Nathan was taking a shortcut home through the park, skating down the asphalt path on his skate board. When he saw a man coming his way, he jumped off it, tucking it under his arm.

“What time is it, Kid?” the man asked, drawing abreast of Nathan.

“I don’t have a watch.”

“You have a cell phone, don’t you? All kids have cell phones.”

“Yeah.”

“It shows the time, doesn’t it?”

“I guess.”

Looking down at his belt, where he kept his cell phone, Nathan reached for it. As his hand closed on the phone, the man grabbed the back of his head, and put a mask over Nathan’s mouth and nose. A gas canister was attached to mask.

Nathan’s struggles only caused him to inhale more of the gas. A few breaths and he was unconscious. The man tossed him over his shoulder and carried him to his van, parked not far away.

He strapped Nathan into the passenger’s seat, securing the seatbelt across Nathan’s chest. He attached the mask to Nathan’s face, but pulled it down off his nose. Every few minutes, as he drove, he slid the mask up over Nathan’s nose and turned on the gas.

Nathan was still asleep, when they arrived at his house. Opening the garage door remotely, he drove into the garage, closing the door behind him.

Again, tossing the sleeping boy over his shoulder, he carried him down to the basement. He’d built a room there for a boy such as he was.

Iron rings attached to steel studs cemented into the wall were on one side of the room. One cuff of a pair of handcuffs was attached to each ring, the rings about three feet off the floor, about four feet apart.

Laying the boy between the rings, he pulled off his shoes, jeans, boxers, and t-shirt. The kid wore no socks. He had a nice cock and big balls.

Once the kid was naked, he pulled him to a sitting position against the wall. The boy’s head slumped forward onto his chest. The man attached one of the handcuffs around each of Nathan’s wrists. He would awake soon.

He could scream all he wanted. The room was soundproofed.

Nathan’s head hurt. What the fuck happened? It was pitch dark; he couldn’t see shit. He was naked. He could feel smooth cement against his butt, legs, and back. Something was around his wrists; it felt like handcuffs. A friend had a pair he’d tried on. They seemed to be attached to the wall. He could only move his arms a foot or so from it.

“Hey.”

Louder, this time.

“HEY.”

Nothing. The walls seemed to absorb the sound.

A light, a bare, incandescent, bulb in a fixture in the ceiling in the middle of the room came on. A drain was in the middle of the floor, which sloped slightly toward it. A water faucet, a short hose attached to it, was on the wall to his right. A door was in the middle of the wall to his left.

The door opened. The man he’d seen in the park came in. He had a small, black, case in his hand.

“What the fuck? Let me go.”

The man shut the door.

“I would suggest that you behave and that you treat me with respect. I have the keys, and if I don’t bring you food or water, you won’t have either. We can start out on a good foot, or you can go without food and water for a day or so.”

“What do you want?”

“A little respect; a blow job now and then.”

“I’m not giving you a blowjob.”

“OK. I’m not giving you any food or water until you do. That’s the deal: food and water for a blowjob. And if you bite, I’ll smash out all your teeth.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Because I can.”

“Why me?”

“Nothing personal, except that you’re cute. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

He took a hypodermic syringe out of the small case.

“What’s that?”

“Something for your balls.”

“What’s in it?”

“Everclear.”

“What’s that?”

“Oh, about 190 proof alcohol.”

“What are you going to do with it?”

“Inject it into your balls.”

“What will it do?”

“Kill them eventually. It might take a while – a few, repeated, injections, but eventually, it will kill them.”

“Why do you want to kill my balls?”

“Because you like having them, and because I can. How many times a day do you jack off?”

“None of your business.”

“Don’t be that way. We’re going to be friends. I know we will. Well – time to get started.”

When he bent over Nathan, the boy kicked at him, but expecting it, the man dodged the kick easily.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way. If you prefer, I can knock you out with the gas and cut them off. Trouble with that is I’ve never cut off a boy’s balls, and you might bleed to death. Either way, your balls are toast.”

“Why?”

“I told you already. What’s it gonna be? Either let me shoot up your balls, or I go get the gas.”

“Will it hurt?”

“I don’t know. Might burn a little the first time or two. Everclear’s pretty strong stuff. After the first few, it probably won’t hurt much. Look, if I use the gas, I can do what I want, shoot up your balls or cut them off. I imagine you have a headache from the gas, don’t you?”

