The Encampment

by Edward Kendrick

  The Encampment

  By Edward Kendrick

  Published by JMS Books LLC

  Visit jms-books.com for more information.

  Copyright 2019 Edward Kendrick

  ISBN 9781634868945

  Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com

  Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

  All rights reserved.

  WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

  No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.

  This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It may contain sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which might be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Published in the United States of America.

  * * * *

  The Encampment

  By Edward Kendrick

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 1

  Davie kept his eyes closed, waiting until he knew who was shaking his shoulder before reacting. If it was the wrong person, and most of them would be, he’d either defend himself or run like hell if he had to.

  “Wake up,” a voice whispered. “It’s a go. Our ride is here.”

  “Grey? Damn, what time is it?” Davie whispered back, cautiously easing forward to check what he could see of the dark alley.

  “Almost morning, so get your ass in gear.”

  “You’re coming too? If not…”

  “Yeah. Slade was okay with it.”

  Davie quickly rolled up his blanket, lashed it to his battered backpack, then slung the pack over his shoulder. As Grey walked toward the far end of the alley, Davie followed, staying alert for any signs of trouble from punks or cops.

  When they reached the street, he saw a dark, battered pickup truck parked at the curb. The second he and Grey appeared, the passenger door swung open. Grey hopped in but Davie hesitated, looking at the driver. He was built like heavyweight boxer with the face to match.

  “You waiting for an engraved invitation?” Grey called out softly.

  Taking a deep breath, Davie joined them, closing the door but leaving his hand on the handle in case he wanted to bail fast.

  “I’m Maddox,” the man said with a smile that softened his battered features. “You must be Davie. Grey told us all about you.”

  “He better not have,” Davie muttered, shooting his friend a hard look.

  “Okay, he told us enough that we know you need to get out of the city, and why,” Maddox said. “The rest we’ll deal with when we get where we’re going.”

  “The rest in nobody’s business,” Davie replied tightly.

  “That’s up to you. We won’t pressure you, any more than we do any of the other guys. If you want to change your mind, now’s the time to do it.”

  Davie thought for a moment then shook his head. “I’m good—for now.”

  Maddox nodded, put the truck in gear, and they took off.

  When they drove out of the city, the highway began to ascend into the foothills. Twenty minutes later the road was surrounded on either side by tree-covered mountain slopes.

  “Like a damned alley, but nicer…I guess,” Davie commented dourly.

  “Much nicer, and safer,” Grey replied, glancing at Maddox. “Right?”

  “That’s the idea,” Maddox said as he slowed down then steered the truck onto a narrow, paved road that wound deeper into the mountains.

  With nothing to see in the truck’s headlights except pavement and more trees, Davie closed his eyes, thinking back to why he was there in the first place.

  * * * *

  It had all begun when he was seventeen and had tried to save himself from the sexual 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 fuck 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 cocked 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 sex 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.”

  Chapter 2

  Davie opened his eyes when he heard Maddox say, “Home sweet home, at least for now.”

  It was just after sunrise Monday morning and the truck was parked in a wide space at the end of a narrow dirt road.

  Ahead of them, Davie saw what looked like his idea of a summer boys’ camp. Not that he’d ever been to one, but he’d seen something similar in a couple of movies. There were weather-beaten cabins set in front of the trees that surrounded a small grassy area. In the center of it were several tables under a canvas canopy.

  Behind where they were parked was a fence with a gate, closed now although Davie knew Maddox must have opened it to drive into the Encampment. Probably electronically he figured, since he thought he’d have noticed if the truck had stopped for Maddox to get out.

  “Boy Scouts are us, although I’m a bit old to be one,” Davie said, uncertain if he liked the idea.

  Maddox laughed. “It’s not as rustic as it looks. A lot of this is camouflage to keep anyone from knowing exactly what the Encampment really is. Grab your stuff and I’ll take you to your cabin.”

  Since all Davie and Grey had were their backpacks with blankets strapped to them, it only took them a minute to sling them over their shoulders and follow Maddox to a cabin at the far side of the clearing.

  “How many of us will be in here?” Davie asked as Maddox opened the door. He expected to see several beds lined up along the walls the way they were at a couple of shelters he’d crashed at when he first left home.

  “You and Grey,” Maddox said.

  “Are you shitting me?” Davie replied—both to what Maddox had said and to what he saw when they went inside.

  The cabin was broken into three small rooms. One was a living-dining room with a mini-kitchen at one side that had a small fridge with a two-burner stove-oven combo next to it. There was a fireplace between two of the windows. Off the main room were three doors. Two belonged to tiny bedrooms barely large enough for a single bed and a dresser. Between them was the bathroom with a shower, sink, and toilet.

  “This beats the hell out of…well, anywhere I’ve stayed since I left home,” Grey said, a wide smile on his face.

  “Are all the cabins like this?” Davie asked.

  “The majority of them are doubles,” Maddox replied. “The rest are singles because some guys aren’t comfortable sharing with someone they don’t know.”

  “I can see that,” Davie said. “I’m not sure I’d want to, if I didn’t know Grey.”

  “Exactly. For now, why don’t you unpack and make yourself at h
ome. There’s food in the cupboards and fridge. Nothing fancy but probably better than you’ve been eating.”

  “What wouldn’t be?” Grey said with a brief grin.

  “Where does all this come from and who pays for it?” Davie asked.

  “We have a few supporters,” Maddox replied. “Men who used to live the way you guys have been and managed to get off the streets and make something of their lives.”

  “Including you?”

  Maddox nodded.

  “How…where does the water and electricity come from?”

  “We’re connected to the electric grid thanks to two towns not too far from here, as the crow flies.” Maddox grinned. “A lot farther away if you have to drive to them. Water comes from cisterns which collect rain or snow. They’re on the roofs of each cabin.”

  “That’s what the big tank is?”

  “Yep. The water is run through a purifier then warmed by an electric heater after it leaves the cistern, even in the winter, but there’s a limited amount so be careful not to take long showers or you might run out. It does rain but not every day. If you do run out, you get to haul water from the stream.”

  “I bet it’s not close, is it,” Grey said.

  Maddox grinned. “About half a mile from here.”

  “Sponge baths is me,” Grey muttered, getting laughs from Davie and Maddox.

  “Okay, I’ll leave you to settle in. We have a general meeting every Monday, which is today, at ten. It happens at the tables you saw under the canopy, unless the snow is knee-high. Then we use my cabin. It’s the big one, two cabins over.”

  Davie shuddered. He hadn’t considered the fact it probably snowed a lot, as high in the mountains as they were. “What about heat? Okay, that’s probably why the fireplace.”

  Smiling as he went to the door, Maddox replied, “Got it in one.”

  “This is not at all what I expected,” Davie said as soon as the door closed behind Maddox.

  “Me, neither.” Grey picked up his pack, which he’d dropped on the sofa when they first came into the cabin. “Which bedroom do you want?”