Achieving Manhood
by Aldric

Copyright 2006 by Aldric, all rights reserved.

*****
This story is intended for ADULTS ONLY.  It contains
depictions of sexual activity involving minors. If you are
not of a legal age in your locality to view such material or
if such material does not appeal to you, do not read
further, and do not save this story.

Comments may be made to Pietar_the_fearless@yahoo.com
*****


Achieving Manhood

My father is a scholar who studies races that have little or
no contact with the modern world and because of that he is
frequently in the most remote areas on earth.  Until I was
eleven I stayed at home in Kansas with my mother and younger
brother Eric, who was one year younger than me.  But one
spring my father and mother decided that Eric and I would go
with him and spend two years learning about other cultures. 
I spent most of the first year mastering the language of the
people we were living with, but it was hard to learn much
about them because boys my age and younger were kept apart
from the rest of the people.  I gradually learned that young
girls were also raised separately and boys and girls were
kept apart until after puberty.  There were always adults
nearby (just do something wrong and you'll find out just how
nearby they are) and frequently we were given some training
by some of the older boys.  But most of my eleventh year was
spent exploring the territory in which we were free to
travel and learning the ways of the people.

We lived along a small stream on the edge of a desert, set
off from others by a mountain range.  It seems it is always
too hot or too cold, but the clothing is the same.  We
always wear shorts in the summer and long pants in the
winter, with shirts and heavy shoes.  The boys nearly always
change in private even though we all share a single lodge. 
By the age of ten boys are introduced to the ceremony that
marks the coming-on of manhood but I missed that part since
I was still in Kansas when I was ten..  As Eric found out,
ten-year olds have many new responsibilities, such as
teaching of the younger boys, and the care of the slaves.

We don't really have slaves, but every year there is a rite
of passage and one or two boys fail and are returned to the
boy's camp with a brand of shame, their bodies covered with
bruises and scratches.  For those boys the next year is
horrible.  They are degraded and tormented by the remaining
boys, all of whom are younger then they are.  They are kept
naked except during the winter, and it is the duty of the
ten year olds to assign work to those two boys.  In
addition, the older boys in the camp soon learned they could
use the branded boys for other purposes too.  We were never
allowed to touch a younger boy, but the failed boys were to
be available for any activity an eleven or twelve year old
boy desired.

The summer of my first year we had two slaves and four
thirteen year old boys.  They were called out one evening,
and the next day the ten year olds were also called out. 
Eric didn't get to go because he and I were still learning
the language and customs of the people, so we were left to
ponder what role the younger boys played in the passage.  A
few days later two of the boys were returned, naked, and
with a black circle branded into their arms.

But the nature of the quest itself was a mystery for which I
had no answers.  The boys who failed were sworn to secrecy,
and we were prohibited from asking.  So I watched as other
boys used them for various forms of sexual release; and I
wondered what happened during the two or three days that six
boys were drawn from our ranks for the rite of passage.

The next year, after noticing that other boys my age and
older were using the slaves without getting into trouble for
it I decided to find out what it felt like.  It was during
one of those times that I suddenly felt a feeling I had
never before felt.  I pulled back away from him; and just in
time too, for a small amount of thick, white pee shot out of
my dick.  Thinking I was sick, I sought the advice of one of
the adults who was nearby, and he explained that it was
normal.  He asked me how old I was, and when I told him I
was twelve, he expressed surprise.

"This could be difficult for you to be selected at such a
young age, so you should begin preparing immediately.  Eat
well, and run and exercise, for you will need strength to
avoid coming back to your younger brothers" he told me.

This scared me, for the way we treated the two who had
failed the test was a frightening prospect.  I had not even
considered that as an outsider I would be selected, and the
thought that I would return with a brand was very
frightening.  The most demeaning jobs were given to them,
and they had to be naked nearly all the time.  Even the ten
year olds were allowed to spank them if they misbehaved. 
Their lives were living hell, and I wanted no part of that. 
Besides, that would mean that Eric would have rights over me
and could use me as he wanted.  So I took the advice I was
given, and started training.  I noticed that Pepe and
Hector, who were both thirteen, were also training, and I
knew that I would be competing against them, although I did
not have any idea of what happened to those who were not
returned or how the competition was conducted.

But long before I thought I was ready the call came from the
adults.  Five of us, me, Philippe, Carlos, Pepe, and Hector,
were brought to an area we had never been to before.  In
addition, another boy was introduced.  His name was Tomas,
and he was from a village down the river.  Since we only had
five boys ready for the calling, and his tribe had seven, he
had been added to our group.

I was small as compared to all of them, but I was considered
among the brightest of the boys in our group.  I could
always solve puzzles and figure things out, maybe because I
grew up as a normal American boy.  Others told me that I was
also very good looking and that would make it easy to later. 
But to be in competition with these other boys was a
frightening prospect if this was to be a physical
competition.

First was Philippe, one of the boys who had failed last
year.  He was fourteen, with dark hair, even in places where
I had no hair at all.  Then there was Carlos, the other boy
who failed last year.  He was also fourteen, and even
stronger than Philippe.  And he was tough too, never yelling
out when the younger boys selected him for punishments.

Pepe and Hector were both thirteen, the typical age for
selection.  While not as big and muscular as Philippe or
Carlos, both were bigger and stronger than me by far.  Pepe
was lean and strong and I knew from games that he was fast. 
At least with Hector I had some hope as he was the most
uncoordinated boy I had ever known.  I had personally seen
him trip over a footprint in the sand!

The last boy (other than me of course) was Tomas.  He was
the same age as me, and seemed even more nervous than me. 
Although we were the same age, he was slightly bigger.  He
had a small scar in the shape of an 'X' just below his belly
button.

All of us had the same questions, but the only ones who knew
the answers were Philippe and Carlos, and they weren't
helping.  We had a huge feast, all of the best foods, and
cold water right from the deep part of the stream.  After
the meal the adults left and boys I had not met before took
charge.

We were told to remove all of our clothing except for our
shoes.  This caused me great concern as I had not appeared
naked in front of anyone except in all the time I had been
here.  I looked around and saw from their faces that Pepe,
Hector, and Tomas had the same concern.  Of course, Philippe
and Carlos had no concern for they were already naked, and
they both had smiles on their faces as if to say "now it's
your turn to see how it feels."

