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The Helpline

Chapter 2 : Parental

By Kendo Kawabata

The kitten looked through the plastic surrounding it with curiosity, its eye wide and intrigued as it purred softly and pressed its nose against the material. It mewled softly and turned around in its enclosure, the plastic crinkling softly around it. It circled around with a cute curiosity as it explored the small plastic confinement.

Above her, the boy grinned as he looked down at the kitten in the plastic bag. He was a chubby, dirty looking boy, a corgi with bright ginger coloured hair that was cut back in a buzz cut. A dirty singlet stretched over his stomach as he sat on his knees, wearing only boxers. His clothing was stained in an assortment of colours, never bothering to wear the clean ones set out.

"Stupid adults. Try and ground me will they" he said with a smile on his face as he watched the kitten circle around in the bottom of the bag. "Well, this will teach them to try and tell me what to do" the ten year old child said as he looked down at the trapped animal, holding the top of the bag in his fist to keep the kitten fully enclosed.

He reached over and picked up the head of the vacuum cleaner which was laying beside him, the cyclone unit resting behind his chubby body. He laid the head in his lap and then picked up the roll of duct tape he had stolen from the utility drawer in the kitchen. He then very calmly put the head end into the bag and began to wrap the edge against it.

The kitten mewled again as it looked upwards curiously at the big circular hole that was only a couple of inches away from its head. It leant up and gave the opening a few sniffs before licking its lips and looking through the plastic walls around it.

Still smiling, with no hint of sweetness or regret, the boy picked up the duct tape and began to securely tape the end of the bag around the vacuum head, making sure that it was properly sealed off. With a grunt he tore the end off with his teeth as he tossed the roll of tape over his shoulder.

Once the bag was secure, he leant over and dragged the body of the vacuum across the dirty carpeted floor and pressed it up against his side as his finger slowly rubbed over the on switch. The big red shiney button was just itching to be pressed.

"I wonder if cats can get sucked up into the vacuum" he said with a giggle as the idea amused him greatly of the kitten vanishing up the thin tube like a giant dust bunny. "Guess we'll find out" he said as he pointed his finger at the button.

"AAAARRGHHHH!"

The boy jumped, visibly shook from the sudden scream behind him as he forgot about the mewling kitten in the bag and stood up, suddenly furious that someone had disrupted what he was doing. He dropped the handle as it landed on the floor with a dull thud as he glared towards his bedroom door.

"Emily, you fucking bitch. What are you screaming at me for?" the boy demanded as he rounded on the little mouse girl that was standing in the bedroom doorway. The eight year old girl was clad in just a simple white dress and she was looking horrified.

"My kitty. You hurting my kitty Andy" Emily said as she saw her kitten pawing gently at the plastic wrap that was around it. The white mouse ran forward with her arms outstretched as she reached for her pet.

"Get the fuck out of my room" Andy shouted as he grabbed at Emily with his hands. He was bigger in size then she was and he threw the girl against the wall of the bedroom as if she weighed nothing. "I told you before, stay the fuck out of my room you dumb little bitch" he shouted.

Emily cried out as she hit the wall and slid down to the floor, tears pouring out of her eyes as she felt the pain in her body. She pulled herself up as she cried loudly, her loud crying making Andy feel angry that she was being a whiney bitch. He brought his hand up as he looked ready to slap her for daring to make noise in his room.

"ANDREW!!"

Andy jumped from the sudden yell that came from his doorway, not because of how sudden it was but because of the adult voice that came with him. Standing in the doorway was a dappled brown horse in a pair of jeans and a white sweatshirt, the adults glare pointed right at the bratty canine.

"She started it" Andy said as he pointed at the white mouse before the horse could say anything other then shout his name. "She knows she's not allowed in my room" he shouted at the adult.

"Andrew, I have told you a hundred times before, you do not throw the other children around" Gavin said as he pushed Andy aside to go and pick up Emily. The little mouse girl clung to the adult horse as she cried against his chest.

"You say a lot of dumb shit. And don't push me" Andy said as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and glared at the adult.

"And I have told you before, you do not swear in this house" Gavin said as he helped Emily up to her feet. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand before she pointed at Andy with a trembling finger.

"He was gonna suck my kitty into the vacuum" Emily sobbed as she rubbed her eyes with one hand and kept her finger pointet at Andy. Gavin looked behind the boy and saw the bag taped to the end of the vacuum, her kitten had by now curled up in the bag and looked like it was taking a nap.

"Oh god, are you serious?" Gavin said in shock as he realised what Andy had been about to do. "Andy, were you going to kill her cat with the vacuum?" he demanded as he knelt down and pulled the tape from around the vacuum handle.

"I wasn't gonna kill it. I just wanted to see if it could get sucked up" Andy stated in a huff. "It wasn't gonna die, cats fit in small places all the time" he whined.

"How could you even think of doing something like this?" Gavin demanded as he ripped open the bag. The kitten mewled in surprise as it was woken up from its nap as Emily pulled her pet from its confines. The kittens protesting died down as it started to purr as Emily clutched it to her chest, holding it like it was going to be taken away from her again.

"You're the dumb fuck that tried to ground me" Andy said angrily as he glared at Gavin, his face screwed up in a pout of annoyance and fury.

"We grounded you because you poured boiling water in Patricks fish tank and kill his fish" Gavin said as he stood up. "This is completely unacceptable. You cannot treat pets like this at all, it is inhumane" he said. "Emily honey, go back to your room, you got your kitten back" Gavin said in a gentle voice. Emily sniffed a few times as she nodded then quickly hurried out of the room as if she was afraid Andy would take her cat away again.

"He was asking for it, acting all nice and polite all the time" Andy said in a huff as he stamped his foot on the ground in an act of defiance. "And his fish were ugly" he added in a pout.

"Andre, you have been grounded. And that is not negotiable" Gavin said as he crossed his arms across his chest. "And for this stunt, you've got your television privileges revoked and you're not getting dessert for a month" he said in a firm voice.

"You can't take away my dessert you old fuck" Andy shouted at the older horse, a horrified look on his face at the prospect of losing his dessert for a month. "You're not my father, you can't do that to me" he shouted.

"You are under my care, and until someone adopts you, you will do as I say" Gavin said as he glared down at the spoilt brat before him, his hand actually clenching with the amount of restraint he was showing to not hit the boy across the face. "Now, you can stay in this room until you apologise to Emily for trying to kill her cat."

"Fuck you, I'm not apologising for nothing" Andy shouted at the older horse. "I'm not sorry, and I'm not saying it. The cats not dead anyway, how can I be in trouble?" he shouted as he stamped his feet on the stained carpet in an angry huff.

"Fine. Then you can stay in your room. And you can go without dinner too" Gavin said as he stared down at the boy, seeing him getting worked up into a temper tantrum. Usually, such a thing deterred any parent from handing out discipline, but Gavin was not about to let Andy have his way just because he was shouting.

