"My name is MARK!" the boy shouted.
"Your name is Jeremiah!" the old woman shouted as she slapped him again. "Your Jeremiah Carson! You are the youngest of seven brothers and my dearest baby boy!"
"I am not your son!" Mark shouted again. "You better let me go before my Pa comes for me!"
"You're hours from Norfolk, boy," an older man told him. "And without boots, you'd make it a minute on that rocky road before we caught up to you. You're our brother, so you better cooperate and do everything we say. "
"Why me?" Mark asked. "Why'd you kidnap me?"
"Because your Pa took something important from us," the man told him. "Two years ago, our Pa was shot down in cold blood by your old man. Our ma was pregnant at the time. When she learned our Pa was dead… she miscarried. Your Pa stole our baby brother. So now we're stealing him back."
"I'm not your son, though," Mark told them. "I have a Pa, and a home."
"You have nothing anymore," the man told him. "I'm your oldest brother, Caleb. And from now, you'll only leave this house to do your chores. You'll be an obedient little boy and do as your told. We don't take kindly to disrespect. The first time you try to run, we'll break your scrawny little leg."
"Then how do you expect me to do chores?" Mark asked as the man backhanded him.
"You need to learn respect, boy," Caleb told him. "I'll beat it into you if you make me. You ain't goin' home, boy. EVER."
"I'll get home," Mark promised. "I'll never be part of this family."
Ellie Carson had seven boys, including the one she's just had abducted.
Caleb
John
Jim
Joseph
Gabriel
Kit
and now with the new Jeremiah, Ellie had seven boys she could be proud of. Seven, nice, respectful God-fearing boys that only lived to please their Ma and get her what they felt she deserved. She was a hard-working woman who helped raise her boys until her husband was gunned down in a street for no other reason than drinking a bit too much and pulling a gun on a rancher he felt was a bit too cocky.
Her boys had never made trouble for anyone, and since the death of her beloved husband, they never intended to. But with her baby dying, she fell into a depression that would have killed her had Caleb not devised a plan. He'd seen his father's killer in Northfork while bringing his father's body home for burial. Lucas was with a smaller boy, one that looked nice, clean-shaven, and respectful. He'd be the perfect little brother. But he couldn't just snatch him now. This would require planning and strategy. Wait for the right moment, when no one was watching.
"Chores, boy," John said as he pushed Mark outside. "Feed the chickens, milk the cows, chop and stack the firewood, bring the water up from the river, then we'll see what else we have for you to do."
"I want to go home to my Pa," Mark told him.
"Your home is with us, boy," John said. "So you'd better get used to it because if you try to run, we'll go back to Northfork and we'll kill your Pa. Gun him down in the street like he did with our Pa."
"No," Mark said as he tried to strike the older man, only to be knocked to the ground. "Not my Pa!"
"Then be on your best behavior, Jeremiah," John told him.
"My name is Mark!"
"Mark McCain is dead!" John shouted. "That boy died when we brought you here. You're ours now."
"I need my boots to bring water up," Mark told him. "That path is full of rocks and thorns!"
"I walked that path my entire life, and I only got boots when my dad got enough money when I was 12," John said. "You'll do things our way with what we give you. Or maybe you'd like to do your chores stark naked."
"I hate you," Mark said as John backhanded him. "You'll learn real quick, boy. Sass will get you a beating. I can't wait to take you out behind the shed and learn you real good. Now get going before it gets too late."
"That boy is a spitfire," Jim told his mother. "It'll take a while to break him in."
"He'll come around," Ellie told him. "You all had your rebellious phases, but soon you all learned your place."
"No one saw him leaving town," Lucas said as he stood in Micah's office. "He didn't say a word to anyone. Then whoever took him kept it really well hidden."
"Or they have a vendetta against you," Micah suggested. "You've made a lot of enemies over the years."
"They're cowards for using Mark to get revenge," Lucas told him. "I've never involved Mark in my personal business, and I've never gone looking for trouble. Who would kidnap my son, then not even contact me? You know I'd pay whatever I have to bring him home safely."
"I know, Lucas boy," Micah said as he patted his friend on the shoulder. "Tomorrow we'll expand our search. We won't give up hope."
Millie brought over a bag full of candy. "On the house. Just to let Mark know we're glad he's safe. Oh, Lucas, I'm just so worried about him."
"I know," Lucas told her. "We all know. I even one hair on that boy's head is harmed…"
"Then they'll have an entire town that'll be racing to hang whoever's responsible," Micah promised him. "I've known Mark since he 10, I've seen him grow up into a responsible young man. There's no way he would have left without being forced. He's out there, and we'll bring him home."
After being worked until his back was sore, Mark came into the house and saw the family eating with barely anything left.
"You should have worked faster, we already ate," Caleb told him. "Plenty of dishes left to wash, though. You need to put some zip in your step, boy."
"Do the dishes, then it's time for bed," Ellie told him. "You'll have to be early for your morning chores. We'll build you up into a man like your brothers in no time."
It was late as Mark was shown the bedroom to share with his two brothers Gabriel and Kit.
"I don't have night clothes," Mark said as Gabriel laughed at him. "We sleep naked, Jeremiah. Ain't no such thing as modesty in the mountains."
"I just want to go home," Mark sobbed as Kit put a hand on his back.
"You miss your Pa," Kit told him, showing concern. Kit was a year older with reddish-brown hair that hung down into his face. He pushed it back and tried to smile. "I'll show you how to do your chores quickly tomorrow, we'll be done in no time. You'll get used to us, Jeremiah."
"My name's not Jeremiah," Mark said through gritted teeth.
"I know that, but Ma is stubborn when it comes to getting what she wants," Kit said. "Just play along, for now, maybe Ma will realize how sad you are and send you home."
"That ain't gonna happen," Gabriel told him. "She's had her heart set on having Jeremiah be a part of our family for so long. I think she's loved the idea of you more than the rest of us. Now maybe she'll start giving the rest of us a little love. Maybe we can start living our own lives instead of living our lives for the brother we lost."
"I wish," Kit said as he rolled over to go to sleep. "Good night, Gabriel… Mark."
Mark climbed into the bed and rolled over, crying himself to sleep.