The Hanging Academy, Part 6, Chapter 12

As soon as Runner got a little comfortable with the dockside boys around, his natural curiosity led to him asking questions of the ocelot crew member ("Why doesn't it go under the water like a rock does?" "What makes it go?"). Inevitably, those questions had attracted a knot of the farmboys, eagerly tossing out their own questions. Greene was ashore, lurking in the bushes with me. I was rubbing my newly unshackled wrists and trying to stretch my leg muscles enough to do splits. I hadn't been able to do any decent exercises in nearly a month of bondage in the hobble chain. The other member of the crew was belowdecks in the crew quarters, presumably in his underwear. I was wearing his outer clothes. Luckily the portion of my messily cut hair that wasn't hidden under the crewman's hat was appropriate to my disguise.

There was a burst of excitement from the three farmboys with Runner as the crewman invited them all to take a look around on the deck — Runner, of course, brought Puppy with him. I had been adamant that Runner and Puppy had to be aboard before me — the crew had no real reason to let either of them come along; I was the only one of us worth anything to them.

The crewman had been hammering on the engine pretending to be fixing a problem with it. After the barrage of questions had slowed down, he invited the boys to have a close look at the engine. They followed him on a tour — excluding the crew quarters — firing off a barrage of questions of their own. Eventually one of them left on his own, and another was called away by his irritated father. The last of them left reluctantly as the crewman closed the engine cover and declared the trouble fixed. Watching the teen's departing back, the crewman gestured toward the cargo hold. Runner picked up Puppy, carried him down the steps, and disappeared from view.

The next twenty minutes had an air of comic opera, as the crewman left the boat and entered the woods, Greene then returned to the boat, left again, the crewman returned... and at last I walked out of the woods. My heart was doing cartwheels in my chest, and I was barely able to breathe. Two townsmen were still on the dock, likely detailed to keep an eye on the boat in case the now-famous runaway slave should appear and attempt to board. They barely gave me a glance as I walked along the dock, the crewman's ill-fitting boots covering the bruises on my ankles. My hands were in the pockets of my jeans, partly to hide my wrists and partly to hold the pants up. My shoulders were hunched against the convenient rain — which hid the scrapes made by my slave collar. They just kept on talking as I walked by them. Barely able to persuade myself it was really happening, I walked up the plank onto the deck of the boat and down into the cargo hold. I threw my arms around Runner to give him a brief hug, then stripped off the borrowed clothes. I put on the leather islander outfit Runner had stolen for me.

A minute later Greene came down into the cargo hold. I lunged at him and gave him a hug, murmuring "Thank you thank you thank you..." I have no idea how long I might have gone on, but my flow of gratitude was cut short by the abrupt ignition of the engine. Above the thundering noise, I could hear two terrified yelps, one from Puppy and one from Runner. Runner grabbed me and pressed up against me, his face buried against my shoulder. I let go of Greene and started rubbing and patting Runner's back, saying "It's okay, it's okay," slowly pulling him down so he could wrap an arm around Puppy as well. Puppy was crying like a small child.

I looked up at Greene, who gave me a bemused look in return. He said loudly enough to be heard, "We'll have some lunch a little later. For any of you who haven't sworn off food forever by that time." Picking up the clothing I'd discarded, he turned and bounded up the steps. I'm sure he was glad to leave me with the job of calming my two charges. But they were too freaked out by their first encounter with modern technology even to begin thinking about getting seasick.

Greene led the three of us into the galley. One sailor, a female caracal, was already eating at a small table. Nearby sat a small fridge and a microwave. I felt uncomfortable without some sort of collar marking my status as a slave. I certainly didn't want back the one I'd worn on the island, but I was technically violating the law by not wearing one. Under the circumstances, I knew nobody would object, and I suspected the crew would treat me a little nicer if I looked like a free squirrel, even though they actually knew I was a slave.

I had unbuckled Puppy's leather collar and pocketed it, then headed for the galley. Puppy's collar had been a disquieting reminder that, while Runner didn't belong to anyone, I had technically stolen a slave by bringing Puppy onto the boat. I insisted to myself that I shouldn't feel guilty about it, since Puppy's entire potential life as an intelligent being had been stolen from him at birth. That put his servitude beyond all boundaries of fairness observed on the mainland. There were legal circumstances in which someone could be made a slave involuntarily, but none of them sanctioned what had happened to Puppy.

