Act II: Played Hands

New Harmony, Utah

Thursday 21st December 2017, 06:00 AM

Mike never took his eyes off her, even as the seconds turned to one very tense minute. Pressing down on the tape recorder, Mike waited as it played again.

"There is a part of me wondering," he admitted, recalling the last time they had spoken, "if you ever expected to see me again. You recall…when you murdered me."

He wanted to reach down and find his anger as he spoke those words, yet they fell flat. So much so that he knew it wasn't how he had to handle this. This is going to require something a little more delicate.

Mike sighed, "Look…past aside, I want to make you aware that I do not mean you ill will. More than that…I do not believe you wish me harm, either. You came here for a reason. I would like to know what that is."

As he spoke, Dave and Cassidy both continued to watch on, wary. A desperate glance from Dave was ignored by Mike as he continued to keep his stare. Meanwhile, Cassidy remained stoic yet grim.

When the animatronic in front of them refused to utter a single word, Mike leant in. "I know you're capable of speaking, Circus Baby…or whatever name you're going by these days."

"Lizzy." Dave finally said, unable to contain himself any more, "Lizzy. Do you see us?"

Her voice returned, light and nearly mystical. "I do. I see you have some friends with you…Michael."

"Good." Mike nodded at that, keeping his voice neutral, "So you remember me. Of course, the last time we talked, you were not quite just by yourself, were you?"

She barely moved at that. "If it means anything, I do regret what he had to do to you, Michael. We had nowhere to go. You can understand, having walked in our shoes."

Shaking his head, Mike knew in a way that he did understand. He couldn't show it, though. "I was there to help you. If you had given me just another day or two…" He stopped, knowing that there was no point in rehashing the past. "Anyway…my friend here asked you a question. Do you see all three of us?"

"I do."

"Good. And what is your name?"

"Circus Baby."

"No." He urged, "Your name is Elizabeth."

"I assure you, it is not."

"Your name is Elizabeth Afton. You liked flowers; your favourite was the John Cabot rose. They grew in that little orchard by your family home. You liked them so much, you painted one in nursery. Your mother had it framed and put it on your bedroom wall."

"My mother?" He could nearly hear the frown in her voice, "No, I only had a father. He created me."

He pushed on, "Your name is Elizabeth Afton. You had a little white and pink fox toy. That one you could take apart and put back together."

"You are mistaken. Perhaps you are mistaking that toy for Funtime Foxy? You remember Funtime Foxy, don't you?"

Gritting his teeth, Mike struggled to keep his voice from rising, "Your name is Elizabeth Afton. You had two brothers. One of them was called David. He passed away in hospital when you were three. Your other brother, Michael, ran away from home when you were five."

"I had no brothers."

"You told me that story about the little girl, on your only day on stage." Mike continued, "The girl you killed. Elizabeth…you are that girl. I am so, so sorry for what happened that day, and I know it must be painful, but you must remember."

"I believe you are confused." She insisted that, "It is only natural. With what happened."

This isn't working, Mike accepted. There was no point continuing; how many years had she spent like this? Without a human body? With nobody to remind her who she was? What she was?

"Why did you come here, Elizabeth?" Mike asked again; he refused to call her by that ridiculous name.

She didn't answer.

"Why do you look like this?" He leant forward, "You said that you needed to look like I did. Yet here you are, dressed in what I can best guess are scraps from a garbage dump."

He was being kind with that; the truth was, she looked even worse. Bits and pieces that gave her a frightening visage. Back when he'd last seen her, she had been uncanny, a misguided attempt to delight when it instead disturbed. What she had pieced together for herself, on the other hand, was nothing more than a monster.

"I couldn't escape what I was." She simply answered, more of a shrug than anything, "Perhaps you should try the same?"

Mike stared hard at her. "So what happened? Between you and the others? I've listened to the audio tapes. You clearly had some sort of falling out. I doubt it was a one-time occurrence. What happened that led to them abandoning you?"

Another shrug of an answer. "They were brats. They didn't like someone telling them what to do. Is my daddy here?"

This time, it was Mike who didn't answer.

"I heard the signal. I have been looking for him…did he come here?"

