Date: Sun, 03 Jul 2005 08:18:02 -0700 From: Phantasm Subject: Jasons-Haven-26 Jason's Haven by Phantasm Warning The following story is purely fictional. Any similarities to real persons or events is strictly coincidental. This story contains graphic descriptions of sexual acts between males of varying ages, including minors. If such material offends you or is illegal in the location from which you are reading it, please seek your reading enjoyment elsewhere. This story is copyright protected under the pseudonym of "Phantasm". This story may not be redistributed in whole, or in part, without the expressed written consent of the author. This story may not be used by anyone in the pursuit of monetary gain. The author of this story in no way condones the physical, mental, or sexual abuse of anyone, particularly minors. Author's Note Comments, sent to phantasmic1@hotmail.com, about this story are welcomed. While Tim and James are in Romania, Vasile Predescu serves as their guide and interpreter. All dialogue spoken by Romanians will be written in the English translation provided by Vasile for the convenience of the reader. Some Romanian is written and instantly translated for effect. This chapter contains scenes of a very disturbing nature. Read at your own discretion. The scenes played out in Romania during this chapter are dramatizations. But the situations and settings revealed in these scenes are sadly all too real in Romania today. Chapter Twenty Six The week went by quickly and all of the arrangements had been made in Romania. James and I would spend one day in Romania touring with Vasile. The following morning, we would get the boys to the airport before dawn and fly home. James was more excited than a five year old on Christmas morning as we boarded the jet to begin our journey. While I appreciated his interest in other cultures, I was saddened to know that he would be far less jubilant when we returned. But I knew that the things James was about to see would serve him well later in life. The flight would last twelve hours and, with the time change, it would be 6:00am when we arrived in Bucharest. We took off from Jason's Haven at 11:00am and we slept for most of the flight. Since we were flying forward in time zones, the plane ride would be our night. The cabin phone buzzed and I answered it. "We are thirty minutes away from landing sir." the pilot informed me. I woke James and told him to get ready for a busy day. I got up and prepared the coffee while James went back to the bathroom to relieve himself. When he returned to his seat, I filled two cups and handed one to James as I sat back down. "We need to have a serious discussion my love." I said. "Sure Tim. What about?" he asked. "Have you ever seen the 'Save The Children' infomercials on television?" I asked. "Yeah. I hate them because they are so sad." James replied. "Well, you are about to see people just like the ones in the infomercials. But you should know that seeing them in person is one hundred times worst. You will need to leave your choker and earring onboard the plane in a storage bin. You will also need to put your money in your wallet and leave the money clip behind. It is very unwise to display such possessions while in the midst of abject poverty and desperation. Some parts of Romania are wonderful and awe inspiring. Unfortunately, it is not those parts that we will be visiting during our brief stay." I explained. "It's not possible for me to prepare you for what you are about to see." I continued. "Romania is a third world country and people here have precious little or no money at all. It is also a place where gays are hated and harassed in broad daylight. While we are in Romania, you can not show any sign of affection for me whatsoever. Nor can I show any affection towards you, so don't be offended that I don't hold your hand or kiss you. It's legal to be gay in Romania now but that does not make it remotely acceptable." "Above all else, remember this as we make our way around town." I said. "You can not save the world James. You will want to try and fix everything you see here. But it is not quite so simple. There are little things that we can do to help, but for the most part, the problems here are bigger than we alone can fix. Be humble, be compassionate, but more importantly, be smart. We will be in someone else's backyard, so we have to play by their rules. Do you understand?" I asked. "Yes Tim. But you are worrying about nothing. I can handle this." he replied. We landed at Otopeni International Airport and were directed to go to a small gate at the end of the terminal building. When the door to the plane was open, the pilot escorted a Romanian Custom's agent into the cabin. He checked out the plane and our documentation before allowing us to leave the plane. "I will be inspecting the plane again when you depart tomorrow morning Mr. Stevens. I trust everything will be as it was arranged?" the agent said as he shook my hand. "Yes sir. I will see to it." I assured him. He left the plane and James and I followed. Vasile was waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs. "Vasile! It is so good to see you my friend." I said while giving him the traditional Romanian hug and feigned kiss on each cheek. This is not a show of affection in Romania. It is more a sign of respect. Just as kissing a woman's hand is a respectful greeting. "How have you been Tim?" he asked. "Just great. This is my friend James." I said with a quick wink. "Baiat etse frumose! (the boy is beautiful)" Vasile whispered. "Da, Foarte! Nu Maini! (Yes, very! Hand's Off!)" I replied in a whisper. "What are you guys saying?" James asked curiously. "Just exchanging pleasantries James." Vasile replied with a chuckle. "Shall we go?" Vasile led us through the side gate of the tarmac and to his waiting car. We cleared the security gate and were on our way. As we drove through the streets of town, I noticed that the streets were still filled with homeless ragamuffins begging money from anyone who would listen. "I see that nothing has changed around here." I stated. "Actually it has gotten much worst than the