Slowly I removed my shirt and pants, folding them and
setting them on the bench behind me.  And I realized for the
first time that Philippe and Carlos were the only boys
besides me who were circumcised.  The other boys stared at
me, and the older ones looked to see if I had a brand of
shame like Philippe and Carlos had.  And then it hit
me—circumcision must be one of the prices paid for not
completing the test—and all these boys believed I must have
failed before because I was circumcised.  Pepe, Hector, and
Tomas all stared at my dick and began making jokes about how
my appearance.

But no matter, it was time to start.  I had been expecting
some kind of ceremony, or discussion of rules, or anything
to help us understand what was about to happen, but all we
were told was to run towards the river until we reached the
grass that grew along the bank.  At that point we were to
begin crawling, with a warning that anyone who stood up for
any reason would suffer immediate disqualification.

We all took off running, and Pepe ran like the wind.  I knew
I couldn't keep pace with him all the way to the river, so I
backed off and ran at a pace that kept me even with Tomas
and right behind Hector.  We both kept our eyes on Philippe
and Carlos, expecting trouble from them, but they were
intent on catching Pepe and didn't even see the rest of us
fall back.  We passed Carlos after the third mile.  He had
tried too hard to keep up with Pepe and was now lying on the
sand desperately trying to catch his breath.  Hector began
to pull ahead of us, but I stayed back one step behind
Tomas.  I knew the river was close but I was running short
of breath and needed to conserve what I had for the crawl.

Pepe and Philippe were not in sight, but as we approached
the river we could hear yelling ahead of us.  I tried to
pass Tomas but he pulled ahead of me, although I was able to
pass Philippe and Hector who were slowing down and
struggling to pull in enough air to keep going.

As we approached the grass there was a group of younger boys
there, shouting at us and pointing out where we were to go. 
They were splitting us up, each being given a different path
through the grass.  I dove into the grass and began to crawl
and immediately discovered the test—the grass about a foot
tall and filled with burrs.  The burrs were big, and each
one had sharp spikes that sank deep into exposed flesh. 
Each spike had a second tiny spike at the tip that pointed a
different direction so that when the main spike entered fur,
flesh, or clothes it did not pull fall back out, but hung
there.

The burrs were catching on my penis and balls, pulling at
the soft flesh.  I put my weight on my arms and legs to try
and raise my belly above the burrs but a boy running along
next to me struck my bare backside with a pole that whistled
through the air before hitting me.  I could feel the welts
rise from the hit as I dropped back down.  I paused to catch
my breath and as soon as I stopped he hit me again.

He was joined by a second boy, and then a third.  As long as
I continued to crawl and kept my belly down where the burrs
could do the most damage, they only laughed and taunted me. 
If I stopped, even for a second, or if I tried to rise up
they swung the thin poles without mercy.

The boys also knew where the burrs were thickest and drove
me into them, laughing as I cried from the pain.  Every time
one tore off my bare flesh two more took its place.  I was
quickly becoming exhausted, but there was no way to stop and
rest without having to endure a whipping from the boys with
the poles.

At last I could hear the sound of splashing ahead of me. 
The boys drove me back into the grass for one last group of
burrs before I broke out into the open.  I was covered in
burrs with blood dripping down from where others had been
torn loose.  Tomas and Pepe were already in the center ahead
of me.  Pepe was gently pulling the burrs from his flesh,
but the boys were tying Tomas to a pole, preventing him from
doing the same.

The three boys who had guided me lead me to a pole next to
Tomas and quickly tied me to it.  I started to congratulate
Tomas for finishing before I did but as soon as I spoke one
of the boys struck me across the front of my thighs with his
pole.  I cried out in pain and he hit me again an inch above
the previous hit.  I held my breath to keep from yelling out
again and the boys took a few steps behind me where I
couldn't see him.  I looked down and could see two bright
red marks across each of my legs where the pole had struck.

More yells were coming from the grass and Philippe came into
view.  He was tied to a pole next to me and Tomas.  He
started to say something to me and learned the same way I
did that talking was not allowed.  I got a good look at the
pole the boys were swinging when Philippe was hit.  They
were nearly as long as the boys wielding them and about as
thick as their littlest finger.  The poles flexed as they
whipped through the air and the end would bend around the
flesh.

The next to arrive was Hector, who was not tied to a pole
but rather tied with his arms and legs pulled together
behind him and dropped into the sand.

A short time went by before we heard the yells that marked
the arrival of Carlos.  As he made it to the clearing, two
boys dropped their poles and grabbed his legs.  They flipped
him over on his back and pulled him back into the grass
while two other boys struck him with their poles.  When they
pulled him back to the clearing he had a dozen welts across
his chest, belly, and legs.  At least two of the welts went
across his penis.  He was crying softly dragged him to the
center of the circle.  He also had his arms and legs tied
together behind his back before being dropped face down into
the sand.  Because they had dragged him back through the
grass his back was also covered with burrs.

By this time Pepe had picked most of the burrs off and was
led given a balm to take the sting out from where the burrs
had torn his flesh.  He was then shown a decent bed along
the river and told to rest.

The boys went to Tomas next.  While one stood by with his
pole, three others began grabbing burrs and ripping them out
of Tomas's body.  Tomas cried out when two were torn from
his balls, and the boy with the pole smacked him across his
legs.  Somehow Tomas endured the rest without yelling and he
was untied and given a bed to rest in as well.

I expected the same, but the three boys went behind me and
came back a few seconds later with burning sticks from a
fire.  I watched in horror as they held the end of the
sticks up to burrs in my balls and blew on them until the
burrs caught fire.  I yelled "NO!" but got hit twice with
the pole.  The three burrs they had lit flared up and burned
away, leaving the hooked ends buried in my flesh.  The three
boys picked the next three burrs to burn off.

By the time they were finished I had been hit four more
times with the pole and had blisters forming all over my
chest, belly, legs, and groin from the burning burrs.  The
boys moved on to Philippe as I was untied and also given a
bed, although the straw that mine was made of was old and
rotten.  As I lay down I could smell urine and knew the boys
had pissed on it.

Philippe also yelled as the burrs were burned off his body,
but not as loud and only twice.  He was untied and told to
rest in the sand.  The boys left Hector and Carlos tied, the
burrs still clinging to their flesh.  As the sun set I could
still hear Hector crying softly and silently prayed for him.

The next morning Hector and Carlos were finally untied, but
not before the burrs were burned off of their bodies as
well.  Then came the next yet another painful session.  The
barbs that were still stuck in my flesh itched, but I was
re-tied to the pole so the boys could use needles to fish
them out.  Each time I yelled out I was hit again with the
poles.  The boys took their time on my balls and dick,
making sure they caused as much pain as they could, trying
to get me to yell again.

