Little Big Man

LITTLE BIG MAN – a serial novel by Travis Creel

CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE: . . . BUT OTHERS MAY BEGIN

Previously: Shortly before Alex is to be sold, Dmitri tells him to continue to write his story until Dmitri knows he is safe – telling him to say he is happy' if he is, indeed, happy – and very happy' if he is not. At the auction, Alex finds himself in line right behind Matti and traces the word `pool' on his back, as a farewell gesture. Matti is sold to an unknown buyer, and then Alex is purchased by the Royal Family. But when he awakens after transport, he finds himself (and Rhody) on Koivisto's summer estate off the coast of Finland, leased rent-free to Ruslan and Nurbek as the result of complex negotiations which also included Alex and Rhody being exchanged for Prince Abdullah (abducted, enslaved and disguised by Koivisto at Ruslan's instigation) and an LBM slave. Koivisto also got replacements for two disgruntled employees as part of the deal – one of the replacements is Pyotr, who is delighted to reunite with Alexei, and vice-versa.

There are also changes in St. Petersburg. Bobrovsky, the former FSB agent, has replaced the disabled Henri in the kitchen, and is applying for membership in IAMSO. Tcherepnin, also resigned from the FSB, has taken over Ruslan's former role. And Dmitri is settling in with his new slave, Alaska, not altogether satisfactorily.

In a small flash-forward, Alex writes to Dmitri, telling him that he is truly `happy', but has one more part of the story yet to tell.

This is it.

ALEX: SATURDAY, JULY 30, 11:00 A.M. – GULF OF BOTHNIA, FINLAND

Life here was different from in St. Petersburg. Rhody and I were often allowed to work as a team. We mucked out the stalls together. We worked in the garden together. We cleaned the house together and were allowed to organize ourselves – sometimes splitting up into different rooms, and sometimes working the same room together. We assisted Olivier in the kitchen together; today, though, I wasn't sure what would happen for lunch, as I had seen Olivier heading off with the supply helicopter after breakfast. He must have an errand to run on the mainland, but it was odd that he hadn't told us when he would be back.

Rhody and I were in the garden when it happened. There were only a few vegetables you could grow here – potatoes, cabbages, onions – that was about it. Everything else was brought in by helicopter, but Olivier (and, I guess, Koivisto) prefers home-grown fruits and vegetables when available. There were some apple trees and even a couple of plum trees but it was too early in the season for them. The strawberry season was coming to an end, and today we were picking the last of them.

I was facing the sea; Rhody was facing the house. I noticed a strange expression on Rhody's face, as if the President had just dropped by – a President he liked. Before I could turn around to see what had prompted this reaction, I heard:

• So where's the sauna?

I froze.

• I mean, this is Finland. Every Sauna Fiend needs a sauna, right?

It couldn't be. It absolutely couldn't be. It was impossible.

• (Rhody) We aren't allowed to use it.

• A pity. I mean, in Finland, you have to use the sauna naked – they frown on swim suits, it's just not done. So we're perfectly dressed for it.

My knees weakened and things went fuzzy.

Two minutes – or more? – later:

• What happened?

• You fainted.

• I fainted?

• Well, maybe you were practicing a new dive – but frankly, one with a low degree of difficulty that wouldn't have impressed the judges. Not a swan dive - you could call it a `swoon dive'. But yeah, you fainted. Quite spectacularly. The kind of thing I thought only occurred in movies.

• It was just . . . the shock. I can't believe I . . . I thought I'd never . . . Where's Rhody?

• Master sent him inside so you and I could have some private time.

• `Master'? I didn't see any Master. Just you and Rhody and –

• You were out for a couple of minutes, dude.

• I'm still feeling faint. What are you doing here?

• The last time you asked me that, I said, `I think I live here.'

• And this time?

• I think I live here.

• Matti, don't tease me. Don't tease me with something like that.

• I'm serious. Let's take a walk.

• I have to pick strawberries.

• No, you don't. Master said we could take some time to chat. You can show me around the place.

I showed him the gardens and the stables and introduced him to Rope and Handcuffs. And then we headed to the beach.

• Ever get a chance to swim?

• On Sundays. Dude who was a slave here before tried to escape by swimming. He didn't realize he was on an island and just thought he could swim down the coast and escape.

