Pig-Boy and The Insectorator - 7. The Big Sadness and The Porn Room

When David rolled out of his bed on Sunday morning, it was dark outside. Pink dawn light colored the sky as he pedaled out onto the road, but the sun had yet to climb above the horizon. It rose and warmed his back while he sped over the pavement. So much joy filled him that he had to burst into song, though he laughed at himself while he sang.

When he pulled his bike into the trees at the park’s edge, Zhiv, Erg, and Berky were waiting for him.

“Let’s get you out of these,” said Zhiv. He took the pack off David’s back and tugged at his T-shirt. While David pulled the T-shirt off, Zhiv yanked his shorts and underwear down to his ankles. David stepped out of them, and Zhiv knelt and unfastened his shoes. When he removed each shoe and sock, he held David’s foot and caressed it for an instant. Then he stood, and they wrapped their arms around each other. David lost all sense of time in the sweetness of their embrace. They might have stood there for one minute, or ten minutes, or an hour.

“Zhiv, I’m so happy to see you, I feel like crying.”

“Yeah, it’s great isn’t it. Er…I don’t mean it’s great you seeing me. I mean, what’s great is when I see you. It makes me happy. But it’s great that I make you happy too. I mean, it’s all great.”

David had to laugh. “Zhiv, relax. I always know what you mean.”

Zhiv pulled back a little then and shook his head. “Words!” Then he smiled into David’s eyes. “It’s good to make someone happy. I used to make people sad because I wasn’t a happy person. I was famous for being sad, you know.”

“Really? Why were you sad?”

“I didn’t know. It was like a wind blowing through my head that nobody else could hear. Sometimes it was so loud I couldn’t hear normal sounds. So, they tested my ears. ‘No problem,’ they said. Whatever I was hearing wasn’t a real noise. I should ignore it. But I couldn’t ignore it. It was like telling someone to ignore a flood or an earthquake. It was bigger than I was.”

Zhiv trembled and David tightened his arms around him. “So, what happened?”

“I found out where the sound was coming from,” said Zhiv. “There was a huge place like a prison, not far from where I was living. In one long building, people kept thousands of pigs locked up in cages so small they couldn't even walk a few steps. The pigs felt so much misery and fear, they could only cry. Their suffering and crying never stopped. Because it was such a huge sadness, at first I couldn’t think. As soon as I could think, I knew I had to go far away from that place. I knew I would never be free from the sound as long as I lived there.”

Zhiv shook his head. “So, I left; I ran away from the sound.”

“Do you still hear it?”

“It’s very faint up here, but I still hear it, sometimes. I don’t think I’ll stop hearing it until animals are not treated like that anymore.”

They stood in silence for a minute. Then Zhiv spoke again. “I have to warn you. There’s something I’m very afraid of. Every day, as I get better at communicating with the animals, I can talk over longer distances and hear too. That means, for me, the mara gets bigger all the time. It doesn’t reach to the valley yet, but when it does, I’ll start to hear the suffering of those animals again. I’m afraid I won’t be able to stand it, to hear it and still live here. It’s like having a tornado in my head.”

“You know I’ll help you if I can,” said David.

“I know you will. What I want to warn you about is that if you learn how to be in the mara, you’ll begin to hear that sound too. It’s the worst sound in the world. It’s like the greatest pain you can imagine.”

“And you’re gonna go ahead, even though you know you’re going to hear it again?” David said.

“Yeah.” Zhiv shrugged. “I don’t have a choice, but I’m afraid, David, and I’m afraid for you too. It’s a terrible thing. Once you’ve heard it, once you’ve seen it, you can’t turn away. If you move ahead with me, there’s no turning back.”

They solemnly held each other’s gaze for a minute.

David’s face softened into a smile. “Well,” he said, “you really do know how to make a boy feel gloomy.”

Zhiv’s face wrinkled with concern. Then he tittered. David laughed too, and the forest rang with their wild laughter. They collapsed onto the ground, and laughed, and hugged until they were exhausted.

They lay, looking into each other’s eyes. “Zhiv, I’ll follow you to the gates of Hell.”

Zhiv pulled David into a tighter embrace. “With you beside me it should be fun.” He kissed the end of David’s nose. “Let’s go!”

“What are we gonna do today?”

“I thought we could go to the lake. I need to get cleaned up, and a lot of people there are dying to see you. You’re gonna get a nice surprise! Then we can have a long, cool swim. Now, hug Erg and Berky while I put your clothes into your pack. Then we can go. While we walk, let’s not say words. Just let your mind open up and be in the mara. You don’t have to think. I’ll lead the way. Okay?”

