CHAPTER 23
Into the Inferno This story contains sex between minor boys and teen-agers. If such things offend you, or you are not at least 18 years of age, then please don't read on. This story is not true, but who knows, maybe some day it will be.
Stevie met Alex when he came through the air lock. He breathed a little easier when he saw that Alex didn't have a mark on him.
"How did it go brother?" Stevie asked. Like he needed to.
"I think you should throw RC a sleeping bag. I don't think he's in any shape to come up the ladder. Let's go to bed."
That night they slept differently. Alex and Stevie, for the first time in a long time. And they made such sweet brotherly love. Brett and Douglas, being brothers but full of sex too. Scooter and Jim for the first time in years. Ryan and Mike, because of all the sweet things Mike had done for Ryan. Jeremy and Travis, who each thought the other one was cute, and could do something about it. Robert Charles climbed in through the opening they were making for the sleds and crawled into the area his workers had made for him. Jordan fell asleep on the seat next to Matthew, feeling very sad and alone.
Alex and Stevie had pretty much stayed with their boyfriends through the trip on the "Moonduster". Now they were laid out on a sleeping bag, Alex slowly fucking Stevie, telling him how much he loved him and how important he was to him. Alex let himself relax and soon shot his wad into his younger brother's butt. They slept in each other's arms, full of love.
For Douglas and Brett, it was a 69. Brett knew Douglas could never be his boyfriend, but he was happy to get what Douglas offered him and swallowing Douglas's hot sweet cum was a special pleasure. Douglas told Brett how glad he was to have him as a brother.
Scooter let Jim fuck him. It wasn't the same as Douglas. But he loved Jim, it was cool with Douglas if he did it, and he was willing to give himself up for the friend he loved so much. He shot two light drops over his chest and belly when Jim came and filled his ass with his boy cum. It was the first time they had ever made love to each other. They slept cuddled in a bag, happy to be with each other but missing their boy loves.
Mike didn't know how, but he found Ryan on him. It started out as just talk, then making out, then feeling up, and now Ryan was ramming him like a rabbit, telling him how much Mike's kindness meant to him. He felt the pressure build up in himself, and started shooting as Ryan filled Mike's insides. Both Ryan and Mike knew that their boyfriends wouldn't mind what they did, that somehow they would know it was helping themselves and the whole group.
At first Jeremy and Travis thought they were just stuck with each other. But then they remembered how they had been thinking how cute the other guy was, so they said, "what the hell," For them it ended up being a 69, and them knowing that the tighter their group, the better chance they had to survive. Each new pair fell asleep cuddled up tightly. All of them in the comfortable cabin knowing that soon they might be out in the desert sand and heat.
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Robert Charles finished cleaning himself the best he could. He hurt badly all over. He wanted to make somebody else hurt. He listened to the sounds of the ship. He had come in through opening in the back after everyone had fallen asleep. He didn't want to be seen or talked to. He opened and closed the door to the back section. Right away the climate controlled air felt good. He noticed that nobody seemed to be sleeping with who he thought their regular partner was. What a bunch of faggots, he thought. No wonder they didn't appreciate him, they wanted another faggot like that fucking Douglas leading them. They would all be sorry before this was over. Very sorry.
He went slowly around some sleeping boys and climbed quietly up the ladder. He went into the cabin and up to the seat where Jordan was sleeping. He saw Matthew on the floor covered by a blanket. He lifted the blanket and saw his skinny naked body. He felt his dick stir thinking of how tight his butt was on the "Starkeeper" and what a great fuck he would be now. He thought what a great way it would be to get revenge on Alex. But he needed to get him alone somehow. For right now he would wake up Jordan.
He reached down and shook his shoulder. Jordan was covered by a blanket. He woke up slowly and rubbed his eyes. Robert Charles pulled back the blanket. Jordan's smooth, hairless body glowed in the night lighting. That was all they kept on at night. He reached down and stroked Jordan's dick until he got hard. Jordan moaned, then tried turning away.
