Savage Moon 01 - Discovery - 2. Chapter 2

Kyla gave me a warm grin, and she looked me up and down for a moment. "Let me guess..." she said, "...you're here for some kind of 'punishment', aren't you?"

"Hehehe, how'd you guess?"

"First of all, you swore when you bumped into me. Second, you're wearing clothes that don't look like they've been drained of all their attitude by some kind of 'water down' machine. And lastly, most church boys would be running around here grinning and singing to themselves with their enthusiasm on constant overload. You, on the other hand, look about as happy to be here as I am."

"Ah, a kindred spirit then." I said. "So....what are you in for?"

"Joyriding in my dad's car late at night without permission."

"That doesn't sound so bad. Not bad enough to warrant sending you here, anyway."

"It was when he found a used condom in the back seat." She said. "He flipped out so bad, I thought he was gonna have me fitted for an iron chastity belt."

"I'm thinking I 'like' this girl." I said, and she giggled sweetly as she bent over to pick up the chairs again.

"So what about you? What dirty little deed got you cast out into the wilderness here?"

"Nothing actually. Believe it or not, I'm innocent."

"Riiiight...aren't we all?"

"Kyla..." One of the assistant priests came over to help her with the chairs. "Do you need a hand?"

"Thanks Brother Chris. I could use the help." They picked up what was left, and walked away. But not before Kyla flashed me a little wink and a smile. She was cool, and possessed with the kind of invisible aura of charm that hooked you within the first few seconds of meeting her. I knew right away that she was one of the ones that I should be keeping in touch with while I was here. She might be a bit of salvation in this place.

That was the beginning of the day, and finally, as the last few tables and settings and all was reaching completion, the campers arrived. Some with their parents, others arriving on two long white busses. The campers were ranging in ages from about 9 or 10 years old, to about my age at 14 or 15. Then there were a couple of older kids, maybe just out of high school or in their last year, who came along as counselors. They spread out around the open field and had already begun to mingle about with one another. Kyla stuck pretty close to me when she could, and we'd trade a few jokes here and there as we singled ourselves out to be the obvious outcasted prisoners of the camp. Still, having a cool cellmate was a plus, and I saw her as the 'fun' I could have been having at home.

The afternoon kicked off when everyone was gathered together for a sermon and a speech and another sermon and a joint prayer...sighhh...it seemed like it took forever. By the time we started singing songs about Jesus, both Kyla and I were ready to shoot ourselves in the head. Thankfully, everyone was dispersed into different workshops and all to meet and greet all of the campers and give them a short tour of the place. I thought that might mean that I'd get an opportunity to escape for a little while and get a rest. But I wasn't so lucky. My father made sure that I was up and ready and putting on a big 'polite' smile for all the other people there. More walking, more singing, more false grins, more greeting happy-go-lucky parents who all remember what a 'nice boy' I was. It's enough to drive anyone crazy, especially someone operating without any sleep.

Kyla and I had been split up for almost two hours straight, and that left me all alone with the Holy Rollers and their spawn in training. I knew to jus give up hope when I saw a real cutie standing by one of the tables and went over to talk to him. I believe I just said hi and told him my name. The next thing I knew, he was telling me what a 'glorious day God had brought down upon us', and quoting scripture to describe how proud he was to be doing the Lord's work, and how he was looking forward to a blessed vacation and blah...and blah...and BLAH! You wanna know the best way to get a gay boy who thinks you're hot to leave you alone? Just start mentioning the Savior twice in every sentence, and he'll high tail it out of there in no time. Being spiritual is fine, nothing wrong with that. But anything taken to fanatic levels of obssession...it's just plain creepy. And in THIS boy's case, pretty annoying on top of it.

"Scared yet?" Came a voice from over my shoulder. It was Kyla, coming over to lean against me gently while flashing that pattented smile of hers.

"Don't EVER leave me alone with these kids again! You hear me?" I replied. I was sooo damn glad to see her again.

"Hey, there's only two of us so far. So if you're alone, I'm alone. Besides, I might have gotten a bit of a tip off from a friend of mine who lives not far from this area." Kyla gave me the most wicked look, litterally overflowing with mischief. "You feel like getting into some trouble tonight?"

"You are the pure definition of a preacher's daughter, you know that?" I said, but she only raised an eyebrow in response. "Ok...what do you have in mind?"

"Party."

"Party?"

"Party. Big party." She smirked.

"Where?"

Kyla looked around to insure our privacy, and then grabbed my hand to pull me over to the side so we wouldn't be heard. She lowered her voice, almost to a whisper. "It's down by the lake, right over the big cliff by the beach. It's far enough where we don't have to worry about anyone stumbling upon us and breaking things up. It's pretty secluded."

"Are...are you sure about this, Kyla? I mean, I can't get caught. I'm in enough trouble as it is."

"Don't sweat it. We did this last summer too, and nobody was ever the wiser. Look, it's cool. You meet me over behind the lodge tonight after dark, and I'll take you in personally. They'll love you, trust me."

"Well....." I wasn't sure about all this. Afterall, despite my dad's view of me, I was basically a 'good boy' as far as outright defiance was concerned. I hated to admit it most times, but even if I had to pout and complain until I turned blue in the face...I did what I was told.

"C'mon, Wes. Don't pussy out on me this summer. I need some company." Hmmm, and yet, she DOES make quite an effective argument.

"Sighhh....alright. What time?" I said reluctantly.

"Eight O'clock, eight thirty! Sound good?"

"I suppose." It was more of a sudden surrender than an agreement, but once the words left my mouth, I was glad to have something to look forward to.

"You're awesome! I'll see ya then!" Kyla said, walking away.

"What do I tell my parents?" I asked.

"Be creative. What did you tell them when you said you were innocent?"

"I WAS innocent!"

She grinned. "Yeah...use that poker face right there. That'll work." And with that, she took off in a slight jog to get back to the lodge. Dammit...what was I getting myself into now?

Eating dinner in the mess hall that evening brought back horrid memories of bland unseasoned food and that almost sugarless green drink-aid that usually had a mosquito or something floating in it most times. But it meant that I was just a meal and an evening prayer away from going out and having some fun. I was practically tapping my feet in anticipation. Not knowing what to expect, but knowing that anything would be an improvement to hearing my little brother play his Gameboy while my parents watched television back at the cabin. This was gonna be great....

