Maiocxx

Tales from the World of Cody and Lucas

The Boy With No Name

An Almost Brothers Sequel

Prolog

In some ways, the end of Peter's slavery two years ago, had made little difference in our lives. We still loved each other fiercely and expressed that love in every way known to humans. He was still somewhat shy and very polite and respectful to everyone… I tried very hard to emulate him, but I'm ashamed to admit I often fell short. He was a hard and focused worker who taught me much about the value of industry and doing one's best. Courage? I could never hope to show the courage he had exhibited during his slavery and continued to show ever since.

But our lives had changed in exciting ways. We were together in school once more and doing well. Sought after… futilely, I might add… by all the female members of our class. It was general knowledge that we were 'poofs'… or 'gay' if you wish to be polite… but neither teachers or classmates found that a problem. And I cheered him on in football as he cheered me on in cricket. We continued to enjoy the close friendship of Billy and Sean even as our tight circle opened to admit another member… our former nemesis, Jerome Owen.

He had 'graduated' from The Bingham Institute as a completely changed boy: gentle and soft-spoken and anxious to redeem himself from the terrible person he had been. He was living proof of the soundness of Sir Henry's methods. Billy had evidently seen something in him the rest of us had not, because when he was ready for release, Billy encouraged… no, hectored… his parents to take Jerome into their family as a foster child. John Scott, Billy's dad, was a police chief inspector and, together with his mother, they provided the 'new' Jerome with the caring, but strict, discipline he needed to grow and thrive. Billy and his new 'brother' became very close and he had been there a scant six months when they adopted him. And to make the transition complete, he was now known as 'Jer'.

So our world had resolved itself rather satisfactorily.

1. A Surprise Package

The summer following our eighth year of school… our second in 'upper school'… was a somewhat bittersweet time. It would be our last summer of freedom to just be young boys. Next summer we would undoubtedly be thinking of summer jobs but we were determined to make this the very best summer ever. A family vacation in the Lake District was one of its highlights, but the most important time for just Peter and me was that which we spent together in the 'hideout' we had found.

A short distance from our home… and its seemingly endless chores of weeding, cutting and pruning… we had found a secluded glade quite suitable for just relaxing, talking and other activities. There was a well-defined, but almost unused, 'social' path leading to it. A perfect place for two young teens to enjoy each other to the fullest.

We were on our way there one hot August afternoon dressed in only shorts and trainers. Why be bothered with a lot of uncomfortable clothes that would be shortly discarded as we lay together?

For a short distance the trail skirts a highway, up a high embankment. To our disgust the area nearest the roadway had become a dumping ground… illegal I might add… for household waste, used appliances and other detritus that some folks simply were unwilling to pay to have disposed of properly. We often had to remove accumulated trash on the trail before we could pass through.

As we approached this 'blighted' area, a car on the highway slowed long enough to eject a bundle before it sped off. It rolled down the embankment and came to rest right in the middle of our trail. Peter started to pick it up, but dropped it like a hot rock. "Eric!" he exclaimed, "There's something alive in it."

"Be careful," I warned him. "It might be a rabid animal."

"It doesn't feel like an animal," he replied as he began to tear away the wrappings. "It feels more like… My God, it is! Eric! There's a child in here!"

I dashed over to where he crouched and, looking down, I could hardly believe what I saw… a tiny, emaciated, naked little boy. He appeared to be about two-years-old and his mouth was open as he emitted a silent scream… he was too weak to even cry.

Peter picked him up and nestled him in his arms. Too weak to even hold his head up, he rested it on Peter's shoulder as two little stick-like arms went around Peter's neck. I stood there gaping, both of us totally frozen in our tracks.

Peter was the first to recover, "Quick, Eric! Let's get him home. This little fellow needs a hospital badly. Here, take him a minute while I call Mom."

He handed him off to me and dug his cell out of his pocket. After he explained what we had found, I heard him exclaim, "But, Mom, he'll die if we leave him here. Please! We're bringing him home. He needs help right away."

After he disconnected, he turned to me. "Mom wasn't very happy we disturbed him. Said we should have called the constable and let them handle it. I don't think he could survive until they got around to him. Let's get him home."

I agreed and we retraced our steps as fast as we could, trying not to injure our precious little burden.

