In the concrete riverbed, our team passes out clean works. People surround me, weaving on their feet, then shuffling off to shoot up. A young man, pockmarked skin hanging on bone, shoots up, his eyes roll back to whites; he stops breathing. We try CPR. “Don’t bother. He OD’d twice yesterday,” his friend explains. We keep trying, finally stopping minutes after his spirit leaves his body. In the van, we sit stunned, silent for a minute. “Fuck!” I yell. Then we drive off, headed for the next camp. I ask, “Why do this?” Thinking, there must be a better way.
JD Clapp is a social scientist based in San Diego, California. In addition to academic writing, he writes short form fiction and creative non-fiction. www.jdclappwrites.com X: @jdclappwrites