"Is anybody sitting here?" It was Freddy, and he came over to sit across the table from me. "Hi..." There it was again. That 'I'm nervous, but pretending not to be nervous' vibe that I was getting more and more frequently from him these days.

"Heya Freddy. What's up?" I was already feeling the pressure bearing down on the back of my neck, wondering if my father was going to jump out of a corner somewhere and separate me from the 'fag' before he got his germs on me. If Freddy was more masculine, a bit more well hidden, we'd be able to talk without the people around us going beserk. But as long as that hint of femininity was a part of his persona...we'd be doomed to short termed conversations at best. "Long day, huh?"

"It wasn't so bad. I don't mind. I knew there would be a few more campers this year than last year. I think it's one of the biggest ones yet, actually." I looked at Freddy's plate, and he had his fork down, but was mostly just playing with his food instead of eating it. He was twirling it in small circles in his mashed potatoes, and frequently looking up at me while he spoke. "Attendance has been growing every year. You haven't come out for a long time."

"Nah. To be honest, this Bible stuff isn't really for me."

"Oh..." He said. His eyes went to the table, but he still a bit of a genuine smile on his face.

"Not that...I mean I don't think..."

"It's ok, Wesley. Really. It's not for everybody." He said. I was glad that he was being so cool about it. I didn't mean to call him a dork or anything. "I guess you're more into...sports and...concerts and stuff, huh?"

"Well, not really. Just not...'this'." Freddy smiled at me and I chuckled a bit under my breath. "Hehehe, I'm sorry. I'm not saying anything right today, am I?"

"No..." He said, softening his voice a bit. "...you're still ok with me." And he blushed a little with the subtle compliment. Yeah, I think it's pretty safe to say that he's sweet on me. "You know, Wesley...I see you all the time, but...I didn't realize how tall you've gotten since we were both here as kids. It's weird, isn't it? I feel like I've known you forever."

"Um...yeah. I guess we're both 'young men' now..." I said, feeling a twinge of awkwardness creep into the conversation.

Then, with an almost flirtatious smile, Freddy said, "Yeah.........." in a low voice, holding our eye contact for a bit longer than usual.

"Wes..." It was my dad, standing in the mess hall by the side door. "...are you finished? I thought you might want to rest up a bit at home. You've had a long day, today." The moment was broken yet again. And yet, I was kind of thankful for it this time around. Something told me that Freddy was getting closer and closer to breaking that unspoken vow of his, and the idea that the shrapnel from it would be flying in MY direction scared me. Especially since I knew I'd have to turn him down. For 'appearances' sake.

"Ok. I'm coming." I said, getting up from the table. "I gotta go, Freddy. I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Sure thing. Sweet dreams...k?" He had a noticeable tremble in his already light voice, and I was sure that everyone in the entire mess hall could somehow feel his infatuation with me. I guess it was best for me to distance myself before he started making any unwanted confessions here. I waved goodbye, and walked out of the door with my dad like he asked me to. I thought for sure I'd have to hear another 'don't let me catch you hanging around that kid' lecture, but he spared me the agony this time around. I suppose he just assumed that I had learned my lesson and had been removed from the problem. Either that, or he was too tired to put up much of a fuss. Probably the latter.

It was hard to keep from looking at the clock as I sat in the cabin with the rest of my family. I was continuously going over the 'story' that I was going to tell them in my head, drilling it in like a mantra so it would come out naturally when it was time to deliver. I'd just tell him that I was going to gather around with some other campers and spend some time in the lodge. I suppose that was innocent enough. And they usually had some campfire activities and the like for the kids who were a bit older and stayed up late. Most of them didn't really know me, and even if they did, there would be a decent amount of people there in a crowd anyway. It was enough of an alibi where I couldn't really prove I was there, but no one could prove that I wasn't there. Easily done.

By the time eight o'clock had rolled around, I was all ready to calmly make my way to the nearest exit. Trying to contain my smile as I tried my best to be 'nonchalant' about leaving. My parents would NEVER buy me being excited about going anywhere during this vacation. Besides, showing too much interest would get Nick bouncing around and they'd force me to take him with me. I couldn't have that. So...when the time came, I gave a very dead-pan performance about me 'getting out of there for some air'...and was able to keep my pouty face going until I got outside. I was FREE! And with a gigantic grin, I began to trot my way out to 'fun central' for the evening! I couldn't WAIT!

The closer I got to the lodge where I was supposed to meet Kyla, the more I quickened my pace. Sure enough, there she was, waiting in the shadow of the building. I could see her smile spread from all the way across the field, and was practically skipping by the time I had reached her. I guess I was expecting her to greet me with some conversation or to even tell me how to get there, but all she said was, "Great! C'mon!" And she took me by the arm to rush me off into the woods. We snaked our way around trees, up ad down slopes, jumping over small creeks, and ducking branches, for what seemed like a half hour. I couldn't even see the lights of the lodge from where we were, and she just kept going. This place must have been really secluded. Then again, to keep from being caught and having the party shut down, I guess it would have to be. Kyla hardly said a word at all, neither of us did. If nothing else, we needed the extra breath for all the running and jumping we were doing just to move through the maze like pattern of trees in front of us. And finally came to a steep incline that looked as though it was gonna take all the rest of our energy to reach the top. It was like walking up a huge flight of steps....without the steps. We had to hold on to nearby branches just to keep from sliding back down to the bottom of the hill, and my calves were pushing as hard as they could just to reach the next step forward. Then...after a long and trecherous journey, Kyla and I reached the top. And smiled at each other warmly as we looked down to see a pretty big bonfire down below. We were sitting at the top of a cliff, about 30 to 40 feet above a small sandy beach, surrounded on three sides by the hills and the fourth side led to a decent sized lake. Around the bonfire were kids my age and older, some as old 19 and 20, and there was a keg. Music was blasting from a boombox sitting on top of a tree stump, and it echoed throughout the whole area, bouncing off the walls surrounding our new Eden. It was as if this place had been cut away from the rest of the world for the soul purpose of letting kids break free from the rules of society. It was like a dark and dingy paradise, and my heart was tugging at me desperately for my first taste of low key anarchy. We had made it.

