Imagine you visiting your estranged brother, Mort Rainey.

It was the middle of October as you were pulling your car up to your older brother, Mort Rainey's, cabin in Tashmore Lake in upstate New York. You carefully got out of your car as you were six months pregnant with your first child and, then, you walked around the corner of your car to open the trunk that was filled with groceries for Mort. You grabbed all the grocery bags out of the trunk, shut the door, and, then, you walked towards the entrance of Mort's cabin.

***

You haven't seen your brother for the past seven months after he caught his wife, Amy, having an affair with their friend, Ted Milner. It was difficult for Mort and you felt bad for him. You never liked Amy after he married her and you felt like you didn't trust her. After he caught them, he moved to his secluded cabin and he rarely called or seen anyone, including you and your husband, Christopher.

But sooner or later, you received a phone call from Mort, asking you to come over and pick up some groceries for him on the way. It was strange to you of why he asked you to pick up some groceries for him since he can drive. Plus, the way he talked over the phone was pretty unusual of him. You felt like you were talking to a different Mort. A different Mort that had replaced your own brother.

***

You walked up to the front door, set down the grocery bags, and, then, you knocked on the door. At first, nobody didn't answer, so you knocked on the door again. This time, you heard the deadbolt unlock and, then, the door opened, revealing your brother, Mort, who looked a lot different from the last you saw him. His blonde hair with brown roots was straightened instead of his usual messy hair, his glasses were different, he dressed nicely instead of his usual sloppy clothes he'd always wore, and he also wore braces. 'What the heck happened to you, Mort? This a different you.' You thought to yourself, feeling worried about him.

"(y/n), you're here. It's so good to see you. I've missed you so much." Mort said, while he was smiling, as he walked up to you and wrapped his arms around you and embraced you, gently, with a hug. You stiffened at first, but, then, you wrapped your arms around him and hugged back, even though you somehow felt slightly uncomfortable.

Then, he pulled away from the hug and he looked down at your swollen abdomen. "Oh, (y/n), you look great. I still can't believe my own little sister is having a baby. How is the little one?" He asked. "Oh, uh, he's doing fine. He's starting to kick." You answered. Mort gasped and asked, "You're having a boy?" You nodded and said, "Yeah. I'm...having a boy. I guess I forgot to tell you." "That's alright. What matters is that I'm having a nephew." Mort said, as he, gently, patted your abdomen.

"Well, I'm glad that you're...excited about your nephew, Mort. I know...you'll make a great uncle. Anyway, I have your groceries right here." You said, as you were about to pick up the grocery bags. "No, no, (y/n). I don't want you to pick those up. You're fragile. I'll get those for you." He said, sounding protective, as he grabbed all the grocery bags and took them in. 'I carried them twice already. I could carry them fine.' You thought to yourself. "Come on in, (y/n)." Mort said, from the kitchen. You stepped into his cabin and you looked all over the place. It was clean, which surprised you because you know your brother barely picks up after himself sometimes and he's not the deep cleaning type. 'Interesting.' You thought to yourself again, as you headed to the kitchen.

You walked up to Mort and started helping him put the groceries away. As you were doing that, you saw piles of corn on a cob on his counters and even some that was in a boiling pot on the stove. 'Is this all that he eats?' You questioned yourself, thoughtfully. "What's with the corn, Mort?" You asked. "Oh, I just started harvesting my own corn, (y/n), and I can't stop eating it. It's really good." He said, sounding a bit psychotic at the end. You furrowed your eyebrows, in confusion, as you put the last bit of groceries away. "But you're wearing...braces, Mort. Aren't you not allowed to eat corn when wearing braces?" You asked. "It doesn't bother me. I haven't had any trouble with eating corn on a cob with my braces." Mort said.

Once all the groceries were put away, Mort showed you around his clean cabin. Every single room was cleaned and organized, which was still strange to you. It wasn't like Mort at all. The only thing he ever organized was his writing materials. "Come on up to my writing station, (y/n). I'm still working on my book." Mort said, as he lead you up the stairs, with his arm wrapped around your back, protectively, to prevent you from falling. When you both got to the top, you turned to Mort's writing area. He went over to his desk and sat down on his chair, with his laptop open and a plate filled with two corn on the cobs and a plate with a stick of butter. 'Guess that's the only thing he does eat.' You thought to yourself again.

