Regrets And Heartaches - 8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Joey pulled himself up fighting through all the pain going through his body. He walked over to the door and looked out the small window to see if anyone is out there. Joey walked back to where he slept and just stood there. He knows if he sits back down on the ground there is no way he is going to be able to pull himself up again.

All of a sudden Joey heard soft knocking on the wall. The same wall that just the night before Joey talked with another person being forced to stay here against his will. Not saying a word, Joey walked over to wall and put his ear against it.

“I know you are awake over there. I can hear you walking around in your room. Your bare feet slapping against the cement floor echoes. These rooms are empty and I got used to hearing things all the way down the hall.

You probably don’t believe me either that I am an inmate. There is nothing I can say that will get you to believe me that I am. Over time you will trust me and the guy on the other side of you. If you don’t talk with us, you are going to go crazy. The guy that was in your room helped me through my first days here.”

“What happened to the guy in this room?” Joey whispered back to John.

“He never let them break him. The director prides himself on either breaking us or killing us if he doesn’t break us. To tell you the truth I don’t think he has killed anyone. There is no way he would be in business if he had. I really think he got sent to a camp. A camp that the director here owns and uses when they don’t break us here.”

“Do you know where we are at? I don’t think we are too far off of Alamogordo. They took me mid morning and when I woke up here it was around the evening time.”

“I got pulled into their van when I was at school in El Paso. I thought they took me out of the state of Texas, but I was wrong. A week or so in here they came and pulled me out. As we walked down a hallway that I have never walked down again after that day, I got a chance to look out a window really quickly. The cars and trucks parked in the parking lot all had Texas plates. I really do believe we are somewhere in the dessert between El Paso and Las Cruces to tell you the truth.”

“Oh, I really thought I was still I New Mexico. This place really gives me the creeps. What they did to me last night, do they do that to everyone? I don’t know how I am still walking after last night.”

“You mean hosing you down and then tying you up to a medal mattress and electrocute you. They do that to everyone when they fist come in. That is just the beginning. This place does a lot worse to us and don’t care how bad they hurt us.”

Joey slid down to the floor. There is no way anyone that he knows will be looking for him in the dessert of Texas. For sure he is a goner. The only way out of this place is by folding to the pressure.

“If you are thinking over there to give up and say and do what they want you to do, you better forget it. I thought the same way and they see right through it. It got worse than it did for others when they first got here. The kid in that room warned me not to do so and I didn’t listen. I hope you listen to me and don’t do it.”

Just then Joey heard the outer door in the hallway open. He lay down and pretended to be asleep when his door opened. A metal tray got thrown in and the door closed. Joey cracked his eyes open to make sure they were not in his room. Once he felt confident that they were not,, he crawled over to the plate.

He looked at the slop that they are serving as food. Joey cannot even tell what it is. He heard John tell him to eat it. They only get fed twice a day and it isn’t much food. Joey picked up the tray and forced the food down. Each time the food almost came back up on Joey. He kept it down as he wiped his tray clean.

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After getting the warrants that Detective Benson needed, Harold walked back to his office. He walked right passed his guest to his secretary. She pointed over to the waiting area and Harold turned around.

“Mr. Serna thank you for coming so quickly. I am so sorry on calling you so late yesterday. I felt you needed to know what is going on here. Please why don’t you come on into my office where we can talk in private?”

“Your honor, you have a hearing in ten minutes to get to. If you want I can let the attorneys know that you are running late.”

“You are my court clerk and you know that I don’t report to the attorneys. The great thing on being the judge, the court cannot start without me. Go out and see if there has been a plea made, if not, let them know they will have to wait.”

Harold and Al walked into the Harold’s chambers. Harold offered Al something to drink and they sat down. The look on Al’s face is a look of being unhappy being there. He only agreed to take care of Joey’s money in order for his mother not to get to it. Now he is being called late at night and not being told what is going on, just get up here.

“Your honor, with all due respect, I have a busy schedule. I am moving some of my offices into a new office building, kick starting other parts of my business and still running my McDonalds. I have a conference call with the governor of Texas later this morning and I will not be able to make that because I will be driving back to El Paso.”

“I am sorry Mr. Serna on not saying much to you over the phone last night. I thought it best to talk with you in person. Something really bad has happened to Joey and I want you to be aware that his mother and uncle are going to attempt and touch his money now. We are doing everything we can to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“What is going on down here with Joey? What is going on with Beth? She of all people I never thought I had to worry about. Something has gone really bad in her life in the last couple months to make her turn her back on Joey. She loved Joey and Jacob and didn’t care about them being gay. What in the hell is going on here?”

“You must know a different Beth than we do. Ever since they have been here in Alamogordo, she has been nothing but problems. I really think it has everything to do with her brother-in-law. Just like we discussed with you when I went down to you last week to get the papers signed! Now let me go into more detail.”

Harold went into detail about the beating that Dominic gave Joey their first week here. He went on to tell Al about how they robbed Joey’s house and someone breaking into the house just last Saturday. He finally told Al what had happened yesterday and what they know for sure and their assumptions are.

“If Beth and her brother-in-law were successful to kidnap Joey, they are not keeping him anywhere close. When I found out that my grandson was dating Joey and they were getting very serious. I hired a private investigator to get me everything on Joey and his family. I wanted to know every secret they are hiding.

They want Joey’s money that is for sure. They got there hands on Joey, but they put him somewhere. They hired someone to kidnap him I can promise you that. Those two are smart enough not to do the dirty deed themselves. More than likely they have Joey somewhere in a program that claims they can reprogram gay teens to be straight.

Look Joey’s father was a very bad man, but his uncle is ten times worse. I never thought that could be possible, but what my PI found is unbelievable. You need to think the worst because more than likely the worst has happened. I really do hope that they didn’t take Joey off somewhere and kill him.”

“Mr. Serna is there anyway you can make copies of what your PI did for you and send them to me. I would like to give them to the Detective working on the case. Maybe we can see something in those files that will give us a hint on where to look for Joey.”

Al agreed to fax the files over to Harold as soon as he gets back to El Paso. They both agreed to not let Beth or Dominic get anywhere near Joey’s money. Al is going to stop at the bank where Joey has his money. He wants to make it clear to them no one is to touch Joey’s money no matter who they claim they are. Only Joey or he is able to do so.

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Joey curled up back in the corner of the room and tried to sleep. He figured if he just slept, he doesn’t have to deal with the reality he is in now. He can take himself out of this world and just be where he is happier.

Just as Joey started to doze off, the door opened. Just like before, Joey tried to pretend that he is asleep, but they are not there for the tray. Joey felt a kick in the gut and he looked up to two different guys from last night.

