Flight 12

Flight 12 – a serial novel by Travis Creel

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN: THE RETURN OF SETH HERRICK

Previously:

• Gary and Ray (now simultaneously conscious) allow the yellow dodecagon to capture them; Seth awaits a red dodecagon to take him underground, where he hopes to rescue Abe. He is startled when Barry appears, supposedly sent by Hamish to escort Sean underground. Sean reveals that Seth, as Trigger Man, is not actually one of The Twelve – Barry is. When a red dodecagon appears, it takes Barry, leaving Seth perplexed.

• Percy arranges a gang-bang for Abe on his `last day in this universe'.

• Paul and Dai have branded themselves with each other's names, in hopes of reuniting in Alphaworld.

• Miles and Jordan, now both eunuchs, are scheduled for execution. Barry could have spared them if he surrendered his cock, but, lacking assurance that it will be restored after The Project's launch, he declines.

• The physics' requires one of the Twelve to die, and another to be shot (non-fatally) with arrows. Augie and Tim, respectively, are penciled into these roles. However, when a disconsolate Harry volunteers to substitute himself for Jordan, Augie's death is no longer necessary. Harry puts his head on the block, but as he is about to be decapitated, a voice calls out: Wait!'

• • • • • • • • MONDAY, DECEMBER 31 * * * * * * * *

THE THRONE ROOM – ABE

A nice long train to pull, Percy had promised. All the lieutenants fucked me except Stefan, who "had a special duty to perform". That `duty', I was sure, was the execution of the three men who were slated to die today before Seth arrived: one of the Twelve, and the two who hadn't been on the plane. I was also to die today, at least in this universe – possibly everywhere. But not until after the return of Seth Herrick.

The lieutenants were buzzing about a new arrival from the surface, but it was not Seth: It was someone named Onslow, who seemed to be peculiar in some way that I couldn't discern.

No matter; Seth was all I cared about. From what Ian had told me, he must be alone on the surface . . . with Sean. Sean, whom I can't believe I had been stupid enough to sleep with for nearly six months.

THE PHALLIC TOWER – SEAN

Seth, having watched Barry swallowed up by the red dodecagon that had materialized inside the Phallic Tower, was – to say the least – bewildered.

• What just happened?

• Barry returned underground. It's just you and me now. Want to have sex?

• Sean, are you fucking SERIOUS?

• I'm always serious about fucking.

• That dodecagon was supposed to take ME. Instead, it takes the fucking PILOT? Hamish's DOG? Were you lying to me about the red dodecagon? About all the dodecagons? Was all this a plot to get rid of everyone so you'd have me to yourself?

• Don't be paranoid, Seth. I just thought before I left, we should fuck one last time.

• Before YOU left? I'm the one who's supposed to leave, Sean.

• You will. The red dodecagon will reappear.

• Well, when it gets here maybe we can fuck on it and ride it down together. Would you like that?

• Seth, don't be angry. I'm on your side.

• Oh, really.

• Okay, I lied to you about The Project.

• Lie number eight hundred and fifteen.

• Most of what I said is true. All the requirements – those were true. All the stuff about Betaworld, that was true. Al, Stan, Theo, Piers – they're all fine in Alphaworld. That's true.

• Piers is dead, too?

• Yes, but that's irrelevant. The point is – I want the Project to fail.

• Hold on. You said the only way Abe and I could be together was if The Project SUCCEEDED. Now you want it to fail. Are you trying to break us up?

• (Absolutely.) Absolutely not. If the Project succeeds, you and Abe will be split up. You can only be together is if it fails and you go back to your Alpha-lives in Cleveland.

• You said if we did, Abe would die horribly within the next year.

• He won't. I had to tell everyone their Alpha-lives would be awful, to get them to cooperate.

• Sounds like you wanted the Project to succeed.

• That's what I want it to SOUND like. More precisely, that's what I needed Jesús to think.

• Jesús? Who's Jesús?

• The head of Stimulever. He sent me here to make sure everything went smoothly, that you did your daily fucks and gelded Jasper. I had to make Jesús believe I was doing everything possible to ensure the success of The Project.

• Well, you convinced me, anyway.

• But all along I've been intending to sabotage it. This was my strategy, Seth. Make everyone here think The Project would benefit them, so that they would cooperate – and make Stimulever think everything was going according to plan.

Though Lord knows it wasn't.

