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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 Colin and John for their continued support and patience while I try to write this story. Their support and efforts at editing and correcting my errors not only keep me in line, but contribute significantly to the reader's pleasure
Chapter Fifty-Six: New Horizons
"Arthur, before we go any farther, I need to speak with Daniel. Then, I need to talk to Jeremy's mother." Linda sat on the sofa, leaning into Arthur's shoulder. Together, they watched Jeremy as the boy, naked and developing the tanned body most youths would envy, cleaned the pool. He had come to them wasted, neglected and abused. Proper nourishment and exercise, together with a secure environment, had worked wonders on the boy. Arthur squeezed her shoulder in response to show his understanding.
"I remember what it was like for me when they took Daniel away. There is no way I could ever fully express to anyone the emptiness and loss I felt then and for two years afterwards. It was almost two years after I lost him that the phone call came to let me know where he was and that he was alright. Dr. Thompson told me how he had found him and what his plans were for Daniel's future. I'll never forget the sound of his voice when he asked my permission to free him and adopt him. I couldn't even answer him; I just broke down and cried." Linda continued to watch Jeremy, now it was through teary eyes brought on by the memories.
"As strange as it may sound, I don't think at that time I even really thought about seeing him. When I heard that he was being cared for by someone that really wanted to help him, to give him a future, that's all I cared about. We talked for a while and he told me about how Daniel had been treated and I began to cry again, but harder. The more I heard, the more bitter I became towards Daniel's father, even though he was dead by then."
Arthur had heard this story many times and knew the scars would never completely heal and the hurt would never go completely away. Linda felt she was cheated and robbed of what should have been happy years for her son and for herself as a mother. Arthur also knew that his wife harbored the same fear he had held inside, unspoken. When Jeremy was officially freed, how would they react if his natural parents demanded to have him back? How would Jeremy react and how would he and Linda handle the situation? The worst part of all of this was that no one really knew the answers regarding Jeremy. It wasn't the same as with Daniel.
Daniel was with Dr. Thomson for more than a year before Linda was contacted. During that time Daniel and his master had the opportunity to learn about one another. They had another advantage, time and privacy were on their side. Arthur and Linda purchased the slave to gain standing and file for the injunction. Now, in a very brief period of time, it had become more than a legal battle or fighting for a moral principal. There was something special about Jeremy and he quickly worked his way into their hearts. Arthur sometimes wondered if it would be better to leave Jeremy as a slave for now and just treat him as a normal boy; it wouldn't work and he knew it.
Jeremy had already been exposed and encouraged to associate with free boys. His friends, Ted and Derek were encouraged to spend as much time as possible with him and had even spent many nights with Jeremy. When Daniel visited with some of his boys, they all encouraged Jeremy to participate in their games. Things weren't the same for Jeremy. Events moved along much faster than they had for Daniel.
Plans had been made for Jeremy to visit Fort Ogden. Captain Jackson and his men were there on weekends working with the other boys. There were laws regarding slaves that the Captain and his men were obligated to enforce; laws that did not allow a slave to interact normally with free boys. If Jeremy made the planned visit to Fort Ogden and even unintentionally broke one of those laws, the police, Jeremy, Daniel, everyone, would be put in a bad position.
There was much more at stake than just Arthur's and Linda's feelings. Jeremy's welfare had to be paramount. Jeremy was a slave and he knew it. It didn't matter how much they tried to treat him as a normal boy, he couldn't be normal, he couldn't learn to be normal, until that horrible shadow was lifted and he was free again. There was another critical question that had yet to be asked. Who would Jeremy want to call mom and dad?
"Honey, we need to talk to Kelley." Arthur spoke quietly while he continued to watch the boy he had already begun to see as his son. "He will have to tell us when it's best to let Jeremy see or speak to his natural parents. You know it's funny, I can't just say 'his parents', not after what we've been through with him and the dreams we've allowed ourselves."
