“Jay?” I said. But he didn’t answer. So I walked into the warehouse and immediately I had to cover my nose from the horrible smell that was in the air.
“Jay!” I kept walking. It was a little dark in there so I walked slow and followed the light that was coming from the back of the warehouse. The light was dim and seemed as if it was moving slow back and forth. I put my hands on my arms to try to stay warm, ’cause it was cold, damp, and musty in there.
“Hello? Babe, where you at?” I asked, looking around the dirty place. “I can’t hold it anymore. I gotta pee.” Jason never answered but I could hear him talking from a distance. I stopped to get a clearer listen.
“Who is he hollerin’ at?” I said aloud. I started walking again. As I got closer to Jason’s yelling I could smell a horrible stench of urine. “Ugh! I’ma gag.” Then I heard Jay again.
“You had to do it! Who else could it be? Come on, man, just tell me what you said,” he demanded. He sounded very frustrated. I couldn’t see who he was talking to but I did hear someone, and it sounded like they were crying.
I knew then that this was something bad, but never did I think I would see something like I would see.
I started walking slower, and I got quiet and even began to tiptoe through the puddles of water toward Jay’s voice. I figured if he was already upset I needed to ease myself in here to use the bathroom. That’s all I needed was for him to get angry with me, too.
I could see Jason’s shadow flickering on the wall from the drop light that hung in the middle of the warehouse by a wire. I walked closer where I could see everything and then I peeked around the corner.
Jason’s back was to me. He had on a pair of black leather gloves and he had plastic covering his boots. His white T-shirt had bloodstains on it and there was a man on the floor. I couldn’t see who it was because Jason was standing over him. He only had a pair of boxers on—no socks, no shoes, no clothes—and he covered himself with his hands and arms, and was balled up as if he was protecting himself. His feet were covered in blood and as he moved on the ground he seemed to be soaking wet. I assumed it came from the puddles of water in the warehouse.
I glanced across the room and then, of course, I saw the bathroom, which was across the room from where I stood. I could clearly see the toilet because the bathroom door was wide open and Jason’s jacket hung over the door. There was a wooden chair beside where Jason stood, fallen over on to the floor. It had blood and duct tape on the arms of it that looked as if someone had cut somebody loose.
I absolutely couldn’t believe this. It was a nightmare! I felt like I was in a horror movie with too much suspense.
My eyes then went back to Jason. He had finally moved and that’s when I saw that it was Shy on the ground. I stood there, heartbroken for him; he was too young to be here.
“Oh my God, it’s Shy!” I said quietly. Instantly my hands started shaking and my heart started beating fast.
Shy was soaked with blood. He was shivering all over and breathing heavily. It was a horrific scene; I would never forget it as long as I lived. He was practically naked and bruises were all over his light body. He had a gash across his forehead, his nose was filled with dried blood, and both his eyes were black and almost shut. His lip was swollen with blood and saliva was on the side of his face; it was messy. He was lying there with his arms around his knees and duct tape on his wrists that looked like someone let him loose from being restrained at one time. He was crying softly, “Jesus.” I heard him.
I wanted to turn around and leave. I was so afraid of being seen, but I was more afraid for Shy because I knew Jason was gonna kill him. If I had never believed how dangerous Jason was, I knew it at that very moment. I grabbed my head, closed my eyes, and cried. I had all kinds of thoughts running through my mind but I felt so helpless. I looked again to see what was happening.
Jason was standing there with a wooden baseball bat in his hands. He didn’t have any type of remorse on his face or any type of sympathy. His veins in his hands and muscles in his arms were bulging out of his skin from holding the bat so tight. He looked so angry, so vicious, and I knew then there was no crossing this man and living if he found out.
He took the bat and smashed Shy in his back. Shy’s body convulsed from the pressure of the blow, he screamed out a loud, eerie, screeching sound. Then he began to violently cough up blood.
I stood there barely watching, covering my ears and my eyes so I couldn’t hear and see it all. I drew myself back a little in the shadows. I was terrified, standing there, shaking all over. I was overwhelmed with feelings for Shy. I wanted to run away but I couldn’t move, and then I felt a little bit of the pee run down my leg, but I didn’t move. I stood there, lifeless, against the wall.
I could feel my face getting wet from the tears that started flowing down my face. I thought about calling the police, but I’d left my cell in the car underneath my seat. I was stuck, and I gazed at the drop light that hung by the wire in the middle of the warehouse, swaying back and forth from the wind created by Jason from swinging the bat.
I finally mustered up some strength to say something. “Jason, what are you doing to him? No, Jason! Don’t do this!” He didn’t hear me; my voice was at a whisper. I thought I was screaming from the top of my lungs but I wasn’t; fear only had let me whisper.