• Meanwhile I was trying to mess with the physics – bringing Jordan and Miles here, keeping Stan alive, other things. But I had to be careful – it couldn't look deliberate. My fail-safe was always you, Seth. It's come down to that. You're the Trigger, you have the ultimate power. You're the only means I have left of bringing down The Project.

• I still don't understand why you want to bring it down.

• Because it's the only way you can be with Abe. I love you, Seth Herrick, but I realize you don't love me back. So all I can do is try to make you happy. And that means sabotaging the Project. That's why.

That's not why. I'm sabotaging The Project so that I can avoid being stuck with Lesboworld, so that Jesús will be disgraced and Ari (and I) can take over Stimulever and hence the universe, so that after Abe's untimely death, the aid and comfort I give to Seth will lead him home with me to Switzerland, where I will make him my slave for life. Which, after I inject him with the Methuselah serum, will be for centuries.

The rest of what I said was true. I mean, Abe won't die HORRIBLY. . . .

• When you arrive underground, they'll give you three tasks to do. The last one is the one that will launch the project. Don't do it. They'll try to convince you to do it, but they'll be lying.

THE PHALLIC TOWER – SETH

`They'll be lying'. Testimony of a proven liar. Who the fuck am I supposed to believe?

Sean strode off.

• Whoa, where are you going?

• Underground. Jesús is expecting me down there for the launch tonight. The one you're going to prevent from happening and in the process save Abe.

• I'll go with you.

• No. I'm going via the Egress Room, and you have a date with a red dodecagon. Any minute now.

Was that another lie?

EXECUTION CHAMBER – IAN

With Barry off on the surface, I was the one kneeling between Hamish's legs to service him while he watched the execution. I was grateful for the view – I'd prefer Hamish's genitals to the sight of a head falling off. I had the horrible sense that his ejaculation would be timed for the very moment Harry's head dropped to the floor.

I heard Stefan and Hamish taunting poor Harry. I heard Stefan raise the axe.

And then a voice shouted, `Wait!'

Hamish pushed me away. I looked around. Barry, on two feet, rushing into the room. Stefan, axe raised, poised to slice off Harry's head. But he hadn't. Yet. I wondered what was going on in Harry's mind.

• (Hamish) What the fuck, boy? If you're rushing in here interrupting an execution, it had better be damned important.

• (Barry) . . . That's not Jordan.

• (Hamish) No. Jordan's ass is SMALLER than a refrigerator. Your powers of observation are unparalleled. So why did you come in here screaming `Wait'?

• (Barry) I thought it would be Jordan.

• (Hamish) And if it was?

• (Barry) I was . . . going to give up my cock, to spare Jordan and Miles. If you promise me I'll get it back in Alphaworld.

• (Hamish) The offer still stands. I'll spare Jordan and Miles if you surrender your cock.

Barry didn't know that sparing Jordan was unnecessary – Harry volunteering had taken care of that. Miles, however, was still slated for the axe. I was intrigued by this dynamic. I wouldn't want anyone to lose his cock, but if it was only for a few hours and it would save Miles, I was for it.

• (Percy) Sweetheart.

• (Hamish) What now, Perce?

• (Percy) Wasn't there something in one of the communications about someone volunteering to be castrated? That it might undo some of the requirements?

I knew the answer to that. Percy and Hamish were rarely circumspect about letting their pets overhear their conversations, even their communications with Stimulever. Hamish knew this was true, but would he admit it? For Miles's sake, I had to speak up.

• There was. I remember that.

• (Hamish) What, BOTH of my dogs are now telling me what to do?

• (Percy) You should at least check with Switzerland. Maybe not even Mancini has to die. It would be nice if The Project could come off without too many heads coming off, too.

He smiled at his own joke, as serious as the topic was.

• (Hamish) Okay, let Switzerland check the physics. Stefan, Uri, stay here with Mancini and Barry. Ian, come with me. We have to make a phone call. And we'll need to delay the red dodecagon. If we have to chop Mancini, it may need to be done before Herrick's arrival.

And maybe you won't have to chop anyone at all. My estimation of Barry just increased by a thousand percent. On a scale from 1 to 10, he was now up to at least a 3.

ST. MORITZ, SWITZERLAND – JESÚS, two hours later

• Thibaut, Dolph, what's the verdict?

• (Dolph) Rather remarkable. If Russell sacrifices his cock, Stapleton, Murdock, King, Mancini – they'll all make it to Alphaworld. No heads need to roll this afternoon.

• (Ari) Soft, Jesús.

• Ari. you'll have all the mayhem you crave in Warworld once we go live.