The caracal eating lunch was tall and muscular. Her headfur was cut rather short for a femme: probably to blend in with the mostly male population of the island. I judged her to be in her mid-twenties. She was the one who had pretended to service the engine, distracting the locals while I got on board. She seemed uncertain whether to stand as we entered. She was sipping a beer as she finished a sandwich. I smiled at her.

I smiled at Bailor, who nodded in return. "I'm really grateful for all your help."

I always felt pride at the designation, even when, or especially when, it was just reminding myself. I grinned. "I really am."

"Could you... maybe show us later? I mean, I know Justin said he seen you, but I ain't never seen one."

I bit my lip. The vibration from the engine and uncertain rocking motion would cause trouble. "I've never done it on a boat. I wouldn't be at my best." I brightened. "Justin told you about you being invited to one of the Academy parties, right?"

I shook my head while trying to read her expression. "Oh, please don't call me that. Just Wynn. Academy boys are slaves." There, her reaction when I'd said "Academy" again. Despite Greene's assurances of my hanging prowess, Bailor's face told me that she wasn't entirely convinced I had any association with the Academy. And therefore she didn't think that the promised reward and party would really be forthcoming. I tried to think how I could convince her. Even hanging might not do it, considering the difficulties here. I might just be a talented amateur. I put the problem on hold, reluctantly.

Bailor wiped her hands together, her meal finished. "I'll go relieve Jimmy." She rose, nodded at Greene and left the galley without looking at me again.

Greene gave her a puzzled look as she passed; he couldn't read the caracal the way I could. Greene turned back to me and shrugged. "One of them's got to steer." He gestured to the table, where he had piled cold cuts on a platter beside a stack of sliced bread, open bottles of mustard and mayonnaise with a spreading knife sticking up from the latter, and several unopened beer bottles. His gesture swept wide enough to include Runner.

I took a seat, looked at Runner and gestured toward another seat. Runner had probably never used a chair before, but he'd watched closely as I pulled one out, sat and scooted back in. Runner copied the move exactly.

I looked at the beer. I'd never acquired a taste for the stuff, and was sure Runner hadn't. And I could imagine Puppy's reaction to it. "Ummm... have you got bottled water, or something like that?"

"Oh!" Greene snorted. "I just put those out automatically. If I'd been on an island without beer for a month, it'd be the first thing I thought about." He went to the fridge and pulled out several clear bottles.

He twisted off the caps on two bottles, handing one to Runner. Runner took it, looked at it uncertainly, then imitated my first sip.

A minute later I set the cereal bowl Greene had located down in front of Puppy, and poured the contents of the last of the water bottles into it. Puppy gave it an experimental taste, then began lapping eagerly.

I put a sandwich together for Runner; it was probably believable that sandwiches were not a standard item of island cuisine. I was constantly on the lookout for any possible situation to which Runner might react differently from the way an adolescent island settler would. So far, there had been none. I spread mayo on the bread but decided to skip the mustard. Plenty of time later for Runner to discover intense spices. Runner looked at me questioningly as I handed him the sandwich, and watched as I took a bite of mine. He nodded, took a bite from his sandwich, and grinned at me.

I picked up a few bologna slices, rolled them up in a tube and held them down for Puppy. He sniffed the meat, bit into it experimentally, then snatched it out of my hand with his teeth and wolfed it down quickly.

The other crewman, an margay I'd never yet seen close-up, came down into the galley. Greene gestured toward him. "Jimmy Pellis."

I would almost have described Pellis as a boy. He was smaller than Bailor, with curly headfur. He was obviously younger than me, hardly older than Runner, or maybe even a little younger. I gave him a friendly wave. "It must have been your clothes I was wearing. I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your help."

Oh, shit, a different problem here, just as bad, maybe worse. I didn't need to look at his crotch. His face alone said how horny he was.

