Achieving Manhood

Achieving Manhood
by Aldric

This story is intended for ADULTS ONLY. It contains depictions of sexual activity involving minors. If you are not of a legal age in your locality to view such material or if such material does not appeal to you, do not read further, and do not save this story.

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Achieving Manhood

My father is a scholar who studies races that have little or no contact with the modern world and because of that he is frequently in the most remote areas on earth. Until I was eleven I stayed at home in Kansas with my mother and younger brother Eric, who was one year younger than me. But one spring my father and mother decided that Eric and I would go with him and spend two years learning about other cultures. I spent most of the first year mastering the language of the people we were living with, but it was hard to learn much about them because boys my age and younger were kept apart from the rest of the people. I gradually learned that young girls were also raised separately and boys and girls were kept apart until after puberty. There were always adults nearby (just do something wrong and you'll find out just how nearby they are) and frequently we were given some training by some of the older boys. But most of my eleventh year was spent exploring the territory in which we were free to travel and learning the ways of the people.

We lived along a small stream on the edge of a desert, set off from others by a mountain range. It seems it is always too hot or too cold, but the clothing is the same. We always wear shorts in the summer and long pants in the winter, with shirts and heavy shoes. The boys nearly always change in private even though we all share a single lodge. By the age of ten boys are introduced to the ceremony that marks the coming-on of manhood but I missed that part since I was still in Kansas when I was ten.. As Eric found out, ten-year olds have many new responsibilities, such as teaching of the younger boys, and the care of the slaves.

We don't really have slaves, but every year there is a rite of passage and one or two boys fail and are returned to the boy's camp with a brand of shame, their bodies covered with bruises and scratches. For those boys the next year is horrible. They are degraded and tormented by the remaining boys, all of whom are younger then they are. They are kept naked except during the winter, and it is the duty of the ten year olds to assign work to those two boys. In addition, the older boys in the camp soon learned they could use the branded boys for other purposes too. We were never allowed to touch a younger boy, but the failed boys were to be available for any activity an eleven or twelve year old boy desired.

The summer of my first year we had two slaves and four thirteen year old boys. They were called out one evening, and the next day the ten year olds were also called out. Eric didn't get to go because he and I were still learning the language and customs of the people, so we were left to ponder what role the younger boys played in the passage. A few days later two of the boys were returned, naked, and with a black circle branded into their arms.

But the nature of the quest itself was a mystery for which I had no answers. The boys who failed were sworn to secrecy, and we were prohibited from asking. So I watched as other boys used them for various forms of sexual release; and I wondered what happened during the two or three days that six boys were drawn from our ranks for the rite of passage.

The next year, after noticing that other boys my age and older were using the slaves without getting into trouble for it I decided to find out what it felt like. It was during one of those times that I suddenly felt a feeling I had never before felt. I pulled back away from him; and just in time too, for a small amount of thick, white pee shot out of my dick. Thinking I was sick, I sought the advice of one of the adults who was nearby, and he explained that it was normal. He asked me how old I was, and when I told him I was twelve, he expressed surprise.

"This could be difficult for you to be selected at such a young age, so you should begin preparing immediately. Eat well, and run and exercise, for you will need strength to avoid coming back to your younger brothers" he told me.

This scared me, for the way we treated the two who had failed the test was a frightening prospect. I had not even considered that as an outsider I would be selected, and the thought that I would return with a brand was very frightening. The most demeaning jobs were given to them, and they had to be naked nearly all the time. Even the ten year olds were allowed to spank them if they misbehaved. Their lives were living hell, and I wanted no part of that. Besides, that would mean that Eric would have rights over me and could use me as he wanted. So I took the advice I was given, and started training. I noticed that Pepe and Hector, who were both thirteen, were also training, and I knew that I would be competing against them, although I did not have any idea of what happened to those who were not returned or how the competition was conducted.

But long before I thought I was ready the call came from the adults. Five of us, me, Philippe, Carlos, Pepe, and Hector, were brought to an area we had never been to before. In addition, another boy was introduced. His name was Tomas, and he was from a village down the river. Since we only had five boys ready for the calling, and his tribe had seven, he had been added to our group.

I was small as compared to all of them, but I was considered among the brightest of the boys in our group. I could always solve puzzles and figure things out, maybe because I grew up as a normal American boy. Others told me that I was also very good looking and that would make it easy to later. But to be in competition with these other boys was a frightening prospect if this was to be a physical competition.

First was Philippe, one of the boys who had failed last year. He was fourteen, with dark hair, even in places where I had no hair at all. Then there was Carlos, the other boy who failed last year. He was also fourteen, and even stronger than Philippe. And he was tough too, never yelling out when the younger boys selected him for punishments.

Pepe and Hector were both thirteen, the typical age for selection. While not as big and muscular as Philippe or Carlos, both were bigger and stronger than me by far. Pepe was lean and strong and I knew from games that he was fast. At least with Hector I had some hope as he was the most uncoordinated boy I had ever known. I had personally seen him trip over a footprint in the sand!

The last boy (other than me of course) was Tomas. He was the same age as me, and seemed even more nervous than me. Although we were the same age, he was slightly bigger. He had a small scar in the shape of an 'X' just below his belly button.

All of us had the same questions, but the only ones who knew the answers were Philippe and Carlos, and they weren't helping. We had a huge feast, all of the best foods, and cold water right from the deep part of the stream. After the meal the adults left and boys I had not met before took charge.

We were told to remove all of our clothing except for our shoes. This caused me great concern as I had not appeared naked in front of anyone except in all the time I had been here. I looked around and saw from their faces that Pepe, Hector, and Tomas had the same concern. Of course, Philippe and Carlos had no concern for they were already naked, and they both had smiles on their faces as if to say "now it's your turn to see how it feels."

Slowly I removed my shirt and pants, folding them and setting them on the bench behind me. And I realized for the first time that Philippe and Carlos were the only boys besides me who were circumcised. The other boys stared at me, and the older ones looked to see if I had a brand of shame like Philippe and Carlos had. And then it hit me—circumcision must be one of the prices paid for not completing the test—and all these boys believed I must have failed before because I was circumcised. Pepe, Hector, and Tomas all stared at my dick and began making jokes about how my appearance.

