Ring in Mine
Kim Terry
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My thanks go out to Zack for proofreading this chapter.
Kim ----------
Ring in Mine: John Chapter 12
School teachers had a two day conference the last weekend of January. John and Andrew had made plans for the days off. Monday through Wednesday had been beautiful, filled with sunshine and temperatures in the high forties. Wednesday about midnight the wind began to howl outside of John's window. Snow began to fall. The power was off for hours. Mark stoked up the fireplace and John moved to the family room. His parent's took the recliners, John slept on the floor next to the comforting blaze.
The next morning the power was back on. A wall of plowed snow and slush blocked the driveway. John grabbed the snow shovel and began the laborious task of moving the two feet of snow from the driveway and walks. Then he attacked the wall of snow left by the plow.
John pushed on down the sidewalk until he reached Andrew's driveway. John showed no mercy to the pile of dirty snow denying cars access to the road. Andrew came out and helped finish the rest of the task. The two boys began piling all of the snow shoveled from the concrete into a giant pile in Andrew's front yard. They waved as their parents slowly inched their way down the plowed but slick roads.
The boys needed more snow and began importing it from the neighbor's walks a wheelbarrow full at a time. They earned $20 doing something they wanted to do anyway. When the pile was a foot taller than the boys were they began packing the outside of the curved dome of snow. The sun was shining but the air was cold. They sprayed the surface with water from the garden hose, which they carefully drained and returned to the garage. Sitting in front of the fire drinking cocoa while the ice set was a perfect way to warm up.
Bundled back into their now dry and warm clothes the boys began the task of carving the inside of their igloo. Fanciful shapes were created from the snow removed from the icy dome. John ran into the house and returned with spray bottles of colored water. They tinted their snow sculptures.
Andrew spent the night sleeping on the floor in front of the fire next to his best friend. Some time during the night they had snuggled close to each other. They were both wearing sweats. It started Mark once again down the `my-son-is-gay-path.' When he mentioned it to his wife, she hit him up the back of the head.
"Don't look for problems where there aren't any."
Friday morning everything had frozen solid overnight. They were dressed ready to walk to the recreation center when the phone rang.
"John, I'm glad I caught you. The recreation center is closed. The boiler is down again. It might be fixed by tomorrow."
Andrew and John spent the morning watching VHS movies. Bored after lunch Andrew suggested John draw him again. Andrew enjoyed being naked with his friend. He knew there would be nothing physical between them as much as he wanted it. Having John draw him was an intimate experience. He usually had to beat off afterward.
Mark's afternoon was free. On the spur of the moment he decided to pick up John and do something with just the two or three of them. The front door was unlocked so Mark knew that John was home. He entered as silently as possible with the intent of surprising his son. It was Mark that was surprised.
John's door was partly open. Through the opening he could see a naked Andrew facing away from the door. He silently left the house and sat in his car. His hopes of having a straight son were dashed. If he had stepped into the room he would have seen John fully dressed with pencil in hand. Mark remembered only his own experiences with a naked friend.
Back on campus he sat in his office in silence, unsure what he was going to do. He remembered the pamphlet stuck into a drawer. Mark pulled the brochure out and read through it for the first time.
Homosexuals Don't Need to
Burn in Eternal Damnation
If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman,
both of them have committed an abomination:
they shall surely be put to death;
their blood shall be upon them.
Leviticus 20:13
There is Hope
Homosexuality is a Disease
There is a Cure
Through Intense Counseling,
Prayer and Scripture Study
The Evils of Homosexuality can be Beaten,
Returning Lost Souls to the Grace of God
There were numerous positive reviews of the program. Stories how wayward sons moved forward into straight relationships; becoming pillars in the community.
It was slick with color photographs contrasting Eternal Damnation and young men with their wives and babies. Photos of counseling sessions included a broad spectrum of ages. The cafeteria was spotless with religious photos on the wall. The young men at the tables had their heads bowed over a delicious looking meal. Each youth had their own small bedroom with a picture of Christ on the wall.
Could this be the answer to his prayers? Mark called the number on the pamphlet. He left a message on the answering machine. He wasn't sure what to do. He was afraid to go home. How could he control his temper? He only wanted to protect his son. He laid his head in his hands and cried.
That night the nightmares started again.
