A Child's Haven - 64. Chapter 64

Tony looked at Brad, “Are you getting that feeling that something major is going to be happening?”

“Yes, I woke up with it today, and I think that Terry is going to be of great use.”

Terry looked at Tony and Brad, “What terrible feeling?”

“Brad has a 6th sense when something is going to happen that involves Sanctuary. It usually means that kids are going to arrive or we’re going someplace to get some kids. He’s very accurate, and sometime when we are having a coffee, I’ll tell you about some of them.”

As the kids left the dining hall to go to school, Mario, Janet, and Hal started to clean up the breakfast serving area. As if on cue, we all got up and headed to the coffee urn. “Aaron, you and Diane better check the infirmary and make sure we are ready to receive kids. Take some extra sheets for the beds. I think that we got that third bed just in time.”

“Tony, make sure the buses are ready. We’ll need two. I’ve got a splitting headache.”

“Brad, come to the infirmary, and I’ll give you a couple of tablets for the headache.”

As Brad and Terry followed Aaron to the infirmary, “I’m not sure how you’ll fit into Sanctuary, but I think that question will be answered today. It’s been a long time that Brad has had this strong premonition. The last time was when a child slave operation was raided.”

It wasn’t more than 1 hour later when Brad ran into Tony’s office, “I need you to drive a bus.”

Tony ran and noticed Pat and a few boys loading crates of water into two buses. Terry stood in front of the infirmary and watched. “Terry, get into the bus.”

Terry jumped from the infirmary and ran to Brad’s bus. “What’s happening?”

As Brad pulled in front of the Sanctuary, Terry saw his uncle’s police car. “Are we following Uncle Tom?”

“Yes, the police just raided a warehouse that contained children in barrels. They had been shipped from Turkey. The customs inspectors had been made aware of barrels coming in on freighters from the East. They inspected one of the barrels and found a dead boy. They immediately opened the other barrels; some of the kids looked like they have been starved, and all of them are dehydrated. They must have been in those barrels the whole trip. The Coast Guard has boarded the ship and is holding the crew. The men in the warehouse where the barrels were have been arrested. We’re here to pick up the boys.”

As I pulled up in front of a warehouse, Murray and O’Shea got out of their car and spoke to the Captain, indicating the bus we were driving. “Terry, you must be strong. These children will be in a sad state of malnutrition and dehydration. They will not look nice. Just remember, you are here to help them. I hope you know their language.”

We waited for about 15 minutes when an ambulance arrived with several paramedics and a doctor. They went into the warehouse. Soon a few boys came out, Murray and O’Shea guided them to the bus. When they got on board, Terry tried to speak to them to determine their language. One of the kids answered him. I took a breath, “Terry, hand them some water and tell them to drink slowly.”

As we waited, the buses were getting full. The ambulance took several boys to the hospital. I looked at Murray, he nodded his head, and I knew he understood that I wanted to know where they were going. When the bus I was driving was full, Terry went to Tony’s bus and did the same thing. I was amazed when one of the boys on my bus asked where we were going. “You speak English?”

“Yes, I learned in school. I no speak good, but I understand better.”

“Is there anyone else who speaks English?” Two boys raised their hands. I breathe a sigh of relief. “We are going to a place where you’ll be safe. When we get there, there will be food, a place to shower, clean clothes, and a place to sleep. You’re going to Sanctuary.”

“I heard one of the men say he must be careful unless Sanctuary found out what they were doing. Why did he say that?”

“Do you know what they were going to do with you?”

“No, they said they would find a home for us in America.”

“Yes, that is true only in the home they would find, you’d be a sex slave. But in a way, you have a home at Sanctuary. As soon as we have all of you, we’ll go to Sanctuary. There you’ll have some food and a chance to get clean.”

The police captain came to the bus, “Hi Brad, this all of them. If it’s ok, I’ll stop by later this afternoon.”

“Thanks, Captain Diaz, I didn’t recognize you at first. You know you are always welcomed at Sanctuary.”

I started up the bus, looking into the rearview mirror, I saw Tony wave ok. We drove to the back of Sanctuary. I called Mario and told him that we were coming and needed a large pot of soup to feed two busloads of kids. I didn’t know how many kids I had, but I figured none of it would go to waste.