"I know you love him, too. I can see a father's love and pride when the two of you are together. Sweetheart, I'm speaking as a mother. Jeremy's mother will do what she knows is best for her son. Like me, she will want to have a relationship with her son, but if she feels it's best for him to be here, that's what she will encourage. We have to be fair to them, to ourselves, and, most of all, to Jeremy. When I speak with her though, I want it to be face to face, personal; not over the phone. I also want it to be soon. There's one more thing; when can we set him free and get guardianship papers?"
"You don't need to call Daniel to get the contact information. I have all the research on his background in the study. Daniel told me his parents still live in the same house, but they do have an unlisted phone."
"What about his freedom and the guardianship?"
"We filed the preliminary guardianship papers a couple of weeks ago. This is something new and unusual so I think the courts are having trouble scheduling us or even deciding what they should do. I think if Daniel called his friends at DCF it might speed things up a bit. I can make a few calls to schedule an emergency hearing to have him freed. He needs to be free before he goes to visit Daniel. Remember, members of the police department are there working with the boys. Jeremy can not learn to be a normal boy again if he's afraid of doing something wrong as a slave that would get him in serious trouble."
"Let's talk to Daniel. He'll have a better idea of how to approach this with Jeremy. Also, I want to put a little package together to give to his mother. By the way, do you know what her name is?"
Daniel sat at his desk watching the boys outside. He was tired; he felt both elated and exhausted. There was a definite feeling of accomplishing something good when he reunited a boy to his parents. There was a feeling of despair that it took so long and there were so many more that he hoped to send back home. There would always be boys at New Horizon, Daniel accepted that. He smiled to himself when he remembered the early days when he was going to be the superhero to families unjustly broken. Now, he was older and more experienced; he had learned to adjust to the defeats and cherish the wins.
Paul walked into Daniel's office with a cup of coffee for each of them. The two men sat quietly, enjoying a moment of peace.
"Daniel, it's not often we get to sit and just look and listen to the quiet. It's nice."
"With this many boys around I thought quiet was as extinct as the dinosaurs. Let's not jinx it, okay?"
"Sorry, but I think it's too late. Look who's running our way."
Daniel looked out to see little Danny running as hard as he could towards the administration building. The big smile on the little boy's face told Daniel nothing was wrong. Daniel didn't move, but waited as he heard the door fly open and then slam. The quick slap, slap, slap of little bare feet on the wooden floor announced the boy had arrived. He ran up to Daniel and stood there, holding Daniel's knee. Danny just looked up and smiled with perspiration running down his face and little body. Perspiration mixed with lots of dirt. Danny wanted to climb into his hero's lap.
"Easy, little man. Look how dirty you are. Have you been having fun?"
"Yeah, me and Ian and Ryan been wrastlin' agin, in the dirt." Danny answered with his patented smile.
"No kidding. I never would have guessed from looking at you." Daniel and Paul laughed at what they knew was only too obvious.
"You look like someone tried to bury you in that dirt. Did you just run in here to say hi or do you need something?"
"Me and Ian and Ryan wants ta go swimmin'!"
"You dooo? Where's Sean and Josh and Isaac? Did you ask them to take you swimming?"
"Sean and Isaac are in the gard'n, workin'. I donnnn know where Josh is?" Danny showed the endless energy he always had as he stood and talked with Daniel. His eyes never focused on anything for more than two minutes and the right foot and leg couldn't stop swinging.
Daniel looked up at Paul who mouthed 'kp' to Daniel.
"Well, have you seen Brad? Maybe he could take you swimming." Danny shook his head and then looked at Daniel, turning on his natural little boy charm that he knew almost always worked to get Daniel to do what he wanted.
"You take me." Came the staccato voice of a little cherub.
"I can't right now, I need to get some work done. However, suppose you and I walk outside and find someone that will take the three of you swimming; will that be okay?" Danny smiled as he nodded his head and continued to look around the room. Danny then held onto Daniel's hand to walk out.
