Jacob’s Drift
They go by travelers, traveler punks, traveling kids, hobos, hobo-punks, crusties, crust punks, anarcho-punks, transient punks, punk nomads, road kids, gutter pirates, street punks, dirty kids, train hoppers, rail riders, and many other names that they’ve been called. Jacob preferred gutter punk. It suited him well, he would say. He would get up, eat cold beans, drink warm beer, and fly the sign, asking for spange. Spange is short for spare change. Jacob wasn’t a fan of stealing, but had in the past, when he was really hungry, or needed more beer. The same couldn’t be said for the people he was with now. They stole frequently, and as much as they could. Dogface was a big, burly, son of a bitch, who basically was protection for the rest of them. He was older, probably in his early thirties. Scumboy was the youngest. He ate and drank anything in front of his face, sometimes for survival, and other times just for attention. Then, there was Firefly. She was a spitfire of a girl, hence the name. Jacob was infatuated with her to say the least. Firefly was a petite, but stacked, little red head with dreads, and a shape that would bring most men to their knees. They met outside of Asheville, North Carolina, while waiting for a train car. Jacob thought that she didn’t stink like the rest. They both talked of their travels, horrible upbringings, and painful memories. It was the attention he needed at that time.
Jacob enjoyed the conversation with a girl, which he hadn’t had in quite some time. He didn’t want the train to stop. It did, and occasionally they would have to hide from the railroad police. They were headed to New Orleans, just in time for Mardi Gras. Some of Dogface’s friends were already down there as he knew from the ‘sign in’ outside of Asheville. ‘Sign ins’ are tagging of certain walls as communication between travelers. Jacob had never been to the Big Easy, as he was only a year into his travels. The other three had made the rounds a few times in years past.
“What’s New Orleans like?” asked Jacob. Dogface almost leaped out of his skin to respond, “It’s fucking amazing. There are so many of us there, especially this time of year. Beer runs like waterfalls, and leftovers for days, I tell you, days!” Scumboy had to speak up, “He’s right. Cold beer too.” Jacob longed to feel the sensation of a cold beer to his lips. Firefly barked, “Tell him how we get most of the beer. This waterfall of beer utopia, you speak of.” Scumboy with no hesitation said, “She shows her tits, and we get beer!” Jacob thought of this as a win-win. Not only would he get free beer, but also get a look at Firefly’s beautiful, bulging bumps, which were currently covered by a stained, white wife beater.
It was daybreak when the train arrived outside of New Orleans. There were no beans left, and all four shared the last beer. This was Jacob’s first train ride, so Dogface played big daddy, “When it starts to slow down, get ready. When we jump, you jump. Ok? And roll like we do.” Jacob thought, if Firefly was jumping, then he was jumping. He would follow that girl to hell, and ask for seconds.
The train slowed to a manageable speed and Dogface yelled, “JUMP!” They all jumped and rolled onto the dusty gravel. They made it unscathed for the most part. A few cuts and scratches are nothing to a traveler. Brushing himself off, Jacob thought, let’s get that free beer. They had a small walk to endure before the festivities would be enjoyed. Plus, they had to locate Dogface’s friends. They had been there for a few months to escape the brutal northern winters. The best places for shelter and food were already pinpointed by them. Firefly would provide the beer.
After a modest walk, they arrived at the French Quarter. They strolled Royal, turned on St. Peter, and saw a fellow kid half way in a garbage can with his feet straight up in the air. Dogface approached the can and asked about his friends through the opening at the top. The kid quickly emerged from the bottom of the can, half eaten Po’Boy in hand, and said, “Look, It’s still warm.” Dogface asked again, “Do you know where the Killhead Drunks are?” Different sects of travelers took names to separate themselves from other ‘sign ins’. The kid, with an almost reverent demeanor and tone said, “Oh yeah, I know where they hang. Follow me.”
They followed, weaving through thugs, drunks, and whores. Jacob, seeing all the glistening glasses of cold beer in the tourist’s hands, thought, Firefly needs to break those titties out. They got stares and heard whispers as they passed. Sometimes it wouldn’t be whispers. “Take a fucking bath!” an old, leather-skinned, drunk whore yelled. Dogface marched forward through the mass of flesh, said over his shoulder, “Ignore them. Keep moving.”