• Who told you that story?

• He did. His name was Javier. We met on the good ship Fundamental Experience.

• You're kidding. You were on it again?

• I'll tell you about it later. So what happened? Why are you here?

• Good question, Cheesehead. I myself am rather confused. Somehow I wound up on an island about fifty miles from where I was born. Where there are not one, but three Masters – all of whom are Russian and not Finnish. They just packed me up and told me I was moving. I had no idea you or Rhody were here until I got here. How did YOU get here?

• Because of Javier, in a way. It's a story. Again, I'll save it for later. There's a bigger mystery. Some stranger bought you in Mogadishu, no one I'd ever seen before. Did he sell you to Koivisto? Was he an agent for Koivisto? That doesn't make sense, because Koivisto was there at the auction, he bought that guy with the strange mask over his head.

• He was an agent but not for Koivisto. I've been in St. Petersburg for the last month.

• Omigod. Master Dmitri bought you? I thought he was going to purchase Alaska.

• He did. Alaska – Len – is his slave; dude looks a lot like you, man. Though Daniil told me that Dmitri wasn't all that thrilled with him. He thought maybe Dmitri was going to switch – take me as his personal slave and give Len to my Master.

• Master Dmitri is not your Master.

• No.

• And – just to be clear – your Master is here now with you? You said three Russians, he must be.

• Master relocated here, and I went with him, of course.

• But it's not Master Dmitri.

• It's not Master Dmitri.

• Then who is he? I can't see Sasha or Oleg leaving Master Dmitri. Not Ivan, not Daniil – Grigory?

• Not Grigory.

• Then it must be someone I don't know.

• It's someone you know.

• Huh? Nikolai has Jamal, Horst has Declan – please tell me it's not Semyon the Fat.

• It's not Semyon the Fat.

• Misha. It's Misha. He was going to take Misha with him on LBM until Koivisto –

• It's not Misha.

• I can't think of many other people I know.

• Let me ask you this. Have you seen your chef this morning?

• Olivier? Yeah, but he left to go to the mainland for something.

• He's not coming back.

• How do you know that?

• My Master is taking his place.

• Henri? Has he recovered enough to –

• It's not Henri. He's doing better, but still has a ways to go.

• Then I give up.

• He's very anxious to see you again. And I'm sure he will fuck you instantly. He said he did so twice on your trip to America.

• Bobrovsky???

• I'm not sure of his last name. His first name is Nikita, and he used to work for the FSB but in a fairly benign capacity.

• Bobrovsky is your Master?!!

• Is his first name Nikita?

• Yes.

• Then yes.

• He's a chef?

• He took over for Henri. Turns out he's a really good cook. I'll be spending most of my time in the kitchen with him.

• My head is spinning.

• Your ass will be spinning when he sees you. I think he'd rather be fucking you than me but I don't think your Master will switch with him.

I instantly had a mental image of Bobrovsky: nude, erect, about to plow me. It was a coin toss who had the sexier body – Bobrovsky or Pyotr. Master had the best cock but both Bobrovsky and Pyotr were the most pleasing to look at. And both were great fuckers.

• I see you are fond of him as well.

Yeah, well, the mental image of the young FSB man did send a signal to my penis.

I could not believe my good fortune. Here I was, on an idyllic island with the two men I loved, plus Master Ruslan and Pyotr and Bobrovsky as well. Even Nurbek was sexy in a different, Eurasian kind of way.

• How the hell did this all happen, Matti?

RUSLAN: It was the final piece of Plan Ruslan. I knew Bobrovsky would soon get his IAMSO certification and that he was an excellent cook. Koivisto had a cook and a gardener who wanted to leave. I would replace his chef, Olivier, with Bobrovsky, and his gardener, Pekka, with Pyotr. Then Olivier and Pekka would go to St. Petersburg to work for Dmitri. Dmitri got the French chef he longed for after Henri's departure, plus a chauffeur to replace Pyotr.

Jaakko lent me the funds to purchase Matti, and I paid a third party to bid on him at the auction. Jaakko later went to Dmitri and got reimbursement, handing over Matti to him to be Bobrovsky's boy. Thus ensuring that Matti would be in safe hands. Pyotr made the move to Finland almost immediately but Bobrovsky had to wait until after his practicum, which got expedited.