“Get your faggot ass up from that ground. You need to come with us and we don’t like touching you fagot. Who knows what kind of diseases you have? What ever you have we do not want them.” One of the staff members yelled down at Joey.

“It looks by the way you are dressed and unshaven you might have diseases already. I haven’t ever seen poorly dressed people like this in my life, until I got here. If I were you, I would go and see a doctor as soon as possible to get treated.”

Joey preparing himself, they pulled him up from the ground. One held him up as the other started to punch him. After a few hits in the gut, they let go of Joey. He doubled over as he hit the ground. But they were not with him yet. They kicked Joey a couple of times as the spit on him like he is trash.

“You'll never speak to me like that again. You will respect the staff here or your stay here is going to be hell on earth.” Both staff members looked at each other. “It looks like this little shit is going to go out the back door, not the front. I hope I am the one that takes him out of his misery.”

Each of them grabbed one of Joey’s arms and pulled Joey out of the room. Dragging him all the way down the hall back to the room he was at the night before. All the other inmates stood at their doors looking at Joey as they dragged him off.

This time they put Joey in a desk with papers in front of him. H Joey looked down at the papers and realized what they are. He tossed them off the desk onto the floor. The paperwork actually landed in a puddle of water.

The staff member standing behind him slammed his head against the desk. The other staff member put a new copy of the paperwork back on the desk. Joey looked at it again and pushed it off the desk into the puddle of water. Once again he got his head slammed against the desk. This went on for several hours until the guards gave up.

“Before the week is out you will sign those papers giving control of your assets over to your parents. They asked us to get it done since you are refusing to listen to them. You are spending your money like a mad man. They explained to us that they want to keep your wealth safe from you destroying it.”

Joey looked around to see the director behind him. He didn’t even hear the director come. Joey started to think that maybe the director might have been in the room the whole time. He walked in front of Joey and handed him the paperwork again.

“You cannot make me sign this and I will not. In fact even if I do, my mother or uncle can not get control of anything. I went in front a judge last week and signed over power of attorney to a guardian. That person is the only one that can decide on what to do with my assets as you say. So this paper is worthless and will not hold up in a court of law.”

The director pulled the paperwork off the desk and walked out leaving Joey with the guards. A few minutes later several people in white coats walked in. The guards grabbed a hold of Joey’s arms and tied them down to the arm rest of the desk as the people in the white coats set up their stuff.

“My name is Katherine Jones and I understand you have been behaving badly. I am the doctor here at the facility. I get called in when ever teens need something to clam themselves down. By the sounds of it, you will be seeing a lot of me.”

The doctor walked over to Joey with a huge needle in her hand. He struggled to try to get free, but the guards held Joey down. Somehow Joey actually got his left foot free and kicked the doctor in her leg, causing her to drop the needle on the ground. She got up and slapped Joey across the face as the guards started to punch him several times.

Joey started to black out when he felt one of the guards grab his left foot and tie it down. Just as Joey opened his eye, Dr. Jones stuck a needle in his arms. Within seconds, the room started to turn; Joey couldn’t move his arms or legs.

It seemed like seconds to Joey, but it had been over ten minutes since he got the shot. The guards untied him and dragged him to a bath tub. Not even knowing that he is being picked up, Joey got tossed into the bath tub of ice cold water.

Joey tried to get out, but he couldn’t mood. He knows that he is freezing, but there is nothing that he can do about that. Little by little Joey’s head slipped under the ice cold water. Once again he tried to get out, but he couldn’t move any part of his body. Joey started to past out when someone pulled him above water by his hair.

When he opened his eyes, he saw several guys throwing buckets of ice into the tub. Joey tried to scream, but nothing came out of his mouth. It is as if he is screaming in his head and no once as can hear him. Bucket after bucket of ice got thrown into the tub.

No matter what Joey tried to do, he couldn’t move to save himself. Several times Joey slipped under the water. Every time that happened, no one pulled him above water until he almost blackout. Joey had no idea this went on for almost three hours. When he did get pulled out, the guys that dragged him to the room dragged him back to where he slept the night before.

As they opened the door to the room, one guard held Joey up as the other guard slipped on a straight jacket. Once they got the straraight Jacket on Joey, they pushed him into the room and slammed the door shut as they left.

Joey landed in the middle of the room on his side. He just looked at the wall unable to still move. He started to drool on himself as he laid there staring at the wall. He wanted to cry, but couldn’t. He felt that his entire body is frozen. Nothing wants to work no matter how hard he tries to get them to work.

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Dominic arrived back at the apartment at three in the morning. He and Beth slept until seven thirty and got up to go to the bank. They feel the faster they get to the bank, the faster they can pull out all of Joey’s money.

Looking like a married couple, they walked into the bank and straight up to a teller. They gave a sob story about them giving their son all rights to his money when he wasn’t ready for that kind of responsibilities. Trying to sell to the older clerk that he is spending his money on booze and drugs! They want to retake control of his money and move back to their bank before their son spends it all.

The teller asked Beth and Dominic for the account number and the names on the account. Beth pulled out the information and handed it over to the teller. After typing the information into the computer, the teller asked Beth and Dominic to sit down in the waiting room. For this amount of money to be pulled out, they need to speak with the bank manager. She understood where they are coming from, but couldn’t do anything.

Beth and Dominic walked over to the waiting area and sat down. They knew that they were going to have to talk with the bank manager on this. They were prepared for that. They just wanted to get a teller in their corner so she could tell the bank manager that they are not pulling a scam on the bank.

Dominic and Beth sat in the waiting room acting like a married couple. If you didn’t know them, you would think that they are actually happily married and they are here to protect their son from himself. Not that they are there to rob their son of all his money.

The bank manager walked out to the waiting area with the teller. The teller pointed out Dominic and Beth for the bank manager. He thanked her for her assistants and walked over to Beth and Dominic. They looked up at the older gentleman as he approached them. Dominic patted Beth on the arm to calm her down.

“Hello Mr. and Mrs. Alvarez, my name is Mr. Williamsons, the bank manager of this branch. I understand you are having problems with your teenager. Why don’t we go to my office where we can talk and I can get you back in control of his money before he spends it all on foolish things?”

Beth and Dominic agreed and followed him to his office. Along the way he talked to Beth and Dominic about the trouble he is having with his fourteen year son. Dominic looked at Beth and nudged her. He felt they lucked out on getting a bank manager that is having trouble with his teenage soon as well.

