Chapter 2: The Rules of Punishment

This town isn’t big. If someone’s dog runs off or a truck gets stuck in the mud, everybody knows in ten minutes. That’s just how it is.

News traveled faster than wildfire here. By the time you sneezed, half the neighbors were already asking if you caught a cold.

So now, nearly the whole town came out to watch the show.

People spilled out of their houses, some still in pajamas and slippers, clutching mugs of coffee or cans of beer. Kids perched on fences, eyes wide.

Even though Marlene and her husband, Roy Barker, are both heartless—always favoring their son, mean as snakes—they still care about saving face in public.

Their pride was all they had left, and nothing stung more than public humiliation. Marlene’s shrieks echoed off the hills.

Seeing his wife make a fool of herself, Roy stormed in with a grim face. He grabbed Marlene and dragged her away.

He didn’t say a word, just yanked her up by the elbow. His jaw was clenched so tight you could see the muscle jumping.

"There’s work to be done out at the field. Why aren’t you out there? You trying to work me into the grave?" he barked.

His voice was sharp, the kind that brooked no argument. Even the chickens froze.

Marlene was so scared she didn’t dare make a sound. She took the chance to get away with him.

She shot Mrs. Watson one last glare, then scurried after Roy—head down, clutching her egg-soaked shirt.

Mrs. Watson stood up, hands on her hips, cussing even louder—saying every mean thing she could think of.

Her voice rang out across the yard, creative insults flying. A few folks clapped. Others just shook their heads, muttering about the crazy Barker family.

Marlene was dragged by Roy to work the fields. She wouldn’t be back until sundown.

I let out a sigh of relief, sat in the backyard, and glanced at my equally relieved younger brother.

Strictly speaking, it’s actually my younger sister. But nobody here knows that.

But that’s a secret only we know.

My name is Cassie, and my sister is June. Sometimes I whisper that to myself, just to remember who we are.

In our previous life, we were born into a well-off family. We were cute, easy to like, and that’s why we were kidnapped by traffickers at a county fair.

The fair was supposed to be all laughter and funnel cakes. For us, it became the end of everything safe. I still remember the smell of popcorn, the sound of the carousel, the way June squeezed my hand before we were taken.

Later, we were sold to this dirt-poor Appalachian town, where men outnumbered women.

Like they say, bad things grow in bad soil. June and I grew up under the beatings and yelling of Marlene and Roy Barker.

By the time we were fifteen, we were often dragged into dark rooms to suffer at the hands of men.

No one cared about my or June’s cries for help. Not a soul.

The town looked the other way, their silence as loud as any scream. We were invisible. Disposable.

Eventually, we both got pregnant. I remember the fear, the shame, the way my body felt like it belonged to someone else.

Even with big bellies, we still had to do laundry, cook, and work the fields. If we slipped up, we’d get beaten senseless.

Of course, we couldn’t keep the babies. Not here.

After losing them, the humiliation just kept coming.

We got pregnant again, miscarried again, over and over, until our bodies were ruined. Until we could no longer have kids.

To Marlene, a woman who can’t have children is worthless.

So we became the town’s "whores." With our youth and looks, Marlene made a fortune off me and June.

We tried to escape once, but we could never get out of town.

The hills were a cage, the roads watched. Every time we tried, someone always dragged us back.

So we suffered every humiliation and died hating the world.

Heaven took pity, and we were reborn—back to this nightmare, with all the memories of our past life.

My sister June was reincarnated as Marlene and Roy’s precious son. I was reborn as Marlene’s daughter by her first husband.

In this family that worshipped sons and spat on daughters, I was still in trouble.

But this time, I wasn’t scared. Not anymore.

Because now, June and I are bound to something new. A system.

When I first arrived, I didn’t know June was here too.

Until that day, when I was being beaten and yelled at by Marlene, squatting by the river in the freezing winter to wash clothes.

The water bit at my fingers, turning them red and numb. Marlene’s voice cracked like a whip behind me.

Marlene’s spoiled, tyrant son suddenly showed up and, without a word, squatted down to help me.

You have to understand—in my previous life, he once brought a gang of thugs and trapped June and me in a room, torturing us all night.

A person’s nature doesn’t change. Unless…

I tried calling out, "June?"

Sure enough, a look of surprise and disbelief flashed in my brother’s eyes. He almost burst into tears.

It really was June. My sister.

We both came back. Both of us.

Now that June is a "boy," she’s naturally cherished by Marlene and Roy. Her situation is much better than mine.

But the hatred from our past life won’t let go. This time, June and I are determined to make them pay.

Unexpectedly, fate even gave us a shortcut for revenge.

I accidentally found a hole in the wall of the woodshed. My heart thumped as I reached inside.

Inside was a yellowed spiral notebook and half a pencil.

It was blank inside, but on the cover were a few words: "Punishment Journal."

I didn’t know why it was there, but having just been beaten, I was furious and used it as a diary.

But when I wrote, "I really want to stuff Marlene Barker’s mouth full of manure," I heard Roy shout in shock from the next room.

"Marlene, have you lost your mind?!"

I was startled. Peeking through the crack in the door, I saw Marlene on the ground, picking up manure and shoving it into her mouth. My stomach lurched.

While stuffing and spitting, she mumbled something unintelligible.

"Stop, don’t pick any more, stop..."

Roy kicked Marlene over. Her face was smeared with manure, the stench overwhelming.

But not long after Marlene stopped, June—now my younger brother—suddenly frowned. "It’s punishment time."

Time and space seemed to shift instantly. Marlene returned to the start, repeatedly picking up manure and stuffing it into her mouth, again and again, like she was trapped in a nightmare.