Chapter Four: Another Arrival

Wendy gazed in silence as they drove alongside a tall metal fence with rusting barbed wire around the top that spanned for miles as far as the eye could see (or as far as the explorer's headlights could reach).

She fought hard against the temptation to give in to sleep. Her mind kept going back to the story of Daphne. Like a movie playing in her head, Wendy saw the trio tossing the poor girl out of the explorer and leaving her to die in the Mojave Desert. She was alone and afraid, without a phone to call for help, and succumbing to a slow and agonizing death.

They killed her.

Although Ash had assured her that he would drive her to California after their business with Easy Pete was finished, she ultimately concluded: Fuck that! Putting faith in him or any of these psychos was a fool's choice. After that nerve-wracking interrogation she endured, followed by a thinly veiled threat from Blair, Wendy knew she had to get away from these people as soon as possible. She just had to keep her head down until the chance came.

"Here we are," Ash announced, pulling in through the open gate and onto the gravel road.

On the horizon, Wendy could see the shadow of what appeared to be an abandoned building, which kept growing as they drew closer. The place was so remote, completely hidden. It loomed above them like a menacing, ancient giant. She felt an unsettling chill run through her body.

After passing through the second gate, the structure finally came into view. Wendy immediately recognized that it was a mill. This property wasn't as deserted as it looked from a distance. A few lamps glowed near the back entrance, and several automobiles filled the parking lot.

"Finally!" Margalo gasped. "I really need to pee."

"Oh, trust me, you don't want to go here," Ash said as he searched the area for a space to park. "You're better off going to the woods."

"Why do you say that?"

"The bathrooms here are like walking into a shit-thick swamp. Plus, there's no running water. Pete's not paying for any of this. So you can't wash that shit off if you get it on you."

"Are you fucking serious? What am I supposed to do? I'm on the verge of pissing all over myself!"

"Well, if you really need to go that badly, go to the woods!"

Ash found a space to park and carefully positioned the explorer. Wendy didn't utter a sound as she put her belongings in her backpack and stepped out of the SUV. As soon as her feet made contact with the gravel road, her legs began to feel numb—a consequence of sitting for more than three hours, combined with the anxiety and tension weighing on her mind. To help her regain her composure, she held onto the door handle for support. Her nose was overwhelmed by the stench that emanated from the mill. She didn't know on earth what it was, but it smelled like burnt plastic and cleaning agents. It caused her face to squint.

While Margalo ran for the woods to take an urgent pee, Ash and Margalo opened the trunk and took out two portable toolboxes. Only they didn't have tools, but all of Angelwing's stolen medicines.

"Hey, Wendy?" Ash called out as he grabbed the third toolbox before closing the trunk. "Could you give us a hand with this?"

"Oh, sure," she answered, reaching for it.

They came in through the back entrance. Not a glimmer of light; it was pitch-black. Wendy felt as if she had stumbled into a tomb. The stench of deteriorating materials was stronger in this space. She could feel the walls vibrate as the music above reverberated throughout the building.

Suddenly, a brilliant white light appeared. It sprang from Ash's angle-head flashlight, cutting through the darkness. "C'mon, let's not keep Pete waiting for his goodies," he said as he pointed the light down the narrow tunnel.

"You heard him!" Blair barked at Wendy. "Let's go!"

Wendy wanted so badly to lash out, but she held back her rage.

As they moved through the cramped passageways, the toolboxes screeched as they were dragged across the broken tiles that made up the checkered floor, echoing the darkness. With the light from Ash's flashlight, Wendy could see that the ceiling had many cracks and looked like it could fall down at any time.

They ducked through a hole in the wall into an empty chamber with grimy and graffiti-covered pillars. Wendy spotted what seemed to be a gunshot hole and dried blood on one of the pillars. Her mind wandered to one of the violent torture horror films she had seen as a child.

"Get your ass moving!" Blair barked.

"Fuck you, bitch!" Wendy hissed.

Blair stopped in her tracks. "What did you say?"

Wendy didn't answer. Though she felt her heart leap into her throat, she remained defiant—her body tense and her fists clenched.

"Oh, you think you're funny, huh?" Blair snarled, turning her head.

Wendy stood firm as Blair stepped toward her. They exchanged piercing stares. Wendy saw the eyes of a malevolent creature who would destroy anybody standing in the way of her addiction and the goals she wanted to achieve.

Blair reached into her pocket and pulled out a switchblade. Wendy wanted to pull hers out too, but something inside told her not to (though it was times like these that she wished she had brought her ax). With a push of a button, Blair released the blade.

"Now, do you want to repeat what you said back there?" She asked in a threatening voice, bringing the switchblade to Wendy's cheek. "Don't act stupid now! Do you think I'm deaf? I want to hear you fucking say—"

"Hey! Calm the fuck down!" Ash yelled from the end of the tunnel, pointing his flashlight at them. "And Blair, put that knife away before Pete sees it! You know he'll go ape-shit if he sees it!"