Mom met us in the front yard "Don't bring him in the house!" she admonished us. She came toward us, but stopped a few feet away. "Oh my goodness! How could anyone treat a child this way?" I could see she would like to have taken him into her arms, but stopped herself.

"Mom," I said, "we just couldn't leave him there."

"I know," she replied, sighing. "Anyway, I've called the HASMAT team.

"HASMAT? Why?" Peter asked.

"He may have a very dangerous disease," she explained, "and they will want to isolate him and you to be sure you have not been contaminated. You'll have to go with them to hospital and be checked out."

At that moment, the HASMAT van pulled up and three technicians got out of the back. I explained to them how we had found the little tyke and their leader nodded and said, "OK, fine. We'll take it from here."

One of them pulled on a white 'bunny' suit… well, that's what it looked like… and she took the boy from Peter and placed him in, like, an incubator. She had some trouble finding a vein, but managed to start an IV.

Then they made Peter and me get into a small, box-like compartment in the back of their van and told us to fasten our seat-belts. They told us it was an 'isolation pod'… different from the kind of 'pod' Peter and I knew about. And we were off to hospital.

When we got there, the van pulled up to an entrance at the end of a long wing. "Don't unfasten your belts quite yet," we were told. To our surprise, our 'pod' was detached from the van by two technicians… blue bunny suits this time… and rolled into the building.

Partway down the corridor, the pod was backed up to a kind of door… it resembled an air lock we both had seen in films about space flight. "OK," our tech told us, "you can unfasten your belts. When the green light above the door goes on, please exit the pod, go into the room and stand in the center."

We did as we were told and the door to the room closed and locked and sealed itself. We just stood there looking around, completely mystified. Beside the door we had just come through, there was a window looking out into the hallway. On the other side of the room were two sleeping pallets and, in one corner, a WC complete with toilet and shower. A large screen TV was fastened to the wall opposite the pallets. Aside from that, our spacious room was empty.

A tech appeared at the window, which we quickly discovered had a two-way communication set-up and he gave us some instructions. "You may find this embarrassing, but I need you to take all your clothes off and deposit them in the hamper next to your beds. Don't worry," he joked, "you won't see any of yourselves on YouTube. They don't pay well enough."

"Well, get a bid from them and we'll split it with you," I quipped as we both started to strip. Going starkers in public had been old hat to Peter, although it had been a few years since he had bared all for the world to see. I wasn't quite as experienced, but I was not going to be outdone by my brother and soon we both stood there as God made us.

"I want you to go to the shower and thoroughly scrub yourselves with the special soap you'll find there. It may burn a bit, but it won't harm your skin or hair. When you're done just stand outside the shower and let the warm air dry you."

Peter and I quickly decided the easiest way to assure we were both clean, was to wash each other. "Good!," said our instructor, "That's the spirit. And I can see you both enjoyed your showers." We both blushed as we stood there with roaring hard-ons. "Now, in a few minutes, someone will be in to take blood samples and then we'll get you some dinner. But, first there's someone here to see you. Watch your TV."

The picture came on and there stood Mom. "My," she said, "it's been a few years since I saw either of you in that state. And you certainly have grown quite a bit."

"Mom!" I protested loudly as Peter dissolved into giggles.

"Just teasing, boys," she replied. "I must say you look very handsome and I promise not to mention it again. Now, how are you feeling?"

"OK, I guess. How long will we have to stay here?"

"I spoke to Doctor Murray… he's handling things… and he said it would be a day or two, providing they don't find something. He seemed certain you would both be cleared. So I guess the lawn will wait for you. Enjoy your dinner and try to relax. The whole thing may seem like overkill to you, but it is better to be sure and safe. I've talked to your father and he'll be home later this evening and we'll both be here to see you in the morning." And the picture clicked off.

Another tech… orange bunny suit… entered through our 'lock' pushing a cart full of needles and vials. "Sorry, guys. Going to have to poke you a bit." He wasn't joking and the next few minutes were rather unpleasant. When he was finished… I could swear he drained out all blood, but it was really only four small vials… he said, "Thanks for your cooperation. You both have been really great," and left.

Dinner… delivered by still another tech, orange suite again… wasn't bad: turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, veggies and ice cream. And enough of it, too. I hadn't realized how hungry I was and Peter was too. I won't use the term 'starved'; we had both vividly seen the real meaning of that word this afternoon.

