unfinished scene

	It wasn’t immediately obvious that something was wrong, but the way Cal moved, the slight clumsy stumble in his walk, certainly made Rob turn his head. He set the carton of milk he’d been drinking directly from aside. “You’re up early, buddy.”
It was well past three in the afternoon. In the days following…what happened, Cal had been getting up before Rob for the most part, but there was one other day he recalled that Cal didn’t get up at all beyond taking a shower at what had to be 5am. Rob decided he wasn’t going to bother the guy about it, especially if it didn’t happen every day. Surely, it was just a fluke.
“Want some?” Rob called, gesturing to the milk jug.
	Cal opened his mouth, but nothing came out beyond a vague and unfocused sounding grumble.
	Great, it was one of those days.
	He stepped aside, shuffling off to the table as Cal approached the fridge with another miserable utterance. Rob snorted. “You sound like one of those zombie guys from the movies.”
	“Sh…shut up.”
	“Brains,” Rob cackled from the small table that sat in their kitchen. “Hung over or something?”
	No answer, and Rob just watched as Cal glanced at him only briefly before pulling out the carton of eggs. He set them down on the counter, seemingly perplexed for a moment, before tearing the damn thing open from the wrong side. Blinking, Rob got to his feet. “Uh…Cal?”
	Cal eyed him again, empty eyes glassy and unfocused as his shaking hand went to grip an egg…and ended up cracking the thing directly into his mouth.
	“Dude…gross! At least warn me if you’re gonna be nasty.”
	The next time Cal opened his mouth, about half the damn thing went splattering down the front of his shirt and onto the floor before he managed to swallow. Cal’s eyes narrowed, brows knitting in apparent confusion. “He needs to eat.”
	That was…so not Cal’s voice.
	Rob stared, horrified. “Uh…”
	“S-strong,” the voice from Cal’s mouth croaked. “To live…for us.”
	His eyes cleared then, and, all at once, Cal just…dropped to the floor. Rob was there, wiping the remainder of the egg from Cal’s mouth with his sleeve. “Hey, hey, Calister, you’re scaring me. Are you okay?”
	Cal just looked tired and nodded robotically. “That was Her.”
	“Psh… here I thought maybe you were just staring a body building routine or something. Did you know she could…control us?”
	“No, did you?”
	Rob shook his head. “No, didn’t know she could talk either. Every time I hear anything from her it’s like…I just know something suddenly. Like-“
	“Having the answer pop into your head before you ask a question? Yeah, same here.”
	Something of a snort left Cal, perhaps some attempt at a laugh, but he pushed off Rob and climbed to his feet slowly. “I’m…ugh, that was gross. I feel sicker now.”
	“Were you sick to begin with?” Rob asked, offering him a steadying hand that was quickly waved away gently.
	“Not…exactly,” Cal replied, rubbing one of his eyes and looking down at his shirt in dismay. “I just didn’t want to get out of bed, and the fish didn’t like that.”
	Rob snorted. “So, the name’s sticking?”
	It came coldly, uninterested. “What?”
	Flinching, Rob just laughed. “The name…Big Fish…you called Her...never mind. Uh, want me to actually make us some eggs or something? I’m kinda hungry myself?”
	“No,” Cal mumbled, looking off towards the bathroom. “I’m…bluh, I need to throw up.”
	“You’ll piss Her off,” Rob offered, shrugging, “apparently. She told me you-“
	Cal waved a dismissive hand. “I heard what She said. Make something else. I’ll eat, I guess.”
	Without waiting for Rob to respond, Cal shuffled off towards the bathroom. Odd, but not…well, Rob figured he should ask anyway.
	“Hey, you doing okay?”
	Pausing, Cal nodded without turning. “Yeah, just…tired today.”

	Today turned into two others that started very much the same until Cal seemed to turn around, whatever brief stint of illness apparently fading from him. Rob could feel the wrongness, like something wasn’t sitting right after a big meal. He couldn’t…exactly feel what was in Cal’s head, but the itch in his blood that came about whenever Cal answered questions with hesitance was enough to put them both on edge.
	Could they even get sick anymore?
	Rob often thought about that, other things too, but just how far did She…
	Yes.
	He blinked, looking up from the crossword he’d been scribbling down wrong answers to for the last few minutes. Apparently, he decided, or…knew, they could.
	Well, that answered that, he supposed.
	“Hey Cal, when’s your buddy make supply runs?”
	Cal didn’t look at him, eyes downcast while he scrubbed aggressively at a pan left over from lunch. The cleaning kick was…new, and Rob couldn’t exactly complain, but there was only so much scrubbing a piece of dishware needed before it became excessive. It was the same with their rooms, and the bathroom, and the floors, the now sparkling countertops, and…just about every damn surface Cal could cram a sponge into.
