Dead and Forsaken

by West, J. D.

  “I think he’s OK now!” said the nurse. “We’ll be fine. You guys can wait outside.”

  The other officers went back to their posts while I stood by. Soon the drugs began to kick in and he stopped struggling. Once he was asleep they dressed his bite and scratch wounds. The doctor decided to leave him strapped down until further assessment. Everything was okay so I left.

  CHAPTER 3:

  Trouble at the Border

  The sunrise broke over a deserted stretch of Interstate 10 just between Eloy and Red Rock in southern Arizona. A highway patrol officer traveled through the barren terrain looking for a missing tow truck and its driver. There were no other cars in sight. The tow truck company had been trying to reach the driver by radio and cell phone for almost twelve hours. The officer spotted a pair of skid marks after a couple of minutes. It appeared that something must have been out in the road and caused a vehicle to swerve. The tow truck had been pulled over onto the right shoulder of the highway. He also spotted a disabled Dodge Caravan in front of the tow truck. The officer drove past the two vehicles then made a U-turn. He radioed his location to the dispatcher before pulling behind the two vehicles with his flashers on. The officer told dispatch that he didn't see anyone and was going to take a closer look. As he exited his air conditioned car it was already getting hot. In a few hours it would be sweltering. The tow truck driver's door was wide open but the cab was empty. The trucks head lights were still on but the officer couldn’t see anyone in the van. It looked like the driver hit something before losing control.

  The front passenger side of the van was in a patch of cactus. The tire was in a ditch. The Dodge's windshield was smashed and covered in dark stains. Hair and what looked like skin was embedded in the vans grill. The vehicles bumper had buckled in the same spot. The right front side of the hood was crumpled inward. The indentation was massive. One of the headlights was broken but the lamp was still inside. Glass from the driver's side window covered the van's floor. Something busted a hole through the window. The officer saw the van's side door open so he went around to the passenger's side. The dirt on the ground was disturbed indicated that there had been some sort of struggle.

  As he moved closer he spotted the decomposing remains of a woman lying in the sand. Her torso was mutilated and picked clean. Next to her was the partially eaten corpse of the tow truck driver. His face was unrecognizable. Luckily he still had on the company’s hat and overalls. His lower body including his feet, legs, and genitals had been eaten by some sort of wild animal. The officer choked back vomit as he walked back to his patrol car to call for back up and an ambulance. A wave of panic had come over him. When he reached the passenger side door he leaned in and grabbed the microphone to his radio. Right before he could key the microphone someone grabbed him from behind.

  “GROOOWWWL!”

  Seconds later he felt something bite down and pierce his neck.

  “GNAAAW!”

  The pain was unbearable as his blood squirted out and splashed on the patrol car's roof and windshield. He fought to get free but was bit a second time on his shoulder.

  “GNAAAW!”

  He tried to use the microphone to call for help but on the other end all the dispatcher heard was his labored breathing and a gurgling sound.

  “Uggh!”

  Suddenly the microphone went silent. That was two days ago.

  ******

  About the same time I started walking around Border patrol agents found something similar just south of Phoenix in an unguarded stretch of desert. It was easy to separate the dead from the living because no one was left alive. So far the remains of at least 20 people were found but the death toll could rise as more bodies are recovered. Several vultures circled overhead attracted by death. The gruesome scene included the remains of men, women, and children. Some were found in the brush while others were laid out in the open. Equally surprising agents also recovered an undisclosed amount of drugs. They discovered remains up to a mile away from original coyote campsite. The patrol found various body parts spread out over a large area of the waterless no man’s land. They also recovered several assault rifles, semi-automatic pistols and shotguns. The crime scene investigators said the evidence was suspicious and concerning. Forensics team members believed the bodies had been fed on by a pack of wild animals.

  As they followed a single set of footprints leading away from the site it appeared the person was running. Dry droplets in the sand indicated the person was injured. After rounding a bend in a rock formation the tracks showed the person was no longer running and had started walking. With every step the victim took cast off blood droplets became larger. A short distance later the evidence showed that the walk had become a sporadic stumble. So much blood had fallen on the ground they expected to find a body not a witness. Several feet away the patrol discovered the place where the victim finally collapsed. The only thing around was a couple bushes and a few sparse patches of grass. A human sized imprint had formed in a rare stretch of soft sand and gravel. A stream of crimson fluid created a highlighted outline. Incredibly after losing so much blood the victim had the strength to get back up. The tracks leading away began as a clumsy crawl before becoming a drunken stumble. Neither the victim nor his remains was ever recovered.