It was perfect. I had Alex (as he prefers to be called now), Nurbek has Rodi (which Alex spells differently) and Bobrovsky has Matti. Pyotr enjoys all three boys whenever he pleases. Jesper the stablemaster/handyman disciplines the boys every night. We can stay here for five years – after that, we'll have to figure out somewhere else to go.

Some of Koivisto's friends from Turku – a forty-minute helicopter ride from here – had asked to attend parties on Saturday nights – which, with three boys and only five resident Tops, seemed entirely reasonable if we wanted to give the slaves a workout. So now several of them come out each week and put our boys through their paces. We had to lay down a few rules, though. Some of them wanted to play some rude kind of choking game, and we had to prohibit that. Alex had told me of the slave Javier's experience with that game, and how it had led to his choice of revenge against Koivisto. I knew our boys would not be motivated to take the same kind of retaliatory action, but didn't want to put them through the trauma that Javier apparently went through.

Dmitri never told me what became of Javier. After an attempted murder, I couldn't imagine that his fate was anything other than execution, but when I asked him about it, Dmitri was silent. He just mysteriously said, misquoting The Godfather, `He swims with the fishes'. So I presume they dumped him overboard.

ALEX: SUNDAY, AUGUST 7, AFTERNOON – GULF OF BOTHNIA, FINLAND

Unlike in St. Petersburg, here we have Sundays off in their entirety, except for helping out at meals (and sex, of course). On a warm day like today, we go swimming in the afternoon. The waters are chilly, but not as chilly as that day in April when Prince Abdullah took us to the nude beach. I thought about how odd it seemed that the pool on the Fundamental Experience forbid swimwear. Now we all can't imagine wearing swimming trunks. Or anything else.

• So, Cheesehead.

• Yes, Sauna Fiend.

• It's rather frustrating. How can I be a Sauna Fiend if we can't use the sauna?

• Master says we can use it in the winter, on Sundays. But it's too warm in the summer. And we'd have to start it up ourselves. Do you know how to do that?

• Uh, Cheesehead?

• Yes, my love.

• Confession time. I've never actually been in a sauna.

• What? What kind of Finn are you who's never been in a sauna?

• A Finn who left Finland at the age of three?

• Oh, that kind of Finn.

• Cheesehead, I've been thinking.

• Dangerous idea for a slave, but go ahead.

• Have you ever considered the impact of water on our relationship?

• You're switching from saunas to the very opposite of saunas.

• We met because of water.

• That would tend to be true of a lot of divers.

• We developed our relationship in the midst of water, namely the Atlantic Ocean.

• Okay, that's a stretch, but go on.

• I nearly drowned you in water.

• I think I remember that, yeah.

• But then we were reunited because of water.

• Actually, it was because Master Dmitri double-crossed the Royal Family, but were it not for that diving contest we would have remained separated, okay.

• And then I was sent off to Mogadishu because of water.

• The nude beach, true.

• And here we are reunited again, and in the water.

• I'll erect a statue to Poseidon when we get back to the house.

• Oh, look, here comes Rhody.

• Remember how reluctant he was to go skinny-dipping in the pool on the boat?

• Now he takes to it like a duck to . . . how does that go again, a duck to something.

• Water.

• Ah, yes. Like a duck to water. Knew it was something like that. Hey, speaking of water: I've been thinking – have you ever considered the impact that water has had on our lives?

• No, never.

• (Rhody) Hey, guys. I've got news.

• (Matti) Spill it.

• (Rhody) Our masters are not giving us our mandatory fucks tonight. And neither are Pyotr or Jesper.

• So who are they flying in for the occasion? Koivisto?

• (Matti) I was going to guess Kevin Spacey.

• (Rhody) Not Koivisto. Not Kevin Spacey. Not anybody, in fact.

• (Matti) Better not be Rope and Handcuffs.

• Matti, haven't you noticed that Rope is a gelding and Handcuffs is a mare?

• (Matti) We're running out of possibilities here.

• (Rhody) Except for ourselves.

• (Matti) You're kidding.

• (Rhody) IAMSO regulations say we have to be fucked every day by our Master OR HIS DESIGNATE. On Sundays, they've decided to designate us.

