“Get down! Did you hear me?”
“Yes Sir,” said Nick. These are the words that he wakes up to everyday. Nick springs out of bed and hits the floor with a thud. The beds shake as everyone in the room hits the ground. The walls are cream colored and the corners are filled with mold. The beds are as hard as mountains and as wide as pencils. Nick is on the bottom bunk and has never looked up or even tried to start a conversation with the man on top.
“Hello there Nick. What is in your hand?”said George. Nick had been looking through his belongings and came across his picture of his family. In his picture were his dearest Martha, Charley, and Sarahmay.
“Hi George, oh this is just a picture of my family,” said Nick in a hushed tone.

“Who is that lady in the picture, Sir? She is stunning,” said George.
“That is my wife Martha,” Nick replied.

Nick began to feel a tickle of curiosity as to why George was asking him these questions. Because of Nick’s protective nature the first thing he thought of was that man will not touch my family. While Nick was lost in thought his commanders voice caught his ear. “March forward now!” Nick got up and was safe from George, for now, and so was his family. As Nick followed the mile long line to the army’s rough training course, he thought to himself, could George actually hurt my family? This course consisted of a forty foot ladder climb. Even though Nick has to endure all this training he cannot stop thinking about what George asked him this morning. What will George do about his obsession with Martha?

The next morning Nick is woken up because he hears something disturbing coming from the top bunk.

“Martha, Martha how I want you dearly,” was saying under his breath George.
Nick, wide awake now, yells with a very stern tone, “George what are you saying about my wife?”
“Before I go another day I must see your dearest Martha and touch her glistening hair. On our leave you and your family should come visit me in Iowa. I live near a dairy farm for sale and if you all like it there you should move from New York,” suggested George.
“My family and I will not be moving or visiting anywhere, especially not Iowa,” snapped Nick.
George was not pleased with Nick’s response. As George begins to pack his belongings he looks to his left and right and notices no one is coming so then he places a note on Nick’s things. Nick runs back into the room and George is barely able to place the note in time. Nick reaches for his belongings and notices the note that was signed from George. Nick begins to read the note.
Refusing to move to Iowa was the wrong decision for you and your family.
Once you take your first steps onto the ground outside of the army you will never be able to see your family again.
The first thing I am doing when I get out of the army is find your family in the waiting deck.
I will tell them that you want them to move to Iowa and you will meet them there.
They will believe me and they will move.
If you speak of this to anyone say goodbye to your children.
That is all you need to know, but there is one more little detail for you Nick Brown.
You will be taken.

Nick has been missing for two years now. His family has moved to Iowa and lives on a dairy farm next to George.
“Come in kids quickly, pick up your feet,” said Martha.

“Yes Mother,” said Charley and Sarahmay. The children run into the house and slam the front door shut. The children go straight upstairs before even glancing at their mother. All she could hear was the pounding of footsteps and then the bang, bang of her children’s doors as the closed tightly. Martha sat back in her chair and began to go through her mail one piece at a time. The letter with her husband’s signature grabs her attention. It is addressed to his dearest Martha. She grasps the letter with her sweaty, dirty hands and begins to read.
My Dearest Martha,
I miss you all terribly and love every one of you.
This has to be quick because I only have three minutes to write this letter.
I don’t know where I am or what will happen to me, but what I do know is that you need to take care of yourself and our children.
You cannot trust anyone and if you remember anything from this letter it is the next few words. STAY AWAY FROM GEORGE!
I love you all and hope to see all of your beautiful and handsome faces again soon.
That is all I can say for now he is coming.
Love, Nick

In shock Martha rushes to the bottom of the stairs. “Charley you are in charge, I will be back in a few minutes. Do not leave our house under any circumstances,” said Martha with a frantic tone.

“Yes mother we won’t go anywhere, but where…” said Charley with an annoyed voice.

“Don’t ask questions,” Martha said quickly.
Martha tip toes down her porch steps and looks in all directions. When she sees that no one is coming she sprints across her field and ducks behind the big oak tree next to George’s house. While Martha is standing behind the tree she begins to shake, but she knows she has to keep going and get into his house. Martha runs to the back of his house and grabs the largest rock she can find. She throws the rock into the nearest window and its glass shatters into millions of tiny pieces. Martha climbs into the window and hears a car pulling into the drive way. She falls and cuts her arm on a piece of broken glass. Her arm is bleeding and she is in tremendous pain. She gathers up the strength to go on because her husband could either be hidden in this house or she could discover a clue to help her find where he might be. Crack! Snap! She hears someone on the porch. Everything goes quiet. Martha hears the key going in the key hole. The door is opening. Martha is holding her arm trying not to leave a trail of blood behind her. She reaches the basement door and slowly pushes it open. As she is creeps down the uneven staircase she stops dead in her tracks. She hears movement right above her. One footstep, two footsteps, and then it stops. She begins to walk down quicker. Martha notices a hole in the ground and dirt in a pile next to it. She sees a shovel leaning against the table. On the table there is a knife and a rope. Martha hears the noises from upstairs start again. Then there is a voice from the top of the stairs.

“I know you are down there. It is time to come. We can just talk and no one will get hurt,” said George with an almost snake- like tone.
Martha is still shaking, but she refuses to leave until she finds something that will help her locate her lost husband. She leans over the hole and sees an immense crate. Martha gets down on her hands and knees and begins to dust of the top to see what is inside.

“If you don’t come out of my basement in one minute I am coming down,” hollered George.
Martha is determined. She finds what appears to be a handle. As she pulls on the top of the crate it goes flying off and she flies back. Martha is scared to get back up and look in the crate, but she thinks of her children and continues to crawl on her hands and knees toward the opening in the ground. Tears are streaming down from her face.

“I am leaving now to go get your children,” threatened George.
Martha finally looks in and sees her husband’s face lying in the crate. His eyes are shut and he is bleeding. She starts shaking him and begins to cry even more. As a tear drop falls on to his heart he starts to reach for her. Martha helps him out of the hole in the ground and tells him about George and where he is headed.

“I love you and have missed you so. George told me that he was going to get our children we have to beat him to our house,” said Martha.

“I love you too. I will run ahead of you to save our children. You need to call the police right away!” said Nick with a nervous tone.
Nick bolted up the stairs and ran out of the house past the oak tree and the fields. Martha has the police on their way. Nick finds George sitting on the sofa with the children on either side of him. Sarahmay is bawling and Charley is kicking and punching at George. Martha walks into their house with the police following a few seconds behind her. The police force George to let the children go. The Brown family walks out of their house together and sits on porch to watch as George rides away from the sunset in the police officer’s car.

“We will always be together until the end,” said Nick.