	Just plain extreme.
	“Cal?” Rob tried again, pausing for a moment before trying once more in his head. “Cal?”
	The boy jumped, spinning rapidly. “Yeah, what? Did you ask me something?”
	“When does your buddy drop off supplies to us? Like, what day?”
	Cal looked down, chewing at his cheek. “Thursdays, why?”
	“It’s Thursday.”
	“So…”
	Rob got up, moving over to sit on the counter beside the sink and reached gently for one of Cal’s wrists. “Dude, your hands are gonna shrivel up, take a break.”
	“I’m fine,” Cal replied simply, actually flashing a smile. “I’ll take a break after this, promise.”
	Nodding, and letting him go with a shrug, Rob chuckled. “Better cross your heart, Calister.”
	“Hope to die…” He trailed off, scrub brush in hand. “What’s your last name anyway? Did you even tell me?”
	“Capote,” Rob replied from the chair he’d sat down heavily in.
	Quite honestly, he could’ve dozed off right there, lounged in an armchair while Cal finished clinking dishing together or whatever the hell he was doing making all that racket. Yet, something felt off, not immediately dangerous, but he could’ve sworn his heartbeat stuttered. Rob shivered, climbing to his feet. “Gonna go for a smoke.”
	“I’ll meet you out there,” Call mumbled vaguely.
	It was warm outside, even in the tank top and shorts that shouldn’t be legal within fifty feet of any place decent, but Rob still felt something cold itch under his skin. Flicking open his lighter, he chuckled softly to Her. “What’s wrong, girl, some kid biff it down a well?”
	Unsafe.
	Rob shook it off, breathing in a huff of smoke and exhaling slowly through his nose. He watched the smoke curl for a moment, eying how it seemed to linger far too long in the air before he realized it wasn’t from the initial puff. No, it was practically flooding from his mouth.
	“What the hell?”
	The smoke lessened, then stopped.
	Weird.
	“Good afternoon!” A voice called.
	“Christ!” He spun, dropping his cigarette on the ground in the resounding spinning and arm flailing that followed. “Warn a guy next time before you jump up his ass.”
	The man standing there was young, blond, and looked just as started as he was. He extended a hand cautiously. “Just…here for deliveries? You must be the new kid. Cal knows I’m coming.”
	“Oh,” he exhaled, reaching down and snatching the still smoking cigarette from the ground, “yeah, Cal said you’d be here.”
	“Sure, sure,” the man replied, scratching at his stubbly face. “Could use some help unloading if you’re okay with that?”
	His voice was smooth, calm, and that face of his, even if spooky when Rob wasn’t expecting it to be right in front of him, had a bit of a rugged handsomeness to it.
	Nice.
	“I’ll go grab Cal,” Rob replied, puffing at the end of his sentence. “Meet you down at the dock.”
	Without another word, handsome stubble face took off towards the other side of the bunkhouse, and Rob shoved open the door with his boot. “Hey, buddy, milkman is here.”
	Had he not ducked, without really knowing why he was ducking, he would’ve been brained by the baseball bat that smacked against the wall where he was standing a second ago. Rob leapt sideways with a started yelp and grabbed the rounded end of the thing. “Cal, what the fuck?”
	Cal’s eyes were empty, black where they should’ve been white, and the voice that spilled from his mouth wasn’t his. “He’s here.”
	“What does that mean?” Rob squeaked in a mouse’s voice.
	Shaking his head, Cal blinked at him and his eyes cleared. “Uh…She’s not giving me details, but…something spooked Her.”
	“Got it, well, I know I told you to brain me like a week ago, but…changed my mind. My mind that I’d prefer to stay not busted, thanks. Delivery guy is here?”
	Cal perked up. “Oh, uh…sorry. I’ll help unload.”
	Shaken, but unharmed, Rob swept his arm in motion towards the door while Cal followed behind him. Outside, it was far warmer, but a strange sort of chill lingered at the base of his spine. He couldn’t place it, couldn’t exactly understand the feeling anyway, but it was there like She was there, distant, but constant.
	“What’s this guy’s story anyway?” Rob asked, clearing his throat. “He work for the company, or…”
	“Yeah,” Cal answered simply. “I think his dad owns it or something.”
	“Right…the company that keeps unknown horrors in fish ponds.”
	Cal paused, hesitating. “You don’t think…shit.”
	“Ever think about that, Calister?” Rob chuckled, shaking his head as they rounded the corner and made their way towards the dock. “What is we’re part of something weird conspiracy now, like a spy movie?”
	“Spy movie?” Cal scoffed.
