acting as their drill sergeants, until they were happy with the results. On Monday, they stopped taking their herbal supplement. They had to boost their power by tapping into their sexual energy. This was the hardest test of all, for not only were they in a state of sexual overdrive, but they weren’t permitted to experience release.

River Dog taught them how to meditate to handle their increased libido, and it did help somewhat. However, to ensure that they didn’t falter, they were no longer permitted to sleep with their partners, nor were they permitted to masturbate. It was imperative that their energy levels were at an optimum. By Tuesday evening, they were finding it almost impossible to be in the same house with their partners, let alone the same room.

The bungalow was literally vibrating with the increased energy and the air was electric with their unhinged libido. Their skin was beginning to glow and their eyes were dark and full of desire. There would be very little sleep for anyone tonight, what with their combined excitement and nervousness at the approaching event.

~ ~ ~ Dawn~ ~ ~

They woke at 6:30 a.m. It was just beginning to get light. The sky was the colour of cotton candy..........a warning sign of trouble. The air was still and cool........no sounds of wildlife. It was as if the Earth had been abandoned. They went outside wearing the white tank tops, pants and shoes that were required for the ceremony. They looked like some ridiculous teen singing group and were thankful that none of their classmates could see them.

Balam and River Dog stood off to the side, along with the Sheriff and Brody who had arrived earlier. They would either be witness to the end or the beginning of something monumental. Their stomach’s were a knot of nerves and their hearts went out to the ten kids who now stood in a large circle in the backyard of the home they had grown to love.

Max stood at the top of the circle facing South, with Zan standing immediately opposite him. Clockwise from Max stood Michael, Ava, Kyle and Isabel. Counterclockwise stood Liz, Alex, Tess and Maria.

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It had been revealed to them, that the grounds of their bungalow were the site of the ceremony. Balam had discovered it purely by accident. When he had taken the files containing all their latest information, a copy of the property survey had inadvertently slipped into the pile. He glanced at it and laid it to the side, not giving it much thought.

Then he scooped it up in his hands as the purport of the diagram sank in. He smiled and shook his head.......it had been fate all along that the bungalow had landed in their possession. The measurements of the property fitted the Venusian Formula exactly.

365 feet along the back property line.......the days of the Earth’s orbit around the sun

260 feet along the front property line.....the moon’s orbit

584 feet, the vertical distance from top to bottom......Venus’s orbit.

It had been staring them in the face all along! Balam called Brody to ask what had compelled him to buy the property in the first place, and he confessed that he had seen it in a dream, and when he was given the opportunity to purchase it, he just had to have it.

"Yes," Balam chuckled," I am certain you did."

~ ~ ~ 7:00 a.m.~ ~ ~

The sky darkened and the ground began to vibrate. The wind came up and the teens held each other’s hands tightly as the roar of a large engine could be heard overhead. Their eyes turned skyward as they recognized the harbinger of their fate and the fate of their planet. They closed their eyes in concentration as their own bodies set up a hum of activity.

Tiny specks of light began to swirl around their bodies, forming a cone of tiny molecules as they rose over their heads. These represented the energy fields within each of them and as they spun more rapidly, they began to merge with one another in the centre of the circle.

As if on cue, Max, Zan, Tess and Ava walked in step towards the centre and stood directly under the spinning light. The others pulled in closer to tighten the circumference of their ring. Now they formed two rings .......an inner one composed of four individuals holding hands and a larger one, consisting of the remaining six who held hands tightly.

The incessant drone from the large vessel that hung above them was setting their skin to tingle. Their nerve endings were raw but they kept the muscles of their faces slack and relaxed to counteract this interruption. They concentrated on moving the spinning light towards the underbelly of the large ship.

As it neared the metallic surface, it rose more rapidly as if it we being pulled by a magnet. The shiny object began to glow red, the colour spreading as it heated the whole hull of the vessel, until it shot skyward and exploded in the atmosphere. The teens sank to the ground in exhaustion, letting go of the hands that had given them comfort and strength.

The four adults who had observed this ceremony with a mixture of dread and fascination, now ran to check on their young wards, who were starting to move from their prone positions.

"Is it over?" Max asked anxiously, as he searched the ground for Liz.

"Yes, it is over," Balam confirmed with a smile.

"Hey, I was expecting more of a battle than that,"Michael admitted.

"Well, Michael, sometimes a battle of wills may not seem very dramatic, but if it is all that is required, then be thankful," River Dog laughed. "I think you sent them the right message, and that is all that matters."

"Now what happens?" Zan asked, as he helped pick Ava off the ground.

"Now, we wait," Balam responded.

"For how long?" Kyle asked.

"For as long as it takes," he returned.

