The Protector Series: Part Two ~ The Sons Of St. Michael

Bobby Bonds had been the Director of Saint Michael's since The Great Warriors, Terry and James had departed. He was well past retirement age, but he couldn't face not being with "his boys". He was widowed, and his Family consisted of the boys he cared for.

Hazel and Joel Thomas were no better, they both had retired once and were still hanging on. Hazel keeps the books and ran the office, while her husband, Joel, once a Navy Cook, manages the kitchen and housekeeping department that cares for 2,200 boys.

They both were happy in what they were doing and prayed daily that their last breath would be drawn doing the same thing. They were known to the boys as Gramma and Gramps, while Bobby was affectionately known as "Unca" Bobby.

It was nearing Christmas and Joel was in the kitchen, helping his staff of cooks and bakers whip up some of his legendary holiday treats.

Several small boys were standing in the doorway to the kitchen with, what they hoped were forlorn and hungry expressions on their faces.

Joel, always a patsy in that favorite game of young boys, "I'm Hungry", had a large number of his famous iced gingerbread cookies in the pocket of his apron.

One boy, in particular, was skilled at sad faces and hungry looks, Billy Joe Warner.

Billy Joe had been tossed out by a drunken father and the St. Michael's Rescue Van had found him lying in an alley, passed out from lack of food the year before.
Now he was a healthy, nearly teen boy and a leader of his age group.

Joel sneaked up beside the door and grabbed Billy Joe's head, giving him a light knuckle rub on the scalp.

Laughing, Joel said, "Billy Joe, you little scamp, you ate enough for three boys at breakfast, you can't make me believe you are hungry again already!"

Billy Joe plastered a sorrowful look on his face and replied, "Gee Mr. Cook, I's but a grow'n boy, poor and hungry. Has you gots any scraps I's kin gobble?"

Joel couldn't help himself, he was laughing as he said, "Talk right you little food chomper, else I'm gonna give these here cookies to the seagulls!"

Billy Joe stood upright and laughing, "Yes sir, Mr. Joel, sir. Now, how about those cookies?"

Joel handed him about 20 cookies and the boys ran off to share them with their buddies.

Bobby was watching the whole thing and he shook his finger at Joel, "Spoiling the boys again, huh?"

Joel laughed, "Yeah, Boss, every chance I get!"

Paul Roberts came up to the two men and looked pleadingly at Joel. Joel laughed, "Not you too, Paul. I thought you were all grown up now!"

Paul giggled, "Not when you got Christmas Cookies hidden in your pocket, Joel!"

Paul had been a Saint Michael's Boy and had come back after college. Joel invited both men into the kitchen and brought cups of coffee to the small table for the three of them. Paul was now in charge of the grounds and security and had a worried look on his face, "Boss, we got some trouble, I think."

Bobby replied, "How is that, Paul?"

Paul continued, "This morning, I found the back fence cut from the outside and then pushed back together so it was hardly noticeable. There have been some other things, too - bushes trampled outside ground floor windows and pry marks on the door into the back storeroom, you know, the one we can also access from the utility room."

None of the men liked what Paul was telling them, they had not had any trouble since Terry and James had departed and they didn't want any.

Bobby said, "Maybe you ought to look into getting some help for the Security Force?"

Paul replied, "That is what I thought too, I have an appointment with Commander Bonner over at the Navy Reserve Training Center this morning at 10."

He looked at his watch and said, "I better get on my stick, it is 9:30 now."

Neither of the other two men knew that Paul was a Great Warrior of Saint Michael the Archangel, just like Terry and James had been, although, Bobby suspected him of it.

Paul could feel his Warrior simmering just below the surface as he fumed about the possible danger to "His Boys". He walked the few blocks over to the Navy Reserve Training Center for his appointment with Commander Bonner, the Training Center's Commanding Officer.

There had been a close relationship between the Center and St. Michael's since the time of Terry and James, and he felt confident Commander Bonner would be able to help them. He walked into the Center, and Yeoman Petty Officer First Class Jerry Childs waved to him and told him to go right in. Commander Bonner was waiting for him.

The Yeoman brought them both fresh coffee as Paul said, "Commander, I think we are gonna have some problems, I found the back fence cut and signs that someone has been snooping the grounds. I wonder if you have some names of some Marines and Navy Shore Patrol types who are loose and looking for a job."

