Celestia and DealerAnon Pt. 28

>''Man, where the fuck you been, nigga? A brother been stuck here waiting for your sorry ass for so long, my ass is grown' roots!''
''Yeah, sorry about that. Had a bit of a hold up there, I'll tell you about it later.''
>Slamming the door behind you, you grab your coffee and hand the tray to Ty, currently riding shotgun with an annoyed look on his face
>''Thanks for the tea, ese.''
>Santiago sips his tea with a satisfied 'ahh' and starts the engine, the coming to life with a happy roar
''No problem. So, Ty, you find out anything?''
>Ty shrugs, tossing the now-empty tray out of the window
> Fiddling with the volume on the stereo until you feel the bass reverberating in your chest, he turns to you
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=205K9Pim2oE
>''I don't know, brother. Ain't found out much, you know? Just bits and pieces.''
''Enlighten me, man.''
>Ty sips his coffee, smacking his lips in appreciation
>''Damn, that's good. Thanks. Anyway, our guy lives in Em, that's for sure. One of the two-stories somewhere-''
''That way.''
>You give Ty a winning grin, pointing towards the direction Scootaloo showed you
>''Sheeiit nigga, how you know that? Hey Santiago, drive that way, man!''
''Long story, man, long story. Anyway, go on.''
>''Alright, whatever you say. So, lives in Em Hills, two-story house, green van, lives with his mom, unemployed.''
''Lives with his mo- you know what, never mind.''
>So-''
>Tyler unveils a huge grin and slurps some more coffee, motioning for you to continue
>''What else you found out, brother?''
>You take a deep pull from your coffee, the bitter black liquid having cooled a bit
''Not much, actually. But-''
>You raise your hands theatrically, the smile on your face now gone
>''Yeah?''
''What I heard is pretty fucking creepy.''
>''Come on, nigga, tell me.''
''Alright. So I met this chick that worked at Home Depot, and get this, the guy's a regular there, dig? He's bought concrete, shovels, you know, usual building stuff.''
>''Alright, so he's building a pool or some shit. What's so bad about that, man?''
''Well, he's been buying lots of other stuff too. Namely, duct tape, and get this, lye.''
>You glare at Ty intently, waiting for the realization to sink in
>Despite your expectations, his face stays blank
>''And that is?''
''Man, it's lye! You know, body dissolving stuff! Shit man, I almost flunked Chem and I still know that.''
>Ty's eyes widen in realization as Santiago sharply yanks the wheel, barely missing a drunken woman in the street
>''Oh, yeah, you mean sodium hydroxide? Why didn't you just say that, nigga?''
''Sodium my ass, man! You know what this means? This guy's some serial killer motherfucker!''
>''Yeah, I get that, brother. But ain't no point in yelling, aight? Let's just find this guy's place first, and you can take it out on his ass.''
''Yeah, I guess. Sorry, man, this shit is just kinda getting to me, you know?''
>''Yeah, I feel you, man, I feel you.''
>Sitting in silence for a while with the music pumping, you feel yourself calming down a bit
>You are still on edge from the coke, but you're still fairly positive
>As long as you think about the details of your predicament, that is
>Celestia was kidnapped by some guy who bought jugs of lye every weekend, and you have a feeling he's not just using it for drain cleaning
>Fuck
>''So, brother, what was that about some chick from Home Depot?''
>Ty gives you a grin that you can only describe as 'filthy'
''Chill out, bro. She was like fifteen or some shit, okay?''
>Ty bursts out laughing, and is soon joined by Santiago, the laughter echoing in the Impala
>''Oh shit man, this some Dateline shit or what?''
''Yeah, ha-ha, very funny. Now, do you want to hear what happened or not?''
>You grin despite your indignant tone
>''Yeah, yeah, nigga, I wanna hear.''
''Alright. So anyway, I met this chick outside the gas station, asking me for a cig…''

''So then, after introducing myself to her friends, we talked for a bit, and came back here.''
>Ty and Santiago both grin and nod appreciatively, Santiago breaking his long silence
>''Shit ese, you floored two guys in ten seconds? That's pretty good, eh?''
>You shrug and scratch your neck, slightly embarrassed
''Oh, it ain't no biggie. I mean, guys were like sixteen, tops. But still, yeah, ten seconds fl-''
>You pause, an extremely bad taste invading your mouth
>Washing it away with a pull from your coffee, you speak up again
''And that's pretty much all that happened.''