	“Yeah! Think about it,” he pressed, turning his back and stepping directly into Cal’s path. “We let Her out, think they’ll know? Why were they keeping her there anyway?”
	Cal looked nervous, then confused, before his face finally settled on a strange sort of resignation. “They don’t know anything, and…that’s fine, we keep it that way, right? We don’t say anything about the Fish.”
	Turn around.
	Shivering, Rob stopped moving, stopped breathing just…stopped. Again, it wasn’t a word, wasn’t a direct command spoken into his head, but there was only a clear understanding of what was wanted, what he needed to do.
	What She wanted, but not why…
	He didn’t get the chance.
	The sound that rocked the air didn’t initially register, ringing out but fading just as quickly. Cal’s shriek, however, did, and Rob was staring at him the next thing he knew, confused. “What’s…wrong?”
	Wait, why…
	His legs folded, knees giving as Rob went sprawling to the ground, partially caught by Cal as he half dove, half dragged Rob back behind the shelter of the bunkhouse. He was wheezing, chest shuttering, and the air felt thick, heavy like he’d been breathing in smoke. A fear gripped at his mind, something confused and unidentifiable at first glance.
	Why had Cal yelled anyway?
	Why was he…
	“Rob, hey!”
	Flinching, Rob jerked away from him, away from the hand that was pressing so hard against his back that it hurt. It…hurt, no, just about everything hurt.
	“What…what’s…C-Cal?”
	Cal’s face hardened, and he said something before disappearing for a moment to slam the door, a sound that seemed to rattle the whole bunkhouse, and returned with the same horrified look in his eyes. “You still with me?”
	Nodding, Rob coughed, choking on what came up with it. “H-hey, what’s-“
	“Look, you’re fine, we’re fine just…stay here, okay? Don’t move,” Cal commanded, and then he was gone again.
	Rob was alone.
	He was confused.
	He was…tired.
	The air was heavy again, but different, pooling behind his teeth and coming out in a cloud of oil-slick black smoke the next time he tried to exhale. Everything was smothered by it, even the sound of Cal’s shocked exclamation as the tendrils curled through the air, fled from his body until he felt…empty, but the air was clear,
	Truly, it all had to be a dream.
	A gunshot, then silence.
	Rob’s eyes shot open, but when had he even closed them? Cal was there, but they were in the bedroom, tucked away in a corner away from the windows. The beds were a mess, shoved against the door in some sort of a makeshift barricade.
It was quiet.
	Everything was still.
	“Hey, don’t move!”
	Rob shoved him off, words slurring when he tried to speak. “Why?”
	Cal didn’t answer, but the blood staining his clothes, his hands…his…everything, said more than he possibly could at the moment. Panicked, Rob paled. “Oh, shit, you’re hurt.”
	“No, idiot!” Cal exclaimed. “It’s yours!”
	Blinking, Rob laughed brokenly. “Mine, what the hell, Cal? Thas’not funny.”
	There was a pause, and judging by the way Cal’s face twisted, he agreed. His lip quivered, arm raised to swipe aggressively across his weeping eyes. “You got shot…y-you’re…”
	Rob sat upright, grabbing gently for one of Cal’s arms. “Hey, what are you talking about?”
	Cal pulled away, pointing sharply towards Rob’s back. “There.”
	With a shaking hand, Rob reached in the direction of…nothing. There was nothing there at all, only the unpleasant dampness of a shirt that had already begun to dry. Yes, when he pulled his hands away, there was blood, but it was old, partially tacky and tinted dark.
	“What…”
	A sharp bang at the door brought his attention away, sending Cal practically leaping into Rob’s lap as he scrambled back against the wall. Another, then another, and then…silence.
	Neither dared to breathe.
	And then, a voice. “Please…help me…they’re…”
	It was far too muffled to understand through the thick grain of the door and the makeshift barricade that stood between them and the sharp retort of a pistol. The relative din that had fallen was broken again by a scream, and then the breaking of something hurled against the door.
	Finally, there was only a faint whimpering.
	“What’s going on?” Rob demanded in a sharp hiss.
	Cal rose slowly to his feet, ever fiber of his being quivering harshly as he pressed an ear against the door. Wide-eyed, Rob followed, crouched and low, flinching lightly when Cal slid one of the beds out of the way and went for the handle.
	“What are you doing?”
	Raising a hand, Cal shushed him, slipping outside the door without a sound. Reluctantly, Rob followed, crouched and terrified of what lay on the other side.
	Careful, She warned indirectly. Dangerous.
	Dangerous, indeed, but Rob wasn’t about to let Cal go on his own. Outside the room, it was quiet, relatively still and absolutely bathed in splattered crimson. Blood, far too much to be just from one person lay spread about the floors that had been scrubbed clean, splashed across cabinets that Cal had taken time to scour earlier.