Petty Officer Childs spoke up, "Commander, my baby brother, Carl, is looking for work and he was a Marine MP Gunnery Sergeant."

The Commander laughed, "I sure wouldn't claim Gunny Childs as MY baby brother! That guy is 6' 6" and living proof there ARE great apes among us!"

The Petty Officer laughed, "Yeah, that's what we call him at home!"

He turned to Paul and said, "Carl needs to work with kids, while he was in 'Stan, his wife ran off with their two kids and the judge gave her full custody because he was in the military."

Paul replied, "He sounds like our kind of guy, how soon can he come see me?"

The Petty Officer pulled his cell phone from its clip and punched in a number, "Hey Baby Bro, how soon can you get down to the Center, I got a possible job fer ya'"

After he closed the phone, Petty Officer Childs said, "Sir, give him 10 minutes, he is on his way now!"

Commander Bonner said, "Paul, you gotta meet this guy, besides being a walking mountain, he is about the most honest, gentle and caring person I have ever met. Just don't ever make him angry!"

Paul agreed and he and the Commander talked about getting some more men for Security. There came a knock on the Commander's door and when Commander Bonner said, "Come", the biggest man Paul had ever seen in his life ducked his head to come through the doorway! The man was simply huge, he had to be wearing size 18 shoes and his muscles bulged through the sport coat he was wearing, threatening to burst the seams!

Commander Bonner said, "Fellas, use my office, I need to check on some things."

Paul spoke with Gunny Childs for some time, becoming very impressed with the man. It was evident that he cared for children very much and, at last, Paul said, "I want you to take the job as Head of Security at Saint Michael's, but, first I must show you something."

Paul went into Change and stood there as a Great Warrior, his sword in his hand.

Gunny looked him up and down before he went to his knees, "Lord Warrior, I did not know what it meant when I dreamed of a Warrior of Saint Michael the Arch Angel last night, but now I do. Sir, I give you my oath upon my soul I shall protect the children of St. Michael's and all children, SO HELP ME GOD."

When they turned around, there was Yeoman Jerry Childs standing with his eyes slightly unfocused, he also dropped to his knees, "Lord Warrior, I have 25 years in the Navy and am ready to retire, I beg of you to allow me to accompany my brother into your service. I, also, swear to protect your children and all children unto the end of my own life, SO HELP ME GOD."

So it was that a Walking Mountain came to St. Michael's that very day and his older brother came two weeks later, after he had retired from the US Navy.
  
The children looked at Gunny Childs and knew immediately that he loved them. It became common to see the huge man carrying a child on each of his shoulders and a few more in his arms. His brother, Jerry came two weeks later, bringing 8 former Marines and 6 former Navy Sailors with him, who had spent their time in the Shore Patrol.

Every night, they formed a defensive perimeter around St. Michaels and at least one rode in the Rescue Van whenever it made a trip in search of boys living on the streets of Los Angeles.

Both the former Marines and also the Sailors had extensive first-aid training and many boys were patched up while being transported back to St. Michael's.

Both Childs Brothers moved into a small apartment they shared at the Home and were available 24/7 to care for a frightened child, or just one who needed a little extra TLC.

Jerry was an immediate help in getting the reports out to the State authorities and he could handle their official doublespeak and feed it back to them in full measure. He set up a table in the computer that notified him of a boy's birthday and he made sure to let Joel know in sufficient time for there to be a birthday cake and place setting at the head table for any birthday boy!

There was little the two brothers would not do for any of their boys, so it was a disaster when little Timmie Lonergan failed to come home from school one day.

After they had turned the Boys Home upside down searching for him, Gunny Carl called out his Marines and Sailors to start a boyhunt! They first searched every nook and cranny in the immediate neighborhood and then started ranging further out.

Jerry called on his friends back at the Navy Training Center to come help, they soon had 200 Navy and Marine Reservists joining the search.

What they discovered shook their souls; a child prostitution ring was operating in their area!

A grizzled old Chief Boatswain's Mate, Danny Thomas, first got wind of the operation. He had lost his own Grandchildren in a terrible house fire and had transferred his love to the boys at St. Michael's. He would spend his afternoons, after school let out reading stories to the younger boys and helping the older ones with their homework. He was a permanent fixture around Saint Mike's.