There was a path to the side of us that led down to the bottom of the cliff. It was more like a slide than a path to walk on, but we were able to quickly get down to the bottom of it, and the kids down at the bottom gave us a little cheer when they saw us hit the bottom, raising their red plastic cups to us as if to say 'welcome to the party'. Someone handed us a towel and some bottled water to help us recover from our journey. Looking around me, I never would have thought such a place could exist. It didn't even seem real at that very moment. There was cursing, and drinking, and kids making out like crazy, and loud music playing...I never thought of myself as being 'sheltered' before, but being a part of all of this was such a foreign experience to me that I began to wonder just how sheltered I was. I mean, sure Darryl and his goon squad was full of tricks...but they always overdid it. Like they had to prove that they were the bad boys around town. These kids couldn't care less. They were just this way normally, just wanting to let go and breathe easy without someone looking over their shoulder and telling them what to think. It was refreshing.

"You got a light?" Kyla asked me, and when I turned around, she had a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. Hehehe, she looked like she had been waiting for that moment all day long.

"Nope. Sorry." I grinned, but the guy who gave us the towels had one and lit it for her. She took a long drag, and I could see her shoulders relax as she blissfully blew the smoke into the air above her.

She let the pleasure linger for a few moments longer, her eyes closed as she gave into temptation all over again. Then, she opened them and caught me looking at her with a smirk. "What are you looking at?" She smiled.

"Hehehe, nothing."

"Hey, I've been waiting for this since I woke up this morning."

"I can tell."

"Aw, shut up!" She said, and took me by the arm again to bring me further into the party. I have to admit, this was worth the effort it took to get here.

I saw a couple of older boys, athletic jock types, standing in a group and Kyla led me over there to meet them. "Kyla, what took you so long? You're usually loaded by now." One of them said.

"I bring you a new recruit." She answered. "Jack, this is Wesley. He's another hostage over there at the Bible Auschwitz this summer. I figured I'd let him join us tonight and have some laughs."

"Hey, mi casa es su casa. If you won't tell, I won't tell." Jack then gave me a pat on the shoulder. "Welcome to the party, junior."

And that was the beginning of it all. That night, I actually became a part of something. I felt that connection, that acceptance, that same fulfilment that most of the people around me must feel at church. Everything just enveloped me, and I was so overloaded with the stimulation that it took me an hour to really prepare myself to try having some fun. I found myself just walking around with my bottled water, looking at everyone else have fun. I smiled a few times, and they smiled back, but that was about it. I don't know...I think it was just so overwhelming to see all at once like that. I just wanted to observe for a while.

But Kyla wasn't going to have any of that. "Dude, it's been like an hour already. What are you doing over here?"

I couldn't stop grinning to myself. "I can't explain it, Kyla. This just....it feels so good. You know?"

"You're damn RIGHT, I know! But if you were just gonna sit here and watch, you could have done that at home with a television. Come on...have some fun with me."

"I AM having fun." I said.

"No you're not. You're in the presence of people having fun, and that's not the same thing. Come on, dance with me."

"What?"

"DANCE with me!" I was going to protest, but she was already tugging me by the arm again, pulling me out of my safe little place on the outskirts of the party. Instead, she pulled me into the center of it, over by the fire, and I could instantly feel the pressure in my chest increase heavily. It was like everyone could see me here, and it was like being under the harsh blaze of a spotlight. Kyla started dancing, her wiry hips swerving all around me. She was so close that our legs were practically intertwined together. I was barely moving at all, blushing furiously and trying to keep from giggling outloud. There were a few people dancing around us, and I heard the music get turned up a few notches. I could feel the bass of it in my stomach, and Kyla kept gyrating away, hands in her hair, rubbing herself almost lustfully up against me. Her face close to mine, I could catch a scent of marijuana on her clothes, some on her breath. And when she opened her eyes to stare at mine, our noses bumped. I wasn't really into girls before, never saw the fascination actually. But to a 14 year old virgin boy, a little physical contact and a dirty thought is all it takes to get excited. I was hoping that the small lump forming in my jeans wasn't going to grow any bigger. Not here in front of everybody. I just wanted to go back to my private little corner for a few minutes. Because life is so very different when you're living it on 'display' for other people to see.

The music pumped even louder, the tempo pounding away in my chest, and Kyla got even closer with the sway of her hips. The lyrics chanting into all of our ears...

"Do you really wanna touch it? Do you really wanna fuck with me tonight? (Don't you wanna FUCK with me tonight???) Cause if you know how I like it won't you come on baby, give it to me right?"

"You're not dancing, Wes." She said calmly.

"I'm..uh...well..."

"Is it the boner?" She asked out of the blue. Her hand went down and rubbed the front of my pants, forcng me to stiffen up in an instant. I gasped outloud, and she giggled. "It's OK, Wes! Besides, I felt it a few minutes ago. Not bad." I looked around at the people dancing close to us, my face turning deep red. "Don't worry. Nobody here cares." She said. "This is our place. You can let go entirely. It'll be fine."

As self conscious as I was about it all, she was right. I saw one boy dancing with what looked like an aerisol can sticking out in front of his pants. There were people pouring beer over themselves, or kissing and dry humping on the beach near the lake. It was unrestricted, everyone releasing whatever deep passions they wanted to, out here in the open for everyone to see. An when Kyla grabbed a hold of my fully hard memer again through my pants....I let her. And I didn't move away. I felt my body limbering up a little, and we started to dance in sync with one another. Now both of our hips were dipping and grinding in circles. And I felt a little bit of myself float away, evaporating into the atmosphere around me. It's hard to explain, but it was as if this inner door to my personality had suddenly been unlocked for the first time, and once I stepped through it, there was a whole new room full of possibilities that I just couldn't see before. An enormous amount of options and opportunities that weren't there before. It felt like I was giving birth to another part of myself. It felt....free.