I'd considered the possibility of sex with my rescuers. I didn't have a strong objection. In fact, Pellis was damn good looking. Only an inch taller than me, but he was compact. I could tell he had muscles even if they didn't show. And he smelled real nice. But there were three problems. One was that I had serious reservations about engaging in sex in such an uncontrolled situation. Doing it with a monitor on duty in the party pavilion was one thing, but doing it on a boat in the middle of the ocean attended only by horny sailors who could overpower any resistance that Runner, Puppy and I could muster together was entirely different. Greene had been nice so far, but sailors were... Second was the problem of Runner. I had seen through Runner's disguise soon after meeting him. The hornier sailors got, the greater the chance they might realize that Runner was a slave by Purity Island rules. I had to steer events away from that situation.

And third, it wasn't really me that Pellis wanted. He wanted Rochelle Bailor, but she wouldn't have him. I wanted my lovers to want me, not just a hole to put it in.

Cautiously, I ventured, speaking to Pellis, "I'm looking forward to showing how much I appreciate it when you come to the next party at the Academy."

Pellis wheezed out a sharp breath. I had known he was ratcheting up his internal tension considerably. But I had to get him to bring what he really wanted out into the open.

His face reddening, he said, "What about showing your appreciation here? Now?" He gave me a shaky smile.

Perfect. I paused, sandwich held negligently in one hand, and gave him a wistful look. "That could be a lot of fun, Jimmy. But I want to make sure you get the most you can out of it. At the party, I'd give you a real boyfriend experience, or act however else you want me to act. Something you'd never forget. And if there's a student there you like better, you could have him instead. Or me and him. And you'd see another student snuffed by hanging, and that's exactly what all of us are trained for. He'll put on a show like you can't imagine. You can't find video of it anywhere. We don't allow that. The only way you can ever see a Hanging Boy snuffed is by being there." I leaned forward slightly, holding his eyes with mine. "I don't want you to miss out on that."

I could see the wheels turning — no training in reading faces or body language necessary. I'd avoided putting it as a threat, but I had made it clear that sex now versus the party later was an either/or thing. He couldn't do both. And I'd be in control of who was invited to a party. A second wave of realization hit him — that I was also in control of whether he got a financial reward out of this.

He looked at me a moment longer, then nodded. He took a final bite of his sandwich, picked up the beer bottle, and left the galley. Just as he was leaving, I read that same doubt in his face that Bailor had shown. This is all fine, his face said, as long as he's from the Academy. How do I know he really is?

Greene snorted as he watched Pellis's retreat, and turned to me. "He doesn't get out much."

As he nodded and left, Runner finished chewing the last bite of his sandwich. He looked at me. "Is anything wrong? I don't get what's happening."

I rubbed Runner's thigh and briefly leaned my head on his shoulder. "Everything's okay. For now."

I laughed. "I'm sorry, Puppy! You're still hungry, aren't you?" I rolled up another tube of bologna.

Arms crossed over the railing and chin resting on it, I stared out at the rushing water alongside the boat. I seemed to be holding my own against motion sickness. But Puppy had been looking slightly queasy, and was now napping in the cargo hold.

Runner craned his neck, looking around as much of the periphery of the boat as he could see, and shook his head. "I saw the engine, when the..." he gestured, mimicking somebody working on the engine, "showed it to us. How is that engine pushing us, Wynn?"

I considered how to answer. "It's like there's... arms, not real arms, metal arms, under the boat, going like this, swimming." I made a paddling motion. "The engine is making the arms do that. An engine is one kind of machine. That's something that can do work, like people can. You'll see a lot more of those later, to do different things."

Runner nodded. Moments later he straightened, began unzipping his pants, and suddenly remembered. "Wynn, I need to pee."

I led Runner back to the galley, and discovered a door I hadn't noticed earlier. Inside the small room behind it stood a toilet and sink, both relatively clean. "Just pee into the water."

Runner nodded, pulled his shorts down, and aimed — it was not, after all, that complicated an idea. I said, "We usually leave people alone to do it. I'll be right outside."

When I heard the tinkling stop, I reentered, and showed Runner how to operate the flush lever. "Oh, and watch." I turned the tap to start running water into the sink. "Rub your hands together under the water. Where I'm from it doesn't rain nearly as much, so people rub water over themselves. They like to feel clean." Runner washed his hands, looking up at me questioningly to make sure he was doing it right.

