Chapter 18 #2
Then again, that will be her choice to make.
Hazel is a strong woman and doesn’t put up with shit, but she’s also compassionate and willing to help people, so they don’t destroy their lives.
My mother is the only other woman I’ve known who has endured beatings, but she was weak and stuck around to have it happen to her repeatedly.
She never stood up for herself or her children when my father was going through one of his drunken rampages.
Seeing the belt marks on Hazel’s back reminded me of the times I couldn’t protect my sister from my father’s rage.
There was nothing I could do as a child, but I’m a grown man now.
I made a promise to myself that as long as I’m around, Hazel will never have to suffer through that again.
I intend to keep that promise, even if it means standing up against Phil and Cash.
The car slows almost to a stop, and then makes a sharp turn. There’s a dip before the car levels out and continues on. It’s a smoother ride, and I no longer hear the gravel beneath the tires. We round a sharp curve, and then Dustin puts the car into park and sighs.
“We’re almost there, just a few more minutes. The rest of the trip is on a four-wheeler.”
“Finally,” I joke with him. “Can I take this blindfold off now?”
“You’re not supposed to, but it’ll make it easier to load up the four-wheeler. Take it off.” Dustin climbs out of the car and shuts the door.
I pull it off my head and squint in the sunlight, allowing them to adjust. I step out of the car and study my surroundings.
We’re parked at the end of a dirt lane. Trees line the beginning of the trail, and along the road, blocking the huge field from view.
I assume this was once well-maintained land, but now it’s an overgrown thicket, with young saplings popping up throughout the field.
In the distance, there are oil wells partially covered in the growth.
I don’t know if it’s Deja Vu or not, but I swear I’ve been here before.
An engine starts, and I turn toward the sound.
Dustin zooms out of the woods like he’s in the middle of a race.
He comes to a stop by the trunk of the car with a grin on his face and shuts it off.
I join him after he climbs off the four-wheeler and opens the trunk of the car.
Two unmarked jugs filled with a yellowish liquid rest inside.
“Will you grab the two bags of food in the backseat while I strap these down?”
“Sure.”
Once I get them, we climb on the four-wheeler and begin the final leg of our journey.
He takes off through the trees he came out of, and I have to clutch the bags to make sure I don’t drop them.
It’s a short trail that opens into another field, just as overgrown as the first, but this one has a trail leading to wherever we’re going.
Within a couple of minutes, a tiny, metal shed near an oil well comes into view.
Dustin slows as we approach it and stops next to the rusted structure.
“This is it?” I ask incredulously. “It looks like a large outhouse.”
Dustin chuckles as he unstraps the jugs. “You’ll see. Come on. We’ve got lots of work to do.”
He unlocks the door, and it creaks as he opens it.
A set of stairs leads down to a curtain, but I can’t see what lies beyond it.
He gestures for me to enter, and I take a few steps down, but turn and wait for him while he locks the door.
Once he does, I continue to the bottom and push the curtain aside.
This place is bigger than I thought it would be.
It also stinks of chemicals. Not strong enough to make you sick, but strong enough to notice them.
Moving out of the way, Dustin passes me and goes straight to a table that reminds me a chemistry classroom.
He says something to the man who has his back turned, and when he spins around to respond, I know it’s Joseph.
Cash showed me pictures of him, to remind me of what he looks like.
The night they took Hazel, I didn’t get a good look at his face. It was too dark.
I take in Phil’s little hideout, and I’m actually pretty surprised. I figured he would be in some rundown building closer to town. He’s resourceful; I’ll give him that. I wonder how he found this place. Glancing around, I don’t see anyone else and worry that Hazel isn’t here after all.
“Where should I put these?” I ask Dustin.
He points to a counter, and I set the bags down on it. I open the few cabinets hanging above it and find other food items, so I unpack the bags and put everything away, all while watching Dustin and Joseph out of the corner of my eye.
Noise comes from behind one of the curtains on the far side of the room.
Joseph’s flaring nostrils have my arm freezing in midair as I put away the food.
He’s obviously pissed off about something.
I want to go over and see who and what is inside, but I know I can’t.
I assured Cash that I could shut off my emotions.