It was even worse for Hector and Carlos, for at least most
of the blisters on my body had healed during the night, but
the burns were fresh on their bodies.  After we were done,
the adults returned and each of us was instructed to bath in
the icy waters of the river.

And then it was time for the adults to explain the rules.

"Here is a bag you must keep with you at all times.  In
order to return to this point, you must fill it to at least
this mark."  He pointed to a line made with red thread. 
"You may not take another boy's bag or remove any of the
semen in it; doing so will cause you to be removed from the
competition.  All of you are here because you now are old
enough to produce semen, even if you don't know what it is. 
We will have you demonstrate this soon, and then you will
know."

"The testing is intended to be difficult, and two of you
will fail.  However, even if you think you are failing, do
not quit, the punishment for giving up is far worse than for
losing.  You will receive points for each of the various
contests.  I think you all know what happens to the two who
have the fewest points.  As unfortunate as that is, it is
necessary to ensure you try your hardest.  The reward for
winning is greater than the penalty for losing, so strive to
be the best."

Although all of us except Philippe and Carlos had questions,
the adults would not answer any of them.  I was standing
near Philippe and overheard him say "now you little piss
ants will learn the meaning of suffering" and this scared me
very much for he seemed much more worried about the upcoming
contests than he did about losing again.

We were given tiny leather bags and told to watch Philippe
and Carlos to learn how to fill them.

I was amazed!  Both boys were sliding their hands up and
down the shafts of their dicks in rapid motion.  Considering
what Carlos had just been through and the burned spots on
his dick I was surprised he could touch it, but apparently
he knew he had to do it even if it hurt.  As I watched,
Philippe used his left hand to hold his bag in front of his
dick and suddenly shot several thick loads of the cum.  I
looked over to Carlos and saw him doing the same thing.  I
suddenly understood what I was expected to do.  But to do
that here in front of several adults and the other boys? 
How could they expect that of us?

But the other boys were now also doing it, even Tomas.  I
swallowed the fear that came from the humiliation and
mimicked them.  I was last, but at least I was able to shoot
a few drops into my bag.  It was going to take a lot of that
to bring it up to the mark made by the red thread.

Once I was done we were all lead over the hill along the
river to the edge of the desert.  On the other side of the
hill were the four boys who had competed last year, along
with two boys from the year before.  Each of them had a
rawhide sack and a needle in their hands.  Each one of them
approached one of us.

Salvatore, the boy who came to me, remembered me.  He poured
water on the sack and said "This is going to hurt, Rick.  In
fact, nearly everything that happens will hurt.  But you
must keep the sack wet, if it dries out it shrinks."  He
stuffed my balls into the sack, which felt cold, and then
used the needle and a short piece of thread to sew it
together, stitching the corners through the skin at the top
of my ball sack.  I cried out, not because it hurt but from
the fear that it would hurt.

"Don't yell out again, it makes you look weak" he told me
quietly.  Just before he pulled the thread tight, he took
out a jar that contained three large red ants and dropped
the ants into the sack!  Without another word he pulled the
thread tight and tied it off.

"Follow the sticks in the sand with the yellow ribbons on
them.  Go now, it's a race" he said.  Philippe, Carlos,
Pepe, and Hector had already started running; and Tomas was
nearly ready.  Just then one of the ants grabbed hold of my
ball sack with its mandibles and then stung.  I started to
scream out, but bit my tongue.  I knew the ant would work in
a circle and bit several more times, even after it was out
of venom.  I ran after the other boys in total agony from
the burning as the venom entered my sack.  Then the other
two ants discovered flesh and joined in.

I stumbled from the intense burning and pain as the three
ants shoot round after round of the venom into my ball sack. 
I heard footsteps behind me and then Tomas ran pasts me. 
"Find them and squeeze them to death" he yelled as he
passed.

I could feel them through the rawhide and killed each one in
turn, but with each squeeze I wrung out a few drops of water
from the rawhide.  Finally I regained my feet and began
running again.

I was the last one to reach the end, and learned another
painful lesson of this contest.  In each event, those who
finish last must contribute semen into the bag of the first
place boy and then do the contest again.  And then he must
contribute semen again!  In addition to that, the first
place boy gets to make a choice—he can any other boy also
repeat the task or contribute semen into his cache.

In this way I learned that Carlos finished first.  It was
enormously embarrassing to have to stroke my dick while the
other boys gathered around to watch me, and demeaning to
have to contribute to someone else's bag.  But I was warned
that if I delayed too long addition suffering would result.

So I did my best to ignore the stares and teasing of the
other boys as I made my meager contribution to Carlos's
collection bag.  For reasons I didn't understand Carlos
chose to have Pepe repeat the race with me and as we were
walked back to the starting point of the race I saw all the
other boys were using the time to their own semen
collection.

Once back at the starting point, an adult told Salvatore
that I had taken too long and my repeat needed to be worse. 
This time, before placing the ants in my ball sack,
Salvatore bound my arms behind my back.  I knew this would
not only slow me down, but now I would have to endure the
multiple bites of the ants and would not be able to kill
them as Tomas had taught me.  I wanted to beg, but I knew it
would do no good, and would cause me to lose respect.  So
with quivering legs I waited as Salvatore selected the ants
and placed them in my ball sack and again drew the thread
tight.

They did not bind Pepe arms, and he was able to find and
kill the ants quickly, enduring just a few stings.  I ran as
good as I could with my hands bound, but the ants soon found
my flesh and began biting and stinging.  Each ant could
inject venom between eight and ten times, and would try to
sting many times after that.  I cried out, unable to ignore
the pain, but somehow kept my feet.

About the half-way point, the ants seemed to run out of
energy.  My balls were swollen from the stings, and I could
feel the rawhide bag slowly shrinking as it dried out and
began squeezing my balls together.

I had slowed to a walk when I saw Pepe turn around and come
back towards me.  Pepe and I had never been close friends,
and when he was twelve (and I was eleven) I remember he
chose me for some of the nasty jobs even though there was a
slave he could have chosen.  I looked around and didn't see
anyone watching and became very afraid of what he might do.

"If you'll shoot into my bag, I'll untie your arms" he said,
also looking around.  "But you need to do it quickly because
if we take too long I'm afraid we'll suffer even more."  It
didn't require any coaxing to get me to agree, I could still
feel the ants moving across my balls and it would only be a
matter of time before they started biting and stinging
again.

