Kyle never did that again.
He also never opened up to Tiffany or Amanda, even when they were all alone and left in the cabin. He couldn’t risk it. He’d observed how Ron played them all against each other. He’d rewarded Amanda with a a smile and a bag of hard candy for telling him that Tiffany had looked into Ron’s room while he was away, which was forbidden. Then he punished Tiffany by turning his transmitter up high and bringing her to wailing tears administered by the shock collar.
By the same token, when Tiffany whispered to Ron that Amanda had been stashing food in a cubby near their bed and eating it at night—also forbidden—Ron kissed Tiffany on the top of her head and administered a series of shocks to Amanda that made her sink to her knees and sob.
They were all there to keep watch on each other and tell Ron if any of the others stepped out of line. They were all there to please Ron.
He’d said, “A family is about rewards and punishments. Just like life.”
*
ALL THE MORNINGS were the same. Ron slept in the lone bedroom off the main room. When he woke up, which was before the sun came up, he’d say, “Amanda,” and it was her job to spring out of the bed she shared with Tiffany and make coffee. The two of them slept in an iron-framed double bed with their heads on opposite ends with Tiffany closer to the stove and Amanda against the wall. Kyle slept on a single bed four feet away. Both beds were along the back walls of the open room that served as the kichen, dining, and living area.
Breakfast was the same every morning, which was Ron’s preference. Bacon, hash browns, two eggs fried in bacon grease. Buttered toast. Amanda received a few corrections the first week while she cooked until she got everything exactly right.
Ron ate first and he did so leisurely. The others ate after Ron pushed his plate away. He made them finish their meals and clean up their plates.
After breakfast, Ron went out. He did most of his work outside close to the ancient log cabin itself but he never mentioned what he was doing or what his plans were each day. They would see him pass by the windows on the side of the wall or over the sink. He chopped wood, repaired the well, cleared brush from the front of the cabin, and he’d often vanish into a small shed for an hour or two.
Other days, they’d hear the pickup start up and drive away. Strangely, Kyle felt more anxious on the days when Ron was gone than when he was just outside, because he never knew when he’d come back or what he’d been out doing. Or what kind of mood he’d be in when he returned.
Twice a week he arrived with groceries, mostly canned goods. He never brought back a newspaper that might let them know where they were and he apparently made a point of discarding the grocery store receipt with the name and location of the store on it so it wouldn’t be found in a bag.
When Ron wanted to be alone he marched Amanda, Tiffany, and Kyle outside and into the shed where he’d sunk steel rings into the bare two-by-six framing. He looped a chain around their ankles and secured them to the wall with a large padlock. Then Ron would spend time in the cabin, sometimes for hours.
There was no stove in the shed and even though the days were mostly pleasant it still got cold in there. Tiffany trembled until her teeth clattered together like the sound of a rattlesnake about to strike.
Kyle suspected Ron was watching homemade videotapes on a compact player he’d seen in an open ammo box under Ron’s bed. Kyle didn’t dare look at them. Ron referred to it as his “Oh Shit” box for some reason.
Ron had warned them all there would be “severe consequences” if any of his personal belongings were moved or touched. He claimed he knew the exact physical location of everything he owned and he marked them with human hairs or finger lines in the dust. He’d know if anyone tampered with his stuff, he said.
*
AMANDA WAITED UNTIL RON WENT back to the cabin and she was alone with Kyle in the shed.
“Kyle?” she whispered.
He turned toward her suspiciously. Kyle was smarter than either Ron or Tiffany gave him credit for, she thought. In these circumstances it made sense to be suspicious.
She said, “I really feel bad for saying this to you because you seem like a nice boy…”
He was paying attention.
“I don’t want to become close to you and I hope you understand that. I can’t risk it and neither can you. If Ron thinks we’re close he’ll punish us both, but mainly me since I’m the adult. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
The boy simply looked at her. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking because his face was still, like it always was. She thought she could see something in his eyes, though. Something very alive.
“I don’t like Tiffany,” she said. “She’s hard to like and I don’t think for a second that she wouldn’t snitch on either one of us and get us hurt or killed. But you’re different, I think.
“It would tear me up inside if we became friends and Ron did to you what he did to Raheem. Like I said, I’m protecting us both. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
It took a few seconds before he nodded almost imperceptibly.
“I’m being selfish,” she said, lowering her eyes. “I don’t want to get hurt. Please don’t let me get close to you.”
He nodded again.
*
ON CERTAIN DAYS RON would have a distant look in his eye at breakfast. On those days he wouldn’t talk at all. He seemed angry about something, quick to punish and make corrections, and Kyle kept his distance and he noticed Amanda did, too.
When Ron left in the morning on those days Tiffany reluctantly rose from bed and got ready. Ron had communicated something to her and her alone. She washed herself in a basin and primped in front of a round mirror. There was makeup in a small bag and Tiffany reddened her lips and traced black around her eyes.
Kyle watched her surreptitiously when she cleaned up because he couldn’t help himself. She had long legs with barbed-wire tattoos around each upper thigh. There was a sparkly stud of some kind below her belly button and a tattoo of a cat on her lower back. She had no shame when it came to removing her clothing and cleaning up. Tiffany had larger breasts than Kyle thought natural, but he didn’t mind seeing them.
Amanda once caught him staring and slugged him hard in the shoulder.
Tiffany had laughed when it happened and said maybe Kyle was normal after all.
But Tiffany quit laughing when Ron came back into the cabin and ordered Kyle and Amanda out to the shed.
Kyle noticed how rough Ron was with his movements on those days when he locked them up. Ron’s face was flushed and his breath was shallow.
When Ron went inside the cabin to be with Tiffany it would sometimes take hours for him to come back. When Amanda heard Tiffany’s screams she would shut her eyes.
Then Ron would trudge back out to unlock them. His eyes were downcast as if he was ashamed of himself. His movements were more gentle.