They walked into the Mr. Williamsons office. He asked Beth and Dominic to take a seat as he took a seat behind his desk. Mr. Williamsons offered them a drink, but they didn’t take him up on the offer.

“Okay I have the account in question up on my computer. There is quite a bit of money in this account. Why don’t we just take off your sons name and put your names on the account instead. I don’t want you walking out of this bank with tens of millions of dollars. You don’t know what can happen from here and your bank.”

“Mr. Williamsons, we thought of that and came to a conclusion that it is best to have that money removed out of this bank and into our account in our bank. That way there is no way our son can sweat talk one of your tellers on getting access to this account.”

“I can put a note on the account to make sure that doesn’t happen. I completely understand what you are talking about, but…”

“Mr. Williamsons with all do respect, all you want is the money to stay in your bank. You are not really worried about us carrying it around. Why don’t you do as we ask and please just get the money where we can get to our bank as soon as possible and deposit the money in our account?”

Dominic slid up in his seat and gave Mr. Williamsons his ID and Beth’s. Mr. Williamsons started to type into his computer when his phone rang. At first he didn’t want to answer it, but who ever is calling didn’t hang up. He picked up the phone and spoke in his gentle voice even though he is mad.

“Okay I understand, are you sure about that? Well then get it done and I will be out there to sign the needed form. In fact I am going to send to your computer an account that we will be closing. Before you do anything, let me see what the customers want as far as the way they want to receive the money.”

Mr. Williamsons put his hand over the receiver and looked at Dominic. “How would you like to receive the money? Would you like it in a cashiers check, a wire transfer to your account or cash? We also have other means on you getting the cash. Just tell me how and I will get it done for you.”

“Cash will be okay! We don’t care if it is in hundred dollar bills or not. We are going straight to our bank once we leave here.” Dominic grabbed a hold of Beth’s hand to continue playing the loving couple.

Mr. Williamsons nodded his head and got back on the phone. He instructed the person on the other end to pull the money in hundreds. He will be right out to sign off on it and then hung up the phone. Not even looking at Dominic and Beth, he went back to the computer.

After he finished what he needed to do in the computer he got up. “I will need you to sign some paperwork for me. At the same time I will have the money brought in here where you can count it if you would like. I need to take your ID’S out to make copies and get the papers I need you to sign for the printer.”

Dominic agreed with Mr. Williamsons as he walked out of his office. Beth and Dominic sat there in the office quietly, not even looking at each other. Dominic squeezed Beth’s hand and they both smiled. They know they are just minutes away from walking out of the bank with Joey’s money.

The door opened and Mr. Williamsons walked in, followed by another guy. Dominic didn’t place the other guy, but the minute Beth looked over. She jumped from her seat looking straight into Al’s eyes.

“You better sit down Beth! You are not going anywhere. There are several officers out side the door of this office. I am surprised that you don’t remember me Dominic. That is okay with me that you don’t, because I would love to have never seen any of you again.”

Al walked in and leaned against the desk “You made a very big mistake trying to rob your sons account. The Honorable Judge Harold Evans thought you would do something like this. You know, your sons attorney. He had a power of attorney drawn up for your son Joey. Joey asked me to be the one to execute anything dealing with his property if anything happened to him. That included if you Dominic got custody of him.

As I explained to Mr. Williamsons here, you guys have no right over Joey’s accounts. In fact you have no custody over Joey and soon no custody over Fran as well. With what you did here, you lost any chance on getting custody of your two kids.

I don’t understand what happened to you Beth. You were the sweetest, nicest woman I have met in a very long time. You took my grandson and son in as they are. Understanding that they cannot choose being who they are! Now you are here robbing your son of his money. You are the worst parent on this earth. I thought my daughter was bad, but you are even worse. At least I can see her coming along, unlike you.”

Mr. Williamsons handed back Dominic and Beth their ID’S “In case you get out and try this again. You over sold yourselves to me and my teller. Then when you asked for this amount of money in cash, that was a red flag. If you were truly honest parents, you would have wired the money or got a cashier check.”

Just then Detective Benson walked in. He closed the door behind Mr. Williamsons. He walked in front of Dominic and Beth, placed a recorder down and pressed record. He read them their rights and made them answer out loud that they understood their rights as they were read out to them.

“I already got you on so many charges you will not see the light of day for a very long time. Do not add a murder charge to the mix. Do what is right and be parents for once in your lives. Where did you take your Joey? I want to know and I want to know now.”

“We have the right to remain silent and that is what we are going to do. Also we have a right to an attorney before being questioned. We want an attorney before you ask us one more question. Until we get an attorney, don’t bother talking with us.”

Detective Benson walked over to the door and asked the officer’s in. “You better hope that we find your son alive. Because if we don’t, I will make sure that we bury you under our jail house! Get these worthless pieces of shit out of here.”

“You should have been nicer to us and maybe we would have given you a hint on where Joey is at. Now that we are going to be locked up, you will never know because we had nothing to do with Joey being gone.” Dominic started laughing as the officers pulled him out of the office in handcuffs.

“That son-of-bitch is playing with us. He and Beth kidnapped Joey and you know why I know. They are here at the bank trying to take Joey’s money the very next morning after Joey got kidnapped. I will get my answers and I will get them before the day is over.”

Detective Benson walked out of the office slamming his fist against the door. Al stayed at the bank a little longer making sure that Joey’s account cannot be every touched unless it is him or Al doing so. Mr. Williamsons understood and froze the account with strict instructions on who can touch the account.

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Joey started to get feeling back into his legs and arms. His arms tied up in the straight jacket, his legs are free. He started to push himself on the cement floor until he got to the wall. Using the wall, Joey slid himself up onto his feet. Getting dizzy the minute he stood up, Joey slid right back down on the floor.

“Hey new guy, are you okay over there?” John in the other room started to whisper through the walls between their rooms.

Joey crawled on his belly over to the wall. “I am here still, thank god. I met the doctor of this place. I cannot help but think that she might not have her licenses to practice anymore. That is why she is here at this place because no other legal place would even have her practicing medicine.”

John started laughing, which caused Joey to laugh. Joey stopped laughing because it hurt way too much to do so. Once Jon stopped laughing, he didn’t say anything for a few minutes. Joey just sat there waiting to see if John would say anything.

“You know new kid; we are breaking so many rules right now. We are not allowed to look at each other, throw signs, write or talk with each other. If we are caught doing so, we will get punished. The way I see it, they cannot do much more to us.”

“That is for sure! You were telling me earlier that you believe that we are in Texas, not New Mexico. What if they did what they did to make you think that? That way if you get the information out to your family, they will be looking in the wrong places. I would need more than just a couple of license plates on a couple cars to prove to me where I am at.”