Nathan nodded.

“Well, you can avoid a worse one. Let me shoot up your balls. If you kick me, I will cut them off; that’s a promise. Will you behave?”

Again, Nathan nodded. Biting his lower lip, he watched as the man leaned over his groin.

The man held up the syringe, expelling a drop of the fluid within it. He separated Nathan’s balls and lowered the syringe to the left nut, the one he held in his hand.

It didn’t hurt as much as he thought it would, when the man inserted the needle into his ball, but the Everclear burned, when the man injected it into his nut.

“Ow! Fuck! That burns.”

“Told you it might.”

“Are you going to do the other one?”

“Yep.”

“Fuck!”

Same result: inserting the needle didn’t hurt much, but it burned like fire, when he injected the liquid.”

“Ow…ow…ow…fuck, it hurts.”

“You did good. You want a drink of water?”

“Yeah, but I got to piss.”

“Well, piss. There’s the drain. I’ll use the hose,” he gestured toward the faucet with the hose attached to it, “to clean you up, when you need it.”

”What if I need to shit?”

“If you promise to be good, I’ll undo one of your handcuffs, so you can move around some, and give you a plastic bucket to shit into.”

“A plastic bucket?”

“Either that or shit where you sit – your choice.”

“I’ll take the bucket.”

“Piss first.”

“Now?”

“Yes.”

“With you watching?”

“Yep. Kid, you’re naked, chained up in my basement. You have no expectation of privacy. If you want a drink of water - piss.”

Fuck! His balls burned, and he had to piss. He let go. Streaming from his dick, piss flowed down the smooth floor toward the drain.

“Good boy.”

The man patted his head and unlocked one of the handcuffs, throwing the key over by the door.

“Don’t try anything. Even if you knocked me out – which you won’t - you would never get out of here, not with the key over by the door.”

He filled a plastic tumbler with water from the hose, handed it to Nathan, waited until had had drunk it, and took the tumbler back.

“How’s the balls?”

“That shit burns. They hurt. Are my balls really going to die?”

“Eventually. It’ll take a while. Better jack off while you can. I’d make you do it, now, but with that shit in your balls, you probably don’t feel like it.”

He got a plastic bucket from a corner of the room and handed it to Nathan.

Use this, if you need to shit.”

“What am I going to use to wipe?”

“Nothing. I’ll wash you down with the hose every couple of days.”

“Fuck. Why are you doing this?”

Nathan started to cry.

“Like I said, because I can. Don’t bother shouting. You’ll just wear out your vocal cords. The room is soundproofed. I wouldn’t even be able to hear you upstairs.”

He left, shutting the door behind him. After a brief moment, the light went off.

Total darkness. Nathan couldn’t even see his hand in front of his face. The room was warm enough, but the cement floor was hard, and his balls ached. Were they really going to die? For some reason that prospect made him hard. Alone in the dark, there was nothing to do; he was lonely and scared.

He touched his finger to his pee hole, collecting on it a drop of precum hanging from it, and stuck the finger in his mouth. He always did that. He liked the taste of it.

He had tasted his cum, but he didn’t like the taste of it so much.

He jacked off. It didn’t take long for him to come; but at least, while he jacked off, he only thought about how good it felt. Thinking about how the guy had told him he would make Nathan suck the guy’s cock, Nathan licked the cum collected on the V of his thumb.

“You’ll suck my cock,” the guy had said. Would the guy make him swallow his cum?

It was hard to sleep with his hand handcuffed to the wall, and his balls ached. He jacked off two or three more times; he wasn’t sure how many; it was hard to keep track in the dark.

He fell asleep from time to time, but awoke with his hand asleep and his wrist hurting because it hung from the handcuff.

Unaware whether it was night or day, Nathan lost all track of time. He used the bucket when he needed to, and pissed on the floor when he had to.

Too much time passed; it had to be more than a day. He was hungry and thirsty. He wanted the man to come. If it meant another shot in the balls, it would be worth it. He was thirsty, hungry and lonely.

He jacked off again for something to do. His balls were swollen and sore, but he still jacked off.

The light, although it came from a forty watt bulb, blinded him, when it came on. He looked up eagerly, when the door opened. He was thirsty and hungry.

“Hey, Kid.”

The man had a plate of eggs, bacon, toast, and jelly. He carried a glass of orange juice.

“Are you hungry?”

