“Either-or. Take your choice.”
Grey did, so Davie went into the other one. Unpacking took no time at all, considering how little he owned in the way of clothing. He was glad he’d stopped at a drop-in place the previous Friday to get a couple pairs of jeans and some hygiene kits. At least I can brush my teeth and wash up for a while. It made him wonder if there were towels and washcloths. The bed had sheets and a blanket, so maybe…Going into the bathroom, he checked the only place they could be which was under the sink. To his relief there was a pile of both. He took out a towel and washcloth, hanging them on the long bar next to the shower. He’d barely finished when Grey appeared.
“Two minds and all that,” Grey said, getting a set for himself when Davie showed him where they were. “It’s nice that they provide this stuff. Beats the shelters any day.”
Davie chuckled. “I think that’s the idea. Have you finished unpacking?” That got a laugh from Grey, so Davie said, “Yeah, not like it takes long. Feel like checking out the rest of the place?”
“Like meet and greet? Sure, why not.”
They left their cabin, heading for the clearing. When they reached it, two guys came out of one of the cabins. They stopped, looked at Grey and Davie, then held a whispered conversation before walking toward them.
“You’re new,” one guy said. “Welcome. I’m Jude and this is Fox, which by the way is his real name.”
“Thanks to my mom who likes X-Files,” Fox grumbled.
“Hey, it could be worse. Anyway, who are you two?” Jude asked. “Street names are okay if that’s what you want.”
Davie shrugged. “I never tagged myself with one. I’m just Davie.”
“And I’m Grey, with an ‘e’, not an ‘a’,” Grey told them. “But you know that, Fox.”
“How many other guys live here?” Davie asked, wondering what that was about but not asking. He’s probably one of the guys he told this Slade dude about.
“Let’s see, including you two an even dozen now,” Jude replied.
“That’s all?” Davie looked around. “Who has the rest of the cabins?”
“Maddox has one. So does Slade when he’s here. And then there’s—”
“Me,” someone said.
Davie turned and tried not to gasp. The man standing there was dressed in camouflage, had a rifle slung over one shoulder and a pistol in a holster at his waist. If that wasn’t enough to catch Davie’s attention, he was also tall and muscular, with dark hair tied back in a ponytail and piercing blue eyes. The fact that he looked to be in his mid to late thirties did not deter Davie from thinking he was as sexy as hell.
The man shook his head, saying with a trace of amusement, “You can stop staring like I’m the big, bad meanie, which I’m not. I’m harmless unless someone comes around looking to cause trouble for one of you. Then, well, these aren’t for show.” He tapped his weapons. “I’m Ran, by the way, short for Randal, and you are?”
“D…Davie, and he’s Grey,” Davie replied.
“Good to meet you both,” Ran said.
“Do you, umm, spend all day patrolling around here,” Grey asked, circling a finger to encompass the area.
“Nope. Normally, other than checking the fence for breaks, I only go out when our security setup lets me know there might be an intruder.”
“Huh?”
Ran explained. “The idea is to keep all of you guys safe, so we have perimeter security. The first line of defense is the fence. It’s electrified and has signs warning that this is a high security area. If that doesn’t stop a potential intruder, we have infrared and microwave sensors, well-concealed in the trees at the edge of the property, that let me know we might have unwanted company. When that happens, I take a look and deal with whoever it is.”
“How often does that happen?” Davie asked.
“More than I’d like, but usually it’s a nosy hiker or hunters who think they don’t have to obey the signs. I flash my badge, put a bug in their ear, and send them on their way. If it is someone looking for one of you guys, then I deal with them more forcefully. These—” he touched his guns, “—are a great deterrent.”
Davie didn’t like the idea someone might be able to find out where he, or any of the others, were, and said so.
“Shit happens,” Maddox said, coming over to where they were standing. “Yeah, not much comfort, I know, but it does. Only a few people know where the Encampment is other than me, Slade, and Ran—and the guys we’re protecting, of course, although you don’t know exactly where, just a general location. When one of you leaves, because you want to and we figure you’ll be safe if you do, we swear you to secrecy. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always work. It’s human nature to want to sound important and spending months or more here makes some guys feel special, in spite of the reason why they were here to begin with.”
