CHAPTER 38
In the Valley of the Shkah
by Douglas DD
Douglas ran out of the barn and followed Drake into a field. The end of the field turned to mud as they got close to the pond that held the farm's irrigation water. Douglas could see a figure out in the mud. He walked out to it with Scooter following him. They were getting halfway up their knees in mud, and it was getting hard to walk through it.
They got to the figure in the mud. It was Drew lying on his back, sunk about half way into the mud. His whole body was muddy and so was his face. Douglas could see he was crying.
"Are you hurt?" Douglas asked.
Drew just moaned.
"Can you get up?"
"I guess so."
Douglas looked over at Drake who was more than knee deep in the mud. They all were covered with mud now. He held out both hands and Drew took them. He pulled Drew out of the mud. Drew made a popping sound as he stood up. The boys all stomped through the mud and back up to drier land. All of them were covered with mud.
They took the trail around the mud to the pond, where they all went in and got cleaned off. While they were cleaning off, Douglas asked Drew what happened.
"I don't know. I just got scared and started running and didn't want to stop. Drake ran after me and I ended up in the mud. And I fell down and didn't want to get out. I was...was....."
Douglas looked at him. He could see he wanted to cry. Drew shook some then seemed to get his control back. Douglas helped wash the mud out of his hair.
"You're going to need a shower and a shampoo when we get back," Douglas told him.
The boys headed back for the farmhouse. They went back up into the barn. The farmer came in and chewed them out for going out into the open. Douglas told him what happened with Drew. The farmer looked at Drew and smiled. He gave him a hug, then reminded the boys to be careful. Nobody knew where the Shkah were, and the Governor's men were looking for them too.
The farmer went back into his house. Drew sat in a corner shaking. Douglas asked Drew if he was okay and Drew's tears were his answer. Douglas took Drew's hand. He called to Scooter and Drake. They went down the ladder to the little office at the back of the barn.
"I think we need to talk, little dude." Douglas said.
"I want my brother," Drew said.
"I'm right here," Drake said.
"No, I mean my big brother."
Everybody looked at him confused. Drew just sat on a chair sniffling.
"Oh. I know," said Scooter. He walked out of the room. A couple of minutes later he came back with Ryan. "Is this who?" he asked.
Drew smiled. "Yeah."
"You've been having nightmares. We've heard you scream. More than once a night since we rescued you," Douglas said.
Drew started crying again andRyan went over and hugged him.
"It's okay, little bro. It's all over now. We're all here for you and we love you."
"I try to help him," Drake said. "But he won't let me."
Drew started sobbing more. "He doesn't know. He wasn't there."
"Drew," Ryan said. "Didn't you tell me when we were all tied up about how you and Drake feel so many things together? About how being twins made you so connected?"
"Yeah. But...but you were there...and I...I..please hold me."
Ryan set the small boy on his lap and held him. He felt himself getting hard from the bare butt on his lap. He tried to ignore it. "Well, maybe if you let Drake hug you. And if you told him what it was like, he would understand. He was almost there with us you know. They tried to kidnap both of you. It wasn't his fault he wasn't there. Let him hug you. Let him help you. You were so scared. So was I. We all will help you. But no more keeping it in."
Douglas and Scooter were amazed. That was the longest speech they had ever heard Ryan give. And he was right. Drew needed to quit holding that night inside of himself. They were all there to help him. Douglas looked at the thin red mark on his throat where Robert Charles cut him. It had been so close. So close to death and so close to getting raped. So close to both. What happened to him on that hill that night had to have been so horrible.
Drew looked at Ryan. "I love you."
"I love you, little bro."
"You've got a woody. I can feel it," Drew giggled.
Ryan blushed twenty shades of red. Douglas and Scooter started giggling too.
"Ryan, can you do to me what you guys do to each other?"
"What's that, little bro?"
"You know, what you do at night."
Ryan's blush became deeper, if that was possible.
"I can't do that, little brother. I'm sorry."
The tears started up again. "I thought you loved me," he whispered.
"What?" Ryan asked.
"N..n...nothing."
"He said he thought you loved him," Douglas told Ryan. "Maybe it's time to show that. He saw the bad side of sex on the hill. He needs to see the good side. He and Drake both do. I think Drew needs to be shown how much we do love him. And his big brother is the one to do it."
"I don't know. I mean..I don't know," Ryan stuttered.
Douglas whispered something to Scooter. Scooter left the room. The rest of them waited in silence until Scooter came back with Travis.
"You wanted me?" Travis asked Douglas
"I think your boyfriend needs some help showing someone some love. Someone who needs it really badly." He looked at Drew who smiled shyly. "There are some blankets in that closet. See you guys later."
