*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧—chapter one: the idiots with the plan

August 29, 2015
Hackett House
Upstate New York, New York

CASSIDY HACKETT HAD BEEN ASLEEP WHEN THREE PAIRS OF FOOTSTEPS WOKE HIM UP. His three cousins, most likely. Who else would it have been? Cassidy was surprised no one else in the house ever woke up from their loud footsteps. And by no one else, he was talking about Jedediah and Constance, his grandparents; Chris and Bobby, his uncles and the youngest two of the Hackett brothers (Chris was the middle child and Bobby was the youngest); and Travis, his father and the eldest Hackett brother.

The boy rolls over onto his back, staring up at the ceiling of his bedroom. He sits up and stretches, before getting up from his bed. He grabs his phone off of his nightstand and then walks to the door.

He pushes it open quietly and shines his phone's flashlight into the hallway. The footsteps had stopped by now and he could hear whispering from just down the hall. He walks out of the room and shuts the door as he makes his way down the hall. Caleb, Gabriel, and Kaylee were planning something. They've been planning something this entire week, but but he didn't want to leave his room the first few days to find out. Now was the opportunity.

He eventually reaches the room where his cousins were. He knocks on the door.

"Shit!" he hears Kaylee yell.

He then hears footsteps and the door shifts a bit as someone leans against it, but it does not open right away. "Who is it?" Gabriel was on the other side of the door.

"It's me," Cassidy answers, pulling on the door handle. But it doesn't budge.

Honestly, he wasn't even supposed to be awake. Cassidy's a heavy sleeper—he's never woken up at all during this week, not even once. What was different this time? "Why are you guys in there? The storage closet is for important things only, did you not read the sign bolted to the door?"

"This is important," Caleb replies, but that's all he says.

"Like what?"

"Like going back to sleep," Gabriel retorts. "Off you go, Cass."

"Gabe," Kaylee warns, giving Gabriel a look, "be nicer to him. He didn't do anything to you."

Gabriel says something in response to her, but Cassidy can't hear it. Then, the door opens just a little bit. He stares at Cassidy through the crack. "What do you want?"

"Gabe!" Kaylee warns, elbowing him. But Gabriel ignores her.

"What's your problem?" Cassidy asks him, his brows furrowed as he stares at his older cousin.

"You," he answers. "You nosy little shit."

"Gabe, stop." Kaylee walks over to the door, glaring at Gabriel, before looking through the crack at Cassidy. "Ignore him. Anyway, hey, how come you're up?"

Out of the three of his cousins, Kaylee was the one he trusted the most. She was one of the kindest people he knew. Her brothers could be jerks at times, especially Gabriel, who thought Cassidy was the most annoying person on the planet.

Cassidy shrugs. "Honestly? I don't know. I guess I just slept wrong and ended up not being comfortable." He yawns, stretching his arms. It was like nine-thirty at night and he had fallen asleep two hours ago, but was still tired. Being woken up from your sleep makes you more tired than when you were actually sleepy. That sentence made more sense in his head...

"Maybe you'll have a clear head in the morning?" Kaylee suggests.

"Maybe," he says, mid-yawn. "Hey, whatever you're doing, are you gonna watch them," he gestures toward Caleb and Gabriel, "to make sure they don't cause trouble? Uncle Chris wouldn't like it if they did something stupid."

"Hell yeah, I am. Dad's gonna be pissed if he finds out they did something stupid," Kaylee laughs. "But no worries, Cass, I'll keep a close eye on them."

Cassidy nods, grinning. "Okay, well, I'm headed back to bed. See you later."

"See you," she says as he turns around to head back to his room. She closes the doors as she turns around to face her brothers. "You know, it's really not that hard to talk to Cass. You two are just stupid."

Caleb and Gabriel glare at her.

✧ ✧ ✧

August 29, 2015
Hackett Woods
Upstate New York, New York

This was a suicide mission.

The three siblings find themselves wandering through the woods somewhere off of Route 919. It was the only way they could find Harum Scarum. Somewhere out in the woods. A freak show like this wouldn't just be directly out in the open. It would be a bit hidden, but still somewhere people could find it and see it.

They were just out here earlier with their father, Chris, from five to seven-thirty after seeing the show. He had bought four tickets, one for each of them and him.