Our instructor pronounced us finished for the day except that Doctor Murray wanted to talk to us. The TV came on and there he was.

"Well, my two favorite patients! Your mom told me what you had done and I must say I could not be more proud of you. The little guy would not have lived more than an hour or two if you had not put yourselves in jeopardy and saved him."

"It didn't seem very courageous to me," said Peter.

"But it was. You don't know what disease he might be carrying and neither do we just yet."

"All we could think of was that we had to save him," I said.

"I know you did," replied the doctor, "and you have my untold admiration."

"How is he?" I asked.

"Well, currently we're keeping him sedated as we try to infuse some nourishment into him. We have to go slowly until his system gets used to it."

"Do you think…?"

"Don't know yet, boys. But I'm hopeful. Now, a few more rules for you to follow. Your mom told me you are lovers and you sleep together and it's OK if you wish to. But… and this is important… no kissing, and no anal or oral. I don't want you to exchange any body fluids just now."

Gulp! He knew! "OK," we both replied.

"Good! So I'll say goodnight. By the way, Manchester is on TV tonight, or you can watch South Africa murder us at cricket."

"That's because we don't have Marybeth Mason playing for us," I quipped.

"Who is Marybeth Mason?" he wanted to know.

'You get us out of here and we'll tell you all about her," Peter answered him. "Well, maybe not everything," he said with a big grin.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to wait," smiled Doctor Murray. "Goodnight, guys."

It seemed a bit strange to us to lie together and hug and stroke each other without being able to go any further. But we had given our words, so we survived.

The next morning, Mom and Dad both visited us via TV.

"Well, boys," Dad told us, "it might have been a bit hasty, but knowing you both, I can't imagine you doing anything differently. You might have a price to pay, but be assured your mom and I are with you all the way. Doctor Murray says we should have the results from most tests by tomorrow, so hang in there. He says you two are so healthy it's disgusting."

"I'm sorry if I over-reacted and frightened you," added Mom.

"No you didn't," Peter assured her, "and we both love you for your concern."

The next two days were some of the most boring I can remember. Yeah, the food was pretty good but the TV was insipid. Finally, on the third morning, Doctor Murray cracked open our 'lock' and walked in… no bunny suit, just scrubs. "Great news, guys! Clean bill of health. Your folks will be here in a few minutes with some clothes and you'll be free to leave. Now, who is Marybeth Mason?"

"Go on," Peter prodded me. "You tell him; you brought it up."

And so I told him while Peter smirked in the background.

Murray threw back his head and laughed heartily. "She sounds like a lovely girl."

"She sure is," we both assured him.

In a few minutes, Mom and Dad arrived and were escorted into our 'spacious quarters'. After hugs and kisses for Mom and firm handshakes for Dad, we got dressed and were ready to leave. Only…..

"How is the little guy?" Peter asked.

"He's doing quite well," answered Dr. Murray. "We have him awake and he's starting to take food by mouth, so that's a good sign. But the most hopeful thing is that we have found no evidence of disease in him either."

"Could we see him?" I asked hopefully.

"No reason you can't," he replied. "How about you, Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton?"

"Yes! We'd like to see him, too," answered Mom.

The doctor had us all put on scrubs and led us to another part of the sprawling building where we entered a ward labeled 'PEDIATRIC ICU'. Entering one of the rooms, he led us over to the small crib. And there he was, looking much better, but still painfully thin.

Peter leaned over the small crib and said, "Hi there, little guy"

Two stick-like arms reached up and he began to coo. Peter looked at Dr. Murray who nodded and said, "Just be careful not to dislodge his IV." Peter scooped him up and the thin arms flew about his neck. The look on Peter's face? Pure bliss.

After a bit, he handed the tyke off to me and I felt the same feelings of love and affection for him. Mom and Dad stood in the background… Mom with tears streaming down her cheeks. "How could anyone had treated this baby so cruelly?"

"Well, that's something else we've learned from his bone structure that is very interesting," said Dr. Murray. "While he looks like a beginning toddler, he's actually about six-years-old. It's just that he has been starved so completely he hasn't grown. We're not at all sure how he managed to survive."

It was Mom's turn to hold him and she got the same treatment… with the same results.

