Mental Games - 1. Graduation Is Near

“Hey, Adam. Are you lost or something?” the bartender greeted the good-looking guy with chocolate-colored hair that had just strolled into his establishment. “You normally only stop in here on the weekend.”

Adam was particularly fond of dropping by this particular bar whenever he got the chance, because it was one of the few gay hangouts in town where he felt totally comfortable, safe and as if he truly belonged. Since he'd been living in the area, he stopped in there as often as he could and had made friends with many of the employees and patrons that hung out at the bar. He even enjoyed watching the drag shows that were held on Friday and Saturday nights. He and his boyfriend had attended those types of shows at other places in the past, both locally and in other communities, but those shows never seemed quite as good as the ones they had here. At those other places, the drag queens were either much older and grotesquely out of shape, hideously attired or did a poor job at lip-syncing the song they had chosen to perform. For those reasons, Adam and his boyfriend never truly enjoyed watching any of those other shows, but this place was refreshingly different.

“Yeah, but this is a special occasion, Lucas,” the grinning young man replied, as he bellied up to the bar. “I just finished taking my last exam, so now I’m as free as a bird until the graduation ceremony. I thought I’d come by and see who was here while I tossed down a few beers to celebrate the end of my time at State.”

The interior of the bar was dimly lit, so it made it somewhat difficult to see who else was there, at least until Adam’s eyes had time to adjust after coming in from the bright sunlight outside. The place also didn’t smell like beer as it usually did, but it also seemed devoid of customers. That’s when Adam realized it was still kind of early in the day for there to be much of a crowd, since it was only late afternoon.

“That’s sweet! Congratulations,” Lucas offered, in his melodic, baritone voice. “Do you want your usual?”

Adam nodded and Lucas began to pour him a beer. Adam liked this particular bartender, because Lucas was always friendly and seemed interested in what Adam had to say. The problem was that since Adam came in primarily on the weekend, it was generally too busy for them to have much of a conversation.

Lucas was also extremely easy on the eyes. He wasn’t merely handsome, with his jet-black hair and light blue eyes, but he also had a fantastic body and it was obvious that he spent quite a bit of time working out. Adam’s boyfriend, Mike, often teased Adam that he would start drooling whenever Lucas spoke to him.

“So what’s your degree in?” Lucas asked, as he set the mug down in front of Adam.

“I’ll be getting my Bachelor of Science in biochemistry and molecular biology,” Adam responded. He was looking quite pleased with himself as he picked up his beer.

“That’s quite a mouthful,” the bartender joked, as he continued to wipe down the area behind the bar. “So what do you plan on doing with your degree?”

“I’m going to attend med school,” Adam answered, as he slid onto a barstool and took another gulp. “I’ve been accepted at Johns Hopkins beginning in the fall, so I won’t have too long to enjoy myself before I start hitting the books again.”

“Sounds like you have a lot of work ahead of you,” the bartender stated, as he flipped his hair back and flashed a friendly smile. “So you want to be a doctor, huh? Have you picked a specialty yet?”

“Not exactly,” Adam replied, as he stayed focused on Lucas’ face. “At first I was considering going into anesthesiology or podiatry, but now I’m not so sure. I’ve been thinking about going into emergency medicine, family medicine or pediatrics instead. I’ve decided that I'd like to feel as if I was really helping people and making a significant difference in their lives, not merely seeking a substantial income.”

“That’s very noble of you, but it’s also a tough choice. Good luck with whatever you decide to do though,” the bartender offered, as he rinsed out the bar rag. “So where is your boyfriend today? You’re usually in here together.”

“True, but Mike was studying for his last exam, which he should be taking about now,” Adam answered, as he took the last swig of his beer. “I just needed to let off a little steam after taking my last final, but I didn’t want to disturb Mike, so I decided to come here instead. Even though he couldn’t join me, I still wanted to unwind and bask in the fleeting sense of accomplishment for a while. I suddenly feel as if a big weight has been lifted off of my shoulders, so I thought a celebration was in order.”

“I can see why,” the bartender agreed. “Would you like another beer?” Adam nodded.

“Yeah, that would be great. Mike and I will probably be stopping by this weekend too,” Adam added, as Lucas started to refill his mug. “We want to say goodbye to you and the others that work here, along with everyone else we’ve come to know. We’re going to miss this place, including the drag shows and all of the performers too. At least the participants here were all young and actually looked the part, unlike the shows at many of the other places we've been to.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” the bartender agreed, as he set the beer down in front of Adam. “So is Mike going to be a doctor too?”

“Hell no!” Adam almost laughed. “He’s not good dealing with sick people, but he's even worse around blood. He’s a political science major and wants to be a lawyer. He'll be attending the Georgetown law school in the fall.”

