The mood at the table was somber, even Brandon was unusually quiet. Caitlyn, for her part, was doing her best to eat normally, but all her attempts at making conversation died on her lips before they could crystallize.
"Interesting thing, what happened at school," Kyle finally broke the silence, looking at nowhere in particular.
Tori breathed deeply, but merely continued picking at her food.
"Do you know anything about that, Brandon?" Kyle asked.
Caitlyn looked at Kyle, eyebrows raised. They had seemed to her knowledgeable enough about how to deal with Brandon but regardless, and much like her mother, they had chosen not to avoid the issue. This wasn't going to be fun.
Brandon looked at his father for a bit before answering, "yes, dad. I know something."
Kyle only looked at his son with an undecipherable expression, so Tori cut in. "Do you mind telling us what happened, baby?"
"Can we not..." Caitlyn whispered, almost to herself, and she might as well have said nothing since nobody gave any indication of having heard her.
"Caitlyn and I slept at the school. When we were getting out, the cops shot at us and I protected us," Brandon said with a shrug.
"Are you saying it was all in self-defense?" Tori asked, looking at her son with a small smile.
"Yes, of course," Brandon said with a blank face, making it obvious even for people who wouldn't know him as well as his parents or Caitlyn, that he was lying. Caitlyn just looked back at her food.
"How come one of them disappeared, then?" Kyle asked the obvious. "Why weren't they all there on the floor? And why were they dead? You could have..."
Tori's smile fell at Kyle's words, and Brandon interrupted his father. "Wow, dad, you seem really concerned about these cops. Din't you hear the part about how they shot at us? Maybe..."
Kyle stood up abruptly and looked at Brandon with barely contained anger. Brandon, for his part, did stop talking. Mr. Breyer exclaimed, "I don't care what you can do. I'm your father and you will respect me!"
Caitlyn quickly grabbed Brandon's hand below the table and squished, but Brandon had already looked down at his plate and was saying, "you're right. I'm sorry."
That did placate Mr. Breyer so he sat back down. More calmly, he spoke again, "of course I heard the part about they attacking you. You can't imagine how glad I am that you're home safe. I just don't understand why couldn't you have just taken off, or leaving them alive..."
Brandon looked at his father with obvious anger, but he didn't seem likely to turn violent just yet. "Why? They attacked me! They attacked Caitlyn! I can't let something like that go unpunished, they deserved it."
Nobody said anything for a moment. Until Tori, looking at her son with a trembling lip, asked, "Do you... Do you not feel bad about... killing these people, honey?"
Caitlyn closed her eyes and sighed again. Things were going about as bad as they could be going.
"I don't think so mom," Brandon said with a smile. Then his eyes flashed red momentarily and he continued, "as far as I care, anyone who tries to go against me can die."
Caitlyn then saw a tear escape his mother's right eye, but Tori wiped it quickly. Kyle, for his part, was also looking at his son with nothing short of deep sadness. Caitlyn didn't miss the short glance the two adults exchanged then, but whatever meaning it had escaped her.
Not that she had much time to decipher it because a moment later Kyle stood up. "I see... Hey champ, do you mind coming with me to the farmyard? Just before dinner I heard something break and I wanted to take a look."
Brandon stared at his father, looking confused at the sudden change of subject, but then rolled with it. "Sure, let's go."
"Caitlyn, sweetheart, do you mind helping me with the dishes?" Tori asked with a smile that didn't reach her eyes while the two men left the table.
"Sure, no problem," she said, also scowling as she went over everything that had just transpired. Finally, she shrugged; anything was better than continuing the conversation about those cops.
Caitlyn was nearly finished when she heard Tori approaching.
"Caitlyn," Brandon's mother said. "Do you mind coming with me to my studio for a moment?"
"Sure," Caitlyn said and, leaving the last plate in its place, followed Mrs. Breyer, who was already walking towards her studio.
Once they were inside, the woman turned back, and Caitlyn was taken aback at seeing tears running down her cheeks.
"Are you...?" Caitlyn started.
"Do you know what this is, Caitlyn?" Tori asked, and then lifted something in her hands that Caitlyn hadn't noticed before. It was a very, very familiar piece of metal.
She looked back at Tori with wide eyes. She opened and closed her mouth several times before she was barely able to whisper, "yes, yes I do."
"And you know what it can do?" Tori asked before letting out a nearly hysterical sob.