"The nurses are all in love with him and each one wants to take him home," chuckled the Doctor, as he took him from Mom's arms and settled him in his crib once more.

The little guy immediately looked distressed, so I assured him, "Don't worry, little one. We'll come to see you tomorrow." This seemed to comfort him as we all left the unit.

"Do we know yet who he is?" asked Dad.

"No, I'm afraid not," Murray replied. "He's not in our DNA registry. Since he appears to be oriental, we tried Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Thai registries but found no matches there, either. Of course, some of those registries are far from complete, so that's not too surprising."

"What will happen to him when he's well enough to leave hospital?" I asked.

"Child Welfare has already been notified and they will have to place him in a foster home until his parents can be located," he replied.

"Could we be his foster home?" asked Peter.

"Wait a minute, son," cautioned Dad. "I'm not sure your mother and I …"

"I'll take care of him," asserted Peter. "And I'm sure Eric will help me, won't you Eric?"

"Sure," I answered.

"And what happens when school begins?" asked Mom.

"I don't know. We'll work something out," Peter assured her.

"I'm sure you will," mumbled Dad with a grimace.

"If you are serious about this," Dr. Murray informed us, "you'll need to meet with Child Welfare."

And so that afternoon we sat down with a placement counselor from Child Welfare… Peter and I enthusiastically and Mom and Dad with some hesitation. Our 'counselor' was an old friend, Mrs. Hughes, who had retired from the school system and gone to work finding abandoned kids safe and nurturing homes. "I can't think of a finer family for this young child," she assured us.

Well, perhaps it would be for only a short time until the tyke's parents were located, so Mom and Dad gave a somewhat reluctant approval.

"Since he's going to be living with us, I think either Peter or I should be with him here in hospital during the day. Sort of get him used to us taking care of him," I suggested.

"Yes, you may as well begin right away," said Mom firmly.

The hospital was agreeable, so we became his daytime care-givers, bathing him, feeding him, helping him with physical therapy and just keeping him somewhat happy and content. And each day, we could feel the bond between us growing stronger and stronger. I secretly hoped they would never find his parents and Peter shared that secret. But, I guess that wasn't really very 'grown-up', was it?

One afternoon we were both with him and Peter said, "We should really give him a name. Can't just keep calling him 'little one' forever."

'You're right," I agreed. "Any ideas?"

"Well since he looks somewhat Chinese, I thought maybe 'Li' might be appropriate," Peter replied.

"Hey!" I said, taking him onto my lap and looking into those almond shaped eyes, "How would you like to be called, 'Li'?"

To our utter and complete astonishment, he replied, "Is nice name. Not have name before. I like." And he threw his arms around me and kissed me… the first time he had done that or spoken a single word.

We were all astounded, but when we told Dr. Murray, he thought for a moment and then said, "He's probably picked that up from listening to you and the nurses." And, in a very short time, he became a veritable chatterbox. But he couldn't… or wouldn't… tell us much about where he came from… only that he had always been very, very hungry.

2. A Home For Li

By the time he had been in hospital for a month, he had doubled in weight and was beginning to look like a normal little boy… somewhat small for his age, though. Dr. Murray and the staff all felt he was well over any life-threatening situation, so it was time for us to take him home. "Just temporarily," Peter assured Mom and Dad. "Until his parents are located."

Yeah, sure! I thought.

Although a bit frightened at first, Li soon adapted well to our home life. And he had only been there a few weeks when Peter and I went to Mom and Dad with a proposal. "Li's parents may never be found, right? So Peter and I would like to adopt him when we're old enough."

"Well," said Dad, "I'm not really surprised. There's no doubt you love the little guy… we all do. But adoption?"

"We know that would be a pretty big step," Peter answered, "but we'd like to consider it. It's a lot to ask of you, but could you, perhaps, ask for permanent custody? I know that would be dissolved if ever his parents are found. Still….."

"If we were to do that," said Mom, "you still couldn't adopt until you are eighteen. And what happens to you if his parents are found. You might be setting yourselves up for a huge disappointment."

"I guess that's the chance we have to risk, Mom," I answered her. "But, somehow, I don't think his parents will ever be found. I checked with Mrs. Hughes and she said they will search for two years and, after that, he would be considered an orphan and the custody could be made permanent until we're of age."