When he first heard about the prostitution ring, he didn't believe it, but more rumors came to him and he shared them with Gunny Childs. They started investigating and shortly they discovered the rumors were true.

Both men were enraged that anyone would steal young boys to turn them into prostitutes.

Carl Childs was in the St. Michael's Home for Boys Chapel, as he was every morning, before he started his day. While Carl was not an especially religious man, he did believe in a higher power, he was not in regular attendance at any particular church. He did feel the need to pray each day before he started working with the boys.

He knelt down asking God to help him find little Timmie. He suddenly felt a presence, as he looked up, there stood a being as big as himself. The being had huge gleaming white wings spread from his shoulders and a shining sword in his hand.

The being said to him, "Carl Childs, dost thou wish to continue in my service, will you protect mine children?"

Carl knew beyond any doubt that it was Saint Michael, the Arch Angel himself standing before him, he replied, "Sir, I would lay down my own life to save that of a child, go any length to protect a child from harm, do any deed to save a child from hurt."

The shining Angel touched his sword to Carl's forehead and said, "GO THEN, MINE WARRIOR AND LEAD YOUR FORCES INTO BATTLE. YOU WILL FIND THE BOY YOU SEEK IN A LOCKED ROOM ON THE RAILROAD PIER."

The wonderful apparition faded from sight and Carl got to his feet, he felt himself changing and, as big as he was, he found himself growing. He was fully ten feet tall and had a great, gleaming sword in his hand.

Carl's voice roared like the wind, "SECURITY FORCE, COME TO ME!"

His voice roared throughout the grounds of St. Michael's, the members of the Security Force came running from all directions, compelled by the booming command.

When they had all responded, Carl led them down to the waterfront, looking for the railroad pier. They found the Pacific Rail Service pier and he led his troops through the gate by knocking it down. On entering the covered pier, Carl felt pulled to the stairs that led to the upper level. Breaking down the door, they found a plush lounge with men sitting around drinking and holding small boys on their laps, naked.

Carl's anger reached its breaking point, he began sweeping his Great Sword, clearing the room and leaving bodies and broken furniture behind him.

He roared, "TIMMIE".

He heard a faint voice coming from behind a sturdy door. With a single swipe of his sword, the hinges parted, cut as if they were warm butter, and the door fell, revealing a small boy huddled inside the closet.

Inside the tiny room, he found little Timmie Lonergan, standing there shivering and stark naked.

"Boats" Danny Thomas was standing beside The Great Warrior as he stripped off his own shirt and wrapped it around the frightened boy. The huge Great Warrior knelt down and enveloped the boy in his arms, while they both cried.

The huge apparition then stood and placed the boy on his shoulder as he led his men, each holding a shivering boy in his arms, out of the building and back to St. Michael's.

Frightened bystanders described to the police and news reporters what they had seen, the police did not believe them and some, they arrested for being patrons of the prostitution club.

One older news reporter, however, remembered stories much the same, from years earlier. When he returned to his office, he began digging into the archives. He found a faded copy of a news column telling of strange, giant Warriors that protected the boys at St. Michael's Home for Boys.

With the article in hand, he went to St. Michael's and confronted Carl Childs.

Carl laughed, "Sir, I was about 9 years old when that story was written and I had never even heard of this place."

Carl took the man on a tour of the Home and grounds, he watched as the big man interacted with the children and their obvious love for him. Wherever they went, Carl had a child holding his hand or asking to be picked up and held.

The reporter, Allen Folley, remained convinced that, somehow, Carl was connected to the strange apparition that appeared at the Railroad Pier, but he said to Carl, "I am positive you are somehow part of this mystery, but, for the sake of these boys I will let the matter drop if you will give me some sign that the giant warrior is, in truth, protecting these kids."

Carl grinned and swung a huge sword from his back and held it in front of Allen Folley's eyes.

Allen's eyes went squirrely and he dropped to his knees, tears flooding his face, "Where were you when I was growing up and living on the streets? How may I assist you, Great Warrior, in protecting boys from what I had to grow up with? Please, let me help!"

Carl reached down and stood the man on his feet, "Allen, if you wish to help, write stories in your newspaper telling about St. Michaels and how we help boys here."