Now for the hard part, Mike closed his eyes. Once he was sure he was strong enough, he said, "He is, Elizabeth. You will be seeing him soon."

"Mike." Dave said, his eyes wide, aghast.

"Oh, good." She replied.

With that, Mike stopped the play recorder, stood up, and walked out the room, his eyes on her the whole time.

"Mike, please!" Dave insisted, "We're not done, yet!"

Even as Cassidy reached a hand for his shoulder, Dave stood his ground. Meeting his anguished eyes, Mike then forced them away onto his sister one last time, sad. Then he turned and shut the door behind him. Knowing that she was truly lost.

I have to follow protocol, Mike told himself over and over again, no matter who it is.

Perhaps if he told himself enough, that deep hole in his soul would not burn as much as it did.

He strided back to the main floor, holding his head in his hands. He had a headache. Haven't had one of these in a while, he mused. Perhaps the Remnant keeping him in such a state was having more of an effect than he knew? He could not say.

"Michael." Dave's voice came back; he was standing there, in the middle of the room, hands clenched and in a far-from-passive stance. Standing behind him was Cassidy, hands behind her back and looking glum. Not in an I am irritated with everything and everyone sort of glum he'd seen many times over.

It was worse. It was a helpless glum.

"Michael!" Dave said again, "We're not done! We have to get back in there!"

He didn't respond, preferring to just aimlessly gaze around his restaurant. He'd known that the moment he had shut that door, it would be done. He didn't have a get out card, a button to reverse back to the start and try it again.

Even if he did, what could he have done differently? Had there ever been a chance?

"What are you doing?!" Dave asked, not aggressively but in complete despair, "We can't give up! She here's, right in that other room!"

"Dave…" Mike finally broke his own silence, "There's nothing we can do. It's been too long. Too long to bring her back."

"That's not true! I came back! Me and Cassie and Charlie and all the others! We brought you back!"

He gave a weary sigh, "She never had anyone. Not really. She was too young to remember you. The only person of her past she really had was him. He did…god knows what to her, for too long."

As they argued, Cassidy hadn't trusted herself to speak. Mike knew that had been more for his benefit than anyone else's. That, or she had her own opinion which she knew would be a bad idea to share.

"Except you." Dave responded.

Mike blinked and looked back at him, searching his face.

"You were there." Dave continued, his fists clenched, "You should have been. You were her brother."

"Dave…"

Cassidy's voice finally came back. "Skipper?"

His voice trembled and Mike could see his fists shaking, "You were there. You should have been. But you ran. You ran away from everything…and you left her with him."

"I know." Mike said carefully, raising his hand up in a passive gesture, "It was a mistake."

"A mistake?" Dave nearly laughed at that, "A mistake is not nearly as calculated. You know, because I did it too, so long ago. You had every chance, every opportunity, to come back for her. To bring her with you."

Mike's jaw clenched in anguish. "I know, Dave. I thought…I thought she would be safer where she was. I thought…"

"You thought what? You knew what he was! What he was capable of!"

"Dave, please…"

"You left her!" Dave finally screamed and Mike could feel the room shake, "She was our sister, Mike! Our baby sister! She was everything! All you had to do was keep an eye on her, make sure she was safe!"

"I know." Mike begged, "D, I know. I'm sorry."

But Dave screamed again and this time, some of the little ornaments on the tables and shelves wobbled and even fell, "Why did you leave her?! You should have protected her!"

This time, as the room shook once more, Mike lost his footing and fell to a knee. Behind him, several chairs either fell or were knocked back and a table toppled over.

"You should have protected her!" He screamed again, tears in his eyes, even as the arms wrapped around him in an embrace, "You should have! It was your job!"

Cassidy rested her head on his shoulder as she gripped him. "Davey."

"You should have protected her!" He wept and fell onto his knees, bringing her with him, "You should have…"

"I know." She said, clinging onto him, eyes closed tightly, "I know. I've got you."

Mike watched them, on the floor, in dismay. Dave's tears continued for the longest time and she held him through every second. Eventually, Cassidy opened her eyes and met Mike's own. He didn't know for sure exactly what message was passed between them.

