Running Boys - Complete

Chapter Twenty

Fifteen Years Earlier

A lost Brother

Despite their quick dive into marriage, Mani and Angel took a more measured approach toward having children. Moey and Marina were the opposite. After taking their sweet time getting married, it seemed as though Jojo was very likely conceived on their wedding night. When Jojo was born, Mani and Angel couldn't get enough of him. This convinced them to start a family of their own. Buddy arrived next, and Ajay was only a month behind him. Mani and Angel finally had their little treasure.

They showered little Ajay with so much attention that by the time he was two, they were sorely in need of some away time for just the two of them. So, one fall afternoon, they walked over to Mo and Marina's place, with their backpacks fully loaded, and dropped off little Ajay to stay with his best friends, Jojo and Buddy.

Mani wanted to take Angel to a special place out in the savanna. During his time in the military, he had wandered through there and found it enchanting and serene. It was on a small river that flowed all year, fed by the mountains to the east and the Great Lake. This small river eventually joined the big one as it headed out of the valley and toward Victory lands.

Mani wanted to make a big fire, maybe catch a fish, do some skinny-dipping, and just enjoy a few days of complete isolation. But before they struck out into the remote wilderness, RJ had insisted that they stay one night at the Chair's villa on the far shore and take the military transport barge to get there.

Mani still enjoyed special treatment due to his accomplishments and because of his close affiliation with Moey, who, at a young age, had already become something of a science and technology advisor to RJ and other top government and business leaders.

The barge across the lake ran daily, as there were always military or well-connected vacationers headed back and forth who preferred not to hike all the way around the lake to reach the beaches and resorts on the far shores.

When Mani and Angel were on the barge, the large, powerful men rowing it so many miles across were always revered as the biggest and strongest in Eden. Mani and Angel admired them, but apparently, the admiration was not mutual. A couple of them looked at Mani and spoke to one another in a way that Mani had become all too familiar with over the years, but he generally just ignored it.

The villa's plush accommodations, its service, and its pristine beaches were a great way to kick off their adventure. But the days following would be very different from this, as they would be roughing it out in the wild. They set out by foot the next morning, embarking on an all-day hike to the first place that Mani wanted to camp.

He planned to stay there and relax for two nights and then follow the small, isolated river for another two days until they reached the confluence. Then, he planned for them to head just a few miles north to where there was a crossing point manned by the army. They would use a raft, which was used to pull men and supplies back and forth across the river several times a day. From there, they would walk another full day journeying home.

"Oh, yah. That sounds really relaxing," Moey had taunted Mani sarcastically. But it was exactly the kind of adventure that Mani and Angel wanted—the kind of thing they had become accustomed to doing before Ajay had come along.

When they arrived at the river the first evening, they were hot and dusty but not exhausted. They immediately stripped and got into the icy river, which restored them, and they once again had a feeling that everything was perfect. Then, the scene played out just as Mani had dreamed about it.

He caught his big fish and roasted it on hot rocks near a raging fire. They made love, stargazed, and talked well into the night before nodding off. It was a desolate area where wolves, bears, and lions were rare. There was only the occasional coyote, which Mani was well equipped to deal with. He always kept his spear close at hand as they slept. The next day would be special because they had absolutely nothing to do. This was the plan.