Chapter 3

Another aspect of the recent changes that he had not considered smacked him in the face when he entered the locker room after class. The other students were stripping off and heading to the showers. There was no segregation at this level, since all students were over fourteen!

Girls and boys alike were wandering around naked, showering and changing. There were a lot of looks exchanged on both sides, and more than a few hardons.

Max had always dreaded being in the locker room before, slinking around and either not showering at all or waiting until the last minute to hurry through. This time he took a deep breath, tried to stop blushing and stripped.

While intellectually he was pretty certain it was his imagination, he still felt like a circle of silence was spreading out from him at the center. The boy on one side and a girl on the other, both stopped talking to other students, turning instead to look his way.

The silence seemed to spread and, when Max took a deep breath and looked up, he found it wasn’t his imagination after all.

“Damn! Why haven’t I ever seen you around before?” A svelte, athletic black girl on his left asked.

He turned towards her and his eye swept her body. She was tall, with a runner’s body. All sleek and streamlined, rangy muscles that made her look fast even standing still. She had smaller breasts, but perfectly shaped with puffy nipples that were getting hard even as he watched. The thatch between her legs was trimmed short and he could see the lips peeking out.

Max tore his eyes away, blushing even more, and met her gaze with a shrug.

“I was a late bloomer.” Max said lamely.

When her eyes swept over him, pausing at his groin, he groaned silently when she licked her lips and he lost control, the blood filling his cock and making it rise.

“Is that for me?” she asked coyly, batting her eyes.

“For you? I don’t know, but definitely because of you.” he mumbled, getting a laugh from a couple of the other students. Max grabbed his towel and closed his locker, escaping into the shower.

In the shower, the wet, soapy bodies of his female classmates meant that his erection was not going down any time soon. Thankfully, he was not alone in being excited, so he didn’t stand out as much as he had feared. On the downside, though he was embarrassed when he realized he was looking, there was only one other student his ‘size’.

When the last bell rang, Max left the gym with the others, making a beeline for his locker and then the front doors, feeling like he was trying to outrun his embarrassment.

Outside, he found Alan, Thea, his sister Maggie, and surprising him, Missy waiting around at the bottom of the steps by the front entrance.

He waved to them and, as he reached the bottom, he saw Missy gesture to the side with a tilt of her head. Max nodded, then held up a finger to the remaining three, asking them silently to give him a second.

He moved to the side, Missy at his side, until they got to a spot that was relatively clear of escaping students.

“You didn’t call.” Missy said quietly, looking down at her feet.

Max wasn’t sure what to say, so using her body to block what he was doing, he slipped his CAP card out and held it up, waist high, so she would see it.

There was a quiet gasp and Missy’s hand came up, not quite touching the card before withdrawing. She looked up at him, and for the first time he could remember, she smiled. A real smile, not that sardonic smirk she sometimes sported, but an honest to goodness, light up your face kind of smile that turned her from kinda cute to gorgeous in an instant.

“That is awesome, Max. Look, I am not going to lie ... you were on my short list because of your brains, but the changes, well, you jumped right to the top.” she said quietly, the smile fading but not disappearing. “Since you are, um, set, can I ask a question?”

Max cocked his head, wondering, but nodded. “How can I help?”

“Is Maggie hooked up with anyone?”

Max almost choked when he considered what Missy had asked him. He swallowed, took a deep breath, then shrugged. “If she has, she hasn’t said so.”

Missy just nodded, then shocked him again by kissing him on the cheek and walking away.

Max watched her go for a minute, then turned to see his friends and his sister staring at him in amazement. Max just rolled his eyes at the thought of the inquisition he knew was coming, and rejoined them.

After almost a quarter mile of being peppered with questions, he stopped and held up both hands.

“Look, she had a question for me, and it’s private, okay? Nothing bad, nothing good, just a question and she was grateful. That’s it.” he said, meeting the eyes of each of the three.

Maggie huffed, but grinned at him. “Fine, but I still say she is kinda cute. She’d be cuter in something other than black.” she said, turning to start walking again.