But no matter, it was time to start. I had been expecting some kind of ceremony, or discussion of rules, or anything to help us understand what was about to happen, but all we were told was to run towards the river until we reached the grass that grew along the bank. At that point we were to begin crawling, with a warning that anyone who stood up for any reason would suffer immediate disqualification.

We all took off running, and Pepe ran like the wind. I knew I couldn't keep pace with him all the way to the river, so I backed off and ran at a pace that kept me even with Tomas and right behind Hector. We both kept our eyes on Philippe and Carlos, expecting trouble from them, but they were intent on catching Pepe and didn't even see the rest of us fall back. We passed Carlos after the third mile. He had tried too hard to keep up with Pepe and was now lying on the sand desperately trying to catch his breath. Hector began to pull ahead of us, but I stayed back one step behind Tomas. I knew the river was close but I was running short of breath and needed to conserve what I had for the crawl.

Pepe and Philippe were not in sight, but as we approached the river we could hear yelling ahead of us. I tried to pass Tomas but he pulled ahead of me, although I was able to pass Philippe and Hector who were slowing down and struggling to pull in enough air to keep going.

As we approached the grass there was a group of younger boys there, shouting at us and pointing out where we were to go. They were splitting us up, each being given a different path through the grass. I dove into the grass and began to crawl and immediately discovered the test—the grass about a foot tall and filled with burrs. The burrs were big, and each one had sharp spikes that sank deep into exposed flesh. Each spike had a second tiny spike at the tip that pointed a different direction so that when the main spike entered fur, flesh, or clothes it did not pull fall back out, but hung there.

The burrs were catching on my penis and balls, pulling at the soft flesh. I put my weight on my arms and legs to try and raise my belly above the burrs but a boy running along next to me struck my bare backside with a pole that whistled through the air before hitting me. I could feel the welts rise from the hit as I dropped back down. I paused to catch my breath and as soon as I stopped he hit me again.

He was joined by a second boy, and then a third. As long as I continued to crawl and kept my belly down where the burrs could do the most damage, they only laughed and taunted me. If I stopped, even for a second, or if I tried to rise up they swung the thin poles without mercy.

The boys also knew where the burrs were thickest and drove me into them, laughing as I cried from the pain. Every time one tore off my bare flesh two more took its place. I was quickly becoming exhausted, but there was no way to stop and rest without having to endure a whipping from the boys with the poles.

At last I could hear the sound of splashing ahead of me. The boys drove me back into the grass for one last group of burrs before I broke out into the open. I was covered in burrs with blood dripping down from where others had been torn loose. Tomas and Pepe were already in the center ahead of me. Pepe was gently pulling the burrs from his flesh, but the boys were tying Tomas to a pole, preventing him from doing the same.

The three boys who had guided me lead me to a pole next to Tomas and quickly tied me to it. I started to congratulate Tomas for finishing before I did but as soon as I spoke one of the boys struck me across the front of my thighs with his pole. I cried out in pain and he hit me again an inch above the previous hit. I held my breath to keep from yelling out again and the boys took a few steps behind me where I couldn't see him. I looked down and could see two bright red marks across each of my legs where the pole had struck.

More yells were coming from the grass and Philippe came into view. He was tied to a pole next to me and Tomas. He started to say something to me and learned the same way I did that talking was not allowed. I got a good look at the pole the boys were swinging when Philippe was hit. They were nearly as long as the boys wielding them and about as thick as their littlest finger. The poles flexed as they whipped through the air and the end would bend around the flesh.

The next to arrive was Hector, who was not tied to a pole but rather tied with his arms and legs pulled together behind him and dropped into the sand.

A short time went by before we heard the yells that marked the arrival of Carlos. As he made it to the clearing, two boys dropped their poles and grabbed his legs. They flipped him over on his back and pulled him back into the grass while two other boys struck him with their poles. When they pulled him back to the clearing he had a dozen welts across his chest, belly, and legs. At least two of the welts went across his penis. He was crying softly dragged him to the center of the circle. He also had his arms and legs tied together behind his back before being dropped face down into the sand. Because they had dragged him back through the grass his back was also covered with burrs.

By this time Pepe had picked most of the burrs off and was led given a balm to take the sting out from where the burrs had torn his flesh. He was then shown a decent bed along the river and told to rest.

The boys went to Tomas next. While one stood by with his pole, three others began grabbing burrs and ripping them out of Tomas's body. Tomas cried out when two were torn from his balls, and the boy with the pole smacked him across his legs. Somehow Tomas endured the rest without yelling and he was untied and given a bed to rest in as well.

I expected the same, but the three boys went behind me and came back a few seconds later with burning sticks from a fire. I watched in horror as they held the end of the sticks up to burrs in my balls and blew on them until the burrs caught fire. I yelled "NO!" but got hit twice with the pole. The three burrs they had lit flared up and burned away, leaving the hooked ends buried in my flesh. The three boys picked the next three burrs to burn off.

By the time they were finished I had been hit four more times with the pole and had blisters forming all over my chest, belly, legs, and groin from the burning burrs. The boys moved on to Philippe as I was untied and also given a bed, although the straw that mine was made of was old and rotten. As I lay down I could smell urine and knew the boys had pissed on it.

Philippe also yelled as the burrs were burned off his body, but not as loud and only twice. He was untied and told to rest in the sand. The boys left Hector and Carlos tied, the burrs still clinging to their flesh. As the sun set I could still hear Hector crying softly and silently prayed for him.

The next morning Hector and Carlos were finally untied, but not before the burrs were burned off of their bodies as well. Then came the next yet another painful session. The barbs that were still stuck in my flesh itched, but I was re-tied to the pole so the boys could use needles to fish them out. Each time I yelled out I was hit again with the poles. The boys took their time on my balls and dick, making sure they caused as much pain as they could, trying to get me to yell again.