When Dave's cries finally dampened, he gasped out between heaves of sobs, "I'm sorry…I'm…"

"D." Mike found his voice again. "It's okay."

"I know you didn't mean to." He sobbed, "I just…she…she didn't deserve…"

"You've done nothing wrong, D." Mike assured him, yet he knew nothing he could say would make it right.

"I…" Dave breathed, another wrack of sobs coming, "I need to go. I need to go."

Then, without another second, Dave vanished right in between Cassidy's arms. They both knelt there on the floor for some time. When Mike finally found his strength again, he stood up.

"I should…" Cassidy said, straightening as she found her feet, instinctively sweeping the dust on her dress that wasn't there, "You know, go check on him."

He nodded, drained, "That's fine. Take all the time you need."

"You, uh…need anyone to come help clean up?"

"No. It's probably better if I take some time myself. Just make sure he's alright."

"Alright." She hesitated, as if unsure whether to say it. "For what it's worth, Mike…I don't think it's your fault. With what happened with Elizabeth, I mean."

"But he's right in how he feels." Mike stated, staring at nothing. "I left her. She was my responsibility and I left her there."

"Maybe." She crossed her arms, "Do you remember what you said to me that one time? I think I called you pathetic afterwards?"

Mike paused before responding. "I'm honestly not meaning to sound like a jerk here, but you're gonna have to narrow that down a little."

"Ah. Right, sorry. It was during my…you know, birthday party."

"Oh, right."

"You told me," She continued, "that it was better that I wasn't alone. I remember hating that. Thinking that not having to deal with any of the others would have been a boon."

It was Mike's decision not to interrupt her, even as he understood what she was saying.

"She didn't have that." Cassidy pointed out, a little pain in her voice, "Elizabeth, I mean. She was all alone, down there. In that cage. As much as I sometimes hated the others…I think we all kept each other sane. She didn't have that luxury."

Sounding a little tired, Cassidy bit her lip. "Anyway…I'll leave you be."

With that, she vanished too and Mike was left with nothing more than his thoughts. Without much going on in his thoughts, he began to clean up.

Moon Lake Lodge, Utah

Monday 26th June 2017 04:35 AM

"I'm sorry." Caine whispered into his wife's ear, unable to stave his own tears, "I'm so sorry for taking so long…"

"I'll say." Samantha's sobs matched the near giggle she gave, "Took you long enough."

He couldn't help but laugh at that, then turned his attention onto the two children in his arms. One of them's nearly not one anymore, he realised, nearly heartbroken at the thought. "Look at the two of you."

Katie cried into his chest, "I missed you, Daddy. So much…."

"I know, pumpkin." He told her, "I missed you. Every day."

Eventually, as they all held each other in that embrace, Thomas heard his brother's voice next to them. "We gotta get everyone inside, bro."

Taking a deep breath, Thomas nodded, "Right. C'mon. You too, little man." Grasping his son, Caine lifted him up and they all walked, side by side, towards the lodge. Once they entered, Caine lifted him back down and rubbed the back of his head.

"Henry!" Tyler called out, "Help me out with the windows!"

Back to business, Caine thought to himself as he embraced his wife again. "I'll be back in a minute." He assured her.

"You better be." She whispered in his ear and he gave her a squeeze before stepping towards the windows. Though the smoke was beginning to fade, he still half expected to see shapes moving within. On her part, Samantha composed herself and went over to Lamar and the others to tend to the injured.

Henry gave him a respectful nod before saying, "We need to get these boarded up."

"We've got some planks in the cache downstairs." Tyler mentioned.

"Good." He eyed them both, "You two boys seem more capable with firearms than myself. I'll go get the wood, if you'd like."

"Aye, works for me." Thomas nodded, "Thanks, Henry."

Then John offered, "I know my way around a hammer and a nail. Want any help?"

That made Henry smile. "Nice of you to assist an old man. Come on, let's get this done."

Both of them left, heading to the basement stairs, and Thomas kept a wary eye out. "A lot of bodies out there."

"Typical work." Tyler shrugged.

"Aye. Just going to be quite the clean-up." Thomas sighed as he turned to him, "We'll have to hope that the law doesn't come sniffing-"

He recoiled as the liquid hit his face. No pain came, which he was thankful for, before he wiped it from his eyes. Then sniffed, clearing the vision out from his one good eye.

