The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street - 5. Chapter 5

The head librarian of the Celestial Library was shocked, it was something completely unexpected and to the best of his considerable knowledge never seen before., and the news was brought to him by the novice apprentice. He had served in his present capacity since nearly the beginning. He had once been a young boy apprenticed to the first head librarian. It was a powerful signal, one that was resonating through all the Celestial Globes…including the one representing the 14th dimension, what once was a dark sphere held the tiniest glimmer of light so faint it could be easily missed.

Both Caleb and Berto had the obligatory photo sessions with their dates for the Fall Dance in three separate houses and were equally fawned over by all three sets of parents. It was a good thing Berto had suggested an early start as the time the dance was starting was rapidly approaching. Caleb’s father would drop them off and pick them up in the family station wagon.

The high school auditorium had been decorated with balloons, banners and other shiny objects and looked as good as one would expect. Upon arrival there was one last photo session to endure and then it was off to find a table and meet up with friends.

Everyone had a good time and did their fair share of dancing, when the band took their first break Mary Lou suggested they sit outside cafeteria tables and cool off for a few minutes. They joined several other couples as they picked a table away from the crowded area. Mary Lou knew the boys were nervous and just slightly uncomfortable and she knew the next few minutes would be uncomfortable for all of them, critical important secrets would be spilled, shared and if all went well all of them would find the room to be themselves, at least among the four of them.

By the time she was done speaking the boys were horrified, scared out of their wits and finally relieved beyond measure. Mary Lou explained how she concluded the boys were gay, the not too subtle looks, touches, shoulder bumps and the general unease when the boys were separated. She explained about her cousin and then about Sara and herself.

As everyone at the table digested this latest turn of events a collective sigh of relief was exhaled, Mary Lou was nothing but forthright and gentle in her approach. Further explaining the need to keep this amongst themselves, as this was small town Florida…the heart of the redneck bible belt brought murmurs of agreement from the other three. From this point forward towards graduation they would remain in public and to families, committed dating couples.

***

The next couple of weeks flew by and Halloween was but a couple of weeks away. Mary Lou and Sara joined the boys on the decorating committee and their help was invaluable in the planning for the dance. Along with the other students from the senior, junior and freshman classes, all was left to do was to order the supplies and when the time was right decorating the auditorium.

The only fly in the ointment was TPK, his home confinement was coming to an end and he would soon be back at school. He was barred from any extracurricular activities but the kid was walking trouble.

No one was really sure what the disturbance in the Celestial Globes portended, it was there was a resonance, a harmonic vibration enaminating from all of them, the watch on the library was doubled and broken into split shifts so there was no overlap. Every few days the it would flare ever so slightly and imperceptibly fade.

Now that the ice had broken Caleb and Berto found the time and place at every opportunity to relieve their tensions and to enjoy each other’s company. The double dating and having ‘girlfriends’ worked wonders. It gave them a certain gravitas among their classmates and solidified the animosity between TPK and the two ‘couples’.

All four made to keep a wide berth and to never walk the hallways alone. Still minor confrontations could not be helped. Petty disagreements would erupt in class, snide hurtful comments or disparaging remarks were thrown towards Mary Lou and by extension, Sara.

TPK was smart enough to not directly confront Caleb and Berto, he had lost all but a few friends who were stupid enough to continue to follow him.

Bordon was incensed, the burnt ozone trail was slow in forming, his Celestial Globes had given him a dimension, approximate location but time, the very essence that would measure his success or failure was something he was running out of.

Every effort to find and to infiltrate the Royal Celestial Library had failed, he had lost nearly all his highly placed assets, those who remained were in positions that were inconsequential and even those were being lost over the fullness of time.

It was time to call back all his remaining assets and regardless of the risks, follow the Crown Prince into the 12th dimension. He would wait no more than two weeks and he would transport along the Crown Prince’s burnt ozone trail. He knew the condition of his Celestial Globes were weak, there would be enough energy to make the transition to and back again. After that it would be months if not years before they could be used again.