“I’m fucking starved. Is it morning?”

“I’ve got breakfast, so it must be your morning. You ready to give me a blowjob?”

“I’m not gay.”

“It’s not about being gay. It’s about you giving me a blow job. Your choice. Give me a blowjob and eat. Don’t give me one, and I’ll come back in a day or two – maybe.”

“Are you going to shoot up my balls?”

“How are they?”

“Swollen and sore.”

“Nah. We’ll let them rest a day or so. Are you ready to give me a blowjob?”

“I don’t know how.”

“It ain’t brain surgery, Kid. You just open your mouth and I stick my dick in it.”

“Are you going to shoot into my mouth?”

“Of course, and you’ll swallow it. That’s part of the deal. Spit it out, and you don’t eat.”

“You don’t have AIDS or anything, do you?”

“No, I don’t have AIDS or anything.”

Nathan looked down at the floor.

“OK.”

“You try any shit, Kid, you bite me, and I’ll bust out every one of your teeth. Do you believe me?”

“Yes.”

“Are you going to bite?”

“No.”

The man dropped his pants, pushed down his boxers, and pulled off his t-shirt. He had a hairy chest. Already about half hard, he stroked his dick, until it was fully erect.

Taking hold of the back of Nathan’s head, he placed the head of his cock against Nathan’s lips.

“Open wide and remember what I said about biting.”

Nathan had wondered what it would be like to suck a dick; not that he had ever wanted to suck one; still he had wondered what it would be like.

He parted his lips. The guy’s cock butted against Nathan’s teeth. Remembering what the guy had said about biting, he opened his mouth wide.

Nathan had never worn braces, and his teeth were a little crooked. The two on the top on either side of his front teeth protruded slightly. Still, he had no desire to have them all knocked out.

The guy’s cock, not large, not small, about six inches, and rather slender, slid into Nathan’s mouth. The man’s hand gripped the back of Nathan’s head.

He thrust, short, back and forth motions, thrusting his cock in and out of Nathan’s mouth, withdrawing it, until only the head of it remained behind Nathan’s teeth, driving it forward almost striking the back of Nathan’s throat.

Several times, Nathan gagged, but the man kept thrusting, and eventually, Nathan could take most of the man’s cock without gagging.

Hot spunk hit the back of his throat. Nathan gagged and tried to pull away, but the guy held his head and wouldn’t let him.

“Swallow it.”

Nathan swallowed it.

The man sat back on his haunches.

“Not bad. Was that your first time?”

Nathan nodded.

“Good, a virgin. Wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Nathan shrugged.

“Do I get to eat?”

“You just ate.”

But when he saw the look of dismay on Nathan’s face, he added:

“Just kidding. What’s your name, Kid.”

“Nathan.”

“Nathan what? What’s your last name?”

He already knew. He had the kid’s wallet and in there was the kid’s student i.d.

“Reynolds.”

“Well, Nathan Reynolds, I can see we’re going to be great friends. You can call me Alex.”

It wasn’t his real name, but it would do. He handed Nathan the paper plate of food, set the plastic tumbler of orange juice beside him, and handed him a plastic fork.

Setting the fork down on the plate, Nathan picked up the orange juice and drained the tumbler in one go. Holding out the tumbler to Alex, he asked:

“Can I have some more?”

“Eat some of your food. I’ll get you some water.”

Eating with one hand cuffed to the wall, using a small plastic fork, was difficult, and Nathan was starving, too hungry for it to have been only one night in the room. He picked up one of the eggs in his hand and crammed it into his mouth. Egg yolk oozed out the corners of his mouth. He ate the other egg the same way and finished off the bacon and toast. He was still hungry.

Alex handed him the tumbler filled with water from the faucet. Nathan drank it and held it out for more.

“Can I have some more food, too?”

“No, that’s enough food and water for now. I see you did some jacking off.”

When Nathan looked at him quizzically, Alex added:

“You’ve got dried cum all over your stomach.”

Looking down at his stomach, Nathan saw he did.

“Jack off. I want to watch.”

“I don’t want to jack off while you watch.”

“Kid, you just gave me a blowjob. What’s jacking off, while I watch, compared to that? Would you rather I leave you alone in the dark?”

“No, I’ll jack off.”

It took him a while, and cum oozed rather than spurted from his cock. Alex scraped the spunk off Nathan’s stomach and cock with his hand and held his hand to Nathan’s mouth.

