Aunt Merilee was inside her house sitting on the couch. She was slowly starting to be concerned about Brandon for he wasn't home. She hadn't seen him outside the school when the bell rung for everyone to go home. Nonetheless, Merilee tried to keep calm but the thought of something bad happening to Brandon would creep into her mind. She wouldn't know what to do if something were to happen to him. She can picture how her sister Tori would have reacted. Knowing how much she loved Brandon, Tori would probably lose it pretty quickly. Merilee couldn't help but smile about the thought of Tori. She was always very caring, especially towards Brandon.
Merilee could feel her eyes tearing up a little so she raised a hand up to her eyes. As she wiped her eyes, a knock then occurred at the door.
She got up from the couch and went to answer the door. When she opened it, she was met with Brandon.
"Hey, Aunt Meri." Brandon simply said as he walked inside the house as he aunt stepped aside.
"Where have you been? I didn't see you outside of the school." Said Merilee as she closed the door.
"I decided to just walk home. I just wanted fresh air." Brandon lied.
"Well, next time, please let me know. Okay?"
"Yeah." Brandon replied as he walked away from Aunt Merilee to his room.
Merilee wanted to question Brandon further about where he has been but thought against it. It was most likely nothing anyway and it was likely pointless to press him about it. Most people prefer to walk to clear their mind and things likely aren't that easy for him. Maybe for now Brandon needed some space, Merilee thought. She also was going to bring up to Brandon that they'll being doing another counseling session at the request of the school. He still needed to show improvement in regards to breaking Caitlyn's hand.
She went to go do some work. She had some minor paperwork from the school she needed to do.
Meanwhile, Brandon sat within his room after putting his backpack away. It had his partially dirtied sweater from earlier inside. He was pondering on his next course of action, which was concerning Caitlyn. He wondered where he would find her, but as he was wondering he started to hear the voices in his head. The spaceship called for his presence. He didn't really understood that was what it asked for but that thought came to him. Then the voices ceased.
Brandon got up and exited from his room. He'll have to inform his aunt he will be gone or else just disappearing from home would be suspicious. Brandon then found Merilee at the kitchen table working.
"Hey, Aunt Meri, I'll be heading out." Brandon said with a blank face. Merilee raised her head from her work to see Brandon.
"Where will you be going?" Merilee asked.
"I'll be playing soccer." Brandon quickly lied.
"With who?" Merilee asked while looking a bit confused.
"Just some friends." Brandon said with a fake smile. He hoped it added some believability for someone would be excited to hang out with people. It just seemed to be appropriate although it did make him look creepy sometimes. Brandon then continued to talk.
"Earlier I was asked if I wanted to go out later after school to play. I thought of it and think it would be fun."
"Can you give me a name? I want to know your friends." asked Merilee with curiosity. She knew from Tori that Brandon struggled with making friends.
The question asked briefly made Brandon stuck. His mind quickly scrambled for a name but he couldn't think of any. It's not like he knew many people's names at school. Besides, why should he bother? He was vastly superior to his false peers so it should be the other way around.
"I don't really know. They are some cool kids. I can get to know them by going." Brandon said. He hoped his response was satisfying. In the back of his head, he didn't want to resort to any drastic course of actions.
"Well, be back before sundown, sweetie." Merilee reluctantly responded.
"Thank you, Meri." Brandon said as he returned to his room to get a sweater to wear.
As Brandon left, Merilee thought about their conversation.
"This is interesting." She thought. Brandon could be showing improvement. Having friends would be healthy for Brandon. Merilee wondered why would Brandon's classmates try to include him now in their activities. Could they feel sorry for him because of his loss? Nonetheless, her thoughts concluded with hope. Brandon showed interest so maybe that next counseling session she'll have to have with him will turn out fine.
As Merilee looked back down to her work, Brandon returned from his room and he was wearing a red sweater. Underneath it he had his mask and cape tucked inside.
"Bye." Brandon said as he grabbed the door knob and opened the door.
"Be back soon, Brandon!" Merilee exclaimed as she remained looking at the papers, and thinking about getting a drink.
As soon as Brandon was outside of the house, he quickly dawned his mask and cape. Then, he quickly flew to where his ship was within the forests. It was hidden near a grassy mound and covered under branches. It flashed to life by turning on its red lights and speaking to him inside his head again.
Brandon didn't recognize the words but slowly he started to understand.
"Hiding... Better hiding?" Brandon muttered to himself as he was beginning to understand why the ship had summoned him. It had told him that he must better hide it somewhere.
"Alright." Brandon whispered as he looked around. It was it that told Brandon where to put it. It had ordered him to move it from the barn back into the woods. This time it wanted Brandon to decide.
Brandon quickly moved around the surrounding woods for anywhere better. He did stumbled upon a cavern which was sufficient. He used his heat vision to light the interior to see how deep it was. It wasn't very deep but good enough.
