The Peregrine Passage

Chapter Sixteen: Hazel

 At exactly 5 in the evening, Adam pulls up in front of my building. He might be obnoxious, but at least he's punctual.

He rolls down the window and shoots me a glaring look.

"Are we actually doing this?"

"Yes. I brought real trail mix, too. Not just oatmeal." I wave the bag at him, and he smiles for a second before returning to a cynical expression.

"This feels incredibly stupid, Hazel."

"Don't start doubting me now." I grin while I pull open the truck door, jumping into the shotgun seat.

We don't talk much on the ride to the cemetery, and I can feel the anxiety radiating off of him. I put my hand on his arm and he looks away from the road for a second before staring ahead again.

"This is the best idea, trust me. The faster we act, the sooner this will all be over with." I hope he can't see through my facade of a smile.

"What happens then?"

"What do you mean?"

"Let's say that this all goes smoothly, which we both know it won't. Then what?" His eyes don't leave the street ahead, and I have a hard time reading his tone.

"We turn the photos in to the police and bust a small drug ring. Easy."

"No, then what for us?"

"What?" I pretend not to know what he's talking about

"Are we going to stop hanging out? Are you going to pretend you don't know me again?"

"I never do that." Is he delusional? Why would I be the one to cut him out?

"Okay fine, maybe that was the other way around, but still."

"Are you genuinely more worried for the future of our friendship than the fact that a drug ring is trying to frame me for murder?"

"It sounds stupid when you put it like that."

"That's because it's stupid. Adam, not to flatter you or anything, but you're the only real friend I've had this year. We're not gonna do an entire murder investigation and then never speak again. I'll at least send you a Christmas card once a year." He chuckles at this.

"Wow, thanks."

"Anything for you. Are you done feeling sentimental?"

"Shut up." He laughs and turns up the radio.

A few minutes pass and I hear the tires crunch as Adam pulls into the gravel parking lot.

"Don't park here. They might see your truck." Adam nods and backs out into the road, choosing to park in an empty lot about a half mile away.

We give up on carrying a conversation after a couple of minutes because the wind is too loud to hear anything.

It's an uphill trudge to get to the Estate and my legs are sore from having to pull them out of the snow with each step. There must be at least a foot on the ground, and even though it's stopped coming down, the icy chill hasn't left the air.

After a half hour, it's almost completely dark, and we make our way across the Orchard. I pull the flashlight from the pocket of my cargo pants and use it to illuminate the trek to the cemetery.

"Where do you want to go?" Adam yells at me over a gust of cold air.

"We should find a bush or something. We need enough visibility to get a good picture, but I'd rather not be that exposed."

"Fair enough. I think I remember a line of old rose bushes over between the headstones and the crypt."

"You want to hide next to the crypt? Isn't that kind of creepy?"

"Hazel, we're staking out a cemetery in the dark. Were you expecting an ambient environment?"

"Fine." I gesture for him to lead the way, and he leans down to take the flashlight from my hand. Even through thick gloves, I catch myself shivering when our hands brush. It's probably just the cold air.

We make our way to the bushes, which are coated entirely in snow, allowing us an opaque cover. I have to brush the snow off of a couple of branches in order to get a clearer vision of the cemetery, but hopefully, this should work. Adam crouches down to my right, and I'm grateful for the close proximity. Any warmth is appreciated, and I don't want to feel alone right now.

"Scared?" He asks earnestly.

"Never." This is complete bullshit. I can tell he sees through it, but he's nice enough not to call me out. I pull the bag of trail mix out of my jacket pocket and hold it out to him. He takes a large handful and loudly munches. I would usually find this incredibly obnoxious, but now it's slightly comforting. After a half hour of silence, I begin to get incredibly bored. I guess he feels the same because he fully sits down in the snow and looks at me expectantly.

"What?" I shoot him a suspicious glance, taking my eyes away from the bush for only a moment. It's hard to see anything now that the sky is so dark.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"We really shouldn't be talking. They might hear us and this whole thing would be a bust. Not to mention, I'd rather not find out what could happen if this went wrong." He nods at me but starts to bounce his leg up and down.

"Can you not do that?"

"Fine." He sighs loudly and I swat at him with my sleeve.

I attempt to scooch away from him slightly, but a thin layer of ice has frozen over the snow and I don't want to risk slipping. Another twenty minutes pass and Adam starts to say something else when, out of the corner of my eye, I notice a shadow moving.

"Hazel, I—"

I quickly bring my hand up to cover his mouth and point silently in the direction of the movement. We both press our eyes to the thin gap between branches that we've carved in the snow, and I feel him catch a shallow breath.

It's definitely a person, and we watch them approach the gravestones nearer the crypt. They're using a flashlight, and I crane my neck to see if it will illuminate any notable features. The only thing I can make out is a large bag that appears identical to the amphetamines we saw at the lighthouse. One look at Adam confirms that he's seen it too, and I hold my breath alongside his.

The figure gets closer, and I can hear their boots crunch in the snow. At a tombstone only a few feet away from us, I see the body kneeling on the ground. I quickly reach for the camera hung around my neck, making sure it's still there. Adam places a hand on my knee and squeezes, offering enough encouragement for me to peek my head overtop the bush.

I finally have enough vision to make out one noticeable feature: the same curly dark hair that I have. A longer scan reveals the same boots I borrowed only a few days ago.

"Oh my God, Adam." I feel the blood leave my face.

"What?" He looks as confused as I feel.

"That's my mother."

My eyes return to the woman I used to know, perched over a tombstone, but before I have a second to process, a yell escapes from Adam's body alongside the cracking sound of a baseball bat hitting flesh.

I look frantically to my right, but Adam's flat on the ground instead of crouched beside me. A scarlet trickle of blood runs down his face and his eyes have fallen shut. I start to scream, but before a sound emerges from my throat, I feel a large hand clamp over my mouth that muffles my voice. I thrust my elbow back, but I can't manage to move my body. A vibrating sensation runs through my head and my ears are pierced with a loud ringing. I try to push back again, but my limbs feel slow and out of my control. Suddenly, what little I can see starts to spin, and I hear a thudding sound. Only a second before my eyes fully close, do I realize that the noise was my own body hitting the icy snow alongside Adam's.