Two brothers walk side by side in the woods

  A thick forest, not uncommon in rural Tennessee.

They'd been packing up their house-

 to move in with a new stepdaddy

 and three new step-siblings.

They pretended the venture was to get out of working, 

but they both knew it was some kind of goodbye.

The older brother, thirteen, had been in trouble for his rage.

His companion, eleven, was regarded as a thug in training. 

Maybe they could start over, they thought to themselves.

They boasted of beatings, thefts, pyromania.

  Antisocial, even psychotic behavior.

They hated their family, they said.

His motivation unclear, the younger blurted:

  "He makes us suck him off."

Their older cousin, that was.

A fire lit in the older brother's eyes.

  At first, anger, but then

  shame.

The brothers didn't wal into the forest alone that day.

  There six kids there.

And none of them knew what to do about this.