He and Scooter walked out. Drew, Drake, Ryan, and Travis were left in the office alone. Drew was still on Ryan's lap. Ryan took him and set him down on the floor. Travis did the same with Drake. Both of the twins were hard, with just over two solid inches pointing up. Ryan and Travis told them to relax, that no matter what happened they didn't have to do anything back. Ryan took Drew into his mouth and Travis did the same with Drake. It didn't take long for the two young boys to have the greatest feeling of their lives. Other than to eat, the four of them didn't leave the office that night. Ryan got Drew to sleep by rubbing off against him until they both cummed. Drew didn't really like having Ryan's sticky cum on him, but he fell asleep before he could do anything about it, and, with Ryan cuddling up to him, slept without a nightmare.
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While Travis and Ryan were showing Drew and Drake some of what they did at night, the rest of the boys were in the loft. Jim came up to Douglas and Scooter.
"Can I talk to you guys?"
"Of course. Any time," Scooter said.
Jim blushed a little. "Douglas, you know that me and Scooter were good friends in Florida before I moved to Mars."
"I do. I can't think of a better one for him to have," Douglas said.
"Well, I have Stevie now and all, but, well, I kind of wondered if I could do something with the two of you. Like all three of us together."
"What does Stevie think of that?"
"He wants to do it with his brother and Mike tonight. So he is cool with it."
"Then it's cool with us," Douglas said. "Right Scooter?"
Scooter grinned a huge grin and the three boys were soon on a blanket on the floor of the loft. Jim was gently sucking on the hard cock of his old friend. Scooter was taking care of Douglas, while Douglas had Jim's for the first time. That was just the first round. They finally collapsed after the third round. It was the first time Scooter gave up his butt to somebody other than Douglas. Jim was thrilled to be inside his buddy for the first time. For Scooter it was a test if all of Douglas's love was enough. He had promised that only Douglas would be able to make love to him like that, but he knew now that he needed to do with Jim what they would have done if Jim had never moved. It was a beautiful feeling as he had his lover's magic wand in his mouth as Jim filled his insides. They slept together, Scooter held tight between his two friends, happy and content.
For Stevie it was wonderful to be with his brother and to see what his brother's lover was like. He wasn't disappointed. His bubble butt took Mike and Alex back to back. Both times he covered his belly with his cum as the two older teens made hard but sweet love to him.
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The Shkah raided two farms that day. They burned the buildings and one farmer was killed trying to protect his home. Robert Charles was the one who shot him, getting him in the chest with a laser shot. The rifle was set to kill. Raiding the farms was the most fun Robert Charles had ever had in his life.
Jordan got a thrill from it too. He and Orzano rode with the raiders, even though they were both only twelve. They helped set fires also. Jordan was surprised that he liked Orzano. He didn't think he could like the aliens, but Orzano helped make him feel welcome in the group and asked him to ride with him. Jordan had spent all his life on space ships and had never ridden a horse, so he rode buddied up with Orzano on his unicorn.
When evening came they looked for a place in the forest to make camp. Guards were set out and plans were made for the next day. The plan was to raid a village this time. Some other Shkah who came down the North trails were going to meet them for this raid. This should show once and for all that they were serious.
Jordan crawled into Robert Charles's sleeping bag since he didn't have one of his own. The other Shkah were going to bring one, but tonight he needed to share with Robert Charles like he did the night before. He kind of wanted to go with Orzano, but Robert Charles asked him to share.
He lay next to his big friend. Robert Charles slid his hand onto Jordan's dick. He didn't say a word. Jordan grabbed Robert Charles's hard cock. The two boys jerked each other off. Last night they had just slept. Tonight, somebody was being nice to me, Jordan thought. Jordan was happy he ran away. He was happy he was with somebody who liked him.
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When morning came Douglas was up with the sun. He heard the farmer and his helpers down in the main barn getting ready for the day. He untangled himself from Scooter and Jim. The three of them had had a nice night together. Stevie, Mike, and Alex were still all tangled together too. It was nice to do things a little differently with the friends he loved. He knew Ryan, Travis, Drew, and Drake were still downstairs. Brett and Jeremy were nice and cozy together too. What a great group of friends to love. If he was going to get stuck on an alien planet for the rest of his life, he couldn't think of better people to be stuck with.
Which brought him to the question bugging him and all of them; would they ever make it back home, or would Inferno become their home for the rest of their lives? Six weeks had gone by since Robert Charles panicked and pushed the button that launched them from the "Starkeeper." So much had happened it seemed almost like six years. He wondered what had happened to the "Starkeeper". If they went home would they even find their families alive. Maybe they were better off staying here and making new families.
But for that to happen, they needed to take care of the Shkah threat, or this beautiful green peaceful valley would be no more. They certainly weren't helping by loafing up here in this barn. He needed to talk to Bandar's father. It was time to make some plans. The Governor was blaming them for the Shkah attacks. It was time to for them to help their Hakaanen friends. The Shkah and Robert Charles needed to be stopped.
