Author's Note: School starts on Wednesday. That means the updates are going to be slowing down :(

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"Hunter, come outside," Dad said.

"No!"

I turned around to see Ava lunge forward. Her eyes were wide and she was shaking her head. Mom and Leah grabbed her, and held her back.

"Ava, we'll deal with you when we get back," Dad said.

"No!" Ava screamed. "You can't do this!"

Mom held onto both of Ava's shoulders, and Leah stepped in front of her. Ava was yanking herself free, and I could see the tears rolling down her cheeks.

"We have to go," Jared said.

Dad grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me outside. They took off running across the field and I followed. They ran into the woods, and there was a thin trail weaving between the trees. I struggled not to stumble on a rock. A cramp ran up my side. I was grateful when they started to slow down. I leaned forward and panted for breath. Every breath burned my throat and chest.

Jared cut through the trees, and over to the road. A car was pulled over to the side, but it was such a small street that the car looked almost like it was sitting in the middle of the road. I stayed behind Dad as he and Jared walked over to the car. Two men, only a few years older than myself, were in the car. There was muffled yelling, and throwing their hands up in an argument. The passenger pointed at Jared as he walked toward the car. Jared tapped on the window with his knuckles, and the driver lowered the window.

"Are you guys stuck?" Jared asked.

"We're lost," the driver said. "We must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. We can't get a signal to pull up a map."

"Our farm is right here," he said. "We could give you a map."

"Like a paper map?" The passenger raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know that any still had those. That would be great."

"If you want to drive us to our farm we could get it for you. It's just right up the street."

"Yeah," the driver said. "The three of you can get into the back."

Jared opened up the door and slid in. I got squished in the middle between him and Dad. A song was playing on the radio, and it brought back an uneasy feeling of reality before all of this happened to Ava and I.

"Keep going straight, and take a left when you see the mailbox," Jared told them.

The driver nodded his head, and took the car out of park.

"Where are you two from?" Dad asked.

"We're from Chicago," the passenger said. "My Grandma has a cottage somewhere around here that we are spending the weekend at."

"Chicago? Isn't that a really busy city?" Jared asked.

He shifted in his seat, and reached into his pocket. He pulled something out. My heart pounded when I saw that it was a knife. He flicked the blade open.

"It's pretty big," the passenger said before leaning forward to change the radio station.

"Is this the mailbox you were talking about?" the driver asked.

"Yeah, that's the one," Jared said.

He turned, and the gravel driveway crunched under the tires. He pulled in behind the other cars in front of the house. The driver shut off the car and it was quiet for a second.

Jared's hand shot out, and went over the passenger's forehead. Jared pulled the passenger's head against the seat. His other hand had the knife, and he pulled it across the passenger's throat. Blood sprayed across the windshield. Wet drops hit my face, and Jared's arm was soaked.

The driver swore, and Dad reached from behind the seat and wrapped his arms around him. One hand was over his mouth and the other was around his chest. The driver clawed, and tried to pull Dad off of him. Jared got out of the car, and walked around to the driver's door.

"Hunter, get your knife out," Dad told me.

"I'm not killing him," I said.

"You're not killing him," Dad said. "Stab him in the side. If you don't he'll get away and hurt the girls."

"Fuck you!" the driver yelled.

Dad's hand must have slipped off of his mouth, and Dad threw it back over his mouth. Jared opened up the door, and grabbed the driver. He threw him down onto the lawn. Dad jumped out of the car, and when I got out I saw them hovering over the driver. They swung their legs out and kicked him whenever he tried to get up.

"Where's your knife?" Dad asked.

I reached into my pocket, and held it out in my hand. A pounding sound came from behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see Ava was at one of the windows by the front door. She was banging her hand between the bars. I could see her open her mouth trying to yell at me, but I couldn't make out what she was saying. Mom was trying to pull her away from the window.

"Hunter, get over here," Dad told me.

I looked over at them to see blood spewing out of the driver's nose. Jared had his foot on the driver's throat and pinned him to the ground. Dad had his arms crossed over his chest, and watched me as I stepped closer to them. He looked up to see Ava banging on the window.