Runner was intently scanning the horizon ahead. Nothing but water was currently visible. "What does the Academy look like, Wynn?"

I puzzled over how to answer, and then realized Runner intended to try to see it from mid-ocean. "We won't see it from the boat. After the boat we'll have to go there another way." I wondered how we'd cover the 100-plus miles from the port to the Academy. Would Greene drive us?

Runner looked disappointed, and turned his attention elsewhere. "What's that?" He pointed.

I smiled. Really, it's so much like being with a three-year-old sometimes. I saw where Runner was pointing. I'd seen this structure on the boat before, without paying much attention. I was about to describe it as the mast, and briefly wondered why a boat without sails needed one. Then I saw the thin strip of metal running up the side of the tall wooden pole. My jaw fell open. Why didn't I think of that before?? I said excitedly, "It's... I think it's a radio antenna, R... Caleb." Ignoring Runner's puzzled "A what?" I took Runner's hand and half ran, half leapt up the steps to the bridge.

Pellis was at the wheel at present. Greene was writing in some sort of ledger. The log, I guessed. I burst out, "Justin, you've got a radio, right?" Stupid, stupid, Wynn, I felt like such an idiot!

"Can you reach a telephone land line with it? Talk to somebody on the mainland, by phone?"

"Ummm... yeah, I guess. I haven't tried that before, but I suppose I can get patched through."

I nodded almost spastically, and went on, "Well, look, I can make things a lot easier for you. I need to talk to the Hanging Academy. Tell them where I am, where I'll be... I mean, you'd have to tell them that, where you're going to dock. But you won't have to take me to the city. They can pick me up and do all that."

I waited, shivering with excitement, as Runner looked at me with an expression that said, Okay, Wynn, you really have to explain this to me. Greene put on a headset, flipped switches, adjusted dials, and began speaking into a microphone. Minutes later, when he turned to me and said, "I need the phone number," I almost told him, but my eye caught Pellis's, watching the by-play intently. Two birds about to be snuffed at once, I thought. Not only can I call home, but I can also provide proof to the skeptical. "I don't know the number. It's not like I call there myself. You'll need to get that from the operator."

I saw Pellis press his lips together and give a barely perceptible headshake. He thinks I've just proved I'm not from the Academy. He thinks I should know the number. Just wait, Jimmy. If I gave a number to call, Pellis and Greene would have no way of knowing who I'm really talking to. But if Justin finds the number from the operator, there's no question it's the Academy.

I waited with Greene as Directory Assistance sought the number. Eventually, Greene said, "Could you put me through to that number?" I spotted a toggle switch labeled "speaker" on the radio console. I reached forward and flipped the toggle, and a voice emerged from a grilled circle in the console, "...ging Academy, this is Bonnie. How can I help you?"

Through a wavery curtain of tears, I could make out Runner's incredulous expression, as he looked under the console to see where Bonnie might have been hiding all this time. Greene looked at me questioningly, and I waved frantically for the microphone. Greene handed it to me, and I said, my throat knotted, my voice shaking, "C-could you connect me with the Dean's office?"

"Certainly, sir." There was a sharp clicking sound, and a new voice. "Dean's office. This is Tina."

I tried to speak, but couldn't hold back the sobs. I'd felt sure I could keep it together better than this. I took a deep breath, as Tina's voice, full of concern, asked, "Sir, can I help you?" I finally managed to choke out, "Tina, it's Wynn."

There was a long silence. I looked at the console, and up at Greene. "Are we still connected?"

At last a choked whisper emerged from the speaker. "Wynn! Where are you?? How are you??"

"I'm okay! I'm okay!" I sniffled desperately to clear my nose so I could keep talking. "I'm on a boat. We're headed for land. I'm with some sailors who rescued me. I'm going to need somebody to come get me. I'm going to let you talk to Justin Greene. He'll tell you where to come." I handed the microphone back to Greene, and fell forward onto my crossed arms on the table. I could no longer hold back the sobs, and gave in to them.

I felt Runner beside me, squatting. Runner's hand was on the back of my neck. "Wynn? Wynn? Does it hurt to talk to that thing?"