“I agree with you on that new kid. It was more than just a couple of cars in the parking lot. All of them had Texas plates. Let me ask you this to prove my point. When they pulled you out earlier, did they try and make you sign some paperwork?”

“Yes, but of course I didn’t sing it. They wanted me to give my mother and uncle the right to take my money and house.”

“No new kid that wasn’t all of it. They have all of sign that paperwork when we get here. The paperwork states that you came here to this place voluntarily, not by force. As well it says you understand what they do here and you give them permission to do what ever they need to do to fix you; to fix you to be straight, not gay.”

“Well they failed with me because I didn’t sign it. I will not sign that paperwork no matter what they do to me. I will die before I agree on coming into a place like this. I learned something from my ex and that is never back down no matter what.”

“Everyone says that when they get here, everyone. I even said that and held out for almost two weeks before I cracked and signed it. I don’t know if you looked at it or not, but it has the Texas seal on the top of every sheet. Plus the address is a P.O. Box here in Texas. I cannot remember the city, but remember the seal and the state.”

Joey closed his eyes to see if he could remember seeing the Texas seal. He didn’t read any of it to see the address, but he did glance down at the paperwork several times. John didn’t say a word as Joey thought back to being in the room, sitting in the desk and trying to remember the paperwork. He couldn’t remember anything, his head is still foggy.

“You might be right and if they take me down there again to sign the paperwork. I will take a closer look at it the next time. I will not sign it no matter if they keep me I this straight jacket day and night, drug me to high heaven or beat me. I will not ever sign anything like that.”

Joey started to get dizzy again. He lay down on his side and finds that nothing he does to get a little comfortable is working. Some how Joey did start to fall to sleep! He heard the door open to his room. He opened his eyes, very dazed, he sees the lady doctor walk in. Before Joey could react, the lady doctor stuck him with a needle. Joey head hit the ground just seconds later.

After being dragged into another room, Joey started to come to when he felt someone or something forcing his eyes open. Through a drugged out mind, Joey looked around to find himself in a different room. Not the room that they have taken him before. A totally different room altogether.

He tried to blink, but found his eyes being held open with some kind of metal machine. He started to struggle to get free, but he realized that he is tied down to the chair, no longer in the straight jacket. He started kicking and pulling at the metal cuffs, causing the metal clamps that are keeping his eyes open to slide into his eye.

Joey started screaming out in pain causing several staff members to run. They quickly undid the device that slid into Joey’s eyes. Blood started to leak from his eyes as Dr. Jones opened them up to see the damage. Shining the light into Joey’s pupil, this made him get dizzy. He passed out, slumping in the chair.

Dr. Jones started to slap Joey to wake him up. When that didn’t work, another staff member walked up and tossed a bucket of ice cold water into Joey’s face! Joey jumped in his chair, but got pulled down. The staff members undid the device they put on his eyes, but they kept Joey cuffed in the chair.

“We have told you over and over again not to struggle. Struggling is only going to do you harm. Now you ripped into both of your eyes, but they will heal in a week or two. The mean time they will swell and get black and blue. More than likely, you will not be able to see out of your eyes for several days.” Dr. Jones let go of Joey’s face.

She walked out and a few minutes later she came back. She put several drops of medicine in each of Joey’s eyes which made Joey scream out in pain again. That didn’t stop Dr. Jones on putting some kind of cream around Joey’s eyes before she left.

With his head throbbing, Joey kept blacking out. Every time Joey came to, he found himself still in the same room tied up in the chair. Loosing all track of time, Joey sat there in the room starring at the wall. Through the pain and, hunger and anger, Joey started to cry. He looked up and started to plead with the man up stairs to save him. At one point he found himself wishing to be taken off of this earth.

The door flew open and Mr. Pugh walked in. “don’t you know god will not help you. You are a sinner and we are told that in the Bible. Man should not lay down with another man. You have lived a life of sin. A life that you could either change for the good or continue living in sin! A life that will be taken from you because you don’t deserve to live if you choose to sin!”

Already Joey’s eyes have swollen shut; he cannot look at Mr. Pugh. “Only idiots like you think that way. Hiding behind the Bible. You quote passages, but you completely miss understand them. You need to fall to your knees and ask for forgiveness. One thing I can say fore sure is that you will be in hell before me.

I didn’t choose to be who I am. I was born this way. There is no way god will put people like me on this earth to sin and never have a chance to reach heaven. He made sure of that when he gave his only son for our sins. So go back and reread the Bible. Have someone explain it to you, because you are lost.”

Mr. Pugh walked over and kneeled down to be at eye level with Joey. He reached out and forced Joey’s eyes open. Joey started to yell out in pain as Mr. Pugh held open his eyes. Blood started to squirt out and roll down Joey’s eyes as Mr. Pugh looked in them.

“You better take a good look at me. I am not the one sitting here with bruises and swollen eyes, you are. That should tell you something. That should tell you that you are the sinful one. Never quote your belief to me. What ever you think you know, you are wrong.”

Mr. Pugh let go of Joey’s eyes and walked out of the room. The pain started to fade away when Dr. Jones walked back in. Once again she put in several drops in Joey’s eyes and the same cream around them. She walked out not saying a word to Joey the whole time.

Once again Joey faded out and when he woke up again. He felt someone around him. Not able to see, Joey yelled out to see who is there. No one answered the first time Joey called out, but the second time Joey yelled out, someone answered.

“Hey, you need to settle down. Please stop yelling at me. I am not supposed to be in here and if I get caught in here I will loose my job. There is nothing I can say that will get you to trust me, but you can. My name is Gary and I am a janitor here.”

Gary walked up to Joey and placed a cup of water at his mouth. “Please drink this water. There is nothing in it. You need to drink and eat something where you can keep your strength up. Come on, please drink this water!”

Joey sniffed the cup and couldn’t smell anything. He took a small drink and it just tasted like water. Gary waited for Joey to accept the rest and when he did. Joey drank the entire cup of water all at once. Gary then gave Joey a piece of ham and bread. After Joey ate it all up, Gary cleaned up all proof that Joey had eaten. He started to leave when Joey called out to him in a whisper.

“Gary, thank you for your help. Can you tell me where I am at and I don’t mean the room. Please Gary, what city and state am I in.”

Gary walked back over to Joey and whispered in his ears. “You are out side of El Paso Texas, in the desert between the state line of New Mexico and Texas. I live in Las Cruces, but most of the staff here comes from El Paso.”

“Thank you Gary, thank very much.”