Friday morning, for the first time in a week, Max woke up feeling rested and fit. He wasn’t starving to death, just hungry, and he hadn’t grown any more that he could tell. After a quick shower, he bounded down the stairs for breakfast and was surprised, again, to see both of his sisters.

“Melanie, you never get up for breakfast! Maggie, you are almost as bad. Something going on with you two?” he asked as he filled a bowl with cereal.

Melanie looked down, her finger tracing a circle on the tabletop. “Hank dumped me. He left for Austin, saying he was going to find a pickup and I wasn’t the kind of girl he wanted to take to the stars.” she said, tears in her eyes.

Hank Lauder was a would-be rodeo star and kind of a big man around town. In his early 20s, he was a handsome, rugged guy who attracted a lot of looks from the single women, and some of the married ones too. He had quite a rep as a ladies man.

“You can do better than some rodeo bum, Melanie. You are one of the prettiest girls in town!” Max said, patting his sister on the back.

“But what if no one picks me, Max. I can’t fight, and I don’t want to die.” she sobbed, breaking down.

Maggie put her arms around her sister, her own eyes brimming with tears.

“We all worry about that.” she said softly, hugging her older sister. “I worry about who picks me. What if it is someone like Tommy Ellis? I think I might prefer to stay here and be bug food than be his slave for the rest of my life.” Maggie said, shuddering. Her face, at the mention of being a slave to Tommy, had a look of revulsion on it that made Max wince.

“Girls, if it comes down to it, your father and I have open slots. So does Max.” his mother said from the doorway.

None of them had heard her come in and, as Max snapped his head around to look her way, he saw that his sisters were looking at him instead.

He turned back and met their eyes, nodding his head.

“She’s right. I have six slots and I hope to gain two more when I retest. I can, um, I can take you both, then we can try to find a good guy for you later. Work out a trade or something.” he said lamely, blushing.

Nothing more was said at breakfast, but his sisters both joined him and his friends for the walk to school and, more than once, he felt their eyes on him.

When they arrived at school, there was a small crowd gathered at the bottom of the front steps and they hurried to see what was going on.

In the center of the crowd was Rick Mason, a real jerk of a guy who was as big a bully as Tommy Ellis, but not as smart. He had been suspended twice this year already for fighting on campus.

Rick had a smaller student’s shirt in his fist and the kid was dangling, his toes several inches from the ground and his face turning red.

“Ten bucks, you little fucker. You don’t fucking bump me and walk away. Pay or bleed.” Rick growled, his spittle spraying out and hitting the kid in the face.

When Max saw that it was Mike Pepper, the genius who had skipped several levels, he got angry. Mike was only twelve, and was the smallest kid in the whole school.

Max stepped forward and grabbed Rick’s wrist, forcing it downwards until Mike was standing on his own two feet again.

Rick Mason’s eyes went wide, a furious scowl on his face as he released the smaller boy, turning to get in Max’s face. Rick was six feet tall and pretty fit, so he was looking down at Max as if at a bug.

What Max couldn’t see, but the others students could, was that Max’s new physique outclassed Rick’s by far, and there was a gasp of surprise from the crowd.

Max, long used to being bullied, never even considered his new body and the hormones flooding his system only fed the rage he felt, causing him to growl back at Rick Mason.

“Quit being an asshole, Mason. Mike is half your size and ten times smarter than you.” Max said, not backing down.

“You are dead meat, kid.” Mason screamed, raising a ham-like fist. The blow didn’t even come close, Max easily evading the slow, but powerful punch. He turned sideways, the fist flying past his ear.

Max, not thinking now, but reacting, slammed his fist into Mason’s solar plexus, folding the older boy over and knocking him to the ground.

He raised his foot, fully intending to stomp on the bully, to smear his face against the pavement, and was shocked to see Maggie and Thea in front of him, their arms waving and their mouths moving. He backed off, and it took him a second to realize that they were yelling at him, and longer to actually hear what they were shouting.

“Max, stop! It’s enough! It’s over!”

He shook his head and stepped back further. Rick Mason was laying on the ground, retching as he tried to bring up what was left of his breakfast. There were tears in his eyes and a long line of snot dripping from his nose. He looked pretty pathetic, and Max having been where Rick was many times, felt guilt crashing in on him.

