Barn and Beyond Ch. 02

chapter 2:

Rusty is a gentle Australian Cattle Dog I adopted and has been with me since a year we took over the barn from Dad. My mom went for a routine morning run and never came back, Dad found her on her usual track, she died of cardiac arrest when I was twelve. My sister Andrea took care of both of us and Dad till she moved to the university for master in data science and then migrated to Japan. Dad was going through an extended mourning period and got clinically depressed. When I was 18, I enlisted after getting my high school degree, getting a high score on the Army placement exam.

I trained and served at the base for 2 years and 1 year in Afghanistan. I was shot in my hip and sent back as medical discharge due to injured on Active Duty. After a hip bone surgery, I came back to the Peterson barn. My father had restricted the business to cattle and poultry and had sold the plots adjacent to our two neighbours. With the proceeds, he bought a condo in Miami and moved there in search of a life before I came back. Since a year now I have been making repairs and changes to the two outhouses to convert them into a barn and country themed B&B.

It's lonely to be an ex-army closeted gay man. At 6 feet, muscular with army crop haircut and green eyes, I am not too bad to look at but never had the courage to ask a man out or drunk enough to do it with a woman. So I am a 23 year old virgin, living in a barn surrounded by thin woods, working 18 hours a day, tending to farm animals and building the B&B with my dog Rusty.

That night Rusty kept barking which was so unlike him, scratching at the door. I woke up and checked the time on my phone and it was past midnight. I tried to calm him down but he kept barking and sprinted towards the woods as soon as I opened the back door. I waited for a couple of minutes, then put my jacket on and followed him with an actual torch and not just the phone. When I got closer to Rusty, I heard the commotion and him snarling. Must be trespassers from the road, I had found many places where the fence was cut off to make an entrance, it was filed as a lower priority item to fix in the barn. When I ran towards the small clearing, I quickly summarised the situation, there was a naked person kind-off tied to the tree and legs tied with pants. Two guys were running away, one naked holding his clothes and when I reached, the last assailant threw the phone at the victim and ran away.

As I jogged up to the victim, I discovered it was a boy, badly hurt, assaulted and raped as he was bleeding from his backside. I covered him with my jacket, giving him a quick over to check for any major injuries as there were two knives on the ground. He was very thin and light and shivering. I gathered him to me and picked the phone, the screen displaying 911. The last person had either called 911 or was trying to hang-up on them, I finished the call and gave them my address. I picked him up and held him to my chest and asked "Hey... can you hear me, what's your name?" "Sky... Sky Perez, your dog save me" he slurred slowly and then passed out.

I held on to him till the responders took over and then followed them to the hospital. He was raped by at least 1 person and assaulted by multiple. I gave my statement while they patched and stitched him. They did a personal check on him and his story turned out to be miserable.

His mother was estranged and in Florida. His father was in the hospital with lung cancer and died the night he was abducted. He was 19 years old high school graduate and was to start college, he had taken a gap for his father. He was last seen on 16th street been picked and thrown into the van. The cops had identified the van and three assailants from a CCTV footage.

The investigating officer, Detective Hale, gave me his number in case I see anyone suspicious activity or person in the barn and was coordinating for Sky to be taken home as he was conscious and ready to be moved out since his injuries were not serious besides the stitches to his rectum due to forced penetration.

"Looks like these people knew him and he has wound marks all over him, they have been identified to be from his school and known trouble makers. The van driver Liam Austin, is a repeat offender and has been arrested for drugs consumption and distribution and once for physical assault at a bar fight, similar story for Yuri Carsten. The third boy is still to be identified but looks like has no police record". I explained to him that he may be the guy who called 911 and tried to help Sky, must have realised late that he was stuck in-between something more serious than just bullying a scrawny and poor orphan.

"The problem is they are still at large and the way he was assaulted and raped before being stopped by you and your dog, they wanted to kill him too and will come back for him especially now that we are involved. And they knew him and probably where he lives. It will get clearer once we get his statement"

He was conscious and gave his full statement, identifying them and providing excruciating details of his past ordeal till he passed out after I found him. Detective Hale gave him news about his father which was accepted with stoic silence and no tears. I waited for him at the corridor even though I wasn't needed but I couldn't leave him alone.

Detective Hale came out of the room looking crestfallen, "I see this a lot in my line of work but this kid breaks my heart. He is so nice looking with college dream and some lost fuckers take it away from him and destroy his spirit. I couldn't look at him anymore just sitting there silent and lost, crying and drama I am used to but this." He pointed towards the closed door, "this is hard to get used to, my daughter is of the same age, scares me man."

"Detective, I am happy to give him place to stay at my home if that's okay. I have a large house and can give him some work and pay too."

"He is 19 and an adult, he can decide if he wants to but it will be good for him to be away from his house and to have someone to talk to you. But it's on him, let me check with him."

We walked into his room, he was sitting there curled, his hands around his knees looking but not watching the TV, it must be painful to sit like this with his stiches but he seemed unaware. He looked up when the door opened. Detective Hale smiled at him and he just kept looking, like he wasn't sure where he was and why.

"This is Private Gabriel Peterson, ex-army and owner of the barn, he found you."

He looked me his eyes softening as he recognised me or my name. "Thanks" he whispered.

"Gab here has offered to take you to his home where there is room and can give you a job at his barn if you want, for some time till you choose to go back home. Since your attackers are still at large I think it's a good idea for you to have company and since you are an adult the final say is with you."

He looked at me, his brown eyes soft and shining with unshed tears.

I took a step towards him and offered my hand, "Hey" He slowly took it and shook it.

"Your dog saved me" He said quietly.

"His name is Rusty and he is a sweet heart, you will love him and looks like he likes you already." I smiled not letting go of his hand.

"I will need clothes and my stuff." He said quietly.

I smiled at him, "I will wait till you are discharged and then we can go around your place and pick what you want." "I will come too, call me once you are done here." Detective Hale added.

"Is Rusty alone?"

"Yes and he is smarter than me, can take care of himself and the barn as long as I leave him enough food and water and give him treats when we reach home." I smiled again both of us not letting go of each other's hand.

The nurse interrupted and asked us to wait outside and I went and sat on the bench at the corridor and Detective Hale left after me promising him to call when we leave for Sky's house.

He was wearing a standard tracks and sweats when he was discharged at around 7 am. I realised he had no clothes on when I found him. My jacket was returned to me but I had put in the back seat of my car for washing off the blood stains. He walked slowly limping but refusing to take help or a wheelchair.

I opened the passenger side door and helped him in and ran to the driver's side, checking my breath on my way there. We drove for 30 mins in silence to his house. It was in a good neighbourhood and it was a nice house, in neglect but must have been beautiful when a loving happy couple lived there with a young Sky. As soon as we reached the door, I noticed the door was broken. I stopped Sky from looking for the key under one of those fake stones and gestured him to be quiet. I texted Detective Hale and said there was a break -- in at Sky's place. We noiselessly walked down the stairs and waited in the car, backing out to be out of sight from the house.