The song ended, and a much slower one came on afterwards. It slowed down Kyla's grind on me and she smiled lazily as the weed in her system mellowed her out and loosened her limbs even more. Her arms snaked around my neck, and we danced slowly to the sound of the music. But...just as I was beginning to get comfortable with the whole idea...she whispered in my ear, "You know...this weed is making me extremely horny."

I could feel my eyes widen as confusion set in. Carried on wings of tension and shock. I wasn't quite sure what to do with that statement. At ALL! "Um...uhh..." I stuttered.

"Mmmm...my whole body feels alive right now." She said, and pushed herself against me again, tightly. I became extremely awkward, off balance, nervous as all hell...and when the sng came to an end, my only relief washer taking a step back from me and saying, "You'll have to excuse me, Wes. I've got an itch to scratch." And she grinned seductively as she walked away from where we were dancing. My breathing was ragged, my pants tented again, my heart beating a hundred miles a minute. And all I could think of was thank GOD she didn't ask me to 'take care' of that itch for her! Geez, sometimes, I'm so gay!

I looked around, suddenly self conscious again once the link between me and Kyla had been broken, and I walked over towards the lake to get out of the bonfire's spotlight. A little darkness would let me get back to being 'safe' again, at least for the time being. It was easy for me to slip back into the role of being an observer, fading into the background while I made an attempt to recapture my thoughts. Don't get me wrong, it was still a good feeling. I was grinding with a girl in public for goodness sakes! I almost wish I could tell somebody who wasn't already here to see it. A smile broke out on my face, and I spent the next 20 minutes watching the rest of the teenagers jump around and laugh and smoke and have a good time. I would have simply killed myself if I hadn't traveled out here tonight. This might turn out to be a summer that I'll remember for the rest of my life.

"Well, 'you' seem awfully happy." Said a voice on the other side of me. I turned my head and saw a boy standing there beside me. He had short brown hair and looked to be about 13 years old, give or take a year. He was only slightly shorter than me by a few inches, and had this emotionless expression on his face. His eyes were hidden by a pair of thin rimmed black sunglasses in the shape of little circles. He was wearing a white t-shirt covered with a black jean jacket and black pants. I didn't even hear him walk up on me. "This must be your first time here."

"Um...yeah. A friend of mine brought me here with her. She....stepped away for a minute." I told him.

"If by 'stepped away' you mean 'went to find some sex'...then yes, I suppose she did." The boy said. He had a calmness about him that didn't really match the rest of the people there. A fearless sense of confidence that he brought about with a subtle grace that almost felt out of place in the personality of a boy that young.

"Well...I'm not so sure about that..."

"I am." He said, and his head cocked slightly to the side as though he could see something that I couldn't. I looked over my shoulder to find out what he was gazing at, and off in the distance some movement caught my eye. I couldn't really focus on it right away, but once my eyes had adjusted to what I was seeing, I felt a look of surprise capture my face. It was Kyla. She was standing in the mouth of a small cave off to the side of the clearing, the light of the bonfire barely lighting it from the distance between them. And on either side of her was a boy...a twin boy. The SAME fucking twins that had pranked me earlier in the woods! "It appears that your girlfriend has found the 'action' that she was looking for." The boy said in his unwavering tone.

Kyla was standing between them, hugging the one boy in front of her around the neck, and reaching behind her to grab on to the other one by one of his round globes, pulling his hips into her. They were both kissing her neck, occassionally letting a tongue lick out at her cheek or lips or maybe an earlobe. Their knees were slightly bent, and even in the midst of passion the twins seemed to move in unison. Their hands were in constant motion, rubbing her all over her body without shame, without restraint. It was one of the most lustful things that I had ever seen with my own two eyes, and it turned me on like you wouldn't beieve. "She's...she's not my girlfriend. We...we're just friends." I mumbled, trying to pull my eyes away from what was going on.

"Well I suppose that's a good thing. Because Shank and Razor seem to be enjoying her from head to toe."

"Who?" I asked.

"Shank and Razor. The twins." He replied.

"You KNOW those two?"

"Yes, quite well in fact. They happen to be some close friends of mine." He said. "We're practically 'blood brothers'."

I wanted to look away, but was pulled in more and more by the activities going on in the front of that cave. Both twins, extremely cute, seductively confident, moving in such an erotic harmony, their hands pleasing every inch of her clothed body in a perfect union. I had to turn slightly to hide my excitement from my newfound acquaintance here. I could see them licking the surface of her skin, growing hard and pulsing, their sex drives pulsng almost out of control. I could feel my blood racing, my libido rising to incredibly high levels, as I watched them touch her all over. Kiss her all over. And finally, unbutton her shirt to reach in and cup one of the young breasts inside. I could almost hear their heavy breathing from here. I was captivated, aroused, their movements were so full of sexual abandon that I could almost taste it. It was my first time ever seeing someone having anything even remotely close to sex. The most I had ever witnessed was a few boys and girls making out. But this was different. This was the crossover between temptation and indulgence...and it made me sweat just thinking about what was going through Kyla's mind as the two boys caressed her ever so gently.

"You seem a bit flustered. Would you like a drink?" The boy next to me said, snapping me back into reality.

"No. I'm fine." I shook the feeling off, and was able to pull my eyes away from the trio for the moment. I don't think I was gonna be able to look at Kyla the same way after tonight. I mean, it's not like I was gonna 'go for it' with her or anything...but...damn. I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe she made me feel 'sexy' or something for a change by dancing with me, talking to me, inviting me out here. That was a new experience for me. At least it was before she involved herself with THOSE two. Why them? It could have been anybody but them.

"Are you sure? You seem very preoccupied with your thoughts at the moment. I can leave you alone if you'd like." Something about the boy's voice let me know that it was more of a taunt than an offer to make me feel better. But it wasn't something that I was going to stress over.

"No, really. I'm fine. I'm glad she found herself some fun." I said with a bit more confidence, "Besides, having fun is all about letting go, right?" Hearing that, he smiled mischeviously wide in my direction.

"Exactly." He smirked. "A very intriguing response." Then, he turned his head to look the other way, and pleasantly gave me a verbal invitation. "Come...walk with me for a bit. You've got a unique vibe about you. I'd like very much to hear some more about who you are."