It was even worse for Hector and Carlos, for at least most of the blisters on my body had healed during the night, but the burns were fresh on their bodies. After we were done, the adults returned and each of us was instructed to bath in the icy waters of the river.

And then it was time for the adults to explain the rules.

"Here is a bag you must keep with you at all times. In order to return to this point, you must fill it to at least this mark." He pointed to a line made with red thread. "You may not take another boy's bag or remove any of the semen in it; doing so will cause you to be removed from the competition. All of you are here because you now are old enough to produce semen, even if you don't know what it is. We will have you demonstrate this soon, and then you will know."

"The testing is intended to be difficult, and two of you will fail. However, even if you think you are failing, do not quit, the punishment for giving up is far worse than for losing. You will receive points for each of the various contests. I think you all know what happens to the two who have the fewest points. As unfortunate as that is, it is necessary to ensure you try your hardest. The reward for winning is greater than the penalty for losing, so strive to be the best."

Although all of us except Philippe and Carlos had questions, the adults would not answer any of them. I was standing near Philippe and overheard him say "now you little piss ants will learn the meaning of suffering" and this scared me very much for he seemed much more worried about the upcoming contests than he did about losing again.

We were given tiny leather bags and told to watch Philippe and Carlos to learn how to fill them.

I was amazed! Both boys were sliding their hands up and down the shafts of their dicks in rapid motion. Considering what Carlos had just been through and the burned spots on his dick I was surprised he could touch it, but apparently he knew he had to do it even if it hurt. As I watched, Philippe used his left hand to hold his bag in front of his dick and suddenly shot several thick loads of the cum. I looked over to Carlos and saw him doing the same thing. I suddenly understood what I was expected to do. But to do that here in front of several adults and the other boys? How could they expect that of us?

But the other boys were now also doing it, even Tomas. I swallowed the fear that came from the humiliation and mimicked them. I was last, but at least I was able to shoot a few drops into my bag. It was going to take a lot of that to bring it up to the mark made by the red thread.

Once I was done we were all lead over the hill along the river to the edge of the desert. On the other side of the hill were the four boys who had competed last year, along with two boys from the year before. Each of them had a rawhide sack and a needle in their hands. Each one of them approached one of us.

Salvatore, the boy who came to me, remembered me. He poured water on the sack and said "This is going to hurt, Rick. In fact, nearly everything that happens will hurt. But you must keep the sack wet, if it dries out it shrinks." He stuffed my balls into the sack, which felt cold, and then used the needle and a short piece of thread to sew it together, stitching the corners through the skin at the top of my ball sack. I cried out, not because it hurt but from the fear that it would hurt.

"Don't yell out again, it makes you look weak" he told me quietly. Just before he pulled the thread tight, he took out a jar that contained three large red ants and dropped the ants into the sack! Without another word he pulled the thread tight and tied it off.

"Follow the sticks in the sand with the yellow ribbons on them. Go now, it's a race" he said. Philippe, Carlos, Pepe, and Hector had already started running; and Tomas was nearly ready. Just then one of the ants grabbed hold of my ball sack with its mandibles and then stung. I started to scream out, but bit my tongue. I knew the ant would work in a circle and bit several more times, even after it was out of venom. I ran after the other boys in total agony from the burning as the venom entered my sack. Then the other two ants discovered flesh and joined in.

I stumbled from the intense burning and pain as the three ants shoot round after round of the venom into my ball sack. I heard footsteps behind me and then Tomas ran pasts me. "Find them and squeeze them to death" he yelled as he passed.

I could feel them through the rawhide and killed each one in turn, but with each squeeze I wrung out a few drops of water from the rawhide. Finally I regained my feet and began running again.

I was the last one to reach the end, and learned another painful lesson of this contest. In each event, those who finish last must contribute semen into the bag of the first place boy and then do the contest again. And then he must contribute semen again! In addition to that, the first place boy gets to make a choice—he can any other boy also repeat the task or contribute semen into his cache.

In this way I learned that Carlos finished first. It was enormously embarrassing to have to stroke my dick while the other boys gathered around to watch me, and demeaning to have to contribute to someone else's bag. But I was warned that if I delayed too long addition suffering would result.

So I did my best to ignore the stares and teasing of the other boys as I made my meager contribution to Carlos's collection bag. For reasons I didn't understand Carlos chose to have Pepe repeat the race with me and as we were walked back to the starting point of the race I saw all the other boys were using the time to their own semen collection.

Once back at the starting point, an adult told Salvatore that I had taken too long and my repeat needed to be worse. This time, before placing the ants in my ball sack, Salvatore bound my arms behind my back. I knew this would not only slow me down, but now I would have to endure the multiple bites of the ants and would not be able to kill them as Tomas had taught me. I wanted to beg, but I knew it would do no good, and would cause me to lose respect. So with quivering legs I waited as Salvatore selected the ants and placed them in my ball sack and again drew the thread tight.

They did not bind Pepe arms, and he was able to find and kill the ants quickly, enduring just a few stings. I ran as good as I could with my hands bound, but the ants soon found my flesh and began biting and stinging. Each ant could inject venom between eight and ten times, and would try to sting many times after that. I cried out, unable to ignore the pain, but somehow kept my feet.

About the half-way point, the ants seemed to run out of energy. My balls were swollen from the stings, and I could feel the rawhide bag slowly shrinking as it dried out and began squeezing my balls together.

I had slowed to a walk when I saw Pepe turn around and come back towards me. Pepe and I had never been close friends, and when he was twelve (and I was eleven) I remember he chose me for some of the nasty jobs even though there was a slave he could have chosen. I looked around and didn't see anyone watching and became very afraid of what he might do.

"If you'll shoot into my bag, I'll untie your arms" he said, also looking around. "But you need to do it quickly because if we take too long I'm afraid we'll suffer even more." It didn't require any coaxing to get me to agree, I could still feel the ants moving across my balls and it would only be a matter of time before they started biting and stinging again.