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Early that morning a series of loud explosions went off. They could be heard for miles. Then a cloud of smoke could be seen. Half the small village of Rantano was gone. All of its shops were destroyed. The Shkah raiders rode through the village shooting at anybody trying to fight the fires caused by the bombs. Everybody could see that two of the raiders were round ears.
Three more farms and another village were attacked and burned. There were two more dead Hakaanen, both of them by Robert Charles's laser rifle. Vordkan and Jordan both saw how much Robert Charles seemed to love drawing blood. By nightfall the entire valley was full of fear.
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Just after supper a wagon pulled up to the farm. The doctor got out of it. He knocked on the door of the farmhouse. The farmer answered it and pointed to the barn. The doctor went in and climbed up to the loft. All of the boys met. Enghar, Bandar, and Prekan were there too.
Scooter translated for them.
"The Shkah did a lot of damage today. Not only the ones who attacked the Building of Life, but two groups came down from the north and attacked four farms, plus a village was practically destoryed. We have no way to protect ourselves. They say it will stop when we turn you over to them," the doctor explained.
"Are you going to do that?" Douglas asked a little defiantly.
"Never. And neither will Mayor Andorn or any of the others helping you. We know that you have helped us more than once. Without you going back to the Building of Life they would have blown up the machinery and we would have been at their mercy.
"When we brought you here, people who saw you gave the Governor's men some pretty bad information. If they saw you turning left, they had you turning right. It will be a while before you are found, but it will happen. Mayor Andorn will be here soon. He's been hiding out too. I rode here in a carriage instead of my own car to keep from being recognized." He went over and hugged his son Enghar. Then he hugged Matthew. Douglas and Scooter noticed that right away and stored it away in their memories. Matthew was very special ot the doctor.
"So if you're not going to turn us over, what do you plan to do. You guys don't seem to be able to stop them."
"I don't know what we're going to do. That's what we need to work out."
"By we, do you mean you and the Mayor?" Douglas asked. "Or are we included?"
"I mean the Mayor, me, and all of you. Especially you, Dooglass. Since you are the leader of your group."
Douglas saw how much his thinking had changed. He remembered when he was made the leader of the "Starkeeper" boys, he wished so much he could turn everything over to an adult and quit being responsible for everything. Now he had adults to run things, but he wasn't about to turn things over to them. This was his group. These were his friends. They were his responsibility, and until there were no more threats to them, anything anybody wanted to do to them or with them had to go through him. They gave him the responsibility to keep them safe, and that was what he was going to do.
They heard a noise outside. Another carriage had pulled up. Mayor Andorn got out and the farmer points him to the barn. He climbed up the ladder and into the loft. Bandar ran over and hugged his dad.
Scooter kept translating.
"Things look bad," the Mayor said. "Three groups raided parts of the valley today. The Governor is afraid to go after them because he is afraid that they will attack Orkyl, the capital, and go after the Building of Life again. Only this time they will succeed. So he is putting all his efforts into finding you round ears. Right now there seems to be no stopping the Shkah. They are doing whatever they want."
Douglas started taking charge. Leading is group through the desert and into the valley had made him to completely confident in himself. He had no doubts now in his ability to lead in a tough spot, and right now he needed to tell the Hakaan men what he was thinking and what his friends were thinking. He, Scooter, Mike, and Alex, especially had done a lot of talking in the loft. Douglas had a pretty good idea where everybody stood and what they all agreed on. It was time to tell the Hakaan men how they felt.
"Well, we have some ideas," Douglas said.
"Oh?" Mayor Andorn said. He was trying hard to hide his excitement. The Hakaan had no experience fighting. They were confused and afraid, plus the Governor did not want to take any action against the Shkah. He was afraid of making them even more angry. He wanted peace at any price.
"First, do you guys blame us for what's going on, like the Governor is?"
"No, not at all," the Mayor answered. "This all started a long time ago. The raids aren't new. But the burnings and bombings and killings are. Those are being blamed on you and on the two round ears with the Shkah. What can you tell us about them? Some of my fellow Hakaanen, and the Governor and his followers, think you all are working together."
"The older kid is Robert Charles. He was our leader, though looking back at it none of us can figure out why. He was bossy and pushy, but somehow he seemed to have the power to convince us to let me lead our group. Somehow we gave the power to him. But he took advantage of it and before we left the 'Moonduster' I was elected leader."
Douglas went on to tell about Robert Charles and Matthew's water and how he was exiled from the group. The Mayor was about to say something when a moan came from Matthew. Everybody looked over at him.
"Mattoo?" Enghar asked, and he hugged his lover.
"I remember...it like came to me...just now..when you talked about R..R..RC."
"What?" Scooter asked. "What did you remember?"
"The tent," Matthew whispered. "I was hurting. Maybe..I don't know. Somebody was shaking it...knocking down poles...I remember....but maybe it was the wind...." The memory of being buried in the tent came back to Matthew for the first time in days. Enghar held Matthew tightly to him. Matthew closed his eyes and leaned against his friend and love and started feeling much better.