The girls each had one arm, dragging him back through the crowd that parted before them and let them go.

They sat him down on the curb by the front gate, sitting with him, one on each side, and held on to his hands while he caught his breath.

“I could have killed him.” Max said, shaking his head.

“No big loss to humanity, Max, but not worth the trouble you would get into.” Alan said, crouching down in front of him. “You were pretty scary over there.”

“I kinda of lost it. I just felt ... anger, rage? I wanted to destroy him. Suddenly he was every bully I ever got beat up by, and I wanted him dead.”

“Max, you have been a teen, I mean physically, for less than a week. Suddenly you are big and strong and virile, not the boy you were. I think it’s just the hormones. You’ll get used to it, be able to control it, I just know you will.” Maggie said, kissing him on the cheek.

“What she said, stud.” Thea said with a laugh, getting the others to crack up, then she too gave Max a kiss on the cheek.

Max, feeling a little better, looked at Alan. “What? No kiss?” he joked.

Alan looked surprised, then wagged a finger at Max. “Not on the first date!” he joked, then pretended to be offended.

The rest of the week went relatively smoothly, and Max found he was starting to relax a bit and actually starting to enjoy his new look. Some of the girls in his classes, girls that never would have looked at him twice before, were now paying attention to him, and he was enjoying the attention.

On the other side of the coin, he found that some of the guys were not happy and now considered Max to be competition where, before, he was beneath notice. By Friday afternoon, he realized he was going to have to do a juggling act to avoid making enemies in either camp.

Max, Alan, Thea, and Toby had all been given permission to miss school on Tuesday. Toby had turned fourteen on Saturday and Thea on Tuesday. The two newly eligible teens had decided a while back to test on the same day, Max and Alan going along for moral support.

Toby’s grandfather had a face that was weathered by decades in the sun, but sharp intelligent eyes and a warm smile. He doted on his grandson and thought highly of Toby’s friends as well.

He pulled his four-door pickup into Max’s drive at eight the morning of the test, and Toby hopped out to greet his friends. Max, Alan, and Thea were waiting on the steps, Thea running down to hug Toby in her excitement.

“You ready for this, Toby?” Max asked, smiling at his friends.

Toby just smiled and nodded, then waved his hand towards the truck.

They piled in, Toby in the front with his grandfather and the other three in the back.

“So, you excited, young lady? Toby here could hardly speak of anything else, the last couple of days, chatting along like a magpie.” Mr. Boyer said, his eyes twinkling.

Max, Thea, and Alan laughed at the idea, Toby being the strong, silent type, and tried to imagine him acting like a chatterbox.

“Is that right, Toby? Talking your grandparents’ ears off at dinner, were you?” Max asked, teasing his friend.

Toby turned to look at them, a smile on his face, and shrugged. “Grandpa thinks it is important.” he said quietly.

Max knew that Toby wanted to stay, to take over the farm. He had no desire to go to the stars, but he also knew that Toby’s grandparents were dead set on Toby leaving. They had raised him and had no desire to see him as food for the aliens when they came. For as long as Max had known his friend, it was the only disagreement that Toby had ever had with his grandparents.

“Well, he’s right. We need you to look after us up there, keep us out of trouble.” Alan quipped, getting a grin from Mr. Boyer in the rear view mirror.

The testing center looked much the same but with one, glaring, difference. A section of fence was mangled and blackened and there was a black streak on the face of one of the buildings. In addition, there was a small crater in the parking lot, and all of the cars were now parked on the opposite side.

In front of the fence were two men, but they were in combat gear and looked very imposing. Overhead, floating above the center, was a large drone bristling with weapons.

“Looks like there has been a little excitement here.” Mr. Boyer said phlegmatically, shaking his head. He parked the truck and climbed out, the teens all scrambling out after him, and they all stood to stare for a moment at the damage.

“Well, come on then. Daylight is a wasting.” Mr. Boyer said, walking towards the testing center.

As they approached the Marines on guard, one stepped forward with a small device in his hand.

Without a word he waved the device over each of them, watching the screen, then nodded and stepped back.