Gary walked out leaving Joey tied to the chair. He ducked into a room when he heard several of the guards talking as they walked down the hall. As he hid in the room, he looked through a crack between the door and the door frame. He saw the guards walk into the room where he left Joey. Gary walked out and quickly headed down the hallway. Just as he turned to go into another hallway, he could hear Joey crying out in pain.

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Detective Benson escorted Beth and Dominic to court. By law he has to take them in front of a judge so where they can set bail. He sat Beth and Dominic with the others waiting for the judge and walked over to the DA.

“You need to do me a favor. You need to get the judge to keep these two in jail without bail.” Detective Benson handed the DA their files. “If they get out, there is no way they are coming back. Plus we are looking at them for a kidnapping, possibly a murder. We don’t know because we cannot find Beth Alvarez’s older son. One thing we do know for sure is that he has been taken against his will.”

The DA looked at the files before answering. “There is no way this judge is going to keep these two in without bail. In fact what you have, the judge is going to R o R them. You will be lucky that the judge doesn’t throw out the charges. I will do what I can, but without proof of them kidnapping, they are going home today.”

Detective Benson walked back over to Beth and Dominic thinking to himself. He should have locked them in the system for a couple of days. There is no way anyone will be looking for these two. Now they are going to go home and more than likely never come back.

The judge walked in and called the court into order. One after another went in front of the judge in the order they got brought in. Leaving Beth and Dominic one of the last ones to go in front of the judge. Detective Benson noticed that the judge is not setting high bails or bail at all. The DA is right, he will R o R Beth and Dominic.

Beth got called up first. The charges got read off as the judge looked at the file. “Man I am glad not to be the one prosecuting this case. Talk about a rush to arrest. I hope you are not going to waist this court's time asking for bail on this defendant.”

“Your honor, she and her brother-in-law were caught at the bank committing bank fraud. They were arrested while trying to clear out an account that was not there’s to clear out. Further more, they are the main suspects in the disappearance of Joey Alvarez. I am asking you not to grant them bail. If you do, I am afraid they are going to run.”

“I understand where you are coming from, but the law is the law. The law in this case is telling me that the police in this matter jumped the gun. They should have let these two completely pull the money out and walk out of the bank with it but not have arrested them before they even signed the paperwork.

As far as the other matter, I cannot do anything about that. If you or the police had proof on that matter, you would have charged them for it. With what I have in front of me I cannot do anything about it. I am going to grant an R o R.”

Dominic walked up in front of the judge and they went through the same speal. At the end, the judge granted Dominic an R o R for him as well. Just as the judge granted the R o R, Harold walked in. The judge looked up to see Harold walking straight over to him.

“Harold, what do I owe this honor?” Judge covered his microphone as he talked.

“These are the two I talked with you about. We all agreed on not letting them out if they come in front of us. Here you are granting them an R o R. There is no way they are coming back to court. The minute they leave this courtroom, they are going to run.”

“Harold I completely forgot. There is really nothing I could do according to the law. If you were in my seat you would do the same thing.”

“If I was in your seat, I would have followed through the promise I made a fellow judge. Didn’t you even take into consideration Dominic Alvarez’s pending charges? He left the state while on bail. He should have not bee granted an R o R.”

“I looked at that and the police or the DA didn’t file a revocation on his regional arrest. In return I had no other choice but to do what I do in this case. If anyone you should be mad at, it is the police and the DA, not me.”

“You really want to play it this way. You want to take me and your fellow judges on when you just got this seat on the bench. One thing you should know is that you are going to need us for your seat on this bench. I am going to make sure I make your life a living hell.

When you are up again, I will pull in every favor I have to make sure you don’t get this seat again. Then when you leave the bench and go back to practicing law, every client you get will never get a positive ruling from any judge in this county. We will use the law to back it up. You made an enemy where you cannot afford an enemy.”

Harold walked away as the other judge just looked on. He looked over at Beth and Dominic and realized he just sealed his career on granting them a R o R. He knows that Harold can destroy any sitting and non-sitting judge’s careers. He has the connections and isn’t afraid to use those connections.

Detective Benson took Beth and Dominic back to the county jail. He handed the clerk the paperwork of their R o R. As he took the handcuffs off of Beth and Dominic, Dominic couldn’t stop smiling, almost laughing at the detective.

“I told you there is no way you can keep me or Beth in. Even having a judge on your side, we got out. This isn’t over I can tell you that much. After I sue the city on harassment, besides getting millions, I will have your job. Plus we will have Joey’s money and Joey in our custody.”

“Keep it up; keep talking with your smart ass remarks. You are just digging your hole deeper and deeper. This is it for your good luck. If you so much j walk, I will have you arrested. You live in a very small community compared to El Paso. We are all close nit and take care of each other. It is just a matter of time before you and Beth mess up.”

Beth slugged Dominic in his side to make him shut up. They got handed their personal belongings and got released. Detective Benson stood there kicking himself for letting them get the upper hand again. He wanted to play this straight, but he gets it thrown back at him. His fellow officers kept telling him to lose them in the system, but he didn’t.

------------------------

Joey walked back to his room for the first time. Unable to see where he is going, the guards guided him as he walked. They held him back as they unlocked the door. Once they opened the door, they pushed Joey into the room. He stumbled until he fell on to his face. In pain, Joey felt his way to the wall.

“Hey new kid, how are you? I hope you are standing your ground. Did they try to make you sign that paperwork gain?”

“No they took me into another room John. You are right about being in Texas. We are outside of El Paso, between the state line of Texas and New Mexico. That means I must have gotten here really late yesterday.”

“Yeah when they tossed you into that room, it woke me up. I think I am still sleeping at night. The director is normally here only during the day. Certain staff members are here also only during the day. That is the only way I have been able to keep my days and nights straight. But again, I can be wrong on the whole thing. How did you find out on where we are exactly?”

“I still really don’t know you, so I am not going to say. I need to know about a certain machine. What I mean is when I woke up, I found my self strapped into a chair with metal clamps holding my eyes open. What did they plan to do to me?”

“What, they didn’t finish using the machine on you?”

“No they didn’t. When I realized that my eyes were being forced to stay open. I tried to get free. Through my struggling, the metal clamps slipped into my eyes causing my eyes to bleed. So I don’t know what they had planned for me with that machine.”

“That machine keeps your eyes open while they stream picture after picture at high speed on a screen in front of you. If you start to get an erection when a picture of guy dressed or naked flashes on the screen, you will get electric shock. This is some kind of electric therapy to train our minds to stop thinking of guys the way we do.”