"I'd be willing to bet that it wasn't the wind Matthew felt. It was RC trying to get rid of Matthew because he was slowing us down and was taking water. He had said more than once we should to abandon Matthew," Alex said.
Alex's anger was rising again. Shooting Robert Charles in the balls had been much too good for him.
"So you exiled him?" the doctor asked. "An interesting punishment."
"It was that or kill him," Douglas said. "And I couldn't do that. There was no way he could stay. He stole water, which was our life, from us. I don't know what I would've done if I had know about him knocking down the tent. I really don't know."
Then he told him about Jordan, who the Hakaanen had already met of course. Jordan always seemed to be joined at the hip with Robert Charles.
The room was silent for quite some time. Then the Mayor looked at Douglas. "What do you guys think we should do?"
"You're asking us? A bunch of kids?"
"We're asking you because we have no experience at warfare. And your former leader seems to have taken charge somehow. I don't think the raids were totally planned by the Shkah. You're kids, but you showed us what you're made of when you went to rescue your friends and when you saved the Building of Life. The Governor is spending time fooling himself that he can buy peace. A lot of us don't agree. The Shkah have to be stopped!"
"Well, we have thought some about it. And we do have a plan. Kind of. But first we have a question."
"What's that?"
"Why don't you use the flyer against the Shkah. You can find their raiders and stop them dead. Or go attack their villages in the small valley."
"The flyer is under the control of the Governor. I got away with it once. But my cousin isn't even allowed near the hangar it's in now. And I don't think the other pilot is ready to cross the Governor."
"Why won't the Governor use it? I mean even he has to have sense enough to see what it can do. He's gotta be stupid to not use the flier," Alex said. Alex was never one to hide his opinion of somebody, especially if he thought they were stupid.
"First, the Shkah, or your friend, have been very clever. They go into the woods painted green somehow. Even their unicorns have some kind of paint. They are very hard to see. And there are three raiding groups so we don't know where they will come out and do something. Second, it's the usual stuff. The Governor doesn't want to make the Shkah any angrier. He still thinks turning you over to them will end all of his troubles."
"So there is no way we can use the flyer even for a quick mission?" Douglas asked.
"What kind of mission?" said the Mayor.
"We're sure that the 'Moonduster' has weapons in it. And we need more laser rifles," Douglas said.
Ryan looked at Douglas. Why hadn't they talked to me first? he thought. It was fine that Douglas had his cabinet, but some of the rest of them knew stuff too. "Douglas, Robert Charles had a laser rifle with him. Where to you think he got it?"
Douglas stared at Ryan. Shit, he thought. Maybe I should find out what's going on before I jump the gun. It never occurred to him to ask Ryan about what he saw, had been so worried about Drew and his nightmares. Sometimes he forgot everybody else, like he did with Jordan.
"So, then they've gone back to the 'Moonduster'," Douglas said with disappointment. For their plan to work they needed more weapons.
Then an unlikely voice popped up. "What about the 'Sundancer'? Did you look at everything there?" Brett asked.
Now it was everybody's turn to look at Brett. Douglas held a lot of group meetings, but when it came time to make plans, it had been him, Mike, Scooter, and Alex. Maybe he needed to include everybody. He made a note to get all opinions before they did anything. Somebody was sure to find some flaw or come up with a good idea. He still needed his small cabinet, but their ideas better get talked over by everybody from now on before he decided to act hom them. Not that he planned on deciding anything without their vote, but just having their plans talked about would help before they discussed them with somebody else. The only big decision the group hadn't voted on was exiling Robert Charles. That was his responsibility only. Maybe now it would be different, but then, on the side of that hill in the hot sun with everyone tired and hungry and thirsty, it had to be his.
"We didn't, Brett," Mike said. "We found those two guns but never really looked for all of them. Maybe that's the place to go. Robert Charles never knew exactly where it was. He probably got those guns from 'Moonduster' rather than 'Sundancer'.
"So what do want us to do? Even at our fastest it will take three of four days to get there and back. And we still have to hide most of you. And I'm sure tomorrow the raids will get worse. Or even worse, the Governor will surrender power to the Shkah. It wouldn't surprise me." The Mayor sounded desperate.
"Well," said Douglas, "here is the first part. Can you find an excuse to get the flyer to take a trip over the plateau where the shuttle crashed?"
The mayor and the doctor both thought. It was the doctor who came up with an idea.
"Mayor Andorn, do you know if we have anyone out checking the atmosphere sensors?"
"I think two inspectors were sent our a week ago. But I don't know where."
"It doesn't make any difference. I see what your idea is, son. Because it just so happens one of them forgot to pick up his prescription. And I think he is going to need it out there and could be in big trouble if he doesn't get it."
Douglas smiled. The doctor had it figured out exactly. He said he would arrange to have the flyer ready in the morning, with the Mayor's cousin as the pilot. He would be requested for the mission since he was the most experienced pilot.