"But this slut just disrespected me!"

"I said put that shit away now!"

A jealous rage sprang in Blair's heart. They had just met this girl earlier in the day, so why the hell was Ash standing up for her? It was then that she recalled how, for the better part of the afternoon, he flirted with Wendy right in her face. She was his girlfriend! Blair desperately wanted to slash Wendy to pieces. But instead, she begrudgingly closed the switchblade and put it away.

"Good! Now, let's get this show on the goddamn road!" Ash turned the flashlight away and walked into the next passageway.

Seeing this as an opportunity, Blair shoved Wendy against the wall. She leaned in closer and said softly, "You… just… wait."

SLAM!

Someone else burst through the back door. "Hey, wait up for me, guys!" the person shouted. It sounded like Margalo. After relieving herself in the woods, she had run all the way here and was completely out of breath.

She raced as fast as she could through the darkness to where Blair and Wendy stood. "Gimme that!" she shouted as she yanked the toolbox of medications out of Wendy's hand.

After making their way through the tunnels, Ash, Blair, Margalo, and Wendy arrived at the staircase where Jericho and his partner were standing watch on the second floor. They were protecting the door behind them from which loud music threatened to erupt.

"Good evening, Jericho!" Ash greeted him as he climbed up the stairs.

"What do you want?" Jericho asked, gripping his rifle.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Take it easy with that thing!" After a moment's hesitation, Ash quickly raised his hands after setting the toolbox on the step. "Come on, man! You seriously don't remember me?"

"Oh, I know who you are, crackhead. Do you have an appointment with Pete?"

"Yeah, that's right! We just came back from doing a few errands for Pete, and we're here to deliver his drugs as requested. You follow me?"

For a moment, Jericho put down the rifle and gave Ash a curious look. He recalled that earlier in the day, he had overheard Pete conversing with one of his associates that he was acquiring narcotics from an outside source but never mentioned the name of who was bringing them. "Alright then, pass them over," he ordered.

"Come on, man. Don't bullshit me!"

"Oh, you think I'm bullshitting? You're not getting in until I take a look inside!"

"Dude, I just told you what they are!"

"And I'm telling you to pass them over!"

Ash was at a loss as to what to do or say, his gaze darting between Margalo and Blair. While Margalo simply gave him a shrug before turning to look at the ground, Blair stared at the guard with contemptuous eyes. In the end, they all complied with the guard's demand. Jericho went through the containers, which were full of orange bottles with pills of different sizes, colors, and shapes.

Wendy suddenly remembered that she was carrying a switchblade in her pocket. It dawned on her that if Jericho was so strongly suspicious of the Drugstore Thieves despite knowing them so well, he may try to perform a body search next. While the others were preoccupied with Jericho, she quietly pulled it out and tucked it away in one of her socks. As it turned out, Wendy's prediction was correct.

"There, you see? What did I tell ya? " Ash exuded such confidence. "Now, will you let us through?"

"Not so fast!" Jericho rebuked. "I need to check all of you."

"Oh, goddamnit, Jericho! We're on the same side here!"

"Either all of you get with the program or GET FUCKED!"

Ash's face twisted into a scowl over his lack of control of the situation. When he looked up, he saw that Jericho's partner, who had remained silent throughout the ordeal, was pointing his rifle directly at him.

With no other options, the drugstore thieves complied, with contempt written on their faces. Jericho inspected every member of the crew thoroughly, beginning with Ash. Fortunately for him, he remembered to leave his pistol in the explorer. While he never anticipated being searched, he was aware of Pete's strict 'No Guns' policy that applied to anyone who wasn't one of his goons.

Blair, on the other hand, had her switchblade confiscated. "What do we have here?" Jericho asked, taking satisfaction in seeing Blair fuming and clenching her teeth.

After ensuring that Margalo was safe to enter, Jericho finally turned his attention to Wendy. "Hand it over," he ordered, pointing at her backpack.

Wendy sighed as she passed her backpack. He emptied it and sorted through its contents, which included another set of clothes, some money, a phone charger, deodorant, a bottle of Gatorade, underwear, and tampons. Her cheeks flushed bright red from embarrassment.

"Alright, you're good," Jericho concluded.

"Finally!" Ash exhaled. He, Blair, and Margalo hastily grabbed their toolboxes and headed for the door. But before he could cross the threshold, he had one thing to say. Rational human beings would have been content to not get their heads blown off and keep moving. Unfortunately, years of drug abuse chipped away at his ability to stop and consider before acting, and he was never the type of person who would let go of a grudge without getting the last word. "You're such a bitch, Jericho!"

The guard didn't even acknowledge Ash or his insult, which only enraged him.

Wendy followed them inside after she finished packing her belongings in her backpack.