He held his collection sack open as we both pumped together. 
He shot first, and even though he was a year older than me
he didn't produce much more semen than I did.  As soon as we
were done I spent a minute killing the ants, and then we set
off to where the other boys were waiting for us.

While Pepe and I had been out in the running in the sun, the
other boys had a chance to sit in the shade and rest.  I was
worried about the disadvantage that put me at in future
competitions.  I began to see just how easy it would be for
me to be sent back in shame, to spend the rest of the summer
naked, at the mercy of the ten-year olds, and performing any
favors the eleven and twelve-year olds wanted.  And then I
thought of my little brother Eric being put in charge of me
and just the thought of that possibility made me strife to
overcome my pain and exhaustion and work harder.

Pepe and I were given some water, and I used some of mine to
rewet my ball sack, which was now causing me a great deal of
discomfort from the squeezing.  I knew that I had to balance
the water I need to drink with what I needed to keep the
rawhide wet, so I used the smallest amount I could to allow
me to stretch the rawhide back out.

Without any additional time to rest, we were separated and
each of us was given a few quick moments to look at a map. 
The place where we were supposed to go to next was clearly
indicated on the map, but the problem was in figuring out
where we were right now.  Knowing I could memorize the
features on the map, I made sure I saw all that the map had
to show without looking around to pinpoint our current
location.  Then we were off to another race.

It only took a few seconds for me to find three features I
had seen on the map and match them to where they were so
that I had a good idea of where I needed to run.  I also saw
that this was a long race, one that would take an hour to
complete, so I set a moderate pace.  Tomas came over to me
with tears in his eyes.

"I'm totally lost, this isn't my land.  Will you help me
please?" he asked me.

I was unsure if that was even allowed, but decided that
having a friend might not be a bad idea.  Besides, Pepe had
untied my arms and nothing had been said or done to him. 
And Tomas provided the least threat to my not ending up one
of the last two boys.  'It's this way" I said to him.

We had only gone about a mile when Philippe and Carlos came
running at us from each side.  They had hid behind a small
hill, and we had not been paying enough attention so we
didn't see them until they were right on top of us.  Carlos
grabbed Tomas and pulled his arm around his neck while
Philippe hit me right in the middle of the chest and knocked
the wind out of me.  Using their better strength they
quickly had us at their mercy.

"You are soon going to learn how horrible you made life for
me and Carlos" Philippe said, squeezing Tomas's neck but
speaking to me.  "No matter how many points you have, you
cannot leave the contests until you have enough cum in your
bag.  And it doesn't matter who's cum is in there, as long
as it gets up to the line.  So start filling ours."

There was no choice; no one was coming to our aid and we
could not fight them.  Tomas could not break out of Carlos's
grasp, and I was still trying to suck air into my lungs from
the punch Philippe had given me.  They made each of us do it
three times.  I had already shot more in this day then I
ever had in one day before, and I didn't know how many times
I could do it.  But I knew that by the third time I shot a
lot less then I did when we started.  And somehow I still
needed to get my own bag full.

When we were done, Philippe continued to hold Tomas while
Carlos grabbed a few handfuls of sand.  He pulled the top of
Carlos's ball sack open as far as he could without tearing
the stitching and poured as much of the sand inside as he
could.  Then Philippe released Tomas and grabbed me and the
cycle was repeated.

"Now you two turn and hug each other until we're out of
sight.  If we turn around and you aren't hugging each other
tightly, we'll come back and do this some more."  Philippe
and Carlos ran off.

Tomas and I hugged each other for a few moments, but then we
slowly slipped apart.  I was confident that Philippe and
Carlos were not going to waste any more time on us, in fact
I'm sure they went off after Pepe and Hector to do the same
thing to them.  But one uncomfortable fact now remained—the
hot sand in the ball sacks was irritating the skin,
especially where the ants had stung us.  But what was even
worse was that it was absorbing all the moisture from the
rawhide, and the sacks were shrinking around our balls.

"Come on" I said to Tomas, "we've got to get going.  This is
going to get a lot more painful with each passing minute." 
I headed off in the direction we need to go, noticing that
the tracks left by Philippe and Carlos were not headed in
the correct direction.  Suddenly, I remembered they had been
here last year, and therefore they might already know where
to go.  I took another look around, remembering the details
of the map, and was positive we were headed in the correct
direction.  Hoping I was not making a big mistake I led
Tomas towards the finish point where I thought the finish
point would be.

We were in horrible pain when we finally arrived, doubled
over from the crushing effect the now-dry rawhide had on our
balls.  None of the other boys were in sight, just the boys
who had been selected last year and never returned to our
camp.

As we approached the camp, Tomas pushed me ahead of him.  "I
would have never gotten here without you, make sure you take
first place.  I am satisfied with second" he said.  The
older boys ran out to meet us, pouring water on our tightly
compressed ball sacks until the pain ended.  They used
enough water to flush out all but the larger grains of sand.

"Congratulations Rick" Salvatore said to me, "I knew your
intelligence would pay off.  Tomas and I started telling
them what Philippe and Carlos had done, but they cut us off. 
"We know, but we can't interfere unless they steal the cum
that is already in your collection bag.  However, don't
think we approve of their efforts to win.  We have already
discussed that adjustments might be necessary.  But for now,
relax and take some time to fill your collection bags. 
There is fruit, eat as much as you can, you'll need it." 
From somewhere close by I could smell smoke, which made me
wonder what the next competition would involve, but for now
I just wanted to drink and rest.  And fill my collection bag
as much as I could.

Now was the time to ask Tomas about the scar I had seen on
his belly.  It was a small 'X' and was completely healed.

"It means I have done an important favor for a member of my
people and brought honor to that person.  It means something
to my people about my character."  He got up and asked
Salvatore to loan him a knife.

"If you'll allow me, I'd like to give you the mark.  It only
hurts a little, and it is important to me to recognize what
you did for me by leading me here."

I was unsure, but it was such a small mark that I decided I
could stand the pain.  He pressed down on my stomach and
used the blade to split the skin, peeling the top layer back
and causing me to cry out in pain.

"It is done.  Let it bleed and it will scar nicely" he said. 
Already the pain was diminishing.

We had nearly an hour to relax and I told Tomas about my
life and that circumcision was common in my country.  He was
surprised; he only knew it as a mark of inferiority.  He
asked if it hurt since he was afraid he might lose, but I
told him it had been done to me right after birth and I
didn't remember a thing.