The man was as good as his word, stories started to appear telling of the boys and their home. Donations began to pour in and projects that had been deferred became possible. Additional land was purchased and new dormitories began to rise, a sports complex was built and an auditorium was constructed.

Timmy Lonergan had seen Carl as the Great Warrior he was and asked the huge man if he would be his Papa.

After much soul searching and even more tears, Carl Childs stood before the Family Court Judge with his petition to adopt Timmy.

After a six-month "trial period", Timmy became Timothy Carl Childs and Uncle Jerry moved into another apartment so that the new family could have some privacy.

They heard through Reporter Allen Folley that the criminal gangs were declaring war on St. Michael's and on Carl in particular.

Reservists from the Training Center were asked to help out, they began showing up in groups of 10 and 15 men and a few women to reinforce the Security Force.

Nothing happened for several weeks and some of the extra help had to return to their normal activities, many were in University or taking other training that required their attendance.

They were beginning to hope that the criminals had decided to leave them alone.

About 2 am one morning, they heard a tremendous crash and explosion as the front lobby disintegrated into a smoking ruin of burning timbers and charred carpeting.

Before anyone could recover, men came running down the hallways, snatching any boy who had stuck his head out of his room to see what was going on.

The next morning, when they could take a head count, 12 boys were missing!

The two Great Warriors, Paul and Carl, were devastated, their howling rage was heard for blocks around St. Michael's. Neither could contain their Warrior, so great was their anger.

Allen Folley left his job at the newspaper to assist in the search for the boys and their captors. After a fruitless day of searching, the three men were gulping a cup of coffee before heading out for yet another search.

Allen knelt before Carl and clasped the bigger man's hands, "Beloved of Saint Michael, I beg of you to make me a Warrior, so that I may protect the children and help right this terrible wrong done them."

Before Carl could reply, a gleaming light flashed in the room and before them stood Saint Michael, the Arch Angel in all his mighty splendor, his great white wings spread, his body glowing in golden light, "Mine child, Allen, long have I waited for thy request. Now is the time."

St. Michael touched his sword to Allen's forehead and said, "Thy children are being held above the place of flowers. Go thou, mine Great Warriors and bring mine children home."

Allen shouted, "Place of flowers must be the Flower Market!" All three entered Change as their Warriors demanded dominance. The huge apparitions strode down the street towards the commercial district, where the wholesale flower market was located. Traffic came to a stop as they marched down the center of the street.

They crashed into the building that housed the flower market, knocking doors and walls aside.

Those in the building ran screaming into the street in fear as the Great Warriors broke into the upper floor of the building. There, they discovered another lounge with naked boys being abused by older men.

Carl howled out his anger, "THOU WERE WARNED AND YOU HEEDED NOT, THOU SHALL NOT SURVIVE OUR TERRIBLE ANGER."

The three Great Warriors raised their swords and fire shot from the blades, impaling the men seated in the room, their bodies frozen in a rictus of pain and horror, before falling to the floor, dead.

The Warriors gathered up 20 boys and cloaked them in blazing light that none might see their nakedness as they carried them all back to The Home.

Several of Allen's former colleagues with the newspaper took pictures of the event, but, when the film was developed, all that could be seen was a ball of fire.

When the police came to investigate, there were no children missing at St. Michael's and all the boys were either napping or doing their homework from school.

The kingpins of the criminals died of an accidental fire at a private club in the loft at the Flower Market and none of their underlings were sufficiently brave to step into their shoes.

The three Great Warriors took delight in being with the boys, Carl took the older boys on camping trips and backpacking treks over long weekends.

Allen held homework clinics, where he tutored boys that they might excel in school.

A wealthy man donated a sailing ship to The Home and Paul took groups of boys offshore for weekend sailing, participating in regattas up and down the coast. In a few short months, the T. S. Warrior became a fierce competitor and trophies began to collect in the display case in the lobby.

Jerry worked with some of his Navy friends and was to acquire a 60-foot Ocean Patrol Boat. After a year's work by the boys, it was ready for service.

Along with the T. S. Warrior, the T. S. Arch Angel cruised the West Coast, stopping at all the ports, big and small from San Diego to Seattle.

Neither craft came home with the same number of boys as it had left home with, there were always more noses than boys' names on the crew list!