The kid ducked off between two shotgun houses and they followed close behind. He took a quick left and arrived at an abandoned house with boards on all of the windows and doors. The kid knocked twice then ran off into the night to find another trashcan. As they waited, Jacob gazed upon Firefly’s face in the streetlights and wanted nothing more than to taste those succulent lips. The board blocking the doorway started to slide to the right. “Dogface? Is that you motherfucker?” Dogface smiled, “Yep, it’s me motherfucker.” They embraced as if they were lovers. Dogface introduced Jacob, as the others were already familiar with one another. “Jacob, this is Bull. He is my bro from way back. We’ve been in the shit from Oregon to New York City.” Jacob could feel the unspoken alliance between the two, and after seeing them greet one another, wondered if they had fucked in the past.
Bull was a big one too, about the same age as Dogface. He had a shaved head, as Dogface’s was short, and unkempt. “Get in here. We have jambalaya, some bread, hell, even some fucking fried shrimp.”
“Any beer?” Jacob asked. “Don’t fucking spit on his offerings!” Dogface said foaming. Bull laughed, trying to reel in Dogface, said, “It’s cool man, it’s cool. All out of beer at the moment.” Scumboy with a mouth full of jambalaya, spat out half intelligible, “Let’s go get some fucking beer!” Firefly knew she would have to take advantage of tourists by showing her tits. It really wasn’t a big deal for her. She thought that it was funny that men would turn into puppy dogs with cash when in front of big, fat, whale-shaped tits. The tourist would try to give beads, but Firefly would insist on money or beer for her and the boys. Beer and cash would soon follow after her pale mounds of flesh with dime-sized nipples were exposed. Jacob, beer in hand, and tits in sight, thought about tasting more than her lips.
They all had their fill of beer and debauchery for the night and decided to pack it in. On the walk back, Scumboy busted out a car window and took some visible change from the console. When they reached the abandoned house that would be home for the time being, Dogface and Scumboy staggered inside. Firefly asked Jacob, “Will you stay out here with me for a bit?” Without hesitation, Jacob responded, “Of course I will.” The two of them sat on a broken set of concrete steps. “I hope you don’t look at me any different now,” said Firefly. Jacob almost blushing said, “Well, yeah, I see you a little different, but in a good way for sure.” Then Jacob moved a little closer, put his arm around her, and went in to kiss her. She quickly stood up, straight as a soldier, and walked over to a dilapidated wrought iron gate. “I’m sorry. It’s not that I don’t want to kiss you, but I’m fucked up Jacob. I’m damaged goods.” Jacob, now with an arm around her once more, said, “You are beautiful. We’ve all been through shit. I don’t judge or blame.” Jacob knew it must have been horrific by her closed off body language, but didn’t want to exacerbate the situation. He didn’t judge nor blame.
Firefly whispered, “I was raped.” Jacob squeezed her tighter. “By my uncles and stepfather years ago,” Jacob, unsure what to say, said, “I’m so sorry. At least you are out of there now. They can’t hurt you anymore.” Firefly turned, gave Jacob a small, quick kiss on his lips and said, “Come on, let’s get some sleep.” The look on Firefly’s face told Jacob that there was more to this horror story, but he knew it wasn’t the time nor the place. They moved the board back in front of the door, found a blanket, laid on the floor, and went to sleep in each other’s arms.
Jacob woke up numerous times throughout the night while the others slept soundly. The yells, gunshots, sirens, and thoughts of Firefly getting raped plagued him repeatedly. A few hours later, sunlight through small cracks in the wood woke him again. The rest were still asleep. Jacob sat up, grabbed a white styrofoam container beside him, and scooped in some cold jambalaya with his fingers. Everyone else eventually started to wake and move about.
It was a hot morning for early March as they headed out with cardboard in hand. Dogface, Bull, and Scumboy took one corner, while Jacob and Firefly took another. It was a rough life for sure, but sometimes freedom costs. They have avoided the typical trappings of society. No bills, no overbearing bosses or parents, and no social media. However, also at times, there was no food, no drink, no warm beds or showers, and no love. It was a sacrifice that many were willing to make, but Jacob, only a year in, battled with this dilemma constantly. As they sat collecting a few coins here and there, Jacob reflected on the hardships of his travels, and wondered if this life was truly for him. He turned, looked at Firefly, and thought that it was all worth it to have met this dirty angel. She turned, gave him a smile and said, “My ass hurts. Can you look at it for me? I’m sorry, but it hurts.” Jacob without hesitation pointed to an alley and said, “Sure, no problem. Right over there.”