******** Mark walked through a dark forest, his flashlight barely pushing back the moon cast shadows. He is searching for something and can't remember what. It had to be here somewhere. A pair of yellow eyes glowed in the beam of yellow light. A menacing growl accompanied the eyes.
The shadows turned into complete darkness as the moon fled behind a blanket of clouds. He carefully moved forward into a clearing filled with yellow eyes and grey fur. The moon breaks free of its cloudy shroud filling the clearing with a bright silver light. There surrounded by feeding wolves was his son slit open, his intestines the main course.
"Dad help me." His son was still alive. Two of the wolves morphed into the most homophobic members of Mark's college football team.
"We been waiting for you."
A naked Mark felt his arms being pulled behind him. The ropes bit into his wrists. The knife glistened in the moonlight, drops of his son's blood still on the blade. He followed the flash of silver with his eyes. His groin was filled with intense pain. When he opened his mouth to scream, a bloody mass was shoved into his throat.
"That's the last cock you'll suck." They laughed as they slit him open.
"Mark wake up." Ruth was shaking her husband. His cries even had John standing by the side of Mark's bed.
"Are you alright dad?"
Mark pulled his son into a hug. "I'm doing better now."
John hadn't slept in his parent's bed since he was little. Mark insisted John sleep between his parents.
"I need to know you're safe." Is all that Mark would say in explanation. Mark pulled his son close to him. With his son safe next to him, John's steady breathing lulled him back into peaceful sleep.
After that first night he would wake from the dream and have to check on his son before he could return to his slumbers. He resolved to do whatever necessary to protect his son from Marcus's fate.
The week before President's Day Mark was sitting in his office after a busy day when his direct line rang.
"This is Mark, how may I help you?"
"It's us who can help you. We have an opening in our special program. We can guarantee results over a long weekend. The fee will be two thousand dollars. We will pick up your son and a cashier's check at your home at 3:00 on Thursday."
"I'm not sure."
"We need an answer now. We have others waiting to get their child into the program."
Mark bent to the pressure. On Thursday Mark picked John up at school. John was surprised to see his dad. He was really confused when his dad passed him into the care of a complete stranger in a blue van. The last thing he remembered was the bite of a needle. Andrew's mother had stepped to the curb to gather the mail just in time to see John pulled into the van.
Ruth was surprised to find her husband home early on a Thursday evening.
"Has John come home yet or is he with Andrew?" Ruth asked.
Mark pulled out the brochure and handed it to his wife.
"Mark, What have you done?" Ruth demanded.
"I found Andrew naked in John's room last week." Mark said in his own defense.
"Were they both naked or just Andrew?" Ruth asked.
"Why would only one of them be naked?" Mark was totally clueless.
"Sometimes you are so stupid." Ruth pointed at the paintings from the State Fair still hanging on the living room wall. "Look at the signature."
Mark followed his wife to the family room. She pointed at the signature on the mostly naked football center.
"So, what am I looking at." Mark was still clueless.
"Wasn't John Littleman enough of a hint. Your son is an artist. He draws people, sometimes without clothes." She paused. "According to his sales he's damn good at it too."
Mark stared at the drawing he loved. His son had drawn it. He looked at it very carefully. There were telltale hints, the mole on the shoulder and the scars on the knees. This was him. This is how his son saw him, strong and athletic.
He tried calling the number on the brochure. The voicemail was full. What could he do. The place looked nice in the photos. How bad could a weekend of prayer and scripture study be.
"I did it for him. I wanted him to be safe. I couldn't go through it again." Mark sobbed.
"He's not Marcus. He's thirteen." Ruth responded.
"You don't understand. I...we..." Mark wasn't sure how to finish.
"Mark, I know. I've always known that you were lovers. You and I were lovers too. I figured it out the time you said his name during sex."
Mark found blankets and pillows piled outside the locked bedroom door. It was going to be a long weekend.
Andrew and his parents were watching the news on Friday night waiting for the weather. They had planned a family trip over the President's day weekend. The top story was multiple kidnappings involving a blue van.
"Andrew, what did you and John do at school today?" His mother asked.
Andrew explained that when he stopped to pick up John that morning no one was at home. Andrew's mom called the number on the TV to explain about the blue van and what she had seen.
If you would like to be notified when a new chapter is available drop me a line. ringinmine@yahoo.com