"Listen to me," said Ken. "However you think this is going to play out, you're wrong. We're not going to become the goddamn family that slays together."

"How long are we going to argue about this?" Vivian pointed to Charlene. "Until she wakes up?"

"She's not going to wake up."

"She will if we don't wrap this up. We can't stand around fighting forever. It's a school night."

Ken sighed. "All right. I'll go talk to him. Shit."

* * *

The boy, Jared, just sat there, staring at Gertie.

He was tall, broad-shouldered, and handsome. He looked like he should be captain of the football team, not some creepy teenager sitting in a wooden chair watching Gertie hang in the cage.

After his mother left, Gertie had tried to reason with him. He'd told her to shut up or he'd break her neck. She'd believed him. So they sat in silence, with Jared occasionally chewing on his lip, leering at her as if she were naked. He'd been there for at least an hour.

They both looked over as the door opened.

The woman in Ken's arms had her head lolled over, so there was about one second where Gertie could pretend that it might not be Charlene. But of course it was Charlene.

Gertie hadn't wept since being left alone with Jared. Now the tears began to flow again.

"Get up," said Ken. "I need the chair."

Jared stood up. Ken placed Charlene in the chair. She slumped over, but he straightened her before she could tumble onto the floor.

Vivian walked into the room. She placed her hand over her nose and mouth as she recoiled at the scent. The smell of dead bodies hadn't seemed to bother Jared, even when he first walked into the room.

Ken looked uncomfortable. Nervous, even. He fidgeted as he stood there, looking like he was trying to work up the courage to say something to his son.

"So..." he finally said.

"It's okay, Dad," said Jared. "We don't have to talk about it."

"All right."

Jared placed his hand on Charlene's shoulder. Gertie wanted to shout a vicious threat about what she'd do to him if he harmed her friend, but of course there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop him, and she'd be better off conserving her very limited energy.

"Mom said we might kill her together," said Jared.

"We might," said Ken, sounding very unsure of this. "Do you really think you're ready for something like this?"

When Jared smiled, it was the creepiest grin Gertie had ever seen on an actual person. "Oh, yeah. For sure."

"No," said Ken. "Not 'Oh yeah, for sure.' This is serious. We're talking about taking a human life. You need to be absolutely certain that this is something you want to do. We can't have you throwing up and running out of the house to confess what you've done."

"How do you know this is my first time?" Jared asked.