And with that said, we walked forward along the lake to talk some more. I think he might have been one of the first boys who ever went out of his way to 'embrace' me. And I liked that. He might have been a bit weird, but acceptably so. So I guess it was ok. What harm can it do?

"What's your name?" He asked me as we walked forward.

"Wes. Um...Wesley, actually." I answered, and put a hand out for him to shake. But he didn't. He didn't even look at it. Instead, he put his hand on my shoulder.

"Wesley. I like that. I'm John Boy." He said, and he walked along side me down the edge of the beach, the waves almost reaching our feet, but not quite, as they rolled in from the lake.

"So....do you guys party here often?" I asked.

"US? Nah..." He replied. "They do. We just drop in from time to time. To see what new faces we can pick up here and there." John Boy's smile seemed so subdued, so focused, that it kinda put you off balance to see it. It was the kind of lopsided smirk and stare that your parents give you when you've been caught dead center in the middle of telling a lie. It was like he could see inside my spirit without effort.

"You said 'us'...does that mean that you're here with somebody?"

"A few close friends, yes."

"Close friends..like Shank and Razor..."

He chuckled briefly, "Yes...and a few others. We usually travel together, sniffing out whatever activity we can get into for an evening away from home." He said. We kept walking, and he never looked back at me. Instead he kept his eyes forward the entire time, the flame of the bonfire reflecting off of the lenses of those opaque glasses of his. How he could see anything at all wearing those at night, I'll never know. "This place is sort of our home away from home. Our sanctuary from the rest of the world's bullshit."

"It's that secluded, huh?"

"Indeed it is. Trust me, if you were worried about being found out here, you can rest easy. Most of the locals don't mess around with this place." I looked a little further to the right of me, and something caught my eye, causing me to do a double take. It was a girl of about 16 or 17 years of age, with short blond hair, almost cut like a boy's haircut, and she was making out with a youngster that looked no more than 10 years old. I kid you not. The very image of it looked odd to say the least, but there it was, right out in the open. While the girl was obviously enjoying her intense liplock with the boy, he seemed very 'experimental' about the connection. As though it was his first kiss ever, and let's be honest, it probably was. It looked like he was just trying to keep up with her, attempting to put his knowledge of movie kisses and pre pubescent fantasies to use as he tried to accept her tongue into his mouth. The carnal nature of the people in this place was getting weirder and weirder as it got later at night. It caused me to lose my attention's hold on everything else. "We call it Rainbow's End." He said.

I had to remember to keep myself focused on the conversation again. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Rainbow's End. That's the name of our little hideaway here." John Boy told me. "It was named that because that's how it was supposedly found. A couple of kids on a hike saw a rainbow over the lake sometime years ago. Natural curiousity kicked in, and they followed it through the woods. The tail end of it...landed right here on the beach. They discovered a paradise away from home, and it's been a secret to the minors of this area ever since."

"Well, I'm glad somebody told me about it. I was beginning to think that I'd be completely alone for the next few weeks." I said.

"Hello, Sebastian." John Boy said out of the blue without even turning around. I looked over my shoulder, and my breath got caught in my throat. The boy standing behind us was a youthful 15, with a physical attractiveness that defied all reason at first glance. It was the kind of androgynous beauty that caused you to stare blankly in disbelief, and your emotions to lift to levels that you weren't sure you could control. He had a healthy mass of shiny almond colored hair that hung down to his chin evenly on both sides, and intense dark brown eyes that sucked you into them with just a peek. His skin was like white silk, his lips the definition of perfection, his cheekbones soft but pronounced, his sleek teenage frame erotically built from every angle. He possessed such an aura of beauty, in fact, that it brought along with it an air of arrogance. His looks were more exotic than anything that I had ever seen. I was left speechless. "This is Wesley. Wesley...Sebastian."

"Hi..." I said under my breath. No words could describe him. I couldn't even stop staring long enough to fantasize about him.

He just sort of looked at me, not cracking a smile. Not even for a friendly greeting. Then responded with a short nod of his head, "Sup?" His eyes then went directly to John Boy. "I thought we were going to stay low key tonight, John Boy."

"Cyrus changed his mind last minute. He decided he wanted to roam tonight, let us get some fresh air. Who am I to argue?"

"I see." Sebastian's voice was more like an audible whisper if anything else. He spoke with the same calmness that John Boy did, except there was more of a slide to his voice, a teenage sensual haze that was screaming with young sexuality. It was so controlled, so crisp, so direct to the point, using as few words as possible to make his point. Yet, at the very same time, he maintained this ability to seem like he didn't care about anything at all. As though nobody else registered on his personal radar, or even existed for that matter. I almost felt like a figment of his imagination when he spoke. "You might want to tell Kristin to keep her 'particular behavior' a little more PG out here in the open." Sebastian said, brushing some of his silken brown hair out of his eyes.

He was referring to the blond girl, who was still shamelessly kissing the young boy on the beach. She looked more like his babysitter than anything else, but he obviously appreciated the attention. His few small inches sticking straight up, straining to get even larger than his hardness was capable of. "I take it she's a friend of yours too." I said, but received no answer from either one of them. Instead there was a silent pause between us all.

Sebastian then looked me directly in the eye, his baby brown eyes making me weak in the knees. His face was supernaturally gorgeous, you have no idea. "I don't believe I've ever seen you here before." He said softly.

"Uh....no. No, you haven't. I just got here y-y-yesterday, actually." His eyes fixed their stare on me and it was literally making me breathless. I felt myself hardening again without even thinking about it, and I turned my gaze down to the sand. It made it a little easier to speak. "I came with my friend Kyla tonight. She was the one that told me this place even..."

"Watch yourself." John Boy said suddenly, and stepped forward to reach out an arm quickly. I turned my head to see a frisbee heading right for my head, and instinctively shut my eyes, flinching to prepare for the impact. But John Boy caught it in mid air without even looking, and held it out between his fingertips.

"Thanks." I said, a bit amazed.

"No problem." He brought his hand down, and turned his body slightly towards the group of kids on the beach who were playing with it. "So...who threw the frisbee?" He asked.