But the siblings had snuck out sometime during the night, to head back into the woods.

The three siblings had gone far into the woods by now. The moonlight was just bright enough for them to see a few feet ahead of them, but that was it.

Tonight is a full moon. The reason for them being out here this late was for Silas the Dog Boy.

The Harum Scarum posters were attached to various oak trees in the surrounding area. Kaylee snatches one off of a tree and stuffs it into her pocket as she leads her brothers.

Caleb was carrying a gas can and a lighter. Kaylee had a handgun tucked into the waist of her jeans. The gun wasn't for her to use, though. It was for Gabriel. But Caleb didn't trust Gabriel at the moment, at least, not enough to have possession of a gun. That was the only reason Kaylee had it.

"Remember: I light the fire and you free Silas," Caleb reminds Kaylee as they continue walking. He knows they're getting close. "And you do nothing," he informs Gabriel, who just rolls his eyes.

"Why are you like this?"

"Like what?" Caleb turns his head to look at Gabriel.

"A bitch to me, and only me."

"Hm... let's see..." he says, pondering his brother's answer for a moment, before responding. "Because you're stupid."

"Really? I'm the most sensible one here," the eighteen-year-old replies. "You're the stupid one."

Kaylee sighs. Her brothers weren't always like this. They used to get along, back when they used to fight over who was Chris' favorite son. And they used to jokingly bully each other. Now, they actually meant it when they threatened each other.

The main circus tent was up ahead in it's red-and-white-striped glory. It takes awhile for them to completely pass it before seeing each of the train cars for the circus train parked off to the side, a few feet away from the tent entrance.

The train car closest to the tent had a wooden sign attached to it that read 'Side Show Act: Silas the Dog Boy'.

"There he is," Kaylee whispers, jerking her head toward the cage in front of them.

The albino werewolf was curled up in his cage, but he wasn't sleeping. His ears twitched as the siblings neared and he stares at them with red eyes, a growl leaving his throat.

"When I say go," Caleb starts, screwing the cap off of the gas can. He dumps it onto a stack of hay bales. Then, he takes the lighter out of his pocket. He flicks it a few times before it ignites and lights the hay on fire. "Go."

All he wanted to cause was a distraction, giving him and his siblings enough time to free Silas.

But that's not what happened.

By the time Kaylee opens the cage to let Silas out, the freak show erupts in flames. The fire spreads quickly, feeding off of the gasoline that Caleb had poured until the gas can had been empty. The siblings watch as it all starts to burn and the scent of smoke starts to fill their nostrils before continuing with the rest of the plan.

"We need to hurry," Gabriel informs as Kaylee backs up slowly after opening the cage, giving Silas space for him to get out. The albino werewolf sniffs the air first, a loud whine leaving his throat at the scent of smoke and burning flames. From behind the three siblings, he can see the flames still going, already having engulfed the freak show's campsite. The screams from the other freak show members fill his ears and his red eyes flick over to Caleb, who's twirling the gasoline can in his hand.

Silas doesn't know what was in that can, but he knew Caleb had done something with it that caused the freak show to burn. The werewolf couldn't really do anything about that. The fire terrified him. But he had to get out and get away from this area of the woods if he was going to flee from the fire. The albino werewolf pushes the unlocked door open with his snout and climbs out the cage, eyes scanning over the three siblings.

None of them move.

"Hey!"

The three siblings turn around, staring wide-eyed at the person that shouted at them. Hank, the sheriff of North Kill, is walking over. He looked pissed.

What was the sheriff even doing out here this late?

"Shit," Caleb mutters.

"Chris Hackett's kids, huh? Never thought the three of you'd be out here causing trouble." Hank says, eyeing them suspicious. "You kids start this fire?"

"Yes," Gabriel says quietly.

"Sorry, Sheriff," Kaylee replies, flashing him a warm smile, "but, I'm afraid we can't just leave. It's not that easy. You see, um... We were just taking care of Silas right here." She gestures toward the open cage.

Hank shakes his hand, bringing a hand up to his beard to scratch at it. "You're letting him loose..."

"No, but—"

"Don't do anything else that could risk your lives, okay?" Hank instructs, before turning around heading off in a different direction.

"Where is he going?"

"He can't just leave us here!"

