Although he shouted his brother's name a couple of times after letting himself into the house, Sal's utterances received no response.
Far from it. The insect crawling over food residue encrusted on some dirty plates in the kitchen sink had not even a dim realization that his sibling's arrival could set in motion a chain of event that, more likely than not, could prove undesirable. In the serenity of its new existence, the fly didn't interrupt its feeding. Its tiny proboscis kept mopping up the greasy residue coating the breakfast plates even as an enormous human intruded into its home.
Sal made his way to the kitchen, making a beeline for the refrigerator. His path took him past the sink, where he disturbed a single fly into taking flight. Sal scratched his dark beard, opened the fridge door, and poked his head inside for a look as he became dimly aware of a buzzing noise.
When he pulled out of the fridge, a bottle of beer in one hand, he glimpsed a blur of motion as cold air currents escaping the fridge swirled through the room and battered the flying insect. Producing a loud pop, he screwed the lid off the beer, lifted the bottle to his mouth, and took a swig.
The fly hadn't necessarily been frightened by Sal's movements. After all, as a housefly, Brad was now able to fly away from danger in a fraction of a second due to his complex compound eyes. Thanks to them, the insect could see all around without having any blind spots.
The newly minted housefly simply didn't view the enormous human as a threat, although had Brad chosen to experience fly life with his human awareness intact, he would certainly have been inclined to give his huge sibling a wider berth.
As it was, the buzzing housefly almost instantly detected carbon dioxide from Sal's exhaled breaths, as well as the sweet aroma of the beer, and flew closer to investigate.
The Chronivac had delivered as promised, and Brad remained blissfully oblivious to the fact that he had only a short while ago been a successful scientist. He didn't recognize the giant human as his own brother. The insect brain didn't even register that the man hulking around the kitchen was another lifeform. Only the exhaled breaths and associated odors held the insect's attention, causing it to make a buzzing nuisance of itself around Sal's head.
Sal grumbled and ineffectively swatted at the bug, which veered off only to soon return. Instead of swatting again, Sal took a few steps and unlatched a window above the sink.
The fly followed in his wake, tracing the carbon dioxide wafting in the air with each breath.
"Shoo!" Sal spoke aloud. He grabbed a dishcloth and waved it at the fly.
It worked. A wave of the cloth in Sal's huge hand persuaded the insect to fly closer to the open window, although it kept circling back to him without exiting.
"No! Get out!" He fluttered the dishcloth in the bug's direction again.
Sal slammed the window back down after finally maneuvering the bug outdoors. Sal knew that his father would have scoffed at his pacifist actions, but he felt better about simply evicting the insect rather than killing or hurting it.
Outdoors, the carefree fly explored the lawn and finding nothing of any particular interest to keep it in proximity to the house, ventured farther afield. An aware Brad in insect form might have panicked at the eviction from the relative safety of his own home. Thanks to the dictates of the transformation, however, the little fly continued on its merry way, no discontent getting in the way of its meandering exploration.
It was only when he left the kitchen for the living room and lifted the bottle for another drink of the beer from his sibling's refrigerator that Sal noticed the gleaming piece of technology on the arm of the sofa.