• How's that going to work?

• (Matti) Let me work out the math. We need three bottoms and we need three tops, and there are three of us. That works out to . . . one apiece.

• Finnish Calculation Wizard.

• (Matti) That only leaves one question.

• Which is?

• (Matti) Who fucks Rope?

And so we made glorious love to each other that night. Matti and Rhody had sex for the very first time, with Matti on top. Then Rhody entered me, as sexy and as tender a lover as ever. And finally, I sank my member into the finest backside the state of Minnesota ever created – unless I should credit the nation of Finland.

Ecstasy.

ALEX: MONDAY, AUGUST 16 – GULF OF BOTHNIA, FINLAND

Dear Master,

I know you are no longer my Master and that I should just refer to you as Master Dmitri, to distinguish you from my current Master. But I still think of you as `Master' and I am writing this in response to the last order you gave to me, which was to continue to write after I was sold so that you would know that I was all right – or not.

I am.

So this will be the last entry in the `diary' you ordered me to write last October. I feel like my story is complete, at least for a while. And I have to thank you. Above all, I have to thank you for saving Matti.

I was racked with pain when I saw him sold in Mogadishu to a stranger. I was relieved that it was not to the Royal Family, but I had no idea who had purchased him. Master explained to me that you didn't even know it, but that you agreed to purchase him from the agent whom Master had arranged.

You saved him. I don't know if you intentionally saved him for me, but I think maybe you did. And between Master, you, and Mr. Koivisto, you arranged for him to be here now. I do not know how long this will last – Master says we can stay here for five years – but for now it is the fulfillment of a dream for us to be together. Plus I am also here with Rhody, whom I adore, and cannot have imagined such a felicitous result – you may have to ask Oleg what that word means.

If you looked at some of the early entries of my diary, you may remember that after we had been captured by Little Big Man, I had had a number of recurring dreams involving my late brother Adam, who was killed when I hit him with my car while drunk. In most of these dreams I or he or someone was locked into a pair of stocks in the woods while being fucked. Sometimes he would call to me for help.

I dreamt of Adam last night for the first time in a long time. This time there were no stocks involved. Ruslan – Master – was there, his thick member erect and a lusty smile on his face. I knew he was going to use me, but I was unsure about whether it would be in my mouth or my ass. We were in the woods and he motioned me to bend over a log, like the rape scene in Deliverance. So, ass.

Suddenly, Adam was with me, putting his hand on my shoulder as I was preparing to comply with his directive.

• You like this now, don't you, Alex?

• Yes. I like getting fucked. Especially by Ruslan.

• You thought slavery was karma, right? Karma for the accident.

• Yes.

• It's not, Alex. Maybe it was then, maybe it was something you had to go through. But it's not now. Now it's your reward.

• Reward for what? I killed you.

• You're still a good person. You saved a man's life. That makes up for taking mine. And you didn't mean to kill me. That was an accident. You did mean to save Koivisto. That was intentional.

• So what are you saying?

• That I forgive you.

• Really, Adam?

• I love you, Alex. You're still my brother, even if we can't talk except in dreams.

• Is this a dream?

• You know it is.

And with that realization – as is always the case when you realize you are dreaming – I woke up.

I know that what happened in my dream was created within my own mind, that I wasn't really communicating with Adam, but it felt real. And, whether or not he would have meant it, I felt like maybe Adam HAD forgiven me from wherever he is now. Maybe being a slave was my punishment for killing him, and maybe it wasn't, but it no longer feels like a punishment, it just feels like who I have to be.

I think Adam would understand that. Matti understands that. Rhody understands that. Master, Nurbek, Pyotr, and Bobrovsky all understand that. And I know that you understand that, most of all. Because you taught me. You made me understand my true nature.

I am who I have to be. I have to serve. I have to surrender myself to Master's superiority, and to the superiority of all Men who are not slaves. And I must surrender my body for use by their cocks. And that knowledge – and the fact that I am living that reality every day – makes me as happy as I have ever been in my life. And I have you to thank for that.

God bless you, Master Dmitri.

