P. O. W.

by Max Vos

  “Yes…I knew,” Benoit answered, almost whispering, knowing full well what Abbas was implying. Looking back up at Abbas, he continued, “I would do anything to keep from hurting Sam. I swear.”

  “But you knew he loved you?”

  “Yes, I knew,” Benoit confirmed again, his head hanging, looking at the ground, his fists balled up at his sides. “Just so you know, I love him too, but not like that. I’m… not like that.” Benoit was speaking quickly, trying to make Abbas understand, looking up into the Arab’s eyes. “It would have been easy to take advantage of him, to…you know…to have a buddy like him. Someone to get off with, spend time with. But that would have been unfair to him, because I could never give him what he wanted. I’d never be able to return his…feelings.”

  “Then you can understand why what happened has almost destroyed him?”

  Abbas was furious. He couldn’t be angry with the man before him, but the whole situation was infuriating. The kindhearted man, the man he had become infatuated with, just across the hall, was being crippled because of what had happened to him. What was continuing to happen to him.

  “Oh shit!” Benoit’s exclamation brought Abbas back from his self-imposed trance. Benoit was watching Abbas closely. “You’re in love with him.” The statement hit Abbas like a punch to the gut.

  Panic gripped Abbas. Inadvertently he had let his guard down, allowing his true self to be seen here. Here, where he could be put to death for loving another man, and bring shame and hostility upon his family.

  The panic Abbas felt must have shown. “Hey, it’s okay, it doesn’t matter to me, so long as Sam doesn’t get hurt.” Benoit understood the Arab culture better than most, and the reason for Abbas’s panic.

  Another gut punch to Abbas’s already brittle psyche came as he examined his feelings for Sam. Was it possible to fall in love with someone after only three days?

  “Abbas, you have to promise me,” Benoit’s hand was on Abbas’s shoulder again. “Promise me that you will do whatever it takes to get Sam out of here.” The two men’s eyes locked. “Sam is one of the good ones. If it comes down to one of us being left behind, then leave me.”

  “Sam feels the same about you,” Abbas replied. Although Sam had never come right out and said it, Abbas knew that Sam would put his friend’s life before his own. “He is concerned about getting you back to your family.”

  “Yeah, that sounds like Sam.” Benoit’s face scrunched up at the mention of his family. “I’d like nothing else than to go home and raise my son, but if it came down to me or Sam…it has to be him.” There clearly was pain on the American’s face and in his voice as he spoke. “I…I’ve done things that I’m not exactly proud of, things…well, things that don’t make me a very good person. Sam has made me a better person. That’s why if it came down to the two of us, he should be the one to get out.”

  Abbas was astonished at the honesty and unselfishness of this “brutish” American. He was beginning to appreciate the man’s character.

  Looking deep into Abbas’s eyes, Benoit went on, “Maybe you can make Sam happy. Give him everything that he wants and needs, you know? Things I could never give him.”

  Abbas could only nod, not daring to speak, his throat was so tight. The thought of Sam and him having a future together was so remote that it seemed impossible.

  Changing subjects abruptly, Benoit asked, “Do you know what they are planning next for us?”

  Shaking his head no, Abbas still reeled from what Sam’s close friend had said, and from his own raw feelings. It took another moment before he could respond. “They do not tell me anything. I’m as much an outsider here as you and Sam are, I’m afraid. I was brought here solely to be an interpreter for you and Sam. To help obtain the information that they want.”

  Benoit sighed heavily. Abbas could see it was the unknown that drove him crazy.

  “I will tell you what I have told Sam,” Abbas said, thinking more clearly now. “We all must bide our time. Wait for the chance for escape.”

  It was Benoit who only nodded this time.

  “I must leave you,” Abbas said, as he turned to leave. He looked back in Benoit’s direction. “You are a good man, and a loyal friend, Mr. Benoit.”

  Abbas slipped out into the dark hallway. Being careful, he made a hasty retreat to the courtyard. It was freezing cold outside, a spitting and sputtering of snow falling, but the cold air helped him to think. The two Americans who had come into his life, especially Samuel, had changed everything.

