A Child's Haven - 17. Chapter 17

The next morning, a young boy tapped on my door. I opened it and looked into one of the purest blue eyes I have ever seen. "Good morning, blue eyes. What's the matter?"

"I need to go to the bathroom, and I don't know where it is."

"You walk toward the stairs, and there are bathrooms on this side," tapping his right arm.

He headed off, and then I heard, "Found it."

I looked at my watch, and it was 7:30. I must've gotten about four hours of sleep. I got out of my cocoon, took the sheets and pillowcase, and put them in the chute to the laundry room. I went downstairs, took a shower, shaved, and put on clean clothes. While I was leaving, I saw Mario and Jeff coming down to shower.

"Looks like I'm not the only one sleepy, morning."

I needed coffee. Mrs. Jenkins was on the ball, and a large pot of coffee was in the dining room. Today's breakfast was pancakes, and the kids loved it. As I was walking toward the table with my coffee, my favorite policemen arrived. I indicated with my head the coffee, and of course, they helped themselves to the pancakes. Jeff sat beside me, Mario headed to the kitchen. Whispering, "What happened last night?"

"I'll tell you later when we are alone."

"Did you guys pick up a newspaper by chance?"

"Yes, we did. Are we allowed to have more pancakes?"

"After last night, eat until you can't eat anymore. I'll comp all your meals from now on."

I got a hand on shoulder squeeze with that comment. I opened the paper. I kept staring at it. It was hard for me to believe what I was reading. "Is this true?"

"Supposedly, the papers in the second house along with your friend last night all point in that direction."

"Where are the kids? I waited for a call, and it never came."

"They're safe and waiting for pick-up. So as soon as we finish our breakfast, we'll lead you to them."

"I cannot believe that you'd drag this out knowing how anxious we are about those kids."

"We can go anytime you want, your the one who hasn't finished eating." I looked at my plate, and they were right.

"Jeff, hurry up and finish. I need you and Pat. Meet me on the bus."

I rushed out to the cook shack, "I'm bringing some kids back with me. I don't know how many, but they'll be hungry."

"Don't worry. We'll be able to handle it. Just give us about 15 minutes and the count."

"Great, give me a case of water from the refrigerator ."

I saw Jeff and Pat heading toward the bus. Jeff saw me and came to give me a hand. "Just get the door open."

I ran to the bus and jumped into the driver's seat. Jeff took the water and set it on the floor behind me.

I drove the bus around to the front of the Sanctuary and waited behind the patrol car. As soon as Murray pulled away, I followed.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Did you ever wonder why Murray and O'Shea are always close by Sanctuary? No matter what time we call them, they are there within 5 minutes."

"No, your dad?"

"I think so, but I'm keeping it quiet I don't want it to change."

"They are pulling in that driveway."

"Do you know who lives there?

"A big politician."

"Murray is indicating where to park."

"Sit here until the kids come out. The police and FBI have surrounded the place. The Senator has been arrested in DC."

As we watched, a police bus pulled up to the front door. A woman dressed in a maid outfit, a man dressed as a butler, a chauffeur, a valet, a very nicely dressed lady, another lady dressed in a suit, and lastly, a cook or what appeared to be a cook, were escorted to the police bus.

Then about 20 minutes later, kids started to come out carrying a small suitcase. Jeff and Pat got out and opened the doors to the storage area. As the kids came up, the boys took their luggage and stowed it away. When the last kid came out, and his luggage was stowed, Officer Murray boarded the bus. "Some of you might be scared wondering what'll happen next. Some of you don't care anymore, and some of you want to curl up and die. Well, it won't happen like that. You're all going to Sanctuary. The man who runs Sanctuary is your bus driver."

"I know you might be anxious as to what'll happen next. So I'm going to tell you about Sanctuary, and these two guys will share their stories. I started Sanctuary several months ago. I took an old warehouse and turned it into a home for street kids, kids who had to steal to eat, who had to sell themselves to eat and beg to eat. Today, 98 kids live in Sanctuary. It's a safe place where no one will bother you. We have a kitchen that makes our food. We have a laundry that washes, dries, and presses our clothes, bed linen, and towels. We have private showers that guaranteed your privacy. We have a game room, a library, we show movies and serve popcorn and drinks. All these things are free. All we ask is that you respect your neighbors and other members of Sanctuary. We ask you to help keep our areas clean and remember that we're all brothers and sisters at Sanctuary, no matter where we come from. Pat was the very first member of the Sanctuary brotherhood. Pat, tell your story."

"As Brad said, I was the first to come to Sanctuary. I was begging on the street for money for food. I asked Brad for a slice of the pizza he was carrying. He put a hand on my shoulder, 'come with me I'll feed you.' I was scared. He knew I was afraid, 'come with me, I promise I won't hurt you.' How many times have we heard that? But for some reason, I believed him, a little. When we got to Sanctuary, only the first floor and basement were completed. But, Brad had two pizzas and set them down in front of me and told me to eat, and eat I did. I ate them both. The dining hall has free vending machines. I wanted to see if Brad would throw me out. I must have drunk six bottles of juices, and still, he sat there and smiled at me. I gave up. Ok, he wasn't going to throw me out. He asked me if I wanted a shower, the warning sign came up again. He took me down into the basement. I was amazed it was bright there and cool. He pointed to the showers, gave me a towel, a washcloth, and showed me a row of lockers that held clean clothes. Then he left me and told me when I was finished to come back into the dining hall.