“That’s why we have security,” Ran added. “Just in case.”
As they’d been talking, several other guys had come over. A few went directly to the tables, which reminded Davie that what Maddox had called the weekly meeting was probably about to start. Others stood, listening to the conversation. Now, one of them spoke up.
“I’m Ten, short for Tennyson.” He grimaced. “Don’t ask. Anyway, one of the guys, a friend of mine who used to live here, got hooked up with a pimp right after he hit the streets. Yeah, not a great idea but he did what he thought he had to, to survive. Anyway, he wanted out which wasn’t happening. He took a few beatings to reinforce the fact that he was the pimp’s property.” Ten shuddered. “Then he ran into Grey, who told him he knew someone who could help, so he ended up here. The problem was, somehow his pimp found out and sent two of his punks to bring him back. Ran dealt with them then went looking for the pimp.”
“Did you kill him?” Davie asked, not certain he wanted to know.
Ran shook his head. “I gave him a taste of his own medicine. By the time I finished he decided it might be a good idea to change careers if he didn’t want me paying him another visit. Last I heard, he was selling drugs back east somewhere. The kid Ten was talking about is back where he came from, living with foster parents and in school.”
“This doesn’t make me feel all that safe,” Davie said under his breath.
“It rarely happens,” Maddox assured him. “We’re very careful from the moment we find out about someone who needs our help until we bring them up here.”
“You only knew about me a few hours before you picked me and Grey up,” Davie pointed out.
Maddox looked at Grey, who nodded, and then said, “Grey is, well was, our eyes on the street. Him and a couple of other guys. He told Slade about how you saved him from those punks and afterward got the reputation for taking on anyone who went after other street kids. Slade was already considering offering you a place here; because the word was out on the street that someone needed to do something about you.”
“You’re shitting me!”
“Nope.” Maddox chuckled. “The good guys are sometimes the last to know that some people don’t appreciate them. Anyway, by that time Grey had also told Slade about…the guy’s your mother’s boyfriend, right?” When Davie nodded, Maddox continued. “When Grey told Slade about him, Slade decided it was time to get you out of town. When you insisted you wouldn’t leave without Grey, Slade was okay with that since the two of you are a team.”
Davie wasn’t certain if he should be upset with Grey for not being entirely truthful with him, or proud of him for what he’d been doing for Slade.
Before he could decide one of the guys asked, “Are you two, you know, a couple?”
“Only in Davie’s dreams,” Grey replied, bursting into laughter.
“As if,” Davie added, laughing, too. “I don’t dream about straight guys. Well, except maybe Jason Statham or one of the Hemsworths.” Or Ran? I better not. He’s probably married with three kids and a dog.
“Okay, gentlemen, shall we start the meeting?” Maddox suggested. When everyone was seat
ed at the tables, he said, “We’ll begin with introductions since Davie’s new here. Most of you already know Grey.”
“I’m Ace,” a slender blond said. “I’m here because, like Ten’s friend, I got hooked up with the wrong people, though in my case it was a drug dealer. It took a while to realize I didn’t like what I was doing even though the money kept me in food and better clothes than what I could dig out of Dumpsters.” He sighed. “The problem was, I knew getting out wasn’t happening. Then someone pointed the finger at me when the cops started arresting other guys who worked for him.”
“I heard about it,” Grey said. “Told Slade, and we got him out of town as soon as possible.”
“Damned good thing, too, or I’d be dead now,” Ace said. “I won’t go into the hairy details other than to say it was a race to see if I’d make it to Maddox’s truck before two of the dealer’s punks got their hands on me.”
The rest of the guys introduced themselves, some relating stories about why they’d ended up at the Encampment, others remaining silent about it.
When everyone had finished, Maddox asked if any of them had business they wanted to discuss.
“We could use a second washing machine,” one of them said.
“Washing machine?” Davie asked.