The crews, accompanied by their own Great Warrior collected boys living on the streets, homeless, and brought them to safety. In a few short months, additional dormitories were needed at Saint Michael's. The census grew from 2,200 boys to over 7,000 in less than a year before it began to stabilize.

They worked with the Requa Inn Refuge for Boys up in the Redwoods Country. They, also had a sailing ship, the MICHAEL and the three craft were frequently seen giving tours to boys dressed in ragged clothing, dirty and starving.

Had anyone counted noses and compared the number going aboard one of the vessels and those coming off, they would have found a number of boys had mysteriously appeared. Each vessel carried large amounts of fresh water and huge refrigerators filled with boy food.

When each vessel returned to its home, a stream of clean boys would come down the gangway, freshly bathed and in clean clothing looking for their newly assigned dorm rooms.

That they were being led by other boys, even carried in some cases, never registered with any observer, nor the fact that the day before one of the vessels was due to arrive, a huge order was placed for additional food to be delivered to the kitchen. The day after arrival, the County Department of Records was swamped with requests for copies of birth certificates also went unnoticed.

The criminal element finally "got the word" to leave the boys of St. Michael's and any street boy for whom they felt responsible for, completely alone. To do otherwise was a quick, one-way trip to the local cemetery, provided a sufficient number of body parts could be identified..

The population continued to slowly edge upwards at Saint Michael's Home for Boys and their contractor had a steady business enlarging buildings or building new ones. The campus now covered 120 acres and a monthly budget that exceeded that of many small towns.

The three resident Great Warriors had, somehow, let themselves be talked into a wagon trek. They contracted with a group called Westward Wagons Adventures for a three-month wagon adventure during the summer months that school was out. The trip would take them into parts of Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico.

It would be a wagon train of 60 wagons, carrying 8 boys each and pulled by mules. They would depart from Ajo, Arizona on May 28th and arrive at Mesa Verde on August 15th. The remainder of the trip would see them crossing southern Arizona and flying to their home in Los Angeles from Tucson. It would be an ambitious trip and have a set number of miles to be covered each day.

The boys would be responsible for driving their own wagons and cooking their own meals. Since it was to be a difficult and rigorous undertaking, only boys 15 years old and older would be allowed to sign up.

There would be other activities for the younger boys, the boats and shorter backpacking trips into the mountains of Arizona and New Mexico.

Before the first sign-up day had ended with "Lights Out", every single boy's name was on at least two of the lists.

The day that they drew the names for the Wagon Trip, every boy who was over 15 and a few who thought they could convince the Wagon Master they were over 15, were in the auditorium.

By the time they started pulling the slips with each boy's name on them out of the glass fishbowl, the tension was so great it seemed to be dripping off the walls. It took all afternoon to draw 480 names from the fishbowl and verify they were qualified to go.

Paul and Carl had already gone through the slips and pulled out the names of boys who were not old enough and "scolded" a few who were especially blatant about fudging their ages.

The boys whose names were drawn were walking six inches above the floor and their excitement was thick enough to spoon!

There were about 120 very disappointed boys, whose names were not drawn, and, before they could walk out of the room in hurt disappointment, Paul called them all back to make his surprise announcement, "The boys not drawn for the Westward Wagons trip are going to Denver to compete in The Great Saints Annual Kayak Race and meet the Great Warriors Terry Donaldson and James Barbot, The Chief Warrior and The First Warrior!

The legends of those two were known by every boy at Saint Michael's and boys were known to call on their names in time of need or extreme stress. Six Hundred boys left the Auditorium with huge smiles of satisfaction on their faces.

The next day, names were drawn for the backpacking trips into the Arizona Mountains around the Grand Canyon. The only requirement was that a boy had to be over 12 years old because of the danger presented by the famous canyon. All who met the requirements were selected and they would be led by Marine Reservists from the Training Center.

The third and last day was the drawings for the younger boys and those who did not think they could handle the hiking and physical exertion of the backpacking trips. They were going on week-long deep-sea fishing trips on the two small ships led by volunteers from the Navy Reserve.

Everyone was happy, no boy was to be left behind and the horrors of the criminal raids on themselves and their comrades were forgotten in the excitement of getting ready to go.

There were many local boys who went to school with the boys from St. Michael's and were drooling in envy. They were badgering their own parents for a trip "like the guys down at St. Mike's are getting to go on!"

