Family Comes First

Chapter 32: Forced

Charles and Noah walked out of the dining room and into the kitchen. They each pulled out a chair and sat down. Dylan went over to the shower curtain that was jutting out from the wall. He pulled it back and the bile was rising in the back of my throat.

The tiles on the wall were covered in dried blood, and there was a cement lip lining out a square. There was a drain on the bottom and lines of dried blood were swirling into it. Two large hooks were dangling from the ceiling.

They were about to kill them in front of us.

Emme and Jenny sat down like they were about to watch a show. Lindsay ran up the stairs and came back with a stack of towels. She dropped them on the counter and leaned against the wall.

Charles looked over at me and smirked. My stomach twisted into a knot. I crossed my arms over my chest to hide the fact that my whole body was shaking.

"What's wrong, Juliet?" he asked.

"Nothing." I struggled to stop my voice from wavering.

"Good," he said. "We are going to see whether or not Jimmy has really trained you well."

Tommy and Taylor came in with the first person. It was a girl who was kicking and screaming as she tried to get out of their grasp. Tommy was carrying her by her arms and had a hand over her mouth to muffle her screams. Dylan pulled out a dining room chair and set it next to the contraption with the hooks.

They carried the girl over to the chair as she thrashed in their grasp. They were soaking wet and caused a trail of puddles to follow them. My heart was pounding, and I dug my nails into my arms to try and control my breathing.

Dylan ran out of the kitchen and grabbed a bundle of rope. They set her down in the chair, and they held her arms as Dylan tied her to the chair. Next, they each held down a leg as Dylan tied her up.

She kept on screaming and it caused my ears to ring. Theo started to cry, and Lindsay was trying to calm him down in her arms. The girl's face was red and tears were streaming down her cheeks. Her face was chubby, and she was a heavier-set girl. Her long strands of blonde hair were plastered to her face with tears. I guessed that she was in her early thirties.

"Somebody shut her up!" Noah said.

Tommy went over to the sink and grabbed the dish towel. He rolled it up, shoved it in her mouth, and tied it behind her head. She hung her head down, and her body shook as she sobbed.

The door opened again and Jimmy and Gabe walked in. Jimmy's back was to me as he was carrying the arms of a large man while Gabe had his feet. He must be the woman's boyfriend or husband. The woman looked up and started screaming again when she saw the man. I gasped when I saw him. Blood was pouring out of his stomach and his face had gone completely pale.

Jared was right behind them and was holding a knife in his hand. The blade was covered in blood. I was nauseous just thinking about this little boy stabbing someone.

"Boys, get him hanging before he ruins my floor," Jenny said.

Gabe and Jimmy carried him over to the weird shower thing and set him down. They each grabbed a hook and pulled it down. I watched as they hooked each one into the man's leg. His faint moans of pain were almost not audible over the woman's muffled screams. Gabe grabbed the final rope hanging from the ceiling and began to pull it so that the man's body was hoisted up into the air. The blood from his abdomen dripped down his face and into the drain.

"Looks like you will be eating well for a while," Charles said. "You got a couple of heifers here."

Jimmy grabbed one of the towels off of the counter. He wiped his face with it and dried his hands as he walked over toward me. My eyes and nose burned with the tears that threatened to erupt. I wanted to get out of this house. I did not want to witness what was about to happen.