With utmost humility and respect,

alexei

EPILOGUE: FIVE YEARS LATER

DMITRI: SATURDAY, 20 JULY - ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA

I have been home now for a week after this year's Little Big Man America. LBM has now become so successful that we have the lion's share of the world market in new slaves – there are still a significant number of owners who want larger slaves, but our reputation has gotten so solid that those who either prefer or don't mind having a smaller boy come to us first.

And we now have three operations each delivering over forty slaves to market. Little Big Man Africa launched in February. The Royal Family administers it, as per our agreement after they bought our second ship, the Greek Adventure. Ironically, with our growth in market position, we don't need the second ship, as we can just spread out the events throughout the year. But we need the Family as `contest' directors, there not being enough trustworthy Russians to run all three.

LBM Europe will be run this fall – without Ruslan and Nurbek, who have moved on after the expiry of their five-year lease on Jaakko's island. Gennady Tcherepnin and Horst will take their places, joining Sergei and Boris. Yuri and I just completed LBM America with Nikolai and Jaakko, who enjoyed his initial voyage with us so much that he has personally invested in LBM and is now a full partner. Naturally, having his imprimatur on the venture has had an exponential effect on our visibility and market share.

Nikolai, having broken in Jamal as a slave and trained him, sold him on his eighteenth birthday to a Malaysian entrepreneur. Horst might prefer a larger slave than what he gets from our stock, but he has used LBM slaves for the last two years and found them quite satisfactory. He needed to replace Declan when the former trusty attained the age of forty; as Ruslan had hoped, Horst sent Declan to Slave Island rather than terminating him. I've given Horst my boy from LBM America to replace Declan, as I'm happy with my current slave and have no wish to replace him.

Speaking of my current slave – he's sucking my dick right now as I write this. You would recognize him – he's Andrei, who five years ago was Boris's slave. Alexei called him Nodak', as he was "North Dakota" in the LBM contest of his year. Boris had traded him to the Royal Family for a black boy – "Ohio" in that same cohort, whom he has retained ever since. I wound up trading Alex's replacement – Len, who never made it to Leonid' – to the Royal Family in exchange for Andrei, and my agreeing to taking the last choice in the LBM America slave draft (whom I was going to sell anyway).

Andrei is a superb boy, my best slave since Slava. Alexei had that potential but his distractions over the boy Matvei and his preference for Ruslan over me lessened his performance enough to raise doubts that he would rise to the Slava level. He's better off with Ruslan.

In fact, I want to keep Andrei happy, so I have obtained a flute for him to play to entertain guests. Through Jaakko and IAMSO, we are searching out other slaves with musical talent (and have even added a question about it in the Little Big Man questionnaires). We think by next year we will be able to constitute a chamber orchestra, with the goal of having them rehearse over Zoom and perform at the IAMSO convention. Right now, we are short a few string players. Boris and I don't get together often, but when we do, we have Andrei and Gavriil (as Boris has renamed `Ohio') to do a joint recital (soiree, if you will) in which Gavriil sings to Andrei's accompaniment for a limited number of invited guests - followed by an orgy making good use of both boys, of course.

My domestic staff has had minimal changes. Ivan decided to leave last year, so I have a new head housekeeper, Vassily, who is less fastidious than his predecessor but is better endowed and keeps Andrei happy on Wednesday afternoons. (He, like Alexei, was less than enthusiastic about Ivan's fucking). Otherwise, there have been no changes since Ruslan left. Jaakko's former employees, Olivier and Pekka have settled in nicely as chef and chauffeur, Daniil remains as gardener, and Gennady serves as handyman and Andrei's disciplinarian. Sasha, Oleg, and Grigory remain in the office, although Sasha has expressed interest in joining IAMSO and having a slave of his own. Oleg is ready to take over his role, and Jaakko has several recommendations for young men who can fill his current role.

And so life goes on. Quite happily.

RUSLAN: SATURDAY, 8 SEPTEMBER – SLAVE ISLAND, SOUTH PACIFIC

Are you surprised by my current location? I would imagine so.

Nurbek and I had a decision to make after our five-year lease on Koivisto's island expired. Koivisto had a protégé, a Lithuanian named Mandas Degutis, and gave him a five-year lease on the island, as he had given to us. Jaakko had purchased a boy named Joseph, Malawi's Little Big Man, to be Mandas' first slave. Pyotr could stay on as gardener and Bobrovsky could stay on as chef, but the rest of us had to leave. And that included Matti, as there could be only one slave on the island. So we had a decision to make.

