Escape from Dolphin Street

by David Sharp

  Adam seemed conflicted and was about to say something else when there was a noise like the snorting of a pig. Jason’s blood ran cold. Adam’s eyes grew like saucers and he put a finger to his lips in a different way than before. The snort turned to a squeal. Adam grabbed Jason by the hand and led him out the room and down the stairs two at a time.

  Someone is in the house. The idea freaked out Jason as they maneuvered the plastic maze. Someone had been listening to us talk perhaps even watching us in the shower before, during, and after.

  Jason imagined shadows and shapes on the plastic walls. In the quick passing, they reminded him of people with animal heads. Jason let Adam lead him outside into the soft rain and to the relative safety of the Mustang.

  Adam started up the car and laughed, revving the engine.

  “What’s so funny?” Jason tried to keep his lips from parting into a smile.

  “Your face, oh wow, you should have seen it.”

  “There is somebody in there.” Jason was perplexed again by Adam.

  “Whoever it is, they are just fucking with us. Anyways, we got away.”

  “If you say so,’ Jason said and his lips broke into a smile.

  Adam pulled out and they left Dolphin Street behind.

  Jason felt dirty, yet happy.

  Adam will keep the animals at bay.

  The Born Losers

  X

  The parking lot of the clinic seemed unchanged with the exception of different vehicles than the ones that were there in the morning. The grey skies remained and the rain fell ever so softly. Adam clicked off the engine and stared into the distance. Jason looked at him and felt warm all over. Adam had changed him. He felt his pocket and the picture of Trevor was there. He had taken it when they fled the house. He absently pulled it out and read the writing on the back.

  On the streets there are sharks and dolphins. The sharks are street punks of different sorts, dangerous and aggressive in form. The dolphins are runaways who play in the street surf — carefree and unaware that sometimes sharks eat dolphins.

  This is so weird. In fact, the whole end of that scene on Dolphin Street was freaky, even though we had laughed about it. He tucked the picture with its strange written ode away. Adam was probably right about the streets. Although, he did not want to admit it to him because he felt he would lose the new connection. Jason thought he knew then what it was to be gay and he liked it. He liked it a lot. He noticed Adam was off somewhere in his head, not paying attention and eyed the punk. Remembering the body underneath the ragged clothes, he was amazed that it was only that very morning that he was dying to touch him. Similar to before, they were sitting in the car. Jason reached out with more confidence for a second time and put his hand on Adam’s leg.

  Adam turned, gave Jason a curious look and accepted the gesture. “There is something else I need to tell you.”

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s about Liev.”

  “Oh him,” Jason said and felt sad because of the unknown history.

  “Look, when I first got out here I was so new. I thought it was going to be cool, you know like a party all the time, and it wasn’t.”

  “I get the point. You think I should go back home.”

  “No, this isn’t about you. I soon had nothing out here and was begging for food money.”

  Jason had not really thought about the reality of day to day living on the streets and felt a little sick to his stomach at the prospect. The money he had was finite. Another idea struck him. “Is that when you started… getting in cars.”

  “I did. I’m not proud of it, but I did what I had to do.”

  Adam, the figure of his desire seemed somehow tainted. Jason did not like the idea of him with random people, all of them old and gross. Jason looked to the clinic and thought of disease. “Were you safe with them?”

  Adam stretched his legs past the gas and brake pedals and shrugged. “Not really.”

  “Oh… have you ever been tested?”

  “It doesn’t matter. If I got it I got it.”

  The sick feeling passed through Jason. His first real time and he had not used protection. He felt so stupid. “We weren’t safe either.”

  Adam moved in closer. “Don’t worry about that. We were safe enough.”

  “I know. I am just…”

  “You’re scared. Jason, there are worse things to worry about in life.”

  “Like what?” Jason felt uneasy, but the closeness of Adam calmed him.

  Adam began. “I got roughed up one night by a trick.”

  Jason looked at Adam through a different lens. “And Liev helped you?”

