Chapter 72: Darkness on the Edge of Town

The semester started wonderfully. They planned to take as much of their free time as they could nailing down those compulsories. Warren had turned 18 during Nationals, which led to lots of jokes from Sophia about "being relieved that she wasn't committing statutory rape on poor innocent Warren anymore." They were together, and were happy. School was going to be tough again, but they had better learned how to deal with that. They had their friends, and all the recognition they were getting was a kick.

One night, just a few days after school had started, Warren was walking across campus late at night. Sophia had a pile of work to do, so Warren had gone to get some food. He was headed back to the dorm, walking through a part of campus usually mostly deserted at night.

Four kids were walking in the other direction.

"Hey, you're that figure skater!"

"Yeah, I am," Warren smiled.

"Aren't all figure skaters fags?"

"No. Some are, but not all." Warren said.

"I've heard all figure skaters are fags," another one said. "And all of them with girlfriends and shit, that's just a smokescreen."

"Nah. Believe me, my girlfriend is not a smokescreen."

"Yeah, right. You're all fags. You are a fag."

"Believe what you want," Warren said, not wanting to get into it. "Can I get by, please?"

"I don't think so." They moved in closer to him. "Y'see, we've decided you're a fag. And you know what we do to fags?"

"Yeah, what Reverend Watson says we should do to fags?"

Oh shit, Warren thought, they're followers of that gay-bashing scumbag. I think I'm in a heap of trouble.

He never saw the first punch until it was connecting with his eye.

The four kids weakened him up with a couple of punches, then dragged him out of sight, behind one of the buildings. Then they started punching and kicking in earnest. One of them twisted his left wrist until he heard the bones crack. He took a couple kicks in the knee. His face and torso were battered. Waves of pain washed over him. He screamed until he didn't have the energy to scream. He tasted blood, and saw it in his eyes.

Then, one of them said. "You know what we ought to do to this fag? Treat him like a fag!" The next thing Warren knew, his pants were being pulled down. Then, he felt himself being held up by two of the kids, while a third stood behind him. He felt pressure, and then a searing pain, in his anus.

At that moment, he mercifully passed out.

Somehow, he managed to come to some time later, just barely. He was alone, on the grass. His legs weren't working properly. His left wrist was useless. He was having trouble breathing. He couldn't see past his swollen eyes very well. And there was blood everywhere.

He was in big trouble. He managed to remain coherent enough to dig into his pocket for his cell phone. It was cracked, but still worked. He took his good hand and hit Sophia's speed dial number.

"Hello," she said.

"Behind Thompson hall. Send help. Ambulance. Hurry!" he managed to squeak out. Then the line went dead.

Sophia, sick with fear, dialed 911. Then she threw on a coat, and with Elise in tow, headed to Thompson Hall. She arrived first, and ran behind the building to find Warren unconscious, badly beaten, in a pool of blood.

"WARREN!!!" she howled, and ran down to hug him. Elise came alongside. "Sophie, move. I'm pre-med, I know first aid." She grabbed his hand. "He's got a pulse. His breathing sucks, though. Damn, where is that ambulance? He's lost a ton of blood." Just then the paramedics ran up and took over.

It was the next morning before they let Sophia in to see him.

"Are you family?" asked the doctor.

"I'm his girlfriend, I'm the closest thing. Our families are in Massachusetts. How is he?"

"Concussion, broken cheek, multiple facial bruises, broken ribs, broken left wrist, one of his lungs collapsed, and his rectum is a mess. Plus both of his knees are bruised and sprained."

"Oh my God."

"He took a vicious beating."

"Yeah, and from who?" said a voice from behind her. "Hi, I'm Officer Gorman, Madison PD."

"I'm Sophia Daniels, I'm his girlfriend. And his ice skating partner."

"Oh, yeah, you guys are those ice dancers, right?"

"Yeah," she said sadly.

"Sophia," the cop asked, "do you know anyone who would want to do this to Warren?"

"No. Warren's well liked, he really is. If he has any enemies, I don't know about them."

"Pookie?" a voice croaked from behind them.

Sophia turned. "Oh, Snugglebear, you're awake!"

"Barely. God, do I hurt."

"Warren? Can you talk? Officer Gorman, Madison PD. Who did this to you?"

"Four guys. Don't know if they were students, but they were that age. Said they were followers of that asshole preacher, Watson."

"Did you know them? Do you know why they did this to you?"

Warren tried to snort, which was hard with a respirator tube in his nose. "Oh, it was your routine gay-bashing, leaving aside for a moment the little detail that I'm not gay. They said that I must be, because I was a figure skater. I tried to get out of there, after the verbal abuse, but they blocked me, then started punching." He took a breath. "Dragged me behind the building and went to town."

"Lovely. Could you identify them?"

"I think so."

"Good. This ought to be a lovely set of charges. Assault, hate crime, this might even be severe enough for attempted murder."

"No doubt in my mind," said the Doctor. "Warren, if you didn't carry a cel phone, you would have bled to death. Oh, and, Officer, don't forget rape."

"What?" said Warren.

"Rape?" said the officer.

"Yeah," the Doctor said. "Warren, you were anally raped."

Sophia recoiled in horror at that. Warren just went ghost-white.

The Madison PD held a press conference. Word spread like wildfire after that, especially amongst the close-knit skating community, which reacted with horror, shock, and fear.