  Originally, it was his plan to do as Abdul and his grandfather wanted. Wait for time to change things, and then go back to his life. His family’s well-being depended on what he did, but what Abbas had learned at the compound was that things were unlikely to change. Everyone was now playing a waiting game.

  Abbas and the two Americans were waiting for the chance to make a run for it. The Taliban was waiting until the NATO troops withdrew from the region, so they could go back to business as usual, and when that happened, his family would be no better off than they had been before. His father would be forced into planting poppies for opium again, being no more than a sharecropper, barely able to make a living.

  Somehow, he had to convince his father to leave, a near-impossible task. His father was a proud man, and the property that his family had owned for so many generations was what he lived for. It was what made him able to hold his head up high.

  These life-changing events, this not-so-new knowledge that he had now, made Abbas rethink his goals. Now he only had to figure out how to make these changes for everyone. The weight of so much responsibility, so many lives, on his shoulders became extremely heavy. The one thing he didn’t question, surprisingly enough, was that he did indeed love Samuel J. Stone.

  Chapter 9

  Stone was so cold. Even with the wool blanket wrapped around him, he felt as if he’d never be warm again. He remembered the night before, when Abbas had lain next to him, his warmth comforting. It was always coldest right before dawn, and the gray light coming in alerted the naked Marine that the sun was on its way, dawning a new day, a new day of terror.

  Wondering what further nightmare might be awaiting him, Stone lay there, curled up tight, and preserving what body heat he had. The American didn’t have long to wait.

  Saaleh came in, and this time, Stone noticed that he was carrying his rifle. Grinning broadly, he made sure that his prisoner noticed what he had. There was a personal relationship between a man and his weapon, and the fact that this Arab boy had Stone’s rifle, the rifle he’d had since boot camp, seriously irked him.

  Saaleh motioned for Stone to get up. Stone stood there naked, the bitter cold making his cock and balls draw up so tightly they ached. His toes were so cold that he couldn’t even feel them, and his nipples also started to hurt as they sharpened in the cold air.

  Saaleh pushed his prisoner out the door in the direction of the courtyard. Oh swell, Stone thought, just what I need, to freeze to death in this fucking hellhole.

  Saaleh pushed Stone towards a gate on the other side of the outside wall, and once outside the compound, there was a pile of wooden buckets. With Stone’s M16, Saaleh indicated with the barrel for him to pick two of the buckets up, then walk down a path. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground, rocks hidden beneath it, sharp on the soles of Stone’s bare feet. Saaleh walked him down the path about fifty yards to a well, only a few feet from an outbuilding of some sort.

  Understanding what he wanted, the naked American drew water from the well, filling the two buckets. Stone was about to pick them up when Saaleh motioned him behind the small building, pushing him down onto his knees. It didn’t take long for the Marine to figure out what Saaleh wanted as he pulled out his dick.

  As with most Muslims, Saaleh was circumcised, the dark tumescent shaft hardening quickly. With a snide grin on his face, he pushed the none-too-fresh-smelling prick into Stone’s mouth. Having pulled out a knife and holding it to the Marine’s throat, h
e gave Stone little choice but to do as he wanted. Saaleh had a decent-sized cock for a kid his size and age. He was damned lucky Stone didn’t bite the thing off, with his teeth chattering from the freezing cold.

  Had it not been for the knife and his rifle, Stone could easily have overpowered the youth. The American had at least six inches on him, and probably a hundred pounds. As it was, Stone sucked him, doing his best to get him off quickly just to get it over with. It didn’t take long before Saaleh shot his load into Stone’s mouth, his body jerking with his orgasm. With his free hand, he held Stone’s head on his now-deflating dick, giving him no choice but to swallow his thick cream. He kept his captive on his knees, his dick in his mouth, until he went totally soft. When he was satisfied, he let Stone rise.

  Walking the few steps back to the buckets, Stone picked them up to make the return trip back up the path. He walked as gingerly as possible, the rocks digging into his tender feet. When Saaleh and Stone were almost to the gate, Benoit walked out, under the same conditions as Stone had only a short while ago. Benoit’s face, upon his seeing Stone, turned serious.