“Okay,” said David. He knelt to hug the cougar, then stood and put his arms around bear. Zhiv picked up the pack and marched into the forest, loud with morning birdsong. David followed close behind. Erg and Berky flanked them.

~~~

River phoned Derek to see if they might do something. He wanted to know about Jeremy too, but he thought it would seem suspicious to ask. He could only hope that Derek might mention the kid. Meeting Jeremy again scared River. He feared going over to their house, but he wanted to see the younger boy so badly he couldn’t sit still. He cursed himself repeatedly for what he’d done with Jeremy on Saturday, but halfway through his curse, he always fell into a reverie that left him aching for more Jeremy.

Derek said his day was ruined. He and Jeremy were making a family visit to their grandparents. It was compulsory. They’d be gone all day.

River decided to ride out to Jude’s. Maybe he would be free. If he wasn’t, at least River would have killed a couple of hours.

One of Jude’s two sisters met him at the door. “Hah!” she said. “It’s Sunday, so he won’t be up till noon. You can go up to his room if you want, if you can stand the smell.” She pointed up the stairs. “Second door on the right.”

River found Jude still asleep, but a few pokes woke him. He was happy to see River, his only friend.

“Wanna do something?” said River.

“Yeah, but first I gotta drain the lizard.” Jude threw the covers aside and revealed he slept nude. When he stood up, his erection bounced. “That’s what I call morning wood. Now, wouldn’t you like to suck that? Get some fresh cream cheese?” He waggled his erection towards River’s face.

“Get outta here!” River slapped at Jude’s bum.

Jude’s penis impressed River. It was longer than his and had a little bush over it. There were no pimples or anything on it. In fact, it looked good. The rest of his body was nice too, though his toenails were long and dirty. It seemed like the pimples and blackheads had decided to lay siege to his face and leave the rest of him alone.

Jude peeked into the hall, satisfied himself it was empty, then scurried to the toilet. When he returned, he found River looking through a porn magazine he’d left in his bed. There were many pictures of beefy men having sex with big-breasted women.

“You like that?” leered Jude.

“Yeah.” River continued turning the pages. “Hot chicks! These guys have got really big pricks.”

“Yeah. But not the biggest. You wanna see the biggest one I’ve got a picture of? It’s like ten inches long.”

“I don’t believe it. Ten inches?”

Jude tucked himself into some underpants and reached under his mattress. He pulled out a magazine and flipped through the pages until he reached the one he wanted. “Well, take a look at that!” he said, thrusting the magazine into River’s hands. The full-page photo showed a young man standing naked. Another young man knelt in front of him, cupped his balls with one hand and gripped the long erection with the other. As Jude had claimed, it appeared to be at least ten inches.

“Wow,” said River. “I didn’t think pricks got that big. That’s amazing. But would it work? I mean, are women’s things that long?”

“I dunno. But who cares? It’d be great to jerk off with. You could get both hands on it.”

River turned the pages. There were more naked young men and even some boys doing sex things with each other. “This magazine is something else, but it’s really gay.”

“Yeah, but I only keep that magazine for comparison, you know. I measure mine all the time. It’s still growing, but it’s almost six inches now. How long’s yours?”

“I don’t know.”

“We’ll hafta measure it,” said Jude. He pulled on shorts and a T-shirt. “But not now. Now you got me up, and I’m hungry. It’s time for breakfast.”

After Jude had eaten a big bowl of cereal and a couple of pop-tarts, he said, “You got any ideas?”

“About?”

“What we’re gonna do?”

"Nope."

Jude’s mother came into the kitchen. She looked at the boys.

“This is River Jameson, Mom. We hang out at school all the time.”

“Hi River,” she said. “Jude, I’m gonna take the girls to the mall. We figure to be there all afternoon, so you’re gonna have to get your own lunch. There’s lots of sandwich stuff like ham and cheese, or you can microwave some of those pizza things in the freezer. We’ll bring back some take-out for supper. Your dad’s at the chili cook-off, and we won’t see him until after dark. So, if you go out, make sure you lock the house up before you leave. Okay?”

“Okay, Mom.”

A few minutes later, the front door slammed, and they heard her car backing out of the driveway.

“So, we got the house to ourselves,” said Jude. “That opens up some possibilities.”

“Can we look at some more of that porn?” asked River.

“That’s what it’s for,” Jude replied. They stood, and he wrapped one arm around River’s shoulders. “Let’s move this circus to the porn-room.”

~~~

Pete woke up when Doreen climbed back into bed with him.

She snuggled up to him. “I put some coffee on.”

“It’s Sunday, so we don’t have to get up yet,” he said.

“No, but I’ve got some things I want to do today, and I need to do some food shopping — stuff I can’t get at the supermarket. David’s going through a lot of food lately. He’s about due for the legendary growth spurt. It’s supposed to happen around his age.”