I looked up and did my best to smile. My sobs suddenly morphed into a laugh. "It doesn't hurt. Caleb. It feels... better than anything. Ever. Oh!" I looked up at Greene, and said softly, indicating the microphone, "I need it back. When you're done."

Greene nodded, saying into the microphone, "About 10 pm, I think. Somewhere in there. Depends how choppy the water is."

Tina's voice, businesslike now, said, "Okay. Is there anything else we need to know?"

I made a beckoning gesture for the microphone. Greene handed it back, and I said, "Tina, we need transportation to the Academy for three people. There's me, and someone from the island who's going to come back with me, and a puppyboy."

I giggled. "Tina, if I explained everything right now, that 10 pm target would just drift right by. Oh, one more thing. Whatever reward there is for finding me, if that could be taken care of up front, I'd appreciate that. Split three ways."

I sighed. "I just... I don't want to stop hearing your voice, Tina, but I know you've got things to do and people to talk to."

The tears started again. "Not as much as I missed all of you. Okay, go now. Bye."

As the click was followed by a dial tone, I looked up to see Pellis staring at me, wide-eyed. I grinned and gave him a thumbs-up signal. He nodded, a smile breaking out on his face. I wondered how much of his reward money was already spent. Then my mind snapped back to the Academy, and I laughed, visualizing the activity I'd just inspired.

"Wynn, what....?" Runner seemed unable to find words for all the questions flying around his mind.

Runner had been marveling at the electric lights. First the ones on the boat ("Wynn, isn't it nighttime? I can see everything!"). I told Runner the word for the lights, and cautioned him against looking directly at them. Then he was amazed by the string of lights stretched along the horizon, slowly growing brighter and clearer as we watched from the railing. I could see outlines of individual buildings now, and what looked like a shoreline highway, judging from the moving ribbons of white and red.

The mainland!! Everything felt so unreal. I had wanted so desperately, impossibly, to find a way back. I had feared so much I would never see any land but the island, the rest of my life.

It seemed cool now, though I'd normally be comfortable. The temperature was several degrees lower than the heat I'd become accustomed to on the island. I was glad to be wearing clothes.

Runner was leaning far forward, nearly in danger of falling over the railing. "But we can't see the Academy from here?"

I can see it, I thought. Feel it. Taste it. But I shook my head. "No. But soon."

Runner pointed. "Look, those lights. They're..." Runner wriggled his fingers in front of him, his best description of the unsynchronized red blinking of at least a dozen lights. Police cars! I hadn't expected that, but realized I should have.

The boat chugged up beside the wharf, and Pellis jumped over the railing, heading for the rope Bailor tossed overboard to secure it. A searchlight suddenly illuminated the boat and its surroundings, and a tinny voice magnified by megaphone said firmly, "Stop! Drop all weapons. Stand still with your hands up."

Squinting against the light, I saw a half-dozen uniformed officers lined up just beyond the wharf, guns drawn. I muttered to myself "What in the hell...?" This was not the sort of reception Greene and the others needed or deserved. I heard an inner voice telling me I was being crazy, but I threw my hat into the water, to make myself more recognizable despite my hair. I stood with my hands on my hips, balancing with difficulty against the rocking of the boat, and shouted furiously, "Did you guys not get the memo? These aren't the anthros who took me, they're the ones who rescued me! Do you understand the difference?"

I was hoping my attitude would convince them that I was not under any form of compulsion or restraint. Evidently it worked. A vole emerged from what appeared to be an Academy limo, not one of the police cars, and shouted, "Stand down." She gestured to Pellis, who was standing frozen. "Do whatever you need to do there."

The surface of the dock was at a convenient height for me to hop over the railing and onto the boards. I did, and turned back to Runner. "Hand Puppy over to me."

Runner did so, and then imitated me, jumping over the railing as I was awkwardly setting Puppy down. The vole, who appeared to be in charge, walked over to us, and faced me, holding out her hand. "Wynn. I'm Lieutenant Sims."