  Stone knew Benoit so well he could almost read his mind. He wants to know if I’m all right. Trying to reassure him indeed he was okay, Stone winked at him and offered him a hint of a grin. Benoit nodded, imperceptibly to the other two men, but Stone saw it.

  Saaleh guided Stone to a small room that had a large wood-burning stove. Another man was stoking the fire, heating up the room. On the floor were several large pots. The man stoking the stove pointed to Stone, instructing him to pour the water into one of the pots, and then lift it onto the stove.

  The heat coming from the stove felt so warm, the first real heat he’d felt since climbing into that doomed helicopter, seemingly a lifetime ago. Stone regretted being ordered to pick up the buckets and leave the room. This time, however, it was the other man, the man who had been stoking the stove, who escorted Stone back to the well.

  This time Stone and his escort met Benoit on the way back, the telltale signs of semen in the corner of his mouth. It looked as if he were getting the same treatment as the other Marine. The scowl on Benoit’s face, the dirt on his knees, confirmed what Stone already suspected. It was Stone who now felt concern.

  A quick lift of Benoit’s chin told Stone that he was okay, and to ‘keep your chin up’, a typical sign from him.

  Just as with Saaleh, Stone was moved around to the backside of the shed. His new escort, closer to the American’s age, forced him to his knees, and whipped out his own semi-erect dong. Of course Stone knew what he wanted, and with a handgun, a Glock, aimed at his head, Stone proceeded to suck him off. This guy had pulled his pants down below extremely hairy balls, his exceptionally hairy bush also exposed. Midway through blowing him, he pulled Stone’s mouth off his cock and made him suck and lick those furry nuts of his. He had one hand behind Stone’s head as he ground his unwashed crotch into the Marine’s face.

  It took much longer than with Saaleh to get the new man off. When he finally delivered his hot spunk into Stone’s mouth, the Marine was so chilled that he was visibly shaking. Just as before, Stone was herded back to pick up the buckets, and made to make the return trip carrying the heavy buckets up the stony path.

  Since Stone’s escort took so long to get his rocks off, Benoit and Stone met closer to the well this time. They each gave the other a heads-up. It was good to be able to see Benoit, to see that he was all right, under the circumstances. Their shoulders touched as they passed each other, exchanging some comfort.

  Stone repeated the same process as before. This time, he dumped the water into a pot that was already on the stove. There was now an old beaten-up bathtub in the room. The Marine assumed that someone was going to take a bath. God knows they all needed one!

  Since there were more pots on the floor, Stone sighed, assuming that he would be making the trip back to the well many more times. At least this time he wouldn’t be forced to suck off one of these fucking camel jockeys, since they’d already gotten their nut.

  Stone was stopped before he could exit the room. He stood there waiting, but didn’t know for what until a new guy showed up, grinning like a fool. Stone knew then that he was going to have a new guard take him to the well, and to get his turn at a blowjob.

  This happened five more times, each time with a different member of their group. In total, Stone was forced to swallow seven loads. If he had counted correctly, Benoit had done six to his seven.

  The end finally came when the tub was full of hot water, and the two Americans waited, pushed against the wall.

  “How ya doin’ there, buddy?” Benoit whispered to Stone.

  He was rewarded with a vicious slap across the face and an order, obviously telling them not to speak. The only good thing about waiting this time was that they were in a warm room that actually started to get hot.

  When Abdul walked in, Abbas right behind him, they knew the wait was over.

  “You will bathe Abdul,” Abbas announced, saying nothing else, as Abdul began to remove his clothes, dropping them on the floor.

  Abdul leered at both Benoit and Stone as he stepped into the steaming hot water. He slowly lowered himself into the water with a self-satisfied sigh. The Marines were each handed a bar of soap and a rag and roughly pushed towards the tub, Benoit on one side and Stone on the other.

  Wetting the rags and lathering them with soap, they each started with a shoulder, moving down Abdul’s hairy arms. With the two guards and Abbas in the room, they washed Abdul from head to toe, sometimes going over some places repeatedly as he indicated.

