The Encampment

Chapter 1-2

It had all begun when he was seventeen and had tried to save himself from the s****l advances of his mother’s latest boyfriend by telling her what was happening. Instead of believing him, his mother had let him know in no uncertain terms she didn’t want him around if he was going to “slander the wonderful man I’m going to marry.” Then she’d told the boyfriend what Davie had said. The man had denied it, of course, saying that Davie was jealous of his being in his mother’s life.

That evening, when Davie’s mother had left for her job at a local bar, the man had come after Davie. Already half-drunk, he had told Davie that if he said one more word about what was going on, he would beat him so badly he’d wish he’d kept his mouth shut. With that, he’d grabbed Davie, dragged him into his bedroom, and attempted to rape him.

“You want this, you know you do, you little fag,” the man had said.

Davie had fought back, finally managing to fend him off by hitting him over the head with the heavy lamp from the nightstand. As the man lay bleeding on the bed, Davie had hurriedly gotten dressed again, tossing the shirt the man had torn off him in the trash after pulling up his jeans and briefs which were around his ankles. Then, he’d emptied his backpack of his schoolbooks, filling it with all the clothes he could manage to stuff in, as well as personal belongings from the bathroom, a towel, and washcloth.

When he came out of the bathroom, he walked over to the bed, wondering if the man was still alive, given all the blood soaking the coverlet. He saw the faint rise and fall of the man’s chest, which relieved him to some extent. Going downstairs, he used the kitchen phone to call 911. Emotionally, he didn’t particularly care if the man died, but realistically he didn’t want that on his head.

Hanging up the phone, he wrote a note to his mother telling her why he was leaving, ending with, If you’d believed me to begin with this wouldn’t have happened. Then he left the house by the back door once he knew the coast was clear. Ten minutes later he was on a bus that would drop him off close to downtown.

And thus his new life had begun. It took him time to adjust to living on the streets. He watched other kids, learning what it took to make money to eat and where it was safe to bed down for the night. He met Grey two months later. They had struck up an instant friendship when Davie had stepped in to protect Grey from two guys who were trying to steal his backpack. Later, after Grey had spent what little cash he’d earned by spanging to buy Davie a burger at a fast food place, he’d asked why Davie was homeless. Davie told him things had been bad at home and left it at that, although he had mentioned his mom’s boyfriend’s comment about him being ‘a little fag’, which he found sadly amusing.

“I’m about as little as…as him,” Davie said, pointing to a movie poster featuring an action hero. At five-ten, with the muscular build of a swimmer, he was right. Of course from the boyfriend’s perspective, he obviously was ‘little’. The man had been six-three and a body-builder who prided himself on his ability to easily lift more weight than most other men at the gym could.

“Are you gay?” Grey had asked in response to what Davie had said.

“Does it matter?” Davie had retorted.

“Not to me. It’s not my thing but to each their own. I only asked because you could make some money if you don’t mind giving blowjobs and are good at it.”

“Not happening,” Davie replied. “And you don’t have to be gay to do that. Half the guys I’ve run into out here are willing…Okay, not willing but they will, even if they’re straight. Like you said, it’s money.”

“Yeah. Again, not my thing, I was just…Hell, never mind.”

Grey had gone on to warn Davie about the more obvious perils of living on the streets, as well as telling him about the shelters—”Most of which aren’t that safe unless you’re real careful,”—and the drop-in places where he could get hygiene products, used clothes, and sometimes meals.

In exchange for the lessons, Davie became Grey’s protector when other kids, especially punks who preyed on the homeless, thought the smaller teen was ripe to be robbed or beaten up because he couldn’t defend himself. Davie took it upon himself to teach Grey’s tormenters a lesson, thus earning a reputation as someone not to f**k with.

Things might have continued as they had for the previous six months that Davie and Grey had been hanging out together if Ricky, one of their friends, hadn’t stopped them while they were on their way to the usual spot where they panhandled for spare change.

“Hey, Davie,” Ricky said. “The word going around is that some dude is looking for you because you tried to kill him.”

Davie shook his head. “That could be any of a dozen guys.”

“Yeah, well this is an adult, a big one, and he’s what my old man used to say ‘out for bear’.”

“Your mom’s boyfriend?” Grey whispered to Davie.

“Maybe?” Davie asked what the guy looked like. When Ricky told him, he sighed. “Why now, after all this time?”

“You’re asking me?” Grey said. “Did you try to kill him?”

Davie shrugged. “I was defending myself is all.” He looked around as if the bastard might show up any second. “He got what he deserved, but still…”

“Maybe you should leave town?” Ricky suggested.

“Uh-huh. I can’t even afford to buy a hotdog from the stand over there.” He nodded toward it. “How the hell could I buy a bus ticket?”

“It’s called hitchhiking,” Ricky replied.

“Yeah, well…I’ll think about it.”

That was the end of the discussion, but not the problem. Davie found he was looking over his shoulder for the rest of the day, no matter where he went, waiting for the bastard to appear.

Then, early that evening, Grey said he had an idea. “There’s this man I know who’s helped other guys like you. If I can find him, maybe he can help you, too.”

“How?”

“I tell you later. If he’s not around, why bother.” With that said, Grey took off, saying, “I’ll meet you at our usual place, tonight.”

That meant where he and Davie bedded down if someone else didn’t beat them to it.

It was well after two A.M. when Grey crawled under the loading dock to join Davie. “Found him,” he said.

“Okay. So who is he and how can he help?”

“His name, well, what he goes by on the street, is Slade. Could be real, or not.” Grey stretched out, using his backpack as a pillow before continuing. “He runs what he calls the Encampment. It’s for guys like you who are in danger for one reason or another.”

Davie c****d an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t that be every kid on the streets?”

“Okay, more danger than most of us. Like someone’s after them to hurt them bad, which it sounds like that guy your mother hooked up with is doing.”

“I’m sure,” Davie replied angrily. “Bastard. So, where’s this Encampment and how do I know it’s really safe?”

“Slade won’t say. He never does for obvious reasons.”

“Then how do I…No, how do we get there, because I’m not leaving you behind. You’d be dead in a week, or worse.”

Grey barely smiled. “There’s worse?”

“You know there is. For starters, think about the SOBs who kidnap runaways to turn them into s*x slaves.”

“You’re right.” Grey shivered. He might have been one of them if Davie hadn’t been around. “I have to get back to him, to let him know you’re interested.”

“So it’s another homeless shelter, huh? Maybe better run than the rest of them?”

“Not from what he said—and what I’ve heard. It’s not in the city, to start with.” Grey paused, looking at Davie. “At least think about it. It could be the answer to your problem.”

Davie did, finally saying, “I want to meet him, first.”

Grey shook his head. “No can do. I’m his emissary. I guess that’s the word. I let him know about guys who need a really safe place to lay low for a while and if he thinks I’m right, he’ll set it up for you to be picked up and taken there.”

“Like I said, I’m not leaving without you. Hell, why aren’t you living there already?”

“Because he said I’m more useful if I can bring in guys who need him. He makes it worth my while.” Grey chuckled. “Not that I’ve been doing that since I met you because I’m not wandering the streets looking anymore. Sticking with you keeps me safe enough.”

“You won’t be if the bastard finds me,” Davie muttered. “When can you let this Slade guy know I’m interested?”

“Now. Stay here. I’ll be back. With luck you can be out of here before morning.”

“We, Grey. I mean it. I’m not leaving you behind. If he doesn’t like it, then forget it.”