"Huh." Tyler remarked as he held the bottle in his hand. Cautiously, he checked the bottle and then poured a little drop onto his hand. It sizzled and burnt, making him curse a little, before putting the cap back on. "Yep. You're the real deal."

Protocol, Thomas reminded himself. You made them, after all.

Then Tyler clapped him on the shoulder, smirking. "So how did you manage this, then, little bro?"

He couldn't help but snort, "Honestly? Still trying to get it all to make sense, myself. I woke up only a few hours ago. How long has this been going on?"

Tyler grimaced, "Let me think…less than twenty-four hours. Our output got raided just about six hours ago. Whole place destroyed. We lost eight people." When the thought came to him, Tyler seemed to take a moment, "Tom…Lincoln was there. He stayed behind to give us more time. He didn't make it."

Hearing that name, Caine felt a deep throb in his heart. Closing his eye, he felt that familiar sense of mourning. Lincoln…damn it. How long had he known the man? Nearly thirty years.

"Who's responsible for this?" Caine asked lowly, trying not to allow that anger to burn too brightly. "Ty, what the hell's gone on?"

Tyler sighed, "Donovan, that prick…he sold us out. Carl issued Judgement Day and honestly, that's the only reason why you didn't find us a smoking graveyard. We followed protocol to a tee."

"Good." Caine breathed, "So it's Pandora?"

"Aye. The second time, now. They set the Nightingales on us two years ago."

That surprised him. It was a desperate move, which Caine knew Donovan was more than capable of. "We won, I'm guessing?"

"Took a while, but yeah." Then Tyler glanced at something over his brother's shoulder, "Listen, bro, I'm just gonna say right here and now; that kid of yours? Been bloody amazing. He really stepped up. Saved my arse more than once."

That made Thomas look where Tyler had and he saw Spencer, blood on one side of his face. "He did, did he?"

He and Tyler exchanged a look and a nod before Caine left the windows, walking over to him. At that moment, Samantha was tending to him, stitching up the graze on his head. As he approached, however, Spencer saw him, straightened, and got up from his chair. Even as Samantha tried to press him back to sitting, he refused to budge.

Caine stopped a little in front of him, examining every detail. He's grown up, Thomas knew. Built more, a little taller. Even a fine mix of stubble on his jaw.

As Spencer stood straight, he met his father's eyes and refused to break the eye contact the two of them made. "We followed protocol, Dad. My team, we made sure that any of ours who needed the protection got it. All communications were safely severed and all risks accounted for."

Caine didn't respond. All he could do was stand there and fully take in seeing his son again. Yet as Spencer continued, he knew that he did not read that on his father's face.

"I had to make a decision." Spencer insisted, "Back when you fell. It was chaos, not just what was happening with the Crucible, but over in San Francisco. We were under siege. I couldn't…" But he shook his head, "No, I wouldn't leave my team. You trained me to put the mission first. That's what I did."

But Caine still couldn't respond. All he could do was feel his heart swell. Then, desperate for anything, Spencer seemed to realise what was going on. Spencer reached for his hat, still just as clean and maintained as when Thomas had last worn it, and held it in front of him, in offering.

Appraising it, Caine took the hat from his son's hand. He examined it thoroughly, smiled, dusted it off, then reached for his son's shoulder. As Spencer watched on in deep confusion, Caine placed it back onto his son's head.

"It suits you." Thomas told him, before stepping in and embracing him with one arm. Eventually, Spencer relaxed and fell into the embrace.

Then stepping back, he turned his attention back onto his other two children, who were watching that unfold. With a sad smile, he stepped over to them and hugged them again.

"Mum told us you were dead." Harry cried into his shoulder and Caine felt a stab of pain at that.

Taking a deep breath to compose himself, Thomas said, "She had every reason to believe that. She really did."

Katie sniffled, "But you came back."

"I did. Because I had some good friends to help me come back."

Hearing an exchange behind him, Caine turned to look and saw Spencer assuring his mother that he would be fine. Then Samantha turned and practically fell into Caine's open arms.

