On the first morning that Jake was left alone with the men, he spent the first few hours in the basement terrified over what would happen while Sir and Chloe were away. He waited for Alex or one of the other three to arrive, he knew it would happen sooner or later. In a weird way, he hoped Danny might come, not that he wasn't scared of him too but less so than the other three. Eventually one of them came, it was Ryan. He lowered the ladder down and ordered Jake up. Jake did as he was told as usual and was taken to the kitchen. When they arrived in the kitchen, Alex and Tony were sitting around the kitchen table. They already had cans of beer on the go and it was not even 9 am yet.

''So here we are'' said Alex ''just the 4 of us''

''Where is Danny, Sir?'' asked Jake

''He had to go to work boy. Miss him do ya? I will tell him you were asking about him and I am sure he will be touched by that!''

''Is it time for my breakfast?''

''No it is not'' replied Tony ''you are not having breakfast this morning

''But I always get fed at this time Sir'' protested Jake

''Yeah well not today ok boy'' said Ryan ''you must not argue over it''

''Yes Sir''

Jake was starving hungry and was not too thrilled about this. Why were they not letting him eat breakfast? Were they going to do this for the whole week? Make him go hungry?

''Well now there is a long day ahead of you now isn't there'' said Alex with a mocking tone in his voice ''you must get bored sometimes''

''Yes Sir''

''Well not to worry, we have a job for you to keep you busy''

Jake was escorted to the garden and down to the far end, where he found building material waiting. There was a patch of ground marked out

''I will explain what I want you to do'' said Alex ''Dan and I have been planning a surprise for mum and dad and while they are away this is the perfect opportunity to do it for them. We want to build them a summerhouse at the bottom of the garden, a lovely surprise for them to come home to......or rather I should say we want you to build it. All on your own, you will dig the foundations and build the summerhouse. You can see the area we marked out for you. You will work hard and get it done as quickly as possible, I do not want you taking longer than a few days on this as we have other things to do other than supervise you for a week''

Jake was horrified as he realized the work ahead for him. This was a hard job for one person to do on their own. This was slavery pure and simple

''Take this'' said Ryan shoving a garden spade into Jake's hands

He was ordered to begin digging

''You have a long day ahead of you, lots of work to get done, so I would not waste time if I were you'' Tony told him

Jake got to work, while the three men spent the morning drinking beer and listening to music. After a few hours, the hole for the foundations had been dug. Jake was ordered to begin mixing the cement

''Can I have a break first please?'' he asked ''I really need a drink''

''You can have a break later'' he was told

He was so thirsty now. The sun was beating down on him and he could feel his skin burning, no point in asking for any sunblock from these bastards. He worked for several more hours mixing and laying the cement. Eventually, he couldn't take it anymore and plucked up the courage to approach the men, still drinking beer and listening to music as they relaxed in the sunshine

''Who said you could stop boy?'' snarled Alex

''I am exhausted, hungry and I am very thirsty, please let me have a rest and a drink Sir ''pleaded Jake

''GET BACK TO WORK BEFORE I BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU'' Screamed a furious Alex ''You can have a break and a drink when I tell you you can and not before!''

Jake rushed back to carry on with his work, while the men laughed cruelly

''Fucking pussy!'' Ryan called after him

More hours passed and it reached 3 pm. Jake had been working nonstop for 6 hours in the blazing hot sun. He felt tired and dizzy but ignored it and carried on as instructed Eventually concrete foundations had been laid but needed to be left to set.

''You've done quite well so far'' Alex said to him, seeming to resent having to give him praise for anything ''you can get to work on building the summerhouse tomorrow once the concrete has set''

''So that's it for today?'' asked Jake

''Yes for today''

Jake was relieved. He had worked hard and was shattered. He needed a rest

''But you can make a start on some chores in the house for the rest of the afternoon'' continued Alex

Jake was horrified ''But I have worked hard for 6 hours Sir, I need a break! I need a drink too!''

''And you can have one now for 20 minutes boy, you can have a drink of water too''

Jake was allowed some water, a pint glass, and icy cold from the tap. He gulped it down and never felt such relief. He had never enjoyed a simple glass of water as much as he did right now. He politely asked for more and was surprised when they let him have it. Two pints of water made him feel bloated and he definitely didn't want anymore to drink after that. His thirst was well and truly quashed

For the rest of the afternoon, he got on with some cleaning and ironing inside the house. He was relieved to be out of the sun but he had been burnt and knew that this was going to hurt later and that the men would refuse to give him anything to relieve it. After he had done his chores he was sent back to the basement

''Tomorrow you are going to work hard again to put the summerhouse up'' Alex told him ''I want the job completed tomorrow''

''Can I have some food please Sir?''

Alex went away without answering and Jake assumed that was a no. A while later he returned with a can of baked beans and threw it down into the basement

''That's your dinner''

Jake was sure the can would need a tin opener to open it, this would surely be one of Alex's cruel jokes to torment him. But when he picked it up he was surprised to find that it was one of those with a ring on it that you pull to take the lid off

Day two of the summerhouse project was much the same as day one. Jake was instructed to work to get it completed quickly. He was not allowed breaks. He got thirsty and felt the sun burning him again. Danny was absent again but the other three were there again, drinking beer and getting a suntan. By 3 pm he was finished. One person putting a summerhouse up all on their own in 2 days, he felt kind of proud of himself

''You've done well'' Alex said begrudgingly

''Is that it now Sir?''

''Not quite, you still have to paint it now'' Alex informed him ''you can start right away'' Jake really should have seen that one coming, of course, they would want him to paint it

''Can I have a break first?''

''You can have a break while I get the paint for you. we stored it in the garage''

''I need some water too please Sir''

''You can have some after you finish the painting''

Jake got to work painting the summerhouse in a dark green color. He started at 3.15 pm and was still painting by 7 pm. His arms ached and a few times he nearly fell off the ladder while painting the high parts. He felt tired and dizzy. The mosquitoes were out and about and looking for dinner and Jake would do nicely. He could feel the sharp pricks of the little bastards biting. He knew he was going to be sore and itchy later. He remembered reading somewhere ages ago that it is only the female mosquito that drinks blood, the males do not. He forgot where he read it or even why he remembered it, it was just one of those things that had stuck in his memory, it's funny the things we remember and the things we forget he thought.

By 8 pm he was finished

''Well done'' Tony told him ''I have to admit you did work hard boy!''

''May I have a drink and some food now please?'' asked Jake. ''It's been a long day and I am very hungry and thirsty now, I feel a bit sick too''.