I told him I was going out, he said it was ok but to remember he locks the door at nine and reopens at seven. But if I came back after nine, ring the bell, and he'd open the door.

On my first day walking the streets, I met Jeff and his sister Beth. I'll let Jeff tell the story now.

"I wasn't a street kid in the strict sense. My parents died, and I didn't want my sister and me to be separated, so we left. I was down to my last dollar; we had been living in a flophouse that ate up my savings. On the last day, I had a dollar and was thinking about what I could buy to eat. I had no idea what we'd do tomorrow, and then we ran into Pat. Somehow he knew we were about ready to become street kids. Pat told us about Sanctuary and how to get there. I was a little concerned and worried about what if they want to use us or abuse us. When I entered, I met Brad. I asked if we could stay there and told him there would be no sex. Now I think about it, and after talking to some of the other boys, I probably wouldn't have had the option of saying no sex. But Brad said he wasn't interested in sex. That isn't what Sanctuary is about. It's a haven for street kids or kids who are being sexually abused or physically abused. When we get to Sanctuary, you're going to be shocked, but in a good way.

"If you'll please sit down, there are seat belts. Please use them, and we'll be there very soon."

On the way back to Sanctuary, Pat yells, stop. I stopped. Pat got off the bus, and then Jeff followed. They picked up a kid from the ground who had been badly beaten. Jeff, Pat, and one of the boys from the Senator's residence helped the boy on board. Pat gave him a bottle of water. "Jeff, call Janine at the clinic. Tell her we have an emergency, and we'll be dropping him off in 5-10 minutes. When we get to the clinic, stay with him, and I'll send someone to pick you both up."

As soon as I pulled into the clinic, Janine came out to the bus with a stretcher; Jeff helped her to lay the boy on the stretcher and accompanied the boy as they entered the clinic.

I continued to Sanctuary. As we pulled in, Mario was there to make the count. Pat opened the luggage compartment, handed each piece of luggage to the right kid, and then led them into the dining hall. It was a little too early for lunch and a little too late for breakfast, so they had a little of both.

When everyone was seated, "I want to welcome you to Sanctuary. This is Beth, and she will check you in. After check-in, Pat and Billy will give you a tour, and then when you come back, we'll have something for you to eat. Before you go on tour, you may help yourself to anything in the vending machines. Pat and Billy can help you. They take magical coins, which you'll get once Beth checks you in. Any questions?"

"Do we sleep here also?"

"Yes, you do. Beth will assign you to your cocoon. I'll see you in a few minutes."

Walking out to the cook shack to check on the menu for dinner, I called Tony. "Tony, you coming over tonight for dinner? I want to discuss the allowance program. Good, see you at 6." I used that as an excuse, I needed a friend.

"Mario, what's on the menu for dinner tonight?"

"Roasted chicken with baked potato and Brussel sprouts."

"Mario, you want to serve Brussel sprouts, most kids don't like them."

"They'll like these."

I checked the progress on the office building, and they were slightly ahead of schedule. It'll be good to have that finished. Then I can concentrate on the school rooms.

I heard a herd of kids coming down the steps, so I guess the tour is over. I walked into the dining room, "All the new kids have been registered and cocoons assigned. One kid said he was claustrophobic, I told him to leave his door open, and no one would bother him."

"Good"

"Well, now that you have had the tour, are there any questions?"

"Who does the cleaning and laundry?"

"All of that is done by the kids living here. There are now over one hundred kids here. If everyone pitches in, you may have to do a chore once every couple of weeks."

"What if I don't want to do the chores?"

"Nothing, except it'll mean that someone else will have to do it for you."

"Can I pay someone to do my chores?"

"Where would you get the money?"

"We all have bank accounts. Our employers banked our earnings."

"I'm sorry, but you have no bank accounts. Your employers kept all of your money. What they had in the bank was claimed by the government. If you don't believe me, call your bank."

"Don't you have wifi here?"

"Yes, my phone works."

"Why doesn't my phone work?"

"Because your services have been terminated; when the Senator was picked up in Washington, your caregivers terminated your phones, drain your bank accounts, and wiped away all of your histories. Even if you called one of your previous clients, they wouldn't answer. I'm not trying to be mean, but this is what happened. Who has the phone number of their clients?"

A boy in the back corner raised his hand. "Pat, give him my phone. Call your client and see what he says."

The boy dialed his client. "John, this is Robin. What do you mean you don't know me. I spent two weeks with you on your yacht. I can't believe you're doing this."

The poor boy was crying, "He said he doesn't know me, why?"

All of you have been lied to for sex. No one wants to be connected now because the case has been blown wide open. Everyone will distance themselves from you. You have been robbed not only of your money but also of your innocence. Now you have a choice, which only you can make. You're not forced to stay here. You may leave anytime you want, but if you stay here, then you should seriously consider pitching in. These chores will help you later in life. There's one other thing you can do, and that is getting even. Tell the police what you know, who you know, and then I'll help you file lawsuits against these people and try and get some of your money back. However, unfortunately, the courts are slow, and you may be a legal adult before you can collect. Any more questions, if not, then we can eat. You all have been shown how the vending machines work, and you all now have magic coins, so help yourself."