When I woke in the morning, all I could hear was the sound of the rain on the roof. I rolled over in the bed to see Jimmy curled on his side. The scarred side of his face was resting against the pillow. I got up and leaned over to kiss his cheek. He stirred, but he did not wake up. I moved a couple of strands of hair off of his face and kissed his neck.

Jimmy groaned and rolled onto his back, making me roll with him. His eyes were barely open, but he was smiling.

"What are you doing?" he asked before yawning.

"I woke up," I said.

Jimmy laughed before he rolled us over so that he was on top of me. He leaned down to kiss me, and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too."

He leaned down and continued to kiss me.

--

It was still raining by the time we got to Noah's. The men stayed around the dining room table playing cards, and the girls were in the kitchen baking.

Jared was running around with a large golden retriever that he must have brought from their home. They were running around in the rain and jumping into puddles. Lindsay muttered something about how he is going to catch a cold.

We could hear the men shout and laugh from the dining room, and we even shared a couple of our own jokes. The house was filled with the delicious smell of our baking. Lindsay had brought a plate of cookies into the dining room.

I looked out the window to see Jared sprinting toward the house. He must have finally gotten cold enough that he wants to come inside. He ran across the porch and into the house.

"Honey, don't run across the house in your wet clothes!" Jenny yelled out as she reached out for his arm.

Jared pulled his arm out of her grasp and ran straight into the dining room.

"Dad! Dad! Dad!" he kept screaming until he made it into the dining room. Jenny was chasing him. Lindsay followed behind her, and Emme was close behind Lindsay. I did not want to be alone in the kitchen, so I followed.

"What is it?" Gabe asked.

"I saw two of them!" he shouted. "They were down by the road!"

"Two?" he asked, getting up out of his chair.

"Yeah." Jared nodded. "They're in their car."

"They must be hiding from the rain," Noah said.

I looked over at Jimmy to see that his face went pale. I remembered the warnings he gave me about the family. He said that they killed differently, and he must not want me to see this.

"Jared, go show us where you found them," Gabe said. "Jimmy, Tommy, and Taylor come with me."

They all nodded their heads and got up from their seats. I moved away from the doorway so that they could walk past me. Jimmy was the last one to leave. He slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me to the side. He cupped my face in his hands. His face was covered in fear.

"Remember that I love you," he said. "All we ever do is what is best for you. Do you understand that?"

"Yes."

"Tell me."

"You love me and do what is best for me."

"Come on, Jimmy!" Taylor yelled out.

I looked over Jimmy's shoulder to see Taylor waiting impatiently by the door. The rest of them had already ran outside. Jimmy leaned in and kissed me before letting go of me and running out the door.

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.

He reached out for me, and I pulled my arms away from him. Hurt flashed across his face. He looked over his shoulder at the man. He reached out for me again. I tried to back up, but I was already against the wall. He grabbed my wrist and cupped the side of my face with his other hand. He had thrown the towel across his shoulder.

"Remember that I love you," he whispered

I nodded. A few tears escaped my eyes and rolled down my cheek. Jimmy wiped away the tears and kissed me. I could see Gabe watching us over Jimmy's shoulder.

"Everything we do is to protect you," he told me. "I am always going to keep you safe."

He leaned in for another kiss before leaving me. I wish he didn't leave. His body had blocked my view of everything.

The woman kept screaming, and I put my hands over my ears. I could not stand to listen to it anymore. It made my brain feel like it was rattling in my skull.

Gabe and Dylan stripped the man's clothes off of his body. They had a knife in their hand and were slicing through the material. The woman kept on screaming as she watched.

"Tommy, you did not do a good enough job shutting her up," Noah said.

Tommy rolled his eyes and walked over to the kitchen counter. He rifled through the drawers until he pulled out a knife. It was one of the typical ones we use at dinner to cut meat.

He made his way back to the woman. He raised his fist and slammed the knife down into her thigh. Her eyes grew huge as she screamed even louder.

"Be quiet," Tommy said. "Or I'll go get more."

The woman continued to sob but did not scream. Her body shook as she took in deep breaths.

"Time to get started," Gabe said. His lips twisted into a smile. "Maybe we should get Julie to do it."

My heart dropped into my stomach and I was going to be sick. I looked up at him, and he must realize how uncomfortable I was. My hands were still up over my ears.

"No!" I gasped.

"Jimmy," Charles said sternly to him.

He let out a deep breath before nodding and walking over to me. I held my hands against my chest and I shook my head.

"Julie," he said.

"No," I said. "No, please don't."

He reached out and grabbed my arms and pulled me in front of him. I tried to fight to get out of his grip, but he held me close to his chest.

"Juliet, please be a good girl for me," he whispered into my ear.

Everyone was so proud of Jimmy for how fast he got me to settle into the family. If I act out now, he's going to be disappointed in me and will punish me for sure.

