Opossum-(mxm) (Rever series Eight)

Opossum Two

He ended up getting a big jar of peanut butter, a few loaves of cheap bread, and some dollar TV dinners. He also grabbed a big pack of ramen, since it was easy and also quite cheap. His cart definitely didn't end up being the healthiest, but it was the cheapest. 

It also left him with a reasonable amount of money to get one of the cameras Grim told him to buy.  

I'll be able to eat well until my next pay check and get a cool new camera to make Grim happy. 

He was all smiles as he checked out at the front with one of the older ladies that had worked there since he was a boy. 

"Good evening, sweetheart. You seem to be in good spirits today," she said with her own warm smile as she rang up his usual meals. 

Ian nodded with an affirmative "mhm!" as he stacked his little haul on the conveyer belt so that she could start scanning them. 

He noticed that she'd slipped a big Snickers bar in between items, but hadn't scanned it, drawing his eyes up to hers and a faint warmth to his cheeks. 

"You know me, I've already paid for it, hun. Just want to bring a bigger smile to that handsome face of yours," she said, doing exactly what she intended as he beamed at her, excited for the rare dessert. 

"Thank you, ma'am. I really appreciate the treat," he said honestly as he handed her his card to pay for his things.  

Once he had his two bags he stepped back out into the cool evening air, then paused as something to his right caught his eye. 

A little boy? 

Ian turned his head to get a better look, but the boy quickly ducked behind a dirty brick wall next to an alleyway entrance. 

Curious, and also a little worried, he slowly walked closer, but made sure to keep his eyes off of that spot as he approached. 

He was nearly to the entrance of the alley when he saw the little boy peek out from behind the wall again, then immediately disappear, clearly startled by his sudden close proximity. 

"Don't worry, sweetheart. I'm just worried about you," Ian said as he stopped at the entrance and looked inside. 

Oh...

The little boy had run halfway down the dark alley to stand in front of what appeared to be a body. 

Pursing his lips nervously, Ian made the decision to ignore the boy's fear of him and quickly walk over. The kid, surprisingly, stayed standing where he was even as Ian stopped next to him, then knelt down to check and see if the other person was alive. 

Ah, a woman. Maybe his mum? 

She was incredibly dirty and very thin, but to his surprise, he found a pulse at her neck. 

"Let me help your mom, okay?" he told the little boy as he tugged out his old phone and dialed 911. 

They didn't have to wait long for the police to show up, but as soon as people began to swarm the enclosed space, the boy began to shake and cry. 

An officer was trying to calm him down, but nothing seemed to work. Especially after they ended up carting his mom away in an ambulance. 

"Do you happen to know this boys name?" 

Ian looked over his shoulder as he finished speaking with an investigator to see an officer walking over holding the boy's hand. 

The kid was still shaking and clearly stressed out of his mind, but he understood why they hadn't brought him with his mom, considering the state she was in and the possibility of her dying.