Douglas then told them their whole plan. It would work best if they could get the flyer again, but if they couldn't then he had an alternate plan. But either way they would need to move now.. They Mayor agreed. He and the doctor both thought it was a good plan. But then, they not only didn't have a plan. And it was obvious the Governor wasn't going to do anything to stand up to the Shkah.
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It was still dark when Robert Charles woke up. The men were awake already. Robert Charles woke up Jordan. The men woke up Orzano and Vordkan. They wanted to eat now and be ready to go raiding when the sun started rising. Robert Charles had tasted blood and wanted more. He had shown the Shkah how to use guerilla tactics. Just like in the games they played on Earth and in a lot of the Earth wars. The Shkah were becoming quite good at it.
When the sun rose they set off looking for a farm. They hit one at breakfast time. Robert Charles went into the house with Jordan and Vordkan.
It seemed to be empty. They went upstairs. It was empty, but the beds were unmade. Robert Charles headed back downstairs. The men were looking in the barn and outside. Robert Charles looked in the pantry. As he was closing the door he noticed a handle on the floor, which he lifted it up. There was a ladder leading down into a basement. He saw a light switch and flicked it on, then he climbed down the ladder. Right away he saw the farmer, his partner, and a boy who looked to be around 13. He pointed his gun at them. Vordkan told them to go up the ladder. He went up first, then the farmers and the boy followed, and finally Robert Charles went up.
The men came in and led them out of the house. Then Jordan and Vordkan set the house on fire as the farmers watched. One of them started crying, and so did the boy.
"Tell them to shut up," Robert Charles said. Orzano translated and Vordkan said it loudly. The boy kept sobbing as he watched his home going up in flames. Robert Charles walked up to the boy and slapped him across the face.
"You wussy Hakaanen. A weak cry baby like all of them. You've just found out where the power is." The boy didn't understand the words, but he got the idea. He couldn't stop crying though, so Robert Charles punched him in the stomach. Then he stood there and laughed.
The men set fire to the barn then got on their unicorns. As they started riding out, Robert Charles aimed his laser rifle at the man who had started crying and fired it. The beam hit the man in the chest. The rifle had been set to kill.
Robert Charles looked at the boy, who was crying loudly now. "That was for you, boy. I see you again, you weak crying son of a bitch, I'll pop you." He shot a beam over the boy's head and laughed. This was fun. He wished again he hadn't been interrupted when he had the little twin. After raping him he would have slowly sliced him up and listened to him scream. But he knew he would get him again. Either by finding him or having him turned over by the Hakaanen. Either way the little shit was his. And what he would do to him was nothing compared to what he would do to that fucking Douglas.
The raiding party hit two more farms and the outskirts of Awanstor, Mayor Andorn's village. Farmers and villagers were hiding. Everyone was frightened. The Governor knew he would have to find the round ears or surrender the valley to the Shkah. In the raids from all three parties, six farms were burned and two villages damaged. No more Hakaanen were killed because they went into hiding when they heard the raiders were near. More damage would have been done, but something happened toward the afternoon that had the southern raiders changing some plans.
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Before dawn Douglas, Mike, and Scooter were hidden on the flyer. They sat low in their seats sleeping. When dawn came the pilot came on board. It was the Mayor's cousin. He carried a bag that had "pills" in it that he got from the doctor. He was ready now to do whatever it took go defeat the Shkah quickly. And that included the second part of the round ear's plan. Dawn was coming to the valley. Douglas looked at the two large hangars at the other end of the field. He wondered if there were shuttles in there. If there were it had been over twenty-five years since they had last been flown. There was no place to fly them to now.
The flyer took off from the airport and went straight toward the eastern plateau. Douglas looked at the hills go by underneath him. It was hard for him to imagine that they had gone across them and over them in the two sleds. When he saw how the mountains stretched out and how easy it was to miss the big valley he could see what a miracle it was that they made it. They flew over Matthew's horsey rock. It looked even more like a horse from in the air. It didn't take long for the flyer to get to where the "Sundancer" crashed. The pilot hovered over the site looking for a flat place to land, then finally set the flyer straight down.
Douglas, Mike, Scooter, and the Mayor were on the flyer. Alex stayed behind in charge of the group until Douglas got back. The three boys got out and started looking through the wreckage. The wind was blowing hard. The dead bodies were still there and were decomposing. They went to the area where the two laser rifles were found. Hopefully they would find more or find the storage area where they had been left. The boys looked through the wreckage of the front of the shuttle, trying hard not to get sickened by the dead bodies.
`Douglas, there is something under this piece of wreckage.' Scooter sent the thought to Douglas who was quite a few feet away so he wouldn't have to yell over the wind.
Douglas went over to where Scooter was. He wave do Mike who followed him over. A bit piece of the fuselage was sitting on top of a smashed metal box. They could see that the piece was too heavy for them to move. Douglas and Scooter went over to the flyer and told the pilot what they found. They came up with a plan for moving the heavy piece of metal.