“Then you both have a lot more school ahead of you,” the bartender observed. “You should each wind up with a good paying job when you finish though.”

“Yeah, good enough to pay off the huge amount of debt we’ve already racked up, along with the educational loans we have yet to take out,” Adam joked after taking another swallow. “It isn’t going to be cheap, but I think we’ll both do well.”

“I’m sure you will,” the bartender added.

Adam was still working on his second beer as he began to look around the bar to see who else was there. There was another guy sitting at the other end of the bar and he noticed a few others scattered around at the various tables. He was trying to make out who they were, as he downed the last of his second beer.

“Would you like another?” Lucas asked as soon as he saw Adam set the empty mug down on the counter.

“Yeah, one more, but that’s it,” Adam confirmed. “It’s the limit I set for myself this afternoon, because Mike and I will be going out to celebrate together later.”

As Adam picked up his refill, he spotted someone else in the bar that he knew. It was the guy who did the Katy Perry impression in the drag shows. In fact, he even looked like a male version of her when he wasn’t dressed in female clothing, complete with makeup and wearing a wig. Adam walked over to his table and said hello, before they exchanged the usual pleasantries. After Adam took another sip of his beer, they began talking about a bunch of different things, since this guy was attending State too. They'd been talking for quite a few minutes when Adam glanced up the clock behind the bar. Seeing the time, he gulped down the last of his beer and hastily excused himself.

“I’m sorry, but I’ve got to run,” he apologized. “I totally lost track of time and just realized that I'm supposed to be somewhere else in a few minutes.”

The Katy impersonator had no problem with this, so they quickly said goodbye to each other, as Adam stood up and then headed for the door. He had to get back to the apartment to meet Mike, even if he wasn’t sure that his boyfriend would be there to greet him when he arrived. He hoped Mike would have finished his exam by now, but even if Mike wasn’t there yet, Adam knew he would arrive shortly and then they'd be going out.

Mike and Adam met three years ago in the residence hall they both were assigned to at the time. They immediately hit it off and started hanging out with each other soon after that. After discovering they were both gay, they began to secretly spend the night in each other's room together whenever one of their roommates was away. Before long, they agreed to become boyfriends and had been living together off campus for the past two years.

Tonight was supposed to be special though. They were going out to dinner to celebrate completing the requirements for their Bachelor’s degrees, as well as looking forward to the next step in their educational process. Adam now realized that he needed to hurry back to their love nest so he could clean up and change into something a little nicer than what he was currently wearing. He wanted to make sure he was ready to leave when Mike was.

After saying goodbye to Lucas, Adam strolled out the door and started walking down the street that led to his apartment. Since this was the end of town closest to the campus and the area that catered heavily to the college crowd, the streets were currently empty. In fact, there didn’t seem to be anyone else around, but Adam knew that would change in a few hours. Except on the weekends, the other college students didn’t usually show up in this part of town until just before dark or shortly thereafter.

Adam was currently approaching one of the smaller side streets that ran between the rows of businesses and led to a rather rundown neighborhood behind the commercial district. Just as he arrived there, someone suddenly grabbed him from behind and began shoving him down the street. Adam didn’t have time to react, because he hadn’t noticed anyone else nearby. Now, he felt more than just one pair of hands grasping his body and forcing him to go where he had no intention of going. Whoever these guys were, Adam figured they must have been standing or hiding behind the delivery truck that had been parked along the street just before the intersection. After forcing Adam down the side street, the ruffians dragged him into a small alley that ran behind the row of businesses, which included the bar that Adam had just left.

“Hey, fag. Where’s your boyfriend today?” a husky voice asked in a mocking tone. “We’ve seen the two of you parading around town before holding hands, kissing and acting like it’s all normal or something, but it’s not. You perverts make us sick!”

“Look, I don’t know what your problem is, but we’ll be leaving town in a few days,” Adam reasoned, as he tried to see who he was speaking to. He couldn’t, so he continued talking instead. “You won’t have to worry about seeing either of us around here any more, so there shouldn’t be any further problems.” He was scared, but did his best not to show it.

“Awww. Ain’t that fucking sweet,” his tormentor snapped back in a mocking tone. “The fags are going to be leaving us.”

As the guy spoke, he stepped out from behind Adam, so Adam finally got a chance to see the face of the one who’d been doing the talking. At this point, Adam thought he might have a chance to break free and run, but two others were still holding his arms behind his back. That was fairly obvious, since he felt a pair of hands on each of those limbs.

The guy addressing Adam was about an inch or two taller than he was, which would have put the guy over six feet (1.83 m) tall, but he was definitely a lot heavier. Even though they both had brown eyes, Adam could have sworn the eyes staring back at him were tinged with red, because they seemed to be burning with hatred and anger.