"Wake up, dude. I want you."
Even half asleep Jordan could smell the stink on Robert Charles. He didn't want him touching him or being close to him.
"Don't turn away from me. You know you like it," Robert Charles whispered to him.
"Leave me alone."
Robert Charles started lifting him off the seat, but Jordan resisted.
"Come on, Jordy, you know you want it. You know you want to make me feel good."
"Noooo. Noooo. Please. Not tonight." Jordan tried making himself into a ball.
Robert Charles put his hand over Jordan's mouth and nose and closed them both tight. "Listen, you little shit. I'm tired of people fucking with me. You are supposed to be my friend. Well, now is the time to show it or I'm going to hurt you bad. Understand what I'm saying?"
Jordan grunted out, "Uh huh," and tried nodding yes.
Robert Charles let go and whispered," Get up and follow me."
He walked back to the galley with Jordan stumbling after him. For the first time since the first day he met him Jordan disliked Robert Charles. He thought they were partners in using everybody else, and now he was being used himself.
When they got down the ladder they had to maneuver around sleeping bags. One of them was the one that had Mike and Ryan in it. It was much darker down below than up in the cabin and Robert Charles stumbled over Mike and woke him up.
"What the fuck," Mike mumbled.
Robert Charles tried to get around him. Jordan stepped around the other way.
"What's going on?" Mike asked.
"You guys can have fun, so can we," Robert Charles said. He was pinching Jordan's butt cheek as a reminder not to say anything.
"That cool with you, Jordan?" Mike didn't trust Robert Charles one bit.
"Yeah." It was too dark for Mike to see how miserable Jordan looked.
Jordan followed Robert Charles to the area he had built and crawled into his sleeping bag with him. Robert Charles didn't mess around with any foreplay. He went right into Jordan's tight butt. Mike lay in his own sleeping bag listening to the sound of Robert Charles fucking Jordan. Somehow the whole thing didn't seem right, but before he could think more he was asleep.
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When morning came Mike was up before everybody sticking breakfasts into the microwave. Boys were soon coming from the cabin and from down below ready to eat. When Jordan came up Mike looked at him, and followed him to a seat to eat. He sat next to him. Jordan had been a real pain in the ass on the "Starkeeper", but the happenings on the "Moonduster" seem to have changed him out. He wasn't the cocky 12 year old boy strutting around trying to create trouble and problems. He had become very quiet and seemed to be very attached to Matthew. Whenever Scooter wasn't there, he was on the seat above Matthew, and even when Scooter was there he would sit next to him sometimes go be close to Matthew.
"You okay?" Mike asked.
Jordan looked down at his pancakes. "Yeah."
"Did RC make you do that last night?"
"No," Jordan said quietly.
"Because if he did, I'll go kick his ass. He isn't going to push anybody around any more." Mike ruffled Jordan's hair. "Okay?"
"Yeah. It's cool." Jordan had a sullen look on his face and Mike decided not to push any more. But he was sure that Jordan didn't give up his butt competely willingly last night.
After they ate and cleaned up the galley Douglas called for a meeting. When they all were there Douglas said it was time to have a new election. They needed to have a leader they were all confident in. Nobody said a word about what happened between Alex and Robert Charles the night before, but everybody knew about it by now.
Robert Charles sat at the back table with Jordan and glared. Jordan looked unhappy sitting where he was.
"I nominate Douglas as our new leader," Scooter said.
Robert Charles bumped Jordan lightly. "Um...I nominate Robert Charles." Jordan didn't have a clue why Robert Charles wanted to be nominated since he knew he was going to lose.
"I just want to say," Douglas said, "that I know I didn't want to be the leader. I still don't really, but I guess somebody needs to and you guys seem to think I'm the one. So, I will work hard to do the best I can. I'm going to say this much. If I get elected, we are going to leave the 'Moonduster' and head over the mountains. Everybody should know that. I think if we stay here we will die. Food and water will run out. And Stevie can only do so much to keep this wreck going. And he's done awesome so far. You all know how I feel. We gotta leave here."