She and Brandon should have never left the school.
Caitlyn shook her head to clear it and, after an eternity of just a few seconds, she choked out "... yes."
Tori said nothing and didn't seem to be able to say anything, so Caitlyn prompted, "why do you...?"
"You know what he's done. You saw it," Tori said, having found the resolve to speak again. "He's going to do more things like that. I wish he were still my baby, I really wish..."
There was probably nothing in the world Caitlyn wanted less than hearing whatever it was that Tori was getting at, but she still listened.
"But he's not," Mrs. Breyer continued. "He has to be stopped, Caitlyn. Kyle and I have talked about this before, and now he's started killing. He has to be stopped."
Caitlyn now felt tears brimming in her own eyes. "You... You want to... to kill him? But he's your son!"
"Yes, he is!" Tori said, angrily wiping the tears. "But he's not from this world, Caitlyn! He's already killed people, we don't know what else he might do!"
"I... I..." Caitlyn stammered, then swallowed and asked, a bit more clearly. "Why are you showing me this? Why are you telling me this?!"
"Because Caitlyn, sweetheart," Tori said, her eyes pleading. "He's our baby, we can't kill him. I can't kill him, I wouldn't be able to. But you, you..."
Caitlyn took a step back, horrified. She then exclaimed, a bit of hysteria in her own voice, "you want me to do it for you?!"
"Caitlyn please!" Tori said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "He's our baby! But you! You are close to him now! You even sleep in the same bed! Yes, I've noticed, you don't need to deny it, it's fine! You can... You can do it while he's asleep. He wouldn't even notice, while he'll hear us coming. He would stop us... Caitlyn, please..."
Now both women were openly crying.
"But..." Caitlyn said between sobs. "I don't want to..."
"Yes, you want!" Tori pleaded, her grip on her shoulder becoming almost painful. "I know you never wanted to be with him! He's forcing you, honey! I know you want to get away and I know you don't want him to kill anyone else!"
"But... But... Killing him?" Caitlyn asked, unable to say anything more coherent.
"I know you've seen how he is. We've seen it too, we're his parents!" Tori was starting to look crazy, her eyes boring into her. "You know he won't stop on his own. We're the only ones who can!"
"What if... What if... We just talked to him?" Caitlyn offered.
"We have! We have tried everything to get him to open up to us!" Tori said, wiping her tears again. "He won't! He's set in what he wants! And I know you've talked to him too! You tried it at your house! Did he listen to you?"
Had he listened to her? That morning he'd reminded her that he would kill regardless. He also said that he would try to listen to her, but what if that was just to get her off his case?
Tori, however, took advantage of her silence. "See! Caitlyn, he won't see reason! But we can't... I can't. But you can do it! Please!"
This, this was too much. Caitlyn had half a mind to just run away but it was clear by the conviction in Tori's eyes that his parents would try regardless and that would only end with them killing him or him killing them. She wanted to scream, to cry. Why was this her life? Why were these things pushed on her? She hated Tori then, she hated Kyle, and she hated Brandon for starting it all. This was too much, she was only thirteen, and she hated herself for seeing the logic in what Mrs. Breyer was saying.
"What if... what if..." She asked at last. "What if he notices me before I do it. He'll..."
"No, honey!" Tori said, her hand now patting Caitlyn's shoulder in a way Caitlyn decided to interpret as comforting. "You have to do it while he's asleep. He's a heavy sleeper, I'm sure you've noticed."
Caitlyn was running out of things to say, and they were running out of time. Kyle and Brandon were unlikely to take much longer on the farmyard; it was already dark. "I... I... don't..." She tried.
"Honey, please!" Tori said, the hysteria coming back to her voice. "If we don't do this, a lot of people might die! Do you want to allow that?!"
She gaped at Mrs. Breyer. How did one even reply to that? She opened and closed her mouth several times and finally she looked down at the piece of metal.
"I... I'll try..." She finally offered.
The other woman all but crushed her on a bear hug, openly sobbing. "Oh god, Caitlyn! I really wish this wasn't the only way! And thank you! Thank you for not making me..."
A wave of nausea assaulted Caitlyn all of a sudden, so she disentangled herself from Tori and took another step back. Tori, however, wasn't deterred and carefully handed her the piece of metal. Caitlyn felt as if she was holding a poisonous snake.
