Divine Redemption by Rebecca Rose

He wasn’t going to make it. Something inside his stomach turned as his revolting actions took on a new light. He raced around the corner, his long legs carrying him fast. The soles of his shoes, worn smooth, caused him to slip and come down hard, elbow to pavement. He swore ruthlessly as he swiftly got to his feet to sprint toward the alleyway. His heart was beating frantically. Sweat beaded and rolled down his neck to his waistband. Hurry! the beast inside his mind kept screaming at him. Hurry, you’re not going to make it!

Coming to a sudden stop, Cam fixed his long, bleach-streaked hair and brushed off his shorts to look the part of a nonchalant passerby. He counted to ten to compose himself to look like a man out for a relaxing afternoon. Fixing a smile on his face he walked effortlessly around the last corner. Cam’s objective was right where they said he’d be. The beast in Cam’s mind shouted at him to move. Time was money and he needed this job done. Then his target turned and waved a friendly hello. Cam returned it while trying not to look shocked at who it was.

From inside his conscience, Cam’s guardian voice pleaded with him to think twice about what he was about to do, for this man was the only one who’d ever treated him like a human being. The protective voice became louder, drowning out the evil beast that so many times had led him the wrong way. The virtuous tone told him to smarten up and that this man was his way out. His ticket to a better life where whores wouldn’t be hanging outside his bedroom window trying to turn a trick so they could eat the next day. The cockroaches that scurried across his floor whenever he turned on the lights would be gone as well. The dingy stench in the hallways of trash, filth and the homeless who snoozed there wouldn’t turn his stomach anymore. There would be none of this. No more stealing, or living constantly on guard. And being paid to do despicable things, like what he was about to do right now, would become a distant memory over time.

Cam watched the gentleman in the expensive tailored suit–which he guessed was worth more than he’d make in an entire year–walk across the street with the confidence only money could bring. He was a tall, hefty man, maybe six feet four by Cam’s estimate. His white beard was full and well trimmed. Cam hated people like this man. The beast in him made sure of it. The luck they had, the homes they lived in, the snobby selfish way they always looked down at him made his stomach turn. But his guardian kept shouting how this guy was different. How he wasn’t treating Cam like the rest of those rich jerks did. Cam’s inner battle raged on. The beast yelled at him, All are liars! The other pleaded with him to trust.

The man was ten feet away when Cam’s breath changed to a deep pull, his lungs burning from the increase of oxygen. Adrenaline exploded. His body lunged forward. Words, loud and incoherent, burst from his mouth.

* * * *

Daniel stood shocked at the unexplained chaos happening in front of him. Slow reflexes caused him to hit the ground hard when Cam’s body charged and covered him.

“Boy! What the hell are you doing?” Daniel turned his head and saw two men running away from the building in front of him. “For Lord’s sake, boy! Get your ass off of me!” Daniel pushed with both hands and rolled Cam over. The smell hit him first. Metallic. Shock, disbelief, and the sticky blood on his own hands caused Daniel to shake his head vigorously for comprehension.

He heard Cam gurgling liquid.

“Oh Jesus!” Daniel looked around him for help. “Call nine-one-one! Call nine-one-one! Cam.” On his hands and knees Daniel quietly talked to the man who just saved his life. “Cam! Open your eyes!”

Cam did as he was told.

“Now you listen to me. We’re going to the hospital and getting you fixed up. And whether you like it or not, you’re coming back with me.”

Cam nodded.

“Don’t you slip on me! I need your full attention, boy!”

“Why’s it cold?” Cam turned his head and faced the man whose life he’d just saved. “You?”

“Fool.” Daniel didn’t bother wiping the tears from his face. “What the hell were you thinking? Stop talking.” He looked toward the sound of sirens. “Okay. Here they come.”

“Mister…Allen…”

“If you don’t stop talking I will shut you up.”

When Cam gave a chuckle, pain visually streaked through his body. “Oh, God.”

“Stop moving!” Daniel pinned him when he tried to roll.

“Stop–” Cam sucked in a breath. “–yelling at me. I need to tell you…”

“Cam.” Daniel’s voice was calm while he pleaded with his eyes. “You did the right thing here, boy. You had nothing to gain and everything to lose. I’m proud of you.”

“But…” Blood oozed out of Cam’s nose and mouth. “I’m…sorry.”

Daniel watched in horror as Cam’s body went lifeless. He stared at the young man he’d only known for a short time. He saw himself in Cam–wild, reckless, and looking for a place to belong.

There was a rush of people in uniforms, a stretcher, and Daniel was pulled away from Cam.

He had no choice but to watch as EMTs worked to bring Cam’s life back. One man straddled over him, pumping on his chest as the gurney was wheeled into the ambulance. Daniel’s eyes grew large, his mind blanked, and his body tensed when he heard the ambulance doors slam shut.

* * * *

Groggy and confused, Cam felt pain sear through him like a dull knife cutting out his gut. Cam tried to open his eyes but the lids were so heavy they hurt. His brain registered a rhythmic  beeping. It soothed him like a lullaby did a child.

“Cam, Cam? Can you hear me?”

The voice was familiar. The deep brogue of New England registered and Cam turned his head to it.

“Now don’t do something stupid and try to get up. You’re in the hospital. You gave us quite a scare.”

Cam opened his foggy eyes. When he was able to focus on Daniel’s face, he summed up the effort to smile.

“That a boy! Go back to sleep and we’ll talk later.”

Cam did as he was told. A deep, medically induced sleep came quickly.

His dreams were fuzzy at best. But what he did see was the memory of a well-dressed man he didn’t know gave him a cocky wink. The radio switched tunes and Peter Gabriel’s Solsbury Hill came on to sing about defining moments in life and changing a person’s path.

He moved restlessly in his bed, pain screeching through his body, interrupting his dreams.

Fever, infection, and the gunshot to the gut caused perspiration to bead on his forehead and soak his sheets. Cam’s body relaxed as the nurse gave him another shot of morphine. His mind drifted back and played out the days prior.

* * * *

Daniel stirred in his chair beside Cam. He was dreaming of a boy who was officially dead for five minutes. The boy who saved his life. Now Daniel was determined to save Cam’s. With a second chance only he could give him.