"You have it all figured out, don't you?" chuckled Dad.

"I hope so."

"Don't you think we should ask Li?" Mom wanted to know.

"Well," I admitted rather sheepishly, "we did. We asked him if he would like us to be his dads… once we were old enough."

"And his reply was?"

"He smothered us with kisses."

And so Mom and Dad were awarded full, temporary custody.

Having a more-or-less permanent family was the tonic Li needed to thrive. Peter and I were determined to be as near parents as we could be with Mom and Dad as doting grandparents. By the time a year had gone by, he had blossomed into a healthy… if somewhat small… exuberant, articulate boy. Everyone who came in contact with him was immediately captivated by his charm.

Our close friends, Billy, Sean and Jer, were fascinated by him and often took him to the park to play. Mom had arranged to home-school him for the first year, but he entered primary school that fall and soon made lots of friends his own age.

3. A Shocking Sirprise

Two years had swiftly passed and with them the 'waiting period'. Li was now ours permanently and Peter and I would have a son shortly after we finished upper school. This despite the fact that the body of Li's mother had been found and matched through DNA.

She had been a junior clerk at the Chinese Embassy and had been rumored to be romantically involved with the Second Secretary. He had summarily been sent back to China and the Ambassador hotly denied the man had ever been here. So, Li had officially become an orphan with no living kin and our adoption could be registered… to become final when Peter and I became eighteen.

It had been a bit of a shock, but a much larger shock awaited us.

Li was now seven and was doing well in school although he was still tiny compared to his age mates. But everyone liked him even though he had chosen no 'special' friend… he was probably still a bit young for that his teacher assured us.

One afternoon shortly after school holiday started, Peter, Jer and I were busy with our summer job… we had started a small lawn-trimming business… and Billy and Sean offered to take Li to the park across the street from where we were working.

We were busy mowing, raking and trimming when Li's scream burst upon us. Dropping our tools, the three of us dashed over to where they had been playing, to find both Billy and Sean prostrate with stab wounds and our boy gone.

Jer immediately went to his brother and I knelt beside Sean while Peter searched frantically for Li.

Sean was in a very bad way. As he struggled to sit up, I took him in my arms. "It was Tucker," he gasped. "He took… him… away!" He coughed a fine spray of blood, reached for my hand, but then slumped and closed his eyes. I could tell without any doubt that he was gone!

"We tried to stop him, but he was too fast," called Billy, weakly.

Peter returned exclaiming, "I can't find him anywhere!"

Jer had pulled out Billy's phone and called for emergency help and both the police and medics arrived in minutes. Billy's wounds were serious but not life-threatening and he was swiftly bundled into the ambulance, accompanied by Jer.

I sat there with Sean's lifeless body in my arms and wept. He had been our good friend from the time we were in kindergarten. After the medical examiner took him away, the investigating officer… a Chief Inspector Davis… took Peter and me home.

"Tucker?" said Dad incredulously, as the four of us sat with Davis and went over what Peter and I had observed.

"Yes," said Davis, "he escaped from Leicester about ten days ago."

Dad went postal, "AND YOU DIDN'T THINK TO TELL US?" he shouted. "DO YOU PEOPLE HAVE ANY BRAINS? AFTER THE THREATS HE MADE AT THE TRIAL?"

"Well, our information was that he headed toward Scotland," replied Davis defensively. "We never dreamed he would come here. And, by the way, we found Mrs. Wilson with her throat cut." We all just stared at this man for a minute.

"What about our boy," asked Peter through his tears.

"We'll do everything we can to find him," Davis assured us.

At that moment, the phone rang and I answered it.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite fag," the voice greeted me.

"TUCKER!" I screamed, immediately putting the phone on speaker. "What have you done with Li? Where are you?"

"Where you and the stupid cops will never find me. As to the kid, he's right here with me. I'll take good care of him. Unless I decide not to."

"You bastard!"

"Now, now! Mustn't be crude. Here, I'll even let you talk to him. And I heard Li's scream in the background. "Don't worry. I didn't cut him very much. Tootle-loo." And the line went dead.

It was quite some time before all five of us could think clearly once more.

The next morning, we got another call. More screams from Li.

"He's hurting him!" Peter sobbed. "He's just taunting us."