We had not accumulated enough income to purchase an estate of our own large enough to accommodate all three of us. Dmitri had, when enticing me to joining IAMSO, offered me his dacha near Pskov to establish a household, but it was not suitable for three men and three slaves.

The six of us were happy in our relationship and wanted to stay together. And so we took a radical step. A provision in the IAMSO charter allowed slaves to be released to Slave Island prior to age forty if their Masters made the move with them. And that's what we did.

All six of us are here – Nurbek, Bobrovsky and I, with Rodi, Matti, and Alex. Pyotr stayed on in Finland, especially happy when he saw Joseph's shapely rump, but Bobrovsky chose to stay with Matti (and have access to Alex), requiring Jaakko to replace the island's chef. He reached out to none other than Henri, now fully recovered from his stroke, who was delighted to have a regular job and access to a slave. We had a few days with both groups inhabiting the island – and some wild parties with the four boys and both old and new Masters and staff – before we needed to depart, confident that Henri and Pyotr will be happy with the new arrangement.

Now that we are here, though, we have to take it for granted. We can't contact them. Slave Island is idyllic, but it has its restrictions. We have no internet, no phones, no way of contacting the outside world. We get weekly visitors who bring newspapers, so we know what is going on (most importantly, the football scores), but I have no idea what is going on at Koivisto's island estate, or at Dmitri's home, since we've arrived here.

Or at the palace, for that matter. The last I knew, Len/Alaska, the boy Dmitri had traded for Nodak/Andrei, was working in the kitchens. Khalid had turned his nephew, Abdullah, into his personal slave. Abdullah still wore the iron mask, so that no one outside the King and his brothers knew the true identity of Khalid's boy. Yes, the former Prince Regent is now King, his senile father having passed away three years ago. He's very concerned about his heir, Prince Malik, whose puberty-linked instincts toward cruelty have not been outgrown since he's obtained quasi-adulthood. He's now eighteen, and on his second eunuch, having sent the first to the dome on a whim. He's also held to the premise that slaves should be used in lieu of toilets, and has vowed that when he ascends to the throne he will dismantle all toilets in the palace, declare that no slave can live past the age of twenty-five and that all slaves must have Level Four executions, which he enjoys observing. He's the palace equivalent of Joffrey in Game of Thrones. Consequently, there was talk about arranging an accident for Prince Malik, so that the role of Crown Prince would pass to the next oldest son, Salim, who, at the age of fourteen, shows signs of the maturity necessary to eventually rule the country. If word of this has reached Dmitri, I'd imagine Tcherepnin could be of assistance in effecting that transition.

Most of the slaves from Alex's cohort are still there, with only a few decorating the Hall of Shame. Latronius and Arkadi (Pyotr's boyfriend from town), who were both enslaved after we discovered their unauthorized nocturnal visits, are both serving the King, the former as his trusty (replacing Declan) and the latter as the white half of the two small boys he keeps in his quarters. Alex's friend "Noisy" is now the black half. Bill Tompkins has moved to the palace's retirement village, in a house he shares with two other men, attended to by the eunuch `Del', who was rewarded for satisfactory service by being reassigned to an easier situation.

And us? Well, life is different here on Slave Island. There is one village for Master/slave pairs like us, and five villages built for retired slaves without Masters. Only two of those villages are occupied so far, and there are only five houses occupied in the Master/slave village. Each house sleeps six – in the other four houses in our village, none of the pairs arrived together. So we are unique in having arrived as three pairs occupying the same house together. Declan is living in one of the retired slave villages, and I have encountered him a few times – and fucked him a few times. And I have met – but not fucked – the famous Slava, now past fifty.

Upon arrival, we were given a set of rules under which Slave Island operates:

Welcome to Slave Island! You have been assigned a village and a house in which to live. Each house is furnished and equipped with indoor plumbing and electricity (provided by generators) with fully-functioning lights, refrigerators, and stoves.

Otherwise, Slave Island is a self-sustaining community. There is a tool shed within each village so that residents can find tools to make repairs. As for food – while tropical fruits can be found on the island, there are no other natural food sources. Residents have been supplied with seeds and garden implements so that they may establish gardens to grow vegetables. The only fauna on the island are insects and a few small lizards.