Andy however, did not like being told No. And he didn't like being deprived of anything. The childish brat was getting so worked that he balled his fists up and brought his arm back. There was no hesitation as he slammed his fist into the horses crotch as hard as he could.

Gavin felt the impact on his crotch before he felt the pain as the air in his lungs escaped in one hard gasp as he bent over. His crotch felt like it was on fire as he found himself sinking to one knee as he panted, holding on by one hand between his legs as he fought for air.

The horse gritted his teeth as he looked up slowly and saw Andy standing there, his hands on his hips as he gave a smirk to the older horse, a proud look across his face. Gavin balled his hand up again in a fist, almost losing his restraint to hit the boy across the face for punching him, but he managed to hold on as he took a few deep breathes to calm himself down.

"You can't hit me, or you'll be in trouble" Andy said with a smug smirk on his face. "And you know it" added. Andy knew very well that his foster parents couldn't lay a hand on him in any way, otherwise they would lose their license and loose all the children in their care.

"Maybe I can't hit you, but I can lock you in your room" Gavin said through gritted teeth as he pulled himself up. "You can fucking stay in here and starve you little shit" he snarled as he turned and stumbled his way to the door. Andy ran after him, hoping to get to the door before him but Gavin managed to slam it shut, just as he hear the hammering of Andys fists against the wooden door.

"You can't lock me in here you old fuck. Let me out. LET ME OUT" Andy shouted as he hammered on the door, clear screams of anger coming from behind the door as Gavin heard him have a full on temper tantrum.

"That....little...." Gavin said through gritted teeth as he leant against the wall, holding onto his crotch as he felt the pain start go away. He managed to pull himself up as the hammering on the door continued, the boy screaming as many obscenities as he could through the door. How a child that young know so many vulgar words was a mystery to him.

Thankfully, the lock on the door had been changed so that it couldn't be opened from the inside. Andy would be stuck in the room till he either tired himself out, or he had enough sense to actually apologise for what he did. Gavin was not going to hold his breath, as he had never heard that boy say the words 'I'm Sorry', or even if he knew that those words existed.

Slowy, Gavin stood up and sighed as he saw Emily standing in the doorway of her room, holding her kitten in her arms. The little girl had stopped crying, but her eyes were red and she looked a mess.

"Emily, I think Kitty should stay in your room from now on. Don't let her out again, ok sweetie?" he asked her with the best smile he could muster as Andy continued to hammer on the door and scream through it. Emily nodded to him as she turned and went back into her room, closing the door behind her quietly.

"She's a good girl" Gavin thought to himself as he heard Andy start to throw things around in his room. The boy didn't have much left in his room that he could actually break, but what little he did have was wrecked to begin with. He broke anything and everything they gave to him on purpose anyway.

"I will be so glad when you finally get out of my life" Gavin said to himself, as he slowly walked into the kitchen. "I fucking hate you" he growled under his breath as he reached the kitchen and headed to one of the cabinets just above his head. There was a bottle of bourbon in the back of the cupboard where the kids couldn't reach that he really needed a shot or two from.

As he poured himself a shot of the dark liquid, he shook his head and silently berated himself for thinking like that. As a foster parent, he was supposed to support and care for all the children that came and went in his life, but in all honesty, Andy had been pushing his limits since he arrived. And he wasn't sure if he didn't mean those words anymore. Of if he'd feel bad for admitting it to the boy in the first place.

"So, Andy is still in his room?" Mary asked as she sat at the kitchen table, the evening meal of take out chicken and chips already eaten and cleared away. The red mare looked over at her husband above her chipped mug of coffee, an annoyed look on her face.

"Yes, he is" Gavin said, already tired of explaining it to his wife as he sat at the opposite end, his head in his hands as he looked at the table. "Twice I asked him to come out and apologise and both times he came at me swinging. He continued to yell and scream every chance he got, and the other kids were pretty shook up from it all" he said.

"Are the kids in bed?" Mary asked as she took a sip of her coffee, and grimaced slightly. The coffee tasted burnt. Last time she asked her husband to make her coffee again.

"Yes, they're all in bed. They had dinner, watched some tv, got their homework done and went to bed. I had no problems with them, again. Andy didn't get anything because he refused to behave" Gavin said as he slowly rubbed his temples. He could tell from the way she sipped her coffee that he had burnt it again. Next time, she was making her own damn coffee. It was her stupid machine after all.

"Gavin, it is his birthday next month" Mary began as she put her coffee mug down, but Gavin looked up and gave her a piercing glare.

"Before you ask, the answer is going to be and going to stay, NO" Gavin said firmly to his wife. "He doesn't deserve anything and he'll get nothing" he said flatly.

"Gavin, we give all the children a birthday party and a celebration. We can't just single him out because he's being difficult" Mary said, annoyed at the suggestion of depriving Andy of something special.

"That boy is getting nothing" Gavin said as he rubbed his temples again, looking annoyed as well. "We gave him his own room with furniture and toys when he first got here. He trashed the majority of it. He is the reason we do not have doors on the cabinets in here" he said as he took a look around him. Andy had thrown a tantrum on his first week and had ripped them all off. And ripped off the new doors that had cost a small fortune to replace.

"It wont be fair on him if he is the only one to miss out" Mary said to her husband.

"I don't care" Gavin said, the tone of his voice suggesting that he really didn't. "He breaks everything, he torments the other children, and he's never sorry about it. Look, I know a kids birthday is special and all that new age crap, but I'm not celebrating his. Period. End of discussion" Gavin said firmly. "Besides, he's been screaming and throwing things around in his room for several hours. That is not the kind of behaviour you give a birthday party for."

"Did you at least check on him and make sure that he was alright?" Mary asked as she picked up her coffee again, but decided against it and put it back down.

"Yes" Gavin said with an exasperated tone of voice. "When I didn't hear anything for a while, I went in and checked on him. He was asleep on the floor, which he had pissed all over" he said.

"You didn't even let him out to use the bathroom?" Mary said, a look of disgust on her face. "Gavin, that is completely irresponsible of you" she said to him.

"The last time I let him out to use the bathroom, he clogged up the toilet and took a shit in the sink" Gavin snapped at her. "Which took me an hour to clean and sort out, which gave him time to pour milk and flour over the kitchen floor cause he decided to go ice skating" he said.

"Gavin, there is no reason to snap at me like this" Mary said to her husband, not looking happy to be spoken to like that.

"Well, I'm sorry Mary, but you are at work all day. You have no idea what happens during the day because you are never here" Gavin said angrily. "You just come home and proceed to judge me on everything I haven't done that isn't up to your standard of parenting, when we both know that nothing works with that fucking brat" he said.

"Gavin, do not swear at me" Mary said as she glared furiously at her husband.