The next one to find us was Pepe, who was also given water
to drink and to soak his ball sack.  He enjoyed some fruit
while he worked on filling his collection bag, no longer
modest about doing it in front of Tomas and me.  Shortly
behind him was Hector, who said he had spotted Philippe and
Carlos setting an ambush for him and managed to sneak past
them. Something I didn't expect happened next—both Pepe and
Hector slapped me on the back and congratulated me on
finishing first.  I had thought they would be upset that I
had beaten them, but they seemed sincere.

Finally Philippe and Carlos came into view.  They were
racing each other trying to not be the one to finish last. 
Philippe managed a short burst of speed at the last moment,
and beat out Carlos by a few steps.  His victory was short
lived however.

"Since there isn't time for repeating this journey, you will
both lose your shoes" Salvatore told them.  "For finishing
last, you must make two contributions to Rick's collection
sack" he said to Carlos, causing a look of shame to cross
Carlos's face.

"And Rick, you can choose any other boy you wish to also
make a contribution."  I didn't need to think about it; I
chose Philippe without remorse.  At last I was able to start
getting my collection level up.

When they were done, I noticed they did not give Philippe
any water for his ball sack, and worse still, the older boys
poured a small amount of dust and sand into Carlos's ball
sack—less then he and Philippe had put into mine, but still
I knew it would be enough to affect him as the hot afternoon
wore on.  Without any time for Philippe and Carlos to rest,
we were sent off to our next competition—hot rocks.

We were brought to where hot ashes marked the location of
the fire I had smelled earlier.  On the ashes were six rocks
of various sizes.  Some were closer to the middle then
others, meaning they would be hotter.

We were given the rules, which were simple.  "In the order
that you finished the last event, you must choose a rock. 
You cannot touch a rock unless it is the one you choose,
once you pick up a rock it is yours and you can not put it
down and choose a different one.  You will carry the rock
around that hill and bring it back here" he said, pointing
at a hill nearly a mile away.  "You will get points based on
the weight of the rock, how hot the rock is, and how long
you take to bring it back.  Rick, you have first choice."

I looked at the six rocks and wondered how hot they were. 
Knowing that I was the weakest boy here, I skipped the
biggest rocks and concentrated on the smaller ones.  The
hardest choice was whether to take one from the center or
from the edge.  I decided to take the smallest one from the
middle.

Not sure what to expect, I willed myself to hang on to the
rock no matter what, and lifted it.  It was hot, too hot to
hold for long.  It weighed about twenty pounds, and I had to
hold it against my chest to take my hands off it one at a
time to let them cool.  Knowing I had made my choice I
headed for the hill.

I dropped the rock twice before I had gone very far and
nearly hit my feet one time.  I was glad I had rested, not
that the rock was heavy, but trying to run without being
able to keep my hands on the rock was going to be very
tiring.  It wasn't long before Tomas passed me.  I could see
he had chosen one of the bigger rocks from the edge. 
Although he it was heavier than my rock, he could keep his
hands on it and that was making a big difference.

"I'm sorry, but I must beat you if I can" he said as he
passed me.  I told him to do his best and win if he could,
and he hurried off.

Soon after that, Carlos passed me.  The hot sand must have
been burning his bare feet, but he was carrying the rock
everyone else had passed up—the smallest rock, which had
been on the outside, so it would be worth the least points. 
But it also allowed him to make the most speed, because he
could carry the rock in one hand.

"When I win this, I'm going to make you carry that rock
around again, so you'd better save your strength" he said as
he hurried past.

The sun was on my back, and I could feel the warmth that
comes before sunburn, but there was nothing I could do; I
was moving as fast as I could.  The rock did not seem to
cool off at all, but I swear it was getting heavier as I
went.  At last I made it to the hill and entered into the
cool shade on the back side.  I could only just make out
Carlos and Tomas ahead of me and couldn't tell which one was
in the lead.

As I turned around the hill and came back into the sun, Pepe
caught up with me.  He had a rock that appeared to be twice
as heavy as mine, but he had the strength to hold it. 
Remembering his kindness when he finished the last contest,
I wished him well as he passed.

As I was nearly back to the finish, I could hear footsteps
behind me again.  I started to turn to look and nearly
dropped the rock again.  Dropping it at this point would
mean I would finish no better than fifth, so I hung on and
managed to cross the line just two steps ahead of Philippe. 
Hector was right behind him.

As it turned out, Carlos had beaten Tomas, but because he
had the smallest rock the additional points Tomas had earned
had allowed him a tie.  That also saved me, for they were
told they had to agree on which other boy to choose and what
action he had to take.  Carlos wanted me to have to repeat
the course, but Tomas wanted Philippe to have to contribute. 
They compromised by making me contribute to both of their
sacks.  The last place boy, Hector, had to contribute to
both of them twice.  He was exhausted, and spent a long time
trying to coax the last cum out of his penis, not succeeding
until after dark.

We were all fed and given plenty of water, and then it was
time for bed.  Tomas and Carlos were put in one tent, me and
Pepe in another, and Philippe and Hector in a third.  The
older boys split between the three tents.  Pepe and me were
told to stroke out dicks until we were out of sperm, and we
weren't allowed to capture it in our container sacks, so I
was unable to raise the level in mine.  But once we were
both done, we were allowed to sleep, which I needed more
than anything in the world right then.

The next morning, Carlos and Tomas looked refreshed.  I
learned from Tomas that they had been given straw to lie on,
and warm blankets, and had been left alone to sleep all
night.  Me and Pepe had slept on the sand, and the blankets
we had only just barely kept out the cold of night.  But
Philippe and Hector looked horrible when they came out. 
They had been given rocks to lie on, and no blankets.  It
looked like neither one of them had gotten any sleep at all.

An adult came and joined us for breakfast.  As we ate, he
explained the testing we were undergoing.  "You boys are
beginning to develop into men" he explained.  "This is the
time we begin to see you as our future.  You must learn all
that is necessary for the survival of our people, and you
will learn that at this camp.  Those of you who are not sent
back will spend a year here being taught.  For those who are
not turned back, this will be your new home for one year. 
After that, you will be ready to select a girl."

"One of you, the one with the most points, will also be able
to go forward in the journey if he chooses, or he can select
a girl from our village and spend his nights with her
instead of the other boys while he is here."