He held his collection sack open as we both pumped together. He shot first, and even though he was a year older than me he didn't produce much more semen than I did. As soon as we were done I spent a minute killing the ants, and then we set off to where the other boys were waiting for us.

While Pepe and I had been out in the running in the sun, the other boys had a chance to sit in the shade and rest. I was worried about the disadvantage that put me at in future competitions. I began to see just how easy it would be for me to be sent back in shame, to spend the rest of the summer naked, at the mercy of the ten-year olds, and performing any favors the eleven and twelve-year olds wanted. And then I thought of my little brother Eric being put in charge of me and just the thought of that possibility made me strife to overcome my pain and exhaustion and work harder.

Pepe and I were given some water, and I used some of mine to rewet my ball sack, which was now causing me a great deal of discomfort from the squeezing. I knew that I had to balance the water I need to drink with what I needed to keep the rawhide wet, so I used the smallest amount I could to allow me to stretch the rawhide back out.

Without any additional time to rest, we were separated and each of us was given a few quick moments to look at a map. The place where we were supposed to go to next was clearly indicated on the map, but the problem was in figuring out where we were right now. Knowing I could memorize the features on the map, I made sure I saw all that the map had to show without looking around to pinpoint our current location. Then we were off to another race.

It only took a few seconds for me to find three features I had seen on the map and match them to where they were so that I had a good idea of where I needed to run. I also saw that this was a long race, one that would take an hour to complete, so I set a moderate pace. Tomas came over to me with tears in his eyes.

"I'm totally lost, this isn't my land. Will you help me please?" he asked me.

I was unsure if that was even allowed, but decided that having a friend might not be a bad idea. Besides, Pepe had untied my arms and nothing had been said or done to him. And Tomas provided the least threat to my not ending up one of the last two boys. 'It's this way" I said to him.

We had only gone about a mile when Philippe and Carlos came running at us from each side. They had hid behind a small hill, and we had not been paying enough attention so we didn't see them until they were right on top of us. Carlos grabbed Tomas and pulled his arm around his neck while Philippe hit me right in the middle of the chest and knocked the wind out of me. Using their better strength they quickly had us at their mercy.

"You are soon going to learn how horrible you made life for me and Carlos" Philippe said, squeezing Tomas's neck but speaking to me. "No matter how many points you have, you cannot leave the contests until you have enough cum in your bag. And it doesn't matter who's cum is in there, as long as it gets up to the line. So start filling ours."

There was no choice; no one was coming to our aid and we could not fight them. Tomas could not break out of Carlos's grasp, and I was still trying to suck air into my lungs from the punch Philippe had given me. They made each of us do it three times. I had already shot more in this day then I ever had in one day before, and I didn't know how many times I could do it. But I knew that by the third time I shot a lot less then I did when we started. And somehow I still needed to get my own bag full.

When we were done, Philippe continued to hold Tomas while Carlos grabbed a few handfuls of sand. He pulled the top of Carlos's ball sack open as far as he could without tearing the stitching and poured as much of the sand inside as he could. Then Philippe released Tomas and grabbed me and the cycle was repeated.

"Now you two turn and hug each other until we're out of sight. If we turn around and you aren't hugging each other tightly, we'll come back and do this some more." Philippe and Carlos ran off.

Tomas and I hugged each other for a few moments, but then we slowly slipped apart. I was confident that Philippe and Carlos were not going to waste any more time on us, in fact I'm sure they went off after Pepe and Hector to do the same thing to them. But one uncomfortable fact now remained—the hot sand in the ball sacks was irritating the skin, especially where the ants had stung us. But what was even worse was that it was absorbing all the moisture from the rawhide, and the sacks were shrinking around our balls.

"Come on" I said to Tomas, "we've got to get going. This is going to get a lot more painful with each passing minute." I headed off in the direction we need to go, noticing that the tracks left by Philippe and Carlos were not headed in the correct direction. Suddenly, I remembered they had been here last year, and therefore they might already know where to go. I took another look around, remembering the details of the map, and was positive we were headed in the correct direction. Hoping I was not making a big mistake I led Tomas towards the finish point where I thought the finish point would be.

We were in horrible pain when we finally arrived, doubled over from the crushing effect the now-dry rawhide had on our balls. None of the other boys were in sight, just the boys who had been selected last year and never returned to our camp.

As we approached the camp, Tomas pushed me ahead of him. "I would have never gotten here without you, make sure you take first place. I am satisfied with second" he said. The older boys ran out to meet us, pouring water on our tightly compressed ball sacks until the pain ended. They used enough water to flush out all but the larger grains of sand.

"Congratulations Rick" Salvatore said to me, "I knew your intelligence would pay off. Tomas and I started telling them what Philippe and Carlos had done, but they cut us off. "We know, but we can't interfere unless they steal the cum that is already in your collection bag. However, don't think we approve of their efforts to win. We have already discussed that adjustments might be necessary. But for now, relax and take some time to fill your collection bags. There is fruit, eat as much as you can, you'll need it." From somewhere close by I could smell smoke, which made me wonder what the next competition would involve, but for now I just wanted to drink and rest. And fill my collection bag as much as I could.

Now was the time to ask Tomas about the scar I had seen on his belly. It was a small 'X' and was completely healed.

"It means I have done an important favor for a member of my people and brought honor to that person. It means something to my people about my character." He got up and asked Salvatore to loan him a knife.

"If you'll allow me, I'd like to give you the mark. It only hurts a little, and it is important to me to recognize what you did for me by leading me here."

I was unsure, but it was such a small mark that I decided I could stand the pain. He pressed down on my stomach and used the blade to split the skin, peeling the top layer back and causing me to cry out in pain.

"It is done. Let it bleed and it will scar nicely" he said. Already the pain was diminishing.

We had nearly an hour to relax and I told Tomas about my life and that circumcision was common in my country. He was surprised; he only knew it as a mark of inferiority. He asked if it hurt since he was afraid he might lose, but I told him it had been done to me right after birth and I didn't remember a thing.