"Um, Mort, can I ask you a question before I forget?" You asked. "Sure thing, (y/n)." Mort said. "I was wondering why you can't get your own groceries here in town anymore? I ran into Sheriff Newsome and he told me to keep an eye on you and I'm a little confused and concerned about you. Is everything alright?" You asked. "Oh, there's nothing to be concerned about, (y/n). Newsome just told me recently that I can no longer come into town, including to do my own grocery shopping. He said to go up and do my own shopping in New London, which is pretty far." He somewhat explained. You furrowed your eyebrows, in confusion. "Why can't you come into Tashmore Lake anymore?" "Because he's says that I make people uncomfortable. It's been that way ever since Amy and Ted disappeared." He said.

You shook your head, in disbelief, when you didn't expect to hear that last part. "I beg your pardon? Amy and Ted disappeared, out of nowhere? You told me over the phone earlier that the divorce had been finalized a month ago." You said, while crossing your arms. "Yeah, I forgot to tell you that piece because I didn't want you to worry, (y/n). Honestly, I think the town is overreacting and I believe Amy is out there, restarting her new life with Ted." Mort said. "Does that explain why Chico is gone too?" "Yeah. Chico is with Amy and Ted now." Mort said, as he grabbed two corn on the cob holders and started sharpening them.

You watched him sharpen the holders together, which creeped you out a bit, especially after he said the last sentence. This was making you feel more uncomfortable than earlier. You felt like you weren't safe in front of this man that happened to be your older brother. It wasn't the same brother that you've known your whole life. It was like he was somebody else.

Moments later, you looked down at your watch and noticed that it was getting close to five o'clock. "I better head home, Mort. Chris will be home soon and I don't wanna get back home late. Sorry I gotta leave early." You said, feeling a bit anxious to leave. "That's alright, (y/n). I understand. Plus, I got some writing to do anyway." Mort said, nodding in understanding, as he put both holders on each side of the cob. "Mort, if you ever need anything...or you wanna talk about something, please...call me. You worry me sometimes." You said, somewhat timidly.

Mort stood up from his chair and said, "Aw, (y/n). You don't have to worry about me." He walked up to you and wrapped his arms around you again. You, slowly, wrapped your arms around him, barely hugging him. "The only thing you have to worry about is yourself while going through this pregnancy." He said, and, then, he placed a kiss on your temple. "I'll be fine, Mort. I just...want you to be okay." You said, as you pulled away from the hug.

As you were about to turn to go down the stairs, Mort stopped you. "Wait. Before you go, (y/n), you wanna hear what I have so far on my story?" Mort asked, as he sat back down on his chair. You thought about it for a bit until you said, "Alright, Mort." Then, Mort looked at his laptop screen and read, "'I know I can do it.' Todd Downey said, helping himself to another ear of corn from the steaming bowl. 'I'm sure that in time, every bit of her will be gone. And her death will be a mystery, even to me.'" You, all of a sudden, got shivers down your spine, in a bad feeling, after he read that part in his story.

"What do you think, (y/n)?" Mort asked. "It's...It sounds...interesting, I guess." You said, muttering the last two words. "Good. Because the only thing that matters is the ending. It's the most important part of the story, the ending. And this one...is very good. This one's perfect." He said, giving off even more of a psychotic vibe in his voice. You looked at him, feeling nervous. "I'll, um...see you whenever, Mort." You said. "Alright. Take good care of that baby and tell Chris I said 'hi'. Take care, little sis." Mort said, and, then, he put his headphones on and started sliding a corn on the cob on the stick of butter before writing. You glanced at him one more time before you started walking down the stairs.

As you were walking, slowly, down the stairs, all you kept thinking about was your brother's psychotic vibe, new appearance, his behavior, the disappearance of Amy and Ted, the corn, and the ending of his story. It's like you were trying to fit the puzzle pieces together with everything that you were thinking about. You felt like something was not right and you felt like you should leave immediately. But, then, you stopped at the middle of the stairs as you figured everything out. You looked up where Mort was and stared at him, with fear in your eyes.

Then, you looked down at your abdomen and started rubbing it with your hand, gently. 'No matter what, I promise I'll protect you, my little darling. I'll protect you from anyone, even if he's family, who tries to hurt us.' You spoke to your baby, mentally. After that, you proceeded down the stairs and headed towards the door.