	“God,” Rob breathed, feeling his foot crunch over something on the floor.
	He knelt, lifting the broken telephone into his hand, turning it over, and nearly hurling it for what would be the second time in its brief electronic life when a voice crackled from it.
	“Sir, hello? Are you still with me?”
	Rob hesitated, raising it to his ear. “He…hello, who is this?”
	“Sir, we have officers on the way-“
	Click.
	Trailing his eyes along the spiraled cord, his attention settled on the hand pressing down the button of the receiver. Cal didn’t say a word at first, just…stared, eyes black where they should’ve been white. Swallowing, Rob opened his mouth to speak, but a low and pained groan stopped him.
	“H…h-help…”
	Scrambling to his feet, Rob nearly slid on a partially dried puddle on the floor, catching sight of the man lying partially on his side, crumpled in a heap in the doorway. The guy…that guy, the guy from earlier who…
	“You shot him.”
	Rob shuddered at Cal’s words, cotton-mouthed and horrified.
	His eyes were dark, wrong. There was no fear, no pain, just an emptiness that ate down to the very roots of whatever Rob figured he had left of a soul. No, instead, he was smiling, mouth stretched to the point where it had to be painful.
	“Holy shit,” Rob hissed, creeping closer to the man on the ground. “It’s the delivery guy.”
	“No shit,” Cal practically growled. “He’s bleeding…he’s bleeding out.”
	The blood that seeped through the yellow fabric of the man’s shirt was staggering, flooding outward from his gut and dripping down into the spreading pool on the floor beside him. Rob winced, traipsing closer but stopping when the man’s hand closed over the gun that had been temporarily abandoned at his side.
	“No closer.”
	The smile stayed.
	God, it wasn’t even a single voice; a sickening amalgamation of different tones and slurred vocalizations, like a record played over itself, a tape with the previous recordings still lingering in the static.
	“Who are you?” Cal asked, oddly calm.
	The man looked up, craning his neck at an angle that seemed slightly too steep. “She knows that answer.”
	Cal’s eyes darkened, spilled over with the same inky blackness as before. “Dormant.”
	“No,” the voices replied in a chorus of hisses. “Awake at last.”
	“That one will die,” his own voice from Cal’s mouth spat.
	The smile widened. “We have many more.”
	Cal’s face twisted into some form of disgust. “Fix it. Why should it die for you?”
	“For us,” the man hummed. “They will come for you. We will be gone; your Wards will be taken from you again.”
	Nothing.
	The man’s smile twitched. “What was it called, your former Prime? Does this one feel wrong to you now?”
	Again, nothing, and Cal was frozen with he same indignant snarl on his face.
	Rob swallowed, coming to stand between the two. “Calister…Fish, let Cal back out. We need to get the fuck out.”
	Cal’s eyes blinked quickly, clearing finally, but his face maintained the same uncomfortable stoicism. “Who was on the phone?”
	Fuck.
	It struck him like a freight train to the chest, and Rob paled, mouth dropping open in a series of false starts before he managed to speak. “Cops, Cal, cops are coming, fuck. T-that’s who, but what the hell happened to you?”
	“She can’t speak on Her own, needed me to…talk to Him.”
	“Talk to who?” Rob demanded, skittering backwards when the gun in the handsome man’s hand dropped to the floor and his body slumped, still smiling that same fucking creepy smile. “Who is this guy? What the fuck is going on?”
	“Just, shut up a second, okay? We can’t just leave,” Cal mumbled, running a hand through his hair. “If cops are coming they’re gonna know we were he-“
	“Not if we’re gone before they get here!”
	“Yeah,” Cal snapped, tearing his attention away from the man on the ground. “We’re not the only ones with…um, I mean, connected to…”
	“What, there’s more fucking Big Fish?” Rob shot back. “I didn’t ask to be part of this shit! We just let some guy die!”
	“Mike.”
	Rob shivered, gawking. “What?”
	“His name’s Mike, sorry…just, fuck, this is fucked up. He’s a good guy, but…that wasn’t him.” Cal chewed at his lip, nodding finally. “Are you sure he’s dead?”
	“Of course his name’s Mike. What, was Steve busy? You want me to check, Calister?”
	Glaring, Cal strode forward, kneeling in front of the man on the ground, feeling beneath his chin only briefly before he stood up and backed away again. “Yeah…shit, okay, listen, we just need to keep our heads. If the cops show up, we can explain what happened.”
	“Yeah, the space hydra ghost in my head fixed my goddamn bullet wound and then the space hydra ghost in his head made him shoot himself-“
	“Shut up, okay!”