"Brad, what you gonna do when we hafta leave here?"
"Don't know. I thought about it some, but, then I figure it'll all work itself out, somehow. Didn't know what I was gonna do from one day to the next when we was on the streets; wasn't even sure I'd be alive from one day to the next. Now look at us."
Brad and Patrick lay on the ground watching the clouds float by. Since they had become friends long ago they enjoyed watching the clouds go by, visualizing the different shapes and what they meant. They were out beyond the grove, further away than most of the boys usually wandered. It was quiet and peaceful, no one bothered them. Here, they could just be with one another, or just with their own thoughts. Carefree.
Patrick lay with his head resting on Brad's chest. Brad ran his fingers through his boyfriend's hair. Brad knew how good that simple act could feel. He lay there remembering how his mother would let him stay naked after a bath when he was younger. His favorite thing to do after a bath was lay on the sofa with his head in her lap. She'd run her fingers through his hair and lightly rub his back. Sometimes, his younger brother, Sean, would lay with him, spooned into Brad's chest and stomach, while their mother pampered both of her boys. A tear began to well up in his eye as he remembered that those days were over, forever.
Patrick enjoyed feeling the gentle rise and fall of his boyfriend's chest. When he rolled his head over just a little, he could hear the soft thump, thump, thump of Brad's heart. Brad's fingers running through his hair often made him relax and, sometimes, put him to sleep. Life was peaceful here, they were secure. Patrick turned his head to look up at his lover. They stared into one another's eyes, unblinking, for a long time, then kissed.
The boys shifted their positions so that Patrick's head rested in the crook of Brad's arm. Brad was up on his left elbow and looked into Patrick's eyes, then gently touched his lips. Two lost boys who became friends, buds, best friends, enemies and now, lovers. Life was strange. Their thoughts drifted away as they allowed themselves to feel and think only of the here and now. Lips parted, tongues darted in and out as whimpers and moans escaped through their passion. The boys loved to hold one another and make out. A lot of the boys just liked to have sex. Brad and Patrick enjoyed hard, lusty animal sex sometimes; but they enjoyed, more, a passionate session of making out and teasing each other.
Two teenagers, caught up in both lust and passion. Fingers found sensitive nipples, tongues found ears, teeth found lobes to nibble. Fingers and finger nails ran up their lover's side, eliciting louder and higher cries of passion. This was a game the boys loved to play with one another. The teasing . . the tantalizing . . the passion . . the soft touch. A finger teases its way down a crack or gently rubs over the enflamed head of a male member that throbs with every heart beat. This was the way to spend a warm afternoon, enjoying the other's body. The game continued until each boy, with only a light touch every now and then to their member, reached a soul wrenching climax. In the end each was covered with juices. The fun continued as they cleaned one another off.
Again, with Patrick's head resting on Brad's chest, the two boys rested in the warm afterglow of passion. Then they heard a sound; both boys tensed and waited to hear the sound repeat itself. When they heard the bell a second time, they jumped up and started running. Lunch was being served.
Daniel followed his daily routine of walking amongst the boys and speaking to each of them while lunch was being served. He wouldn't sit down for lunch until every boy had his tray of food and was sitting at a table. The routine had become kind of expected by both Daniel and the boys. The look on their faces said they anticipated his approach and if he missed saying something to one of the boys, that boy's expression showed his disappointment.
The conversations were not about anything really deep. They were mostly casual and upbeat. If Daniel knew one of the boys might be having a problem with a school subject or another issue, he always made it point to take a little extra time to offer support and encouragement. Daniel looked at the serving line and saw Danny and the other two little ones waiting their turns. They were also in drip-dry mode when Danny looked over to Daniel and smiled as he waved his little hand. As the last boy walked towards a table, Daniel saw one of the boys on kp look at him and smile; the boy carried a tray for Daniel's lunch.