"We have no trouble from the other kids whatsoever, but that child is the worst we have ever had, and I'll fucking swear if I want to" Gavin said angrily. "We have tried everything. Time outs, naughty corners, taking away his toys, revoking his privileges, making him take his baths and showers with cold water, taking away his desserts. We have done everything except spank his ass and nothing has done anything to change him" he said.

"Gavin, you know very well that spanking is not considered good parenting anymore" Mary pointed out. "All the experts have claimed it causes more damage then good to a child" she said.

"Well, bully for the fucking experts" Gavin said as he slammed his fists on the table. "For fucks sake Mary, he put Emilys kitten into a bag and tried to suffocate it with the vacuum. And he was not sorry. Then he punched me in the balls and threw a tantrum for several hours. You cannot tell me that that child deserves a birthday party and not a beating" he said to his wife.

"It is not good parenting anymore" Mary said firmly.

"We are not his parents Mary" Gavin said angrily at his wife. "We are just looking after him till someone comes along and adopts him. And trust me, NO-ONE is going to adopt a brat like him. Not unless they have a good dungeon to take care of him" Gavin said as he put his head back in his hands.

Mary wanted to continue argue, but she could see her husband was on the verge of crying, or on the verge of a break down. She shook her head slowly. She had made the decision to take on full time work, which left her husband alone with the kids six days a week. Well, it might as well have been seven since she always slept in and rested up on Sundays. He rarely got a break from it, and although she didn't want to admit it, Gavin was right. Andy was a brat.

"I'm just so fucking tired" Gavin said as he held his head in his hands, trying to hold himself together. "All we ever do anymore is argue, and its always over him. Is it really that bad of me to want to put him over my knee and make him see some sense? For fucks sake, I have to do something Mary, I feel like I could snap any day now and do something I'll regret."

"Gavin, you don't mean that" Mary said as she got up from her seat, concern in her voice for her husband as she walked over to him and slid her arms around him. "Gavin, you are a wonderful father figure to these children, Andy....he's just a problem child that we need to work on" she said.

Gavin suddenly pushed her off him and stood up. The push wasn't hard, but the shock of her getting pushed away was enough to make his wife actually shut up.

"Then you tell me, what the fuck should I do?" Gavin said as he glared at his wife. "What you can you do better, or all your precious experts in those stupid books you read do better? You tell me that, right now, what can be done that I haven't already tried with that boy" he ordered his wife.

Mary was unable to reply as she found herself fumbling for an excuse. But nothing came as she found herself stuttering and unable to form a coherent sentence. Gavin said nothing before he shook his head at his wife, not breaking eye contact with her.

"I figured" he said flately. "I'm sleeping on the couch tonight. Don't wake me" he said as he walked out of the kitchen, flipping the light off as he went, leaving his wife in the semi darkness of the kitchen.

Mary said nothing as she watched her husband retreat to the couch for yet another night of sleeping alone. It wasn't the fact that she had nothing to say, it was the simple fact that she couldn't admit her husband was right. Aside from a spanking, there really wasn't much that could be done.

"Alright guys, make sure you behave and turn in your homework to your teachers" Gavin said as he waved goodbye to the kids from the front doorstep. The schoolbus was parked in front of their house, ready to pick them up for the schoolday.

Thomas was the eldest boy at fourteen, a lightly browned slender otter. Then there was Patrick, a twelve year old male possum. Emily was between them, holding their hands as they walked up the garden path towards the bus. Their bags were packed and their uniforms were neat and clean, the kids glad to be on their way to school.

Gavin waved them goodbye as they found their seats and returned his wave. They weren't just glad to get to school, they were glad to get away from the house, and from Andy. Gavin did not blame them, although he didn't worry about them at school. Those three were always able to behave themselves.

Andy had arrived at the house six months ago, and had been enrolled at their school the next day. Gavin had high hopes that he would be able to fit in like the other kids had been able to. After all, even for foster children, they had managed to fit in without hassle.

The little brat had been expelled within the first hour for biting several of the other children before the school day had started, throwing his classroom chair out of the window and breaking it, and throwing his backpack at his teacher and then biting her hard enough to draw blood.

Mary and Gavin had been unable to find him a new school since, although not for their lack of trying. Andy had been a stay at home child since, and it was the reason that Gavin no longer worked. They had tried the babysitter option just once. Never again.

Gavin watched the school bus drive away before he went back into the house, shutting the front door behind him. Mary had already left before the kids got up, her commute was a long one. Gavin picked up the dishes from the table and set them in the sink as he started to clean them, as Andy made his appearance in the kitchen.

The corgi was only wearing a pair of faded cotton briefs, and it looked like he hadn't showered since the previous day. Gavin did not say anything to him as the boy sat himself at the kitchen table and then looked around before looking over at the stallion.

"Where's my damn breakfast?" Andy demanded as he saw the table had been cleared already.

"You should have come down for breakfast when we unlocked your door this morning and told you to come out" Gavin said without looking at the boy. "When you are done with breakfast, you are going to take a shower and put on clean clothes for once" he ordered.

"I don't like having breakfast with the other dweebs" Andy said as he thumped his fist on the table. "Now gimme my damn breakfast. I want my breakfast, I want my breakfast" he demanded as he thumped his fist repeatedly on the table.

"Say please, or you go hungry" Gavin said without looking at the boy. Andy flipped him the bird from behind, but Gavin just continued to busy himself with the dishes. Seeing that the big horse wasn't going to budge and his stomach starting to growl, Andy gave in.

"Fine, Please. There, I said it" Andy said, saying the word please like he was saying something disgusting. "Now gimme my damn breakfast, I'm hungry" he ordered.

Gavin shook his head as he wiped his hands on the dishtowel and picked up a bowl of shredded wheat next to the dish rack and a pitcher of water. He put them in front of the boy with a thump on the table before he turned back to resume washing.

"I don't like this shit" Andy said as he glared down at the bowl of shredded wheat. "And I like milk, not water" he pouted as he crossed his arms over his chest in a huff. Gavin turned around and looked down at the boy who returned his gaze with an angry look on his face.

"You are grounded and in a lot of trouble, do I have to remind you?" Gavin said to him as he leant over the table to look the boy in the face. "You do not get milk, and you will eat what you are given. Or, you can starve. Its your choice" Gavin said as he stood back up, still looking down at Andy.

"Fine, I'll eat. Happy?" Andy said as he grabbed the pitcher, although the look on his face suggested that he was anything but happy about it as he started to pour water into the bowl. Gavin said nothing as he watched the brat fill his bowl with water before he turned back around to continue the dishes.

He cried out as something heavy and wet collided with the back of his head, something thick and slimey dripping down the back of his neck and into the back of his shirt. Something collided with the floor and broke apart as he grabbed at the back of his neck, pulling a thick glob of wheat slime from his mane.