“Eat it.”

Nathan hesitated.

“Eat it, and I’ll leave the light on for another hour.”

Nathan ate it.

Alex allowed Nathan to swap hands, cuffing his right to the wall in place of his left, first cuffing both of them to it, and then releasing the left, so Nathan was never free.

Alex left the room, taking his clothes with him, but leaving the light on. Sometime later, the light went off.

Nathan had no idea how long he sat in the dark. Jacking off was the only way to pass the time, and luckily, jacking off was something he was good at. Once, he had jacked off nine times in one day.

He had no idea how many times he jacked off in the dark, but his dick was raw and sore.

The light came on. Alex! Nathan wanted to see him; he wanted to see someone – anyone – even Alex. He would suck his dick again, if he’d stay a while – if he’d leave the light on for a while.

He was hungry and thirsty, and Alex’s arrival might be accompanied by food and water.

Instead of food and water, Alex had the black case in his hand.

“Don’t I get to eat?”

He was more worried about that than the case Alex had. His balls were still a little sore, but the swelling had gone down some.

“Yeah, you get to eat, but first, we have to shoot up your balls. Do I need to cuff your other hand?”

Nathan shook his head.

Taking out the syringes, one for each ball, Alex shot up Nathan’s balls. It burned, but not as badly as the first time.

“Looking good. Did it hurt?”

“Some. Not as bad as the first time.”

Alex stared at Nathan’s red, raw, cock.

“I think you need this. You’re going to wear that thing out, if you keep jacking off.”

“There’s nothing else to do.”

“If I give you a glass of water, are you going to give me any shit about blowing me?”

“Do I get to eat?”

“After the blowjob.”

“OK.”

Alex stripped, while Nathan drank the tumbler of water. He knelt beside Nathan, his erect dick by Nathan’s head. A drop of sticky precum hung from Alex’s dick. Nathan stared at it. Looking down, grinning, Alex touched his finger to it, and put the finger in his own mouth.

“Do you ever taste yours?”

Nathan nodded.

“I wondered if I was the only one that did.”

More precum dripped from his cock. Alex wiped it off on his finger and held the finger up to Nathan’s mouth. After hesitating a moment, Nathan licked it off.

“Good boy. Ready for some cock sucking?”

Nathan nodded.

He was better at it; he only gagged once or twice; and he didn’t gag at all, when Alex shot in his mouth. Hot, out of Alex’s cock, spunk didn’t taste so bad.

A couple of burgers, fries, and a large coke, all from Burger King, were his meal. He didn’t even like burgers, but they tasted great. He ate everything, licking his fingers afterward.

“Good boy.”

Alex patted his head and leaned over to kiss the top of it.

“I’ll leave the light on for a while.”

“Don’t leave. I’ll give you another blowjob, if you want.”

“That’s OK. I’m not a kid like you. Once a day is good enough for me. Maybe, we’ll try something different tomorrow, or when I come back.”

“You’ll come back before tomorrow, won’t you? I get lonely, and I have funny dreams or see things that I don’t think are really there. There’s nothing to do except jack off, and my dick is too sore for that.”

“Sensory deprivation, Kid. It’s all part of the game – part of your training. Things will get better, the better trained you are, but the first couple of weeks are going to be tough.”

“But I’ll do anything you want, now. I’ll give you a blowjob anytime you want.”

“You’re getting there, but you’re not there, yet.”

He handed Nathan a clean bucket, taking his shit filled one and washed down Nathan and the floor with the hose. He left. After a while, the light went off.

Nathan cried:

“Please…please…please.”

The light came on. A hundred years seemed to have passed. Alex came in. He didn’t have the case.

“Are you glad to see me?”

“Yes! You can shoot up my balls, if you want. I’ll give you a blowjob – anything.”

“We have to lay off the balls for another day. Got to go slow. I don’t think I want a blowjob today. Are you thirsty?”

“Yeah. Hungry, too.”

“Growing boy. One meal a day not enough for you?”

“No!”

Alex filled the plastic tumbler with water and handed it to Nathan, who drank it and asked for more.

“Later. Would you like a little more slack, so you can lie down at night.”

“Yes, please.”

Alex left the room, coming back in a moment with small length of chain and another handcuff. He attached the chain to the handcuff Nathan wasn’t using, and the extra handcuff to the other end of the chain, which was about three feet long, long enough for Nathan to lie flat on the floor with the handcuff on his wrist.

