Jung kept the pistol pointed in front of him. Anne and Fay didn’t see him until he finally spoke.
“Give me the keys to the Jeep, Anne.”
“Jung… what are you doing?”
“I’m saving my family. Where are the keys?”
Fay started to get up, but Jung swung the pistol at her.
“Sit down!” he screamed.
“Jung, don’t do this,” Fay said.
“I don’t have a choice. Keys, Anne. Now.”
Nelson came out of the room down the hall again.
“What is going on out he—”
Nelson froze when Jung swung the pistol at him.
“Get in the living room, Nelson,” Jung said.
Nelson kept his hands in the air, moving slowly down the hall. Jung made him sit down next to Anne at the kitchen table.
“So what are you going to do now, Jung?” Ray asked, propping himself up from the couch.
Jung tossed Nelson some zip ties.
“Tie Ray up, then Fay.”
Nelson tied Ray’s hands and legs together then fastened Fay to the solid oak table. Once they were secure, Jung tossed one of the zip ties to Anne.
“Now, tie Nelson up,” Jung said.
Anne looped the zip tie around Nelson’s wrists, then another one at his ankles.
“Good. Now, where are the keys?” Jung asked.
“They’re in my room,” Anne said.
“Katie’s still in there,” Nelson said.
“As long as I get the keys, then nobody gets hurt. I just want to get my family out of here. That’s all.”
Jung walked behind Anne, staying close enough to where he could easily shoot her, but far enough away to make sure she didn’t try anything stupid.
Katie got out of the bed when Anne entered, but when she saw Jung follow her in with the pistol in his hand she sat back down.
“Don’t move,” Jung said.
Anne opened one of the drawers to the dresser and pulled the keys out.
“Now, you two, help me get Jenna into the Jeep.”
The two women carried Jenna from her bed down the hallway. Jung gathered his kids and led them down the hallway, making sure they kept their eyes closed as he guided them.
Anne and Katie propped Jenna up in the passenger seat of the car. They strapped her in and closed the door. Jung put Claire and Jung Jr. in the backseat.
He marched the two women back into the house. He had Anne zip-tie Katie, then Jung tied Anne’s hands up.
“Jung, listen to me. You don’t know what you’re doing,” Anne said.
“I know exactly what I’m doing. I’m doing what your husband taught me to do. Keep my family safe.”
“Not like this, Jung. You’re making a mistake.”
Jung turned to leave, but before he made it to the door, he stopped, turning back to the people behind him.
All of them were restrained. These people helped him. Each of their faces looked betrayed.
“I’m sorry,” Jung said.
“Coward,” Ray replied.
Jung looked at the pistol in his hand. It was shaking. He placed it on the windowsill next to the front door before he left.
When he got in the Jeep, he cranked the engine to life and told his kids they could open their eyes.
“Where are we going, Daddy?” Claire asked.
“To get Mommy some help.”
Day 13 (the Farm)
Ken stashed the bullets in one of the kitchen cabinets. Beth was getting lunch ready and yelled for the boys to come inside.
Billy and Joey came running in from the front yard, chasing after one another and laughing.
“Enough, you two. Sit down,” Beth said.
The two boys pulled their chairs out from the kitchen table and sat down. Ken sat at the head of the table while Beth set their plates down.
“What’d those people say?” Beth asked.
The soup dribbled down Ken’s chin as he slurped it up. He spoke with his mouth still half-full.
“They want food,” Ken answered.
Ken continued to shovel the food into his mouth as he spoke. Joey mimicked his father, taking down big gulps. Billy didn’t eat.
“They have enough ammo stashed in that cabin to last for years,” Ken said.
“So they made good on the deal?” Billy asked.
“Yeah,” Ken replied.
“I think they’re good people,” Billy said.
Ken laughed as he brought the bowl to his mouth and downed the last of the soup. When he was done he slammed it on the table.
“They’re naïve,” Ken said.
“You think we can take them?” Beth asked.
Ken shook his head, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt.
“No, there’re too many of them right now. The only way we’re going to beat them is to pick them off one at a time. We can use the bikers in town to our advantage. When I take Mike out tomorrow for the hunt I’ll take care of him, then blame the gang. I’ll say they came after us,” Ken said.
“You can’t do that,” Billy said.
Ken cocked his head to the side. His son had never spoken to him in that tone before, never questioned him.
“I’ll do whatever I want, boy,” Ken said.
“You can’t just go back on your deal like that. It’s not right. They’re good people. They could have killed me when I shot that guy’s wife, but they didn’t. They brought me back here. They kept me alive.”
“And what do you think I’m doing? You don’t think I’m keeping you alive?”
Ken rose from the table. He walked over to his son. He glanced down in his soup bowl, still half-full. Billy recoiled into his chair, with his father towering over him.
“Or maybe you think you’d be better off on your own? Getting your own food, protecting yourself, living out in the woods with no bed, no water, nothing. You think people just get things? That they just happen? No, if you want something in this world, you have to take it. And you have to be strong enough to be able to make sure nobody takes it from you once you have it. If you don’t, then you die. End of story.”
“Dad, they’re not trying to hurt us. They’re trying to help.”
Ken looked back at his wife.
“You see the crap that preacher filled his head with? You see what it’s doing now? It’s made him weak.”
“I’m not weak,” Billy said.
Ken slapped his son across the face, sending him out of his chair and onto the floor. Billy crawled away from his father advancing on him.
“You are weak because you trust people. You can’t trust anybody, you understand? If you do, they’ll take advantage of you. That’s how the world works, boy. Even your God knows it. That’s how he controls you. That’s how he makes sure you stay weak.”
Ken raised his hand again, and Billy braced himself for another blow. Ken didn’t hit him. He smiled.
“Hard to believe you’re any son of mine. Finish your lunch. You’ve got work to do.”
Joey helped Billy pull the cart through the pasture. They’d walk for a while then dump some of the hay in a pile for the cows and horses to circle around.
“Why’d you have to go and make Dad so mad earlier?” Joey asked.
Joey was five years younger than Billy. He’d always looked up to their father in a way that Billy never did. There was always a disconnect between Billy and his dad. Billy was afraid of him. Joey wasn’t.
“It’s not something I do on purpose, Joe,” Billy said.
“He gets angry at you a lot.”
“I know.”
Both Billy and Joey were homeschooled. The town had a school, but it was small. Their mother made the decision to keep the boys out of public school. It allowed her to teach what she wanted them to learn, and it opened up more time for the boys to help with the farm work.