Later that morning, Inspector Davis arrived with a technician who set up a tap on our line. "He's probably using a cell phone," he said. "So it will be difficult to locate him. But, eventually, he'll make a mistake."

The next few days were horrid. Two or three calls a day, with Li screaming his little head off during each one. At night his voice pleading for help haunted our dreams.

Davis was at our house when the call we all had hoped for came. "We've located him! But he's holed up in a place that we can't reach him easily and he's using the boy as a shield. So the sharpshooters are afraid of hitting the boy. He's killed one of my constables and taken his weapon."

He took off at a run and jumped into his car, followed by Peter and me. "What are you doing?" he spun around and asked.

"We're going with you inspector," I replied.

"No!"

"Try and stop us!"

"All right, but you don't get out of this car, understand?"

A few minutes later, we pulled up to a densely wooded area along the river. We could see glimpses of Tucker holding Li in front of himself, with a pistol pointed at the boy's head.

"I'm going to try to crawl close enough to get a good shot," the inspector told us. "You two stay right here."

He rolled out of the car into the tall grass but had only gone a few yards when Tucker fired and seriously wounded him.

Peter and I just sat there clinging to each other.

But, suddenly Peter broke away and rolled out of the car into the grass and crawled toward Davis. Once there, he took the inspector's pistol and stood up.

"Peter! No!" I screamed. But he didn't seem to hear me. Tucker fired again and the bullet kicked up the gravel a few feet in front of Peter. Slowly, using both hands, Peter raised the Inspector's pistol.

"Peter! Don't try it! You'll hit Li!"

The shot sounded like an explosion and an instant later Tucker's head exploded in a spray of blood. Our boy fell out of Tucker's arms and crawled toward us as his captor pitched over backward.

The sharpshooters converged on him as I ran to Li and scooped him into my arms.

Peter just stood there with his hands at his side, one of them holding the still smoking pistol. "That was quite a shot, young man," the constable told him. "You must be a real whiz with a pistol."

Peter looked at him and replied, "No sir. I've never held a pistol before in my life." Then, he walked slowly over to where I was cradling Li and fell to his knees. I didn't know what to think or say.

In addition to being splattered with pieces of Tucker's scull and brains and blood, the places where he had cut him were visible. Fortunately, the cuts were not deep and would heal without stitches. So, after treatment by the medics on the scene, we could take him home again. Inspector Davis was not so lucky.

So, in a matter of a few days, Sean and his family had been destroyed and our tight circle of friends had been shattered. But Li… our beautiful son… was back with us. It had been a frightening several days.

4. More Surprises

By the time Peter and I were in our last year of Upper School and ready to think about University, Li was a firmly established and much loved member of our family and the delight of our whole estate (neighborhood). And he and Peter and I were all looking forward to the time when he might call us 'Dad'. But there were a few surprising and somewhat unsettling happenings that marred our blissful existence.

He was doing quite well in school, well liked by all his classmates and the absolute delight of his teacher. To her credit, she usually managed to keep a professional stance, but a few times she slipped and showed such fondness for him that it was… well, embarrassing.

Still quite small compared to other boys his age, he had several times almost been the brunt of some serious bullying. Except that when the potential bullies had cornered him, they suddenly both shrieked and fled in terror. And he hadn't laid a hand on them.

Then, there was the episode with Dad and the wheelbarrow.

Peter and I were busy trimming some of our shrubbery, when Dad approached pushing a badly overloaded 'barrow full of bags of mulch. He stumbled over a branch in his path and fell. The 'barrow toppled onto its side spilling its contents, breaking some of the bags.

Peter immediately rushed over to see if Dad was hurt… he wasn't. But I stood there watching the 'barrow right itself up with all the bags of mulch intact, just waiting to be picked up again. Li, who had been helping me, had a sly smile on his face. Did I really see what I thought I had seen?

On two other occasions Li had saved two of his playmates from injury… without lifting a finger. Or so it seemed.

And, on many occasions, when Li was telling the two of us about some adventure he had had, we each heard a slightly different tale. Did we not pay close attention to him?

Peter and I discussed these incidents unendingly but could come to no agreement about them. But, we both felt there was something afoot. But what?

So I suppose it should not have been a surprise when we had a visitor one Sunday afternoon.