  “No, not at first,” Adam said searching for words. “He broke it up and cut the guy across the face. I tried to get up and must have blacked out. I don’t remember part of it, not until Liev started kicking me. He kicked me over and over. I thought I was going to die.”

  “I don’t understand. Why would he break it up and then kick you?”

  “He was out looking for a mark, you know someone to rob.”

  “That’s horrible.”

  “I begged him to stop. I told him I would do anything and he got this weird look in his eye. He told me to get up on my knees. I struggled and did it somehow. Then he pushed me back down with his combat boot and stepped on my chest. I was bloody and beat and he told me that if I licked his boot everything would be fine.”

  “Why do still hang out with him?”

  “I owe him. He protects me out here.”

  “What about us, I mean what we did?”

  Adam switched open his blade and put it next to Jason face, caressing his cheek then his lips. “Don’t you see… if you stay you will belong to him too, or something worse could happen.”

  Jason reached up and grabbed Adam’s knife arm pressing back. The knife moved away from his skin and he pushed his face to Adam’s. Their hands were intertwined with the blade sticking up between their palms. The kiss was brief and rough. Jason pulled back. A thin line of spit stretched and broke between their lips.

  “I am not afraid of you.”

  “Maybe you should be.”

  “You could leave him you know.”

  “As long as I am out here, it’s not that simple.”

  “Is it the drugs? Is that what all of y’all are involved in?”

  “Oh that, that’s part of it.” Adam raised an eyebrow, “I had pills at the party. How… what do you know?”

  Jason thought of mentioning the newspaper clippings and thought against it. It would have seemed weird and stalker-like to say he had been following the exploits of Adam’s ‘friends’. “I saw Liev selling something to a guy in the bathroom of the Taco Shack.”

  “Oh shit, no wonder they are after y’all.”

  “After us, what the hell,” Jason said surprised.

  “Liev doesn’t like anyone, and I mean anyone, to know his business.”

  “Those street punks, Syd and Hex, and that freaky guy Knappy, were they messing with us because of me?”

  “I’m sure Liev told them to. They are cruel and dangerous. That’s why it is not safe out here, for any of you.”

  “If we go back, will you come with me?”

  “Jason, there is more I got to tell you.”

  Adam's Tale 2

  Adam returned to the flophouse through the front. Signs of the earlier struggle with John were apparent, a moved couch and knocked down furniture in the shadows. The candles had burned down lower, but were still giving off a faint glow. Adam walked through half-light into the next room. The back door was open to the night, the overgrown yard, and the crickets. Adam surveyed the scene, the acid still distorting his view of the world around him. He stared in fascination at the scuff marks and the light trail of crimson drops that led out the open door. Liev startled Adam with his sudden entrance from the dark outside.

  “Did you put the car away?”

  “Yeah, I put it in an abandoned lot a few blocks from here. I will drive it
farther when I am not tripping so hard.”

  Liev toyed with his wallet chain and flexed the muscles in his arms. Roughly he reached out and grabbed Adam by the neck. “Are you sure it is safe?”

  “Yeah, what have you been doing?”

  “CJ put up a fight…. I had to wash up….”

  Adam tried to relax under the pressure of Liev’s strong grip. He was feeling too weird and unsettled to be so close. Especially, to be held by Liev who had been fighting.

  “John is gone then, he left…?

  Liev shrugged.

  Adam tried to subtly move, but was stuck. He swallowed and said, “What about Syd and Hex?”

  “They’re trying out Hound’s new batch of trail mix.” Liev let go and brusquely rubbed Adam’s shoulders in control of him.

  “And if John’s friends come…?”

  The grip tightened. “CJ doesn’t have any friends.”

  “But if they do, then what?”

  “…back, in suburbia. That is the way it has to be.” Liev pushed down with his hands.

  Adam knew what was going to happen next. Liev always took what he wanted when he wanted, especially after a fight. He suspected the physicality, the violence, turned Liev on. Adam never made eye contact unless he wanted to get slapped; so he did, once, then twice, for the heated rush from the contact of skin on skin. Adam averted his eyes and closed them as he heard the sound of Liev’s zipper going down.