"GOD DAMMIT ANDY" Gavin shouted as he turned around, seeing the broken bowl on the floor before something collided with his chest. He felt the impact as he brought his hands up, startled as a splatter of water sprayed him in the face as the pitcher fell into the sink, breaking a couple of the dishes.

He looked down at the dishes in the sink as he heard the fridge door slam hard, the contents rattling from the force as he watched the back of Andy run through the door at the back of the room, the backyard door slamming open as the boy forced it as he hightailed it out of the housed.

"Andy, get your ass back in here now" Gavin ordered as he carefully stepped over the broken shards on the floor and walked to the back door, pushing it open as he looked out onto the backyard. "Andy, you come back in here right now" he shouted as he tried to see where the boy had gone.

The boy though, had ran straight for the back shed, which Gavin used to store all his tools for the yardwork, and where he stored excess goods from the house. The door wasn't locked, as Andy had forced it open with a hammer and the wood around the lock was too broken to put in a new lock. Andy had slipped inside and crawled under the work bench in the back of the shed, pulling a large cardboard box in front of him that blocked him from view.

"Stupid idiot" Andy said with a smirk as he settled himself into his little private space. It was a wonder that Gavin had never found him in there in the last six months, considering that Andy used it a lot to get away from him.

"Now I can have a real breakfast" he said to himself as he looked down at his pilfered prize, a small container of bought chocolate cake for the kids school lunches, and the last two cans of beer still in the rings from a six pack. Gavin should have learnt by now not to buy alcohol, but if he kept buying it, then Andy was just going to keep drinking it.

Andy settled himself down as he popped the top of the can and took a good swig. It was cheap beer, but it was still beer anyways. He drank his fill and set the can down as he ripped off the lid of the container and drove his hand in, grabbing a fistfull of cake that he promptly started to cram into his mouth.

The boy discovered that he had a rather good tolerance for alcohol, considering all the drinking he did behind the horses back. These two cans weren't going to do anything to him as he continued to cram as much chocolate cake into his muzzle, smearing cake around his muzzle and down his front. Not that he cared.

He heard Gavin step outside and start calling for him again. The boy wanted to laugh at the stupidity of the horse, as if he was actually going to go outside and go to him just cause he was shouting for him. He sniggered to himself as he chewed on the store bought cake.

"Like I'm coming" Andy said with a smirk to himself as he swallowed the cake, licking at his thickly covered fingers before he picked up the can of beer and began to drink. "I'm not coming out till I'm done eating a real breakfast" he said out loud, although Gavin wasn't able to hear him as he heard the horse still call for him.

He giggled to himself, thoroughly enjoying himself as he still had half the cake left, as well as a full can of beer to drink, and a whole day to himself to just sit back and do nothing. And there was nothing that Gavin was able to do about it either.

"You tied him to the chair and left him sitting here all day?" Mary shouted at her husband in shock, as she came home to find Andy sitting at the kitchen table, the boy covered in shreds of chocolate cake and smelling of beer. And he was bound by ropes across his body and gagged with duct tape. It would have been funny in a way, if either of them had been in the mood to joke.

"What was I supposed to do, lock him in his room and let him throw shit on the walls? Because that's what he promised he'd do and trust me, I am not taking chances with him" Gavin said in a calm as he could voice that he was able to muster, although he was gripping the kitchen counter behind him so hard his knuckles were turning white.

"Gavin, this is completely unacceptable, I cannot believe that you did this" Mary said as she worked on removing the duct tape from Andys mouth. "And why does he smell like beer? Did you give him alcohol?" she demanded as she freed Andys muzzle.

"He was waiting for me. He pounced me to the floor and tied me up and left me here all day. I begged him to stop, but he said it was for the good of the nation" Andy said in a pathetic whimpering tone of voice that made it sound like he was the innocent victim in all of this.

"Why don't you tell her why I did it?" Gavin said through gritted teeth as he tried to remain calm. Thankfully, the other children were in their rooms doing their homework, so they weren't there to witness what was going on.

Andy had gotten bored with hiding by the time time midday had rolled around. So, thinking he was in the clear with everything, he had made his way back into the house and headed straight for the fridge, fully expecting to just help himself to whatever he wanted.

Except Gavin had been waiting for him. Gavin had grabbed him and had ended up forcibly restraining the boy after several minutes of struggling, and trying to avoid Andys sharp little teeth doing any damage to his arms. Gavin had forced him into the kitchen chair and secured him there with ropes to his wrists and to his ankles.

He also had to endure almost half an hour of screaming, insults and foul language that poured from the boys mouth like water from a tap, as well as threats and screams that could have alerted the neighbours to the scene of someone getting stabbed to death. So, he had duct taped his mouth shut and let the boy sit there all afternoon.

Andy had sat there all afternoon being thoroughly ignored by the older horse as Gavin had gone about his day. He had actually found it rather peacefull to get all the chores done in the house and get a big of 'me' time in that allowed him to catch up on some television. It was a lot easier without having to fight with a ten year old boy all the time.

"Gavin, nothing he could have done means he deserved being tied up like some prisoner. He's a ten year old boy for heavens sake, he's not some prisoner awaiting interrogation" Mary said in anger to her husband, who was still trying to keep calm in the situation.

"Even if he takes my beer from the fridge and the chocolate cake you bought for the school lunches, throws dishes at me and spends half the day hiding from me?" Gavin asked his wife as he looked over at her, seeing her stop whatever she was about to say.

"Wait, what?" she asked in surprise, having not expected that answer from him. She looked down at Andy for a moment then looked back at her husband.

"The last cans of beer from my six pack are missing, and so is the container of cake. Andy decided he wasn't going to eat the breakfast I had given him and threw it at me, then raided the fridge" Gavin explained as he kept his gaze on his wife. "You can smell the beer on him. You can't explain that away" he said flatly.

"I didn't take it, he gave it to me" Andy pouted in a whiney voice as he looked up at Mary, making his eyes rather big and innocent looking. "He said it was lolly water and special kids drink it all the time" he whined.

"Gavin, you didn't really give it to him did you?" Mary said in horror. "You've done some stupid things in your life but giving a ten year old child beer? Gavin, how could you?" she said angrily to her husband.

"WHAT?" Gavin shouted in total surprise to his wife, disbelief written across his face. "That is what you believe from him? THAT?" he demanded.

"Gavin, he is only ten. He knows he shouldn't be drinking" Mary said to her husband as if it really was his own fault this was happening. "You're the responsible adult, you shouldn't be letting him drink, or even encouraging it."

"I didn't encourage anything" Gavin shouted at his wife as he took his hands off the counter, his fingers balling into fists almost immediately. "He just took it and drank it because he wanted too."

"So you just admit that you let him take it?" Mary asked her husband in anger.

"I don't just 'Let' him do anything around here. He just does what he wants, which I am constantly having to remind you every god damn night. He is an irresponsible little brat who has no regard for anyone but himself" he said to his wife, his knuckles cracking as he slowly released his fists then balled them back up.