  Last month several U.S. Government officials reported a record number of deportations and violent incidents along the border with Mexico. The Mexicans were sensitive about negative stories around its handling of the drug cartels. Every year smugglers managed to transport billions of dollars in illegal products across the US and Mexico border. That included drugs, guns and immigrants. Millions of U.S. citizens cross the border to visit Mexico every year for tourism and business. Homeland security was advising all U.S. residents to avoid traveling across the border. Less than a week ago two thousand soldiers from the Mexican army were deployed to several communities on their side of the border. The increased activity was picked up by one of our satellites. The Mexicans told everyone they had to put down a couple of local riots started by the drug cartels. Our military used an unmanned reconnaissance drone to see if it could pick up any armed engagements or rioting. After a closer look by the unmanned drone the CIA discovered that the Mexicans were digging several large craters using back hoes and large hydraulic excavators.

  According to the evidence they gathered the excavation sites were mass graves. The graves were filled with thousands of Mexicans who were shot or decapitated. Details about the sketchy operation were hidden. The information was kept out of the news until Washington got more evidence. The State department was worried about Americans being caught up in the violence or prevented from leaving the region. They needed to know if there was a potential threat to the United States. What they didn’t know at the time was that a strange sickness was spreading across the U.S. – Mexican border region. Mexican officials had not publicized it but the northern half of the country was under a government ordered quarantine. The Mexican government’s negligence and effort to hide its problems had already caused damage. Border Patrol reported an increase of hundreds of Mexicans fleeing their homeland to America.

  Until recently the flow of immigrants had slowed down because of the weaker U.S. economy and tighter security. The fear was that whatever was going on could cross the border and engulf Arizona or other border states. The President was prepared to send several thousand troops to the border if necessary. The United States was already involved in two wars over seas and dealing with several volatile countries in the Middle East. We didn't need any trouble in our own backyard. The inhospitable border was already lined with high tech monitors, sensors and heat seeking cameras. The National Guard troops would help with surveillance and fill in the gaps in the fence network. The move came after several years of pressure from the states along the border. They have been asking for help to st
op illegal immigration and drug trafficking. A lot of the illegal immigration was caused after a change in policy that limited the number of work visa’s given out. The President needed evidence so he could react accordingly. He didn’t want it to appear like America was acting like a bully but now they had proof something was going on. A short time later a search and rescue helicopter from Tucson spotted a van in the desert. They also found several Spanish speaking illegal immigrants. The members of the group were all bloody and dehydrated from spending time in the scorching desert heat. Juan Jimenez one of the rescued immigrants could also speak English so he was questioned by ICE agents. He was scared but agreed to tell agents what happened to him in the desert.

  ******

  “Coyotes are both heroes and unscrupulous criminals to us illegal immigrants.” explained Juan.

  “To be successful at their job they had to be violent and menacing to keep people from talking.

  It's a lucrative business for the gangs and cartels. Some of these organizations are multilayered and very sophisticated. We had a large group of people from cash strapped small towns and villages throughout Latin America. All of us wanted to fulfill our dreams in America. We wanted to earn money so we could live a better life. We were teenagers or young adults who had never been more than twenty miles from where we were born. We risked everything hoping to find a job in the service industry or as a laborer. We were expected to work as many hours as we could in order to send our wages back home to help our families. A dozen or so armed human traffickers watched over us while they prepared for the trip. They took us out to a remote area on the Mexican side of the boarder.

  We were isolated from the outside world. All of us were kept in an empty warehouse with no furniture or working plumbing. We slept on makeshift beds made out of cardboard staked on the floor. The warehouse was falling apart and full of rats. For most of us being surrounded by trash and junk was no different than the poverty stricken conditions we were trying to escape. Many of the local Mexican police officials knew about their operation. It was easier for them to line their pockets with cash rather than apprehend the smugglers. They looked the other way in order to collect the large bribes the coyotes coughed up. These men had been doing this for a while. The smugglers were skilled at surviving the harsh climate and navigating the dangerous desert corridor. It was a risky job and had a certain element of danger. They split us up into three groups of people with four smugglers escorting us. This would help us get through a more porous but rugged section of the border. They hardest part was getting past the occasional patrols. The coyotes would meet back up on the other side of the fence once the coast was clear. They told us it would be a three day walk to their camp. The leader chose men like me and my brother who were muscular and in good shape. We were forced to carry large forty pound burlap sacks filled with marijuana on our backs. Drugs were another way for the gang to earn money. In no time at all we had navigated a narrow path along the fence line and went up down embankment. After breaching the fence we climbed up a steep ravine into the United States. We walked for several hours in a single file line through rough terrain in order to evade detection. The coyotes frequently change directions and led the way through the darkness.

  Once we got on this side of the border the smugglers attitude changed. They were no longer that understanding. Some of the women and children were overheated but we did not stop. They didn't let us take a lot of breaks or drink fluids either. The plan was to hide during the day and walk all night. It was colder at night in the desert but still in the triple digits. We were going to rendezvous with the rest of the group once we got closer to Tucson. From there we would travel to Phoenix in stolen unmarked vehicles. Along the way we came across wild pigs, lizards, and snakes everywhere we traveled. One night I saw a dog following us but then I saw its pointy ears. The smuggler leading our group said that a pack of real coyotes was following us so everyone needed to stay close. Later on that night when we stopped to camp we heard them singing to each other. A few hours later we heard them again but it sounded like they were fighting. The next morning we found five of their dead carcasses. Buzzards circled overhead. They had been hastily skinned and eaten by some other animal. The bodies of the coyotes had claw like marks on them and were stripped of their meat and organs. Rotted meat was tangle in their fangs. Others had bald patches from their fur being ripped out at the root. The footprints in the sand around them looked human not animal. Some of the immigrants were really spooked.