Then Robert Charles stood up to talk. "I know you guys don't like me. It's because I've had to make all the tough decisions and..."
"Put a cork in it, RC," Alex said. "Let's vote."
If the looks could kill, then the look in Robert Charles's eyes would have finished Alex off. Mike had the ballots ready again and passed them out. Again everybody voted. The results weren't a surprise. Douglas 10, Robert Charles 2.
Douglas took a deep breath. Now it was more than just coming up with ideas and staying in the background. Now he was responsible. Twelve boys were going to look to him to make his decisions. And his decisions could make the difference about whether they would live or die. He took a deep breath. There were no adults to bail him out now, but he had some pretty good friends to give him advice. He wasn't going to make his decisions alone. He was going to ask for plenty of help. But he knew that in the end the decisions would be his.
"Scooter, Mike, Alex. I need to talk to you guys."
He led them downstairs. Robert Charles saw them go down and sat fuming even more.
"What's up, Douglas?" Alex asked.
"I guess I'm in charge now. But I'm gonna need you guys. I'm gonna need your advice. I'm gonna need your help. I can't do this alone."
"Douglas, I know you can do this. We all know you can," Scooter said.
"Scooter, I didn't say I couldn't do it. I said I can't do it alone."
`I love you my sweetness. Douglas could hear his thoughts. You can do anything you want. I love you.'
`I know I can Scooter. I love you. I need you with me all the way.'
`I love you, Douglas. I'm in your heart and soul. You will never be alone. NEVER!'
Just hearing Scooter in his head made him feel better. Knowing his love was with him gave him more confidence to do what he needed to do. He leaned over and kissed Scooter. Scooter gave him a hard kiss back. Mike and Alex stood there holding hands. They heard a noise and saw Robert Charles coming down the ladder.
"Are you guys having some sort of secret meeting?" he asked.
"I'm just setting up who is going to advise me," Douglas answered. He figured he might as well be honest about it.
"Oh, so you don't think you need the guy who led you here? Like everything I did isn't worth shit?"
"RC, didn't you get my message yesterday? Or do you need an instant replay?" Alex asked.
"Listen, shorty. I wasn't ready. You cheated. Which is how your fearless leader is working right now. Just get anybody to help you and forget the guy who got you here."
"Robert Charles. You can't be as stupid as you sound," Douglas said. "You never led us. You lied to us, you bullied us, you cheated us, and you talked a big line. If building you that comfortable corner is leading the you were a leader. If making us all better and giving us a chance to survive on Inferno, then you weren't worth shit. You're dad isn't here to help you threaten. What we're talking about here is survival. For all of us. Pure an simple. Survival. So I think the best thing you can do is go upstairs. And when you're willing to help us instead of getting in our way let us know."
Robert Charles started to say something but Douglas shut him up. "It's like this, Robert Charles. Lead, follow, or stay out of the way. You didn't lead us, you won't follow me, so stay the fuck out of the way." Douglas looked at him. "But like I said, any time you want to follow and help, let me know."
Robert Charles sneered at the four of them and climbed up the ladder.
"Good speech, Douglas," Mike said.
"He's going to be trouble," Douglas said. "Getting to us means more to him than helping us survive. He's a mean, sick bastard."
I love you, My sweet,' Scooter said in Douglas's head. You were so awesome.'
Douglas concentrated his thoughts. `I love you. I love you so much. With you I am never alone.' They kissed again, and went up the ladder to start getting the work for the day done. Douglas wanted them ready to go by the day after tomorrow. There was nothing to stay here for.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
They spent the morning getting the opening wider so they could get the sleds out. Just before lunch Scooter called them on the PA. He said Douglas, Alex, and Stevie needed to get up to the cockpit fast.
Douglas headed up first and fast, afraid that something happened to Matthew. But when he got to the front he saw that Scooter was in the cockpit.
"Listen," he said. "Something is on the radio."
