Chapter 8

Bert Morehouse had seen more naked flesh and sex up close in the last few hours than he had all summer on the Internet, even when he used his dad's login to Pornamaniacs.

The only thing any of the adults or Misty wore was an eighth-of-an-inch thick by three-quarter inch wide hematite-looking choker, made up of five rows of tightly formed silver-gray horizontal rectangles in a brickwork pattern. The center row was emerald-green creating a stripe. They claimed to have exited from the med check wearing them. Every kid had a wristband made of the same material. The stripe color was the only difference. Anybody thirteen had a yellow stripe; anyone twelve or younger brandished a red one. Eve had a yellow strip.

Last night, the black guy, Ray-ray, that was what they were supposed to call him, sent the boys up the lift with sleeping bags to bed down. The pod's AI had drawn a big circle on the floor. Everybody had to sleep inside its boundary. Kurt and Karl, Ray-ray's two boys, begged to go upstairs, insisting they were big boys too. Bert found it interesting that the twins' acceptance of the grand adventure helped him get to sleep last night.

When he awoke, he was hungry. Walls had sprouted from nowhere. Thoughts of food dissipated in the light of discovery. People's names were written on doors. He found his name, along with Ted Oliver's name. Opening the door to their new shared bedroom, he found a room with bunk beds. The layout reminded him of the dorms at the Boy Scouts Sea Base in the Keys. The room wasn't much larger, but it was less damp.

Louis appeared at the door. "We found the bathroom. Come and wash up so we can go eat."

"Bert, Ted," the AI calling to them startled and stopped them in their tracks. "As the older dependents on this level you need to supervise dependents Kurt and Karl."

Ted as an older brother responded to the AI's directive. Bert, an only child, hesitated. Ted stopped at the door looking back.

"Bert, we just need to make sure they don't trash the bathroom." Ted's confidence provided the motivation for Bert to follow.

Once in the restroom, Bert discovered a button released a platform that let Kurt reach the sink. Everyone identified as a dependent had their name on the upper level bedroom doors and had a corresponding drawer labeled in the bathroom. In Kurt's drawer, Bert found a toothbrush and hairbrush. In his drawer, he found not only a toothbrush and a hairbrush but also, a shaver.

Ted called for the twins to go and pee. Two full-length urinals sat in line with five commodes. Once finished, they marched back to the sinks to rewash their hands. The hugs he received on the lift down to the first level built a small bond with his little buddies.

The fragrance of bacon, eggs, and pancakes assaulted his nose. The growl in his gut caused him to will the lift to go faster.

The woman cooking was ... Joyce. Bert felt Mr. Jenkins had been forced to take her as a concubine. Going back for his third helping, Bert forgot any animosity held toward Joyce. Mr. Jenkins always preached in class that people had hidden talents. It seemed he was right again.

He wanted to talk with Mr. Jenkins. Entering the master bedroom, he found Misty and Salome making up the bed. Getting used to nude women would take some time. Judging by the tent in his shorts, it would be a long time. It seemed you needed to be under ten to not throw wood. Even Ray-ray stood at half-mast.

"Misty, where is Mr. Jenkins?"

"Bill's in his study getting something called sleep training."

Bert had a difficult time turning away. He hesitated. They paid him no mind. He watched as they put new sheets on the huge bed that dominated half the bedroom.

A hand grabbed his shoulder. "Like what you see?" Bert turned to see Ms. Howard.

Stunned, he answered honestly. "Yes."

She kept up the pressure. "A tits or ass man?"

"Yes." Bert wanted to crawl away and die.

"It's a different world up here Bert." She grabbed his hard on. "You may like it."

"Ms. Howard-" she placed a finger on his lips.

"I'm Leslie the concubine now."

"Ok, Leslie then, I need to go and wait on Mr. Jenkins." He pulled away, turning to ease his cock from her hand. She let go.

He could hear a few giggles. He wanted to hide.

"Once he's done growing, that boy will be bigger than Ray-ray." Leslie mused.

Giggling resumed. Bert stole a glance at Ray-ray standing there naked. He could live with equipment like that.

Bert slipped over to the video screen on the wall, hoping that the College Game Day banter on ESPN would take his mind off his raging hard on.

"Listen up." Mr. Jenkins' voice snapped Bert away from the game predictions. There was the patented pause to settle everyone down. "Joyce and Tiffany are going to take anybody under ten upstairs to the kids' room."

Movement started. It took a few minutes to get everyone under ten sent upstairs.

"Okay, we all need to have a heart to heart." Having Mr. Jenkins slip into lecture mode provided a bit of normalcy. "To quote Dorothy, 'we're not in Kansas anymore.' We're not even on Earth." He paused to let the words sink in.

A hand rose. Mr. Jenkins pointed, "Question, Maggie?"

"That means exactly what?" Maggie, true to form, cut to the chase.

"Basically everything is different." He turned to glare at Phil and Gino, who were wrestling over a seat. "I am in charge of this household." Gino kept poking at Phil. Mr. Jenkins walked over to the pair. He reached out and grabbed a handful of Gino's hair.

"Let go! That hurts!" Gino tried to pry the fingers open. Mr. Jenkins pulled him to his feet. Gino kept pleading, "Ouch, ouch, stop!" Mr. Jenkins marched him to an empty single chair and unceremoniously dropped him there.

"When given an instruction, you will comply." Mr. Jenkins turned back to the group. "There will be clear boundaries and expectations. When in doubt, ask."

He walked back to where the concubines were. "There have been some very graphic public displays of sex." That brought a few affirming murmurs. "Those will continue." That brought silence. "Ray-ray is going to take all the boys but Ted and Bert upstairs and go over the fine art of masturbation in the shower and the use of cum rags in your rooms."

Louis, Ethan, Phil, Randy, and Gino began to move. Bert could have sworn Ray-ray's dick lengthened as he moved toward the lift. Once the boys started up, Mr. Jenkins motioned for Misty to come over to stand by him. He began stroking her right breast down toward her belly button.

"Anne, Maggie, Theresa, Cindy, and Jackie, you girls will go upstairs with Leslie, once the lift returns." Mr. Jenkins stared frozen a moment.