The first group to depart, after classes had ended for the school term were those headed to Ajo, Arizona to meet their wagons. Each team had elected a cook and helper, a drover and mule skinner, two First Aid givers, and a suttler and helper.

Every boy had a job and excitement was running like a raging river.

The leaders from Westward Wagons showed each group what had to be done and let them practice for two days before they headed north through the dry desert mountains of Arizona.

The sixty wagons covered two miles of trail and each Drover was supplied a handheld radio so that they were all in communication.

They spent the first night in the abandoned town of Gold Glory. Carl was in the administrative wagon in the lead and he watched over the boys like a mother wolf.

Six days out, they arrived at the outskirts of Kingman, Arizona. Here they were scheduled to replenish the water barrels and take on additional food. They were camping at Summit County Park just outside town.

Some of the boys asked if they could look around and Carl gave them permission, but they had to be back by 6 pm for supper. The boys all checked back in on time.

Later, Carl realized he should have been suspicious, but the boys all scampered off and began making preparations to cook their suppers. As they passed through Flagstaff, they spent a day and a night at the County Fairgrounds, replenishing supplies and doing laundry.

They got an early start the next morning, because they needed to go as far as Sunset Crater before breaking the wagon train into two groups. One group would head north and the other would head east. The two groups would meet up again at Green River.

It was cold up in the San Francisco Peaks and most of the boys were in bed almost before supper was over with.

The next day they made Cameron for the night before crossing the upper reaches of the Grand Canyon and heading into Utah, where Carl's group was scheduled to spend several days at Mexican Hat and Tim Greenlee of Western Wagons would lead the other group into the sandy wastelands of Utah.

It had been a hard trek across the Utah desert and they were all looking forward to stopping for a couple of days. The boys played in the shallow creek nearby and Carl wandered through the camp watching the boys have fun.

He suddenly stopped! There was a boy he did not recognize, where had he come from?

Chapter 6 - CARL AND THE BOYS

Carl's senses had been alerted, there was something going on and he needed to know what it was. He started wandering aimlessly around his group's camping area and he spotted a group of his boys standing in front of two wagons looking very innocent.

Carl was not so old that he didn't recognize the signs. There IS NO SUCH THING as an innocent boy, unless he had freshly been hatched!

He just stood there watching the boys as they became more and more nervous and "jumpy" When he decided he had let them stew long enough, he walked over to the group and said, "OK, guys, spit out the dead frog you got in your mouths."

The driver of the first wagon, Gil Davis, looked down at his feet and replied, "Aahhh eere ahh ooo, darn, guys wes been caught." "Sir, wes couldn't leave them back at Flagstaff, Sir, honest, theys was hurtin' too bad."

He ducked into the wagon and brought out 4 young boys in just their underwear. Their backs were covered with bandages and one of the boys was limping badly.

Carl's Warrior was simmering, demanding release.

Carl reached for the smallest boy and the boy screamed in fright, cowering against the wheel of the wagon. That was all it took, the Great Warrior was standing in front of the boys and gathered up the frightened child, holding him gently against his own cheek.

The other three boys cowered behind the other boys, but those boys from Saint Michaels just stood there unafraid, The Wagon Driver, Gil, turned to the frightened boys, "Don' be scared, he is a Great Warrior of Saint Mike, he is here to protect us, even yous new guys."

Great Warrior Carl sat on the ground and beckoned the other three newcomers to come sit on his lap. The four boys were badly hurt and very afraid, the Warrior told them they were his to protect and he would never send them back to whoever had hurt them.

After he got them all calmed down, he was able to allow his Human to emerge.

Together, the wagon boys and Carl finished bandaging the injured boys and Carl asked, "Is this all of them?" Gil replied, "Ahhh eeeeer no Sir, there are some more."

The boys could see their hero's warrior starting to return, Gil let out a sharp whistle and shouted, "Bring'em over here guys!"

Suddenly, Carl was surrounded by older boys carrying hurt children in their arms. He didn't even try to restrain his Warrior, Carl screamed out his anguish, "THESE ART MINE CHILDREN TO CARE FOR, WHOMSOEVER HURTS MINE CHILDREN SHALL NOT SURVIVE OUR MEETING!" He waved his great sword over the children and their injuries began to fade in healing.