Alex and Stevie got there. All four of them listened to the radio. A steady pattern was coming over it. Long long. Short short shot. Long long long. Short short. Then it repeated.
"What is it?" Douglas asked.
"I don't know," Stevie said. "Let's see if Jordan or Jim do."
They came to the cockpit fast. Jim had no clue. But Jordan thought he did.
"It might be a locator signal," he said.
"Ours?" Alex asked.
"No. Another one. The Communications officer let me listen to one on the radio once. It had a pattern like that."
The boys listened to the signal. If it was a locator signal that meant another shuttle might have made it to the planet. Well, if a bunch of kids found their way here, Douglas thought, no reason one with a regular crew couldn't. And if it was a locator signal, that means somebody from the "Starkeeper" survived.
"If it is, then we're not alone," Douglas said. The boys looked at each other all excited. Maybe a rescue was on the way. Douglas was thinking that there would be adults coming to rescue them, and adults meant they could be responsible and make the decisions. He could take the big weight off his shoulders that was suddenly sitting there. He said a quick silent prayer that if that was another shuttle up there it would find them fast.
"Can they hear our locator signal?" Scooter asked.
"I don't know," Stevie said. "The radio is so messed up I don't know if it is even sending. I guess something is working because we are hearing that signal."
"Why aren't they sending us a message or something?" Douglas asked.
"Maybe they don't hear us. Maybe we can't receive it. I don't know," Stevie replied.
"I wonder if they are in orbit around Inferno?" Alex questioned. Nobody said anything to that because nobody knew.
They listened to the beeps for a couple of more minutes hoping that maybe a voice would come telling them that they were found and that everything was okay. Then suddenly the beeps stopped. The cockpit was totally quiet. They waited for them to start again, but nothing happened. The beeps never returned.
They spent the rest of the day talking about them. Were they from a shuttle locator? Was it in orbit? Could it be from whatever aliens terraformed this planet? If it was a shuttle did they hear the "Moonduster's" locator signal? The boys would keep popping their heads outside hoping to see something landing next to them. Nothing happened.
By the end of the day they were pretty sure nothing was going to happen. The whole group started becoming really depressed. Just after dinner Alex and Stevie stepped out from the cockpit with part of the instrument panel.
"What do you have there?" Ryan asked.
"Well, guys, since the sun is down, and it's cooling off, let's take it outside and find out," Alex said.
Some of the boys went out of the airlock and down the ladder. Some went through the opening in the back. They spread the tarp out and the twelve boys sat on it wondering what was going to happen. Only Stevie, Alex, and Douglas knew. Douglas had talked with Stevie and Alex about doing something special on their last full night on the "Moonduster".
Stevie opened a small hatch on the fuselage of the shuttle. He took a power cord and plugged it in. The thing they brought out started humming. It was a touchpad from the instrument panel. It had a couple of speakers from the broken radio attached to it. Alex pushed the pad and a sound came out. It was a musical note. Alex tuned it all up, then played a quick song.
"I thought maybe us all doing a little singing would get us in the right mood for what's ahead of us."
Alex started a few notes of a song he figured everybody would know. The singing was quiet and not everybody was singing. Douglas thought about the concert Alex put on for them in the cargo hold and how alive that was. Right now they were all dead. Alex and Stevie started singing with their golden voices, Alex pounding away on his homemade keyboard. But that was about all that was heard, except Douglas singing loudly but way off key.
Robert Charles, who had been sitting quietly, got up and went up the ladder into the cabin. The singing went on quietly. It was more like a murmur. Then he reappeared and climbed back down. He was carrying one of the radios that was on the sled. The singing stopped.
"What are you up to, RC?" Alex said.
"I put a radio next to Matthew. It's set for two way. I figure Matthew can't be with us but he can hear us sing. And he can call us if he wakes up. So let's sing so Matthew can hear us."
Douglas looked at Robert Charles. He forgot that just because he was an asshole, it didn't mean he wasn't a human being too. Just like all of them.