He went back to the ship and removed the branches off of it. Brandon then lifted it over his head and took it to the entrance of the cavern. The ship would absolutely fit through the entrance. While Brandon was carefully placing the ship inside the cavern, it started to light up again. Brandon heard it inside his head.
"The... girl..." Brandon was able to make out but he quickly knew what it was referring to. He needed to locate Caitlyn.
After finally setting up the ship inside the cavern, Brandon went to a tree. He was going to uproot it so he could place it over the entrance along with other nearby branches. He grabbed it by the sides and lifted the tree. It was uprooted with ease, and Brandon quickly brought it to the cavern entrance. He then broke the tree in half with a punch to the center. Next, he had set up the two pieces to block the entrance, and he went to grab some tree branches to further cover it up. Brandon was pleased at the end result, and since the ship was silent he assumed it was too.
Now Brandon had to take care of Caitlyn. The first thing Brandon did was travel to her house. He was across the street and looked at the house. There was no lights on. Brandon took of his mask to avoid scaring Caitlyn if she was there. On the other hand, it was still day and Brandon was risking being seen. He just quickly looked around and felt more confident that anyone seeing him won't be much of an issue.
Brandon flew up to Caitlyn's bedroom window. The bed was empty and neatly made. Brandon slowly opened the window and crept inside. She was definitely not here but maybe he could find some clues. Maybe he could learn about her relatives so he could track them down. Brandon looked around the house and saw Caitlyn's and her mother's belongings were still around. It had been a few days since he had killed Caitlyn's mother, Erica, so it is why the house hasn't been made empty yet. Brandon assumed it would take a while anyway for the home to be cleared and resold to somebody else. Brandon returned to Caitlyn's room to see if there was missing clothes. It seemed like there was some missing. It's not like Brandon would know her entire wardrobe exactly.
Before Brandon left, he stopped and decided to go to Erica's room. Her room had dark blue painted walls and brown carpeting. On a drawer next to the bed, a framed picture of Caitlyn was present. Brandon took it out of the frame and placed the picture in his pocket. Finally, Brandon was done there and exited the house the same way he came in. Brandon was in the woods again.
Overall, Brandon didn't find any noteworthy leads. He found nothing to indicate anything about relatives, and if Caitlyn had them some would possibly be in Brightburn. Considering how everyone knows each other, he would most likely know about them to an extent. Since clothes could possibly be missing, she is definitely staying somewhere, though that is obvious. In conclusion, Brandon simply thought, "What a waste of time. She wouldn't be here."
He was frustrated at himself since he is too intelligent to make such an error. Caitlyn really messes with his mind a bit.
Brandon then pondered on the idea of Caitlyn at the police station. It is the most likely place she would be unless she had been assigned a parental guardian by the authorities by now. Although, for Brandon to know he would need to go to the station which would be risky. It's not like they'll let him walk into the place to see Caitlyn. Brandon also didn't want to kill his way to her for doing that would bring too much attention. Covering it up as an accident is an option for he could have it look like a fire, though someone would have to survive. It would be unusual that everybody just died.
To confirm Caitlyn was at the police station, Brandon thought of his aunt. Merilee was the counselor of the school so she would definitely know all about that. Brandon won't ask her but he hoped that maybe she has some documents or something of the sort he could take without her knowing. Brandon thought of going to the school and breaking into her office. It was getting late and maybe a janitor would still be around on campus along with a couple of teachers in their classrooms. Brandon would easily dispose of them if he needed to.
So Brandon went to the school. He was outside and analyzed the building for a way in that wouldn't be too conspicuous. Luckily, a janitor was opening a door into the main building. He placed a bucket to prevent the door from closing as he went to push in some carts to collect trash from the rooms. Brandon quickly went passed the man without issue.
Brandon rapidly traversed the halls as the lights flickered in his presence. He eventually was outside of his aunt's office He gently placed his hand on the door knob and forcibly twisted it. He pushed forward as the door knob crumbled in his hand. He managed to break the door open without have to tear off the whole thing from its hinges. Now he had access to his aunt's office and quickly got to work. Brandon checked the desk and looked at the filing cabinets. He found Caitlyn's file which he took to his aunt's desk and opened. Brandon scanned through the file before seeing what he was looking for on a letter from the sheriff's office.
She was indeed in the custody of the authorities until things were sorted out involving custody. She was noted to make a return to school eventually.
Brandon then returned the file to where he found it, and immediately he fled the premises. Once he was outside, he travelled to the direction of home. The sun was going to set and he had nothing to do for the moment. He was glad to know more about Caitlyn and that he'll see her eventually. He couldn't help but crack a creepy smile under his mask as he flew across the sky.
