Tradition Comes Third

The Shed

 Every joint in my body ached as I followed Dad down the stairs. My eyes felt heavy, and I couldn't stop myself from yawning. I wish I was in bed with Ava curled up on my chest. Dad mentioned letting her fall asleep, so hopefully he will let me join her soon.

Dad opened the back door, and I could see that the sun was setting. The high fences Mom had built a few years ago blocked our backyard out of the view from the neighbours on either side of us. The back of our yard was blocked by the woods that I used to play in when I was younger. Behind our pool was the shed. It was fairly large, and Mom used to use it as a place to write years ago. Dad pulled the chain off from around his neck, and unlocked the door. He reached in and flicked on the lights. He grabbed my arm, and yanked me into the shed.

I gasped when I saw Chris Torres. His hands were chained to the ceiling, and a cloth was tied around his mouth. Blood was seeping through a gash on his forehead. His knees had given out from underneath him. His head rolled to the side, and his eyes were barely open.

"This is the kid who you got in a fight with, right?" Dad asked.

"You're nuts," I said, not taking my eyes off of Chris.

"Hunter, he hurt you and Ava," he said. "You need to protect your family."

"Hurting him is going to protect anyone?" I asked.

"I want you to kill him."

Chris let out a muffled scream through the gag. He pulled down on the chains, and thrashed his head from side-to-side.

"I can't kill him," I said.

"He hurt Ava," Dad said, turning to face me. "You told me that he choked her. He could have killed her."

"He didn't though," I said.

"He didn't this time, but he'll hurt her again. You love Ava, you have to protect her."

"I don't love Ava," I said.

Chris let out another muffled scream, and pulled on his chains. I put my hands on my ears to try and drown out the noise. My temples throbbed, and my eyes burned as if there were thousands of needles in them. I let out a yawn, and my eyes watered.

"You kill him, and your family will be safe," Dad said. "You'll be safe, and I'll let you and Ava go to sleep."

I looked over at Chris. This was the guy who has harassed me almost every day. He's pushed me into lockers, knocked books out of my hands, and stolen stuff off my desk. Him and his football friends picked me up and put in the garbage can outside the gym at a homecoming dance last year. He started cat calling and bothering Ava as soon as he met her.

Dad was right.

What he did to Ava was much worse than anything he has done to me. He choked her. His goal was to kill her. Why else would have he done it? If I hadn't stepped in, Chris would have killed her.

"Take this," Dad said, snapping me back into reality.

I looked down to see Dad was holding out a large knife from the kitchen. It was one of those knives that came in the block, and was almost never used. I took the handle, and was shocked at its heavy weight. Chris thrashed harder against the chains.

"Go ahead," Dad said. I looked over at him, and he cocked his head to the side toward Chris. "Do it, and your family will be safe, and you will be able to go to sleep."

My muscles were aching, and my eyes were heavy. I closed my eyes, and I could feel my body sway as I teetered on the edge of sleep. I took a step toward Chris. My grip tightened on the knife, Chris had a few tears rolling down his cheeks.

"I don't know what to do," I said. My voice was barely above a whisper, and I didn't expect Dad to hear me.

"I'll show you the easiest way," he said.

Dad took a step next to me. He put his hand on Chris' shoulder. Chris tried to twist away from him.

"Hold onto him like this," he said.

His fingers curled into Chris' shoulder. He balled up his other hand into a fist. He pulled his fist back.

"Hold the knife in your other hand. Swing it as hard as you can, and ram it right into his stomach." Dad swung his hand forward, and stopped right before hitting Chris. Chris closed his eyes and flinched. "Got it?"

Chris whimpered, and I nodded my head. Dad let go of his shoulder and took a step back. I heard a crinkle, and I looked down. I hadn't noticed before that he had covered the floor in sheets of plastic. This is what my parents were talking about. Mom knew this was happening.

"You can do this, Hunter," Dad said. "My first time was really hard too."

I can do this, I told myself. I can do this. I can do this, and then go to sleep.

I had to psych myself up. I squeezed my eyes shut. I couldn't stand to look at him anymore. The guy who had tormented me all throughout high school was now trembling under my fingers.

I pulled my hand back, and took in a deep breath.

"Do it," Dad said.

I let out a deep breath, and swung my arm forward. Chris let out a scream as I forced the blade into his stomach. A warm, sticky liquid flowed over my hand. I opened my eyes to see his blood gushing over my hand, and dripping on my pants and shoes. I pulled the blade out, and he let out another scream. Removing the knife caused his blood to spew out, and hit my shirt.

I dropped the knife on the ground, and took a step backwards. Chris' head rolled to the side, and his eyes stayed open. He stared lifelessly at me. His blood dripped down onto the plastic below him.

"You did good," Dad told me. "Go to bed. I'll clean all off this up."

Dad opened up the shed door. I took a step out, and saw that the sun had set. The lights in the pool light up the water. A few windows of the house were bright, and was the only light to the backyard.

I kind of wanted someone to see me and call the police. My story would seem unbelievable as I talked to a police officer covered in blood, and a body was hanging in the shed. I didn't want to spend hours being interrogated. I just wanted to go to sleep.

Dad opened the door, and I took a step into the kitchen. Mom was sitting at the island in the kitchen. She had a cup of tea, and a book in front of her. She covered her mouth with her hand when she saw me.

"Hunter," she gasped.

I walked by her and headed for the stairs.

"Jimmy," I could hear Mom say. "You didn't tell me that was your plans."

"Trust me," Dad said. "I'm bringing this family back."

I dragged my feet across the floor as I headed to my room. I opened my door, shocked to see that the door was unlocked, and closed the door behind me.

Ava was curled into a ball at the edge of my bed. Her eyes were shut, and her lips were slightly parted. Gauze was wrapped around her wounded arm, and she was wearing one of my shirts. I set my glasses down on the nightstand and crawled into the bed. I threw my arm around her, and curled her into my body. I buried my face into her neck, and I felt her hair tickle my face. My body felt like it was sinking into the bed as I fell asleep.