Robert Charles's gesture seemed to lighten things up. The singing got louder. Everybody started joining in. Brett lost his worried look and sang. Jordan brightened up and sang. Pretty soon Alex was jamming away, Stevie was playing on some drums he constructed quickly, and the whole group was up singing and dancing. They were naked, hard, and for a little while happy.
Up in the cabin Matthew woke up. His head hurt, his stomach hurt, and his leg hurt. He heard the singing on the radio and smiled. Then he fell back to sleep.
The wind started blowing some and the temperature went down. The boys started heading back into the shuttle. As Scooter and Douglas helped Alex and Stevie put things away they looked up into the sky. It was clear and black and full of stars. Suddenly some streaks went across it. Meteors. The night was beautiful. Douglas wondered when he would feel this happy again.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Scooter checked on Matthew. Jordan said he would take care of his waste bag and clean him up.
Matthew had a fever earlier and he still felt warm, but his face looked calmer. Scooter turned off the radio and returned it to the sled when he got down below. He closed the door and found Douglas in their corner in a sleeping bag. He cuddled up next to him. He loved feeling Douglas's heart beat through his smooth hard chest. He loved touching his skin.
They kissed and cuddled. They touched and petted. Douglas kissed Scooter's neck and nibbled on it. He kissed down along his chest and licked his nipples. Scooter's pink nipples stood up hard. Douglas bit them lightly. Scooter moaned from the feeling.
Douglas kept licking and kissing down Scooter's body. When he got to his belly button he kissed it and licked the inside. Then he licked down to his hairless pubes. Scooter's beautiful uncut dick stood hard and proud. Douglas licked around it, along the inside of his thighs and then under his balls. Scooter shuddered from the good feelings. Then Douglas sucked on each of Scooter's balls and licked up his dick, until he licked the head. His tongue played with the peehole, and then Douglas took it all the way in, sucking him down to his smooth pubes. Scooter pushed his hips up and humped Douglas's sucking mouth. Douglas flicked his tongue across Scooter's dick as he sucked him.
I love you my sweetness, he heard Scooter say in his mind. I want you in me tonight. We are one in our souls and I want us one in our bodies.
`I love you so much, Douglas thought back. I want to make sweet love to you. I want us linked and one.'
Scooter's legs were up and Douglas pushed up against his rose. He pushed inside, Scooter pushed back, and soon he was all the way inside his love. He could feel Scooter's insides around his hard dick and he pushed his smooth pubes to Scooter's butt.
`Make love to me my sweet. Be one with me. Love me. Love me. Love me'.
Douglas started pumping Scooter's butt. He loved being in him. He loved being in Scooter's mind. He and Scooter were one. Linked forever. Mind and body together. Douglas was in Scooter's body and in his mind and in his soul and in his heart. He rubbed hard across Scooter's sweet spot sending so much pleasure through Scooter that he shook.
`Touch them Douglas. Touch them together. Oh, please touch them.'
Douglas heard Scooter in his mind, but didn't understand. `What, my love? Touch what?'
`The heads...we need to touch the heads. The heads...they gotta touch.'
Douglas knew what he wanted, but wasn't sure why. But if this was what his love wanted, then he would give it to him. He pulled out of Scooter's butt with a pop and got closer to Scooter, laying his hard dick over Scooter's boner. He let the heads of their dicks touched and Scooter let out a long moan. Douglas almost felt electricity shoot through him as the two dick heads touched. Scooter felt the jolt too as all the energy of their sex went between the heads of their dicks.