“Fellas, I think it’s time we show this faggot what we think of him and others like him,” the big oaf announced with a smirk. “You can take this lesson with you when you leave town with your boyfriend, because we’re about to knock some fucking sense into you.”

After saying this, the guy in front of Adam quickly drew his right arm back and then unleashed a powerful roundhouse punch at Adam’s head. Adam did what he could as he attempted to duck out of the path of the guy's fist, but he couldn’t move far enough to avoid the blow completely, because the others were holding him firmly in place from behind. The bigot’s right hand slammed into Adam's left cheek and snapped his head toward his right shoulder, and this was followed by another blow to Adam’s jaw, which was delivered by the guy’s other hand. After that, the guy threw several more punches in rapid succession that connected with Adam's torso and knocked the air from his lungs.

Adam was badly dazed from the effects of this brutal assault and had doubled over in severe pain. After this happened, the other two released his arms and allowed Adam’s limp body drop to the pavement. Once Adam was on the ground, all three attackers immediately began to kick and stomp on him. The blows landed all over Adam’s body, from his head down to his feet, so it didn’t take long before Adam blacked out from the severe pain that resulted from the merciless attack.

Not quite an hour later, a pre-teen boy named Brian was walking down the alley on his way home from school. It was the route he usually followed when heading home, because it was the most direct path to get there. He lived in one of the run-down houses that were located behind the alley, at the far end of the narrow side street. Brian had nearly reached the spot where he would turn down the street to get to his house when he spotted some sort of heap lying on the pavement. What he didn’t realize at the time was that he was seeing was Adam’s battered, bloody and motionless body. Brian was very cautious as he approached the anomaly, because it could have been a set up to lure him closer so that individual or others would be able to grab him. It wasn't that long ago that something similar had happened to Brian, so he was on guard for another attack of that nature.

As he carefully moved closer, Brian was able to see Adam’s chest rising and falling, although barely. Brian could also see the blood and bruises on Adam’s face. This was enough to let him know that Adam was still alive, but not a threat. Somewhat reluctantly, Brian crept a little closer and attempted to determine if Adam could tell him what happen.

“Mister, are you ok?” the boy asked, but he didn’t receive an answer. That’s when Brian moved beside Adam and began to shake the injured man's shoulder, first lightly and then more forcefully.

“Mister, are you alright?” Brian pleaded, but still there was no response or reaction.

Scared, the boy ran home and dialed 9-1-1. After telling the operator where the young man’s badly beaten body could be found, Brian stayed where he was. Since he didn’t know who had done this to the poor guy or if the attacker was still around, Brian didn’t want to take the chance that he might be next, so he remained at home.

When the rescue vehicle reached the scene, the EMTs quickly located Adam’s unmoving form and began to examine him. Adam skin and clothing were drenched in blood and he was covered in bruises that were now beginning to grow even darker, but he was still breathing.

“Let’s not take any chances,” the EMT in charge stated, while looking at his partner. “We’ll strap him to a backboard first and put a brace on his neck. Then, we’ll put air splints on his arms and legs, since some of them are lying at odd angles, which would seem to indicate that they're fractured. Once all of this is taken care of, we’ll lift him onto the gurney and load it into the back of the bus.”

Once Adam’s body had been secured and all of those things accomplished, the EMTs loaded the gurney with him on it into the rear of the ambulance. One of them immediately started an IV drip, as he attempted to stabilize Adam’s vital signs and make up for some of the lost blood. With lights flashing and sirens blaring, the ambulance then sped toward the hospital. The EMT tending to Adam also radioed in his report to the trauma area.

“The subject appears to have either been in an accident or was badly beaten,” the EMT informed the person on the other end. “He appears to have multiple fractures of the extremities and possibly has some fractured ribs as well. It's probable he also sustained a concussion, seeing he was unconscious when we found him, and he most likely has internal trauma as well. His vitals are weak, but stable, and we'll be arriving at your location in a few minutes.”

When the vehicle reached the emergency room, the EMTs quickly unloaded the gurney and rushed Adam inside. A team of doctors and nurses greeted them after they passed through the automatic doors and immediately took charge. Adam was still unconscious as they began to assess his condition and checked the extent of his injuries.

“We’ve got to get him to the O.R.,” one of the physicians announced. “I’m fairly certain he’s bleeding internally from the damage, but there’s also a chance he has swelling around the brain and we may have to relieve the pressure. If we don’t take care of these issues quickly, they may result in permanent or irreversible damage.”

