White washed walls surround me on three sides and dark curtains on the other. They move slightly inward as if something is blowing on them from the other side.Phil.Memories of what happened flood my mind, overwhelming me. I need to wake up and get control of my body. I need to find out how the hell this happened and get the fuck out of here.
I fumble around as I sit up and notice another cot at the foot of mine. A body lies still atop it. The sound of their gentle, easy breaths nowreaching my ears. It’s not Phil. This person has dark hair and is built bigger than he is.
Is he guarding me? How long have I been here? What the fuck is going on?
My concave stomach growls in hunger as I listen for any other sounds around me and watch this man sleeping. It feels as though I haven’t eaten in days, and I really have to go to the bathroom. I glance at the man and wonder if I should wake him, or just go find the bathroom and food on my own. Maybe I can get the fuck out of here completely, and they won’t notice.
As I climb from the bed, I test my legs, hoping I have the strength to walk on my own. They wobble slightly beneath me before I finally pull to my full height. It hurts and feels so good at the same time to stretch and use them. Grabbing the curtain, I find where it splits and work my way to the opening. I open it a sliver and peek out into the room.
Tables are set up with beakers, test tubes, Bunsen burners, and jars filled with different liquids. A board on one wall displays what I would call gibberish. The same gibberish that Dale and Joseph accused me of blackmailing Phil with. It would take an idiot not to realize that this is where Phil is creating Snap.
“You’re awake.”
I drop the curtain abruptly and turn toward the quiet voice on the cot, losing my balance in the process. He jumps from the bed and grabs my arms, steadying me before I crash to the floor, but the fear of being druggedagain causes me to fight back.
“Hazel, calm down. It’s me,” he whispers as he grabs my wrists to keep me from punching him.
I stop fighting and see Joseph’s worried face. Relief eases my tension, and I wrap my arms around him to keep from falling. He stiffens in my hold and pats my back lightly in an attempt to comfort me.
“Where are we?” My words muffle against his shoulder as I squeeze tighter to him.
“I don’t know,” he whispers again.
His low tone alerts me that someone could be listening to us on the other side of the room. I didn’t hear anyone else, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t here. I let go of Joseph and step back so I can read his expressions as we speak.
“Why are we here?”
Joseph reads my lips, my words almost silent they are so quiet. He runs a hand through his hair and sighs. Grabbing my hand, Joseph pulls me toward the bed and sits us down. It squeaks under our weight, and he watches the curtain for a moment before leaning into me so he can be heard.
“He wanted the formula,” he says, turning toward me. “He found me instead.”
I nod my head in understanding. “He found me too.”
“I tried to keep that from happening. He threatened to kill me. I was scared and believed he would do it.”The unspoken “like he almost killed you” lingers on his lips. Joseph stares at the bruise around my neck before looking away. “I should have called his bluff. If it came down to you or Snap, he would’ve chosen Snap. I’m so sorry.”
I squeeze his hand and place my other hand on the top of his. He shouldn’t feel bad about what happened. It wasn’t his fault. He was forced into this as much as I was. As close as Joseph and Cash are, they are completely different. Cash would’ve fought Phil to the death. But would he have done that if we hadn’t grown close? He didn’t for the other woman Phil had raped and beaten. I can’t hold Joseph responsible. He was trying to survive, just like the rest of us. A lot of people won’t put their own welfare above someone else’s, especially if they don’t know them. Very rarely will one find a true hero walking the streets.
I lean my head on his shoulder and ask, “How do we get out of here?”
He sighs and drops his head. “We don’t.”
I sit up in shock. It’s one thing to comply in order for everyone to survive. It’s totally different to sit around and wait to die. I refuse to do that. I’ve been through too much shit, and I’m not going through it again.
“What?”
“He told me if we tried to escape that he would kill someone we loved.”
I gasp at his admission. Phil is fucking crazy, so thisshouldn’t really come as a shock to me, but with him already being on the run for attempting to murder me, I can’t see him trying to kill anyone. The police would be all over him the minute he showed his face. The only person I know willing to help him is Dustin. Of all the things Dustin is capable of, murder is not one of them. That makes me wonder if Phil has made new connections while on the run, and how the hell he made them without being turned in.
“Have there been a lot of people coming and going?”
“No,” Joseph responds. “Just Phil and Dustin. He has Dustin do all the runs.”
Phil’s never been one to trust too many people. Maybe that’s why they are the only two who have been here. And it also explains why he never leaves. He doesn’t want to get caught. It still leaves us in the dark if he has anyone else working for him, though. We’d have to take our chances. It would be a fifty-fifty chance that Phil would actually follow through with his threats. I’ll leave it be for now, but once I learn more information, we will be talking about it again. The only way I’m dying here is if he kills me while I’m escaping.
My bladder to the point of exploding, I change the subject. “How long have I been out?”
“Almost two days.”
