Chapter 11: Aspen

Chapter Eleven
~ Aspen ~

I stared straight ahead, unmoving. It was all I could do. It was all I’d been doing for hours now. My head was swimming with so many thoughts that it all jumbled together into indistinguishable white noise. A fresh supply of tears filled my eyes, but I blinked them away. I could practically still feel dad’s hand on my shoulder, squeezing firmly.
“You’ve made me proud, Aspen.” He’d said. “She’s getting the help she needs.”
It was all just so....there wasn’t even a word for it. At this point, I was mostly mad at myself for being naive for so long. This had all been happening the whole time, and I genuinely thought we were curing people. Or at least trying. It turns out I was very, very wrong. And stupid.
I jumped at the sound of my bedroom door being pushed open. I ran my hands through my hair to smooth it and wiped a stray tear before glancing toward the doorway.
“Aspen,” Dad’s voice echoed through the space, much too loud. “Are you ready to go?”
“What? Go where?” I couldn’t have hidden the surprise from my voice even if I’d wanted to. He looked me over, disapprovingly.
“The holding facility. We’re making a transfer today and I would like for you to see it.”
Weeks ago, I would’ve perked up with excitement at his offer. I would’ve been ecstatic to finally see some of our processes for helping the sick. But now, I’d already seen them, and I had no desire to do it all over again. My stomach churned uncomfortably.
“Really?” I pried, trying to keep the apprehension from my voice. “Are you sure?”
He studied me, something dark flickering behind his eyes. “Yes, dear. I’m sure.”
My entire body was shaking with nerves. I stood just outside the holding facility, a spot I’d found myself in countless times recently, but this time was much different. This time, I was accompanied by my father and two large men, and I knew he was up to something. He lifted his brand-new key card up to the sensor and it beeped with recognition. With a click the door opened, and I tried to swallow my fear.
I knew what Will would look like. I’d watched him deteriorate before my eyes these last few days, being held captive finally taking its toll. Not knowing about E was causing the nausea I was currently feeling. After we separated, I feared the worst. I had no idea how they would treat her, but it wasn't something I wanted to think about.
Dad rounded the corner that would lead to Will’s cell, and I trailed behind like a chastised puppy. I chewed on my bottom lip and let my eyes sweep over him. Nothing too major had changed. He still looked like death. The rattling of metal caused my attention to shift to the line of cells to my right, where E was currently sitting and looking defiant as ever.
With a wave of his hand, dad ushered me out of the way. I stood to the side obediently and held my breath in anticipation. I quickly assessed E and let myself relax just slightly at the fact that she wasn’t too messed up. She was sporting a nice bruise from the punch she’d insisted on, but not much else.
Dad motioned to the two men who’d come with us, their names escaped me, and they quickly sprang into action. Within seconds the door to Will’s cell creaked open, sounding heavy. They both moved in, and I heard E’s chains rattle again. A few more seconds and he was released from the ground, although his limbs remained in shackles. The men scooped him up by his arms and I had to look away. He was so weak that he couldn’t even hold his head up.
“And you,” I watched as one of the men pulled a gun from seemingly nowhere and placed against the back of Will’s head, and I clamped a hand over my mouth to stifle my gasp. “You are going to come with us, without any trouble, so we don’t kill your boyfriend where he stands. Got it?”
I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard dad say. He had never spoken harsher words. Well, he probably had, many times, I just hadn’t been around to witness it until now. E squared her shoulders but didn’t respond.
“Go on, then.” He barked and one of the men worked to get her out of her cell.
To her credit, she didn’t resist much. I could tell she was furious, but the fear of them hurting Will was winning at the moment. I watched in silence as she was guided to stand next to him. I wanted so badly to say something, anything that would make this stop. But no words came out.
The next few things happened so quickly, so suddenly, that it took me several moments to comprehend. In a flash, the two men escorted, or in Will's case, dragged them toward the door. I felt a hard shove against my back and a deafening slam as the metal door shut behind me. In a panic, I turned to face my attacker and gripped the disgusting bars hard.
“What the hell are you doing?” I raised my voice at my own father for the first time. My heart was crashing in my chest so violently I was sure a rib would crack.
“Language.” He tisked, taking a step away from me. I looked at him like he was crazy because, well, he must be for doing whatever the hell this was. “Do you think I’m stupid, Aspen?”
“What?” I couldn’t fathom what he was talking about. I pulled against the bars just to prove to myself that I was, in fact, locked in a cage.
“You must. Because it is the only explanation I can think of as to why my daughter would knowingly disobey me.” My blood ran cold. Shit. He knew. He knew and now he was going to kill me. Or leave me here to rot. Or maybe something much, much worse.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I tried, but the uncertainty in my voice gave me away easily. “Dad, let me out. What are you doing?”
“I can’t say that I’m surprised.“ He pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation and rested his free hand on his hip. “You’ve always had a rebellious streak.”
I felt my eyes moisten for what felt like the thousandth time in the past 24 hours. My breath trembled as it fell through my lips. Honestly, I was scared shitless. I had no idea what dad was thinking, or if he even was. He couldn’t be. To go this far, to lock his own daughter in one of these disgusting, awful things had to mean that he just wasn’t thinking straight.
“I need to know that you are committed to our cause,” He explained, his voice eerily calm, before gesturing to the space all around us. “You’ve spent enough time here. Figure out how to get yourself free and come find me when you do.”