They humped and rubbed, but it didn't take long. The orgasm built up in both of them. Their dicks swelled up with blood, the heads getting big and full of feeling. Douglas was getting feelings in his head he never felt before, his brain on the edge of exploding. Scooter was the same way. They were ready to cum, and the feeling of their orgasms leaped from one mind to the other. Douglas was feeling his and Scooter's and Scooter was feeling his and Douglas's. Douglas was lost in Scooter. Scooter was lost in Douglas. In both of their minds the only thing happening was the feeling of sex and orgasm.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh . OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. MMMMMMMMMMM.. AAAAAAAAAAAAA
It was in Douglas's mind. In Scooter's mind. In both of their dicks. The feeling almost sent them out of their bodies as their orgasms exploded and they covered each other with their spurts of hot sweet boy cum. They both were so lost in themselves and each other they didn't even know they were screaming. "DOUGLAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"SCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTERRRRRRRRRRR"
Then entire group heard them and they didn't care. They were each with their own boyfriends, Alex and Mike, Stevie and Jim, Ryan and Travis, Jeremy and Brett. All they knew through their own feelings was that something very special must have happened between their leader and his lover.
For Scooter and Douglas the explosion in their minds and dicks overloaded some circuits. Douglas fell on top of Scooter as they both blacked out, totally happy, glowing like the lights of a thousand cities. Their bodies were stuck together by what they shot out, and their minds and souls were stuck together by their love
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Robert Charles was sleeping in his corner. He was jerked awake by the scream of Scooter and Douglas. That and all the other sex he knew was going on had him very horny. He lay in his bag stroking his hard leaking dick. What he wanted right now was a place to put it.
He waited for quiet. Once again he quietly climbed up the ladder and walked to the front of the cabin. Matthew was on the floor as usual. He had more room because that afternoon Jeremy and Jim had taken the seat in front of him out. Robert Charles looked at him. He remembered how gorgeous Matt's bubble butt looked on the "Starkeeper." He wanted it now. He was unconscious. He could never tell Alex. He quietly pulled back his blanket and looked at his pale skinny naked body. But then he put the blanket back. No, doing that to the injured boy was wrong. He hadn't brought him the music so he could do something like that to him. Talking him into sex on the "Starkeeper" was one thing. This was something else. Like Douglas had thought earlier, even assholes have their human side.
Jordan was sleeping on the seat again. Robert Charles being there woke him up. "No, please, no, Robert Charles."
"No. Please. This is different. He's hurt and sick. He can't be any fun. Don't do it."
"I know, Jordan. I didn't plan to. I was just making sure he was okay. What do you think I am?"
Jordan threw off his blanket and raised his legs. "Do me. Do me. Leave Matthew alone. Do anything you want...but leave him alone. Please."
"Jordan, go to sleep. I'm not doing anything to anybody." Robert Charles went to his sleeping area, suddenly feeling very lonely. For the first time in his life, he was really and totally alone. He had just done the right thing, he knew he had just done the right thing. Yet, suddenly he felt like a piece of scum. Is this what everybody really thinks of me? he thought. As much as he wanted to fight it, Robert Charles, arrogant, bossy, but still a lonely young boy, cried himself to sleep.
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Sometime after Robert Charles made it back to his corner the wind that started that evening picked up. The gusts shook the ship. Mike woke up from a gust. He untangled himself from Alex, which woke him up too. They climbed up the ladder. Jeremy and Brett were in a sleeping bag in the galley. The wind had awakened Brett. When he saw Alex and Stevie, he got up too. Jeremy was wrapped all around him.
"What's going on?" he asked.
The ship shook. "I don't know. It's still dark out," Mike answered.
Then they heard a noise from outside. Something other than the wind. Like sandpaper being rubbed on the fuselage.
"What the fuck....." Alex said.
Mike went to a window where no emergency lights reflected. He could see something blowing up against it, like brown snow. He knew what it was right away.
"It's sand," Mike said. "It's a sand storm."
"Shit. I hope that doesn't mess things up," Alex said.
"It won't tonight, love. We're safe in here. Let's go back to the sack."
They headed down the ladder as the ship shook again. Brett knew he couldn't sleep. He kept waiting for his allergies to kick in now that his meds were gone. He knew it was just a matter of time. He didn't want to be sick again. He didn't want go be a bother to his friends. The ship shook from the wind. Brett wiped away a tear and crawled back into the sleeping bag with Jeremy.