After a month in a land where prey were nothing more than pack animals, this truly gave me a sense of being home. Nothing so far, not all of the familiar sights and sounds of civilization, had hit me. But this reminded me that I was back in a world where a prey anthro might be giving orders to the predators who worked for her. I shook hands with Sims. "How did you know I was me?"

Sims smiled. "Admittedly you don't quite look like your picture. But I was told."

"By whom?" Then I saw that a leopard had emerged from the same car that Sims had come from. Even against the glare of the searchlight, I recognized the Dean instantly.

I whooped, ran to him and threw my arms around him. Never, in all my years at the Academy, would I have imagined doing that. I pressed the side of my face to his soft chestfur, and felt his hands patting my back. Equally hard to imagine. I murmured, "I am so glad to see you."

I laughed in delight. That statement, at least, seemed to fit him. I opened my eyes and gasped. "Ted!! What are you doing here??"

Ted Bloom was standing just behind the Dean. "I've been doing a lot of work with the police on this. And the Dean." He grinned and held out his arms, and I shifted my hug from the Dean to Ted.

Ted let go first, and looked at me, holding me at arms' length. "What did you do to your hair, dear?"

I laughed. "I thought I'd try something different. If I said it's a long story, would you believe me?"

Puppy and Runner had followed me to meet the Dean. Puppy had been growling at the strangers, and now let loose with several menacing barks. Ted gave Puppy an astonished look as Runner knelt and stroked Puppy to calm him. I was used to the sounds Puppy made, but I knew how much more authentically dog-like they were than anything a mainland puppyboy could manage.

I turned back to the Dean. "There's a reward, right? For finding me?" I gestured back at the boat. "The three sailors on that boat should get it. Get all of it, whatever it is."

It was Ted who responded. "Yes. Those three? Not this one?" He gestured at Runner, still petting Puppy.

I laughed and nodded. "The ones over there, yes." I looked at the Dean again. "Did Tina pass on the part about me bringing along some extra people?"

Ted nodded, and looked back at me. "Let me just make totally sure. Him, and him, and her, right?"

I nodded again, and Ted headed in that direction. I took Runner's hand, pulling him up to a standing position, and told him, "This is the Dean of the Academy. He's going to take us there."

Runner looked at the Dean's spots and gasped. "There's a predator at the Academy? I thought..."

I shook my head, grinning. "It's not like you're thinking. He's a good anthro. Very good. But yes, most of the students are prey like me, but some of us are predators. Here on the mainland, predators can be slaves if they choose, and prey can be masters."

I could see Ted was talking with Greene, Bailor, and Pellis. I reached out and took off Runner's island hat. "Here, I want him to get a good look at you." I smoothed down Runner's hair to call attention to his horns, and turned back to the Dean. "Sir, this is Runner. That's the only name he has. I want him to stay at the Academy. And the puppy."

The Dean was uncharacteristically flustered. I followed his eye movements, and knew that it was at least partly due to his sudden perception of a very beautiful gazelle standing in front of him. Even his experience with the boys who came to the Academy was not enough to immunize him to Runner's beauty. Runner was in a class only a few of the students reached. "You want... I don't know... how are you proposing...?"

"Sir, he's a free person, not owned by anyone. He doesn't have any family. He's ready and willing to commit himself to the Academy as a slave. He could do whatever staff job you can give him."

He frowned, his thoughts more collected now. "Birth certificate? Any sort of identification?"

"Okay. He's past his eighteenth birthday, or he wouldn't be here. Nobody has any claim on him. In fact, aside from the people standing around here right now, nobody really knows he exists, except as a face they've seen. I can't prove any of that, but it's true. That's what I hope you'll trust me on."

He looked at me thoughtfully, and finally nodded. He turned to Runner. "Where are you from?"

I spoke for him. "He's from the only place he's ever known, and he doesn't have a name for it. It's Purity Island."

"Purity Island!" He looked at Runner again. "But that was settled by anthros of our own stock."

I nodded. "Yes, but there was a native population there before that. Genetically, he's mostly an original islander. They're almost gone from interbreeding, but I think he got an unusually pure mix."

The Dean looked at Runner a moment longer, then shifted his attention to Puppy. "Ummm... what staff position do you propose for the puppyboy?"