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They returned to the house, too exhausted to care how long it took. They went to their rooms, Max and Liz having allowed Zan and Ava to share with them, while the adults congregated in the living room. They were too tired to contemplate having sex anyway, and surprisingly, their lusty libido had taken a dramatic downswing. Zan and Ava slept on the small sofa that converted into a bed.

Max and Liz crawled into their king size bed and fell asleep immediately. They all slept for the remainder of the morning. Zan woke first and after checking to see that Ava was alright, he strode outside through the patio doors. He was still dressed in his white uniform and he did a few stretches to work the kinks out of his muscles. He heard the patio doors slide open and max came outside to join him.

"Hey, Bro, what’s up?" Zan asked him. They had taken to calling each other this in private, since they felt a strong kinship to one another now, but were reluctant to share this with the others. Liz and Ava were aware of this affectionate moniker they shared but kept it a secret.

"Nothin’," Max admitted. "I just heard you get up and I thought I’d get some fresh air, too."

Actually, it was a little more than this. He felt an omen of some kind and he was apprehensive. Maybe they hadn’t accomplished their mission after all. He just couldn’t shake this feeling of dread. Zan had felt it, too. They looked at each other with a sadness that neither one could express.

"Do you think it worked?" Zan finally spoke up.

"I dunno," Max shrugged, as he squinted off into the distance. "I hope it did," he expressed with feeling.

"Yeah, me too," Zan stated.

They both stooped down in unison and started hurling pebbles across the backyard, their stance and pitch identical. They were being watched by the four men inside.

"Don’t that beat all," Jim Valenti laughed as he shook his head. "Except for the hair, you’d say they were twins!"

"Basically, they are," Balam added sadly. There was one bit of information he had held back from them, and now that they had completed their mission, the inevitable conclusion was drawing near. Their growing affection for one another was crucial to their success but it would also be the beginning of a long road of heartache. His eyes teared up at what was about to take place and he turned away from the two young boys, whose only crime was to be born in a time of strife.

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The long awaited answer arrived on Friday. The orbs began to glow and soon a messenger appeared, announcing the impending arrival of a small ship. It would land undetected on their property, by using a scrambling device to hide its presence. This seemed like good news to the teens. At least if it was a small vessel, then maybe they would be permitted to stay on Earth. One thing they were determined about......they wouldn’t be leaving their human partners behind.

Well everything is relative, and the word *small* can have many interpretations, depending on what one is comparing it to. In their estimation, they would have used the word humongous in describing the ship, but since they hadn’t had too much experience with spacecraft, they weren’t in any position to judge.

The vessel took up at least two thirds of the back yard, covering almost two acres. How it landed undetected by radar or the human eye was beyond their determination, but since they weren’t being inundated with air force bombers and highway patrol, they figured these aliens knew what they were doing.

An official delegation disembarked and they met them halfway. They had taken on humanoid form for their benefit and Max and Isabel recognized their mother from the visit in the cave, as well as their grandmother. They greeted them warmly and explained that their mission had been successful.

"And now, it is our pleasure to take you all back home with us," they announced.

"But this is our home,’ Max spoke up. He was determined he wasn’t going to be railroaded by these aliens even if they were his relatives. "This is the only place we know. We have family and friends here and people we love," he said, as he wrapped his arm around Liz’s waist. "We don’t want to go," he said with finality.

The delegation turned to one another and had a heated exchange. They turned back occasionally to look at the teens and finally came to a decision.

"We need a leader, and there is one of you who will be able to fulfill that role." They turned to Zan, who held onto Ava tightly. "We see that you have chosen the one we had mated you with on our planet. You will be a suitable leader for our people."

Max started to object but Zan turned to him and smiled. "I never really fitted in here, ya know. Me and Ava here was always on our own. If they want us, we can go, right Ava?"

She looked up into his face and nodded. She turned to Tess and tears welled up in her eyes. They grabbed each other, and held on tightly, their bodies shaking with sobs. It didn’t seem fair....they had just found each other and now they were being torn apart again.

Max stared at Zan, who looked back bravely, his head held high as he realized what this would mean. He wavered for a moment, but realized he had no choice. They were determined to bring back a leader and he and Ava were the obvious choice since they wouldn’t be missed by anyone.......except maybe by the only ones that ever cared about them on this rotten planet.

They didn’t have long to say their goodbyes since the scrambling device only lasted so long. Their friends all hugged them, all of them clearly disturbed by this turn of events, but trying to put on a brave face for the ones who were leaving. Max hung back, unsure of what he was feeling. He didn’t care if he ever heard the word alien again. The only thing he cared about was that he was losing his brother, and he didn’t know if he would ever see him again. He went up to hug Ava, fighting his emotions.

Everyone else had stood back. He and Zan looked at each other and then they grabbed one other in a tight embrace.

"Take care, Bro," Zan whispered.

"You too, Bro.....or should I say King Bro," Max tried to laugh, but it came out more like a muffled sob.