Joey didn’t respond to John after he explained what the machine is for. He knows there would be no way he would have made it out of that room without getting electrocuted over and over again. He loves guys and if they are cute or what he likes in guys. He always gets hard no matter what. There is nothing he can do about that.

The rest of the afternoon Joey forced himself to stay awake. He thought if he fell to sleep again someone will come into the room, drug him and then take him away into another room with machines to cause him pain.

Not knowing if it is day or night, Joey forced himself up from the ground. Just as he stood up, the door to the room opened. Joey couldn’t see, so he has no idea who is walking and how many. All of a sudden Joey heard the clatter of a metal plate hit the ground and the door shutting.

Joey got on his hand and knees to feel around for the plate. Joey found it by accident. He actually put his hand into the food. He picked it up and started eating it. Still not liking the taste of the food, Joey forced it down. Just like Gary told him. He needs to eat in order to keep up his strength.

After putting the plate back on the floor where he found it, Joey crawled back to the corner of the room. He started to doze off when he heard knocking on the wall. Joey didn’t say anything; he waited for John to say something.

“Hey new kid, I would like to know your name I can stop calling you new kid. You already know my name and by giving me your name it is not really giving me much information at all. I could probably get your name by hearing the guards talking.”

Just then Joey heard knocking on the other wall on the other side of the room. Joey crawled over to see who is knocking on that wall. John still whispering through the wall on the other side, Joey waited to hear what the other person wanted to say in the other room. He tapped again on the wall, and Joey gave in and tapped back.

“I would not give too much information to your neighbor on the other side Joey.” Joey slid away from the wall. The guy actually knows his name. “He snitches on others in this hall in hopes to go to the camp. Once you get to the camp, you are on your way home. He snitched on the guy that was in that room before you. He didn’t go to the camp. He is some where else in this building.”

Joey really didn’t know what to do or trust. They both can be snitches and wanting to snitch on him. Joey started thinking to make matters worse the new guy on the other side of this wall actually knows Joey’s name. How could he know his name? Joey kept asking himself over and over again.

“Joey I know you are freaking out over there. You are probably wondering how I know your name. How could I know the information that I know if I am not the snitch? You are probably asking yourself questions like that.

First I am not a snitch. I have been here over a year. I don’t think I will ever make it to the camp. The staff pretty much has given up on me. They locked me into this room and threw away the key. During the last year I have made connections with staff members that don’t like what is going on here.

That leads me to my other point. Gary, the guy that spoke with you earlier, gave you food and water, you can trust him. He is a janitor here, an unseen staff member. Who pays attention to the janitor in any company? He helps me get messages out and in. He also helps new people that he trust. He trusts you and asked me to talk with you.”

Joey moved back up to the wall. “You have me at a disadvantage. What is your name since you know mine?”

“Sorry about that Joey, I didn’t mean to be rude like that. My name is Angelo Feliciano. I know it is an uncommon name and hard to pronounce.”

“Angelo, how do I know that you are not the snitch trying to get me to say something to get another in trouble? It seems to me everyone in this place is out for themselves. If what you say is true about my neighbor, he probably will say the same thing about you. So how do I know who I can trust in here.”

“Easy Joey and let me tell you how. Don’t you trust me yet. Go back over to the other side of your room and talk with John. Ask him about your neighbor and he will say what you think he is going to say. Then ask him anything you think that only a snitch will tell you to do. Just do not give out Gary’s name.”

Joey did what Angelo told him to do. He crawled back over to the other side of the room. He knocked on the wall and waited for John to answer. When John answered, Joey asked him about his neighbor. Just like Angelo said, John did talk bad about him. As John told Joey not to trust his neighbor, Joey thought of a thing to ask him.

“John remember when I was telling you earlier today about the paperwork they wanted me to sign. You said it was just paperwork that states I came here on my own. I could have sworn I heard Mr. Pugh tell me it was for me to give my mother and uncle permission to access my accounts. I guess what I am really saying to you is this. What is that paperwork really and is it good for me to hold out on signing it?”

“I don’t understand why Mr. Pugh told you what he told you. Everyone is forced to sign that paperwork when they come in. Like I told you I held out but finally did it. I say save yourself pain and just sign it. You are going to need your strength to fight other battles that are going to be thrown out at you.”

“Oh, thank you John for your help. I will sign it when they give me the paperwork to sign tomorrow. By the sounds of what these guys do to get you to stop thinking about guys in the sexual way. I will need my strength to fight that.”

“That is just the beginning new kid, trust me. I know I asked this question already, but we are getting to know each other. Maybe you will answer the question now. How did you find out exactly where we are? I know you had to talk with someone. I might know this person and we can use the person to get extra things.”

“I didn’t talk with no one. I over heard the staff talking to each other. One of them actually seemed to be worried about the people looking for me. Who ever that staff member was talking with told him that there is no way they will find me. He gave away where we are at through that conversation.”

“Oh, I hope Mr. Pugh never finds out that his staff members are talking like that with us around. I know some of those staff members are on our side and helps us. I really hope the one that was worried wasn’t one of the ones that help us out.”

Joey didn’t answer John. He just pretended to doze off to sleep. John stopped talking after a while, giving Joey a chance to go over to speak with Angelo. He knocked on the wall and waited for Angelo to answer him.

“So what is the verdict Joey? You were gone or a while. That means that you talked with your neighbor on the other side of your room. Who do you think is telling the truth?”

“To tell you the truth I really don’t know. You both seem to be telling the truth on not being a snitch. So I really don’t know who is telling me the truth. I just want to go home and leave this place behind. Please forgive me, I don’t mean you any wrong!”

“No problem Joey! I understand where you are coming from. You seem to be a good kid. Why don’t you get some rest? They are not going to come and get you until morning. According to Gary, your eyes are really messed up. Don’t strain them, just relax and hopefully they will heal fast.”

Joey said his goodbyes to Angelo and lay down on the floor. He couldn’t get to sleep with so many questions going through his mind. One thing he does know after talking to John and Angelo. John sounds like the snitch more than Angelo, but Angelo knows his name when he never gave it to him.

----------------------

Harold got home slamming the front door. Fran and Alan waked over to see what he found out. Harold put down his briefcase on the floor at the front door and walked into the living room with Fran and Alan.

He sat down and explained to them what had happened through the day. From Al coming in the morning, all the way to what had happened in court. Fran sat there in shock after hearing what her mother tried to do. She knew that Dominic is capable of doing something like that, but her mom. She thought that her mom would never do that.

“Is she going to be able to get my brother's money and stuff, Harold? Knowing my mother, she isn’t going to give up. Also why haven’t the police found my brother? There is no way they could have taken him far.”