I thought about what would happen if I won, but there was no
way my parents were going to allow me shack up with a native
girl.  Somehow that didn't seem fair, and then I wondered—if
they wouldn't let me have the prize if I won, would they
make me suffer the penalty if I lost?  But then I thought
again about Eric and the fun he would have assigning me
jobs, punishing me, and maybe even using me, and realized
again that losing was not something I could allow to happen.

"The future of our tribe depends on us selecting the best
leaders, and having people who can endure the hardship that
adult life can bring.  That is why no matter how hard you
try to win, two of you will always be sent back.  We know
the kind of life you face if you are returned in shame to be
under the command of boys who are years younger than
yourself.  And we know how hard it is to be kept from women
as you get older.  It is this test that will, in the end,
show us if you are ready to become an adult in our tribe."

"By this point in the contest, we normally expect to have at
least one boy who can not get up, or who decides he can not
go on.  Carlos was one such boy last year.  But you six are
surprising us, none of you have quit, and all of you have
been able to stand the suffering and pain and still make it
to the finish line for each contest.  So this year we will
introduce a task that is seldom used.  I will let Salvatore
explain."

Salvatore looked pained, it was clear to me that he did not
want to explain what our task was to be.

"You will be paired and allowed to punch each other.  You
may not hit your opponent in the neck or head or below the
waist, but anywhere in between is fine.  Once you have been
hit, you have five seconds to return the punch or you lose. 
Once the first round is over, we will pair you with a
different opponent, and we will continue until we have
enough rounds to determine the spread.  The two boys with
the most losses will be removed from the competition and
held here until the others are done, then they will be
returned to the boys camp."

He was staring at me as he spoke the final sentence.  I
could see the fear in his eyes that this test was geared
towards the boys who had the most endurance and strength,
and against this group I was near the bottom in each.

"To begin, Philippe will be paired with Carlos; and Pepe
with Hector.  Finally, the last two, Tomas and Rick, will
face off against each other.  Remember, no hitting above the
chest or below the waist or we will count it as a loss. 
However, if the boy you are hitting ducks down you will not
be penalized if you try to miss his head but cannot.  So
remember boys, keep your heads up."

I lined up with Tomas.  He was just slightly taller than me,
and had good balance.  Plus, he had gotten a better nights
sleep then me.  I was going to have to try my best.  "I'm
sorry about this Tomas" I said to him, "this it the last
thing in the world I would ever want to do to you."

"I know, I feel the same way.  Let's just get this over
with.  Good luck to you" he said back.

We traded punches for a few minutes before I landed one
right where Carlos had hit me in the desert.  It knocked the
wind out of him, and he was unable to meet the five second
rule and hit me back.  I helped him up, and apologized for
winning.

"It isn't over yet, maybe I'll win the next round" he said
when he could breath again.  I told him I hoped he was
right.

Philippe and Carlos fought the longest.  Carlos was slightly
stronger, but the real difference was that Carlos had gotten
a good night's sleep and Philippe had been up all night. 
That difference was enough for Carlos to win.  Pepe and
Hector were also evenly matched, but the difference again
was the lack of sleep for Hector.

Round two scared me because I was put up against Carlos, who
was both older and stronger than me by a big margin. 
Philippe was teamed with Hector and Tomas with Pepe.

Carlos made a mistake though.  Knowing that I was a wimp and
believing he didn't have to fear me, he let me go first.  I
faked a punch with my right arm and saw him tighten his
stomach muscles to absorb it, but I let that punch go and
drove my left had up into the bottom of his diaphragm.  He
collapsed to the ground, unable to get up.  I had beaten a
fourteen year old without even getting hit.

Tomas also did well, winning over Pepe in less than a dozen
punches.  Philippe and Hector was sad to watch, both boys
were so tired and sore from the previous match that they
couldn't seem to hurt each other.  It took a long time
before Hector managed to squeak out a victory.

In the third round I felt safe for the first time as I was
teamed with Hector, who was worn out from the long match he
had just finished.  My arms were tired when we were done,
but it was never really close as his arms were also tired
and never hit me hard.

Tomas had the toughest assignment, being matched up with
Carlos who was burning from losing to my trick.  But Tomas
kept twisting and taking the heavy blows from Carlos on his
sides and shoulders until Carlos lost his temper and kicked
Tomas hard in the thigh while aiming for the groin.  This
rule violation gave Tomas the victory.  Philippe verses Pepe
was another contest that started out boring, but Philippe's
age and strength gradually made the difference.

After three rounds, I had an impressive string of victories
with no losses.  Tomas had only been beaten once; but the
other four boys each had two losses.  It was determined that
Tomas and I were in first and second place and the other
boys would go more rounds until the final positions could be
settled.

It only took two rounds.  In the first, Carlos made quick
work of Philippe while Hector struggled to overcome his lack
of sleep in defeating Pepe.  In the second round, Pepe lost
to Carlos and Philippe was unable to beat Hector.  With four
losses each, Philippe and Pepe were eliminated from the rest
of the competition.  Philippe was crying openly, and I could
understand why—he had to spend another year under the
control of the ten-year olds.  I never heard of a boy being
sent back twice, this had to be the greatest humiliation of
all.

This also lifted a big load off my chest, or so I thought at
first.  With them eliminated, my fear of being sent back to
the boys' camp was eliminated.  But the adult who spoke to
us a breakfast spoke again now and made me realize it wasn't
over yet.

"Since Philippe and Pepe did not quit but were merely
eliminated, if any remaining boy quits or fails to complete
a task, they will also be eliminated, and your standing will
depend on your final points.  And quitting or failing to
complete a task costs you points you have already earned, so
the four of you who remain must continue to work hard."

Philippe and Pepe were declared a tie, and each had to
contribute to my collection sack.  I chose Carlos to add to
it as well.

Then came the worst news of all, they were going to let
Philippe and Pepe decide what the next task would be.  I
knew they would try to choose something so demanding that
one of us wouldn't be able to complete it.  I wished I knew
how many points I had!

The task that they chose required one of the older boys to
go off somewhere to get something before we were told what
it was.  When the boy came back Salvatore explained the
task.

"This is the battle of the cups" he said.  I had heard of it
but knew only that it was a method used by adult men to help
settle disputes; beyond that I knew nothing.

Salvatore saw the look on my face and realized I didn't
understand.  "This will be the hardest on you, but since you
finished first in the prior contest your cup will have the
lowest level" he said to me.  "We will use these hooks to
fasten the cups to your penis and then you must swing the
cup until you have emptied it."  He showed me a handful of
short hooks shaped like the letter 'J'.