The island is visited weekly by an IAMSO team which will:

• bring in supplies such as medicines, items necessary for personal hygiene, and foodstuffs not available locally; protein will be provided in the form of beans and other vegetable sources; while no meat will be provided on these visits, facilities for fishing are available, and on an occasional basis meat may be available under the provisions of Rule 7 below.

• deliver newspapers to provide residents with news of the outside world; however, residents may not use the visits to pass messages or otherwise attempt to communicate with anyone off the island. Residents may, however, request other permitted items to be brought to the island on future trips – for example, books or spices for cooking.

• conduct medical examinations of all residents, administer treatment as appropriate, and conduct lie detector tests to verify compliance with the rules stated below.

Rules for the retired slave villages:

1. Residents must remain nude. No attempt shall be made to cover any part of the body by any means, such as leaves or other materials found on the island.

2. No fabric of any kind is allowed, including sheets, blankets, towels, or tablecloths. Each house is equipped with `wind-showers' for use in drying the body after bathing. There are also wind-showers on the beaches for use after swimming.

3. No technology is permitted that would allow communication with the outside world.

4. Residents must engage in anal sex at least once a week. Residents may choose their partner and may choose either the active or passive role. The resident's birthday shall be marked by having sexual relations with all other members of his house, in which the celebrant will take the passive role.

5. Residents must display the ability to achieve erection when examined by a doctor – use of an auxiliary drug such as Viagra is permitted. If a resident fails to produce an erection for six successive weeks, he is considered impotent and good only for passive sex; he will be given the choice of castration or decapitation.

6. Residents who are ill or injured may be treated by a visiting doctor to the best of his ability, but may not be removed from the island for treatment. If two doctors agree that recovery is impossible, the resident will be swiftly and humanely euthanized by decapitation.

7. Upon the death of a resident, island protocol is for his carcass to be barbecued on a spit and shared with residents of his village. This manner of disposal is not strictly mandatory; the resident may request a traditional in-ground burial; however to date no one has done so, as it is considered an honor to have your body consumed as a source of strength for others. Those who are to be euthanized will have the option of decapitation before or after cooking. Those who choose `afterwards' will be celebrated with an honorary farewell ceremony and a memorial plaque to be displayed in the village common.

Rules within the Master/slave village are the same as for the other villages except for Rule 4 and an additional Rule 8.

1. Residents must have anal sex a minimum of three times a week; while it is assumed that the former Master will take the active role and the former slave will take the passive role, former slaves may engage in sex with each other in either role – as may former Masters with each other. Former slaves may not refuse their former Master's request for sex if they have not yet met the minimum standard; after that, they may. Birthdays of slaves will be celebrated in the manner specified under Rule 4 for retired slave villages; birthdays of former Masters will be celebrated by allowing him the use of any and all slaves on the island for the duration of one week, during which the former slave may not refuse the request for sex.

2. A slave may not significantly outlive his former Master. Upon the death of a Master (whether natural, voluntary, or physician-authorized euthanasia), the slave will be euthanized within seven days afterwards using the same protocols as specified under Rule 7 above. Should a former slave predecease his Master, the Master may choose any other former slave on the island as a replacement companion in his house.

Now that's a lot of rules. But think about all the rules that don't apply. Slaves don't have to obey orders of Masters, except as regards to sex (which our boys are quite receptive to, in more than one sense of the word). They can talk freely, come and go freely, and household duties are shared by man and `boy' alike. We live in a cooperative atmosphere, and all six of us love each other. We've begun a tradition of Saturday night orgies, where all six of us engage in multiple combinations – the slaves fuck each other, and I've had sex with both Nurbek and Nikita (Bobrovsky). Nikita's not crazy about taking it up the ass, but give him time, he'll like it. He loves fucking the boys, though, all three of them, as do Nurbek and I. The boys enjoy fucking each other, too, of course. So far we haven't come anywhere close to worrying about meeting the minimum requirements.