"Good afternoon," the small man with the gray beard introduced himself as we were sitting comfortably in our living-room. "My name is William Otis, but I'm better known as 'Master Keldhar'. I represent a school located in Australia and I've asked to visit with you as it has come to our attention there is a young boy in this household who possesses some unusual talents.

All five of us were silent for some seconds. Finally, Dad asked him, "What kind of talents?"

"Perceptions and abilities that many others may not have," Keldhar answered. "While some might consider them odd… even frightening… I want to reassure you I and my colleagues regard these abilities as gifts from God and, as such, they should be received with joy. My task is to discover the vessel… the person… God has chosen and help him to understand his exceptional abilities and use them wisely for the greater good."

That was quite a statement!

I glanced at Li whom I was holding in my lap… Keldhar had to be referring to him… and, at once, I could feel fright beginning to take hold. But then, a calmness overrode the fright and he slipped from my grasp and stood before our visitor. "Master Keldhar, can you help me to understand these strange feelings I sometimes have?"

We all gasped.

"Your name is Li Soon, is it not?" Li nodded and Keldhar studied him with a gentle smile. Then, he turned to the rest of us and said, "I have just asked Li to tell us his name and age in several languages. You will hear his reply, but you will not see him speak."

He nodded at Li and immediately I heard his voice in my mind saying "Hello! My name is Li Soon Hamilton and I am just twelve years old," "Bonjour! Mon nom est Li Soon Hamilton et je suis âgé de seulement douze ans," "Hallo! Mein Name ist Li Soon Hamilton und ich bin erst zwölf Jahre alt," "¡Hola! Mi nombre es Li Soon Hamilton y yo soy sólo doce años de edad," "Ciao! Il mio nome è Li Soon Hamilton e io sono appena dodici anni," and "Helo! Fy enw i yw Li Soon Hamilton ac yr wyf yn jyst yn ddeuddeg oed."

We all sat transfixed, but finally I managed to say, "I recognized French and German, but not the rest."

"They were Spanish, Italian and Welsh" replied our visitor.

"Good Lord!" gasped Peter, "he's a human 'Google Translate'… or isn't he human?"

"Oh, I assure you he is quite human… with some gifts from God that neither you or he has been fully aware of. Until now."

"You mean he can speak to our minds directly without actually saying anything?" asked Dad.

"Yes, and he has probably done so many times completely unawares."

"Can he read our minds?" Mom wanted to know.

"No," Keldhar assured her, "but he can read your emotions… your feelings… and cause you to feel his emotions."

"Mom," I asked, "how many times has any one of us hugged him and felt such a surge of love and happiness?"

"Many, many times," she answered.

Turning to Li once more, Keldhar said, "Li, I want you to tell a person in this room to do something to you that they might not do when the family is all together."

After a moment, Peter got up, walked over to Li and bent down and kissed him long and hard fully on his lips before returning to his seat. "I don't know why I did that," he said in awe. "I just suddenly knew that I simply had to do it. Please forgive me!"

"For what?" asked Li. "I asked you to do it and it felt good and I liked it."

"Does that mean he can force someone to do something against his will?" I asked.

"Not something that would be completely against that person's moral code," replied Keldhar. "For example, he couldn't compel your pastor to strip naked in the middle of his sermon. And the person who is the object may have the power to resist, especially if it would be embarrassing or hurtful or against his wishes."

"I take it you know about his abduction some months ago and his subsequent escape," said Dad.

Keldhar nodded. "The reports of that incident are what put us onto him."

"Do you think that is why he couldn't escape from Tucker but could have been helping Peter to shoot him?"

"Precisely."

"Wow!" exclaimed Peter. "I had never even held a pistol before but I knew I had to do it and there was this… I don't know what to call it… that made me want to do it and guided me so I wouldn't miss."

"I was very frightened of him and just could not seem to make him let me go, even when he cut me," added Li. "But I knew Peter would do anything I asked him to and so I took the risk," he explained. "I could see it in my mind and I could feel Peter responding."

"Yes," replied Keldhar, "his gifts are unfocused and this Tucker person might have had the power to block him."

We all thought about that for a while.

"You said you represent a school…" asked Dad.

"Yes," replied Keldhar, "but before I tell you about it, I wish to conduct another experiment. With your permission, of course."