"There's a fire and we're trying to free a werewolf boy. Hank will be back. He's getting extra help," Kaylee replies to her brothers, turning back to the cage. "Silas, come on. It's all right. We're here to help you."

Silas just stands there, ears pinned back and tail tucked between his legs, another loud whine leaving his throat.

Fear.

Gabriel can see it etched into the red eyes of the werewolf. Silas likely thought the three siblings were threats. Besides, there was a fire spreading. They all had to get out of here. Quickly.

"We need to make sure he gets out safely. If we wait any longer, the fire might kill us. We have to coax him somehow," Kaylee says worriedly, glancing around momentarily before looking back at Silas, who still hasn't moved form where he was after leaving the cage.

Caleb was already walking over to Silas before Kaylee was even finished speaking. "You gotta move, Silas. Come on. Get."

"You're insane for even trying to get that close to Silas!" Gabriel hisses, shaking his head. "He's scared and he'll bite you! You're fucking crazy, dude!"

"What other option do you have, Gabriel," Caleb snaps, turning around to face his brother. "Because you didn't do anything useful tonight!"

"Because you didn't want me to, remember? You said you and Kaylee 'had it all under control'! And now your perfect little plan is going to shit because the fire's spreading too fucking fast because you lit some hay bales on fire—who lights hay bales on fire?—and Silas won't fucking move because he's scared. Remember how you said it wouldn't be that big of a fire?"

"Guys..." Kaylee starts, but both of them don't hear her.

"Oh, so, now you're putting all the blame on me? How the hell was I supposed to know hay burns like that?"

"You didn't know?" Gabriel scoffs, narrowing his eyes at him. "How fucking hollow is your skull, Caleb? Hay is dried grass and legumes and stuff! It's burning like that because it's dry, Caleb! If it wasn't dry, it wouldn't be burning as much as it is right now!"

"Well, I didn't know!"

"Clearly not! You're fucking stupid!"

"Guys."

"Well, I'm sorry for not noticing that sooner, shithead!"

"Guys!"

"What, Kaylee?" Caleb snaps, sending a glare toward his sister. But before she could warn him, he's tackled to the ground, a scream leaving his lips as Silas pins him down and starts tearing at his flesh.

His screams fill Kaylee's ears and she covers her mouth with a hand as tears stream down her cheeks.

Caleb tries to push Silas away, but it's not working. Silas was hell of a lot stronger. Saliva drips from the albino werewolf's open mouth, razor sharp teeth sinking into his right arm, and ripping apart his skin. Blood pours from the wound, soaking what remained of his sleeve, as it dripped down the rest of the way, forming a crimson puddle in the grass.

"Kaylee, hand me the gun!" Gabriel shouts over Caleb's screams.

"What?" she gives him a look. "You're not gonna shoot Silas, are you? You'll kill him or Caleb—"

"I know how to shoot a gun. Besides, there's no silver bullets in this gun; I checked before we left the house. The most it'll do is sting Silas a bit and scare him off. And we need to save Caleb now unless you want him to get mauled to death. Now hand me the gun!" he demands, putting a hand out.

She pulls the gun from out of the waist of her jeans and hands it to him.

Gabriel cocks the gun and aims it, before firing off six shots. Only one of them hits Silas, the others hit the ground.

Silas yelps in pain and releases Caleb's arm, before running off deeper into the woods.

"Jesus Christ... That was easier than I thought," Gabriel mutters, handing the gun back to Kaylee, who quickly slips it back into the waist of her jeans.

And not long after that is Kaylee hurrying over to his oldest brother to make sure he's okay. Gabriel tugs at a piece of his shirt and rips it off, kneeling beside Caleb to wrap it tightly around his arm to stop the bleeding.

Caleb winces when Gabriel pulls it tight, but once he lets it go, he looks at him. "Thanks."

"We should... We should get out of here..." Kaylee notes, glancing behind her. "Like, right now."

"Yeah, before things get worse than they already have," Gabriel replies, helping Caleb stand up. And with Kaylee's help as well, the three of them start to head back the way they came.

author's note
when i have to
make up most of
caleb and kaylee's
personalities based
on how little info we
were given on them
in the game.

we were given like
one piece of info
and they were both
barely in the game

anyway, thoughts
go brrr

07.12.22