After the nurses cut off Adam’s bloody and stained clothing, one of them gathered up his personal effects. As soon as the others wheeled Adam away, she began looking to see if she could find out more about this unknown patient. First, she opened his wallet and immediately noticed an out-of-state driver’s license. Seeing he wasn’t from the local area, she decided to check his cell phone to see if there was a local number. The only one she found that wasn't for a business was next to the name Mike, so she dialed it.

“Hey, Adam. How did your exam go?” the voice answered.

“This is Sue Gentry and I’m a nurse at Memorial Hospital. I’m calling because the owner of this phone has been brought in here for treatment,” she stated in a very business-like tone. “Are you related to this person or do you know how I can get ahold of someone that is.”

“I’m his boyfriend,” Mike gasped, as his mind began to imagine all sorts of horrible scenarios. “What’s wrong with Adam? Is he all right? Is he sick or is he injured?”

“I’m afraid I can’t give you that information, but do you know how I can contact his parents or another close relative?” she countered, aggressively.

Mike was irritated that she wouldn’t tell him anything, but he answered her question for Adam’s sake.

“His parents live in Virginia,” Mike replied, but then he hesitated before giving her any more information. He wondered how he could be certain this call was the real thing or if it might be some kind of very sick joke.

Mike began to frantically pace back and forth as he tried to sort everything out. He was very upset about what she had just told him, but he needed to be convinced it was true. He was just about to ask the woman how he could verify the information she had given him when he heard a loudspeaker announcement in the background. A few seconds later there was also a page for a doctor, so Mike was now fairly certain she was from the hospital.

“Did he come in on his own or was he brought in? Is he going to be alright?” Mike demanded, as he started to panic. He ran his fingers through his hair as he waited for her to answer.

“I can’t tell you any of those details, but I need to contact one of his close relatives, preferably his parents,” she restated. She wasn’t exactly cold in her manner, but she was very business-like and seemed determined to get what she was after. “Do you know this information or should I contact someone else?”

“No, I’ll help you,” Mike answered, as he resigned himself to doing what was best for Adam. “If you have his cell phone, then the number is in there. It’s listed under George and Rita. We were told that crooks sometime try to steal phones so they can run scams on our parents. For that reason, we were advised to list our parents by their first names, rather than Mom and Dad. That way if a thief stole our phone, he wouldn't necessarily have the information he needed to pull off the scam.”

“Thank you for that information,” she stated, before suddenly switching into a motherly mode. “Please don’t worry. We’ll take good care of him and I’ll attempt to contact his parents now,”

“Well I’m coming down there to see him,” Mike announced rather forcefully. "I can't let him go through this alone!"

“I’m afraid you won’t be allowed to be with him, since you're not a close relative, so you might as well just stay where you are,” she advised him as firmly as she could, but without sounding harsh.

“I don’t care what you say, I’m still coming down there,” Mike screamed, as his grip on the phone tightened. “I’ll stay in the waiting room if I have to, but I need to be near him. I have to let him know that I’m there for him.”

“Do what you like, but I'm afraid he’s not going to know you’re here anyway,” she responded, dryly, although it sounded as if there was a tinge of empathy in her voice.

“Does that mean he’s unconscious or in a coma?” Mike pressed, nearly hysterical. He was just about in tears, but knew he had to control his emotions a little while longer.

“It means he won’t be able to see you, so he won’t know you’re here,” she answered, while skillfully avoiding his question.

“I’ll find some way to let him know I’m there for him. Don’t you worry about that,” Mike spat back, just before he ended the call.

Mike’s head was spinning, as he speculated about what could have happened to land Adam in the hospital. He also wondered how ill his boyfriend might be or how badly he had been hurt. Mike was hoping it was merely some sort of illness that the doctors could cure quickly, but what if it wasn’t?

If Adam had been injured, it couldn’t have been in an automobile accident, because Adam didn’t have a car. Was it possible that it might have been a hit and run? If it wasn’t that, then could Adam have fallen off of something instead? Or was it possible that he had been in a fight? If so, was it with anyone they knew? No matter how hard he tried, Mike was unable to figure out what had happened to Adam. There were just too many possibilities and questions that he had no answers for, so Mike was finding this entire situation to be very frustrating.

After failing to discover any answers, Mike hurriedly got a few things together that he felt he should take with him and then he set out for the hospital. He would have to take the bus to get there, since he didn’t have a car either, but he was determined to get to the hospital one way or another, even if he had to walk the entire distance.

‘Wait!’ Mike suddenly thought. ‘Why didn’t I think of this before? I can call a cab instead.’

Picking up the phonebook that had been left on their doorstep a few months before, he searched the yellow pages for a number and then placed the call. 'This should work out much better,' he reasoned as the phone began to ring.