I saw the boy who Kyla introduced me to step forward to retrieve it. "I think it was Jack." I said.

"Which one is Jack?"

"He's the one right there, in the red shirt and the blue cargo shorts." It was then that I saw John Boy smirk a bit.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to be a bit more specific than that." He said, and I gave him a strange look. Jack was standing right there, not more than 20 feet in front of us. But after a brief pause, Sebastian spoke up.

"He's blind." He said. I don't think what he was telling me really made any sense at first. I wondered if he was playing some kind of joke or something. John Boy can't be blind. We were just walking along the lake, walking and talking...he just caught a fucking frisbee in mid air without even looking...how the hell can he be blind?

"No...you guys are just fucking with me, right?" They didn't say anything at all. "C'mon. Get outta here. You're not blind." At that moment, John Boy lifted up his dark sunglasses, and underneath, his eyes were pure silver. Not just the iris, but the entire eye! It was like two little mirrors that I could see myself in, and it was a freaky experience seeing that for the first time. "Omigod...what...how...?"

"Don't worry, the mirrors are contacts. But I assure you, I'm quite blind." He replied, bringing his glasses back down.

"I'm...I'm sorry." I said.

"Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why are you sorry?"

"Well...because you're..." I stopped to think about it, and finally just said, "Shit, I don't know. I guess that's just what I'm supposed to say when I hear something like that. Because it's...you know..a handicap." That response got a chuckle out of John Boy, but Sebastian, as always, was unaffected. He was just gazing out across the lake, a light breeze blowing his wisps of hair back to reveal more of his face. It was as if nature itself was doing what it could show off how beautiful he was. I seriously could not get over it.

"Possibly." John Boy answered. "But there are a lot of people out there using their sight as a crutch, missing out on everything else. If you ask me, that's the handicap."

"So...you don't need, like...a 'cane' or some 'help' or anything?"

"Nope. A person can manage just fine...if his other senses are strong enough." He said, hearing someone ask for the frisbee back in the distance. Hearing that, I guess he got a lock on where they were, and tossed it back to them. Pretty accurately, I might add, placing it right in Jack's hands. "And my senses are...very strong indeed. Aren't they, Sebastian?"

Sebastian pulled his eyes away from the lake nonchalantly and muttered, "Astounding." As though he was only answering to be polite. "I'm going to get a drink." And with that, he walked away without another word.

I watched him walk, even that was cool, the way his slim hips tilted slightly with every step, his jeans hanging low on his waist. It was just addicting to watch him. But as he walked over to the keg, my eyes crossed the mouth of that cave again, and I saw Kyla and the twins. She was now naked except for a small pair of panties, and their activities had escalated quite a lot. The one boy grinding into her from behind, the other running his hands through her hair as she licked playfully at his chest. Both twins were naked from the waist down, dressed only in tshirts, their hardness poking and pulsing outwards at the exact same angle. I was staring so hard that I thought my eyes would pop out of my head, and I could actually feel myself salivate at the sight of it. They were perfectly shaped, sculpted, molded, well hung...the twins were already beautiful as it was, now even MORE so. The twin in front eventually added pressure to the back of Kyla's head, and guided her warm lips to the tip of his shaft. Her tongue lashed out to lick the head a few times, before taking it into her warm mouth and sucking as much of him into her as she could manage. It looked like it tasted soooo good from the look of bliss on her face. He tossed his head back slightly as she sucked more of the flavor out of him, the wetness of her mouth leaving it glistening slightly in the night air as she bobbed back and forth on him. There was no hiding my excitement now. I was hard as steel, and could feel my heart pounding away in my chest mercilessly. I licked my lips, imagining the taste of him, the feel of him. My deepest and most secret passions felt like they were suddely set ablaze. I didn't want to get caught looking at them, but I could NOT pull myself away from it. She took the boys in from both ends, her body squirming with the delight of her raw passion. And it was at that moment...that I saw the two boys lean forward over her back...and kiss each other. Two boys...two CUTE boys...BROTHERS...were kissing right in front of me! This was so wild! The twins tongue kissed hungrily while having themselves pleased down below. I nearly exploded. I was so erect that my whole lower half felt stiff from watching it. And you wanna know the worst part? Even though they had played that dirty trick on me the day before, all I could think of was....

I wish that was me...

"Maybe you need one too." John Boy said.

Had I been caught? "Need WHAT?" I asked, ready to say that I wasn't looking.

"A drink. Maybe you need a drink." It eased my defenses a little, but I don't think that's what he meant originally. Call it a hunch.

"Yeah. Maybe I do."

"Good. Go. It is a party afterall."

I was actually pretty relieved to get away from things again, if only for another few minutes. And at least get myself some kind of broad object to cover up this embarrassing boner in my pants while I'm walking around other people. So I took the suggestion as an escape. "You're right." I said. "Are...are you sure you don't need any 'help' or anything finding your way back to the cliff or something."

With a wide grin, he answered, "Nah. Believe me, friend...I'll be just fine."

"Ok, cool. Maybe I'll run into you again sometime?"

"Yes, Wesley. I'm pretty confident that you will."

This time, walking around the bonfire to the table, I kept my eyes down. No girls making out with little boys, no incestual threesomes in a cave. There were certain boundaries of my everyday reality that I wasn't yet ready to cross, I suppose. Besides, it was making me so damn horny that I was ready to dig a hole in the sand and start humping THAT just to relieve myself! I didn't need to make it worse. I DID catch a few more glances at Sebastian though, who was capturing the attention of everyone who laid eyes on him. The girls did their best to strike up a conversation, but he was as disinterested in them as he was everything else. He was untouchable in his every mannerism, and that gave him this attractive mystique that aroused me even more. It must simply hurt to be that cute.

I grabbed another bottle of water from the drink table and just kept to myself for little while. Looking down at my watch, it was only 10 o'clock and the festivities didn't look like they were going to calm down anytime soon. Still, I was reaching the point where not really knowing anybody else in that place was making me uncomfortable. So I figured I'd get myself ready to go in the next ten or twenty minutes. I guess I have to get used to all of this wild abandon stuff.