“One visitor per test participant is the rule, but you are cleared to enter on your own, Mr. Xander.” the Marine said, his voice distorted by the speaker on the front of his helmet.

Mr. Boyer, Toby, Thea, and Alan all turned to stare at Max, but he just shrugged, feigning ignorance. After a second, there were a few exchanged glances, and they passed through the gate.

Toby and Thea were both in the first half of the alphabet, so they all trudged into the left hand building.

“How many to test?” There was a different person behind the counter now, an older lady that could have been someone’s grandmother.

Thea and Toby stepped forward, handing over their student IDs, while Alan, Max, and Mr. Boyer found chairs in the waiting area.

The two teens were ushered right in to be tested while the others waited, chatting easily.

“You boys, and Thea too, of course, have been good for Toby. He never was one to talk much, but I can see how much he enjoys spending time with you. It’s a lonely life out there on the farm. No other kids around, most of the farmers my age or thereabouts. I want him to do well, but high or low, I want him to go to the stars.” Mr. Boyer told them.

“He wants to be a farmer, sir. He loves your place. The animals, the open spaces.” Max said, shaking his head.

“I know he does son, but the farm is just about dead. It is a shadow of its former self, what with the big corporate outfits sucking all the profit out of farming these days. We barely make ends meet, and in a few years? We’ll have to sell and retire someplace. We want Toby to live, to go out there and do things, see things that we never will.” The older man said, the pain in his voice clear.

Thea’s test lasted about forty-five minutes and she came out clutching her card, a concerned look on her face. She held it close to her breast and sat down, not saying much to any of them.

Alan and Max, having been there themselves, didn’t pry, but waited another forty minutes for Toby to come out.

Toby was scowling as he came out, seeming lost in thought, so they all trooped out of the building and back to the truck in silence.

Mr. Boyer drove them back to town, bypassing the farm and stopping at a burger joint within walking distance of Max’s house.

“You kids go get yourselves something to eat. I got errands to run. Toby, I will pick you up at Max’s house in a few hours, okay?”

Toby looked at his grandfather, his expression still dark, and nodded once before slipping out of the truck. As his grandfather pulled away, Toby stood staring after the truck until it was lost from sight. When he turned, Max was shocked to see unshed tears in his friend’s eyes.

Inside, they ordered lunch and chose a table in the back corner. There weren’t many customers so they had privacy to talk.

“Cards out.” Thea said softly, still clutching hers to her chest, her eyes bright.

Max, Alan and Toby all pulled their cards out and, as one, the entire group laid theirs in the center of the table.

There were gasps from Alan and Thea, and Max was surprised as well.

Alan had scored a 5.8, Thea a 5.6 and Toby a 7.2.

The four friends looked back and forth, none of them wanting to be the first to break the silence. Alan slumped back in his seat and threw up his hands.

“I am going to be some girl’s boy toy.” he said, a frown on his face. He’d had as long to adjust to his score as Max had, and it was obvious that it bothered him.

“We all knew you would do well, Max, but what the hell is that? That is why you are getting special treatment from the Confederacy. I guess I knew it, somehow, I mean you never hear about people getting, you know, enhanced, before they volunteer.” Alan said softly, watching the faces of his friends.

Toby had lost his scowl, his eyes on Max’s face. He nodded, once, then reached out and tapped his card with one beefy finger.

“My grandparents don’t know that I am aware of the financial situation. This is the final nail in my farming dream. Will you help me choose who to take?” he asked quietly, the longest sentence he had uttered in weeks.

“Max?” Thea said, her voice making it clear, to Max at least, what she was asking.

“Thea is coming with me.” Max said, looking at Toby and Alan. “She asked and I agreed. I still need to find five, maybe even seven more, if I can raise my score. I am thinking about taking my sisters. Alan, if you want, you can come with me too.”

Max watched their expressions, disbelief chasing surprise and settling on understanding.

“What about your parents?” Alan asked, not addressing Max’s offer.

“Dad is a 6.6 and Mom is a 6.8. I’m willing to bet they each take some of the professors or even some students from the college.” Max said, smiling as he pictured his father fucking some freshman with big tits. The smile faded a bit when he thought of some other guy fucking his mother though.