  Our smuggler didn't let us waste any time thinking about it because we needed to meet up with the others. We gathered up our bags and drug bundles and left. We had each paid one to three thousand dollars for fake ID's and social security numbers along with transportation. When we got to the remote campsite they stole the rest of our money and valuables after we had already paid them for our passage to America. We were reluctant to resist the extortion and the worst was yet to come. The more depraved men in the coyote gang forced themselves on some of the young women. A number of them were warned that they would never make it out the desert alive otherwise. We thought about running but guards were posted around the camp. Family members that tried to help the victims were beaten. Another man was just simply shot execution style. After that no one else resisted and nobody was safe from those perverts. Those monsters made the girls have sex with men sometimes twice their age. If they were lucky it was only a blow job but most of the time it was in the pussy or up the ass. These rapes were not just sexual. They were used as payments for people who couldn’t raise the full amount of money required for transport. Many of the unwilling girls had their underwear torn from their bodies. The sweaty strangers climbed on top of them and did their business right out in the open only a few feet away. With every scream and whimper we could feel their pain. They screamed and screamed trying to fend them off. A chorus of several voices echoed through the remote canyon. The coyotes held their arms down and told them to shut the fuck up. The rest of the smugglers were yelling like wild men or laughing. They were so jovial that you would have thought you were at a wedding or quinceanera. Their intoxicated friends cheered and rooted them on chanting fuck that bitch! The women laid there lifeless in disbelief. It was impossible to push the stronger men off them. A beautiful girl with blonde highlights tried to kick her attacker in the balls but missed.

  “Don’t touch me!” she yelled before slapping his face in desperation.

  “Don’t act like that!” he snarled as he tried to kiss her. “You know you want it!”

  She used her fists to pound on the chest of the larger man. He laughed at her feeble attempts to get away before grabbing her by the throat and forcing himself upon her. Her actions earned her a beating that knocked her teeth out and broke some ribs. A short thick girl with large breasts was slapped by her attacker for using teeth while giving a blow job and lying motionless during sex. It went on and on until they all had been raped repeatedly. It was hard to say precisely how long it lasted. They barely gave them time to rest. The coyote leader was a short fat bearded man. He watched silently smoking a cigar and looking like a proud parent. Afterward many of the victims were shaking and sobbing. Besides the tears we could still see lingering signs of their struggle. The bruises and torn cloths gave it all away. The whole event was dehumanizing.

  The shock of what took place was written all over the girls expressionless faces. Innocence was replaced by a blank stare. As the victims emerged half naked bystanders tried to comfort them and offered first aide. My brother and I both sat silently with our heads hung in shame. It was surreal and hard to endure but we had no choice. When they were done the rapists hung their victims discarded bras and panties on a nearby tree limb. It was already decorated from the belongings of their past female conquests. These rape trophies were displayed to show off the gang’s masculinity and power.
Degrading the women made them feel like men. The majority of these types of attacks went unreported to American authorities because of the shame it brought and their illegal immigration status. The victims didn’t want to be deported by ICE and sent back to Mexico.

  The coyotes were preparing to move all of us immigrants to a drop house in south Phoenix. They told us to pack our stuff up to leave. We were all huddle together in groups about to load into the vans when they told us to be quiet. The coyote leader heard gunshots coming from one of his look out positions.

  “POP! POP! POP!”

  “Get out there and see what the fuck that was!” he ordered.

  A group of his men grabbed their guns and walked into the desert. The other coyotes put the campfires out. A couple of minutes later we heard more gunshots and screaming.

  “POP! POP!”

  Someone was in agonizing pain.

  “Yowl!”

  Not knowing the source of the sound stirred up feelings of panic as they got closer. We could not see anything but could tell someone was out there. The other men wanted to go in after them. At that point the rest of us stood there completely helpless.

  “Don’t be so impatient to run off halfcocked!” the leader ordered. “We don't know who's out there! I can’t see shit! It could be …!”

  He was stopped mid-sentence when one of his men ran back out of the desert holding his neck a few seconds later. His hands gripped his throat as blood flowed like a faucet through his fingers. It looked like he was trying to talk. His face was pale and he looked like he had seen a ghost. He stumbled closer and I could make out what he was trying to say.

  “Run. They are coming.” One of the van drivers got out of his pick up and slowly started walking toward his friend taking careful steps. He couldn’t help but notice his friend’s eerie behavior.