I don't miss clothing. Nudity feels natural, particularly when I am swimming in the warm waters of the southern Pacific. The residents of the other houses in our village are pleasant and have as congenial a relationship with each other as we do in our house – and twice a month there is a `village party' at which anything goes. We've even fashioned some switches out of the local trees to flog the backsides of our boys with. They like having a few marks to show off to the other ex-slaves.

Alex and I share a bed, of course, though without benefit of sheets or blankets. It brings us closer together, and usually includes my plugging one of his holes with my cock. Which he loves. He told me he was the happiest here that he has been in his life. He has all the sex he wants, and his need to serve men is voluntary now, not forced. It is a choice for him, he says, and Rodi and Matti both echo that sentiment. They are our boys, they surrender their bodies to us willingly, and they love being around us, in nature's full glory, comfortable in the knowledge that they will never even see an item of clothing again. (The Men who arrive on the helicopters to do medical inspections and deliver supplies always strip before disembarking, obeying the rules that fabric is forbidden anywhere on the island.)

It is an idyllic existence, and all is right with the world.

ALEX: TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7 – SLAVE ISLAND, SOUTH PACIFIC

• Alex?

• Yes, my love.

• I'm feeling amorous.

• That's obvious from what's between your legs.

• You're not feeling amorous.

• Hmmm. Well, I'm not displaying it at the moment.

• I'll move closer.

• Maybe later.

• Well, I've gotta do something to get this boy down. You wanna go for a swim?

• Nah. It just feels too good lying here in the sun.

• How about a dive?

• A dive? There's no diving board on the island.

• There's the rock at Servitude Point.

• Matti, the water's only four feet deep there. Dive off the rock and we'd break our necks.

• Sounds like a bad thing, breaking necks.

• Generally to be avoided, yeah.

• I find it interesting that all the landmarks on this island have to do with either slavery or nudity.

• Or genitalia. Don't forget Erection Bay.

• Erection Bay. Well, thanks for the reminder. I'm still hard.

• Sorry.

• No you're not.

• No, I'm not. But if I keep looking at your cock, I'll get one, too.

• Or what if I do this?

• That seems to be having an effect. So maybe let's go swimming.

• Where?

• Erection Bay.

• They have a diving board there, right?

• No.

• We'll build one.

• The water there's even shallower than it is here.

• It's too far, anyway – on the other side of the island and I don't want to call for an Uber again.

• You called for an Uber?

• I tried. It's tough without a phone.

• I don't think Uber can read smoke signals.

• I discovered that. Anyway, Servitude Point's much closer. I think we can dive off the rock there.

• Into four feet of water.

• Four feet. Quad means `four'. Therefore: I'll test out my quad lutz.

• Have you forgotten that's a figure-skating move and not a dive?

• Until now. In the hands – and feet – of Matteus P. Laukkonen, the lutz will now be a dive.

• With an erection.

• Well, if I break my neck, I think my erection will go down.

• You know who you remind me of? Paavo Nurmi.

• You know Paavo Nurmi?

• Not personally, no. Pretty sure he's dead.

• But you know who he is.

• They called him the `Flying Finn.'

• That they did. Long distance runner. National hero in Finland. Olympic gold medalist like a hundred years ago. I remind you of him, huh? Is it because of my stamina?

• No, but he was the Flying Finn, and you are the Lying Finn.

• Ah. Clever. But you're right. I am a Lying Finn. Horizontally.

• Your favorite position.

• Sometimes. Right now I'm feeling very vertical, however.

• Yes, I can see that. Part of you is vertical.

• My favorite part.

• But then the rest of your body is horizontal.

• Need I point out that the same part of your body is now also vertical?

• While the rest of it is horizontal. Like yours.

• Like mine. Of course if we stood up and our bodies were vertical, then our favorite parts would be horizontal.

• It's all very confusing, isn't it?

• Well, as long as we're both horizontal with our favorite parts vertical, why don't you turn over onto your stomach? And then the part of me that's vertical can –

• Just shut up and fuck me, Matti.

• That's where I was going with that, yeah.

I flipped over, face down, my hard-on digging into the sand. If I lifted my head, I could see the nearby palm tree where I had carved a big heart with a kitchen knife.

Inside the heart it read:

CHEESEHEAD

LOVES

SAUNA FIEND

I stared at it with satisfaction as Matti slid his cock into my ass and pounded away at it for what was very far from the last time.

THE END