  X

  Jason was mesmerized by the tale that disturbed and excited. Liev, the controlling skinhead, was fascinating to him. Adam was like a god, yet he bowed before another. Jason got a thrill from imagining what it would be like and shut out the idea.

  What is wrong with me to have such thoughts?

  “Have you seen John since?” Jason pivoted.

  “Nah,” Adam said and looked away.

  John must have been hurt pretty bad. He always looks beat up though. Hell, he probably deserves it half the time.

  “Kelly and Tanya will go back.” Jason shook his head. “They aren’t cut out for this.”

  “And you?” Adam returned his gaze.

  Jason deferred with another question, “So, do you like it with Liev?”

  “What do you think?” Adam put his knife away.

  “Who do you like better?” Jason raised an eyebrow.

  “I thought I told you to quit asking questions.” Adam moved in.

  Jason was happily caught off guard by Adam’s tongue. Lost in the heat, they made out wildly in between the front seats of the Mustang. A loud rap on the glass ended it. Jason was left gasping for air. Outside, Kelly and Tanya silent teased.

  Adam did not miss a beat and opened the door, kicking the seat back for them. “Did everything go all right?”

  Tanya turned dour, shook her head, and muttered, “I hope so.”

  Jason felt uneasy about what Tanya had had done at the clinic. The female anatomy disturbed him like an alien landscape. He understood guys, because they were like him. He had always been attracted to his own kind. I never made a choice. It was just the way he had always been as long as he could remember. And he never chose to fight it, or try to be somebody else. Babies and vaginas were not a part of his thoughts most of the time and when they were it was queer to him.

  Kelly crawled in the backseat making more room for Tanya. Adam moved the seat farther up when he saw how delicate she was handling herself. Once they were inside, Adam shut the door.

  “Hey,” Jason said uneasily.

  Tanya closed her eyes and delicately placed her hands in her lap.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Kelly said.

  “Where to?” Adam asked.

  “Anywhere but here.” Kelly seemed detached from the world.

  The ’68 Mustang revved to life and took off leaving the dreary clinic behind. Jason saw the silent teasing in the rearview mirror from Kelly and shrugged it off.

  Adam noticed and broke the silent tension. “Hey Tanya, it may be messed up to ask, but what did they do to you in there?”

  Tanya looked pained then she decided to tell the tale. “It was the most fucked up place I have ever been to in my life.”

  The Clinic

  The guard, nondescript like an automaton, led Tanya and Kelly to the front entrance of the drab grey clinic building. Tanya squeezed Kelly’s hand tighter. She looked back and saw Jason and Adam watching from inside the car. She had a sneaky suspicion they were judging her. When she turned back, the door opened automatically like the ones at the grocery store. The cool air rushed around her and Kelly. Tanya wanted to turn around that instant and go home with Kelly where everything would be okay.

  What the hell are we doing out here anyways?

  The lobby was full of destitute looking people. The impulse to run was even stronger once inside. Tanya was stubborn though and knew she would wait it out no matter what. Kelly sat by her side as the grey morning turned to a grey afternoon. The lobby was like a waiting room in hell. The second hand on the wall clock seemed to move in slow motion. Time was creeping by in tiny increments. After a while even the small talk with Kelly dried up in the boredom of the wait. Numbers came and went until at last, seemingly out of the blue, Tanya’s number was called.

  The same plain faced security guard led Tanya down a long grey hallway to a small room with an examination table. Kelly was allowed to stay for the first part until it was to time to change into the breezy, backless, hospital gown. Tanya was scared. She did not want to hurt herself by doing damage down there, but at the same time she didn’t want to have CJ’s baby either. She was conflicted and thought of telling someone she had changed her mind. Tanya was about to say so when a nurse surprised her with an icy prick of a needle in her arm. The world grew hazy while the fluorescent lights grew brighter.