"He's only ten years old" Mary said to him. "Ten year old boys don't fully understand their actions" she said.

"SO FUCKING WHAT?" Gavin shouted at his wife. "Being Ten did not stop him from killing off Patricks fish. Being ten did not stop him from from stealing your cigarettes from your handbag and smoking them all. Being ten did not stop him from tearing out kitchen apart, or stop him from getting deliberately expelled from school. How the fuck is being ten supposed to excuse his damn behaviour?" he demanded.

"Gavin, do not swear in front of him" Mary said with a huff in her voice. "He's only ten, he can't be learning that kind of language from you" she said.

"I've heard worse from all damn day" Gavin said angrily. "I cannot believe you are still defending him over me. I just...I....I've had it" he finally shouted at his wife. "I'm done, I'm over this. I've reached my limit with this little shit. I can't deal with this crap anymore."

"Gavin please, don't overact" Mary said as she started towards to her husband, but he slammed his hand down on the kitchen table hard enough to make it shake and she stopped moving.

"No, no this is too much for me to handle anymore" Gavin shouted at his wife, and she was schoked to see that there were tears in her husbands eyes. Gavin had never cried openly before, and for him to actually start crying now meant he really was on edge. "I am putting my fucking foot down on this. I cannot stand this anymore. I am tired of getting pushed around by a damn ten year old brat and having you come home from work every day and judge me on everything I have to do" he said.

"Gavin, it doesn't matter how far you get pushed, you can't just tie a child up like this" Mary said as she held her hands up to get her husband to calm down. "He's still a child, you can't do that to children at all, or ever. Look, I know things have been stressful lately" she continued as calmly as she could. "But you have to remember you are the adult in this situation and you have to behave like one" she said.

"It's either him or me" Gavin said flatly as he crossed his arms in front of his wife.

"What?" Mary asked in surprise.

"I cannot deal with this anymore Mary" Gavin said to his wife in anger. "Yes, I tied Andy up, but the minute you saw that you jump down my throat. You never once actually considered hat he could have deserved it. In fact, you never ask why he deserved it, you just decide I'm doing it for the hell of it" he said. "You take his side after everything he has done, that you know he has done, and not once do you ever consider me in all of this" he said.

"Gavin, that's not..." his wife began to say but he cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"I've had it Mary. I can deal with the other kids just fine, they are no problem to me. I love having them around" Gavin proclaimed. "But Andy, no. No more. I'm done with him. You want him to stay with us? Then you take over him" he ordered.

"Gavin, I don't..." she tried to say, but he cut her off again.

"You think you know everything about child raising? You think you can handle him better then I can? Well, here's your chance" Gavin said as the tears began to finally dislodge from behind his eyes. "Do something right now. Punish him, discipline him. Fucking do something besides judge me Mary" he shouted at his wife.

"Because if you don't, I'm walking out that front door. And I dont know if I'll be coming back" Gavin said to his wife. "So, you choose since you know everything. We keep him, you discipline him from now on. Or we get rid of him, hand him over to someone else. Or I walk out of this house" he said with such fury in his tear streaked eyes that his wife was momentarily too stunned to talk.

Silence fell in the kitchen for several long minutes, only broken by the sound of Andy humming to himself as he looked from one adult to the other. The look on his face suggested the boy was thoroughly enjoying himself at the expense of the two adults arguing. And the carefree way he was humming, he knew he was getting away with everything since Mary had taken his side and now she was the one in trouble.

Mary for once, was completely speechless. The mare literally could not form words after what her husband had just said to her. She knew that there were problems in the house, but being at work six days a week and asleep for most of the seventh, she could only assume what was going on. And she had assumed that things were not this bad.

But now she was literally slapped with the truth that the limit of her husband having finally reached a limit that he was slowly being dragged towards every day. And having to be berated every day for making decisions on things that she had only assumed were going on, he had not only hit the limit, but crossed it. And now he was so emotionally distressed over the whole situation that he was now planning on walking out on her, something that had never happened to her.

And it all had to do with Andy, the problem child of the house.

She looked at her husband as he stood there, trying to hold himself together as he ignored the tears that were starting to drip down his cheeks. It was a sad state to see a fully grown male cry like this, but it was even sadder that it was her husband. She couldn't just let him leave, she still loved him. She didn't want him to walk out on her, not on these kind of terms.

But Andy....

She looked down at the boy as he seemed quite happy to see the two adults argue. He looked like he didn't care that his foster parents were about to split up because of his actions, actions that he had very happily performed over the last six months. Her husband had done everything except the boy, and none of it had done anything except show the boy he could get away with it.

She made up her mind rather quickly.

"Gavin, you're not walking out. We'll call the social worker tomorrow" Mary said as she looked at her husband with sympathy, suddenly regretful that she hadn't done this before. "We'll see about getting Andy into a new home somewhere else" she said.

"What?" Andy said in shock, as he lost his happy enjoyment look on his face. He hadn't been expecting this. He had actually been looking forward to Gavin leaving and him getting the house to himself. Gavin actually slumped his shoulders in relief as he heard his wife say that.

"Andy, we are not dealing with your antics anymore" Mary said as she leant down and undid the ropes at Andys wrists and feet. "I can't let my husband walk out on something you have done, especially since its very apparent that you are incapable of being sorry for your actions. So, I'm drawing the line on this. Tomorrow, we will see about having you transferred somewhere else."

"But...but you can't get rid of me. I live here" Andy said as he got off the seat, anger replacing his happy demeanour as he started to get angry. "I'm not leaving" he said.

"Yes, you are" Mary said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "It will take time, but we will make sure you are gone as soon as we can manage it" she said firmly. "And, because of your behaviour today, we are cancelling the plans we had for your birthday as well."

"WHAT? Why are you cancelling my birthday party? That's not fair you bitch" Andy shouted at her. Mary received a shocked look on her face, as she had never been addressed as such by Andy before.

"You do not call me such a name" Mary said down to the boy before her. "And that answers your own question. You cannot treat us like that, and you cannot continue displaying such behaviour. And you do not deserve any presents either, since you can't seem to take care of what you have already" she said to him.

"But you were gonna give me a playstation four. You promised me" Andy shouted at her, balling his fists up at his sides as he stamped his feet on the floor. "You promised me, you promised me. It's not fair, you're no fair" he shouted at her.

"We didn't promise you anything. You just ordered us" Mary said as she looked down at Andy, seeing him start to throw a temper tantrum. "And don't shout at me like that, you are not helping your case by acting like a spoilt brat."

"You were gonna give me a party" Andy shouted as he stamped his feet on the floor. "Everyone else got one. It's not fair I don't get one. I'll....I'll tell on you" He said as he pointed his finger at her accusingly. "I'll tell on you and you'll be sorry."