• (Dolph) The chances of success are actually higher now than if we'd carried out the executions. 99.4% - IF Russell surrenders his sausage and IF Herrick follows through.

• What happens in the multiverse? Do the eunuchs regain their manhood?

• (Dolph) Murdock and King, yes. As for Russell – simulations vary. 56% say he gets his cock back, 44% say it's gone for good.

• Well, we need him to go forward. We'll tell him it's 100% assured he gets it back.

• (Ari) Ha! If he doesn't, what can he do about it?

• Then it's full speed ahead. Let's get Herrick underground and start the final chapter.

THE PHALLIC TOWER - SETH

I had to laugh. If I thought they were being obvious when the red dodecagon appeared inside the Tower, what happened now made that look like the height of understatement.

First, the tower disappeared. I wouldn't be sleeping in it tonight, so it wasn't needed anymore. So – poof! – it was gone in a metaphorical puff of smoke.

And then, before me, the entire meadow seemed consumed by a giant red dodecagon. Not twelve feet across, as all the others had been. More like twelve times twelve METERS across, with a phallus the size of a sequoia.

I looked around at the island, which I was convinced I was seeing for the very last time. I stepped onto the dodecagon, and strode slowly toward the phallus. Almost immediately, the dodecagon began to fold in on itself, tilting the sides toward the center until it resembled the shell of the world's largest taco salad. I could no longer walk; Its steep sides propelled me down toward the phallus and I started to roll. As I neared the center, the phallus retracted into the earth, opening a large hole, into which I tumbled.

When I landed, I wasn't aware of having landed. I just WAS – in an unexpected location: the Throne Room. Where I was greeted by an equally unexpected sight: Ian, crouched in a corner, fitted out like Barry with a dog collar and a puppy-tail dildo. What the fuck? Ian had been demoted to Hamish's slave? Sean had said that Ian had returned underground voluntarily. Apparently, another of his lies.

• Ian, what on earth happened to you?

• Seth, turn around.

• What? Why?

• Just turn around.

He didn't want me to see him like this? Okay. I turned around – and saw why he had said that.

• I was wondering when you were going to notice me.

• Abe. Oh my God, Abe.

The next three minutes were spent caressing each other, hugging each other, kissing each other, exploring each other – not a word spoken.

When we finally broke, I noticed the tears in his eyes.

• Oh, God, Seth, I was praying you would come.

• I'm here, babe. And I don't know how, but I'm going to get you out of here.

He didn't respond. Just sank down to his knees, and then sat on the floor. I joined him and put my arm around his shoulders. He leaned over and put his head on my chest, and I cradled him.

• Those don't look like tears of joy.

• Seth, I don't know if you CAN get me out of here.

• Let them try to stop me.

• They stopped you before. They're planning to kill me, Seth. Tonight.

• No. They won't. Sean promised me. I just have to sabotage this project of theirs. Then we can be together.

And of course Sean's reputation for honesty was completely unsullied. But what did I have to go on? I had to save Abe.

• They said I had to die, but I would still be alive in the other . . . oh, it's so complicated, Seth, you don't know what this place is – or do you?

• I know about Alphaworld and Betaworld. They told you you'd have to die here, but you'd still be alive in the other universe.

• That's exactly what Percy said. I don't know if he's telling the truth or not.

• Join the club.

• But he's fond of me, Seth. I don't think he'd lie. Unless . . .

• Unless?

• Unless he wants me not to worry so much. Like maybe if I think I'll still be alive in the other universe, I'd be calmer and accept it.

• (Ian) Seth, do you know about Harry?

A chill passed over me. When someone couches a question in such terms, it is never followed by good news.

• What about Harry?

• (Abe) Oh, God, it's awful. It's awful and noble at the same time.

• Jeez, what? What about Harry???

• (Ian) He's probably dead by now. They were going to kill Jordan, and Harry volunteered to take his place.

• No!

• (Ian) I think he felt he had no place in Alphaworld, and at least he could save Jordan. Jordan doesn't exist in Alphaworld, so he'd really die. But then – so would Harry. I didn't get to know Harry that well, but he seemed like a good guy.

• Dammit, Ian, not Harry. He doesn't know his worth.

• (Ian) They wouldn't fuck him down here. It's all he wanted, Seth. All he wanted was to lose his virginity – but they wouldn't do it. They fuck the hell out of everyone else, but not him. They just made him watch. It was torture for him.

