Patrice heard Ms. Washington's voice jump an octave when her husband trotted past. "Where are you going with that rifle?"

"Keep the dog quiet, would you?" Her husband climbed the stairs with his weapon in hand.

In the bedroom, he handed the rifle to Patrice. "That's the real deal there. The original Winchester 70. Best deer rifle I ever shot."

Patrice examined the gun. "Standard scope," she said.

He set a box of ammo on the dresser. "Yep. 270 is a fine bullet. Almost no recoil."

Across the street she saw two figures moving behind the blinds, difficult to differentiate between them.

"I called Samantha," said Ms. Washington as she climbed the stairs. "She said we could stay the night. They'd be happy to have us. Even Sadie." She appeared in the doorway and glanced at the rifle. "When was the last time you fired that thing?" she asked her husband.

"I keep that rifle in good working order," he said defensively. "I was gonna sell it. Remember?"

"You'd two better get moving," said Patrice.

"Is there anything else we can do?" Ms. Washington's voice broke. Her husband wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Get out of the house as fast as you can." She heard them descending the staircase. Her phone buzzed and she read the message.

Skyden: He hurt her. Plez. Help.

Patrice replied: "Get him to the window and get down."

She lifted the Winchester's bolt handle and pulled it back. She laid a cartridge forward of the bolt, pressed it down with her thumb, and heard it snap in the magazine. She loaded two more cartridges and then shouldered the weapon.

........

Skyden knelt on the bed beside her daughter, Walter over her shoulder, eager like a dog watching its bowl filling with dinner.

"Mom!" Kelsey sobbed. "What are you doing?"

"Putting some makeup on you to make you pretty for Walter."

Kelsey's eyes narrowed, tears streaming. "What did he do to your hand?"

Skyden mouthed, "It's gonna be okay." She was going through the motions, pretending this was happening to someone else and doing whatever she could to buy time. Her brain was slowly thawing, no longer frozen with fear. Her mind began working faster and with greater clarity. She knew she was running out of time to act decisively, to do whatever was necessary.

Kelsey whined, "Cut these things off my wrists and I can help you."

"Not yet!" Walter said. His mouth twitched. "I'll say when we cut them off."

Skyden wiped Kelsey's face with her sleeve. "Lemme dry you off, baby."

"Mom!"

"You're hurting my ears!" Walter growled. "Don't make me shut you up!"

Skyden peeked over her shoulder. "I need the makeup," she said. Her hand pulsed with pain.

"You're stalling. Nobody's coming to help you." He stroked Kelsey's bare leg like he was petting an unfamiliar dog.

Skyden saw his pale face flushing with sexual arousal, lighting his eyes.

"Now make her pretty for me." He unbuckled his pants.

"Don't do that, Walter."

"You're still not listening to me! You're wasting time and you're making me mad." He pointed the blade at her.

She brushed past him and opened the drawer.

She yelped when he grabbed her arm and put the blade to her cheek.

Kelsey hollered, "Let her go!"

"What's in there?" His eyes darted from the open drawer to her face.

"Makeup. Her girl things." She grabbed a tube of lip gloss and mascara and showed him. "You want her to be pretty, don't you?" When he released her arm, she returned to the bed.

"Put that in her hair!" he huffed, pointing at the Scrunchie as if it were something sacred that made sense of his life.

"I'm fixing her face first."

"No. Do it now!" He threw the Scrunchie at her.

"We fix her face first. Then her hair. That's how girls do it, right, Kelsey?"

She nodded.

"Make her stop crying. She looks ugly like that."

"Shhhhhh," Skyden said, applying lip gloss to Kelsey's mouth. "See? That's better."

"Hurry up!" Walter hollered.

"You know what would be pretty? The pink lip gloss."

"Just do her eyes."

"I think you're really gonna like the pink." Skyden placed her hand on Kesley's chest and whispered, "Stay down! Don't get up!"

Walter drew the blade quickly across the back of Skyden's neck.

"Ow!!" She yelped.

"Stop it!" Kelsey shouted. "You asshole!"

Walter pivoted, the blade mere inches from Kelsey's face. "Shut your mouth or I'll shut it for you."

Kelsey cringed.

"Damn you!" he hissed. "Why can't you just be nice?"