"That's not going to work" Mary said to him as he kept her arms crossed over her chest. It was only now that she was starting to get some idea of what Gavin had to put up with on a daily basis, and she had the feeling that Andy hadn't even started being a handful just yet. "We are obligated to put a roof over your head and give you food, clothing and an education. But we have no obligation to celebrate your birthday. And you are getting nothing. End of story" she said firmly.

"If I don't get a playstation, I'm putting Emilys cat in the fucking oven and roasting that little shit you stupid bitch" Andy shouted at her as loudly as he was able to, stamping his foot again on the ground as he clenched his pudgy little hands into even pudgier fists.

Mary glared down at the boy in complete surprise and shock. Mostly for the words that came out of his mouth, especially the threat on Emilys kitten. It took her a moment to actually register what it was that he had actually said, and she narrowed her eyes at the boy. The look on his face was what set her off, the glare that suggested he would do it out of spite just to prove that he really could.

She suddenly moved forward and grabbed Andy, the movement catching him off guard as she pulled the boy off his feet. Without stopping to think what she was doing as he sat down on one of the chairs and pulled the boy over her lap, grabbing the back of his breifs and pulling them down to expose his backside.

SMACK. SMACK. SMACK. SMACK.

Her hand came up and down several times in rapid succession as she spanked the boys chubby backside, the slapping sound of flesh against butt-cheek rather audible in the confines of the kitchen.

Andy was so shocked at what was happening to him that he was unable to speak at all as he felt the firm spanks against his naked backside. They didn't exactly hurt, and more then likely have left nothing short of a dull ache in his rear. But it was the humiliation and sudden shock of a spanking that stripped him completely of his anger and rage to use against her.

Gavin though, had been somewhat amused up until that point. He had to admit, it had been fun to see his wife on the receiving end of Andys little tantrum, allowing her to see exactly what he had to deal with on a daily basis. But when she grabbed him and started to spank him, particularly after all the times she had said to physically hit a child was not good, it came as a shock to him as well. Although, not as big as the shock Andy was going through.

After several minutes, Mary let Andy go as she lifted him off her knee and hauled him to his own feet. He stood there on unsteady legs for a moment as she grabbed his briefs and hauled them up his legs. There was a complete look of bewilderment on his face that Gavin had never seen before on the boy, nor had he ever seen him so quiet.

"Andy, I want you to go to your room, and you will go to sleep. I will not hear another word out of you, because if I do, even the slightest whimper, I will not use my hand on you, I will be using Gavins belt" Mary promised the boy as she stood up and glared down at him when he didn't move fast enough.

"Now MOVE IT" she shouted as she pointed towards the hallway. Andy did not hesitate, nor did he offer any kind of resistance as he ran in the direction of her hand as fast as he was able to, not wanting to incur her wrath further.

They both heard his bedroom door close, albeit rather quietly. In fact, it was probably the quietest door closing that they had heard in the last six months. For several long moments, neither of them said anything as they just looked at each other, boy listening to the quietness in the house. Mary was the one to break the silence after several minutes.

"I...I can't believe I just did that....I just....I just put my hands on him....but...but I don't feel bad about it..." she admitted as she found herself stuttering, trying to explain herself to her husband. "I...I've never struck a child....any child before.....I don't know what came over me..." she said, before she was suddenly and very surprisingly silenced by her husband who took the opportunity to kiss her firmly on the lips.

"You have no idea how much I fucking love you right now" he said to her as he kissed her deeply again, Mary deciding for once in her life to not object as she just allowed it to happen.

Andy did not say a word that night as he had trouble sleeping, very afraid to make a single noise. He had never been struck before, and up until that night, assumed he never would be. He lay on his stained mattress under the covers of his dirty sheets and tried to get to sleep, trying to make as little noise as possible.

When he did finally manage to drift off, he didn't get a very restful respite. He woke the next morning as the other kids were getting ready for school, although he didn't dare set foot out of the room till the bus had departed outside. Normally, he wouldn't have cared, but he did feel slightly afraid of what the others would say after what happened the previous night

Once he knew that the bus had left, Andy slowly opened his door, testing the waters as he stepped out. When no yelling came his way he carefully closed the door behind him and made his way into the kitchen, where he saw Gavin standing at the sink washing the breakfast dishes.

Sitting on the kitchen table was a bowl of shredded wheat and a pitcher of cold water. Andy grimaced slightly at the sight, but he didn't dare complain as he slowly sat himself in the chair, but he didn't dare say anything about the sorry looking breakfast, because sitting opposite his place at the table, was Gavins black leather belt.

"Mary has given me permission to use that today" Gavin said as he heard Andy sit at the table. "So, unless I have a reason to use it across your backside, you will eat your breakfast and then you will take a shower and get yourself cleaned up for once" he said firmly as he squirted soap across the dishes. "You will stay in the house today and no nothing except what I tell you."

"Yes Gavin" Andy said quietly as he looked down at his hands, trying to at least look pitiful. It had worked in the past that the more sorry he looked, the lenient they were on him. Well, it had worked on Mary more then once. Gavin though looked over his shoulder and saw the way Andy was looking.

"That is not going to work on me" Gavin said as he turned back to the dishes. "If you give me a reason, I will use the belt on you. My father used it on me when I misbehaved, and he showed me how to use it properly. So if you force me, I will smack your ass so hard you won't sit down for a week" he promised.

Andy whimpered slightly and gulped at the threat, but for once he did the smart thing and decided not to stir the waters on the issue. So he poured the cold water onto his bowl of shredded wheat and resigned himself to his punishment breakfast. The shredded wheat had no taste and stuck to the roof of his mouth, and felt like he was eating the chunky glue they made kids play with during arts and crafts.

But with the belt sitting across him on the table and Gavin now permitted to use it without fear of his wifes reprisal, Andy forced it down his throat and ate the whole bowl while making as little noise as possible. Once he had put his bowl and spoon on the kitchen bench, he scampered to the bathroom and shut the door behind him.

It had been some time since he had last taken a proper shower, and with warm water. And it had been even longer since he had bothered to wear clean clothing. Normally, he would be doing anything but actually cleaning himself, but part of him was hoping that the threats from last night were just that, threats.

As far as he knew, most adults would only use a threat as just that, a threat. They would rarely go through with them, which was why testing the waters was so much fun, being able to see how far he could get before they went through with it. Although, his foster parents had never actually threatened him with being sent away before.

Once he was decently cleaned off he stepped out of the shower and picked up some of the clothes that were stacked on the sink for him. He slowly began to dress himself, feeling the texture of clean cotton against his fur for the first time.

"They're not serious" he said to himself as he pulled up a pair of blue cotton shorts, the shorts a size too small and felt like it was digging into his skin. "No, no they're not. They can't be serious, they're not gonna send me away" he said to himself as he tugged on a shirt that was as tight as his shorts.