"I tried." She told him, "I tried to keep everything together…"

Caine held her a little tighter, "I broke my promise, didn't I? Said I wouldn't get myself killed over that whole thing."

"I'll admit you cut it a little close," She admitted, "but you kept it, in the end. Tom…Lincoln…"

"I know." He said, trying to keep the building fury in him from showing, "We'll avenge him."

"They killed…" Sam nearly broke, but she kept herself going, "They killed Dr. Newton. Katie and Harry were right next to her when it happened. She saved their lives."

He had to put his grief and anger into one clenched fist.

"If it hadn't been for Spencer…" She continued and finally broke, fresh tears brewing, "Oh my God…Tom…Spencer saved us. He…"

Still holding her, Tom searched for his son's eyes. When he saw that expression, one he had seen many times in so many fresh recruits, he understood. Detaching himself from his wife, Caine strided straight for Spencer again and hugged him once more, this time with both arms.

"You did what you had to do." Caine bluntly told him.

Spencer nodded, gaunt, "I know. I know. It's just…I've never had to…"

"Spence, you did what you had to do. For far better reasons than my first time. Do not regret it. Do you hear me?"

Though he knew that Spencer would never be able to accept that, he agreed. "I won't. It…it was him or them."

Stepping back, Caine held his chin and got a better look at the wound on his son's face. It stretched from his right eyebrow, into his high cheekbone. "It's probably going to scar."

He shrugged, acting like it wasn't a big deal. "Lucky for me it was just a graze. Been a bit too lucky…"

"Aye, hang on to that while it lasts." Caine smirked, "Otherwise one day you'll not be as pretty as I am."

A small smile broke out on Spencer's face at that, but then it faltered as his eyes fell onto something Caine couldn't see anymore. "Dad…your eye…?"

Remembering the bandage covering the right side of his face, Caine grimaced. Behind him, Samantha softly cursed as she went back to him and turned him to face her. "How bad?"

"Not good." Caine admitted.

"Could you see anything out of it?"

"White lights, mostly. Everything is a blur with it."

Though he could sense the sadness in her, she tried her best not to show it. "We won't know for definite until we get you to a proper facility."

"It's alright, Doc." Caine smiled; he knew this wasn't something that could be salvaged. "I've still got the other one."

She scowled at that, but couldn't keep it on her face for long.

Steps from the basement stairs made him quickly switch his attention as he saw John and Henry carrying the planks of wood. As Henry passed, he nodded gratefully towards Thomas. "I have to say, ma'am; you've got one hell of a husband."

"Were you…" She stammered, "Did you help him?"

"Sort of. As bad as it sounds, he was unconscious in my basement for a long time."

Blinking at that, Sam thought of a response. That's the logical part of her putting things together.

"Were you comatose?" She asked Caine and he nodded. "When did you wake up?"

Honesty is the best policy. "Six hours ago, give or take."

"Tom, that…that doesn't make…"

"I know, it doesn't make sense." Seeing the person in the back, who had kept in the shadows, Caine said, "I'll talk to you more about it soon. There's just someone I have to talk to first."

It didn't take her long to understand. "Okay. But I need to assess you. We don't know the full extent of the damage."

"Come on." He smirked before giving her a kiss, "We both know that's just an excuse."

Then he walked over to the figure. He had his hood over his head, though the scarf he had wrapped around his face was tattered and bloodsoaked.

Tense, the figure nodded. "Tom. It's…"

"It's good to see you, old friend." Caine smiled warmly.

"I suppose I don't need to ask how you knew it was me."

He shrugged, "Had an inkling."

"I'd take my hood off, but I don't want to frighten these people anymore than they're already."

Caine nodded, "Aye, we've both picked up a few disfigurements since we last met. How are you getting on?"

"Well, you know," Mike shrugged, uncomfortable, "I've been around. You know."

"Picked up a few strays." A voice full of snark remarked at that and Caine frowned, looking for the source. When he found the girl standing there nearby, he blinked.

"Oh." Caine said, "Hello, Cassidy."

When he said that, she froze and stared up at him. "Uh…"

"Wait." Mike spoke dumbly, "What?"