“Give me your hand.”

Nathan held up his left hand.

Alex attached the handcuff to it and unlocked the one on Nathan’s right wrist.

“Is that better?”

Nathan flexed his arms, moving them in and out.

“Yeah. Thanks. Thanks a lot.”

“You’re welcome. As long as you’re a good boy, things will get better.”

“I’ll be good.”

“I’m sure you will.”

Sure Nathan wouldn’t try anything, Alex hadn’t thrown the key over by the door. The kid was halfway there, already.

“You sure you don’t want a blowjob. I want to give you one. I like doing it.”

He wasn’t sure he liked doing it or not, but if Alex would stay, if he would feed him, he would. It was better than being alone in the dark.

“I think I want to fuck you today. How does that sound?”

“Like in the ass? You want to fuck me in the ass?”

He had seen porn videos of guys fucking other guys in the ass?

“Where else, Kid? Are you a virgin there, too?”

“Nathan nodded.

“I figured you were. If you’ve never given someone a blowjob before, I figured you hadn’t been fucked either. Ever fucked a girl?”

Nathan shook his head.

“Are you ready to get fucked?”

“Do I get to eat afterward?”

“Of course.”

“Will you leave the light on?”

“For a while.”

“OK.”

Alex stripped. His cock was about half hard.

“Suck it; get it hard.”

Nathan did.

“Raise your legs.”

Nathan did.

Alex spit on his hand and rubbed the spit on Nathan’s hole. He stuck his middle finger in it.

“Shit! Fucking tight! You are a virgin. You’re lucky I don’t have a thick cock.”

Scooting up, he nuzzled the head of his cock against Nathan’s hole, thrusting, pushing harder with every thrust. It slipped past Nathan’s sphincter, plunging all the way in.

“Ow!”

“Sorry, Kid. It’ll stretch.”

But he wasn’t – wasn’t sorry, that is. A little pain was part of the training.

After he came, Alex lay on top of Nathan, his mouth next to his.

“Give me a kiss. Have you ever kissed a guy?”

“Just my dad.”

“Ever Frenched your dad?”

“No!”

“Well, I want some tongue. Is that all right with you?”

“Yes.”

Alex kissed him, thrusting his tongue deep into the kid’s mouth, feeling his tongue, running his across Nathan’s teeth, feeling the slight irregularity of his front teeth.

He liked the kid’s teeth. They were just crooked enough that Alex knew he’d never worn braces, but not so crooked that they detracted from his looks, and the kid was a looker. Brown hair framed his face, and he had beautiful, brown, eyes.

Dinner was Chinese takeout, noodles, chicken, and vegetables. Kid needed his vegetables. Nathan scarfed it down and wanted more.

His asshole hurt, and he could feel Alex’s cum on the inner part of his leg, but he would have fucked him again, if he stayed, if he left the light on, but Alex left, and after a while, the light went off.

The cement was hard, but Nathan was getting used to it. He could sleep better, now that he had the slack provided by the chain.

He still jacked off to pass the time, but he had so often, that he could only accomplish a couple of orgasms before the light came on again.

Naked, Alex had the black case this time.

“Glad to see me?”

“Yes!”

“Even though I have this?”

Alex held up the case.

“Yes!”

“It’s going to kill your balls.”

Nathan shrugged.

“I don’t care.”

He didn’t know whether he did or not any longer, but he thought that’s what Alex wanted to hear, and above all, he wanted to please Alex.

“Good. That’s my boy.”

He leaned over, kissing Nathan, running his tongue into Nathan’s mouth. Nathan kissed him back.

Taking out a syringe, Alex injected one of Nathan’s balls.

“Did it hurt?”

“Not much. It was more like a pressure than a hurt. It didn’t burn like before.”

“Good! Sounds like we’re making progress.”

He injected the other one.

“How about that one?”

“It burned a little, but not bad.”

“Are you glad I’m killing your balls?”

Knowing the answer Alex wanted, Nathan nodded.

“Say it. Say, ‘Please.’ Beg me to kill them.”

“Please. I want you to kill them.”

“Good. I will. You want to eat first, or do you want to fuck first?”

“Whatever you want.”

He was hungry, of course, but he wanted to please Alex more.

“We’ll let you eat first.”

Alex brought in some food, a pizza this time, a large pizza, and he let Nathan eat all of it.