"Please, text your mother telling her that we're inviting you over for the night," Tori said, trying to muster a smile and accomplishing only a grimace.
"W... what?" Caitlyn asked, her mouth falling open again.
"It has to be done as soon as possible, Caitlyn!" Tori said. "Now come, let me fix your eyes so he doesn't notice your tears."
Caitlyn only looked at Mrs. Breyer in horror, but ultimately moved mechanically to the bathroom where the other woman cleaned her face and applied some make-up to hide her puffy eyes. Tori did the same on herself. Ten minutes later—Mrs. Breyer must have texted her husband—Brandon and his dad came back.
"Hey," he said before looking more closely at her face. "Something wrong with you?"
"What? No!" Caitlyn said, a little more high pitched than she had gone for. "Your mother and I were just trying on make-up."
"Ah, alright," he said. "Want me to take you home?"
"N... no," she stammered, glancing at his parents who were pretending to talk in the living room. Kyle's eyes were on her. "I'm staying here tonight."
"Oh, awesome," he said, breaking into a huge smile. Her stomach dropped so much she was sure it was below the ground. "Let's go to my room, then!"
"Alright," she sighed and, turning to glare at his parents. With all the venom she could put into her voice, she exclaimed. "Good night, Mr and Mrs. Breyer!"
She walked away without even waiting for an answer and went upstairs. Once in his room, Brandon tried to make out with her several times but she was unresponsive.
"Hey," he said with a little frustration after the third time she turned her face away after an awkward kiss. "Are you alright?"
"Yes," she whispered, avoiding his gaze. "I'm just tired, can we just go to sleep today?"
His face betrayed his annoyance, but ultimately he conceded. Not that she could sleep, looking intently at her hoodie that was hanging on the back of his desk chair, whose pocket was hiding the thing she was to use to kill him. She couldn't even move for hours, long after his breathing had steadied. She had to count to one thousand just to gather the strength to leave the bed.
Every step felt heavier than the last, but she finally did manage to reach the desk chair. Slowly, as if on a trance, she took the piece of metal out and just as slowly, she walked back and stood next to the bed. He was sound asleep, sleeping peacefully, and she raised the makeshift weapon over his chest... And promptly dropped to her knees, crying uncontrollably.
The noise of her hitting the floor and her sobbing made him stir, and slowly he opened his eyes. He focused on her and he frowned for a second before he was on the floor next to her.
"Hey!" He whispered. "Are you ok? Why are you crying? What...?"
"I can't do it! I can't do it!" She repeated in between her sobs.
"You can't do what?" He asked, confused. He then looked at the piece of metal lying in front of her and went rigid. Slowly, as if trying to make sure his eyes weren't lying, he asked, "Caitlyn, what is that?"
"It's... It's... from your ship," she stammered.
He looked at her, his eyes bright red. Just as slowly as before, he asked, "what were you doing with that?"
"I can't do it!" She repeated.
"You can't do what?" He asked, gritting his teeth. His face becoming harder by the second.
"They... they wanted me to..." She whispered.
"They?" He asked, and her face went pale. "Caitlyn, answer me."
She threw herself at him and tried to kiss him, but he easily pulled away and kept her at arm's length. She exclaimed then, "Brandon, please! Don't do anything!"
"Answer. Me." He punctuated, the fury in his voice almost overwhelming her.
But she didn't need to. Suddenly the door was thrown open and his father burst in; it was obvious that they had been listening in. Brandon needed only to look at what his father was holding before he took action. Caitlyn found herself in his arms and a second later the window exploded. It took him a second to drop her in the forest near his house and he made to take off.
"Brandon, please!" She screamed, but the words were useless even before she yelled them. His eyes were dead and his face was completely blank, right now nothing would reach Brandon. The only thing that made him even look like a human instead of a statue was the tears running down his cheeks.
He took off, and she watched in horror as the house was slowly demolished, with him running through it again, and again, and again. She could almost hear the screams coming from inside, but in reality she was too far away to tell, and she wasn't able to move. After about an hour of this slow destruction, she was able to barely see him raise above the wreckage of the house and then he rained fire on it. His heat vision quickly set ablaze the tons of wood spread around and soon what had been the Breyer house was a gigantic bonfire.
Finally, he came back and descended in front of her. He took the couple of steps separating them and then collapsed, with her just barely able to move in time to catch him. He screamed and cried for the rest of the night, Caitlyn holding him in her arms.