“Okay. Is he around?”

“No, I heard him leaving early, like around sunrise. He left a note. Said he was going up the mountain again.”

“Last night was really good,” said Pete.

“It was the best. You know, Pete, I’ve been thinking. It’s so easy to lose sight of what’s important. You know, you get busy and you’re doing this and that, and you get used to it all being kinda ho-hum. Then something like last night happens and you realize, yeah, this is what it’s all about. This is why we got married and bought this house. It’s why we both go to work every day.”

“Yeah, don’t tell anyone I said so, but those veggie-burgers last night were okay, and the bike ride we had was great. I’ve been thinking maybe we should get a couple of those e-bikes for us too. They take all the work out of riding a bike. It’s like there’s no more hills. We could all go out together.”

“Where did you guys go on your bike ride?”

“Just around the block and then onto the bike trail to the lake. We didn’t go all the way to the lake because it was getting dark. He was really happy. He didn’t say anything, but I could see it. He was pumping away on his old bike to keep up with me, and grinning like he just won a prize, if he was able to get ahead of me. It was great!”

“Pete, I want it to be more like that all the time. For me, David is like this fabulous, shining jewel that we get to keep for maybe another four or five years. Then he’ll be gone into his own life. But let’s not lose a minute of those five years. Last night wasn't about veggie burgers. It was about accepting him as he is, rather than trying to shape him into what we think he should be. It was about making our family into a place where he can be himself and grow up happy. You were afraid he’d lord it over you, like he won something. But he was just happy that for once, we were all on the same track.”

“Yeah,” said Pete. “You’re right. He’s the best kid anyone ever had.”

“So,” said Doreen, “I want our house to be vegan. I figure, if you think you need a meat fix, you can always go to a restaurant for your lunch. We can afford it. But there’s not gonna be any bacon and eggs, or steaks, or cheese, or milk in this house from now on. Okay?”

“Jeez,” said Pete. “I thought I was letting him win a battle last night. It looks like he’s won the war!”

“Okay?”