  Presently Abdul stood, the water cascading down his hairy body, his penis elongated. Stone had a feeling that one of them was going to be getting another taste of nut juice. He was right, but Abdul picked Benoit to have the honors.

  Benoit’s expression was of pure hate as he went down on his knees in front of Abdul, taking his now fully-hard cock into his mouth. Abdul took Benoit’s head in his hands, thrusting deeply into his mouth, gagging him several times. Grunting and groaning, Abdul was evidently enjoying himself.

  Stone thought that Abdul was about to shoot his load when he pushed Benoit away. Abdul barked out some order, and one of the guards reacted quickly, bringing him a bottle of what looked like cooking oil.

  Abdul then looked at Abbas and said something, which Abbas translated for the Marines.

  Pointing to Benoit, he said, “Get in the tub.”

  The fury in Benoit’s eyes warned Stone that he was getting ready to do something stupid. Stone caught his eye and warned him to keep his cool, shaking his head slightly. With everyone watching Benoit, they didn’t see Stone do it. Luckily, he chilled out and did as he was told. He climbed into the tub, facing Abdul.

  “Turn around,” Abbas ordered him.

  Again, Benoit obeyed, but Stone could tell from the look in his face that he was right on the edge of exploding.

  He was standing there, his back to Abdul, when Abbas ordered him to bend over. That was all it took. Benoit started screaming.

  “I’m not going to let this asshole fuck my ass!” Benoit yelled at Abbas. He started to get out of the tub.

  He got one foot out of the tub when Stone was aggressively pushed in front of the tub, slammed to his knees, and a gun stuck in his mouth. Benoit looked at Stone, then pulled his leg back into the tub and bent over, looking Stone directly in the eye, their faces only inches apart.

  Stone knew what a sacrifice Benoit was making. He was letting himself get fucked up the ass by this monster to save his friend’s life.

  Abdul gave another order, and the guy who had pointed the gun in Stone’s mouth moved behind him, the gun now at the back of his head. This gave Stone a clear view of Benoit’s head, only a few feet from his own. His fellow Marine could see his face clearly. Stone knew how hard this was for Benoit, and he knew that had it not been for him, Benoit would have more than likely died instead of giving in to this.

  The guilt that came o
ver Stone was so deep that again it felt as if his whole existence was being ripped apart. There was nothing he could do to keep the tears from coming to his eyes. He did manage, however, to keep them from spilling over.

  Abdul was anything but gentle. He slammed his whole dick into Benoit in one thrust. The scream of pain that came out of Benoit echoed in the room, so harsh that it would have curdled the blood of most humans, but not Abdul; he simply laughed.

  He pounded hard into Benoit, enjoying the discomfort, the pain that he was causing.

  Benoit’s resolve was absolute. It didn’t take him long to put his poker face on, not giving in to Abdul’s sadistic side. He lowered his head, gripped the sides of the tub, gritted his teeth, and took it. Took it like a Marine.

  Abdul continued to bang away at Benoit. Benoit’s arm muscles bulged, holding him up against the assault. From where Stone was sitting on his knees, he could see Benoit’s genitals swinging, framed by his hairy chest.

  Stone hated himself for it, but he could not help it: his dick got hard. The shame and the guilt choked him, making it difficult for him to breathe. Not only could Abdul and Benoit see his excitement; so could Abbas. Stone could no longer contain the tears; they spilled over, running down his unshaven cheeks. Had he not been in fear of what would happen to Benoit, he would have welcomed a bullet to his brain right then.

  Stone’s throat was so closed up that it stifled the sob that had built up, going unnoticed. What was noticed was Stone’s hard, throbbing dick. Laughing, Abdul slammed into Benoit one more time, unloading his nuts deep inside of him.

  Abdul pulled his used dick out of Benoit’s ass with a loud plop, and then stretched. Benoit was about to stand up when Abdul pushed him back down, keeping him in the same position he’d been in while getting his ass raped. Stepping out of the tub, he walked around and shoved his dick back into Benoit’s mouth, making him suck it clean.