"Sir." I discarded the light-hearted approach, and looked at him intently. "The fact that I'm standing here is because of them. Both of them." I gestured toward Runner and Puppy. "Everything I'm going to be able to do now, everything I can accomplish with my life from now on, I owe that all to them." Tears stung my eyes once more.

The Dean looked at me, and I saw that I didn't need to state the obvious — he already understood. Whatever financial rewards and other advantages to the Academy came from my future teaching — and my hanging — the Dean himself owed Runner and Puppy a great deal as well. He nodded.

Ted returned, and told the Dean, "They seemed pretty pleased with that. I bumped the reward up to fifty-one. That made it easier to split into thirds." He laughed. "After all our effort publicizing it, they hadn't heard about a missing Hanging Boy before they ran into Wynn, and only knew about the reward from him. They're a little outside our media coverage area."

"What!?" A fifty-one thousand dollar reward! I wasn't sure I would even be sold for that much! Maverick, of course, had brought in far more than that. But that was Maverick. "How..."

The Dean smiled. "You have admirers, Wynn. The Academy put up ten thousand, and then Mr. Bloom and your father added twenty thousand each."

"My dad!! How is he?? Please don't tell him I waited this long to ask about him! There's just so much going on... Is he okay?"

The Dean answered, "It seems to have been a false alarm. He'd given all the indications of a heart attack, but tests were negative. They kept him at the hospital a couple of days, and released him."

Ted shook his head. "We haven't told him. We don't want Andrew to know you're back yet."

Ted sighed. "We haven't been able to find any provable connection yet. He lawyered up pretty quickly when we started asking him questions that suggested he was under suspicion. We haven't been able to talk to him much since then."

"He had to have given Dad the fake heart attack somehow. You know it's too much coincidence that he took me right when that happened. Some kind of drug?"

"None was found. There are drugs that can do it undetectably. But, well, they're undetectable. We do assume Andrew was responsible, but again, no connection found."

Ted laughed. "Not in an official capacity. But I've hired some detectives. They've been working with the police. And they report back to me."

I gave Ted another hug. "I don't know what to say. You've been doing so much for me!"

Ted shrugged. "You talked about owing people. I felt I owed you and the Academy a lot."

Lieutenant Sims came over, accompanied by a stoat I hadn't met. The lieutenant said, "I'm done here for now. The sailors agreed to be interviewed in a couple of days."

The lieutenant shook his head. "I'm convinced they're what they say they are. But they might know something useful."

I turned to the Dean. "I have some unfinished business; I need to talk to one of the sailors for a few minutes. Can we use the limo? It'll be less than 15 minutes, I promise."

The Dean gave me a sharp look, but nodded. "Sure, go ahead. Lt. Sims can talk to the other two while you're finishing up."

"Over here." I led him to the limo and opened the back door. I checked the front window, and yes, Big Bill was behind the wheel. I climbed in, my hand barely touching Pellis's upper arm, and I pressed the button that turned the window between the front and back seats opaque.

"I want to thank you for believing in me, Jimmy," I told him. "I know you went through a lot because of us. You usually have a cabin to yourself, but Cap'n Greene gave Bailor's cabin to Caleb and me, and you had to share with Bailor.

"You were horny as hell, and I turned you down flat. I know how uncomfortable that is."

"Oh, you're good looking enough, and I wanted to. And I'm a Hanging Boy. We learn to read body language, so I could tell what you were thinking, what you were feeling. I knew you were suffering. But your real problem is Rochelle. I want to be wanted for me, not just because I'm available and she's not. "

"I know that the reward money helps, but it can never really make up for what you went through. So I want to give you a bonus, right now. But sex should be a connection between two people, not just between two bodies." I took his head between my hands and kissed him.

"Yeah. Wow! Now, I want you thinking about me, not about her. So close your eyes, and listen. I'm going to tell you something, and I want you to imagine it as I describe it. See it inside your head."