Richard and Jamie were sitting with the staff and appeared to be extra jovial. When Daniel looked at them, questioningly, they handed him a piece of paper. On the paper were three sets of names, addresses and phone numbers.
"Those are family for three more boys, Daniel." Jamie volunteered, obviously pleased with himself. "They weren't easy to locate, but we used a people locator search the university provides for law students. Information we gathered from the people locator we cross referenced into the genealogy program for a match. As you can see, two of them are out of state."
"That's good work, boys; real good work." Daniel looked at the boys and smiled at their accomplishments. The two young men had devoted a lot of time to helping boys they never knew. "Has anyone tried contacting these people?"
"No, sir," Richard replied. "We don't attempt to contact anyone until you've approved it. Those are the grandparents of three of the boys. We didn't have any luck with the parents. We were hoping if we found the grandparents, they could help us locate the parents."
"That's good logic fellas. How about right after we finish lunch we head over to my office and try to make contact. I think it would be only right if you two sat in and listened. Once you hear the voices on the other end, you'll understand better why we are so dedicated to this program. Believe me, there is no better feeling." The two young men looked at one another and then at Daniel, and nodded.
"Barry, how's the new assistant chef working out?" Daniel redirected the subject to inquire about their newest volunteer, Rob.
"Fantastic," Barry replied. "Daniel, I never realized how overworked I was until he joined us. He's done such a great job getting the computers organized that I might just be able to take a little vacation."
"Well, I guess maybe we've been thinking about the same thing." Daniel responded. "You know you haven't taken any time off since we got here. If you think he has things under control, I was going to suggest you consider taking a few days off to visit your family. Listen to what I just said though, just a few days. I define a few as maybe up to around ten days?"
"It would be nice to see the family instead of just reading letters and talking on the phone. Actually, I've always wanted to take my parents on one of those Caribbean cruises; they would enjoy that. Daniel, I might just take you up on that offer." Barry developed that far away look as he thought of the time and pleasure he and his family would have on a cruise.
The staff continued to make small talk while they enjoyed their lunch and sat at the table watching the boys leave the dining hall. The boys would look over at the staff and nod or wave, but didn't do anything that might interrupt the conversation the adults were having. None of the boys, that is, except for Danny who didn't think anything of just running over to Daniel and grabbing his arm. Daniel reached down and pulled the boy up on his lap.
"Did you have a nice lunch?" Danny just nodded while he stuck two fingers in his mouth. "And where are you going now?"
"I wanna go play, but Sean say I gotta go read and do my school work." The little boy emphasized his displeasure with a pout. "But I wanna go play."
"Well, Danny, you know all of us like to play and have a good time, but all of us have to spend some of our time working, too. This morning, when you wanted to swim and Sean couldn't take you, wasn't it because he was doing his work in the garden?" Danny just shrugged his shoulders. "When you came to me this morning and wanted to swim, do you remember me telling you that I couldn't take you because I had more work to do?" again, Danny just shrugged his shoulders. "You know, I bet that if you ask Sean real nice, after you finish your lessons, he might ask Mr. Paul for a couple of skateboards and then Sean can teach you how to do some tricks." Danny looked up to his hero and smiled before he jumped down and grabbed Sean's hand.
"C'mon, Sean," the boy cried out, excited. "Let's hurry up and read so we can skateboard."
The staff members laughed and watched the excited five year old run off with his big brother in tow.
"Gentlemen," Daniel began as he looked at the two young volunteers, "suppose we head to my office and try to make three more families happy. We'll need the boys' files. One of you want to get them and meet us in my office, please?"
"Sure thing, Daniel." Jamie replied as he took off in a run.
Daniel watched Richard as they entered the office. Richard was jittery and appeared to be ready to burst wide open from nerves.
":Nervous, Richard?"