Dad looked a little hesitant, but Li assured him. "It's OK, Grandpa. He's a good man."

"Is there some place I could be with him alone for a few minutes," asked Keldhar.

"Yes, he has his own room," replied Mom.

Keldhar rose and took Li's hand and was about to leave the room when Li suddenly balked. "Please, Master, I want Eric and Peter to come with us."

Keldhar looked hesitant but then smiled and replied, "If you wish, Li."

So the four of us trotted down the hall and into Li's room, shutting the door.

"Now Li I want you to take off all your clothes and lie down on your bed. Better put a towel under you." And one of Li's bath towels just floated out and arranged itself on Li's bed.

Peter and I just gawked as our now naked 'son' did as he was bidden.

Keldhar turned to us and asked, "Have you taught him anything about sex?"

"Well," stammered Peter, " a…a…a little."

And I felt a real compulsion to admit, "We've…we've…we've…we've taken him to b…b…b…bed with us and s…s…s…stroked and rubbed him a bit."

"And…and…and we've showed him how to pleasure himself."

"Don't be alarmed," Keldhar soothed us. "Perfectly natural! Let's see how good the instruction was."

Li's little prick sprang up and he immediately began to masturbate. After a while, his face screwed up and he seemed to be trying very hard to bring himself off. "Master!" he gasped, "I just can't seem to get there. It keeps slipping away!"

"I'm holding him back," Keldhar explained to us. Turning to Li, he said, "Now I'm going to release you, but this time I want you to keep your hands at your side and use just your mind."

Li relaxed and a blissful smile crossed his face. Soon, this was replaced but what could only be described as a look of lust. And in short order, his little balls began to pump a fountain of spray all over his middle.

When it had subsided, he closed his eyes and floated back to reality.

"But his orgasms have always been dry!" exclaimed Peter.

"Not surprising," said Keldhar. "But today, he became aware of another of his gifts. Don't be alarmed; it's perfectly natural for him to be a little sexually precocious."

All three of us suddenly felt the need to laugh.

"Please clean him off a bit and let's go back to your folks."

Once we were settled again, Keldhar spoke. "There is no doubt Li Soon has some very special gifts. He is what we call a paranormal and quite a strong one. Until now, he hasn't even been aware of some of them and they have been fragmented and unfocused. I wish to invite you to send him to the special school I represent, the 'Alice Springs School For Exceptional Boys'."

"There, he will meet many boys with paranormal abilities and we will teach him how to strengthen them and use them constructively. But I hasten to add, the decision whether to send him or not is completely yours. If you should decide not to send him, we will find him someone locally who can act as sort of a mentor."

"Tell us about your school," said Dad.

"We are located in Alice Springs in Australia and have about forty boys from eight to sixteen who live on campus. They all attend the excellent local schools there in addition to the special training they receive from my staff. I should mention that each exceptional boy has a male family member with him and sometimes even siblings."

Peter and I looked at each other and shortly I nodded to him. Mom caught that and asked, "But what about your plans for University?"

"I assure you your son will have the opportunity to attend an excellent university there as well as take special training with us," Keldhar broke in. "We have a fully accredited location of the University of Melbourne as well as several other quite prestigious schools.

"Could Peter and I both come with him?" I asked.

"A bit unusual, but then the unusual is the usual with us," he chuckled. "I should add that all of the other family members have found satisfying careers, many of them within the school itself.

"Oh Peter and Eric! I just don't know… You'll be so far away." Mom began.

"And I assure you that both you and your husband will have many opportunities to visit and they, in turn, will spend at least two months here with you each year," Keldhar declared. "Being in the 'real' world is the skill we teach most strongly.

"How do you feel about this, Li?" asked dad.

"I think I feel wonderful!" he exclaimed. And he drew Peter and me into a tight hug and said, "I love you very, very much, Dads." It was the first time he had called us that.

"Mom and Dad," Peter said, "Li will be our son in a few short months. Just as you did for me when I was first with you and you have always done for both Eric and me, we would do anything to assure Li's growth and happiness."

"Yes," I added, "he is the most important person in our lives, just as Peter and I have been in your lives."

There was silence for a while.

Then, both Mom and Dad nodded and I could see the tears streaming down their cheeks.

Master Keldhar just sat in the background beaming.

The End… to be continued in another story!