When I pulled into Sanctuary, I saw Aaron and Diane waiting for us. There were Pat and Jeff as well. Departing the bus, “Jeff, Pat, lead these boys to the dining hall. Some of them speak English, so tell them they are to eat the soup. I’ll be in after speaking to Aaron and Diane. Terry, go with the boys and help to make sure they have something to eat.”

I watched as the boys follow Pat, Jeff, and Terry into the dining hall. Mario was walking back to the cook shack with an empty pot. “Mario, make sure those kids have plenty to eat.” He just nodded and kept moving toward the cook shack. “Aaron, we’ll need to check out these kids. They have been in a barrel for several days without anything to eat or drink. They found one dead, and several were taken to the hospital. If you could find out anything from the hospital, let me know.”

I went into the dining hall and watched as the kids lined up for the soup. I knew that the soup would be good for them. Pat came over with a tear in his eyes, “Pat, take a bottle of water, some milk, and juice and see what the kids would like to drink.” He looked at Bubba and waved him over. A few of the kids who were here in the activity center came down, and after talking with Pat, they also loaded up with drinks for the boys. I watched as the boys pitched in, making sure each kid had something to drink. They even went back, making a second round. Mario came in with another pot of soup, and the boys lined up again. I watched as a few boys finished eating. I motioned for Jeff pointing down. He nodded his understanding, started to go to each boy, and if the boy didn’t understand, Terry would translate. The first group went down; Terry went with them, showing them the showers and the clothes locker. After that, it became routine, particularly as the first group came upstairs wearing clean clothing and looking clean.

“Brad, I think they have eaten all they can. That last soup pan still has some soup in it.”

I nodded, ok. Mario started to clean up when a few boys from the activity area pitched in to help him.

That evening at dinner, I introduced Terry to the boys. I told them about the new boys. You could see that they were very sympathetic to what these boys had to endure, particularly Amir. Terry translated everything for me. I asked Beth to begin the enrollment procedure after dinner. Once that was done, I asked Aaron to examine them with the help of Terry translating.

Dinner was exceptionally good. I noticed that the cooks had prepared extra, which was good since the new boys were hungry. Dessert was cake and ice cream, I watched some of the new boys, and I’d bet they never had cake or ice cream. There were plenty of smiles. After dinner, Beth set up for enrollment. The English speaking lads were enrolled first. Some of them stayed with Beth to help those that didn’t speak English. As the kids were enrolled, Pat led them to the infirmary. There with Terry’s help, Aaron filled out a medical form for each child. He kept the examination to a very preliminary exam, blood pressure, temperature; listen to their heart and asking them if they hurt any place. He wrote all of that on their chart and made notes based on his visual exam.

When the exam was completed, Pat, along with an English speaking boy, took the kids to their cocoon. Pat showed them how they operated and told them this is their place to sleep. He showed them the small bathrooms, the laundry chute, and where the clean laundry was stored. He then gave them a tour of the amenities area.

It took us about 3 hours to have all of the kids through Beth, Aaron, and then Pat’s tour. By then, it was time for the kids to go to bed. As the cocoons began to fill up, I took a walk with Terry, Tony, and Aaron. As we approached each cocoon, I’d smile and give them a hug and a kiss on their head. I noticed Tony and Aaron doing the same. We didn’t leave anyone out. As we left each floor, we could hear prayers being offered in different languages. We ended up in the cook shack for coffee.

“Terry, do you understand more about Sanctuary as you’ve seen what we’re up against. This is what Sanctuary is all about. Your uncle understands this, and that’s why he sent you here. Tomorrow we’ll have to go to the hospital and find out how many and how serious they are hurt. But for now, I need my rest, and so do you. Terry, try out one of the cocoons. It’s an experience you’ll truly enjoy. Then if you decide to stay, you can choose a bedroom on 3C.”

Saying goodnight, I went to my bed. Sleep came quickly; I no longer had the feeling that something was going to go wrong. I wanted to review the financials tomorrow with Tony. This latest group may have stretched my budget a little.