• Wait, he WANTED them to fuck him? . . . You told me not to. You said he'd be humiliated if I chose him to fulfill my daily obligation.

• (Ian) He did say that. But in retrospect, I think it was out of embarrassment – he didn't want to admit how much he really longed for you to fuck him. He had a crush on you, Seth.

• Shit. Now I feel like a total asshole.

• (Abe) Well, you're not. So pull yourself together and figure out how we're going to get out of this.

• Sean said there were certain things I had to do.

• (Sean) That's right. There are.

I hadn't seen him come in.

THE DORMITORY – ED

• (Augie) I shouldn't have let him do it.

• What, you want to die, Augie? You're young, you have a lot to live for, you still have a chance to find a nice woman who's actually a woman. Harry . . . Let's face it, Harry's useless. All he wants is someone to fuck him in the arse, and who's going to want to fuck an arse like that?

• (Dai) Ed, shut it.

• You shut it. Look, they said someone had to die, I think they picked the right one, that's all. Everyone's feeling sorry for `poor Harry' but he had no life in Alphaworld, you know that.

• (Augie) Harry saved my life, Ed.

• So be grateful there are still fools in the world. If someone's going to be that stupid, let them chop off his head. I can't stop them from doing that. Any more than I can stop Vic from going off on some rant about how I'm a racist.

• (Vic) Which you are.

• (Dai) Guys, please. This is our last day in this place. We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. We might be dead. We might . . . Some of us have formed relationships that we don't know what's going to happen to them. The least we could do is pull together a bit. And . . . Paul?!

Dai rushed over to Paul, who had dropped to the floor, as if he had fainted. Everyone else huddled around him. I looked over with concern and then saw Jasper grinning. But Jasper wasn't focused on Paul. Jasper was looking at the doorway. I turned around to see why.

• (Harry) Hi, guys.

THE THRONE ROOM – SEAN

It was bound to be an awkward reunion, but it was worse than I had anticipated. They came at me from all sides.

• (Seth) So I've discovered more of your lies, Sean. Like that Ian had volunteered to return.

• (Ian) He tricked me into a penis garden.

• (Seth) I figured it was something like that.

• Ian's not exactly Mr. Integrity. He's responsible for Al's death – he fed Vic a pack of lies.

• (Ian) I had to! You said it was the only way to save Stan! And then you killed Stan anyway!

• Of course I did, after you led him back to me! I had to. Anyway, Stan's still alive, you know that.

• (Ian) In Alphaworld! If this project of yours goes through, will I ever see Alphaworld again?

• Well –

• (Seth) Does Abe know your affair with him was simply part of your little scheme?

• (Abe) I figured it out. The only thing you did right was set us up in the first place, me and Seth.

• (Ian) Of course, that wasn't you, Sean, that was a guy named `Jude'. Another lie.

• (Abe) Once Ian told me who `Jude' was, it all fit. It was too much of a coincidence Sean showing up at that concert at Blossom and then again on the island.

• (Seth) So, Sean, what is this Project? I know it involves a parallel universe, but that's all I know.

• It's a dozen parallel universes. And –

• (Ian) A dozen! So I'm NOT ever going to see Alphaworld again. Or Stan. Ever.

• SHIT! Will you give me a chance to explain? I'm trying my best to do what's right.

For myself.

• (Seth) Go ahead. Spin a few more strands in your web of lies.

• Absolute truth, I swear it: The Project involves a dozen parallel universes. You wouldn't be happy in them. The people at Stimulever are sadists, they want to see people suffer.

• (Abe) They're doing a good job of it here.

• Exactly. This is a prototype, right? Imagine a dozen worlds where everyone is tortured. That's what I'm trying to save you from.

Okay, `absolute truth' wasn't so absolute.

• (Ian) You told me that if the project failed, we'd all live horrible lives.

• (Ah, this again.) I had to say that. As I told Seth this morning, it's the opposite. I have to crash The Project (true) or else you WILL live horrible lives (false). If it fails, you'll just go back to Alphaworld (true). It's all coming to a climax at midnight. (Also true. See, MOST of what I said is true . . . )

• (Abe) Percy says I have to die in order to live.

• I wouldn't trust Percy. There's three things you'll have to do, Seth. They haven't told me what they are, which is annoying as hell, but do the first two – it will lull them into a false sense of complacency. But whatever the third thing is, don't do it. Just don't do it.

• (Abe) The anti-Nike.