"Say, Junior. Grab me one of those plastic cups will ya?" It was Jack's voice, and he came jogging over from his little group of jock boys. I looked over and gave him a cup once he reached the table. "You don't have to drink bottled water all night, ya know? I mean, you're more than welcome to tap the keg if you want. We've got plenty to go around."

"Oh....you know...I don't drink." I told him. And he gave me the weirdest look.

"Okaaay. Well, if you change your mind, just grab a cup and fill it up." He said, and I nodded. But before he got more than a few steps away from me, he turned to say, "You know, why don't you come on over and join us? You're standing over here by yourself like a narc or something. Come on." I really didn't mean to seem anti-social or anything. Besides, I came here for fun, so why not. Anything to take my mind off of the sex going on around here.

"Ok. Sure." I said, and went over to talk to them for a while. They weren't really my 'type' as far as friendly encounters go. They were mostly those super heterosexual guys, talking about sports and then sex with women, which somehow led back to sports and sex with more women. Occassionally the cycle was peppered with comments about kicking somebody's ass, but those were the two main focuses of their intellect. I might have been a little out of my element, but I was a part of the party just talking with them, and that made me feel good. What surprised me was their reaction to a sudden disturbance that came raining down on us from above. Dirt clods, three or four of them, came soaring through the air, over the bonfire, and right into the middle of our conversation. A few of them hit Jack right on the back of his head, and before heeven turned around, I could see a rage sprouting up inside of him. An instantaneous temper tantrum that boiled over without much effort at holding it back. I stepped back and waited for the fury to begin.

"WHO DID THAT?!?!?!" Jack yelled, interrupting almost every other activity on the beach. "WHO DID IT?!?!" He looked like he was ready to head-on tackle the first person who spoke up. I expected some hulking trouble maker to step out and challenge him. Imagine my surprise when a small boy, about my little brother Nick's agem stepped from around the bonfire. With ratty short blond hair, ice blue eyes, and dirt on his face and clothes. He looked like little orphan Oliver or something, but had the most wicked grin on his face when he faced Jack. The little boy giggled a bit to himself, pointing at the dirt stains on Jack's shoulders. Was this kid insane? Even I'D be ready to beat the shit out of this kid! Jack will probably be two steps away from murdering him!

Then...something strange happened. Jack, and all of his jock friends standing in the circle...they backed down. There was like...SIX of them, and only one little boy. But, they backed down anyway. "Come on you guys. Let's just go over here instead." One of them said, and they began to walk away. Even when the little bastard picked up another clod of dirt and nailed one of them in the back with it...they didn't do so much as give him the finger. It was just downright...ODD! I followed them though, not knowing what to make of the little brat.

I just had to ask. "Dude...what's with that kid?"

"Shhhh!" One of the other guys told me, and Jack took me to the side.

"Listen, there's, like, a hundred rules you've gotta learn if you're gonna party with us here. And 99 of them are...DON'T involve yourself with the likes of 'them'. Got it?" He said.

"'Them' who?"

"You know the guys you were talking to on the beach? Them. Those creepy ass twins, that kid, and a few others too." He whispered. "I don't care what they tell you, they're nothing but trouble."

The rest of the other guys came over and we started walking forward slowly in a group. "We can't stop them from coming down here, but they're bad news. Just ignore them when you see them. Trust me, you'll be better off." Another kid said.

"They didn't seem so bad." I added.

"Dude, they're weird." One boy said.

"And they live for starting trouble." Someone else said.

"And they hear everything..." Jack said, and walked directly into another boy who was standing in front of us. The other boy didn't flinch at all, even though he was a bit shorter than Jack, he stared him directly in the eye. A gaze that seemed threatening, but not angry. Intimidating, but not confrontational. Everyone in the group stopped in their tracks entirely, as though they had bumped into the devil himself, and I knew right away that this must be one of those kids I shouldn't be talking to.

"Does that mean you want us to leave?" The other boy asked. He stood his ground, firmly but calmly. He had matted down sandy blond hair, and hazel eyes that almost looked like they were glowing in the dark. The boy got no answer, so he asked again. "No, really...would you like us to leave?" The tone of his voice, the stability of his stance, it came out more like a dare than a question.

"We don't want any problems here, Cyrus. Just having some fun. That's all." Jack said. Again...it took me by surprise. Jack wasn't a weakling by any means. He could easily rip most people apart through the sheer size of him alone. Even if he had gotten sucker punched, he practically had a whole football team's worth of friends to jump in and protect him. He wasn't the type to back down so easily.

"Are you sure?" The boy insisted.

"Like I said, Cyrus. We don't want any trouble."

"No....no trouble at all." This boy, Cyrus, stared Jack down until he and all of his friends took a step back away from him. "I don't want to have any problems anymore than you do. So...if you want me and my friends to leave your little beach here.....all you have to do is ask." He said, taking another step closer to see him eye to eye with a smirk on his face.

There was tension in the air all around us. I could feel it. And when I looked up, I noticed something...different. While most of the other kids on the beach had no idea what was going on, a few of them stood out from the crowd. I could see them clearly, as though each one of them was focused on this one conflict and nothing else. The kid who threw the dirt clods, John Boy by the lake, Sebastian by the drink table, Kristin kissing the 10 year old, even the twins, still locked in their sexual heat, looked as though they were prepared to pull out and face whatever army would do this 'Cyrus' boy harm. It was like they all felt the conflict in unison, and were being drawn to it like a magnet. A concentrated connection between them all, silently broadcasting this 'signal' to each one of them in case something happened. It was weird. Something tells me that the first person to throw a punch was going to have at least seven other people to deal with. I don't think Jack or any one of his buddies was quite ready to make that move.

"No. No problems. You can stay...as long as you want." He said, a tremble in his voice.

"Good!" Cyrus smiled, bursting out with the statement at full volume, causing the whole group to jump. "I just didn't want to rain on your parade, my friend. That's all." He put his arm over Jack's shoulder and grinned cheerfully. As though nothing had happened. "Say, listen...can you get me a beer? I'm kinda thirsty right now. And this one that I've got now..." He said, pouring the beer out of his cup onto the ground. "...It's gone a little flat." He never lost his eye contact with Jack, and even though the conflict was over, he was still pushing it further. Almost like he was making it a humiliation, to prove once and for all that 'he' was running things.