The next one to find us was Pepe, who was also given water to drink and to soak his ball sack. He enjoyed some fruit while he worked on filling his collection bag, no longer modest about doing it in front of Tomas and me. Shortly behind him was Hector, who said he had spotted Philippe and Carlos setting an ambush for him and managed to sneak past them. Something I didn't expect happened next—both Pepe and Hector slapped me on the back and congratulated me on finishing first. I had thought they would be upset that I had beaten them, but they seemed sincere.

Finally Philippe and Carlos came into view. They were racing each other trying to not be the one to finish last. Philippe managed a short burst of speed at the last moment, and beat out Carlos by a few steps. His victory was short lived however.

"Since there isn't time for repeating this journey, you will both lose your shoes" Salvatore told them. "For finishing last, you must make two contributions to Rick's collection sack" he said to Carlos, causing a look of shame to cross Carlos's face.

"And Rick, you can choose any other boy you wish to also make a contribution." I didn't need to think about it; I chose Philippe without remorse. At last I was able to start getting my collection level up.

When they were done, I noticed they did not give Philippe any water for his ball sack, and worse still, the older boys poured a small amount of dust and sand into Carlos's ball sack—less then he and Philippe had put into mine, but still I knew it would be enough to affect him as the hot afternoon wore on. Without any time for Philippe and Carlos to rest, we were sent off to our next competition—hot rocks.

We were brought to where hot ashes marked the location of the fire I had smelled earlier. On the ashes were six rocks of various sizes. Some were closer to the middle then others, meaning they would be hotter.

We were given the rules, which were simple. "In the order that you finished the last event, you must choose a rock. You cannot touch a rock unless it is the one you choose, once you pick up a rock it is yours and you can not put it down and choose a different one. You will carry the rock around that hill and bring it back here" he said, pointing at a hill nearly a mile away. "You will get points based on the weight of the rock, how hot the rock is, and how long you take to bring it back. Rick, you have first choice."

I looked at the six rocks and wondered how hot they were. Knowing that I was the weakest boy here, I skipped the biggest rocks and concentrated on the smaller ones. The hardest choice was whether to take one from the center or from the edge. I decided to take the smallest one from the middle.

Not sure what to expect, I willed myself to hang on to the rock no matter what, and lifted it. It was hot, too hot to hold for long. It weighed about twenty pounds, and I had to hold it against my chest to take my hands off it one at a time to let them cool. Knowing I had made my choice I headed for the hill.

I dropped the rock twice before I had gone very far and nearly hit my feet one time. I was glad I had rested, not that the rock was heavy, but trying to run without being able to keep my hands on the rock was going to be very tiring. It wasn't long before Tomas passed me. I could see he had chosen one of the bigger rocks from the edge. Although he it was heavier than my rock, he could keep his hands on it and that was making a big difference.

"I'm sorry, but I must beat you if I can" he said as he passed me. I told him to do his best and win if he could, and he hurried off.

Soon after that, Carlos passed me. The hot sand must have been burning his bare feet, but he was carrying the rock everyone else had passed up—the smallest rock, which had been on the outside, so it would be worth the least points. But it also allowed him to make the most speed, because he could carry the rock in one hand.

"When I win this, I'm going to make you carry that rock around again, so you'd better save your strength" he said as he hurried past.

The sun was on my back, and I could feel the warmth that comes before sunburn, but there was nothing I could do; I was moving as fast as I could. The rock did not seem to cool off at all, but I swear it was getting heavier as I went. At last I made it to the hill and entered into the cool shade on the back side. I could only just make out Carlos and Tomas ahead of me and couldn't tell which one was in the lead.

As I turned around the hill and came back into the sun, Pepe caught up with me. He had a rock that appeared to be twice as heavy as mine, but he had the strength to hold it. Remembering his kindness when he finished the last contest, I wished him well as he passed.

As I was nearly back to the finish, I could hear footsteps behind me again. I started to turn to look and nearly dropped the rock again. Dropping it at this point would mean I would finish no better than fifth, so I hung on and managed to cross the line just two steps ahead of Philippe. Hector was right behind him.

As it turned out, Carlos had beaten Tomas, but because he had the smallest rock the additional points Tomas had earned had allowed him a tie. That also saved me, for they were told they had to agree on which other boy to choose and what action he had to take. Carlos wanted me to have to repeat the course, but Tomas wanted Philippe to have to contribute. They compromised by making me contribute to both of their sacks. The last place boy, Hector, had to contribute to both of them twice. He was exhausted, and spent a long time trying to coax the last cum out of his penis, not succeeding until after dark.

We were all fed and given plenty of water, and then it was time for bed. Tomas and Carlos were put in one tent, me and Pepe in another, and Philippe and Hector in a third. The older boys split between the three tents. Pepe and me were told to stroke out dicks until we were out of sperm, and we weren't allowed to capture it in our container sacks, so I was unable to raise the level in mine. But once we were both done, we were allowed to sleep, which I needed more than anything in the world right then.

The next morning, Carlos and Tomas looked refreshed. I learned from Tomas that they had been given straw to lie on, and warm blankets, and had been left alone to sleep all night. Me and Pepe had slept on the sand, and the blankets we had only just barely kept out the cold of night. But Philippe and Hector looked horrible when they came out. They had been given rocks to lie on, and no blankets. It looked like neither one of them had gotten any sleep at all.

An adult came and joined us for breakfast. As we ate, he explained the testing we were undergoing. "You boys are beginning to develop into men" he explained. "This is the time we begin to see you as our future. You must learn all that is necessary for the survival of our people, and you will learn that at this camp. Those of you who are not sent back will spend a year here being taught. For those who are not turned back, this will be your new home for one year. After that, you will be ready to select a girl."

"One of you, the one with the most points, will also be able to go forward in the journey if he chooses, or he can select a girl from our village and spend his nights with her instead of the other boys while he is here."