Toby had reached across the table and picked up Alan’s card, the fingertips of his other hand gently resting on the face. He looked up and saw the other three watching him and he shrugged, tapping the card gently on the tabletop.

“Alan, come with me.” he said softly, his eyes meeting Alan’s. There was silence at the table.

“Why?” Alan asked simply, not making it evident either way how he felt.

Toby was silent for a minute, his eyes never leaving Alan’s.

Finally, he shrugged, laying the card down but not returning it to the center. “I’m not sure about myself, but I know that I don’t mind.” he said cryptically.

Alan’s eyes went wide, blood draining from his face. Tears welled in his eyes and ran silently down his cheeks. “You know.” he said, his voice barely a whisper. His eyes turned to Max, and he saw Max nod.

Thea, her own eyes wet, reached across the table and snagged one of Alan’s hands. “Did you really think that your best friends in the whole world didn’t know?” she asked, smiling at him.

Alan wiped his cheeks, shrugging his shoulders, but the corner of his mouth quirked a bit. “I guess I hoped...” he said.

“Are you sure, Toby?” Alan asked, searching his friends face.

Toby just tapped Alan’s card once, then nodded.

Alan nodded back, blushing, but smiling. “Okay, then.”

The rest of the meal was lighter, more smiles, and the three pestered Toby for details of who else he wanted to take.

“We have to know what you look for, Toby! Do you want skinny? Some meat on the bones? Mother material? You want brains or just big tits?” Thea asked, holding her hands out in front of her.

Max and Alan laughed, but there was a lot of truth in what she was asking.

Toby smiled, shaking his head. “How about quiet?” he asked, joking in return. He sobered, and turned to face Alan. “How about you?”

Alan looked surprised. “Me? Why are you asking me? You will be...” he blushed, but squared his shoulders and didn’t look away, “the master of the house.”

Toby nodded, but still didn’t look away.

“Can I think about it?” Alan asked, his face still red.

“What about you, Master?” Thea asked Max, a grin on her face. “Will you fill your slots with a bevy of beauties?” Her expression was playful, but there was worry in her eyes.

“Thea, how would you like to be first among equals? I think I need a straw boss, someone who will be in charge if I am not around.” Max asked, watching her expression.

Thea brightened, but the worry was not completely gone. “But what if you get someone older? More experienced?”

“I am sure I will. Children are the order of the day, after all, so I imagine I will want to choose a mother, maybe even one with children already. I need someone to show the rest how to raise children.” Max said thoughtfully, his eye staring off into space as he considered.

“Will you give me a test drive, Max?” Thea almost whispered, her face flushed.

Max had been looking out the window so he saw Alan’s eyes snap to Toby and a flush fill his face as well. Max hid a grin and turned to look down at Thea.

“And your parents, what do they think?” he asked her.

“Mom told me that she was happy for me. Dad, well, you know dad, he thinks I am his princess but even he worried about me finding someone. I think that is why my folks let me sleep over even though we are old enough to get into trouble. They were hoping I could hogtie one of you.” Thea said with a laugh, her eyes dancing.

“Let’s talk to them this evening, Thea. If they agree, I think you should spend a lot of time with me. Make sure we can make this work before it is too late.”

Thea looked thoughtful, but excited by the idea.

In the corner of his eye, he could see silent communication going on between Alan and Toby, though Toby’s phlegmatic expression gave very little away.

Toby’s grandfather picked him up at four, Alan and Thea walking to their own homes. Max promised Thea that he would come over after school the next day to talk to her parents.

Max walked inside, grabbing an apple from the kitchen and glancing at the clock. His parents would be home soon. He headed upstairs to his room, and as he passed Maggie’s, he heard her call his name.

Maggie’s room was next door to Max’s, with Melanie’s across the hall, so he stopped short and pushed against the door. It was unlatched so it swung silently open, and Max was shocked to see his sister standing in the middle of the room. She was naked, and she was standing there, her hands clasped in front of her and her eyes on his. She looked frightened.

Max blushed and turned to leave, muttering, “Sorry, I thought you called me.”