It really was quite simple, the Crown Prince simply had to die and do so before he could spawn and whelp an heir. Next on the list was Councilor Harmon, nobody should live that long. The councilor would die a particularly slow and agonizing death for what he did to his son. Nevertheless, once he’d had the two impediments out of his way, his path to the crown was wide open, for once he was king there would be no one and nobody to oppose him, it was a blood tie after all.

The Crown Prince’s mother, dried up hag that she was, would be no match and once he had the Celestial Globes and Library firmly in his control then vast riches plundered from other dimensions would be his and more than enough riches to buy all the support he needed.

It had taken some time but Caleb had finally managed to get most of the Chronicles of Malvern finished. For a sci-fi book he had to admit it was pretty good. He had fallen for the two main character’s, the prince in trouble and the commoner who was the key, not only to his survival but the prince’s kingdom. It was a whole new world for Caleb, it was plausible fantasy that had him thinking beyond the immediate and larger world around him.

He began to see how insular his world was here in South Florida and wondered how he and Berto, if they lasted, how could they build a life together? The more he thought about it the bluer he became. His resolve did not weaken because Berto had given him a glimpse of the future, he just knew whatever they went, it would not be in South Florida. College would have to be far away in a place more tolerant.

Caleb also reminded himself when he got moody that Berto was the cure, the sex was amazing, they hadn’t progressed past hand jobs and oral, but the next steps were often coming up in their discussions, as they lay together in a post-coital bliss in the early afternoons after school.

Caleb thought Sprog was a hoot, he had always wished that their family had a dog, it was something he and his brother had asked for but it never came to pass. Caleb and Sprog got along like a house afire from the very first time they met. He made sure there was always time for a game of fetch, tug of war and silly vocal commands. Sprog, Caleb realized was a very intelligent dog, a mutt really, he’d get embarrassed when the boys shucked their clothes and would walk over to the bedroom door as if to guard the room while they had their fun.

Somehow Sprog knew when the boys were on their way, if he wasn’t at the end of the driveway, he would meet them partway up the road. Then there would be a game of race and chase with Sprog happily chasing both boy’s home. Once off the bikes he’d give each a tongue bath as they play fought on the front lawn.

More often than not, they found themselves at Berto’s house, it seemed it was always easier to go there. His parents worked and his grandfather was always occupied, tinkering in his workshop. His grandfather was a kindly older gentleman who always had a snack waiting for the boys when they arrived after school. They would sit in the kitchen and talk for a few minutes before he excused himself to go tinkering. Caleb was fascinated at his woodworking skills on the few occasions he went with Berto to the workshop. The quality of his work was readily apparent even to Caleb as he admired many of the on-going projects. He was particularly impressed with a writing table/book stand that you placed in your lap, it also would hold writing paper and supplies and if you wanted to, it could be placed on a desk. It was inlaid with many different types of woods and if Caleb no been so besotted with the upcoming exchange of bodily fluids, he would have noticed the images were taken from the Chronicles of Malvern. The odd thing was that every time Caleb had a chance to look at it, it somehow seemed different, like he was seeing the inlaid image for the first time.

The boys did have one steadfast rule however and that was to see homework was done while snacking with Berto’s grandfather in the kitchen. Once homework was done the boys could count on an hour and a half of privacy with Sprog holding down the fort.

***

It was the third time the Mother Superior visited the Celestial Library this week and was deep in conference with the head librarian. The light within the 14th Celestial Globe was a tad brighter and the harmonic vibration was imperceptibly stronger. No longer was it winking out, now it would brighten and dim. This was a puzzle that was beyond their technology to adequately to explain. It was if the Celestial Globes were communicating with one another and transferring some sort of energy, was the best scenario they could come up with. There were no signs of the other globes weakening, quite the contrary. They seemed to be as robust as ever.

It couldn’t be helped; it was her son after all but she had to look in on him occasionally. She was well aware he had become sexually active and while she approved reluctantly of his choice of mate, she knew that she would have to pick her spots to look in on him. no mother after all would want to see their son and lover in the act so to speak.

In her heart she was coming to accept and love Caleb, she knew he was good for Simka and while she was worried for the future, she knew it was a bridge they would all cross together. It wasn’t in the manner she would have liked but…she took immense pride that soon she would be a grandmother.