I thought about what would happen if I won, but there was no way my parents were going to allow me shack up with a native girl. Somehow that didn't seem fair, and then I wondered—if they wouldn't let me have the prize if I won, would they make me suffer the penalty if I lost? But then I thought again about Eric and the fun he would have assigning me jobs, punishing me, and maybe even using me, and realized again that losing was not something I could allow to happen.

"The future of our tribe depends on us selecting the best leaders, and having people who can endure the hardship that adult life can bring. That is why no matter how hard you try to win, two of you will always be sent back. We know the kind of life you face if you are returned in shame to be under the command of boys who are years younger than yourself. And we know how hard it is to be kept from women as you get older. It is this test that will, in the end, show us if you are ready to become an adult in our tribe."

"By this point in the contest, we normally expect to have at least one boy who can not get up, or who decides he can not go on. Carlos was one such boy last year. But you six are surprising us, none of you have quit, and all of you have been able to stand the suffering and pain and still make it to the finish line for each contest. So this year we will introduce a task that is seldom used. I will let Salvatore explain."

Salvatore looked pained, it was clear to me that he did not want to explain what our task was to be.

"You will be paired and allowed to punch each other. You may not hit your opponent in the neck or head or below the waist, but anywhere in between is fine. Once you have been hit, you have five seconds to return the punch or you lose. Once the first round is over, we will pair you with a different opponent, and we will continue until we have enough rounds to determine the spread. The two boys with the most losses will be removed from the competition and held here until the others are done, then they will be returned to the boys camp."

He was staring at me as he spoke the final sentence. I could see the fear in his eyes that this test was geared towards the boys who had the most endurance and strength, and against this group I was near the bottom in each.

"To begin, Philippe will be paired with Carlos; and Pepe with Hector. Finally, the last two, Tomas and Rick, will face off against each other. Remember, no hitting above the chest or below the waist or we will count it as a loss. However, if the boy you are hitting ducks down you will not be penalized if you try to miss his head but cannot. So remember boys, keep your heads up."

I lined up with Tomas. He was just slightly taller than me, and had good balance. Plus, he had gotten a better nights sleep then me. I was going to have to try my best. "I'm sorry about this Tomas" I said to him, "this it the last thing in the world I would ever want to do to you."

"I know, I feel the same way. Let's just get this over with. Good luck to you" he said back.

We traded punches for a few minutes before I landed one right where Carlos had hit me in the desert. It knocked the wind out of him, and he was unable to meet the five second rule and hit me back. I helped him up, and apologized for winning.

"It isn't over yet, maybe I'll win the next round" he said when he could breath again. I told him I hoped he was right.

Philippe and Carlos fought the longest. Carlos was slightly stronger, but the real difference was that Carlos had gotten a good night's sleep and Philippe had been up all night. That difference was enough for Carlos to win. Pepe and Hector were also evenly matched, but the difference again was the lack of sleep for Hector.

Round two scared me because I was put up against Carlos, who was both older and stronger than me by a big margin. Philippe was teamed with Hector and Tomas with Pepe.

Carlos made a mistake though. Knowing that I was a wimp and believing he didn't have to fear me, he let me go first. I faked a punch with my right arm and saw him tighten his stomach muscles to absorb it, but I let that punch go and drove my left had up into the bottom of his diaphragm. He collapsed to the ground, unable to get up. I had beaten a fourteen year old without even getting hit.

Tomas also did well, winning over Pepe in less than a dozen punches. Philippe and Hector was sad to watch, both boys were so tired and sore from the previous match that they couldn't seem to hurt each other. It took a long time before Hector managed to squeak out a victory.

In the third round I felt safe for the first time as I was teamed with Hector, who was worn out from the long match he had just finished. My arms were tired when we were done, but it was never really close as his arms were also tired and never hit me hard.

Tomas had the toughest assignment, being matched up with Carlos who was burning from losing to my trick. But Tomas kept twisting and taking the heavy blows from Carlos on his sides and shoulders until Carlos lost his temper and kicked Tomas hard in the thigh while aiming for the groin. This rule violation gave Tomas the victory. Philippe verses Pepe was another contest that started out boring, but Philippe's age and strength gradually made the difference.

After three rounds, I had an impressive string of victories with no losses. Tomas had only been beaten once; but the other four boys each had two losses. It was determined that Tomas and I were in first and second place and the other boys would go more rounds until the final positions could be settled.

It only took two rounds. In the first, Carlos made quick work of Philippe while Hector struggled to overcome his lack of sleep in defeating Pepe. In the second round, Pepe lost to Carlos and Philippe was unable to beat Hector. With four losses each, Philippe and Pepe were eliminated from the rest of the competition. Philippe was crying openly, and I could understand why—he had to spend another year under the control of the ten-year olds. I never heard of a boy being sent back twice, this had to be the greatest humiliation of all.

This also lifted a big load off my chest, or so I thought at first. With them eliminated, my fear of being sent back to the boys' camp was eliminated. But the adult who spoke to us a breakfast spoke again now and made me realize it wasn't over yet.

"Since Philippe and Pepe did not quit but were merely eliminated, if any remaining boy quits or fails to complete a task, they will also be eliminated, and your standing will depend on your final points. And quitting or failing to complete a task costs you points you have already earned, so the four of you who remain must continue to work hard."

Philippe and Pepe were declared a tie, and each had to contribute to my collection sack. I chose Carlos to add to it as well.

Then came the worst news of all, they were going to let Philippe and Pepe decide what the next task would be. I knew they would try to choose something so demanding that one of us wouldn't be able to complete it. I wished I knew how many points I had!

The task that they chose required one of the older boys to go off somewhere to get something before we were told what it was. When the boy came back Salvatore explained the task.

"This is the battle of the cups" he said. I had heard of it but knew only that it was a method used by adult men to help settle disputes; beyond that I knew nothing.

Salvatore saw the look on my face and realized I didn't understand. "This will be the hardest on you, but since you finished first in the prior contest your cup will have the lowest level" he said to me. "We will use these hooks to fasten the cups to your penis and then you must swing the cup until you have emptied it." He showed me a handful of short hooks shaped like the letter 'J'.