>Santiago grins and spits out of the window, quickly rolling it back up to deflect the icy blast from outside
>Fiddling with the aux cord, Santiago leans back with a satisfied look on his face
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeHb_mXuOcA
>''Bring me along next time, okay? Way too long since I been in a rumble, vato.''
''Uh, yeah. But it ain't like I plan any of this, you know?''
>''Yeah, but you could. Those two pinches mayates gonna need a beating, eh?''
''Two what?''
>Santaigo chuckles and shakes his head, an amused look on his face
>''Never mind, homes.''
''Alright, sure. And yeah, they do, I just gotta find out who they are first.''
>''Yeah, yeah, I know. Anyway, you see any vans around?''
>Looking out through the windows, the trailers have disappeared, small two-story suburban homes taking their place
>This part of Em was definitely livable
>The walls were clean, there were Priuses in the driveways and the lawns, while not manicured, at least existed
>Still, the place was eerily quiet, the bare, almost skeleton-like trees reaching up through the light mist lending a ghastly atmosphere to the area
>Cruising down the street, you scan the driveways for anything van-like, but to no avail
>Wherever Celestia was, it sure seemed like she wasn't here
>Although you had a few leads, you feel that your new plan is rapidly sinking
>Fuck
>You really need to piss, and a new bump wouldn't hurt either
>Scratch that, make it two
>You really need something to kick-start your brain again
>Help you think more clearly
>You vaguely feel that you're going to regret this
>But finding Celestia would be worth it
>You'd apologize, she'd apologize, and she'd stay with you again
>Everything would be back to normal
>Maybe, with enough time, you'd manage to convince Teapot that what you're doing isn't that bad
>Thinking back to the altercation in the alley, you still feel his words stinging
>You weren't poisoning Slateside, the place was poisoning itself
>Sure, you sold crack, and various other items
>But you weren't to blame
>If anything, the economy was to blame
>Sighing quietly, you dismiss the train of thought, and go back to scanning the cars
>No point in over-complicating things
>But, three things were still clear
>You needed to find Celestia
>You needed to take a leak
>And, last but not least, you needed another line
>You shake your head briefly, dismissing the thoughts again
>You didn't need a line
>You wanted one, but who could blame you?
>Finding her was hard work, and you had to be alert at all times to do so
>Turning to Santiago in the quiet of the Impala, you clear your throat
''Hey, uh, Santiago?''
>''What's up, ese?''
>Not taking his eyes off the road for a moment, he replies in the same cool tone as always
''You mind, uh, pulling up for a moment? I really need to piss, man.''
>He doesn't grace you with a reply, but nevertheless parks the car next to an old oak tree, it's branches waving in the freezing wind
''Thanks, man.''
>Santiago 'mmphs' in response, the throaty sound the only thing disturbing the quiet of the suburb
>Opening the door, you step outside, slamming the door behind you as you do so
>The wind is colder than before, sending shivers down your spine, and you pull your zipper up to protect you from the cold
>Walking through the light dusting of mist on the pavement into a small, park-like clearing, you unearth the baggie and give it's contents a long look
>You could've sworn there was more here the last time you looked, but that might just be you
>Coming to a halt in front of a large tree, you look behind you quickly to make sure you weren't too visible to the car
>And also, to check for any possible attackers
>It isn't paranoia if you have reasons to do so
>Satisfied with the emptiness of the park, the only inhabitants some squirrels squabbling over food in the gazebo in front of you, you open your zipper
>With a muffled 'Ahh', you let fly, the small clearing echoing with the sound of water cascading into the snow
>The feeling of pressure leaving you, you smile contentedly, stowing your piece and zipping up your jeans
>Now, to part two of the plan
>Grabbing the small baggie, you pour a small pile of white powder on the flat of your hand
>Bringing it to your face, you decide to go no-frills, and inhale greedily, vacuuming up the coke like so many times before
>Carefully wiping your nose, you zip up the baggie and lick any errant specks of cocaine off your hand, the familiar head rush building inside you
>From the first moment, you notice you may have overshot the dosage by a little bit
>Scratch that, you may have overshot it by quite a lot
>With a muffled moan, you lean against the tree and close your eyes, your mind currently rising hundreds of feet above you
''Jesus Christ, yes…''
>You slowly open your eyes, your mind now back where it belongs
>The darkness of the park greets you, the bluish tinge of snow covering the ground
>The park is as quiet as ever, the two squirrels having taken their disagreement elsewhere
>Satisfied with the quiet, you turn around with a chuckle, only to be greeted by a gray shape in front of you