“You’ve been such a good boy that I’ve got something else for you.”

He brought in a folding sleeping pad, one often used for camping.

“This might be a little softer than the cement.”

“Thanks. Thanks a lot.”

“No prob. You ready to fuck? You like being fucked?”

“Yes.”

Actually, it wasn’t as bad as Nathan had imagined it would be.

“Ask me to fuck you. Beg me to do it.”

“Fuck me. Please, fuck me.”

“You can jack off this time, while I fuck you. You can’t do it, unless I say you can, but you can this time. You might like it.”

“OK.”

Again, Alex spit on his hand and moistened Nathan’s hole. It was looser than before. He fucked him slowly, while Nathan jacked off.

“Tell me when you’re about to cum.”

“OK,” Nathan replied.

It took a while for Nathan, as much as he’d jacked off lately, but it always took Alex a while as well. Nathan bit his lower lip.

“I’m gonna cum”

Cum spurted from his cock, the first glob squirting a couple of inches, the rest oozing from it.

“Oh…fuck…fuck…fuck.”

Alex pounded his hole. In a moment, he came.

“Did you like it?”

His face was inches over Nathan’s.

“Yes.”

“Say, thank you.”

“Thank you, Alex.”

Nathan added the name, even though Alex hadn’t asked him to.

“Tell me you love me.”

“I love you.”

“Do you really, or are you just saying it?”

“No! I really love you.”

And Nathan wasn’t sure he didn’t.

“Good. Kiss me.”

Nathan kissed him, eagerly, with lots of tongue.

Alex stayed a while afterward, kissing him, stroking his hair.

“Please don’t leave,” Nathan said, when Alex got up to leave.

“I’ll leave the light on for a while.”

It went off all too soon.

“How are the balls?” Alex asked. He had injected Nathan’s balls several times. Nathan had no idea how long he’d been in Alex’s basement or whether it was day or night out.

“They’re kind of numb.”

He squeezed them, showing Alex he could without much pain.

“Good. Do you want me to kill them?’

“Yes.”

“Beg me.”

It had become a routine.

“Please, Alex. I want you to kill them.”

“You’re not just saying that?”

“No, I really want you to.”

Maybe he did. If it would please Alex to kill them, he did want it.

“Did it hurt?” Alex asked, after injecting both of them.

“No. I felt a little pressure, when you squirted the stuff in them, but it didn’t hurt.”

Alex squeezed one of Nathan’s balls, and it wasn’t a gentle squeeze.

“Did that hurt?”

“No.”

“We’re getting there, Kid.”

“Cool. Do you want me to jack off, when you fuck me?”

“No. I wanted you to do it once, to see what it was like, but I don’t want you to do it again. When I fuck you, it’s for my pleasure, not for yours. Do you understand?”

“I guess.”

“Your whole reason for existence is to please me. Is that OK with you?”

“Yes.”

Alex fucked him, kissed him, and lay with him for a while. When he got up to leave, Nathan begged him to stay.

“Don’t go. I get so lonely without you. I love you.”

“I know you do.”

But he left anyway.

That night, Nathan awoke covered in sweat, but it only lasted a bit. He went back to sleep.

He didn’t jack off; and he didn’t awake with a hard on. More time passed.

“I think they’re done.”

Nathan’s balls, small and hard, were high up in his sac. He didn’t jack off anymore, and the only time he got an erection was when Alex fucked him, and he didn’t always get one then. He came sometimes, when Alex fucked him, but it was different, better somehow, even though only a few clear drops seeped from his cock.

“You’re a full fledged eunuch, did you know that? When’s the last time you jacked off?”

“I don’t know. A long time.”

“Are you still having the hot flashes?”

Nathan had told Alex about them.

“Once in a while. Not often. They’re not bad, not like before.”

“Are you glad I killed your balls?”

“Yes.”

Alex asked him that every time; the answer was always the same; and Nathan meant it.

Nathan was no longer shackled. He didn’t want to leave. All he wanted was to please Alex.

One night Alex came into the room with the gas canister. He handed the mask to Nathan.

“Put it on.”

As frightened as he was, Nathan did. He didn’t know how to disobey Alex.

Alex turned on the gas.

Nathan awoke in the park, dressed in his old clothes. They were tight on him; he had grown. He wept. He knew he’d never see Alex again, and he didn’t know how he could live without him.