I was horrified, realizing that the hooks in the other boys would go through their foreskin. I was circumcised which meant that the hooks would have to go through the skin of my dick—or worse as it turned out.

The hooks were placed against the bottom of the glans and poked into the pink head. I cried out in pain as each hook entered. Then a string was tied to each hook and fastened to a web holding a cup.

It hurt bad when I was penetrated, and I could hear Tomas complain as well. Even Carlos yelled something. But they only had the hooks in the loose skin around their glans, unlike the hooks in me. The cups were filled, mine about a quarter of the way, Tomas's about half, Carlos's three- quarters, and Hector' was filled to the top.

Trying to swing the cup was torture as it drove the hooks even deeper into my glans. The only saving grace was the fact that I had the least amount of water in the cup. I started trying to swing the cup high enough to spill the water out.

Carlos must have been embarrassed to finish behind me and Tomas because he ignored whatever pain he felt and quickly swung the cup up to a steep angle and emptied the cup in just a few swings.

Tomas watched him do it and copied his effort, finishing second. Then it was just me and Hector. I tried my best but Hector beat me out by a few seconds, so I had finished last.

As Hector made his mandatory deposits into Carlos's collection bag, Carlos picked me to go through the process again, and asked if two more hooks could be added. To my great surprise, the older boys agreed and the hooks were rearranged to allow the addition of two more. My glans still hurt from the last attack, now I had to accept two more hooks—or quit. But I thought about what life would be like as a slave and decided I could take this.

The hooks were set and the cup filled, this time to the top. I cried out loud with each swing until it was done. As soon as I emptied the cup Salvatore removed the hooks. Then Carlos made an announcement—he had enough sperm in his bag to stop. The elder boys examined it and quickly agreed that the level was indeed above the red thread. Now there was only Hector, Tomas, and me left.

After a short break we were told to follow the high ground over the ridge and come back to this camp from above the river. We headed uphill until we came to a path through the scrub brush. After following the track for a ways Tomas suddenly said "Hey, I recognize this place. This is close to the boy's camp where I live." Something didn't seem right since the path we were on was leading us away from the river, not towards it.

It was shortly after Tomas recognized where he was that we saw the first boys. They were the ten and eleven year olds, and they had long reeds with them. "Stay out of range from them, they have blow darts" Tomas said to Hector and me. I didn't understand and told him so.

"We make them as kids, and use a dart dipped in a berry that grows here. One dart will bring down a rabbit; but if they gang up on you and hit you with lots of the darts it will be enough to put a boy to sleep."

Now I understood, if hit enough times it may knock us out, and that may mean we don't finish the task. Just then a dart hit me in the buttocks, and within minutes I could feel the drug affecting me. Other darts were shot at Hector and Tomas, but missed. They ran on ahead of me.

I took another dart almost immediately, and I could feel my coordination slipping. The path ahead was blurry, and I knew I was in trouble.

I tried to follow Hector since I couldn't see Tomas anymore, and saw a dart hit him in the shoulder. At least that warned me that the boys were off to one side; giving me a chance to avoid them for now. But then I saw another group rise and fire at Hector and saw him stagger as one dart hit him in the side. He was able to keep going, but I was having trouble keeping my balance.

I felt another dart hit me in the leg and within minutes I fell to the ground. I teetered between sleep and awake but I was unable to command my arms or legs and could only lay there as the group of boys surrounded me. One boy had a dart in his hand and was driving it towards my side. I tried to block him, but could only flop my arms around as he drove it into my skin. Realizing that all was lost, I gave into the darkness and slept.

I became fully conscience without any sense of how much time had passed, but from the light it couldn't have been long. My head was clear and the effects of the sleep potion were rapidly fading. I got to my feet and saw the tracks leading up the hill. Making sure I was heading the right way, I continued on until I reached the training area for the older boys in Tomas's village.

Tomas was eating from a bowl of soup when he saw me coming up the path and jumped up to greet me, spilling the soup. "Rick! I am so glad you made it, I was worried that I was the only one!"

"I didn't make it, they hit me with four or five darts and I went down. Then one of them pushed one in by hand as they gathered around me. I saw Hector get hit too, but he was still staggering forward when I collapsed."

"It was the mark of friendship I gave you—when they saw the X they gave you the antidote and left you. I'm afraid Hector won't be as lucky."

"Who were they? I mean, I know they're your people, but they can't drug us like that can they? The boys in my village are only allowed to trip or knock down and tie up kids. Besides, we only see kids from our own village; we've never seen your tribe before."

"It is the same with us I think, we have never had outsiders come into our territory before. I talked with the older boys from my people and they think a mistake has been made; the rest of the boys from my tribe should have passed through that area, not us. Our tribe is more used to the drug, and it takes a lot more of it to affect us, so it is very hard to bring one of our boys down, to do so takes nearly the entire group working together because it would take fifteen or more darts to knock me out, more even for an older boy."

"What will they do with Hector?" I asked.

"If he was one of my tribe and got captured, he would be out of the competition and they would treat him as a prisoner until the older boys came and got him. Then he would have lost the competition and would come back as a slave anyway. A prisoner is treated even worse than a slave, and anyone can command him. He will not enjoy it. The older boys have already gone to look for where they have taken him and will bring him back. They will have to decide if that is the same as quitting."

"But he didn't quit, why would they have to decide?"

"It depends on how long it takes to find him. The boys will hide their tracks and sneak him off somewhere so that they can enjoy their prisoner longer. We once kept a boy as prisoner for three days! It depends on how long it takes them to find him. If he could escape, it would be better for him than being rescued by the older boys."

"So there is a chance for him to escape? He might be able to finish the competition?"

Tomas shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think so. They will keep him somewhat drugged, and if he escapes the one who was guarding him has to take his place. It helps to keep the guards alert."

It was after dark when the older boys brought Hector in. He was staggering and seemed dimly aware of his surroundings. Three of the older boys from my tribe were with them. They put Hector down and came over to us.

