~North Forest- Hackett Town, Tekisu District~
Caleb's mind races as he starts to piece together the grim puzzle, and his expression drops, his face paling as realization dawns. His voice trembles slightly as he asks, "Hey, how'd you say my dad died again? I don't remember."
Rodney's eyes narrow, and a cold smirk curls on his lips. "I think you and I both know that you remember what I said before. We also both know that you're a smart boy and have already surmised the truth, so why don't we stop this charade?"
The confirmation hits Caleb like a physical blow, and his fists clench at his sides, his body shaking with barely contained rage. "You killed my father, you bastard!" he spits out, his voice cracking with the intensity of his emotions. Tears of fury well up in his eyes, blurring his vision as he glares at the man he once trusted.
Rodney doesn't flinch. In fact, he seems to revel in Caleb's anguish, a twisted satisfaction gleaming in his eyes. "I did, and every day since has been that much better! Your father was a greedy, selfish man who stole everything from me. He wasn't the saint your mother has portrayed him to be."
"Sounds like you're describing yourself, not my father!" Caleb shoots back, his voice laced with venom. "Maybe he wasn't a saint, but he wasn't a backstabbing thief who'd kill someone in cold blood out of jealousy. No wonder my mom could care less about you—you're scum, and she probably knew it all along. You never had a chance with her, whether my father was around or not! My father and she were destined to be together, and nothing you did could've changed that—except killing him, which you did!"
Rodney's face twists into a snarl, his mask of calm slipping as Caleb's words hit home. "You even say the same things as him! I thought I was rid of him after that day, but clearly, I was mistaken, as his seed is just the same! Which means there's only one option left—to get rid of you the same way I did him. In fact, I'll take it a step further this time and kill Noah too once I find him! Then Maggie will have no one left to lean on but me. She'll run to me then!"
"You're delusional!" Caleb shouts, his voice trembling with a mixture of fear and disgust. "She'd figure it out eventually, if you came to her with another lie!"
Rodney's expression hardens, and his voice drops to a menacing whisper. "I guess we'll just have to find out, won't we? Either way, you're living your final moments. You'd better say your prayers now because it's over for you soon. Such a shame—you won't get to follow in your father's footsteps after all. You probably would've made a pretty good enforcer too. Also, I'm sure it's no secret, but I've never liked you. I always thought you were a cheeky little brat, and don't think I didn't hear some of those things you said behind my back! That doesn't matter now, though, because this is it for you. I'll be sure to take really good care of your mother, in ways you never could." He winks suggestively, a cruel grin spreading across his face. "Any last words?"
"Go to hell, you sick bastard!" Caleb growls, his voice shaking with fury. "I swear you won't get away with this! You'll fry for this!"
"Goodbye, Caleb," Rodney says coldly, raising the gun and applying pressure to the trigger. Time seems to slow as Caleb watches in horror, his mind screaming for him to move, to run, but his body is frozen in place by fear. The sound of the gunshot echoes through the forest, and Caleb instinctively shuts his eyes, bracing for the pain that never comes.
A loud, guttural snarl reverberates through the trees, followed by a wet, sickening crunch. Caleb opens his eyes, his heart pounding in his chest. Rodney lies on the ground, his body trembling in shock, blood pooling around him. Caleb's breath catches in his throat as he sees someone—no, something—crouched over Rodney, gnawing ferociously at his neck. The sound is horrifying, a grotesque mix of tearing flesh and crunching bone.
As his vision clears, Caleb's eyes widen in shock. The creature wearing the bloodstained, torn car pajama bottoms and matching top looks familiar—too familiar. "N-Noah!?" The word escapes his lips in a trembling whisper, his mind struggling to reconcile the monstrous scene before him with the image of his little brother.
The beast stops its frenzied munching and slowly turns its head toward Caleb. The sight is something out of Caleb's worst nightmare. Noah's eyes, which had been glowing a sinister blood-red, gradually fade back to their normal gray, and the feral, contorted expression on his face softens, almost resembling the boy Caleb knows—but not quite. "Cae-leb?" Noah's voice is shaky, uncertain, as if he's awakening from a terrible dream. As he slowly returns to his senses, his body begins to shift back, the monstrous features receding. He turns to look at the mutilated body of Rodney and lets out a horrified scream, stumbling back. "Mr. Stinson?" he whispers, his voice trembling with confusion and fear.
Noah's gaze drops to his hands, covered in blood, and the taste of it on his tongue makes him gag. He stares at his bloodstained clothes, the realization of what he's done hitting him like a tidal wave. He looks back at Caleb, his eyes wide with panic and horror. "Caleb… I—I didn't mean to… It's just, he wanted to kill you, so I…." Tears well up in Noah's eyes, his voice breaking as he struggles to explain the unexplainable.
Caleb's heart breaks at the sight of his brother's anguish, but at the same time, he's overwhelmed by an instinctive fear. As Noah steps toward him, Caleb reflexively backs away, his body reacting before his mind can catch up. The hurt that flashes in Noah's eyes at his brother's retreating movement is like a knife to Caleb's heart, and he immediately regrets it.
"I'm sorry, Noah," Caleb says, his voice thick with emotion. "I didn't mean to do that. I just—" He stumbles over his words, unsure of how to navigate the whirlwind of emotions tearing through him.
Noah's tears spill over, and he sinks to the ground, trembling. "I didn't mean to do it, Caleb… I didn't want to hurt him, but I was so scared he'd kill you…" His voice is barely a whisper, filled with the kind of fear and confusion that no child should ever have to feel.
Caleb takes a hesitant step forward, his mind racing. The image of what Noah had just done—what he had become—is still fresh in his mind, but this is his brother, the same kid he's protected all his life. He can't let fear drive a wedge between them now, not when Noah is so clearly terrified of himself.
"It's okay, Noah," Caleb says, forcing himself to move closer, to reach out to the trembling boy in front of him. "It's going to be okay. We'll figure this out, I promise. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere."
Noah looks up at him, his gray eyes searching for any sign of rejection, of fear. But Caleb pushes those feelings down, offering his brother the only thing he can right now—his presence, his reassurance.
Caleb crouches down beside Noah and pulls him into a tight embrace, holding him as if his life depends on it. "I'm here, Noah. We'll get through this together," he whispers, feeling his brother's tears soak into his shirt.
As they sit there in the bloodstained forest, surrounded by the aftermath of horror, Caleb knows that nothing will ever be the same. But right now, the only thing that matters is keeping his brother safe—no matter what.