  The doctor came in and spoke in a voice that was slow and slurry sounding. “The…procedure should not…take long. You will feel….”

  The rest was lost in a static sound of whirling white noise. It reminded Tanya of being inside a seashell. The sound of ocean waves floated her away as the gurney rolled down the drab hallway. Tanya wanted to scream. A tear ran down her cheek.

  The operating room was sterile and oppressive. The nurses looked like raging sideshow clowns with face masks. The lights flicked on and off from above. Tanya’s legs were hoisted apart. Something cold and metal touched her between them. There was a pressure that jarred her. The clowns were touching her, doing bad things. Tanya was reminded about Kelly. This must be how she feels at night. Except that clown wanted something else, while these clowns wanted her baby. Tanya had changed her mind, but it was too late. She could not speak. Words would not form on her lips. She tried to move and found tubes and restraints holding her back. One of the evil clowns held up a hose, lubed it, and lowered it down.

  The pain shot through Tanya when the switch was flipped. The sound, a cross between and vacuum and a blender, unnerved her. The clowns were all around her. Tanya turned her head to the side and she saw a clear plastic container attached to the hose. To her horror, the hose turned red as the small vat filled with fluid. It was her baby, the one that she could have raised and loved, and all that was left was a chunky slushy. The painted clown faces blurred in her vision.

  X

  The story was shocking and bizarre and that was all Tanya could remember of the clinic. What she could not convey to the group was how truly awful it made her feel.

  “Oh my God, that is disgusting.” Jason felt sick.

  “I know….” Tanya trailed off.

  “They vacuum it out?” Adam was smiling in a twisted way, but obviously grossed out.

  An awkward moment passed in the car. Jason made a face. He kind of felt bad for Tanya, even if she was mean most of the time.

  “It’s done and you did not ruin your life with that loser,” Kelly said breaking the silence.

  “True,” Tanya said, though she was not her usual self.

  Jason asked, “Are you all right?”r />
  “What do you think?”

  “No, I mean do you need to rest?”

  “Oh, I suppose so. The painkillers are starting to wear off.”

  Adam spoke sternly. “I thought y’all were going to go home.”

  “I can’t go back like this, not yet.” Tanya shook her head.

  “Are you kidding me? She just left the clinic,” Kelly said a little short in tone.

  Jason felt closer to Adam and spoke with confidence. “We can take you back in the morning.”

  Adam took a long moment to stare out the window. A far away glazed look gave his hazel eyes an opaque sheen. “Okay, one more night then I will take you home.” Adam made a point of looking at Jason on the word, home.

  “Good. Can we get something to eat?” On the surface, Kelly seemed to bounce back from harsh situations with ease.

  “Can you leave me here? I want to lay down in the backseat, while you guys go? I don’t feel so hot,” Tanya said.

  Jason joked, “Well you never looked so hot either.”

  “Very funny, bum boy.”

  Adam started the engine. “Alright, I know a different place to park.”

  Kelly whispered to Tanya and held her hand. “I’ll bring you back a sandwich.”

  “Maybe, a small one… or better yet, some chips,” Tanya said.

  Jason watched them from the rearview mirror and wished them gone so he could be alone with Adam. There was so much he wanted to say and do. Jason sighed and resigned himself to wait for the time would come again.

  X

  Walking down another alleyway, arms loaded with sodas and junk food from a 711 convenience store, Jason could not believe where he was.

  I am roaming the streets.

  Kelly seemed different. The events of the last day had changed her resolve. He felt relieved knowing she would be okay with Tanya at least for a little while. Adam, rough and quiet, had become more and more like a god to him. He was almost afraid to speak to him out of fear he would be abandoned and stuck all alone in suburbia again.

  Tanya had been left behind with the Mustang in an overgrown lot in a nearby park. The lot reminded Jason of the houses of Dolphin Street. It was abandoned and unkempt. A place where wild things, the animals he had heard at night, could roam.