The pilot got under the flyer and disconnected a piece of cable with a hook on it. Then he got into the flyer and lifted off. He hovered over the metal piece. Mike grabbed hold of the hook, which wasn't easy since the flyer created even more wind around him. He jerked down on the hook, pulling out more cable until he got it hooked up to the fuselage piece. Then he attached the hook through a hole in the fuselage. He got out from underneath the flyer and waved to the pilot. The pilot lifted the flyer up higher until the metal piece came off the storage box. He flew off away from the boys, flicked a switch that opened the hook, and dropped the metal piece to the ground with a huge crash that startled the three boys.
The storage container was badly smashed. Mike got a metal bar from the flier and used it to pry open the container. Inside were laser rifles. Some of them were bent and smashed, but they were able to pull out eight that looked to be intact. They turned the solar chargers on each rifle to the on position, then packed them into the flier. When they got back they would test them to see if they actually worked, but they were pretty sure that they would. With the eight rifles and the two laser guns, they had ten weapons, almost enough for each boy.
The flyer came back to the north end of the valley. The pilot dropped the boys off along with the Mayor and then flew south back to Orkyl, the capital city. As far as the pilot was concerned he had the flyer now and he was going to do with it whatever needed to be done. He'd deal with the Governor after he helped the Mayor and the round eared boys.
They were dropped off outside a farm that had been burned. They didn't know if any of the Shkah raiding parties had seen them. They wanted to be seen, but not just yet.
Suddenly some unicorns with riders came into the field they were in. Douglas and Mike both raised their rifles, but the riders were Hakaanen. The Mayor of Awanstor had been talking half the night to the Mayor of Grastano, whose village had been attacked. The men were farmers and villagers from the area. They were mad and ready to do anything and follow anybody. Douglas told them of his plan and what he wanted them to do. They were ready for anything. The only thing they were lacking was leadership. And the leader of the round eared boys seemed to be ready to give them that.
All they had to do was wait for the flyer to make two trips back.
The flyer was back quickly. It came in from the plateau again instead of flying over the valley. This trip wasn't supposed to be happening. The flyer set down in the field. Drew, Drake, Brett, Alex, Ryan, and Enghar got out and the flyer was off again.
The group was ready. They all knew what to do. Douglas, Mike, and Scooter got on the flyer which headed back over the plateau, and then to the north. The pilot landed on a mesa to the east of the little valley where they couldn't be seen. The flyer took off again. They all waited patiently for it to come back. Everything was almost ready to go. They just needed everybody to be in the right place. Everybody but Matthew, who still had his cast on, had something to do. And even Matthew had something since he had their home radio.
When the flyer came back, Jim, Stevie, Jeremy, Travis, and Bandar got off. There were eight of them on the mesa, and they each were armed with a laser rifle. They were going to wait until it started getting dark, then they would take the trail down towards the little valley.
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The flyer went back over the big valley, and flew to the field at the north end. However, the pilot made it look like he was coming there from the south. And he hovered high and landed slowly, trying to make sure he was seen. The unicorns with their riders were already heading up the long trail heading west, going up the south hills and then to the small valley. They moved slowly and kicked up a lot of dirt and dust. It was the middle of the day, the sun was at its highest point and the sunlight reflected off of any metal they were wearing or that was on the unicorns.
One of the southern Shkah raiding parties saw the flyer land and then later noticed the group heading up the trail. The leader got his radio and radioed to Arkron telling him what he saw.
"It looks like the Hakaan flyer is dropping people off. And a raiding party is heading up into the north hills. I think they're heading for our valley."
"Which trail are they taking?" Arkron asked.
"The long trail. It's less steep."
"Fools! Less steep, but much longer. You all take the short steep trail. You'll beat them to the valley easily. How far off is Sharman's group?"
"Two hours south an hour ago."
"Radio him. Have him join up with you. You will be in the valley defending it before they even know you are there. Plus we will have men in the valley to help."
"Shouldn't we just go attack them when we get up into the north hills?"
"No. They will be like we are up there. Moving and hard to find. Catch them coming into the valley at Sopas. It is narrow and we can trap them there. How many are there?"
"I figure around twenty. It is an excellent plan Arkron. There will be no escape once they are at Sopa. We are on our way."
Arkron put his radio away. He started sending his thoughts through Orzano. "Your friends are fools, Robbachass."
"Why?"
"Instead of taking the difficult but short east trail, they are taking the easier but longer west trail. By the time they get to the small valley most of our warriors will be there waiting to trap them." Arkron told Robert Charles everything he had found out.