I let him guide me in front of the man. They had cut all of his clothes off and he was hanging there naked. Gabe held his knife out toward me. Jimmy let go of me with one hand so that he could grab the knife and shove it into my hand. He covered my hand with his and guided the blade up to the man's throat. My eyes were brimming with tears and my body was shaking.

"This is easy," he told me. "Just push down as hard as you can and drag it along to the other side. I'll help you, okay?"

"I don't want to do this," I whispered as I shook my head.

"It's alright," he said. "We'll do it together."

Jimmy forced our hands down into the man's throat. Blood began to pour out of his throat, run down his face, and drip into the drain. I gagged and my knees wobble underneath me. Jimmy held me up, and he kept dragging the blade across the man's throat. I was happy Jimmy's hand was over mine to protect my hand from the dripping blood.

The woman started screaming again. She screamed even louder before being silenced. All I could hear were her sobs. Tommy must have stabbed her in the leg with something else again. I hoped she would go unconscious from blood loss soon so that I would not have to listen to her screaming anymore.

Jimmy dropped the blade on the floor, and I wanted to run away from this man's dead body. Jimmy and I had just killed somebody together.

"How'd that feel, Juliet?" Charles asked.

I bowed my head and took in a few deep breaths. The smell of the man's blood filled my nose.

"I don't think she knows yet," Gabe said.

"Make her cut off his face," Tommy told Jimmy.

I wanted to scream, but a gasp was caught in my throat. I thought that I was going to throw up all over the floor. The woman screamed out again, and Tommy shot her a warning glare. Two handles were standing out of her thigh. Her jeans were covered in blood.

"She's done enough for today," Jimmy said.

"She doesn't even know that she enjoys it yet," Tommy said.

"Shut up, Tom!"

I started crying and I could not stop. Jimmy was the only thing holding me up off of the floor. I took in a few deep breaths to try and control myself, but it did not help.

"Jimmy, we knew that you could not have possibly trained her that quickly," Gabe said.

"I have trained her," I said. "We just don't do this at home."

"That's because you are weak."

"Gabe-" Lindsay started to say. I looked over to see that Jared was on her lap wrapped up in a towel. She reached her hand out to try and calm Gabe down.

"Be quiet!" he snapped. He shook her arm off of him. "I'm just saying that Jimmy should man up and do what Tommy said. Make Julie cut off his face."

My knees folded underneath me, and Jimmy heaved me up onto my feet. I cried even harder.

"She's done enough for today," Jimmy said.

"You do it then, Gabe," Charles said. "Jimmy obviously won't."

Gabe nodded before walking over to us. Jimmy dug his fingers deep into my arm before handing me over to Gabe.

"What? No!" I screamed. "Don't make me do this! Please!"

Gabe picked up the knife off of the floor and shoved it into my hand. He grabbed my waist and pushed me forward so that he could shove me in front of the man.

"You can do it, Julie," Gabe said. "Trust me, it's not difficult at all."

"Gabe, I don't think -" Lindsay started to say again.

"I told you to be quiet!" he said. "I'll deal with you when we get home."

Gabe took his hand off of my waist and grabbed my hand. He forced me to grab the man's bloody flesh by the wound. He brought our hand up with the other knife in it.

"See, you've already started it," he said. "You just need to cut it all off now."

I sobbed as Gabe put the blade into the wound and started to hack away. I was gagging as he was peeling back the flesh that he had freed from the muscle. The knife slipped and cut off a section of his cheek. The flesh was hanging from my fingers and I dropped it in disgust.

"That's right," he said. "You can drop it there."

I continued to cry and gag as Gabe guided my hands to slice off this man's face. Once we had finished, his face was disgusting. The shiny bloody muscles were showing. The only skin he had left was on his ears and his scalp.

Gabe let go of me and I fell to the floor. I scurried away and backed up into someone's legs. I looked up to see it was Jimmy, and his hand was behind his back. I went to get up, but he pushed me back down. He cocked his head to the side, and Taylor and Tommy came into view.

I went to get up again, but they pushed me down. Tommy grabbed my wrists, and Taylor grabbed my legs as they pinned me down onto the floor. Jimmy pulled his hand out from behind his back, and I saw that he had a syringe. I screamed and twisted my body.

I freed one of my legs and kicked Taylor in the chest. He let out a huff of breath. Gabe rolled his eyes and pinned down my other leg.

Jimmy pulled up the hem of my dress and stuck the needle into my thigh. I cried as it pierced my skin.

They got up off of me and I staggered onto my feet. My head was woozy and my vision went black for a moment.

My feet were lifted off of the floor, and I opened my eyes to see Jimmy curling me into his body. I nuzzled my face into his chest as I cried.

"You can borrow my truck," Taylor said to Jimmy.

"Thanks," he said.

I stayed in Jimmy's arms as he walked out into the rain. He hurried over to the truck, and I struggled to keep my heavy eyes open. Jimmy set me down in the backseat before climbing into the driver's seat.

I passed out as Jimmy revved the engine.