“Where’s Phil?” I ask as I join them.
Joseph huffs and returns to his work. Dustin sighs and points to the curtain.
“Bobby, this is Joseph. Joseph, Bobby. Now that introductions are out of the way, I’m gonna go wake-up Samuel. Joseph will be teaching us how to make Snap tonight.” Dustin claps his hands as he walks toward the curtains. “I’m ready to make some fucking money!”
I’ve only got a moment to remind Joseph of who I am. This may be the only chance I have.
“Hey,” I whisper to Joseph. His raises an annoyed brow at me. I slip a piece of paper from my pocket and hold it out to him as I peek around him. “I’m here to help you.”
“Of course, you are,” he quips, and refuses the paper.
Frustrated, I shove it at him to take. He pulls back like I’m trying to stab him with it. “Take it.”
He rips it from my fingers and unfolds it. His eyes move along with the few words scribbled on the page.
Trust him. We will find you soon. -C-
Joseph shoves the note in his pants pocket and looks over his shoulder. “Do you know where we are?”
I shake my head. “I’m not positive, but I have an idea. We’ll know for sure if I can find my way back.”
“Let’s hope you can,” he says, turning quickly toward the table as Dustin reappears from the curtains with a disheveled Samuel in tow.
“Let’s get this show on the road,” Dustin says and leans on the other side of the table.
For the next hour, Joseph walks us through each step of the process of making Snap.
He’s extremely thorough, and at times, I think he forgets that we’re just country bumpkins and not Ivy League big shots.
There’s a shit ton of steps that goes into making meds.
Several times he has to stop and go over certain steps we have questions about in layman’s terms.
I try to pay attention, but at times, I’m distracted by the muffled sounds coming from behind the curtain.
When they happen, Joseph speaks louder. Whether it’s an attempt to keep us focused or drown them out, so he doesn’t have to hear, I don’t know, but it doesn’t work for me.
I want to get behind that curtain and find out who’s back there.
“Alright, now you’re going to use what I taught you.
Remember the steps, and everything will be fine.
” Joseph tilts his head to the side and studies the three of us.
“Forget, and you could kill us all with noxious gas first. If that doesn’t happen, you could still create something that will kill your customers and possibly yourselves if you use it.
My suggestion,” he brings his hands together in front of him like he’s praying, “don’t use the product. ”
Dustin laughs like he just told us a joke.
I glance at him, schooling my facial expressions, but I guess I don’t do a good enough job because Samuel notices and raises an eyebrow at me, or maybe it’s just his swollen face.
Joseph may have made both versions of Snap, but the original was way different.
I trust that Joseph doesn’t want to hurt people, but I don’t trust this version knowing what Phil wanted him to turn it into.
Just as we begin to mix the ingredients, the curtain opens, and Hazel steps out.
Her feet sluggishly slide over the concrete as she sways.
She reminds me of a zombie. The clothes she’s wearing are swallowing her whole.
It looks like she’s lost twenty or more pounds since the last time I saw her.
Her head tilts up just enough for me to see her face, and the large, fresh bruise under her eye.
Black orbs have replaced her beautiful gray eyes, and her lips are painfully chapped with desert-like cracks.
My hand clutches the table to keep me grounded.
If I go to her now, I’ll be picking her up and running out of this hellhole. That will only get us killed.
Shut down, Bobby. Turn it all off. You know she’s alive, now pretend she’s not here.
Joseph kicks my foot, and I jerk my head back to my task.
I measure out chemicals and mix them together, all the while being tormented by Hazel stumbling lifelessly toward us in my peripheral.
Joseph goes to her and wraps his arm around her waist, leading her behind another curtain.
From the sounds of it, I’d say that’s the bathroom.
A moment later, he brings her back out and throws something in the trash before helping her wash her hands.
“Thank you, JoJo.” Her slurred giggles make my stomach tighten.
“Sit down and drink this. I’ll make you something to eat,” he tells her.
Hazel sinks into the camping chair, and her head lists to the side. Her hand attempts to hold it up, but she doesn’t have the strength to even do that. “I don’t want anything,” she mumbles.
“Drink it. You’ll feel better.”