“Fran it has been over a day now. Your brother can be anywhere and after looking at the file Al faxed me before I left my office. Dominic is one really mean and ruthless guy. He is willing to do anything in order to get what he wants. I am afraid he will even kill in order to not lose his freedom. I am not trying to scare you Fran.

Now as far as your mother or Dominic getting any of Joey’s money, house or truck, they cannot. Al made sure of that before he left town. There is no way your mother and uncle will ever get that close again on getting a hold of Joey’s assets again.”

“Harold, you said Al came into town and took care of Joey’s money. Is that Al, Jacob’s grandfather?” Fran leaned forward on her chair.

“Yes, Joey gave him power of attorney over his money and assets. He trusts him no matter what had happened between him and Al’s grandson.”

“Maybe we can ask Al for another favor. He is part of the Governor of Texas staff. Maybe Al could pull in favors from the Governor. I understand Governor Lopez owes Al several favors already.”

“I am not going to ask Al for that. He already offered and I told him to do what he feels comfortable on doing. I think he is going to ask Governor Lopez for help, but if this hasn’t crossed over the state line. There is really nothing that the Governor of Texas can do for us. If it crossed over to Texas, Governor Lopez will do what ever it takes to help us. He almost went through what we are going through right now.”

They sat there in the living room talking things over. Fran got up and warmed up the food that Helen prepared from them to eat for dinner. They sat down and ate together before going their different directions in the house.

Poor Harold, he went through the whole thing once again when Helen and Caleb got home from work. Harold said the same thing that he told Fran and Alan earlier. He got almost the same questions from Caleb and Helen. Once Harold answered all the questions, Caleb left his father and mother and headed up to his room.

He fell on his bed and just looked up to his roof. Tears started to roll down his cheeks as he thought of Joey. He couldn’t stop thinking that Joey is really hurting right now. He feels that Joey isn’t dead, but he is hurting right now.

---------------------

Right when Joey finished eating, he got pulled out of his room. Half walking and half being pulled, Joey got escorted into the room where he was the first night. Just like the first night, the guards pulled him up to the metal bed and tied him down. This time Joey didn’t even struggle to get free. He felt it was useless to do so.

“Have we already taken the fight out of you Joey? What a shame, I thought I would have a least another week of you fighting me before I broke you.” Mr. Pugh walked into the room and over to the control box.

“No I am not done fighting you or this place. I know that I cannot get free from these handcuffs, so why hurt myself trying to do so. There is no way I am going to let you beat me. There is no way I am going to do what you want me to do. I am gay and I am proud of that fact. So do what you want to do. I am not going to change who I am.”

Mr. Pugh turned the switch all the way up to high. Sending volt after volt of electricity into Joey’s body. Joey’s body bounced on and off of the mattress as he screamed out in pain. Right before Joey blacked out, Mr. Pugh turned off the electricity.

“Oh no you don’t you little shit! You are not going to get the easy way out here. I have a few questions for you that I need answered. Plus I need you to sign those form. There is no way I am going to let you pass out on me.”

Joey started to fade when he one of the guards threw a bucket of ice water on him. A few shocks from the metal bed went through Joey’s body when the water hit him. If Joey could open his eyes, his eyes would have popped wide open.

“One of my guards came to me this morning and told me that he over heard you talking with your neighbor. That is a no, no! For that you are going to get whipped.”

All of a sudden Joey felt a stinging feeling coming up from his chest and then another and another. He realized someone is hitting him with some kind of whip. He lost count of the hits he got, but when he did he was at twelve. Finally who ever is hitting him stopped.

“Now your neighbor got the same fate earlier this morning. He refused to let me know what you two were talking about. My guards told me that you guys were talking for a little while, stopped and picked up a little later. He over heard both conversations you had with your neighbor. So I am not going to go through what I went through earlier.

Which of my staff members did you over hear talking about our location? I need to know so I can fire them. They are not allowed to talk about anything around you guys, even less talk about where this facility is located .”

“Are you an idiot or what sir? Look at me you stupid ass. My eyes are swollen shit, so I couldn’t have seen anyone talking. So if I heard your staff members talking, I cannot point them out because I didn’t see them.”

Mr. Pugh turned the switch back on to high. Just like before, volt after volt of electricity went following through Joey’s body. The only difference now is Mr. Pugh didn’t turn it off until Joey passed out. Once he did, Mr. Pugh ordered that Joey to be taken back to his room, but clean him first. He actually shitted all over himself as he got electrocuted.

The guards looked at each other to see who is going to pull Joey down and clean him up. Neither of them wanted to even touch Joey since he has shit all over him. They walked out of the room to argue with each other. As they walked out, they saw the janitor mopping the flows. They looked at each other and back at the janitor.

“Hey you, come over here and clean up the mess in this room. Take the kid down from the mattress; clean him up and then clean the mattress. You have thirty minutes to get it done.” Gary shook his head as he gathered his cleaning supplies.

As Gary walked between the two guards, one of them grabbed him by the arm. “Remember what you see in there cannot be talked about with anyone. That means your mom, wife or dog at home. You hate these fags as much as we do and we are just trying to straighten them out.”

The guard let go of Gary so he can go into the room. Gary walked in as the guards closed the door. The smell of shit started to go into the hallway and they didn’t want to smell it. Gary ran over to Joey and quickly undid the cuffs to his hands and legs. Joey fell against Gary once he got loose.

Gary gently carried Joey over to the shower room. He put him down and turned on the water. Grabbing a couple of clean cloths from his bucket, Gary quickly cleaned Joey up. Once he cleaned Joey up, he went and cleaned the mattress and the floor around it. Gary did both in fifteen minutes, giving him fifteen minutes to wake up Joey and talk with him.

As he walked over to Joey, Joey started to move. Gary kneeled down at Joey’s side and dabbed his eyes. Joey went to grab Gary’s hand, but Gary put them back to his side. Joey just sat there as Gary cleaned his face because it really felt good.

“Joey, I am not gay, I just don’t like what I see here. I am just a janitor and don't have any say on what goes on in here. I deliver messages to family member and friends on the outside from others in here that I trust. I trust Angelo, but I do not trust John. By the looks of it I can trust you Joey.

With that said Joey, is there anyone you would like me to get a hold of. If so please give me their name and number. I will call them and give them what ever message you want me to give them. We don’t have that much time, so you better hurry.”

Without thinking about it, Joey told Gary to call Harold. Tell him where he is at and what is going on with him. Harold will know what to do in order to get him out of here. He is the only one right now Joey can trust. Gary agreed and wrote down Harold’s name, address and phone number before the guards walked in.

