Betrayal: Where are our Children (A Serial Novel) Episode 6 of 9

by Gary Sapp

watched each other conspicuously. They wanted no part in seeing what was sure to come next. Their reports and all the other official documentation they’d been presented reminded them that he was capable of such savagery. But who wanted to see a child violated—a child’s innocence ripped away in an instant by a madman with a hard on.

  They don’t have to see anything of the sort. We could walk away from this. We still have time.

  What? Who?

  And yet, the guards looked on. Hugh knew that in part it was the call of duty. Serena had left them a task to complete and they played the good solider carrying out a mission.

  And yet, they also looked on because it was partly human nature that allowed men not to look away from disaster and tragedy when it surfaced for all eyes to see.

  The man who now knew himself as Hugh started to unbuckle his pants. The steel felt cold in his hands. He could smell his own funk building underneath his neck, in the walls of his armpits and especially around the black hole of a groin. He ran his tongue behind the lining of his teeth. He felt his pulse pounding in his ears.

  He could hear the howl of insanity and reason calling out to him in the back of his mind.

  And in the front—

  You are looking for an avenue of escape. We are giving it to you—take it—take it and be gone from this place. We release you.

  Who? What?

  How much longer would he be able to fend his natural instincts off? How much longer could he deny what he actually was?

  Everything went cold now. Hugh began to shiver. It was the other…Louis who had always been so uptight, so insecure. Hugh always took what he wanted—consequences be damned.

  Hugh was a study in power and stability.

  And by God in Heaven—or the long damned ruler of the other realm, Hugh wanted that feeling of ecstasy and fulfillment one last time.

  He wanted it so very badly.

  When Moses failed to move, paralyzed with fear, Hugh commanded Serena’s men to bring the boy to him. They reluctantly obeyed.

  Xavier Prince’s stalling tactics—and that’s all they really were—had proven to be folly. A House in Chains or the authorities would never find these children before the Zero Hour came and passed. Moses Jackson and the other boys were pawns in a game nearing its long completion.

  And he had won the game.

  And these boys would serve as his just reward for all of the self- control, discipline and obedience that he’s exhibited over the past days, weeks and months.

  They were his to do with as he had pleased.

  “Take your clothes off,” Hugh had offered the boy as if it were truly a suggestion. “You should take them off for me. Let me see you. Let me see all of you.”

  The first of what Hugh suspected would be many tears dropped from the boy’s eyes. “No, please don’t hurt me.” He shook his head violently. “You promised that you wouldn’t harm me if I did everything you asked. I watched over the other boys. I didn’t let anything happen to them like I said that I would.” Moses let out a wail. “You promised.”

  “I want you out of those clothes right now.”

  “But—“

  “Now,”

  Hugh could see one of the guard’s Adam’s apple moving and he swallowed audibly. The second man looked as if he wished he were anywhere in the world but here. He even dared to part his lips as if anyone had asked his opinion of this situation.

  “You gentleman may excuse yourselves.” Louis dropped his pants for effect. “Young Moses and I have our business to attend to. And he is but the first.”

  They look from one to another, back to Hugh, to Moses and repeat the cycle once again.

  “Respectfully, sir, Mistress Serena left strict orders not to allow you out of our sites again.” One of the two managed to say.

  “Her reasoning is completely understandable considering the fact that the children nearly were lost—and more importantly I was under the control of a far less stable influence in the guise of Louis Keaton.” He finally removed his shirt as well. “But as I’m sure you two gentleman can attest, I, Hugh Keaton am in total control of mind and body.”

  They still failed to leave him in peace.

  “Alright, okay, why don’t you two hang around then? I do enjoy a little child porn myself from time to time. It does get the heart pumping. Well, it does start with the heart…”

  And the man known as Hugh Keaton removed his boxers as well.

  The second guard swallowed hard again.

  “It’s…it’s not like…it’s not like that at all, sir.”

  Hugh whips behind Moses with cat like quickness and takes his tongue and licks the length of Moses Jackson’s neck from hairline to the top of his spine, never taking his ocean blue eyes off of the two guards while he enjoyed the boy’s taste.