"Yes, sir." Richard answered while showing a nervous smile and wringing his hands together. "Thing is, I'm not really sure why. Jamie and I know you've made these calls using information we found and both of us have been curious to know how the people react. Now that we're about to find out, I think I'm gonna have to run to the bathroom before you make that call or risk embarrassing myself."
While Richard excused himself to avoid an embarrassing moment, Jamie walked in with the files. The top file was marked 'Young, Christopher'. Daniel matched the name to the list the boys gave him earlier. When he opened the file, Jamie began to relate what they knew about the boy and his family.
"Christopher is a nine year old we picked up in St. Augustine. He told us the name of his parents and grandparents. All he could tell us though was that his grandparents lived somewhere outside of Stone Mountain. Richard and I used genealogical records and then the public records to tie everything down to a William Young in Lawrenceville. He had an unlisted number but the program we have from the law school let us get one."
"Let's wait a minute on Richard, then we'll place the call. Are you as nervous as Richard?"
"Probably, the palms of my hands feel all sweaty." Jamie answered with a smile. "We've both been curious to hear the family's reactions when you tell them their kid is coming home. It has to be an incredible feeling." Jamie paused as Richard rejoined them, then continued.
"In little Christopher's case here . . . well, it's like nobody has any feelings or concern for other people. When we researched his case we discovered that the father, that's David, had some serious medical problems and was unable to work. He was in the hospital and we guessed that he fell behind in some of his bills. While he was still in the hospital a couple of his creditors sued him and got judgments. Less than a week later, a writ was executed against Christopher."
"I see you have quite a bit of information on the father here; what about the mother?"
"She's dead. She died about four years ago. We don't know what killed her though. We really didn't devote too much time to that."
"Fellas, you've done an excellent job. There is no way I could ever describe how good it feels to hear a parent's reaction when they're told their son wasn't enslaved. Mind you, not all reactions are good in the beginning. Some people think I may be a practical joker with a cruel sense of humor and want to really lay into me. It doesn't usually take much time for me to convince them otherwise and then it gets really pleasant. Let's give it a go, shall we?" Daniel placed the telephone on 'speaker' mode so everyone could hear what was said, and dialed the number.
"Hello," answered the voice of an older gentleman. The greeting was neither upbeat nor gruff.
"Mr. Young?" Daniel spoke up.
"Yeah, I'm Mr. Young. Who's this?"
"Mr Young, my name is Daniel Thompson. I'm with New Horizons in Florida and we are trying to contact a David Young from around St Augustine, or possibly his father, a William Young. We were hoping you might be that party." Daniel intentionally spoke at a slower pace, very distinctly, and with a friendly tone.
"David . . .pssst, David," Daniel could tell the gentleman was talking to someone else in the room. "This fella on the phone says he's lookin' for you or me. You got somebody lookin' for you, son?"
"Mr. Young, please," Daniel attempted to get the gentleman's attention. "I'm calling about your grandson, I'm not calling about David."
"My grandson?" the older gentleman was surprised. "What do you know about my grandson? They told us we didn't have a son or grandson no more."
"I'm talking about a nine year old little boy who would love for someone who loves him to come and take him home. Like I said, he's nine years old, stands about four feet tall, brown hair, brown eyes, has a pretty good tan, and . . ."
" . .and, a small scar over his left eye. Got it ridin' his tricycle around the house and turned it over. His head hit the corner of the coffee table. In fact, he broke the edge of the table and I just got it stuck back on there to this day; it's called memories." The tone of the man' voice changed from suspicion to love for a boy he thought was lost.
"Dad . .Dad . . put the phone on speaker so I can hear." Came from another voice behind the gentleman. Daniel heard the click as the phone changed.
"Hello? . .Hello? . .This is David Young. Just who are you mister? My boy was taken by the authorities and they said he was to be sold and I'd never see or hear from him again. Is this some trick?" David sounded suspicious and angry.