Gary got up from Joey’s side and walked back over to the mattress when the guards walked. He pretended to be cleaning still when they went to grab Joey from the floor. Joey also pretended but he pretended to be asleep. That made the guards drag him out of the room and straight over to his room.

After tossing Joey into the room, the guards left. Joey stayed laying where he landed. If Gary is true to his word, Joey knows that he will not staying in this place much longer. He also agrees with Gary about John. There is no way the guards overheard them talking. Because if they did, they would have overheard him talking with Angelo as well. Mr. Pugh didn’t mention that at all. That means John is feeding the staff information and they are covering for him.

Joey just laid there on the floor ignoring John. He cannot stop thinking that he is going to be out of this place really soon. Joey decided not to speak with John. The only one he can trust right now is Gary and Angelo. They have proven to him that they are not snitches. In fact they are willing to help him, not hurt him.

TO BE CONTINUED……………

WRITER’S CORNER:

{Okay everyone, thank you all for coming back on another filled chapter. I know it is not a fun filled chapter, but it is a chapter to open all of our eyes on places like this. You can get on the internet browser and type in camps to brain wash teens to stop being gay. The stories you will read from real kids that were in these kinds of places will make you cry.

Look, I am not a religious person. I have my beliefs, but I will not preach them in my writing. I mentioned religion just a handful of times in all four of my stories because I don’t want to preach my beliefs. I have read very good stories on Nifty and the writer’s have written in their religion. The stories are very good, so I just skip over those parts.

Places like these get away with what they do because of two things. One they false advertise what they do. When the family finds out, it is too late. The other is by using the church as a cover for what they do. I am not blaming all of the church going people for this kind of hate, just a small blinded few. Just like those that use the religion to attack our country, troops and freedoms. In both of these cases they miss use the Bible and the Koran.

Now with that said, let’s get back to this chapter. It basically only covered a day in Joey’s life. There is so much I found out about these places I want to write it in to this story, but more than likely I will not be able to. If I stay here way too long, you the readers will get tired of this topic and stop reading. I am afraid of the emails I am going to get on this.

Joey is going through hell. One part of the story I pulled out of a movie called Latter Days. Both gay guys in this movie are very cute, but they are not gay. What a loss for us. Anyways in the movie the religious gay teen's parents put him in a place to fix him. One part of the movie shows him in front of this screen with pictures flashing in front of him. His eyes being kept open as it happen. I wrote that in because I read several stories from teens on the net that went through that as well. Of course I changed it from the movie and the stories I read.

Joey is trying his best to make it through. He has only been in this place for almost two days, but he is holding up. I don’t think that Joey will be able to hold up much longer. He needs to be found and pulled out of there. If not, he might actually die.

I know we all thought that John, Joey’s neighbor, was a good guy. We found out in this chapter he is telling the staff everything the others are telling him. If Joey does get out of there, I really hope he doesn’t help John get out of there.

Angelo seems to be the good person. Between him and Gary, the janitor, Joey might have a chance. Or have I written the story one way in this chapter and am going to take it another way in the next chapter. John is the good one and Angelo and Gary end up being the bad ones. In order for you to find out, you must read the next chapter. Those questions will be answered right away.

Beth and Dominic, man do they have the luck. For the readers out there that know the law, I know they couldn’t have gotten bail. Remember this is fiction and I am writing each plot to a direction for a reason. So please don’t send me emails that I mis-quoted the law. In this story, they got away with it and got out.

Do you think Beth and Dominic are going to run? Or do you think they are going to show up for court? Between me and you, I hope they run. At least if they do that, they become fugitives from the law. Joey and Fran can rest a little more easier if that happens.

Is anyone surprised that Joey asked Al to be the one with the power of attorney over his assets. Of anyone that Joey knows, Al is the right one to ask. I would not have wanted to be in Harold’s shoes when he drove down and spoke with Al about it. Harold had to do a lot of smoothing over Joey’s past in order for Al to agree.

We saw just a little of Caleb, Fran and Alan in this chapter. They are all very worried and concerned for Joey. Caleb couldn’t stop thinking of Joey when he went up to his room. He started crying because he feels the hurt Joey is going through. I really do believe we feel the hurt of the one that we really love.

In the next chapter, one way or another, this plot will explode. Either Joey is going to be saved or spend months in that place before he comes home a broken man. No matter if he gets out in two day, two months or two years, Joey is going to be wounded for the rest of his life on what he is going through.

Fran, Alan, Caleb and the others that didn’t appear in this chapter will be back in the next chapter. So let’s all hope for a happy ending, but you guys know me already. I might throw in a wrench that will make it an unhappy ending. So hold on and see what the future chapters have in store for you guys.

There is so much going on in this saga. I can keep writing, but I won’t. You guys are going to need to tune in to the next chapter to see what is going on. More plots are going to open and old ones will be closed. This story, like my others, will keep you on your toes. Don’t miss what is coming up in the chapters to come.

I do not want to say too much more and spoil the future chapters to come, so I won’t. I warn you though! Do not skip a chapter, or you will be lost. There is a so much to answer in the chapters to come. Keep reading the future chapters, and enjoy! Please email me and let me know how I am doing at jacobmillertex@aol.com, Thanks!}
EDITOR’S CORNER:

 

[This was an action-packed chapter for sure! I was sorry to see Beth and uncle manage to get out of jail on 'Released on own Recognizance', but with so many charges already filed against them, I suspect that they will be once again arrested soon.

 

Who will end up being the one(s) in whom Joey can really place his trust inside the place where he is being kept? If the location is actually in Texas, can the Governor or Governor-elect (depending on when the place is found) be able to use his authority to

'take-down' the retraining camp?

 

My guess is that no one in a position of authority will have any idea as to how many "patients" are being held in this camp. Finding out that dozens of youth are being "held" there could overwhelm authorities. If others have been treated as Joey has been, then prompt medical care like in a trauma ER might also be needed.

 

Assuming that Joey survives and is rescued, what will be the lasting effects of the torturous experiences he has had to endure? Will he be able to recover fully? These are major questions that also face far too many of our returning military these days and the questions are very real for them.

 

Will Al be able to use his contacts to help solve some of these problems? Will the Judge who messed up find a way to fix his decision? Will the school from which Joey was kidnapped be able to add to its own safety procedures? If Joey ever returns there, how will he be received?

 

There are many questions still unanswered. Be sure to read Chapter 9 as soon as it is posted. Then we can both begin to find some answers----UNLESS our author decides to keep us all dangling on the end of his keyboard by stringing us along for awhile!

 

Kent D. (sw Ohio area)