“Yeah. Okay. You know, Doreen, actually I’m one hundred percent with you on this. I’m glad you figured it out and made me do what I needed to do. I mean, I don’t know if I can handle it, but if I can’t, there’s always Burger King or Kentucky Fried for lunch. You’re right; last night was the best, and if eating some beans is gonna get us more of that, bring on the beans!”

~~~

River and Jude lay on Jude’s bed with a stack of porn magazines between them.

“Look at that!” said Jude and handed a magazine to River. An enlargement of the glans of an erect penis filled the entire page. The photographer had captured the exact moment when the semen shot out.

“Wow,” said River and adjusted his erection in his pants.

“You hard?” said Jude.

“For sure.”

“Hey, let’s measure your dick now, when it’s hard.” Jude rolled off the bed and picked up a ruler from his desk. He sat on the bed and said, “C’mon, pull those pants off. Let’s see what you got.”

“There’s nobody here?”

“Nobody but us chickens, heh heh. The house is empty, and nobody’s coming home for hours.”

River still hesitated.

Jude said, “Look, if it’ll make it easier for you I’ll take mine off too.” He shucked his shorts and underwear and waved his erection at River.

River lowered his jeans and boxers, kicked off his shoes, and lay back.

“Okay,” said Jude. “That’s a good-lookin’ prick if I ever saw one.” He bent over River’s crotch. Then he placed the ruler so its base was snug against where River’s penis stuck out from his lower belly. Jude pressed the other boy’s erection against the ruler and said, “Okay, now think sexy thoughts. Make it as big as it can get.”

River thought about Jeremy.

“Wow,” said Jude. “It’s nearly five and one eighth inches. Let’s see if we can get it up to five and a half.” He wrapped his hand around River’s penis and stroked it up and down.

River moaned. “Oooooh, fuck!”

“Five and one-quarter,” said Jude. “Now you measure mine.” He tapped River’s erection with the ruler, then laid it on River’s belly and flopped down on the bed.

River sat up and leaned over Jude’s long, thin erection. There was no foreskin. He placed the ruler where Jude’s pubes curled around the base of his penis. Jude's erection struggled to rise under River's hand as he pressed it against the ruler.

“A little over five and a half inches,” he said. “Think sexy thoughts!”

“I’m trying,” grunted Jude. “Give it a little help, why don’t you?”

“Okay.” River gripped Jude’s erection and stroked up and down. The skin on the shaft was smooth and hot. He wanted to keep holding it but was too scared.

“Oooooh, shit, man!”

“Five and three-quarters!” said River, and crashed down beside Jude.

Jude reached down to his penis and began to masturbate. “C’mon man,” he groaned, “let’s jerk off.”

“Yeah,” said River.

After a minute, Jude said, “It’s supposed to be way more fun if someone else does it to you. Do you wanna try that?”

“If you want.”

“First let’s get naked. It’s always better naked. Okay?” Jude said, sitting up and pulling his T-shirt off.

“Yeah!” said River, and stripped himself.

“Okay,” said Jude. “I’ll do you, and then you can do me. Okay?”

River felt Jude take hold of his erection and stroke it. Jude knew what he was talking about. It was better naked, and it was better when someone else did it.

Jude didn’t rush. He was gentle and went slow at first. He sped up until River was on the verge of coming. Then he went slow again, and back and forth like that until River jerked around like he was spastic. Then Jude finished him off. River came all over himself and the bed, and Jude’s hand.

“Hey man, that was great. I hope I can do you as good,” said River.

“Just two buddies helping each other out,” said Jude, and lay back. He handed River a jar of greasy stuff and said, “Put some of that on my dick so it’s nice and slippery.”

River imitated Jude’s technique and found he could tell when the other boy was on the verge of coming. Then he would back off for awhile, then speed up a bit until he had Jude bucking under his hand like he was in convulsions. Again, the semen shot in all directions. River had laid his head on Jude’s chest at the last moment. He wanted to observe up close the eruption of cum and got it all over his face. That was satisfying, too. Some dripped into his mouth, and he was surprised that it tasted okay. River took a bunch of tissues and wiped Jude clean.

“My brother, Aaron, calls it ‘cock snot,’” said River.

Jude cracked up. “It does taste a lot like snot, but better, I think,” he said.

They had a good laugh about the semen on River’s face. Jude remarked that he ate his cum all the time and licked it off. “It’s too good to waste,” he said. “You know, you have to eat about five pounds of ice cream to make one little squirt of jizz. It’s really powerful stuff. Or like about three steaks.”

They lay back on the bed, resting in the afterglow. “Now, that’s what friends are for,” said Jude. “I needed that.”

River's mind wandered for a few minutes. “My old man’s really on my case about that vegan kid,” he said.

“Little Davy-boy?”

“Yeah, his daddy nailed my brother with a five hundred dollar speeding ticket. We all think his daddy did it because my brother run him off the road up Jana Mountain.”

“Fucking cops!”

“Yeah, it seems McAdam goes up Jana Mountain on weekends. Aaron saw him up there last week and then again coming down the logging road yesterday. The old man wants me to cozy up to him at school and get him to admit he asked his daddy to ticket Aaron.”

“Hey, that logging road’s pretty far up the valley, isn’t it?” asked Jude.

“Yeah, it’s a ways.”

“Is that the road where the gravel pit is? Just a little way off the highway?”

“I think so,” said River. “The pit’s not right on the logging road. It’s off to one side, so you can’t see it from the highway. I only been out there a couple of times. Aaron likes to practice target-shooting, and once we did it in the gravel pit.”

“I bet we could ride out there on our bikes.”

“It’d take a while, maybe even a couple of hours, but why bother? It’s a gravel pit. You like gravel?”

“Well, I’d like to continue Mr. Ass-wipe McAdam’s training, but it ain’t good to do it at school. The monitors and other teachers always fuck everything up. We need more privacy, someplace where we can help little David recognize that he wants to obey our orders.”

“Oh yeah?” said River.

“See, what I’m thinking is that Davy-boy is queer as hell. He really wants to suck our cocks, but he’s such a little scaredy-pants, he’s afraid to ask. We could help him get what he wants, by overcoming his fears.”

“Yeah! Like how?” River asked. “He probably won’t even talk to us.”

“Oh, that’s easy,” said Jude. “We just make him do what we know he wants to do. Once he’s done it and finds out how much he likes it, then he’ll do it whenever we want. We’ll have our own cocksucker.”

“Yeah,” said River, recalling how Jeremy had enslaved him. “I can see that happening.”

“After we’ve trained him, he’ll be begging for it. Then we can rent him out to other guys, pick up a little spare change,” mused Jude. “In the meantime, there’s a few other things we can do to wear him down.” He pointed his stiff penis towards the ceiling and said, “Now ain’t that a fine cock? I’d suck it myself if I could.”

River said, “Aaron told me a poem about that:

There was an old man from Nantucket
Who had a prick so long he could suck it.
He said with a grin
As he wiped off his chin
If my ear was a cunt, I would fuck it.”

Jude laughed so hard a little squirt of pee shot out of his penis. He made River repeat the poem a dozen times, so he could memorize it. He said it was the best poem he’d ever heard. “I figured all poetry was shit, but now I’m thinking maybe there’s something in it.”

“Yeah,” said River. “Fuck Shakespeare! If he was any good, he would have wrote something like that.”