I was horrified, realizing that the hooks in the other boys
would go through their foreskin.  I was circumcised which
meant that the hooks would have to go through the skin of my
dick—or worse as it turned out.

The hooks were placed against the bottom of the glans and
poked into the pink head.  I cried out in pain as each hook
entered.  Then a string was tied to each hook and fastened
to a web holding a cup.

It hurt bad when I was penetrated, and I could hear Tomas
complain as well.  Even Carlos yelled something.  But they
only had the hooks in the loose skin around their glans,
unlike the hooks in me.  The cups were filled, mine about a
quarter of the way, Tomas's about half, Carlos's three-
quarters, and Hector' was filled to the top.

Trying to swing the cup was torture as it drove the hooks
even deeper into my glans.  The only saving grace was the
fact that I had the least amount of water in the cup.  I
started trying to swing the cup high enough to spill the
water out.

Carlos must have been embarrassed to finish behind me and
Tomas because he ignored whatever pain he felt and quickly
swung the cup up to a steep angle and emptied the cup in
just a few swings.

Tomas watched him do it and copied his effort, finishing
second.  Then it was just me and Hector.  I tried my best
but Hector beat me out by a few seconds, so I had finished
last.

As Hector made his mandatory deposits into Carlos's
collection bag, Carlos picked me to go through the process
again, and asked if two more hooks could be added.  To my
great surprise, the older boys agreed and the hooks were
rearranged to allow the addition of two more.  My glans
still hurt from the last attack, now I had to accept two
more hooks—or quit.  But I thought about what life would be
like as a slave and decided I could take this.

The hooks were set and the cup filled, this time to the top. 
I cried out loud with each swing until it was done.  As soon
as I emptied the cup Salvatore removed the hooks.  Then
Carlos made an announcement—he had enough sperm in his bag
to stop.  The elder boys examined it and quickly agreed that
the level was indeed above the red thread.  Now there was
only Hector, Tomas, and me left.

After a short break we were told to follow the high ground
over the ridge and come back to this camp from above the
river.  We headed uphill until we came to a path through the
scrub brush.  After following the track for a ways Tomas
suddenly said "Hey, I recognize this place.  This is close
to the boy's camp where I live."  Something didn't seem
right since the path we were on was leading us away from the
river, not towards it.

It was shortly after Tomas recognized where he was that we
saw the first boys.  They were the ten and eleven year olds,
and they had long reeds with them.  "Stay out of range from
them, they have blow darts" Tomas said to Hector and me.  I
didn't understand and told him so.

"We make them as kids, and use a dart dipped in a berry that
grows here.  One dart will bring down a rabbit; but if they
gang up on you and hit you with lots of the darts it will be
enough to put a boy to sleep."

Now I understood, if hit enough times it may knock us out,
and that may mean we don't finish the task.  Just then a
dart hit me in the buttocks, and within minutes I could feel
the drug affecting me.  Other darts were shot at Hector and
Tomas, but missed.  They ran on ahead of me.

I took another dart almost immediately, and I could feel my
coordination slipping.  The path ahead was blurry, and I
knew I was in trouble.

I tried to follow Hector since I couldn't see Tomas anymore,
and saw a dart hit him in the shoulder.  At least that
warned me that the boys were off to one side; giving me a
chance to avoid them for now.  But then I saw another group
rise and fire at Hector and saw him stagger as one dart hit
him in the side.  He was able to keep going, but I was
having trouble keeping my balance.

I felt another dart hit me in the leg and within minutes I
fell to the ground.  I teetered between sleep and awake but
I was unable to command my arms or legs and could only lay
there as the group of boys surrounded me.  One boy had a
dart in his hand and was driving it towards my side.  I
tried to block him, but could only flop my arms around as he
drove it into my skin.  Realizing that all was lost, I gave
into the darkness and slept.

I became fully conscience without any sense of how much time
had passed, but from the light it couldn't have been long. 
My head was clear and the effects of the sleep potion were
rapidly fading.  I got to my feet and saw the tracks leading
up the hill.  Making sure I was heading the right way, I
continued on until I reached the training area for the older
boys in Tomas's village.

Tomas was eating from a bowl of soup when he saw me coming
up the path and jumped up to greet me, spilling the soup. 
"Rick!  I am so glad you made it, I was worried that I was
the only one!"

"I didn't make it, they hit me with four or five darts and I
went down.  Then one of them pushed one in by hand as they
gathered around me.  I saw Hector get hit too, but he was
still staggering forward when I collapsed."

"It was the mark of friendship I gave you—when they saw the
X they gave you the antidote and left you.  I'm afraid
Hector won't be as lucky."

"Who were they?  I mean, I know they're your people, but
they can't drug us like that can they?  The boys in my
village are only allowed to trip or knock down and tie up
kids.  Besides, we only see kids from our own village; we've
never seen your tribe before."

"It is the same with us I think, we have never had outsiders
come into our territory before.  I talked with the older
boys from my people and they think a mistake has been made;
the rest of the boys from my tribe should have passed
through that area, not us.  Our tribe is more used to the
drug, and it takes a lot more of it to affect us, so it is
very hard to bring one of our boys down, to do so takes
nearly the entire group working together because it would
take fifteen or more darts to knock me out, more even for an
older boy."

"What will they do with Hector?" I asked.

"If he was one of my tribe and got captured, he would be out
of the competition and they would treat him as a prisoner
until the older boys came and got him.  Then he would have
lost the competition and would come back as a slave anyway. 
A prisoner is treated even worse than a slave, and anyone
can command him.  He will not enjoy it.  The older boys have
already gone to look for where they have taken him and will
bring him back.  They will have to decide if that is the
same as quitting."

"But he didn't quit, why would they have to decide?"

"It depends on how long it takes to find him.  The boys will
hide their tracks and sneak him off somewhere so that they
can enjoy their prisoner longer.  We once kept a boy as
prisoner for three days!  It depends on how long it takes
them to find him.  If he could escape, it would be better
for him than being rescued by the older boys."

"So there is a chance for him to escape?  He might be able
to finish the competition?"

Tomas shrugged his shoulders.  "I don't think so.  They will
keep him somewhat drugged, and if he escapes the one who was
guarding him has to take his place.  It helps to keep the
guards alert."

It was after dark when the older boys brought Hector in.  He
was staggering and seemed dimly aware of his surroundings. 
Three of the older boys from my tribe were with them.  They
put Hector down and came over to us.