Jack didn't respond. But he DID hesitantly walk away to get that beer for him. Filling up the plastic cup and bringing it back without another word. Cyrus put his finger up in the air, as though he were telling him to wait a minute. Then he took a hefty gulp of his beer, and chugged it down until the cup was empty. His finger still up, making Jack watch the entire thing. Then, when it was all gone, he let out a blech and handed him back the cup. "Thank you. It was delicious." Then he let his finger come down, and Jack, I suppose, was dismissed. The whole group walked away, leaving me even more confused. This kid HAD to have some kind of edge. Blackmail, or money, or something that wuld make him so terrifying to a group of guys who could easily put him in intensive care if they wanted to.

"Still enjoying yourself, Wesley?" I spun around quickly to see John Boy and Sebastian standing right behind me! It scared the shit out of me!

"Jesus!"

"Relax." Sebastian mumbled, finishing a drink of his own. I then saw that 'Kristin' girl approaching from the other side of the beach, the two twins following not far behind her. I guess they had finished pleasing Kyla for the night, as they had their clothes back on. All black. It was then that Cyrus turned around to look me dead in the eye, and I noticed all of the others converging on that one spot around me. I almost wished that I had walked off with Jack and the rest. I didn't know what to expect from these people at all.

"Cyrus...I want you to meet Wesley." John Boy said. I was beginning to feel like he was 'advertising' me or something. What's with all the introductions anyway?

"Wesley, huh? Hmmm..." Cyrus thought to himself. His eyes pierced straight through me, like he was examining my every flaw all at once and making a judgement on whether my 'good points' outweighed them or not.

"We were talking earlier. It seems our friend Wes here wants to have a little fun this summer." John Boy patted me on the back, and I found myself surrounded by them. "He says, and I quote, 'having fun is all about letting go.'"

Cyrus let a smile spread across his lips. "What an intriguing response." He said.

"Doesn't mean anything." Said the little boy, only coming up to my chest. "I've never seen him before."

"We have." The twins said in unison. Then, just the one on the right spoke up. "Earlier in the woods. Seems he had a spill down a hill." He grinned.

I looked over to the other kids on the beach, and they were all watching. Seeing me talk to what was now being presented to me as the 'black sheep' of Rainbow's End. It made me uncomfortable to say the least. I needed to get away from them before they blacklist me from the place for the rest of the summer. "Listen, I should go..." I said.

The second of the twins lit up one of his matches in front of his face, concentrating more on the flame than on me, and said, "If you're looking for your girlfriend, she's resting right now. She won't be ready to travel back to your 'camp' just yet."

"Camp? Ahhh, the Bible camp. Is it time for that again already this summer?" Cyrus said stepping closer. "You know, if you'd like to stay with us for a while...just to talk..."

"No thanks. I really should be going now. My alibi should be wearing pretty thin by now, so..." I drifted off and started to walk away from them. Jack was right, together in a group like that...they were beginning to freak me out a little bit.

"Cyrus is talking to you." The young boy said, almost sounding angry. Like.how 'dare' I back out of a conversation with his friend.

"It's ok, Scout. Our friend Wesley has to get home before it's too late. That's all." He petted the boys head a few times and pulled him up against his side in a brotherly 'half hug'. "You make sure you get home safely, Wes. And know that you're more than welcome to join us at Rainbow's End anytime you like. Ok?"

"Uhhh, yeah...yeah, sure." I said, and started to walk away again. This time, heading for the steep cliff and the path leading towards home. The bonfire was still burning brightly behind me, and as I got ack up to the top of the cliff, I turned to look back down at the beach behind me. And there they stood...all seven of them, watching me. They were but black silhouettes in the darkness around me, the fire being the only visible light. But if I looked closely, I could tell that their eyes were locked on me. And as creepy as they all were, something about them fascinated me. Drew me closer to them. I couldn't explain it, maybe it was the fact that out of all the people that I knew, they were quite possibly the most unpredictable quirky bunch of teens that I had ever encountered. And this was just one night. God forbid if I were to know them any better.

I walked away from the lake, and did my best to retrace my steps back through the woods. I wasn't running this time, so it took me a bit longer to get home than it did to get to Rainbow's End. At least this time I had the chance to truly map it out and know my surroundings a little bit better. I made it back to the lodge just minutes before 11:30, and got home shortly after that. My father had gone to bed and Nick was sound asleep already. But mothers? They never go to bed before all of her 'baby chicks' are well and accounted for. No matter what.

"Did you have a good time, honey?" She asked sleepily, already standing up to go to bed now that I was home.

"It was..ok." I replied. I still didn't want her to know that I wasn't where I said I'd be, and if I came back TOO happy, she'd know something was up.

"Ok. Well get some sleep. You know your father has plans to get you up early in the morning." I nodded and started off to my room, but she stopped me. "You know...I understand that you don't want to be here. But your father and I love you very much. One day, you'll be glad that we cared so much. Try to keep that in mind, ok honey?" I nodded again, and she gave me a sweet motherly kiss on the forehead before letting me go.

I undressed and got into bed, but spent the next thirty minutes just staring at the reflection of the moonlight on my ceiling. I felt so different than I did before going out to that place. Like...there was something new about me that was there, just undeveloped. It was almost like digging for buried treasure inside yourself. Scraping that hard surface of something underground, increasing your excitement as you work to uncover the rest of it. Anxious to open it and see what's inside. Whatever it was, it was a part of me that I had never dealt with before, and I was kind of looking forward to doing just that. I thought about Kyla, the twins, Cyrus, John Boy, Sebastian, Freddy....even that sweet gorgeous boy that worked at the gas station up the road...I just let my mind run wild. Looking at everything from a slightly elevated angle than I had earlier that day. And the curiousity of what was to come kept me awake. Anxious for the next day. Or, to be more honest...the next night.

I knew that I was going back. That was a given. What I didn't know was that this was just the beginning. A placid preamble to the turbulent storms ahead. If only I had known then what I know now....

I would have never gone to Rainbow's End again.