He leaned the bat against the chair and walked away. I watched him go over to his jacket and grab his stash of coke. He took it out, took his glove off, pulled a rag that was hanging from his “ True Religious jeans” back pocket, and wiped the sweat off of his face. I thought, how ironic. He then put the rag back in his pocket. He poured some coke on his wrist and sniffed it in. He stood there a moment, closed his eyes with his head leaned way back, then shook his head from side to side, put the tube back in his jacket pocket, and walked back over toward Shy.
“Woo! That stuff is somethin’ else, man!” He clapped his hands together and picked back up the bat. He started doing a li’l dance and hollerin’ out at Shy, “You ready? You ready, baby? Round two, only one left!” He laughed, patted Shy on the top of his head, then said, “See, I love you too, man, I gave you a li’l break. All I’m askin’ is, what did you tell ’em?”
I wanted Shy to tell him, then maybe Jason would stop. I wanted to scream out, “Tell him, Shy, please tell him!” But I didn’t. I didn’t open my mouth.
Nobody could have told me that I would see Shy on the floor and Jason standing over him. I covered my mouth and cried out. I knew Jason was going to kill him. I couldn’t take my eyes off of Shy pleading with Jason to stop. Neither one of them had heard or seen me, yet.
“Jay, man, please. Don’t kill me, man. Somebody feedin’ you the wrong information.” Shy’s hands were together as if he was praying, but in actuality he was begging Jason not to kill him.
Jason didn’t say anything; he just shook his head no as if what Shy said was making him even angrier. He took his foot and kicked Shy’s body while blood, vomit, and urine drenched Shy. “Shy, you tryin’ to tell me you ain’t talk to the po-lice?” With each syllable of the word “police,” Jason kicked Shy. The expression on his face was pure evil. “You must think I’m a fool if I believe that one.” Jason bent down and put his hands on his knees, then hollered in Shy’s face.
“Come on, man. It’s almost over now, go ’head and tell the truth.” Jason stopped and started walking away from Shy with his back toward him, as if he was thinking.
He took the bat he was holding on to and laid it over his shoulder, as if he was thinking; then he started talking to Shy again. “You been in here for what?” He continued to let the bat lie on his shoulder while he circled around Shy slowly. It was like watching a lion getting ready to devour its helpless prey. Shy lay there, seeming like he was passing out; there was less and less movement coming from him. Then Jason hollered, “Shy! How long you been here? Three days? Yeah, three days. No food, no water, no nothing; just tied up waitin’ fo’ me to get here.” He bent down and looked at Shy. “Look at me, Shy, look, li’l bro. I’m here now.”
He started circling him again. “I’m God to you right now, understand me? I’m the only thing between you and death.” He bent down beside him again, “Look at me. I’m here fo’ you, baby. My jeans getting dirty, my shirt covered wit’ yo’ blood. It’s you and me, baby. Tell me what you told the police.”
The coke had started in his system and he felt the power of the chemical. Jason was toying with him. “You tell ’em where Reese live? Huh?”
I hid myself again, and closed my eyes. I stood against the wall in the shadows and leaned back away from the light. What did I have to do with this, and what did Shy tell?
Shy cried out, “I didn’t tell nobody nothin’, Jay, I swear it to you.” Shy’s eyes were bloodshot red. I could tell he hadn’t been sleeping. Now I understood the conversation Jason had back at the house while he was on the phone. Jason was ruthless. I thought back to the last three days and examined them; he wasn’t doing anything that prohibited him from coming here to talk to Shy. He was just being vicious.
“Man, I don’t wanna hear that. I want some answers, Shy.” Jason walked away again. He shook his head in frustration and put his hand on his head. Then he turned around and went back to Shy. “Shy, the crew had you here for three days. You been gagged with duct tape, you a trooper, I give it to you, but I need some answers. Now!” He swung the bat, hitting Shy again, but this time in his stomach. Then he took it and swung a few more times. I couldn’t watch. I bent down and covered my ears from hearing Shy’s screams; however, I couldn’t get away from them.
I thought about what Jason had just told him. And I thought how Shy thought he was among friends who loved him. Then Shy got my attention and I looked.
“Stop! My momma tried to tell me to quit running around with y’all!” he cried. He was beaten, scared, and alone, but he gathered courage to say that to Jason.
Jason laughed, then stood over him and spit on him. “Tell yo’ momma that!”
Shy looked up to Jason like a big brother or a father he never had, so when Jason came at him with his accusations it hurt Shy’s heart, and that right there was enough to kill him.
He was squirming on the ground and his face was swollen and disfigured from the beating he was taking. There was blood and saliva coming out of his mouth as he tried to answer.
Shy cried out, “Jay, you know me better than that, man. You my big bro. I would never do that to you.”
Jason walked away from him as if he was thinking for a second, and that’s when he noticed I was standing in the warehouse. I stood there with my eyes big and I was shaking all over. Jason walked over to me, trying to explain what was going on. I put my hands over my face for protection, thinking he was going to get me too.