"Who was leading?" one of the boys from Tomas's tribe asked.

"I don't know" Tomas said.  "I guess once I realized where I
was I lead them in."

"Did you lead them here knowing our boys would capture them
and let you go free so you could win?"

I suddenly recognized what they were accusing Tomas of
doing.  "He didn't cheat.  I lead us along the path until
Tomas said he knew where he was.  If anyone led us into your
territory it was me."

"And you also knew that the symbol on your belly would
protect you, so now we must know—did you lead them here on
purpose?"

Before I could respond, Tomas jumped up.  "How dare you!  He
had no idea where we were, and I never told him about the
darts until they were shooting at us.  We didn't cheat, but
if you must have a cheater in order to keep you from
admitting you made a mistake, then take me!  I'll suffer the
pain of failure for the error the older boys of both tribes
made in not ensuring the path was clear!"

The older boys smiled and backed off.  "I told you he had
honor" the boy who had made the accusations said to one of
the boys from my tribe.  "And he is right; none of us
protected our territory and made sure they would not wonder
across the boarder.  We explain what has happened and let
the adults decide their fate, and ours."

He turned to me and Tomas and said "Our boys ended up near
your boys' camp and all five were caught in snares and
traps."

"Snares and traps!  How could they catch five boys in snares
and traps, we all know how to spot them and avoid them" I
said, and then realized that while boys in my tribe were
experts at snares and traps, the boys in Tomas's tribe had
probably never seen them before, just as Hector and me had
never experienced the sleep darts before today.

"There were only five left?  Who quit?" Tomas asked.

"You're friend was not able to finish the last task
yesterday.  I'm sorry, I know you wished him the best and
that you and he were good friends.  You will be allowed to
visit him on occasion, but you cannot change what will
happen to him."

Tomas had tears in his eyes, and I suddenly realized that he
had been thrown into my tribe where he didn't know anyone. 
I was glad I had been nice to him.

We were taken back to my tribe's land in the dark.  Along
the way we passed the five boys from Tomas's tribe, who all
looked sore and tired.  We stared at each other as we passed
without saying a word.  That night an adult determined that
Hector did not give up, and the assistance was allowed since
Hector was drugged and unable to escape.  By that time, me
and Tomas had filled our collection bags to the mark and
said we were ready to be graded.  We were allowed to sleep
through the night to allow Hector time to recover.

The next morning the scores were announced.  Carlos learned
the price of leaving early as that allowed Tomas to finish
first in the final competition, which they decided to count
even though it was greatly in his favor.  Tomas had 190
points and Carlos had 187.  I finished third with 135.

A twist happened next.  When Pepe had been eliminated he had
40 points but did not have enough semen in his bag to
qualify.  But because me and Tomas both finished before
Hector had a chance to fill his bag, his 26 points put him
behind Pepe.  It was determined that Hector would be sent
back and Pepe would be allowed to move forward towards
manhood.  It didn't matter to Philippe because he had less
then zero points when he was eliminated.

Pepe and Hector were friends, and both were shocked by the
turn of events.  Pepe had already accepted his fate and was
jealous that his friend would go on without him.  Now he had
to say goodbye as he moved on, knowing that it wasn't his
skill that set him ahead, it was just pure luck.  Hector, of
course, was devastated that he was now destined to be a
slave for a year.

Philippe and Hector were called up to the fire, where
Salvatore lifted two iron rods with a flat circle on the
end.  Philippe already had one such brand, the brand of
shame, and was now about to get a second one.  Both boys
screamed out as the hot iron was held against their arm long
enough to become permanent.

Next was something I hope to never witness again—Hector's
circumcision.  With nothing to dull the pain, Hector's arms
were held as the foreskin was cut free, making his dick look
like Philippe's—and mine.

Next they called Carlos, Pepe, and me up.  For us, there was
a flat bar that would signify our successful completion. 
You could hear the skin sizzle as the brand was held against
our arms, and each one of us cried out as well.

Two of the bars were returned to the fire and Tomas was
called forward.  For having the highest score, he was to
receive two flat bars, one above the other.  His knees were
shaking as he stood there waiting for the irons to become
hot enough.  Upon seeing his face Salvatore called me up to
hold him still.

The bars were drawn out by two boys and quickly held against
Tomas's arm.  He cried out and I could see his eyes roll
back and held him up, but he never did faint.  It was
finally over for me, I would now remain here with Carlos and
Hector to begin the next cycle of training until my dad's
studies were complete and it was time to return to Kansas. 
Tomas would return to his people, but he had to wait another
day for their selection process was still continuing.  I was
glad to have the day to spend with him.  "What girl are you
going to chose?" I asked him, and laughed when his face
burned bright red.

That night my father came by to congratulate me.  "What if I
had won, would you really have allowed me to take a wife?" I
asked him.

"Well, of course I was hoping it wouldn't come to that" he
said, "but the people were reluctant to open up and allow me
to observe their ways.  At some point I mentioned that I had
two sons, and it was decided that in order for me to be
allowed to remain here I had to agree to allow you and Eric
to become members of the people.  Of course, you surprised
me by maturing faster than I expected and by the time I
learned you had been selected it was too late to do
anything.  I guess I should have discussed it with you, that
while you were entitled to a woman by their customs it
didn't mean that you had my approval.  In the end if I
couldn't keep you from having an encounter with a local girl
then I would have had to drop my studies and take you and
Eric home."

That meant I went though everything without ever realizing I
wouldn't be allowed the reward for winning, which sucked.
"And what if I had lost, would you have allowed me to become
a slave?" I asked.

"You know, the word 'slave' is a poor translation of the
word they use.  They want the boys who fail to toughen up a
little.  It is demeaning, but it makes everyone work hard so
that they can tell who is ready to move forward and who
isn't."

"I don't think you studied the boy's camp good enough if you
think 'slave' is the wrong word for what happens to the boys
who are sent back."

"Well, if it had I think Eric would have taken an active
role to protect you, and the elders had already consented to
that condition.  But it doesn't matter now; you didn't fail. 
Before its time for you to take a girl I'll be done and
we'll be heading home to get you and Eric caught up on your
schoolwork."

I guess my dad really did believe that my brother would work
to protect me when I was in a status that kept me naked and
at the mercy of every other boy in camp.  I don't believe
it, but fortunately I'll never have to worry about finding
out.  Eric is back at the little kid's camp and I no longer
have to worry about having to go back.