The guy, Will if Davie remembered correctly, nodded. “I guess you haven’t had the grand tour yet. That cabin—” he pointed to a large one set off by itself, “—is for doing laundry and where they keep all the supplies we need for cleaning and what have you, rather than our cluttering up our cabins. There’s also a room like in some of the drop-in spots that has clothes we can have if we need them.”
“That’s great.”
“We’ve got a second machine on order,” Maddox said. “I should be able to pick it up early next week.”
Cheers went up from all the guys.
“Anything else?”
“What are the chances we can get some more interesting food?” a very skinny guy wanted to know. “I mean like maybe steaks and ice cream once in a while?”
“Lon, you ask that every week and the answer’s still the same. They’re not in the budget right now,” Maddox replied. “We buy what’s healthy, which is more important.”
“Steak’s healthy,” Lon protested. “And ice cream is good for my morale.”
“Tell you what. Whose birthday is next?” Maddox asked. When one of the guys shouted out that his was, Maddox said, “Okay, I’ll get steaks and ice cream to celebrate your special day, Buzz.”
That rated another round of cheers from everyone.
“Anything else?” Maddox asked. When the group remained silent, he said, “All right, meeting over. Coop, Pace, I need to see you in my cabin.”
“Uh oh, are they in trouble?” Davie asked Fox, who was sitting across from him.
“Naw. They help Maddox out with stuff sometimes.”
“Ah. Okay.” Davie wondered what that involved but figured if someone wanted him to know they’d tell him. Until then, he’d keep his questions to himself.
Chapter 3
“Since apparently no one else has shown you two around, I will,” Fox said as he got up from the table, now that the meeting was over. “Jude and I live there, but you knew that,” he pointed to his cabin. “Buzz and Lon are there.” He pointed again and then laughed. “I think Buzz put Lon up to asking about the food so Maddox would get him something special for his birthday.”
Looking around, Davie saw a big cabin right next to the entrance to the Encampment. “Whose is that?”
“Slade’s, when he’s here, which isn’t too often. He stays in the city to keep a look out for guys who need his help.” Fox gestured to another large cabin directly across the clearing from Davie’s. “That’s Ran’s.”
“Okay. Even if we didn’t know, because he already told us, we could have figured the last big one is Maddox’s.”
“Yep. Vin has one of the singles. He’s a bit older and a loner who doesn’t trust anyone too much. Nice guy though, if you can get past his walls, which is hard. Ten has a cabin to himself, too, even though it’s a double. He used to share it with a friend until something happened.”
“He told us,” Grey said. “The guy’s pimp sent some punks to get him and Ran took care of the situation.”
“Yep. Then, because it was safe for him to leave, Slade got him set up in a foster home. Maybe,” Fox said wistfully, “that’ll happen for me someday.”
“Who else is doubled up?” Davie asked.
“Ace and Will, and Coop and Pace. There’s one empty cabin but things being the way they are, I’ve got a feeling Slade will find someone who needs it sooner or later.”
“You’d think that would have happened already,” Davie said.
“Slade’s pretty picky about who he lets come here,” Jude said as he joined them. “As far as we can figure, they have to be in real danger, not just the usual crap that happens on the streets. That’s why most of us keep our mouths shut about why we’re here.”
Davie nodded. “Makes sense to me.”
“Have you guys settled in yet?” Fox asked.
Grey laughed. “Like that’s hard to do. Unpack backpack, put stuff away, and bingo, it’s done.”
“No kidding. If you want, why don’t you make some sandwiches and come over to our cabin to eat. We’d share what we’ve got, but it’s not much, as you’ll find out when you check your kitchen. It gets restocked once a week, so don’t get carried away and invite everyone to dinner.” Fox grinned. “One guy a while ago did that, then had to go round to the other cabins to try to beg for something to eat. Don’t worry, he got it, but it took him a while to live that down.”
“Sounds good to me,” Davie replied. “Do you, do we I guess, now that we’re here, ever have barbecues together?”
“Yep, sometimes. The grill’s stored in the laundry cabin. Hell, we could do that tonight as your official welcoming party. Let me pass the word,” Fox said before taking off.