They were all boys from the Flagstaff area and had been hiding in the town garbage dump from parents who had beat and abused them. Many of them had been sexually abused and had run away in order to survive.

Carl was in misery, there were twenty children who had been hurt and had taken refuge with the wagon train. Carl looked up and Jeff Marcus, an older boy, who was nearing his eighteenth birthday, was glowing and Carl could see the handle of a shining sword just behind the boy's ear.

He said to Jeff, "You........."

Jeff shook his head in a yes and replied, "Great Warrior Carl, it is all I have dreamed about ever since I saw you rescue those children at the flower market."

Carl reached out his hand and said, "Welcome Great Warrior!"

At that, Jeff's Warrior emerged fully and the two spent the night caring for the injured children.

Rumors flew around the two Wagon Camps, TWO GREAT WARRIORS OF SAINT MICHAEL the ARCH ANGEL ARE AMONG US!

Jeff volunteered to go with the group headed north and Carl would remain with the group headed east. They were all to meet at Green River and head to Dinosaur National Monument to participate in a University Dinosaur Dig.

Carl's group wandered into the small town of Moab, where they could refill their water barrels and purchase some additional food. Carl went into town and asked a doctor to come out and check the new boys out, he told the doctor the truth and he was as angry as Carl over the matter.

The boys checked out fine, Doctor Finely asked Carl, "Are you sure these boys were injured?

Carl shook his head and replied, "Well, I certainly saw their wounds?"

The boys had been healed without even a scar.

The extra mouths to feed put a strain on their supplies, all twenty boys were already beginning to lose their haunted, starved look and their ribs were no longer so prominent.

By the time they got to Green River, only Carl could have picked them out of a crowd. They rested in a County Park for several days, waiting for the other part of their group to arrive. They made repairs to their wagons and rested the mules.

Every day, Carl counted noses at breakfast, Gil had assumed the mantle of Rescue Coordinator and he would bring new boys to Carl and Jeff each morning.

Carl was wondering if they were going to need more wagons, turning abandoned boys away was NOT an option! They got away, after spending several days helping University students dig dinosaur bones out of the soft sandstone.

They were headed to Cortez and Mesa Verde, where they would spend a few days.

It was a long, hot, hard pull to Cortez, the longest stretch for their whole trip.

Everything was getting low, water was the most important and they could hear the small amount of water left, sloshing the bottoms of the barrels. They had been able to fill the water barrels along the way at small county or state parks, but they were always nearly empty before they found safe water to refill them.

It was going to be a close thing to get to Cortez before their water ran out.

It was with a feeling of relief when they came over a hill and Cortez was spread out below them. They had the use of the county fairgrounds and showers. Everyone headed for the showers to wash the trail dust and sweat off of themselves.

Carl and Jeff were standing in the shade of some large trees, each praying silently to their Patron, Saint Michael, praying that they were done with injured boys. They heard a commotion over at the showers and they both headed in that direction.

As they got closer, a Great Warrior, clad only in a towel wrapped around his waist, was chasing a group of young bullies from the building, hitting their posteriors with the flat of his sword every time he got close to them.

The thugs ran off into the darkening evening and both Carl and Jeff called forth their own Great Warrior. They found another Great Warrior, Gil Casey, standing there, shivering in anger as he shielded six naked little boys, none more than 6 years old.

They waited until Gil could call back his Human and get dressed before they questioned him.

Gil stammered, "Eeere ahh, is it alright, I mean, can I truly be a Great Warrior as yourselves?"

Carl went to the frightened young man while Jeff cuddled the smaller boys. Carl said, 'You changed, therefore you are allowed. Saint Michael the Arch Angel makes no mistakes, those whom he claims as His Warriors are his forever!"

They added the little boys to their collection. The new boys soon became favorites among the older boys. Wherever the little ones went, there were two or more older boys with them and Gil was their target whenever they found him.

At meals, he would have at least three of them on his lap, eating from his plate. It never seemed to bother him. He always had a happy smile on his face when he had his little boys with him.

Their trip took them southward, headed towards Mesa Verde.

TBC

The boy's trip will continue and we shall also look into the activities of the boys on the Kayak trip as they meet The Chief Warrior and his mate, The First Warrior. The Sailor Boys will also be visited, how many fish shall they catch?