last time you were here Tim. Government leadership has changed but corruption and poverty are still the only ways of life around here. Just last month a thirteen year old boy was taken in by the police for stealing food. He was beaten and tortured by the police for two days before he died. They are investigating the police of course, but the usual will end up happening. Someone will buy someone off and nothing will be done about it." Vasile explained. "What is it they call the kids again? Oh yeah now I remember. Vagabonds!" I said angrily. "What?" James asked in shock. "Welcome to the 'former' Soviet Union James." Vasile replied. Vasile drove us to University Square and we walked down into the subway station beneath the city. James had a look of absolute shock on his face as we stood and gazed over a sea of homeless children begging for food and money. All of the children had nothing but rags for clothing and the boys only had shorts on. A few of the children had flip flops on which had been donated to them by local NGOs (Non Governmental Organizations). Every time one of the children passed by, our nostrils were assaulted with the foul stench of poverty. A young boy approached us and said "Do you have any change?". James looked up at me as he reached for his wallet. I gently shook my head 'no' and he looked at me with a puzzled look. "He wants money to buy drugs, James. It's the only thing they have to curb the hunger pains. There are better ways to help." I stated. "How old are you?" James asked the boy. "I am nine years old." the boy replied. "He's only nine, Tim. He could not possibly want money for drugs." James insisted. "James, you must trust me. I know how life works here. Do you see the silver around his lips?" I asked. "Yeah." James replied. "That is from a solvent the children buy cheap and huff in a plastic bag to get high. It's called Arolac." I explained. The boy picked up on the word 'Arolac' and protested. "No Arolac! Food!" he shouted. "We will take him across the street to McDonald's and feed him a big meal." I informed James. Once again the boy picked up on a single word. He grabbed James by the arm and said, "If you buy me a meal at McDonald's I will stay with you tonight and you can do it to me." "Do what to him?" James asked puzzled. "He is offering to sleep with you tonight and let you have anal sex with him if you buy him some food, James." Vasile replied. "He is only nine years old!" James said as he began to weep. "Easy James. That's just the way it is in here." I said, trying to settle James down a bit. "If someone takes him in for the night, he is at least safe from the dangers down in the sewer tunnels." I explained. "Sewer tunnels?" James asked. "It's were this children live." I informed him. "What is your name?" James asked the boy. "Viorel." he answered. "Would you and your friends like to go and have something to eat at McDonald's?" James asked. "You will do it to all of us?" Viorel asked. "No Viorel. I will not 'do it' to any of you. I just want to buy you a meal." James replied. "I don't understand. You don't want anything from me?" Viorel asked. "Yes. I want you to have a full tummy. So run and get your friends." James said with a broad smile. The boy took off like lightening and returned a minute later with a gang of twenty two young boys. "How old is he?" James asked as he pointed at the smallest boy. "He is six years old." Viorel answered. "A six year old boy would have anal sex so that he can eat? This is so unreal!" James exclaimed. "I am afraid it is all too real, James." I replied. We led the boys back up to street level and headed for McDonald's. When we walked into McDonald's, we were met by the manager before we could reach the counter. "We don't allow vagabonds in here." the manager stated. "Perhaps you could allow us to stay long enough for these boys to eat?" I asked as I handed the manager a hundred dollar bill. "Thirty minutes. No more!" the manager barked. We sat the boys down and bought each of them a large meal and a soda. James sat with Viorel as the boys ate and he looked so terribly sad. "I have seen that face before Tim." Vasile stated. "It's the face I saw on you during your first visit here. The boy has a good heart." "He has a very big heart Vasile. I just hope I am not overloading him with all the suffering here.' I replied. "It's an ugly world sometimes, Tim. It's best that he learns that while he is still young." Vasile stated. "I suppose so." I said sadly. When the boys finished eating, we said our goodbyes to them and headed down the street. "I want to see the tunnels." James said. "No James. That is not a place you really want to go. Nothing but pain, sorrow, and death exists down there." I replied. "Are you telling me I am not allowed to see it?" James asked. "No James. You have a right to do as you please. I am simply suggesting that you may want to skip that part of the tour." I answered. "I have to see it Tim. I can't explain why, I just have to." James said pleadingly. My mind raced back to my first visit to Romanian and the compulsion I felt to do the same thing. "Very well then James. We will take you there. But I warn you that your life will never be the same again. Once those images are burned into your mind, you will never be able to erase them from your memory." Vasile drove us out behind the city's steam plant and we parked the car. We made our way down a twisting path to the main entrance to the tunnel system which ran underneath the city. The tunnels housed the steam and sewer pipes that feed the city. They also housed the retched refuse. Romania's unwanted children. Vasile had provided each of us a flashlight and we slowly entered the tunnel system. As we descended deeper into the tunnels, James asked, "What is that horrible smell." I did not have the heart to tell him that he was smelling rotting human flesh. "It is a smell straight from the pits of hell, James." I replied. We passed through the narrow tunnels and in each maintenance cavity we found urine soaked mattresses and human feces littering the cement floor. The tunnels were crawling with roaches and you could