Brandon was outside of his aunt's house with time left to spare. He took off his cape and mask before entering. He placed the items under his sweater.
"Aunt Meri, I'm back!" Brandon said out loud as he started to head to his room. A door opening slightly could be heard.
"Hey Brandon," responded Merilee from somewhere in the house, "I'm just about to take a shower!"
Brandon heard his aunt close the bathroom door as he finally made it to his room. He took out his mask and cape from under his sweater and hid it away in his closet. Next, he laid down on the bed, and he contemplated taking a shower after his aunt finished using the bathroom.
Brandon stared at the ceiling as he waited for his turn to shower. He made no sound and thought of Caitlyn for a bit. Everything was going extremely well.
A black car drove down the road and was heading towards the sheriff department of Brightburn. Once it arrived to its destination two men in black overcoats with a suit underneath exited from the vehicle. They also had hats on.
A deputy was at the front desk and looked up to see the two men approach him. There was also a black woman who was talking to a deputy, shouting about her son being missing. The two men paid them no mind as they walked passed to speak to the deputy at the desk.
"May I help you, gentlemen?" The deputy asked.
"I'm Agent Carter, and this is my partner Hendrick. We're from the FBI." responded Agent Carter as he and Hendrick pulled out their fake badges. Carter was a tall man with short, black hair. He always had a bored look on his face. His partner, Agent Hendrick, was of average height and also had black hair. He had a buzz cut but it was covered most of the time by his hat. Hendrick also had a slim down face.
"Oh, okay. Again, how can I help you two?" The deputy asked again as he raised a hand to shake the hands of the agents, which was ignored by the two.
"We would like access to the late Sheriff Deever's files on recent cases for this month. We also have some questions." Agent Hendrick said.
"Please follow me then." The deputy responds as he leads the two men around the desk to the back. They walked the hall silently until the deputy tried to start a conversation, "So what brings you two here, fellas?"
"Have you forgotten that a plane crashed here in Brightburn?" replied Hendrick to the deputy.
"Of course but..." The deputy continued to speak to Hendrick as they finally arrived at the door to Sheriff Deeve's office. The deputy took out a set of keys and shifted through them while still talking to Hendrick. While they talked, Carter looked down the hall.
Carter observed a young girl sitting down on a chair. She wore a cast on her right arm, and she looked at the floor. While he looked, she did raise her head and turned to look down the hall. At the sight of him, she looked away to the floor.
The deputy finally opened the door, allowing it to slowly swing open after giving it a gentle push as he stepped aside.
"Here you go gentlemen." The deputy said with a smile as Carter and Hendrick entered the office. Hendrick approached the desk where he started to collect case files on top of it, and within the filing cabinets nearby .
Carter then took out a notepad with a pen attached from a pocket within his overcoat. He turned to the deputy and spoke to him.
"Alright, what lead to Sheriff Deever to the Breyer property?"
"Well, there was a call from the home." Responded the deputy.
"Anything noteworthy in the call?"
"Nope. It was just a few seconds of one of the residents there, Tori Breyer, screaming before the call was cut. We have a recording of it if you want it."
"Yes, we'll be taking that before we leave," said Carter as he quickly wrote down some notes before continuing, "So had Deever been to the Breyer home before?"
"Yeah, he was there earlier that day of the crash. I remember seeing him leave to investigate something concerning the adoptive son of the Breyers named Brandon." Answered the deputy.
"Do you know why?"
"No."
"Okay, does this town often have some strange occurrences?" Carter said as he fixed his tie and continued to write down the noteworthy details.
"What do you mean?" The deputy said in a confused tone.
"Just anything unusual." Carter stated. He sounded a bit annoyed.
"No. Brightburn is a quiet town. This month has been the most interesting time ever." The deputy said with a large smile that was accompanied with light laughter, which quickly faded away as Carter was expressionless. Meanwhile, Hendrick had made a small stack of a few folders on the desk, and was crouched to look into some cabinets. Hendrick got up soon since there wasn't much else that was worthwhile. He grabbed the folders he placed on the desk and walked to Carter's side.
"I'm done." Hendrick announced to Carter.
"Okay." Carter responded to Hendrick as he put his pen and notepad away before going back to the deputy.
"Can you please provide us the recording of the call from the Breyer home?"
"Sure, follow me." The deputy said as he lead them into the hall. As they walked, Carter caught sight of the girl from moments ago. She looked up and for a brief moment she made direct eye contact to Carter who had a cold expression as they passed. She looked down again and Carter looked ahead.
Later, Carter and Hendrick were exiting from the building once acquiring all that was necessary. The two got into their car and drove off after placing their fake badges into the glovebox, which had other fake badges for different agencies. While they drove down the dark rode, Hendrick analyzed what they recovered. He then started to talk to Carter while he silently drove the car.