• (Ian) If Sean tells you NOT to do something, that's a good reason why you SHOULD do it. If you do what he wants, Seth, I'll never see Stan again. In Alphaworld I won't even know he exists. I won't remember being here at all, will I? Wait a minute – how can I go back to Alphaworld? I left for Martinique a year ago. Where am I supposed to have been all that time?

• Not to worry, Ian. We've created cover stories for all the lieutenants, which will be implanted in your brains so realistically you'll think they actually happened.

• (Ian) Oh yeah, and what'll that be?

• You ran afoul of a corrupt police inspector in Martinique who jailed you on drug charges. Sadly, he wouldn't even let you communicate with anyone to let them know where you were.

• (Ian) You can plant memories in my brain?

• We can. You'll think you really spent a year in jail. You'll have great stories to tell.

• (Ian) Can you implant a memory of a guy named Stan?

And what would a nice guy like Stan be doing in a jail in Martinique? Really, Ian, be realistic.

THE DORMITORY – HARRY

They all rushed over to me, other than Paul, who had fainted, and Dai, engaged in reviving Paul. Even Ed gave me a big friendly handshake.

• Yeah, I'm alive.

A frown infiltrated Augie's face.

• (Augie) Jordan . . .?

• Jordan's safe. And Miles. They decided we could all live. I'm not sure why.

• (Vic) You're sure they're not lying to you.

• You can never be sure of that. But none of us are dead yet.

• (Jasper) So you were really going to do it? What happened?

• It was like out of a movie. Jasper, my head was on the chopping block, literally, and Stefan was raising the axe when suddenly Barry bursts in and says `Wait!' and says he'll give up his cock if it will save Jordan.

• (Augie) BARRY? Barry was the hero?

• (Gary) I thought YOU saved Jordan.

• So did I. So DO I, but Barry didn't know that. I think I saved Jordan, but Barry saved ME. Two seconds later and my head would have been rolling across the floor. They contacted their headquarters in Switzerland and a couple of hours later, they said I was free to go. And that Barry and I between us had saved Jordan and Miles. And Augie.

• (Tim) Barry . . . ?

• They kept him in the room after I left. . . . Reach your own conclusions.

THE THRONE ROOM – ABE

• Sean, where are Hamish and Percy?

• (Sean) I haven't actually seen them since my arrival. One of the lieutenants – Alfonso –

• (Seth) That's Augie's lieutenant.

• (Sean) Exactly. Alfonso said they were conducting an execution. He was thrilled because it wasn't Augie – it was supposed to be but they got a volunteer to replace him. Alfonso didn't know who it was. I don't either.

• It's Harry.

• (Sean) Harry? I guess that makes sense – he wasn't too happy up top.

• Hamish and Percy – do you think they'll be gone for a while?

• (Sean) Why?

• Seth and I may have limited time together.

• (Sean) And?

• Opportunities don't grow on trees.

• (Sean) You want me to leave?

• (Seth) I always want you to leave. But, yeah, if you and Ian could give us some privacy . . .

• (Ian) I can't leave the room without permission. But I won't watch.

• Fuck me, Seth.

• (Seth) With pleasure.

To describe our lovemaking would be to undervalue it. Yes, the sensation of his talented cock in my well-used hole was like heaven. Yes, he was almost as talented a fucker as Barry, with a member nearly as large. Yes, he drove it into me like a jackhammer and I thrilled at every sensation.

But enough of that. The connection – that's what it was all about. We were as a single entity – Sabe Herrisian, or Abeth Derrick, you could have fused our minds together as well as our bodies. The magic was back, and I wondered why (and if) it had ever really left in the first place.

I guess it was my insecurity. When I first met Seth, I felt like I wanted to settle down, but I was afraid of `settling'. Was I giving up my freedom, didn't I want to try out different flavors of man and flit like a bee from one marigold to another? I knew it was time to grow up, but committing to one man was scary. If I grew too attached, and we split up, it would be painful. So I kept my options open – options that foolishly included a man named Sean O'Hara.

The feel of Seth's body on top of – and inside – mine made me realize how right this was. But it was right for all the reasons beyond sex. It was right because Seth was a Good Man. What he had done for my father, what he had done to try to rescue me, the very fact that he proposed this trip out of fear of losing me – it all confirmed his devotion, the depths to which he would go to preserve our relationship. I might never meet anyone like that again.

He was The One.

How long would we have together? Possibly just a few minutes, when Hamish discovered us and kicked Seth out. Possibly only until tonight, when my life ended, either in Betaworld or completely. Possibly for less than a year, in the dire version of Alphaworld that Sean had projected, where I would die horribly before my next birthday. Possibly until my natural death – or Seth's, whichever came first.