"No, if I behave and be good for a while, they'll stop punishing me" he said as he finished dressing himself. "And that belt thing, no way he can hit me with that" he said, starting to feel better about the whole situation as he assured himself it would all be over with.

As soon as he had finished making himself look more clean and presentable then he had ever managed in his life, he cleaned up the bathroom as best he could before he headed to his room. The moment he stepped inside the door he stopped in shock.

Gavin was standing in the room, pulling the sheets from Andys bed and tossing them into a trash bag. Beside him was a suitcase, inside it was what little of Andy things the boy hadn't destroyed. Mostly a number of books the boy hadn't bothered to touch, and a couple of plush toys that had somehow survive. The closet door was open, the only thing remaining were his last few good pieces of clothing that hadn't been ripped apart in one of his fits of rage.

"What...what did you do to all my stuff?" Andy said in shock as he looked around his room. It was normally looking pretty bare, but this, this was a damn void. It looked completely unnatural.

"It's packed up" Gavin said as he pulled the fitted sheet from the bed and stuffed it into the garbage bag, grabbing the rim and pulling it together to tie it up. "Everything is packed up and ready to be taken away. And I'm' throwing these sheets away, since I'm not trusting the washing machine to get all the stains out" he said.

"You...you were serious about last night?" Andy asked in shock, suddenly feeling the hope that the threats were just threats rapidly melting away.

"What makes you think we weren't?" Gavin asked as he looked over at the boy in the doorway. "Mary has an appointment with our social representative today, and we shall see what happens after that. Just because you've been quiet for a couple of hours doesn't mean we're going to change our minds about you" he said.

"but...all my stuff" Andy said as he looked around his now bare room. He suddenly felt like crying with how bare his room was, with what little was actually taken out. But he also felt like resorting back to screaming and swearing until he got his own way, but somehow he managed to not break out into a tantrum over the issue.

"Andy, go and sit in the living room" Gavin said in a voice that said the discussion was over and done with it. "Remember, no tv. You can read a book if you get bored. And no arguing with me on this" Gavin said as he picked up a clean sheet from the pile of bedding on the floor beside his feet. "You brought this on yourself."

Andy was unable to say anything as nothing came to mind. As Gavin turned his attention away from Andy and continued to make the bed, the silent boy headed into the living room and sat himself quietly on the couch. It was starting to hit him that this was serious, and they were planning on removing him from the house. The sooner, the better.

Of course, he still couldn't believe it truly. He hadn't believed Mary when she said she was cancelling his party, not really. After all, they were his foster parents. They had the obligation to look after him and provide for him. And that meant birthday parties and expensive gifts.

But, with his room now packed up and ready to move him out at any given time, it was starting to ring true that they were serious about getting rid of him. They preferred the other kids in the house, but not him. Because he was the bad kid that no-one liked.

And the fact that he wasn't getting a birthday party while everyone else had gotten one, was really starting to sting him.

And it was starting to make him angry.

"Stupid fucks" he grumbled to himself angrily, but as quietly as he was able to. He didn't want Gaving to hear him as he slumped back on the couch. "I didn't even do anything wrong. I just drank his stupid beer. How can they just say I don't get a party? Everyone else got one."

The tv was sitting in front of him, but it was off. He liked watching tv and doing nothing else most of the time with the volume up nice and high. But being barred from watching it sucked. And he wasn't going to follow Gavins advice and read a book. Books sucked. He hated books. Except for comics. Comics were cool.

Thomas had a good collection of comics in his room. But then Andy had gotten in trouble for 'borrowing' them, as he had shouted multiple times and 'accidentally reading them while his fingers were covered in chocolate sauce.' Although there were comics in the newspaper. And there did happen to be one on the coffee table. It was better then nothing.

He sighed as he grabbed the paper and spread it out on the coffee table, turning through the pages quickly to try and find the comics. When he hit the middle of the paper, an assortment of junk mail fell out and spread over the table. He grimaced, like he wanted to know about that kind of shit.

However, one managed to catch his eye. Under a flyer for a hardware store, was one that was coloured gold. Across the top half of the flyer were seven black arrows, three on each side of a single arrow that pointed downwards. Underneath the arrows was a message.

'We Exist To Help'.

"What kind of stupid thing is this?" Andy asked as he picked it up. "What are they selling, a bow and arrow or something stupid?" he asked as he turned it over. There was no writing on the back, but there was a phone number listed there. However, it wasn't an area code or any kind of number that he actually recognised.

"A...helpline? Like those ones you call when you want to off yourself?" he asked no-one in particular as he looked it over again. The paper was firm, but it was very soft to the touch. It glittered in the light in such a way that for a moment, Andy thought it might have been made out of real gold.

He was about to screw it up and throw it away like trash when he heard his bedroom door close and Gavin walked past, carrying the suitcase that contained everything that Andy owned. The horse didn't even look at the boy as he passed by and headed for the backdoor.

Suddenly remembering that they were going to kick him out and cancel the plans for his birthday and also throw him out of the house made Andy start to seethe and clench his fists tightly. He wanted to throw a tantrum and start throwing things, perhaps the tv first. That would show them.

But he felt the paper in his hand crinkle up and he thought that maybe the tv wasn't the thing he needed to destroy right now.

"Where's the damn phone" he said as he hopped off the couch and headed into the kitchen, grabbing the cordless phone from the wall mount. He quietly snuck back to his room, making sure Gavin was outside doing whatever as he closed the door.

He had never seen a number like the one printed on the pamphlet before, but he dialed it into the keypad anyway and held the phone up to his ear. He drummed his fingers along the phone as he listened to the dial tone, willing the other end to pick up quickly.

"Hello. And welcome to the Helpline" said a calm male voice against his ear. "Thank you for calling us Andy."

"What the hell?" Andy said in surprise. Did that person just say his name? How did he know who was calling?

"Please hold onto the line as we connect you through to your appointment. Our services are now open to you. Thank you for calling us" the voice said as the phone suddenly went silent. It didn't disconnect, but it felt like whatever was on the other end had simply vanish.

Suddenly, a chill passed through Andy as the air around his room shifted, like a giant bubble had burst and a ripple had pulsed through reality around him. He blinked just once as the pulse went through him, both body and soul and then he realised that he was no longer in his room. Or in the house for that matter.

"Welcome to The Helpline. Tea?"

He found himself sitting in a white seat in front of a mosaic patterent patio table. On the table was a perfectly laden table setting. In front of him lay a white floral teacup on a saucer with a silver spoon resting on a plate next to it. A large floral pot sat in the middle of the table, with a three tiered cake stand beside it. Beautiful tea cakes, each perfectly designed sat on the stand, looking mouthwatering.

Across the table sat a doe with deep red hair that was tied back in a ponytail. It curled around her neck and dropped off her shoulder, reaching her elbow. She wore a black dress with white sleeves and a white collar. It looked like something that had once been in a museum. She had surprisingly green eyes that were fixed on him in a warm manner.

