around our cock. They also shoved a rod up our butts. We were whipped with special whips that stung real bad but didn't scar us. If we passed out, they hit us with electricity through those wires to shock us awake."
"Man, that's sick! What happened if you just couldn't take anymore whippings?" Brad asked as he too had moved between his lover's legs and tried to meld with Patrick.
"They usually stopped and took you down when you begged for mercy. You had to beg more than once while they laid into ya with the whip. When you were released, another boy was put in your place. When they took you down you were laid on a table with your hands tied over the edge and your legs hooked to some more chains hangin' from the ceiling. You became the toilet for everybody for the rest of the night. Anybody could do anything they wanted to ya and then you got a beatin' on the bottom of your feet afterwards. The beatings were bad 'cause you cost the master money by breakin'. That's what happened to David and why he has nightmares.
"He broke and begged for mercy. They took him down and put him on the toilet table. Those men were 'specially mean that night. After a while I could tell he didn't know what was goin' on around him. They'd cum and pissed on him and a couple guys dumped on him. They all just laughed while David lay on that table cryin' and beggin' somebody to kill him. It wasn't the first time that it'd happened to 'im. The master said David'd be lucky if it wasn't his last.
"It got so bad that I begged 'em not to hurt David anymore. The master got so mad at what we did that he took me down and hung me from other chains. He put a leather whip around my neck and I had to ask anybody that came up to me to whip me. If I didn't get them to give me at least three lashes, he gave me five bad ones. At the end of the night he hung David next to me and whipped both of us till we passed out.
"We woke up in a bare room; it wasn't our regular sleepin' place. We were both hangin' from crosses and there was somethin' huge stuffed up our butts. Whatever it was kept us on the cross 'cause our feet were off the ground. Master cussed us and said we were worthless now 'cause of what the whip did to our backs. He hit us with a leather strap and it didn't take much for David to pass out again. That's when his nightmares began. We don't know how long he kept us hangin' there or how many times we were punished. Every time he whipped us he'd give us kind of a evil sneer and tell us to think how much fun it'd be for us ta ride the pony." Richard now spoke with a glazed look in his eyes as he pictured what they had been through. When he looked at Brad and Patrick, their expressions told him they wanted to know what riding the pony was, but they wouldn't ask.
"Ridin' the pony was a punishment that the master made part of the games. The boy was laid on the floor on his stomach. One of the customers paid extra to ride him. The boy had to suck his cock to get him ready. The fucker got on his knees and pulled the boy back onto his cock. He didn't care how much he hurt the boy neither. The louder the boy screamed, the more they liked it.
"A thin rope was run through the rings on the boy's arm bands and the ring on his collar. The fucker got two minutes to pound the boy as hard as he wanted and the boy worked to get the man to shoot his load. After two minutes the fucker started pullin' on the rope. The kid's arms were pulled back and his body lifted by his collar. When the guy drove into the boy's ass, he pulled on the rope. If the fucker wanted, he could release the pressure to help the boy breathe, or just keep pullin'. When the fucker shot his load he had to go of the rope. The problem was that as you started chokin', you stopped tryin' ta milk the guy fuckin' you. We only knew one boy to survive that and his voice was never more than a whisper afterward.
"Master said we weren't worth shit or the cost of feedin' us. He said after our wounds heeled he was going to sell us. He said a bunch more, but it got to where we ignored the threats. We figured we was gonna be sold for dog food or sold to some freak to ride the pony and wouldn't live much longer. We thought that was a blessin'. We were slaves, shit for nothin', and nobody'd miss us.
"They took our chains and rings and stuff off us. The man said we wasn't fit to wear such nice things. I remember laughing to myself 'cause I couldn't figure out what was so nice about the stuff. They made us the toilets for the other boys. If any boy tried to use the regular toilet, he got beat for doin' it and we got beat for not begging him hard enough to use us.
"One day the master walked in with two of his men. Me and David were a filthy mess by then; we didn't know how many days we'd been locked in that room. When they came in, nobody else was in the room and we were layin' on the floor with me holding him. That's how we slept after he got whipped for having a nightmare. When they checked our numbers, I heard one of 'em call us by our real names. We was so shocked that we didn't move. The other man kicked us and held up a whip like he was gonna hit us. I tried to cover David; they just laughed. The big surprise was when master told the man that for every mark he put on us, master would make sure he got ten."
Richard paused for a moment to hug David and whisper in his ear. When David nodded, Richard continued as Patrick pulled Brad in closer.
"At first, they just hosed us off. Then master made 'em take us to the showers, the good ones his best whores got to use. There were two slaves there that bathed us. We didn't understand, but knew better than to ask questions. When they took us to our old room and said that's where we'd stay until they came for us, we figured we were gonna be sold like they said. What didn't make sense to us was the food they brought us. After a few meals we figured they were just tryin'ta fatten us up, 'cause we'd lost so much weight when we were toilets, so they could get more money for us.