Robert Charles smiled. More proof that Douglas was an idiot. He couldn't plan his way out of a shopping bag. And now he thinks he can play the game of warfare. Robert Charles was raised playing military games. He had to give Douglas credit. He got the wussy Hakaanen actually doing something, if indeed that was Douglas and his group going up the hill. And he figured it was. But once again to Robert Charles it was obvious who the real leader was. He had shown the Shkah about guerilla tactics. Douglas couldn't even take the right trail on a raid. Not only that but he was going up the hill so that everybody on the planet knew what he was doing and where he was going. Even the Hakaan flyer pilot was too dumb to do fakes with his flyer.
They were all so dumb that in no time at all the Shkah would rule all of Inferno.
"So, while they go to defend, we should keep the Hakaan off balance with even tougher raids. Take a village and burn it to the ground and kill as many as we can. Make them so scared they will call off their own raiding party while they piss their pants."
Orzano translated the conversation back and forth.
"No, Robbachass. You've been right in what you've shown us. But I think we should ride hard down the big valley and over to the small valley. I want to be there when we triumph. I want to tell the Governor I have the round ears he sent after us and now we are going to crush him!"
Robert Charles smiled even more. He liked it. Arkron was his kind of guy. Once Douglas was defeated there would be nobody around to stop them. Douglas might be a fag and stupid at war, but at least he was showing some balls. Today it would probably be all be over. Douglas would be his.
"Arkron, if we come across any farms along the way can we, you know, like, burn...."
Arkron laughed hard. "You make me laugh, Robbachass. I promise you, after our triumph you can take Vordkan, Orzano, and Jordaann and do your own raid on a farm. The first one you see on the north end. But for now we need to ride across the valley as fast as we can. Starting right now!"
Robert Charles could hardly wait for his own raid to happen. But for now, he was ready to get to the small valley so he could have his way with Douglas. As they got on their unicorns and headed north, Robert Charles thought about what he would do to him. Rape him for sure. Make him suffer.
Maybe rape him over and over in front of his foolish followers. Maybe he would kill the twin he had on the hill in front of him. Show him what he could've and should've done. Kill him nice and slowly. And then kill Douglas even slower in front of his queer friends. Robert Charles had a king sized erection thinking about it.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The climb up the north hill was hot in the afternoon sun. Even on unicorns it was tiring. Ryan and Drew remembered the last time they went up the hill. They were tied up and were prisoners. They had all wondered if Drew should take the trip up this hill with them, but Drew said he was okay. He wanted to go. His twin and his big brother would be with them and he would be okay. He knew how much they both loved him. Last night Drake slept with him in his sleeping bag. He only told Ryan what they did, but it was like everybody knew anyway. All Drew knew was that he was loved like never before and that was already helping get rid of his nightmares.
When night came they stopped to camp. They were pretty much into the hills now. Alex was the leader and he set out guards. Enghar could help translate some to the Hakaan men because being with Matthew had taught him a little English. He missed Matthew so much. They hadn't been separated a single night since Matthew had come into his life.
On the southeast hill over the little valley Douglas and his group made their camp. The two southern raiding parties had made it into the small valley just before it got dark. They had beaten the Hakaan raiding party by quite a bit, just like they figured they would.
Travis was the lookout for Douglas at the time and he quickly came back into the camp to report what he had seen. The Shkah raiders, at least the southern ones, were in the valley. They beat the Hakaan group.
"Damn. This is going to be tough," Mike said. "I hope this works. If it doesn't we won't get another chance."
"I know," said Douglas, quietly. He knew the plan would need some luck. And he had to wonder if their luck was running out.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Alex got his group up before dawn. He got Brett, Drew, Drake, and Enghar together.
"Enghar knows where to take you. He's been to the little valley a couple of times, he's looked at the maps. His dad helped with the layout. You guys are small and can hide easily behind what rocks and shrubs are there. You know what to do, right?"
The four of them were quiet. Enghar only understood every other word, but he knew what was planned. Brett was in the charge of the group. It was the first time anybody had put him in charge of anything. He was scared of it, but excited at the same time. Their job would be simple but very important to the plan.
As the sun rose it lit up the west side of the small valley. Douglas and his group started down to the valley in the shadows on the east side. They should make it down to the valley easily before the sun got too high up. The shadows hid them well. They crept through a field and hid in some brush close to where the pass through the hills into the small valley was.
Now they all waited, except for Alex's group. His included Ryan and the Hakaan men. They all knew what they needed to do and now it was time to do it.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The battle didn't take long. Alex led his group into the pass that led into the little valley. There were Shkah up on the hills on either side of them.
Douglas's group could see them and let Alex know where they were and how far they could go in. Douglas's group was behind the brush next to the meadow. Most of the Shkah were in the meadow at the end of the trail down the pass. The Shkah on both sides started coming down. Douglas could see them and warned Alex. Alex turned his group around and started retreating.