When morning came the wind was gone. While Mike got breakfast set up they went to look outside. A lot had changed. Sand was piled high up the side of the shuttle on the airlock side. The ladder was half buried so they didn't have to go far to touch the ground. When they set foot on the sand it was loose. Jim tried first and he went down to his knees and slipped down to harder ground. Jeremy and Stevie joined him. They walked around the shuttle which was half buried in sand. They got lucky when they saw that the side the hole was on was away from where the wind came from. Just a little bit of digging and they could get the sleds out. They went back into the shuttle through the hole. A lot of sand had blown into the back but nothing they couldn't work through.
After breakfast Douglas called a meeting. It was time to plan their leaving the "Moonduster".
The two sleds would be loaded by the end of the day. They had already started yesterday. They planned on leaving around 3 AM. Then they could go almost 5 hours before it started getting really hot. Since some of them would have to walk the going would be slow. Then sometime after noon, they would set up the tents and rest. Douglas didn't want them traveling during the hottest part of the day. Then, depending on how things were, they might but in a couple more hours in the evening. That would have to wait and see. They needed to cover a lot of ground as fast as they could.
"Does disagreeing with you make it so I'm in the way?" Robert Charles asked.
"No. Disagreeing and then doing something against us would mean getting in the way. I want disagreeing so I can see all the sides," Douglas said.
"I think again we should stay, and I have some new reasons."
"Ok. Tell us."
"First. The radio signal. How do we know they didn't hear ours and they aren't coming to rescue us?"
"We don't. We don't know that they are either. We don't know where that signal came from. All I know is, if we believe whoever sent that signal is going to rescue us then how long to we stay here before we give up? A couple of days? A week? A month? A year? We decided to go. So unless we have something that is for sure, we're going. I guess there is another reason."
"There is, Sir Douglas. The sandstorm."
"What about it?" Douglas knew where this was going, he just wanted Robert Charles to say it.
"That was one motherfucking storm last night. It half buried us in sand. A storm like that hits us outside the shuttle and we're dead. We don't know how often these happen. I don't want to be caught in it."
"It could happen. It might not happen. Who knows? We stay here and a storm hits again and maybe we get buried. The air vents clogged. Who the hell knows? What's going to make us dead is staying here and not fighting to live. We need help. Matthew will die without help."
"He's going to die anyway, unless you haven't noticed. His head is injured, his leg is broken, and he might have other injuries. Internal ones."
"What are you saying, RC?" Mike asked.
"What I'm saying is. We can only take so much food. And most important so much water. Why waste it on somebody who won't live to get anywhere. I say we give him a bunch of those painkillers and bury him in the sand before we go." Mike stood up from his chair. This was his little brother Robert Charles was talking about. "We have a better chance of surviving without him. I say we leave Matthew behind."
Mike had the vision of Scooter, Douglas, him, Brett, Stevie, everybody, even Jordan taking their turns watching Matthew and cleaning him. Matthew's cute face and button nose was in his mind as he jumped on a table and on top of Robert Charles. He knocked him to the ground and the two of them wrestled, crashing into chairs and tables and the counter. Mike was ready to finish what Alex started.
They rolled around some more until Mike was on top of Robert Charles, his fist up ready to flatten his face. "Don't you dare fuck with Matthew, you fucking no good asshole. How can you think of saying that? As long as I have one ounce of life in me, I will give it for Matthew. He's my brother, and I love him, and I will kill for him!!!!!" Mike stared into Robert Charles's eyes. Robert Charles had no doubt that Mike would kill him, just like he had no doubt Alex would too.
"Look, Mike, I didn't mean it that way..."
"Then how the fuck did you mean it? Tell me while I'm still letting you live!" Mike had never been this mad in his whole life.
"It's just something to think about. I would never...."
"Fuck you Robert Charles." Mike was so mad he was crying. "Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you. You lay one finger on Matthew in any way, you're dead. And there is no law here that will stop me. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME, YOU FUCK????!!!!"
Robert Charles just lay there.
"DO YOU?!!"