"Mr. Young, this is certainly no trick. The sheriff in St. Johns County has been trying to locate you and tell you that a court injunction was issued that forbid the sale of young boys taken as property and to be sold to pay the parent's debt. Christopher is one of the boys that was saved by that injunction. The sheriff didn't have any place to keep him until you could be located. If you would like to call the sheriff in St. Johns County, he can verify what I'm saying now."
"Mr. Thompson, I'd be less than honest with you if I said I wasn't goin' to call. I will, but for right now I'd like to know more about who you are and why you're calling." Th father's tone changed from suspicion to guarded optimism.
"I'm with New Horizons. We are a privately funded foster care unit that provides shelter and care to homeless boys. A couple of weeks ago we received a call from the state DCF about a number of boys the authorities needed to return to their families, but couldn't locate anyone. Since the state no longer has juvenile facilities the boys were being kept in the jails; we were asked to help. Of course, one of those boys is Christopher. We are calling now to ask if you would like to take your son home."
"My God!" exclaimed David, and there was silence on the phone. Daniel thought he heard the faint sound of a man crying.
"Mr. Young? Mr. Young. If you would like to get Christopher, he is here and ready to go home. We are located at Ft. Ogden, Florida, which is just north of Port Charlotte."
"I'm sorry, please forgive us Mr. Thompson. We're both just in shock right now. What do we do now? I mean, do we need to pay somebody money, or do we need special papers, what do we need to do to get Chris back?" The grandfather spoke. "Anything, Mr. Thompson, anything we gotta do, we'll do. I'd sell my very soul to the devil hisself to get Chris back."
"Mr. Young, all you need to do is get here and sign some release papers. We're located in Fort Ogden about halfway between US-17 and County Road 739. Anyone in town can direct you to us. Call, just before you arrive and I'll be out front to greet you. When you get here, I'll personally get Christopher and bring him to you. Oh, there is one thing. You might want to bring some clothes for him. All he had when we got him was a jail uniform. Right now, we have over one hundred boys here and all of them really enjoy their freedom, if you understand?"
"That's my grandson." The gentleman laughed. "Never did like to keep clothes on, just like his dad. I used ta have to threaten to tan his hide 'cause he'd strip naked right in the middle of the stores. I bet that's some sight down there, all them boys runnin' around naked." The gentleman's voice then dropped down and became very serious. "Mr. Thompson, you tell Chris his dad and grandpa are comin' and we love him very much. Oh, and Mr. Thompson, God bless ya!"
Richard and Jamie sat on the sofa and listened to the conversation. They understood what Daniel meant when he said there was nothing like hearing the parents' reactions and voices when they understood what Daniel was telling them. They had just heard the sound of two men who thought they had lost what was most important to them in this world ride an emotional roller coater. Emotions ran from despair, to anger, to disbelief, to hope and happiness. They looked at Daniel and could tell his eyes had moistened up almost as much as theirs. While listening, both boys realized that neither of them had called their parents since arriving at New Horizons.
"Uh, Daniel, if you don't mind, before we make these other two calls, me and Jamie need to make a couple of phone calls of our own." Daniel looked at the boys and just nodded.
"YEAAAAHHHHH . . . LOOK AT ME!" Danny cried out as loud as he could. "LOOK AT ME! I'm doin' it! I'm doin' it! I can skateboard all by myself."
Daniel looked out the window to see Danny riding his skateboard. He was barely staying on the board, but he was staying on. Daniel knew it wouldn't take much for the boy to fall, especially as excited as he was, but that was part of learning to get up and keep going.
Daniel watched as Danny did fall. Fortunately, he landed mostly in the dirt and was wearing elbow and knee pads in addition to his helmet. Danny looked up at his big brother and grinned. He was happy. Maybe he fell, but he did it. He rode the skateboard without anyone holding him up. He rode like one of the big boys. Daniel walked out of his office to join the kids outside and give his little cherub encouragement.
End Chapter Fifty-Six
To Be Continued: comments welcome; contact Dwight Wilson at adm2780@yahoo.com