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 backseatwhile 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 somerundown 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 outto 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.