"I do. But you didn't understand what I meant, I meant to say..."
Mike slapped his face hard and got up. "I think we should leave you behind. You're a total waste of food and water." He walked back to his chair shaking, wiping off tears.
The door to the cabin was closed, but in the front of the cabin Matthew had woken up just long enough to hear the words, "Leave Matthew behind." He wasn't sure what it meant, but he knew he didn't want to die. He hurt bad. He passed out.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
As the day wore on they all talked about what happened between Mike and Robert Charles. Everybody knew the bad blood wasn't gone. And everybody left Robert Charles alone. He was becoming more and more separated from the group.
One person stayed with Matthew all the time. He was looking worse and worse.
Mike cried while he was with him. Just when his little brother was getting happy, all this shit had to happen. He stroked Matthew's hair and petted his forehead and his cheeks. "I love you, my little brother. I won't let you die on me. You will live so we can be brothers forever."
One of the things Jeremy and Jim fixed up that afternoon was going to help them take more supplies. They got the track off the damaged sled so it was lighter and just on its runners. Then they hooked it up to another sled just like a trailer. Now there was room for them all to ride. They would be able to go much faster. Also, they could take more food and water. Douglas was feeling good about that.
Just before dinner they got the sleds out of the shuttle. Everybody who was going to drive got a chance to drive the one without the trailer. They each drove it around the shuttle so they could learn how it works. Douglas, Alex, Mike, Jeremy, Jim, and Travis were going to be the drivers. Douglas would've liked to have Robert Charles as one of the drivers, but he didn't trust him.
That night they laid all the sleeping bags by the opening on the lower deck. For the first time Matthew was moved. Scooter figured his neck and spine were okay because he could move everything and he could feel pain everywhere. It was hard getting him down, and here they did use Robert Charles because he was the second biggest kid. But nobody let him have control of Matthew has he was handed down the ladder and put into a sleeping bag. Throughout the whole thing he never woke up.
Just before three o'clock an alarm sounded. Stevie moaned and flicked a switch. It stopped. The boys were out of their bags dressed. They rolled the bags up and put blankets over their shoulders. It was cold out. They stuffed their bags into the trailer sled. Then Mike, Jeremy, Travis, and Douglas helped carry Matthew to the single sled. There was room set up in there to put Matthew in his sleeping bag.
They were now out of the shuttle. Alex didn't shut anything down on it. They had taken all the power chips. Only one was still on the "Moonduster". It would run the lights and the climate control, everything until it ran out in maybe a year or so.
Douglas started the electric motor on his sled. It purred perfectly. Mike started his sled. His was the one with the trailer. They flicked on the big headlights plus the searchlights that Stevie and Jim had installed. The desert was lit up by the lights. The two sleds started moving. Stevie was sitting next to Jim and he pointed a searchlight at the "Moonduster". He moved it back and forth. Light from the emergency lights inside shone through the windows. The shuttle was half buried in the sand. It had been their home for so many days. It had done its job. They would probably never see it again. The boys all looked at it. All but two boys had tears flowing. Matthew didn't know what was going on. Douglas was staring straight ahead into the dark desert. Everything was on his shoulders. What if Robert Charles was right? What if they should have stayed? What if he were leading all of them, some of them the best friends he ever had to their deaths? What if he wasn't big enough for this job?
Even Robert Charles had some tears and didn't try to hide them. But his tears weren't for the "Moonduster". They were for himself and how much he had lost the last few days. It should be him leading this group. Leading them to do whatever they could to make the "Moonduster" home until they got rescued. Douglas had turned everybody against him. He, Mike, and Alex would pay. Robert Charles didn't care who saw him cry. They would all think he was sad for leaving too. What he really was, was mad for leaving.
Douglas led the string of three sleds into the desert and towards the mountains. He was leading his group to find a mysterious green horsey. He was leading them into the Inferno.
Next: Chapter 24 The Trek
Constructive comments are welcome. E-mail me at TheHakaanen@Hotmail.com. Douglas DD