The Hall Speaks #fallsemester

Coming Out

#Sage

"Sage." The name slithered out of the man's mouth, his brash voice different from the other nightmarish one Sage heard the first time.

Sage didn't move—he couldn't move.

The man pulled up his shirt ever so slightly, just enough so that Sage could see the handle of the gun he had tucked into his pants. "Let's take a walk," the man asserted. His mask completely threw Sage off; while it was a smiling face, it wasn't pleasant.

Two female students off in the distance glanced over suspiciously. Their eyes caught Sage's fear-stricken gaze.

The man in the mask looked over his shoulder to see the distraction. "He's just pledging, no worries ladies," he yelled across the parking lot.

The girls looked at Sage and he nodded once, hoping the girls would just continue walking. He didn't want anyone else to get involved. The girls got into their blue Chevy and drove off.

"Move it punk!" forced the man, his voice as steady as a single note.

Next to the parking lot was a stretch of woodlands, the barrier between campus and the residential area behind Corbin Hall. It was just a few feet from where Sage and the man had been standing. The man led Sage into the darkness only found in the woods at night, a darkness the moonlight couldn't penetrate.

Standing there, facing the man in the mask, Sage felt his heart pounding uncontrollably, so loud he could hear it throbbing in his head. "Look dude, what do you want? I don't have anything," pleaded Sage, his voice rising over the last few words.

"Shut up," said the man, his voice laced with irritation. "I'm the only one who gets to talk. You better believe we're going to get everything back you owe us," he threatened. He cocked his head to the side. "Take off your clothes."

Sage felt stiff, unsure if this was going to be a different kind of assault. He shook his head, truly pleading now.

"Do it man. I don't have all night, so hurry up!"

A lump formed in Sage's throat, making it impossible to swallow. He complied, taking one piece of clothing off at a time, stripping down to nothing. The cold night air felt like little stings all over his naked body. He would have gladly accepted the piercing nettles over this.

The man punched him in the stomach, then jabbed his face once, then again. Powerless, Sage tried to take in some of the night air that had been violently knocked out of him. The pain lingered and intensified with each blow. Sage fell to the rocky ground. He laid there in a fetal position, cold and shaking, the taste of blood forming in his mouth. He could only hear the sound of leaves crunching under the man's feet as he reached down and grabbed all of Sage's belongings. The man took Sage's cell phone, his wallet and all of his clothes and took off into the night, leaving Sage laying there with nothing. His pride was the most sacred thing stolen that night.

After a few moments, Sage rolled up to his feet, his body burning where he'd been struck. For a second he pondered his reaction to the assault. He wasn't as shaken this time... just pissed. He hated himself for not fighting back—he could have reached for the gun. He knew that guy could hardly see with that mask on with just slits for eyes.

Desperately, looking around for something to cover his nakedness, Sage came upon a cardboard pizza box in the woods. He figured it was better than nothing. He couldn't show up in Corbin Hall like this, especially with Alana on duty. He couldn't face her; she already suspected something. He knew the story about falling off his motorcycle wouldn't fly this time.

As he stumbled out of the woods, he hoped that no one he knew would see him. But he knew he had to risk some embarrassment to save himself from the worst humiliation: his residents seeing him beaten and naked. Sage saw a female student walking up the brick pathway beside the woods and stepped out to catch up to her.