"You know I'm a Hanging Boy. We live to be hanged. I've finished my training, and I just have few things I promised I'd take care of. In the not-too-distant future, probably less than 6 months from now, somebody is going to come and buy my contract. I'll get into this limousine or another one just like it, and ride to my new owner's place. And I'll take all my clothes off..." As I spoke, I started gently rubbing his crotch. He was already hard, and he started moaning when he felt my hand. "...And I'll climb up on a raised platform, completely naked. One of my friends will tie my hands behind my back, real tight. And then he'll put a noose around my neck." I paused, looked at his face. Even with his eyes closed, he was looking straight at me, listening closely to every word. "And my new owner will pull a lever, and the platform will sink from under me. The noose will tighten around my neck, and I'll be hanging."

Pellis was breathing hard. I unzipped his trousers, and brought out his cock, stroking the top gently with one hand.

"Even if I were strong enough to lift myself up with one hand, and remove the noose with the other, my hands will be tied so I can't use them. I'll dance, and kick, and twist. I'll struggle for air. It will go on for over twenty minutes, but eventually I'll get so excited, just from the feeling of hanging by my neck, that I'll cum. That will leave me too tired to last much longer. I'll be strangling to death for real. I'll never breathe again. Never. I'll hang there, first kicking a little, then completely limp, until my heart stops beating. A swatch of my fur will go back to the Academy for the other students to remember me by."

He was dripping pre-cum now, about one drop a second. This margay was ready, and he was thinking of nothing but me, and my body hanging in the noose. I bent down and wrapped my mouth around him, licking his sensitive spots. I took his balls in my other hand, playing with them gently. And I started bobbing my head up and down his cock. This was my second-favorite thing, after "both pleasures": a cock in my mouth, a male thinking about me and nothing else. I moved slowly at first, then faster and faster. He screamed my name, "Wynn... Wynn... Wynn," as he filled my mouth with his cum. I let a few drops dribble from the corner of my mouth, then moved slowly as I swallowed everything he had to give.

At last I could sense that he was done. I slowed to a stop, but kept my mouth wrapped around him. He collapsed on the seat, limp.

"Oh. Sorry. I promised the Dean we'd only be a few minutes. But when you come for the party, we'll have a whole hour to share pleasure if you want." I licked his cum off my lips, and kissed him.

I opened the door and got out, then helped Pellis out. I told him, "I do have some advice for you. Rochelle isn't completely impervious to your charm. She just doesn't want a relationship on shipboard. You have her number?"

"Wait until tomorrow evening, then give her a call and invite her out. You might be pleasantly surprised."

Sims nodded. "Go ahead. I won't come with you, but Detective Reed will." He indicated the stoat. "He wants to ask Wynn some questions."

Detective Reed took the front seat, beside Bill, who was driving. Runner and I sat in the second seat, with Puppy draped across our laps. The Dean and Ted took the rearmost seat. Big Bill was driving, and I sat on the right side so I could see his familiar — and reassuring — face.

Runner and I sat pressed together at shoulders, hips, and thighs, despite plenty of room on the seat. I held Runner's left hand in both of mine, resting them on Puppy's back. Runner needed one hand free for pointing.

Runner seemed permanently wide-eyed, not even wanting to blink in case he missed something. He pointed again. "What's that?"

"That's a billboard. It's for..." I struggled to find a way to explain advertising. "It's to tell people about something they might want to have."

"But people can't hear it. There's too much noise..." He gasped suddenly, his face alight. "Oh! Is that those letters that make words? You hear it that way?"

I smiled and nodded. "It's called reading. People read those words when they go by."

Detective Reed turned around to face me and said, "Wynn, if I could just ask you a few..."

I glared at him. "I promise I will help you all I can. I want to help. But it's always going to be fresh for me. I'll remember what you need me to remember. It can wait. This is more important."

I shook my head quickly. "It can wait. I promise I will help you all I can. I want to help. But it can wait. This is more important."

"There's a lot you want to know, and a lot I need to tell you. But this is Runner's first night in the civilized world. It's never going to be his first night again. It's very special to him, so it's very special to me. It's my priority. I'm going to answer his questions now and yours later. Okay?"

You choose the ending:

In the original ending , Andrew never changes and continues to blame other people for the consequences of his own actions.

In the alternate ending , Andrew realizes he's been an asshole, seeks atonement for his misdeeds, and finds a new goal.

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The Hanging Academy

Section 6, Chapter 12