Orders were given, while respecting the privacy of the boys, someone, was to keep an eye on them at all times, if there was even the remotest threat they were to be transported immediately and without question.

It was a novice apprentice to the Head Librarian that noticed something regarding the Celestial Globes and the mystery surrounding them. Donar’s watch coincided with the boy’s mid-afternoon through their bedtime. It was during these hours that the boys were likely to ‘fool around’.

Donar, while not a prude and in fact slightly turned on, needed to be careful as to how he presented his suppositions’ and findings. It was early on after the transport that he noticed it. Just after the Crown Prince met the boy named Caleb that the tiniest of flares in the 14th dimension. This finding was the result of going back over the visual records consisting of hundreds of hours.

Once the issue with the Celestial Globes became known, the entire library staff was put to work to see if they could solve the puzzle. Truth be known, Donar was bored with his assignment, until he fit the puzzle pieces together. Suddenly, Donar wasn’t quite so bored. Watching the Crown Prince and his boyfriend have sex was voyeuristic exercise, it couldn’t be helped. Donar was just a few years older, full of hormones as the Circadian version of puberty ran its course and came to its logical end.

Being a novice apprentice meant that you were on call for every menial task and at any time of day or night. There was no social life, just a life within the cloistered walls of the Celestial Library.

He came from a lower caste family and this was a position far above his station. That he took advantage of the educational opportunities was the thing that opened the door for him. He did well, in fact excellent, in his schoolwork and this brought notice to his teachers and instructors. Attending a college was not without reason, his grade point average would more than likely afford scholarships but he was in competition with hundreds of other worthy, deserving students. It was a gamble, if not successful he would be stuck, the best he could hope for was a teaching position. Not that there was anything wrong with that, for it was a noble profession, it was just not what he wanted to settle for.

His marks brought notice of him to the headmaster and school librarian who were not without connections. The Head Librarian was a classmate of the school librarian who sent Donar’s transcripts along. A week later was the first interview, ten days later was the second and final interview. He was offered a position as a novice apprentice. His role and duties were thoroughly gone over, there was no question as to the path he would follow.

The offer to work in the Celestial Library was not without merit, in fact it was a prestigious prospect. In the four years he would serve his apprenticeship he would progress as if he was in college, it was the chance of a lifetime without the costs incurred if he decided to go the other way. After discussing it with his parents he accepted and was welcomed into the ranks of the Celestial Library.

***

Watching the Crown Prince and Caleb that first afternoon was a bit much, having been confined within the library walls mean little or no chance with someone his own age of either sex. Watching them get off was too much to bear, Donar was hard, hot, bothered, and horny. Within seconds of the Crown Prince orally finishing off Caleb, he came hard.

What Donar didn’t plan on, was not having a tissue or a rag to clean up the resulting mess. Gingerly walking over to his desk for the box of tissues he passed by the rest of the Celestial Globes, it was then he noticed the harmonic resonance and flair in the 14th dimension.

After a week of careful observation and collating his notes augmented with references to the hours of video time stamped with video of the Celestial Globes, Donar felt he was ready to present his findings. He asked for a meeting with the Head Librarian via a secure channel. He felt that discretion was in order to protect the privacy of the Crown Prince and the boy who would be his mate.

In his request he included a sample of his findings with a note explaining his thinking and the need for discretion. Donar decided to leave out the manner in which he first noticed the connection. The Head Librarian responded within the half hour with the request he bring everything to his study.

Shortly after the Head Librarian finished the review of Donar’s ‘research’ he smiled broadly. Leaning back, he thought to himself that it was the right decision to bring the boy into the Celestial Library. The question now was how and when to share this with the Mother Superior. The information would have to be sanitized for her consumption, it was how and who would present it to her. By all rights it was Donar’s discovery and he deserved the credit and the decision was made.

Donar was stunned, never in a million years did he ever think he would converse with royalty and a Mother Superior at that! What left him tongue tied was the subject matter. After all, it wasn’t every day you would be in a meeting, where you would be in a meeting discussing the sexual activities of a son and his lover, with his mother.