The Shkah in the meadow started cheering and got up from the grass to get their unicorns and help chase them. As the whole group got up, Mike aimed his laser rifle. It was set to heavy stun, which could burn, hurt, and knock a guy out depending where he got hit. He hit a Shkah in the back on his first shot. They stopped and turned around, but it was too late. Douglas, Travis, Scooter, Jim, Stevie, and Jeremy got from behind their hiding places and started firing. When it all settled there were twenty unconscious Shkah in the field and not one human was touched. The Shkah never thought that somebody might come and get them from behind. Douglas had faked them into thinking the attack would be straight on, when all the time it was a fake attack. The real one was a sneak attack from behind.
Meanwhile Alex's group was heading back out onto the north plateau. Four Shkah had been hiding on each side, but Alex knew they were there because he had been warned. The way out became a narrow canyon. Some small rocks and shrubs were on the side. The four small boys were hiding to one side. They had snuck in there at dawn. They were small enough to hide there even though the Shkah could see into that area. When Alex and the Hakaan men rode past, Brett gave the signal and he and Drew ran across the opening. They each had a metal wire which they pounded into the ground on one side. It was on a spool that unwound as Brett and Drew ran it across the path. The Shkah came riding through chasing Alex's group, but they hit the cable and their unicorns tumbled and spilled the Shkah on the ground. Only one of them stopped in time, but before he could do anything Alex was turned around and he fired a laser shot at him, knocking him off his unicorn. The Battle of the Valley of the Shkah was over. The Shkah were defeated except for one small group.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Arkron led his raiding group into the narrow canyon towards the pass. Brett and Jeremy were up on the hill on the east side so they could look down without the sun in their eyes. When they saw the unicorns and their riders enter the canyon Brett radioed Douglas.
"They're here," he said quietly.
The canyon was short and the riders stopped when they got to the end. They were at the top of the pass. From there the road was wide and went down into the small valley.
"They stopped," Brett radioed. Brett was so happy that he was given responsibility. It helped that the medication was working and he was healthy. He had felt kind of helpless since the time he helped to keep the power chips from Robert Charles, but it was from there he started getting sicker. Yesterday he led the group that tripped the Shkah. Today he and his love were the lookouts. Not only was he feeling good because he was healthy he was feeling good because for the first time in a long time he was helping everybody instead of holding them back.
Douglas had the raiders in sight now. He was watching them through binoculars. He recognized Robert Charles and Jordan. Robert Charles looked weird with his blue/green Shkah colored hair.
"It's quiet down there," Arkron said. "I wonder if they have captured the round ears. They must have or they would be in position to stop them."
"We never heard anything on the radio," Robert Charles said.
"Our radios are so old they don't always work. I tried to raise him earlier but couldn't get anything. Everything is falling apart here. Let's go down and see where they are keeping their captives."
"I don't know," Robert Charles said. "It doesn't feel right. Somebody should be coming up to meet us. It's too quiet. I think some of us should wait here."
"Nonsense. Your round eared friends went right into our trap. You saw yesterday how stupid they were. Your Dooglass knows nothing of fighting. You are far better than him."
Robert Charles smiled. Arkron was right, of course. He was ten times the leader Douglas was. But it still didn't feel right. They rode down into the valley. Brett got on the radio and let Douglas know they were coming down.
They stopped when they got to the meadow where Douglas did his sneak attack on the Shkah.
"Arkron, I just don't feel right about this. Let's have our rifles out."
Arkron couldn't argue with that. They got their rifles out and rode into the village. They got to the square and stopped and looked around. Robert Charles and Jordan hung back some. Vordkan and Orzano saw that and went back to where the two Earth boys were.
Suddenly the roof tops on both sides had people standing on them armed with laser rifles. Mayor Andorn looked down at them.
"Drop your weapons!" he said. "It's all over."
Bazel raised his rifle, but Alex was ready and shot him, knocking him off his unicorn. Arkron tried firing back but Douglas hit him and knocked him off. Robert Charles took off, with Jordan, Vordkan, and Orzano following him. The two Shkah boys weren't sure what was going on, but they knew they didn't want to be where the shooting was going on.
Robert Charles stopped quickly. "You're dead, Douglas! I hope you understand that! YOU ARE FUCKING DEAD!!!!"
Then he and the other three boys rode out of the village, up the hill, and out of the little valley. Brett and Jeremy were still up on the hill. They watched the four boys ride by wondering what was happening.
The Shkah leaders and raiders were all captured now. Only the four boys got away.
Robert Charles stopped his unicorn. He looked back toward the small valley.
He meant what he said. Douglas was dead. But it wasn't going to be quick. It was going to be slow. And before he killed Douglas, he was going to make him hurt and suffer in ways he could never believe. He was going to destroy Douglas's friends and his whole world. Douglas had crossed him for the last time. When they met face to face again, the power would be his. And Douglas's fate would be sealed.
Robert Charles looked at Jordan. "Douglas is dead. And I will need you to help me make sure his life is shit before it happens."
Jordan smiled at the older boy. "Whatever you want, I will do." Jordan knew, right then in his heart, that he loved Robert Charles.
NEXT: CHAPTER 39 Death of a Boy