“I’ll warn you, it’s going to be hot dogs and burgers,” Jude said. “As everyone and their brother has probably told you already, the food is pretty basic, although Maddox does make sure we’ve got plenty of fruit and veggies.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” Grey replied before he and Davie went back to their cabin to make lunch.
“It’s not as bad as they made it sound,” Davie commented when he checked the fridge. “Yeah, ground beef and hot dogs for sure, but there’s turkey and roast beef lunch meat, too, and sausages and eggs for breakfast.”
Grey was checking the cupboards. “Bread, ketchup, mustard, canned soups, and, ugh, canned spaghetti.”
Davie laughed. “Not your thing?”
“I told you soon after we met, I grew up with a single mom and three siblings. Her idea of feeding us was big cans of crap like that.”
“Damn, no wonder you took off,” Davie kidded. He knew that wasn’t the real reason, but it made a good joke.
They put together sandwiches, filled two glasses with milk, and started toward Fox’s cabin. They were halfway across the clearing when Coop and Pace came out of Maddox’s cabin. Coop said something to Pace before they split up, Coop heading to their cabin while Pace walked to Ran’s. He knocked, the door opened, and he disappeared inside.
Davie glanced at Grey in question. Grey shrugged, saying, “No clue.”
Fox must have seen them coming because he had the door open before they got to it. “Welcome to our humble abode,” he said, stepping aside to let them in.
Although it was basically a carbon copy of Davie and Grey’s, Jude and Fox had obviously put some effort into personalizing it. There were some sketches of trees and animals tacked up on one wall and a small wood carving of a fox on the mantle over the fireplace.
Davie set his plate and glass on the table then asked, “Which one of you is the artist?” while studying the pictures.
“That would be me,” Jude said from the kitchen area. “It keeps me sane when boredom se
ts in.”
Davie grimaced. With all that had happened in the last few hours, it hadn’t occurred to him that there might not be much to do at the Encampment to stay busy on a daily basis. It wasn’t like being on the streets where all his concentration was on surviving. He was glad he at least had a couple of books that he’d found in a trash bin, although it wouldn’t take long for him to get through them.
“We can eat in here, or go out to the tables,” Fox said. “It’s a nice day for dining alfresco.”
“Don’t mind him,” Jude said, rolling his eyes. “He likes to show off that he managed to finish high school before he ended up on the streets.”
“I wish I had,” Davie said. “I was that close—” he held his fingers an inch apart, “—when the shit hit the fan.”
“Meaning you’re probably eighteen now, right? Maybe, when it’s safe for you to leave here, you can get your GED,” Grey suggested.
“Possible, I guess,” Davie replied. He caught a flash of movement through the front window then saw Ran and Pace walking into the trees behind the laundry cabin. Both had rifles slung over their shoulders. That Ran had one was no surprise. But why is Pace carrying one, too?
He was about to ask when Fox said, “Grab your food, we’re going to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine while it’s still around.”
“It’s almost summer. Why wouldn’t it be?” Grey asked.
“Afternoon rain showers,” Jude explained. “It’s that time of year, up here at least.”
“Which is a good thing because they fill the cisterns,” Fox added.
“Yes!” Grey pumped a fist. “I can shower tonight.”
Everyone laughed as they headed out to the tables under the canopy.
* * * *
It did rain, as Jude had promised, ending in time for the group barbeque. Since the grill was a large one, Davie helped Fox bring it out to the clearing. To Davie’s surprise, since he’d been told that Vin was a loner, the young man joined them, carrying out a bag of charcoal, dumping it into the grill, and lighting it. He did so silently, but at least he was participating.
Everyone brought something to cook, primarily hot dogs, although Ace and Will had made half a dozen burgers which they said they were willing to share. Buzz and Lon set a large bowl of tossed salad on one of the tables, and Coop showed up with sliced potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil that he set on one corner of the grill to cook. Maddox brought out a tray holding cups, a pot of coffee, sugar, and creamer. As soon as he set it down, he was mobbed by guys who acted as if he’d presented them with the elixir of life.
The Encampment Page 2