"I don't know how many times they fed us, but it was a lot more than normal. Finally, they came and got us. They told us if we ever told anybody 'bout the club and what they did, they'd have our nuts cut out and feed 'em to us. They put us in a van and next thing we knew we were in a room with a bunch of other boys. That told us we were at the auction place. Then, Mr. Daniel and a bunch of other men walked in."
Richard was again quiet. David lay in his lap holding on tightly to Richard's arm. Both boys had tears running down their cheeks. Brad and Patrick looked at the two boys and wondered how much of their horrible existence Richard and David hadn't told them.
"Richard," Patrick spoke gently in low tone, "thanks for telling us. Were the other guys in the hospital, getting' their backs fixed, from the same place as you guys?"
"One was. The other two was from a different club. They probably went through some of the same shit as us."
Richard looked at Patrick and then down at his friend. He hugged David and used his thumb to wipe away a tear.
"When we got here, we said we wasn't gonna tell anybody what we'd been made ta do. We didn't know if we could trust anybody. Whoever we told might run back to our master and tell him, then he'd have our nuts cut out. Knowin' him, he'd set up a party and have people sittin' around watchin' it bein' done to us, or he'd sell them the right ta cut us. We wasn't sure what to do.
"We heard about Jeremy and talked to him some. He said he had some of the same problems tryin' ta figure out what ta do. I mean, how can you go back home and tell your parents you were a whore that got treated like a piece o' shit? We're so far behind in our schoolin' that we'd never catch up. When we did get into some kinda school, we don't want people pointin' at us and whisperin' behind our backs. Right now, we don't see where there's any place for us ta go. Jeremy's younger'n us and has somebody that wants 'im; people willin' to adopt 'im and give 'im a decent home. He's already told us that he can't go back to his other home for the same reason as us. He just needs ta make up his mind if he's gonna stay here or not. What choice do we have? That's why David and me came out here today to figure out if we should tell Mr. Daniel what we just told you. We don't know what ta do."
"The best advice we can give you is to tell Mr. Dan'l everything. Let him know he can trust you. But, do you want to talk to someone else first?" Patrick asked after a few minutes contemplation. "We got the two old professors and, we got Father Andrew and Father David who come to see us a lot. They've helped a lot of us.'
"Do you understand why we don't want to go home? I can't sit there and tell a priest that I've been a whore and some of the stuff they did to us. Understand?"
"What do you think the rest of us told 'em? It wasn't easy, but you'd be surprised how much they understand. Not only the fathers, but Mr Dan'l and the rest of 'em around here. All I can tell you is that Mr. Dan'l's never kicked anybody out of here and does everything he can to help us. At first, we didn't trust him either. Now, there's not a kid here that wouldn't be willin' to do some serious butt kickin' to anybody that said somethin' bad about Mr. Dan'l and the other men that saved us. If you'd talk to him, he'd figure out how to help. You wouldn't hafta worry 'bout your old master makin' good on his threats neither."
"I wish we could believe that, but you don't know how mean our master could be. We heard about some boy slaves that died durin' some of his parties. We don't want him comin' after us."
"Richard, you gotta trust somebody some time. Mr. Dan'l and these other adults've never lied to us." Brad tried to encourage the new boys.
All four boys sat in silence. It was obvious to Brad and Patrick that the new boys wanted to feel safe and to tell somebody what had happened to them. However, only the two new boys could make the choice.
"Ya think the priest might forgive us if we confessed about what we did?" David asked with a tone of hope.
Patrick smiled at the boy and said, "I think the father would tell you there is nothing to forgive. He told us that because we had to do what we did to survive and somebody else made us get in that situation, that we hadn't sinned."
"Are you catholic?" David asked.
"No, the Father said you didn't have ta be catholic for God to forgive us."
Richard and David continued to talk between themselves. Brad and Patrick sat patiently waiting. Patrick had begun to play with Brad's nipples while Brad slipped his hand between their bodies to tease his friend. Richard interrupted the two old friends.
"You think the father is here?"
"He is; we saw him earlier. We can take you to him."
After another few minutes, Richard and David stood. Brad and Patrick followed.
"Are you guys Episcopalians?" Brad asked and both boys shook their head.
"There's something we need ta warn you about." Patrick got both boys' attention while Brad started to laugh. "The father will probably ask if you're Catholic or Episcopalian. It won't matter what you say 'cause he'll ask you if you know the difference between a Catholic and an Episcopalian. When you say no, he'll tell you that Episcopalians are Catholics that flunked Latin."
"Huh?" Richard and David responded simultaneously.
"It's supposed to be a joke," Patrick advised. "The father thinks it's funny so we always laugh. We don't want him to get his feelings hurt. You know how some adults can be with their weird sense of humor."
End Ch One-hundred One
To Be Continued
Comments welcome; contact Dwight Wilson at adm2780@yahoo.com