"You better be quick," Dad said. "If she doesn't stop doing that soon I'll have to punish her."

"What do you want me to do?" I asked.

"If we let him go inside like this he could hurt one of the girls," Dad said. "You need to stab him. Don't kill him because that will take away all the fun. Just wound him so that when we bring him in Ava and your Mom will be safe."

I flipped open the knife. I wasn't going to kill him. I was just going to hurt him so that the girls are safe. If I didn't do it and waited too long, Dad would punish Ava. I could still hear her banging on the window.

The driver was gasping for breath as Jared pushed his foot harder against his throat. Dad crouched down beside the driver. He started to thrash around on the grass.

"Try to stay still," Dad told him. "This is my son's first time. His aim probably won't be that good. I'm starting him off a little late."

The driver let out a hoarse scream, and his face was turning red. He grabbed Jared's shoe, and tried to push him off. Dad waved me down, and I crouched at the other side of the driver.

I kept my eyes on the driver. I couldn't stand to look at Ava. She was going to be so upset when I get inside. She's going to cry and scream that they have brainwashed me. She doesn't realize she's trying to protect her. I have to do my best to calm her down once we're inside so that Dad doesn't punish her.

Dad reached across the driver and put his hands on his stomach. He slid them over to his side closest to me.

"Right here," he said. "It won't hit his lungs. He won't die right away."

I took in a deep breath, and nodded my head. The sweat was building up in my palm, and I was afraid the knife would slip right out of my hand. Dad moved his hand, and I took in another deep breath before burying the blade into the driver. I swung down with as much force as I could, remembering the resistance I felt when I stabbed Chris.

He screamed and then began thrashing around again. His hands flew to mine, and I ripped the blade out. He let out another scream. He placed his hands against the blood gushing and covering his shirt.

Dad stood up and hooked his finger on the chain around his neck. He threw the key over to me and I caught it.

"Go inside and deal with Ava," he told me. "Have her in the kitchen in ten minutes."

I put the bloody knife into my pocket, and held tight onto the key. I stood up, and my knees were shaky as I headed for the back door. I fumbled with the lock as I unlocked the door. Leah was placing a stack of towels on the counter. She gasped when she saw me.

"Hunter," she said.

I looked down at myself to see both of the men's blood splattered across my clothes. Ava ran into the kitchen and Mom was close behind her. She was crying, and she pushed me. She balled up her fist and hit me in the chest. I grabbed her wrists, and pulled her closer to me.

"You promised," she cried. "You promised me that you wouldn't turn into one of them."

"I had to do it," I said.

"No, you didn't!"

"Yes I did. You shouldn't have gone to the window. Dad wants to punish you, and if he does he is really going to hurt you."

Ava yanked her arms, and I tightened my grip. I looked up to see Mom clutching the collar of her shirt. Her lips were parted, and she was shaking her head. I pulled her upstairs to our room so that she didn't see us.

I slammed the door behind us. Ava pulled herself free, and jumped toward the door. I grabbed her waist and pulled her back. She turned around, and pressed her back against the door. Her knees gave out from under her, and she slid down onto the floor. I crouched down in front of her.

"Why can't you see I'm trying to take care of you?" I asked.

She shook her head. "You're becoming your Dad."

I cupped her face in my hands. My fingers were covered in blood, and I smeared some of it on her face when I wiped her tears away with my thumb. She tried to pull her face away from me, so I reached out with my other hand. There was a clang on the ground, and I forgot that I was still holding onto the key. She looked down at the floor before looking up at me.

"You had a key?" she asked.

"Dad gave me his," I said.

"When?"

"Just now. They're coming right in."

Ava reached down and picked it up. The chain was dangling past her hands, and she held it against her chest.

Downstairs, the driver's scream rang through the house. Ava wrapped her arms around me and buried her face in the crook of my neck.

"Can we stay up here?" she asked.

"Dad wants us to go down soon," I said. "I don't want us to get punished."

Ava tightened her grip on me when the driver let out a higher pitch scream.

"Please, just tell him I'm too scared and you need to take care of me," she said.

I ran my hand over her hair, and kissed her temple in an attempt to soothe her. She clung to me and sobbed. We didn't move until I heard a knock on the door.