  Moses releases another wail of anguish and disgust.

  The first guard gulps one final time…and nearly tramples his partner with his retreat out of the room. The second one looks as if his knees could buckle at any moment and joins the other man on the other side of the door.

  “We’ll be right outside the door, sir, if you need anything at all.”

  “Thank you.”

  Moses shakes himself free of Hugh’s grip—at least momentarily. He scatters to the other side of the room, scraping his knees in the process. He was breathing heavily by now, his already large eyes, stretched to their limits with terror. Hugh tries to calm him in vain.

  Both man and child look to see that Hugh’s manhood has extended into a fine erection.

  We won’t do this, Hugh.

  Who? What?

  We won’t.

  Who? What? Who or what was the voice that was so very loud in his head?

  Hugh covered his ears in an empty attempt to chase the voice away but nothing seemed to work. In fact, the other’s tone seemed to have grown louder.

  We’re okay, for now, Hugh. The voice inside of him said; a voice far too familiar for his liking. A voice that he’d hoped that he would never to hear again.

  We take care of our own.

  We are here for us, Hugh.

  We won’t let anyone hurt us…we won’t let anyone use us again.

  And we will kill anyone who tries.

  And I do mean anyone.

  And after a moment and many tears, he stooped down to the floor and gathered his clothes—and put them back on his body.

  He then tossed Moses Jackson his shirt back to him as well.

  “You’ll need this.”

  But Moses could only aimlessly watch as his shirt fell back to the floor. He is paralyzed with fear and can’t allow himself to move.

  “Most…most of what you’ve witnessed from my behavior over the past few minutes was an act for the guards.” It was the only way to explain it in a quick and precise way to a child who had no earthly idea how to understand it any other way. He inched closer. “I’m not going to hurt you.“

  Moses wasn’t buying his explanation and refused to move from his spot.

  Louis…yes, for better or for worse, the boy who had watched his home and parents burn at Hugh’s hand, the Louis persona had returned to him for good.

  Louis ran his hand through his thinning hair. The stress was building. Time was short.

  His own personal Zero Hour was here.

  “Moses, listen” He offered the child his hand. “Please, I need us to get the other boys and get going. I’m okay now. I’m not going to hurt you. I kept my promise to you.”

  Moses cried out as Louis approached him.

  “Listen,”

  Louis heard the two guards back further away from the door. He guessed they were well out of earshot now.

  “Pay attention to me, solider.” Louis said in a gruff voice. “Do I need to remind you that you took an oath to these other boys in here? You gave your word that when the moment arrived, that I could depend on you that you would be there for them. That moment is upon us. I need you to move your feet. I need you to march yourself
out of this room and this place right now. Do I make myself clear, Mr. Jackson?”

  Moses’s feet seemed to unscramble themselves and unlock from being embedded into the floor. He wiped his red eyes and runny nose with the back of his sleeve.

  “Yes, I do, sir. I understand. What would you have me do?”

  “Gather up the troops on my command. We are leaving this theatre of operations immediately.”

  “I…I like the sound of that, sir.” Moses said but then the flashlights returned. “But how are we to do that sir? How do we get past Serena’s guards?”

  Louis only glared at the child with those brilliant blue eyes of his—and flashed him the most wicked smile that he could manage.

  “How else,” Louis asked gently. “We are leaving through the front door like any other guest would.”

  Moses nearly grinned.

  “Yes, sir, right away sir.”

  “Would you mind if I asked you something kind of personal first?”

  Moses took an involuntarily step backwards, but eventually straightened his stance once again. In this case his curiosity conquered any fear that might have been feeling.

  “What?”

  “When is the last time that you had a bite to eat?”

  Moses raised his eyebrows, the merits of the question lost on his adolescent mind.

  Five minutes later the twin guards burst into the room when they heard Louis fake the loudest scream that he could muster. Undressed again, he is squatted over by the door as if Moses had bitten down of him in an unforgiving spot. When one of the guards reaches to tend to his injuries Louis grabs his sidearm and shoots him in the face.

  In the split second that the other guard’s mind has to comprehend and process what he originally thought he witnessed, Louis take’s his partner’s gun and fires a single