Venno Rapter - The Hellish Series Returns - Series Two

True Brothers (Story 11 - Chapter 5)

With Scott and Malcolm: 

The Possum and Lake Monster were both still sitting on the small mattress, the Lake Monster’s arms wrapped tightly around Scott’s middle, his sobbing having finally ceased completely. 

Scott sighed, the Possum gently rubbing Malcolm’s back, feeling horrible for causing the kid so much misery and despair in less than five minutes. 

“Listen, kid…I’m really sorry I made you cry. My intention wasn’t to hurt your feelings…I just wanted you to know the truth. I didn’t want you to hold on to this false hope that your father would be coming back” explained Scott, the Possum tightening his hold on the Lake Monster. 

Malcolm seemed to sniffle, shuffling a bit so that he may speak clearly.

“What happens to those who get caught and brought in?” asked Malcolm simply, the Lake Monster a little curious. 

Scott sighed, the Possum shrugging slightly. 

“I honestly have no idea. All we do is hunt down bounties that get posted, interview them, judge whether it was a false accusation before sending them off. If it’s a false accusation, they get let go to live their lives, and the wanted poster gets shredded. But for those who are found guilty of their crimes, we send them off to whoever posted their bounty and let them handle it from there. We don’t know what happens to those we send off, but it’s not our business to worry about” explained Scott simply, the Possum unsure of what else to say. 

Malcolm simply nodded, the Lake Monster hiding his face in Scott’s chest once more, deciding to remain silent as though he were in deep thought. 

Several moments pass before Malcolm seemed to tighten his hold on the Possum, causing Scott to freeze up. 

“It’s…it’s ok…I think I’m going to be ok with that…” muttered Malcolm into Scott’s chest, causing the Possum’s ear to twitch. 

“What do you mean, kid?” asked Scott, the Possum pulling away from the Lake Monster so that he can see his face. 

“About my daddy being taken away…thank you for telling me the truth…I-I…I don’t want to sound mean about him…but…he wasn’t a very good dad to begin with. I barely saw him, and when he was home, he was always locked up in his room playing around with the things on his table. He never once hugged me or told me he loved me…he never once showed that he cared about me…but…you did” said Malcolm, the Lake Monster’s eyes shimmering with a new batch of unshed tears, locking eyes with the Possum in front of him. 

Scott’s breath hitched, his throat closing up as he tried and failed to think and come up with the words to respond. 

Malcolm smiled as he glanced down at his hands, the Lake Monster fiddling with them. 

“You were a complete stranger to me…but…you came back and found me…made me see that I can trust you…and…I-I just wanted to say thank you…for being there for me…for telling me the truth and not hiding it from me like others probably would have…” continued Malcolm, the Lake Monster returning his attention back up to Scott, causing the Possum to freeze up once again. 

“Thank you…for caring so much about me…” finished Malcolm, the Lake Monster letting his new batch of tears fall. 

“Oh…come here kid” said Scott, the Possum smiling as he reached out and brought the Lake Monster in for another hug, this one more secure than the last. 

Malcolm then chuckled, the Lake Monster nuzzling his face into Scott’s chest. 

“I guess I’m an orphan like you now…since my daddy probably won’t be coming back…” muttered the Lake Monster, the kid now thinking about how different his life would be now that he was orphaned by his father.