"Do you think we are dealing with something here, Carter? From what I could tell, this all feels a bit mundane. Like, the symbol appearing at scenes makes this come off as some serial killer's work. Most places like these eventually has them. Wisconsin had Jeffrey Dahmer going about."
"What are your thoughts about the plane crash? The symbol was there too."
"Well, maybe whoever did it had a big gun to do it. Terrorists always attempt to bring a plane down so it isn't something outside of possibility."
"True, Hendrick, but let's first get to HQ to better assess everything we know for our report about Brightburn." Said Carter as he gave a quick glance to Hendrick.
"Alright." Said Hendrick as he closed the folder he was reading.
Soon, Carter and Hendrick found themselves back in headquarters within their offices. They typed out their analyzed all the data they recovered and typed their reports. Finally, they had to submit it to their boss.
They went to the office of their boss, which was lit mostly by a desk lamp. Their boss looked at some papers while he had a cigarette in his mouth. He laid it down when Carter and Hendrick were standing in front of his desk.
"So what has Brightburn, Kansas have to offer?" Asked their boss as he grabbed the report which was within a folder from their hands.
"Well, Ed, we have one unexplained disappearance of one Erica Connor who disappeared under unusual circumstances. She was working at a local diner at around night time when she disappeared. The diner showed signs of a struggle, but what is noteworthy is that the door to the walk-in freezer was cut in half and torn off its hinges. The door looked like it was cut by a laser." Said Carter.
"It says here she has a daughter. Anything?"
"Yes, named Caitlyn. Well, she was reportedly scared silent according to the police."
"You guys interviewed her?" Asked Ed.
"No, we didn't see that as really neces-" Carter managed to say before being interrupted by his superior.
"Why not?"
"Sir, what would we learn from a 12-year-old girl that the local police doesn't? She isn't talking and kids aren't all that reliable." Intruded Hendrick.
Their boss huffed at his cigarette for a brief moment before responding to Hendrick.
"Kids sometimes see things, jackass," He said before turning to Carter, "Continue please."
"Yes, sir. There was the death of a local named Noah McNichol. He died in a car accident but what makes this interesting is the presence of a symbol on the road, which was also present at the diner where Connor worked. It was on the window. This same symbol also appears at the crash site of that passenger plane. We looked through some files on old occult practices and don't see the this symbol anywhere."
Ed looked at the attached photos of Brandon's symbols. He looked at them in silence before asking Carter to continue.
"Well, sir, there is the sheriff of the town, Sheriff Deever. He was at the site of the plane crash but we don't have his body. We did find some blood on the front lawn we haven't identified yet. It is being checked to see if it is his blood.
"Furthermore, we looked into why he was there. He and a deputy, also deceased, went there in response to an emergency call from Tori Breyer. The audio we have is just her screaming. We don't know what occurred but we are aware she had a son who survived the crash. He was mentioned on the news, sir, as Brandon Breyer. We also haven't approached him yet for similar reasons Hendrick had brought up about the girl."
Their superior then putted out his cigarette on his ashtray. He fanned the air with the folder in his hands to disperse a small cloud of smoke before putting it on his desk.
"So, we are dealing with something anomalous." Ed stated as he placed his hands together.
"Possibly, sir. We need more information to come to a proper conclusion though. There are still mundane explanations that are possible." Carter responded.
"Very well. Tomorrow return to Brightburn to monitor it. I want you to pay close attention to that girl, Caitlyn, and that boy. They are associated with possible anomalous activity due to the deaths of people close to them. Maybe you'll find your answers with them. Now get out of here." Ed stated.
"Yes, sir." Said Carter and Hendrick simultaneously in an unenthusiastic tone before leaving.
As they returned to their offices, Hendrick turned to his partner.
"God, this will suck. I hate observations. We need to get a raise." Groaned Hendrick.
"We don't get that unless we give the rest of the government a reason to invest in an operation. You know how things are with funding." Said Carter.
"Yeah. It's not like we risk our lives sometimes too." Hendrick responded before they gone their separate ways.
Tomorrow is another day for them and so will it be for Brandon Breyer. He was asleep and was dreaming.
He dreamt of standing in a dark place. The floor had a layer of water, and all around Brandon were red floating lights in the distance surrounding him. It was oddly peaceful until he heard the familiar message of taking the world. The lights grew and suddenly a massive beam of red light came from the sky. It engulfed Brandon which made him scream before it faded away. He felled to his knees after it before he saw a figure in the distance. He gotten up to walk to it but he felt he was being pulled back.
When he got close enough, the figure looked like an amorphous blob before it grew four insect-like limbs spontaneously. The voices ceased and here was an eerie silence. The thing grew more limbs and a body started to form that grew in size. The red light engulfed him again before he woke up.
Like last time, Brandon looked around to see he was home before going back to sleep.