hear the rats screeching as they scurried around their underground home. Suddenly, we were at the entrance to a large open chamber in the tunnel system. I had been here before and knew that it was the source of the smell that permeated the entire tunnel system. I stopped before we entered and told James that this place was known to the street children as Bou Bou's Cauldron. Bou Bou is a mysterious evil being that stalks the earth, according to Romanian legend. I informed him that human remains lay inside the chamber and I pleaded with him to end the tour of the tunnels now. "You don't understand Tim. I have to see it." he replied insistently. But I did understand. A compassionate heart can never know of the existence of pestilence and refuse to gaze upon it. I reached in my pocket and pulled out a handkerchief and wrapped it around James' face. It covered his mouth and nose. Vasile did the same to himself. I placed my arm over my nose and mouth to breath through the sleeve of my shirt as we stepped inside. There before us, was a floor covered in the human remains of the invisible children of Romania. They were laid to rest in a cesspool, far beneath the city streets. Most were just bones now but a few still had decaying flesh which the rats and roaches were feasting on. I watched James' face as he gazed around the room. Before long, the look of horror on his face gave way to unbridle fury. "The heart asks pleasure first, and then excuse from pain. And then those little anodynes, that deaden suffering. And then to go to sleep, and then if it should be. The will of its inquisitor, the liberty to die." James whispered solemnly. "What?" Vasile asked as he looked at me. "It's a poem by Emily Dickinson called 'The Heart Asks Pleasure First'" I explained as tears rolled down my cheeks. I placed my arm around James and led him out of the chamber. We made our way back through the tunnel system until we were outside once again. The heavily polluted air of Romania was suddenly a welcome intrusion on my senses. "Are you okay James?" I asked as he stood there in tears. "I will be fine Tim. Let's just go to the car." he answered. We walked back up to the car and then drove out to the orphanage. The building was an old soviet army barracks and it was surrounded with a ten feet tall cement wall. Metal crosses lined the top of the fence making a solid barrier around the entire length of the wall. A large steel gate with a cross engraved in it served as the entrance way. Vasile led us to the dinning hall and then assembled the boys so that we could speak with them. When the boys were all assembled, I began to explain our program on Jason's Haven to make sure that the boys were all willing to go there. All of the boys agreed to travel with us to Jason's Haven. I explained our travel plans to the boys and told them they had to be in bed very early tonight. We would be leaving for the airport at 4:20am. Vasile had his staff serve up dinner and we all sat together to eat. When we finished the meal, Vasile showed James and I where we would be sleeping. He had set up cots in the office for James and I. Vasile would sleep with the boys in the open dorm room. James and I went for a stroll around the neighborhood before calling it a day. We must have been propositioned a hundred times during our sixty minute stroll. "How come Allen is making such a big fuss about these kids being tested for aids?" James asked. "Before his execution in 1989, Nicolae Ceausescu ran this country with an iron fist. One of the last atrocities he committed was against Romania's unwanted children. He took a bribe from a large pharmaceutical company and allowed them to inject tens of thousands of children in the orphanages with the AIDS virus. They were experimenting with some new drugs and needed guinea pigs. Since no one cares about the kids in the orphanages here, the children would not be missed when they died." I explained. "So Allen is afraid these boys will bring the AIDS virus to the island." James concluded. "Yes James. And his fear is not entirely unfounded. So we will have to have them tested thoroughly before permitting them any sexual contact at all." I stated. "Haven't they been tested here?" he asked. "Yes they have. Regularly in fact. But we can not be too careful in this situation." I said as we walked back through the gate at the orphanage. We walked into the office and got ready for bed. "What's with all of the crosses around the fence and on the gate?" James asked. "Do you smell anything in here?" I queried. "Yeah. What is it?" he asked. "It's garlic. Strands of it guard every window." I explained. "But why?" he asked with an extremely puzzled look. "To ward off vampires." I stated. "To ward off 'what'?" James exclaimed. "Romanians believe in real vampires. They are typically members of your own family. After they die of course. The family will dig up the body and cut out the heart. They burn it and then mix the ashes with water. They drink the potion to protect themselves from the evil vampire spirit in their dead loved one." I said. "You are pulling my leg now, Tim!" he remarked. "I wish I were James. I really wish I were." I replied. "Can we go home now?" he asked. "In the morning, angel." I said lovingly. "Well the next time someone tells me to go to hell, I will tell them I have already been there." he said before rolling over to go to sleep. "Good night angel." I said softly. "Good night Tim." he replied. "Tomorrow will be a brighter day." I thought to myself. I rolled over on my side and drifted off to sleep. To be continued... The mass AIDS experiment that Tim tells James about in this chapter was a real-life event. Details can be viewed at http://www.christusrex.org/www2/comuni/aids-e.html if you can stomach it. The event was included in this story to bring attention to the high level of inhumanity we face in our world. Not the world of fiction mind you, but the REAL WORLD. Sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction. To learn more about Romania's horrific street children crisis, execute a google search on "Romania Street Children" and you will be enlightened.