"I have to admit, I didn't expect this." Caine muttered. As he looked, he saw the other children nearby. One of them, another girl with brown hair who was looking a little shaken, stepped forward.

"Mr. Caine," She asked politely, "do you see all of us?"

"Hi, Charlie." He nodded with respect, "I do, yes. I'm guessing that's not normal?"

"No." Mike put bluntly, "Not at all. I've been the only one to see any of them. How the hell…?"

"I hope there's a good explanation for this." Caine said, trying not to lose his cool. Yet he was feeling a little shaky. Just nerves. Wait, when was the last time I felt that?

"I'm sure there is." A boy Caine immediately recognised as Gabriel stepped forward, "Well, it is good to see you again, Detective."

"You too, Gabe." Caine said instinctively, before regretting it. This is not how I wanted to do this.

"Wait," Another boy said, this one with similar bandages to Caine. Nice to see brothers reunited, Caine mused. "I mean, it makes sense. You were both in the Sanctuary and it leaves its mark."

Silence fell among all of them asd Dave stood there, proud of himself. When he saw the expressions on their faces, however, he faltered.

"What?" He asked sheepishly, "Did I say something?"

At first blank, Mike's jaw hardened behind his scarf. "What?"

As Caine stood there, silent, he felt the nerves getting to him a little more. Feeling a little more flushed than before.

"Oh, no." Gabriel whispered.

Looking at her with a stricken expression, Charlie asked, "Cassie?"

For her part, Cassidy was looking extremely remorseful. "I'm…really sorry. I forgot to…you know…tell him."

"Tell me what?" Dave asked sincerely.

"What do you mean," Mike asked quietly, scarily, "you were in the Sanctuary?"

This is going to get out of hand, Caine realised. He knew that anger and it was not one he could get out of with a simple explanation. "Okay. Oh, this is awkward. Listen, Mike, there's a good reason-"

"Mike?" A voice came from behind them and made Caine pause, confused, "Did you just say Mike?"

Caine blinked, "John?"

Striding right towards them, John's hand was clenched, "Mike? Michael Afton?"

"John, wait!" Charlie begged, hurrying to catch up with him.

John passed Caine quickly before Thomas could figure out what he was going to do. Holding his hand up, Mike said, "Hi. John, listen, I think we need to-"

But whatever Mike was about to suggest doing, John clearly had no intention to do anything else other than throwing a mean right hook. If Mike had been capable of avoiding it, he seemingly decided against it and turned, absorbing most of the force.

Damn it, Caine cursed internally and stepped in, grabbing John and pushing him backwards. Slowly, Mike recovered, fist clenched, getting to his feet.

"John!" Charlie yelled out and everyone in the room was now staring in shock.

But John didn't care. Fury in his eyes, he tried to push back against Caine. "You son of a bitch, you set us up!"

Grunting, Caine pushed him far back enough with Charlie's help, but John felt no need to give up. Gritting his teeth, Caine said, "John, don't."

Holding his hands up, Mike looked plainly at the one who had just punched him. "John, please, just give me a chance-"

"A chance?!" John growled, "You didn't give Jen a chance!"

Mike blinked. "What?"

"She's dead because of you, you bastard!"

"I…I didn't…"

Holding up his hand, Tom shot Mike a Let me handle this look, before saying to John, "Listen to me, the both of you! We just need to simmer down and talk. There's an explanation for this-"

"Explanation, I'll give you an explanation." John seethed, and Caine could tell that this raw anger was not an emotion he felt often. A normally reserved man who had finally lost his cool.

So much so, that he took out his firearm and aimed it right at Mike.

"John, no!" Charlie screamed, stepping to try and grab him.

"Everybody!" Caine shouted, knowing he needed to defuse this now. "Stay where you are, just chill, for God's sake!"

But before anything could happen, Tyler's own voice came, alongside a drawn pistol aimed straight at John and Charlie. "I'm going to ask you this one time: Drop the gun."

Behind him, Henry growled and lifted his own gun up and pointed it at Tyler's back.. "I'll do you one better; don't aim that thing at my daughter!"

But Tyler just scowled at that, "I'll do you one better; you better not miss."

"Give me some answers," John shouted, "or I'll shoot you, Mike, right here, right now!"