"Who was leading?" one of the boys from Tomas's tribe asked.

"I don't know" Tomas said. "I guess once I realized where I was I lead them in."

"Did you lead them here knowing our boys would capture them and let you go free so you could win?"

I suddenly recognized what they were accusing Tomas of doing. "He didn't cheat. I lead us along the path until Tomas said he knew where he was. If anyone led us into your territory it was me."

"And you also knew that the symbol on your belly would protect you, so now we must know—did you lead them here on purpose?"

Before I could respond, Tomas jumped up. "How dare you! He had no idea where we were, and I never told him about the darts until they were shooting at us. We didn't cheat, but if you must have a cheater in order to keep you from admitting you made a mistake, then take me! I'll suffer the pain of failure for the error the older boys of both tribes made in not ensuring the path was clear!"

The older boys smiled and backed off. "I told you he had honor" the boy who had made the accusations said to one of the boys from my tribe. "And he is right; none of us protected our territory and made sure they would not wonder across the boarder. We explain what has happened and let the adults decide their fate, and ours."

He turned to me and Tomas and said "Our boys ended up near your boys' camp and all five were caught in snares and traps."

"Snares and traps! How could they catch five boys in snares and traps, we all know how to spot them and avoid them" I said, and then realized that while boys in my tribe were experts at snares and traps, the boys in Tomas's tribe had probably never seen them before, just as Hector and me had never experienced the sleep darts before today.

"There were only five left? Who quit?" Tomas asked.

"You're friend was not able to finish the last task yesterday. I'm sorry, I know you wished him the best and that you and he were good friends. You will be allowed to visit him on occasion, but you cannot change what will happen to him."

Tomas had tears in his eyes, and I suddenly realized that he had been thrown into my tribe where he didn't know anyone. I was glad I had been nice to him.

We were taken back to my tribe's land in the dark. Along the way we passed the five boys from Tomas's tribe, who all looked sore and tired. We stared at each other as we passed without saying a word. That night an adult determined that Hector did not give up, and the assistance was allowed since Hector was drugged and unable to escape. By that time, me and Tomas had filled our collection bags to the mark and said we were ready to be graded. We were allowed to sleep through the night to allow Hector time to recover.

The next morning the scores were announced. Carlos learned the price of leaving early as that allowed Tomas to finish first in the final competition, which they decided to count even though it was greatly in his favor. Tomas had 190 points and Carlos had 187. I finished third with 135.

A twist happened next. When Pepe had been eliminated he had 40 points but did not have enough semen in his bag to qualify. But because me and Tomas both finished before Hector had a chance to fill his bag, his 26 points put him behind Pepe. It was determined that Hector would be sent back and Pepe would be allowed to move forward towards manhood. It didn't matter to Philippe because he had less then zero points when he was eliminated.

Pepe and Hector were friends, and both were shocked by the turn of events. Pepe had already accepted his fate and was jealous that his friend would go on without him. Now he had to say goodbye as he moved on, knowing that it wasn't his skill that set him ahead, it was just pure luck. Hector, of course, was devastated that he was now destined to be a slave for a year.

Philippe and Hector were called up to the fire, where Salvatore lifted two iron rods with a flat circle on the end. Philippe already had one such brand, the brand of shame, and was now about to get a second one. Both boys screamed out as the hot iron was held against their arm long enough to become permanent.

Next was something I hope to never witness again—Hector's circumcision. With nothing to dull the pain, Hector's arms were held as the foreskin was cut free, making his dick look like Philippe's—and mine.

Next they called Carlos, Pepe, and me up. For us, there was a flat bar that would signify our successful completion. You could hear the skin sizzle as the brand was held against our arms, and each one of us cried out as well.

Two of the bars were returned to the fire and Tomas was called forward. For having the highest score, he was to receive two flat bars, one above the other. His knees were shaking as he stood there waiting for the irons to become hot enough. Upon seeing his face Salvatore called me up to hold him still.

The bars were drawn out by two boys and quickly held against Tomas's arm. He cried out and I could see his eyes roll back and held him up, but he never did faint. It was finally over for me, I would now remain here with Carlos and Hector to begin the next cycle of training until my dad's studies were complete and it was time to return to Kansas. Tomas would return to his people, but he had to wait another day for their selection process was still continuing. I was glad to have the day to spend with him. "What girl are you going to chose?" I asked him, and laughed when his face burned bright red.

That night my father came by to congratulate me. "What if I had won, would you really have allowed me to take a wife?" I asked him.

"Well, of course I was hoping it wouldn't come to that" he said, "but the people were reluctant to open up and allow me to observe their ways. At some point I mentioned that I had two sons, and it was decided that in order for me to be allowed to remain here I had to agree to allow you and Eric to become members of the people. Of course, you surprised me by maturing faster than I expected and by the time I learned you had been selected it was too late to do anything. I guess I should have discussed it with you, that while you were entitled to a woman by their customs it didn't mean that you had my approval. In the end if I couldn't keep you from having an encounter with a local girl then I would have had to drop my studies and take you and Eric home."

That meant I went though everything without ever realizing I wouldn't be allowed the reward for winning, which sucked. "And what if I had lost, would you have allowed me to become a slave?" I asked.

"You know, the word 'slave' is a poor translation of the word they use. They want the boys who fail to toughen up a little. It is demeaning, but it makes everyone work hard so that they can tell who is ready to move forward and who isn't."

"I don't think you studied the boy's camp good enough if you think 'slave' is the wrong word for what happens to the boys who are sent back."

"Well, if it had I think Eric would have taken an active role to protect you, and the elders had already consented to that condition. But it doesn't matter now; you didn't fail. Before its time for you to take a girl I'll be done and we'll be heading home to get you and Eric caught up on your schoolwork."

I guess my dad really did believe that my brother would work to protect me when I was in a status that kept me naked and at the mercy of every other boy in camp. I don't believe it, but fortunately I'll never have to worry about finding out. Eric is back at the little kid's camp and I no longer have to worry about having to go back.