Which could be sixty years from now. Or twenty.

FLASHBACK – ABE (CLEVELAND) – April, this year

• Why so glum?

• That phone call was my mother.

• Your mother? Has there been a rapprochement?

• Not as such, no. She . . . doesn't approve, she doesn't understand, but in her way, still loves me – in her mind, she'd forgive me for my sins.

• The sin of being gay.

• Basically. My father, never. He's the real reason I've never gone back since moving here.

• So she called you. I don't remember that happening before.

• It's been a while. She did call on my birthday last year – the same day as that party at Jason's.

• So why did she call now?

• She's falling apart. My father's going downhill. The doctors say a year, maybe two at most. I think she knew that, but this was the first time the doctor put a concrete time frame on it.

• You've never talked about his illness. Is it cancer?

• Huntington's.

• Huntington's disease? There's no . . . I haven't been following the medical news – is there still no cure for that?

• Still no cure for that.

The air hung heavy. I knew the question he wanted to ask, the one I had been dreading for months.

• Do you . . . ?

• I don't know.

• You haven't been tested.

• No.

There was the world's longest pause, as both of us tried to figure out what to say next. Huntington's was a degenerative disease for which the results were invariably fatal, and it was passed on genetically. There was a 50% chance I had inherited the mutation, and a 50% chance that I hadn't. For decades, the offspring of Huntington's victims had to decide whether or not to have children, uncertain whether they themselves had the dreaded gene, and might pass on this dreadful fate to their children. Now there was a test so you could know before you decided to procreate. Of course, I wasn't about to procreate. But I didn't know whether or not I would live past fifty.

• I don't want to know, Seth. I'm scared. If I have it – then what? I'd feel doomed. I'd BE doomed.

• Your father, did he - ?

• It has nothing to do with our estrangement. He knew he had it, but he hated me because I was gay, not because he was bitter about dying. I think deep down he was relieved because he knew I wouldn't pass it on to his grandchildren – and both Gretchen and Kate tested negative.

• What can I do?

• Nothing. Except accept my apology.

• Your apology?

• Is it fair to start a relationship with someone who might have a limited lifespan? Is it fair to you to be involved with me? Maybe I shouldn't commit myself to a guy, maybe I should be out gathering rosebuds while I may.

• I'd like to gather your rosebud, bud.

• And so ye may. But this rosebud may wither and die before he runs out of pollen.

• You've got plenty of pollen now. Could I have some, please?

• Well, since you said `please' . . .

THE THRONE ROOM – ABE

Sean was another rosebud I wanted to gather. I was afraid to settle down with Seth. I think I knew then, back in April, even before that, that this was a man I wanted to spend my life with. But how could I commit to such a thing if I was going to up and die on him in twenty years or so – and force him to take care of me as I slowly deteriorated? I didn't want to think about it, and I was susceptible to Sean's easy seduction.

But now I knew for certain that I wanted to spend whatever time I had left with Seth. And if that time was measured in years, and if I had the gene, we'd face it together. If I needed him to, he'd do for me what he did for my father, even if we had to move to Oregon to do it.

If we got through this – if we got back to Alphaworld and Cleveland – I was going to get tested. It wasn't fair to him to spend years not knowing, wondering if we needed to accelerate our relationship bucket list or have the luxury of letting it spin out over decades.

If we got through this. We had to get through this. Or die trying.

THE THRONE ROOM – SETH

I was spent – physically and emotionally – as I lay on top of Abe's body, my cock still inside him. Neither of us wanted the moment to end. Until I heard the unmistakable sound of Ian clearing his throat.

I slowly withdrew my penis from Abe's perfectly-formed buttocks, and crouched on my knees before turning around to face him. And found myself facing Hamish, Percy, and Sean.

• (Hamish) That wasn't on your agenda for today, Herrick. But I understand. When the bartender says `Last call', you want to order that final drink. I suppose we should let you shower now. We want you nice and clean for the festivities to come.

• My three tasks.

• (Hamish) Ah, so Sean has told you. Has he told you what they were?

• (Sean) How could I? No one has told me.

• (Hamish) Good. Well, one of the tasks involves sex, so I hope you haven't worn yourself out with Percy's little pussycat here.

• Abe. . . .Will I ever see him again?

Hamish just smiled.

[COMING UP NEXT: CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT – THE THREE TASKS]