“I did! Max, stay, please?” Maggie called, reaching out for his arm and drawing him further into the room. She closed the door behind them and moved back in front of him.

“Max, do you think I am pretty?”

Max nodded, trying not to stare. His sister was gorgeous, with perfect breasts, a nice handful each, and a very sexy swell to her hips. Her bush was thin and wispy, trimmed along the sides for her bathing suits, he guessed. As he watched, she held out her arms and turned slowly around, allowing him to see all of her.

Max couldn’t help but stare as she turned, his eyes on her ass. Maggie had one of the best asses in the entire school, even if she was his sister. It was perfectly heart shaped, firm and round, flawless skin and he wanted, in that instant, more than anything in the universe to reach out and grab one cheek in each of his hands.

“Maggie...” he groaned, his cock throbbing in his too-tight jeans. “You are perfect. Everything about you is perfect.

“Max, I haven’t dated. Most of the boys at school are pigs. They all want one thing. Even older guys, creeps who lust after little girls like Mr. Roberts at the grocery store, they make me want to take a shower when they stare at me.” she paused, stepping closer and letting her arms fall.

“But right now, Max, with you staring at me, I feel ... pretty. I feel sexy.” Maggie said, biting her lip. She was a little flushed, her nipples proud and prominent. She reached down, her fingers brushing her pubic hair briefly and then dipped lower. Her index finger slid down through her lips, coming back up again with a sheen.

She held her finger up so Max could see it. “See? You make me feel wanted.”

Max’s eyes were locked on her finger. The heady scent in the room made it hard to think, and his nostrils flared when her hand came closer. Without even thinking about it, he pulled her hand to his face, breathing deeply and then pushing that finger between his lips, tasting her. As he sucked on her finger, licking it clean, his sister seemed to shudder, her eyes rolling up for a second and her knees threatening to buckle.

Max reached forward and wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her up and pressing her breasts against his chest.

“Oh, Jesus, Max!” Maggie said breathlessly, her eyes wide. “I just came!” she whispered, giggling and throwing her arms around his neck.

With her chin on his shoulder, his hard cock pushing through the rough denim and pressing against her belly, she whispered into his ear. “Since Mom suggested you might take me, I have thought of nothing else, Maxie. I have jilled off so many times, thinking about being your concubine.” she admitted, pressing herself even closer.

Max swallowed hard. “Are you absolutely certain about this, Mags?” he asked, his voice breaking.

As an answer, one of Maggie’s hands disconnected from his neck and reached down to stroke him through his jeans, almost making him cum in his pants.

Max pulled back, kissing her quickly, but moving his groin away from her hand. “Mom and dad will be home any minute, so...”

“You are still a virgin, like me.” Maggie said, watching his eyes and smiling. “Then tonight, I will come to your room and we can figure it out together.”

Max looked startled, but the idea held so much appeal, he couldn’t muster an argument. “Um ... wow. Okay. Look, you better get dressed. For now, let’s talk ... downstairs.” he said, tearing himself away and stepping into the bathroom, closing the door and locking it. He needed relief and he needed it now!

His parents came home about the time Max came back downstairs, his problem handled, for now. Melanie and Maggie were in the living room so Max joined them, his parents getting themselves a drink and wandering in, a question on their faces.

As soon as they were seated, Melanie got to her feet, a strange expression on her face, and knelt down in front of their mom. She took her mother’s hands in her own and looked up at her.

“Mom?” her voice sounded plaintive, unsure. “I want to go with Daddy. I want to be his concubine, but only if it is okay with you.” she said, the rest of the family riveted in place in shock.

Maggie gasped and Max was wide-eyed, both of them turning to look at their father.

Max’s father was sitting back, a thoughtful expression on his face. Max grinned and looked away, having caught sight of the swelling in his father’s pants.

Their mother was silent for a couple of long minutes, her eyes on Melanie’s. She turned her head to smirk at her husband, then nodded to her daughter. “Your father and I are both sponsors, but we are staying together. We love each other too much to split up completely. We will both have concubines, and we will have a combined household. Do you understand what that means, baby?”

Melanie’s head tilted to the side, but her eyes never left her mother’s face.