In the alley, Firefly pulled her dirty cargo pants down mid-thigh and exposed a supple, pale, very round ass to Jacob. He said, “Yep you have a big ol’ bump. I’m gonna get it.” Jacob thought that this was the nicest ass he’d ever seen in spite of the huge, glowing red and yellow pustule. He squeezed the oozing matter out until only blood and clear fluid could be seen, wiped it off with his shirt, and said, “There, all done. Good as new.” He gave a little smack to Firefly’s rear just before the cargo pants concealed it once again. She gave him a light, but sensual kiss as a thank you. They went back to the corner, but Firefly decided to stand for a while.
It was late evening now. Bull, Dogface, and Scumboy met up with Jacob and Firefly to discuss and compare the day’s haul. Of course, Firefly was responsible for their total being much higher. They even had some one dollar bills, and a five spot swimming around in with the coins. Tourists, local cons, and whores started to mill about in droves. Scumboy said, “Get us some beer Firefly.” Jacob interjected, “We have enough here for beer. Let’s just buy some.” Firefly appreciated Jacob’s thoughtfulness, but said, “We can save that for food or something. I don’t mind. Honestly.” They headed for Bourbon Street, where beer would flow like Niagara.
Jacob stood on the corner drinking a beer and watching old drunks lust after Firefly as she continually exposed flesh. This had been fine with him before, but now he had a sense of shame associated with the act. One drunk got a little too close to Firefly and attempted to cop a feel. He ran his hand up her stomach and grazed the bottom of her tit. Before he could get a full squeeze in, Jacob was between them, and pushed the drunk back with fury. “Get the fuck out of here! Get on down the road, motherfucker,” Jacob said, with a hateful tone, through gritted teeth. The drunk just smiled, took a few more steps back, and wandered down the street to possibly molest another. Jacob spit at his departure in disgust.
It was now dark and the five returned to the uninhabited shack to rest. Once again, everyone staggered in laughing and cursing except for Jacob and Firefly. They took the same seat on the broken concrete steps and looked off into the night. Firefly pulled out a joint given to her by a tourist and said, “This is just for us.” She lit it and they smoked it down until it burned and stained their fingers. Jacob, sobered a little, but stoned by the weed asked, “Do you ever want a change?” Firefly took a long pause, breathed in the stale air with the stench of vomit, beer, and piss, and said, “This is pretty much all I know now, but sometimes I think change could be good. What are you thinking?” Jacob hadn’t thought about it, he just knew that he was now in love, and wanted to spend every waking moment with this girl. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to return to normal life, or continue on the drift. He did know, however, that whatever he did, he wanted Firefly beside him. Jacob looked at Firefly and began to speak, “I’m not quite sure.”
Then, through the smoky haze of the night, a medium-sized dog appeared. Its hair was matted and it was thin. Firefly called the dog over and began picking ticks from its skin. “He’s dirty like us,” said Firefly. “He just needs a little love, too.” Jacob went inside and retrieved some stale bread for the dog to eat. As the dog devoured the bread, Jacob looked at Firefly and said with a laugh, “Well, we ARE gutter punks. We need a dog. What should we call him?” Firefly looked up into the sky, then down at the dog again, and said with clarity, “Drifter.” Jacob loved the choice of name. They both continued plucking ticks from Drifter’s scarred skin until no more could be found.
The next morning, Bull, Dogface, and Scumboy woke to the sight of an empty floor where Jacob and Firefly had been sleeping the previous night. “They’re gone. Where do you think they went?” Scumboy asked without true concern. Bull kind of shrugged and said, “They may be out getting some food or something.” A grin appeared on Dogface as he said, “Nope. They’re gone. Continuing their drift.”
As Jacob, Firefly, and Drifter sat in the back of a pick-up truck headed west, the two of them could only smile at one another. They weren’t sure what was ahead of them in this life, but one thing was for sure, they were together. The three of them found the love they had been desperately searching for this whole time. Firefly put a leg across Jacob’s lap, with wind blowing dust from her dreads, said, “Julie. My name is Julie.”
Horror Sleaze Trash 