"Let's do it!" Tyler shouted back, "You shoot my guy, I'll shoot you, come on, let's go!"

But Mike screamed, "No, damn it, Ty! I can take it!"

"Aye, but can he?" Tyler retorted, never taking his eyes off John.

"Can you?" Henry said, not faltering.

"He betrayed us!" John howled, "We can't trust him! He'll sell us all out to Fazbear Entertainment!"

Shaking his head, Mike urged, "Look, I'll leave, okay? I'll go. Just please, all of you, put the Goddamn guns down!"

"Like Hell!" John cursed, "We let you walk, you'll bring your buddies in Blackwood back over!"

Despite his own position on the issue, Henry grunted, "Mike's not with Blackwood!"

"He is!" John shot back, "He's the reason why Jen's dead!"

Even as his own frustration was building, Caine could feel himself growing more shaky. It's just the pressure. It's been a while. He looked around, saw everyone else; his wife, shielding her two younger children and expecting gunfire. His eldest son, ready yet frozen, unsure who to aim at.

Then Thomas locked eyes with Charlie and the other souls, standing there, helpless. I have to end this, he realised. It was a stupid idea, a hail mary, more than anything.

But he was out of options.

Holding his hands up, Caine took a step; not one towards any of the aggressors, nor away from the conflict. Instead, he stepped right in between John and Mike. Right in between the shot that John had on him.

"Tom," Mike gasped, "what are you doing?"

I don't have a clue, Caine realised. Yet when he saw the glance John gave him, he knew it was not a pointless decision. "John."

"Tom, don't!" Mike pleaded.

"Put it down!" Tyler demanded once again.

"John, please listen to me."

"John!" Spencer finally yelled out, "Stop, just stop!"

Grabbing her two kids, Samantha pushed them back and mouthed, "Don't look. Don't look."

"I know we haven't known each other long," Caine continued, "but I need to ask you."

"Put it down!" Tyler hissed again.

"I need to ask you to trust me."

Gaunt, John met his eyes, sweating. Sweating nearly as much as Caine was. What the hell is wrong with me?

"There's more to this than you realise." Caine pleaded, "We can talk about this. But not like this."

"Tom, please…" Mike cried out, "Get out of the way!"

"I'm telling you right now…" Caine pressed on, "As God is my witness…and I say this with my family…my wife, my three kids, standing right there…who I haven't seen in two years…the only way you're shooting Mike, is to shoot me first."

"Put it down!" Tyler nearly screamed.

But Caine lifted a hand up towards his brother. "Ty, lower it."

"Like hell!"

"That's an order!"

Even though Tyler looked like he would rather burn the entire lodge down around them first, he reluctantly did so. Then Caine pointed to Henry. "You next!"

With a knowing look, Henry did what he was told. With that, Caine turned his attention back onto John.

"You didn't save my life up on that cliff," Caine breathed, "just to take it here."

"John, please!" Spencer begged.

"So I'm asking you," Caine said, as calmly as he could as he felt like he was about to faint, "put the gun down. We will talk about this."

Gripping the gun tightly too tightly, John's face contorted. Then, moving a little closer, Charlie reached a hand for his. "John. Put it away."

John shook his head in dismay, then irritably put it back holstered in his belt. Then he pointed at Mike. "We're not done. Do you hear me? We're not done."

"I know." Caine answered for Mike, "We will talk about this."

Slowly looking around, Caine searched the expressions in the room. Anger. Turmoil. Relief. When he was satisfied that it had calmed down, he nodded.

"Good." Caine mumbled, "Good."

Then he felt himself shake one last time and darkness engulfed him, the floor rushing up to meet his face. The last thing he heard before he fell was Mike shouting his name.

So we're starting Act 2 now. I'm going to be completely honest, and I say this not knowing if it's me being disillusioned or simply realising that I made the wrong move, but I'm a little disappointed with the first act. I can't tell if I've just taken the story in the wrong direction from the start. There's been a part of me thinking about scrapping it and going back to the drawing board, but I've decided in the end to continue and see if I can stir it back onto a path I'm happy with. So apologies if any of you are similarly a bit put off with this one so far; I get it. Hopefully it can be remedied.