Andy took a moment to look around and he found that the table was in the middle of a circular platform, which itself was in the middle of a huge square pond. The edges of the pond were raised up, the corners spouting a tall round brick column covered in small green streaks of moss. Green grass extended beyond the pond, meeting high hedges that towered above them. The sky was light up in the dying light of the day, evening having set in.

"What the hell is this place? "Andy demanded as he looked at the doe. He took another look around and noticed that, to his right, was a large sprawling grey manor house. It had an old look to it, like it had appeared out of a historical sight. Matthew couldn't see inside the house, as the windows were all shut. What looked like an eldery lioness in an ancient looking maid outfit was on her knees, tending to one of the bushes against the edge of the pool. She looked fat.

"You are at The Helpline" said the doe with a smile as she reached forward, her long lacy cuffs brushing over the table as she picked up the teapot. "My name is Carrie. Please sit up, your appointment has started" she said with a smile.

"What kind of helpline is this? Did you kidnap me or something? Are you one of those child molestor things?" Andy demanded as Carrie poured a light pink liquid from the teapot into her cup, that had an aroma of wild roses. It filled up quickly.

"No, we did not kidnap you" Carrie said with a pleasant smile, the kind of smile that suggested she was amused. "We simply arranged transport for you to bring you here for your appointment" she said as she leant forward and started to pour tea into his cup.

"That makes no sense" Andy said as he looked down at the pink aromatic tea. She seemed to be friendly, but something about the way she spoke stopped Andy from asking questions like 'Who are you?' and 'What is this place?' "And I don't like tea. It tastes like piss" he said as he pushed the tea away from him.

"Well, lets get started" Carrie said, not seeming to mind that he called her tea something rude as she picked up her own cup. "Our organisation gives help to those who need it. What kind of help would you like?" she asked as she looked over her cup at him. "We offer many kinds of help here, and any kind of help you may want."

"Oh yeah?" Andy said smartly as he looked at the small tier of cakes. They looked like something out of a show room, the effort of hours of precise and deliberate care put into making them look as beautiful as they tasted. However, that beauty was lost on him as he grabbed a cupcake decorated in delicate spun sugar and crammed it into his mouth, dropping crumbs down his shirt as he open mouth chewed it.

"Well, within reason of course. We aren't miracle workers" Carrie as she held her cup in a perfectly manicured hand and blew gently on the liquid. "So tell me, what is the problem that you are having?" she asked as she watched him devour a scone covered in whipped cream and topped with a strawberry cut to look like a rose.

"My problem? My foster parents are gonna kick me out" Andy said to her as he wiped the cream from around his mouth with the back of his hand. It smeared across his face, the action only making it worse. "And they're not gonna give me a birthday party, but they gave everyone else one. And they don't let me do anything either, they just like telling me off and making me do things I don't want to do" he said before he crammed a slice of chocolate hedgehog into his mouth.

"I see" Carrie said as she tasted her tea, before putting the cup down on its saucer and then picked up the milk jug. "They sound like they're strict to you" she said as she poured some milk into her tea.

"So, I wanna stay, but I wanna be the only child too. I hate the other kids. My foster parents play favourites" he said to her, with a mouth full of chocolate that sprayed out of his mouth when he talked. "I want to be able to do everything I want. And I want my birthday party and all the presents I deserve" he said as he swallowed.

Carrie said nothing as she took another sip of her tea, watching him with a neutral expression on her face for a few moments before she put the tea cup back down.

"I do believe that we can help you Andy" Carrie said as she put her cup down. "I understand your position. After all, some parents do know how to take things too far. And sometimes its not in the best interest to result in extreme levels of discipline, especially on children that don't deserve it" she said.

"Fucking cool" Andy said with a big grin on his face.

"We don't discriminate against people who want help Andy" Carrie said to him as she selected a rather innocent looking rounded brownie from the tier and placed it on her plate. "Everyone deserves help, and we never say no to a consideration for a request" she said as she took her fork and slid it into the cake, a surprising amount of liquid caramel suddenly spilling out.

"However, we don't use traditional methods when we do decide you are worthy of our help" Carrie said as she put down her fork and then slid a small lacquered box onto the table in front of him. "The help that we offer is very direct. And very effective" she said to him with a smile.

"Oh cool, is that for me?" Andy said as he grabbed the box and pulled it against him before opening the lid. His smile vanished rather quickly. "What the fuck is this?" he asked as he pulled out a golden chain with a large pendant attached to it. The pendant was a large beetle that looked like it was made out of black glass. But as he looked closer, he realised that the black was moving. It was actually clear glass, but it was filled with a black smoke that swirled around like a cloud.

"That is for you" Carrie said to him with a friendly smile.

"I don't wear jewellery. Only fags and ladies wear that shit" Andy said to her as he didn't look impressed.

"When you are ready for us to help you, simply say the words 'I wish for help', and then break the scarab" Carrie said to him as she picked up her teacup and took another sip. "And then we will take care of the problem. It is as simple as that. And you can choose when and where to call us. There is no time limit" she said.

"So what, this is like the bat signal or something?" he asked as he took another look at the pendant as if it was about to fire a light into the sky.

"There is no catch" said Carrie as she put down her teacup. "There is no payment, no sacrifice, no option to hand anything of value over. No silly thing where you will go to hell if you die or anything like that. This offer, is completely free" she said. "However, you have to understand the conditions of accepting."

"Like what?" he asked as he looked over at her.

"When you break the scarab and we come to help you, you cannot take it back" she said. "The help you want, may not be what you need. And the help that you need, may not be what you want. But once you ask for it, you cannot undo it. No matter what happens" she said to him.

"Guess you better get it right the first time then" he said as he looked back at the pendant before looking back at her. "Unless, you're not one of those stupid fucks that like to screw people over and run away?" he demanded.

"No Andy, I assure you we are not" Carrie said with a pleasant smile. "We always get it right the first time, and we have complete customer satisfaction. But you can only use the scarab once, and once only. So please be sure when you use it" she said to him with a kind nod.

Andy looked down at the scarab for a moment, a look across his face that suggested he wasn't buying it before he looked back up.

"This is fucking.....stupid?" he said in surprise as he suddenly found himself back in his room, sitting on the floor with the phone in his lap. "What the hell?" he asked out loud as he looked around his room, having not noticed that he had actually left the weird garden.

"Fuck" he said to himself as he suddenly wondered if it had actually been a dream, or he had just made it all up to pass the time. But then he licked his lips and found traces of whipped cream and chocolate around his lips. If he needed confirmation that it wasn't a dream, well that was a tasty confirmation right there.

And he felt something cold in his hand, and saw that the pendant was there, resting in his fingers. The glass was cold against his fingers, even after he had held it for several moments. And he could have sworn that there was black smoke inside of it. The gold chain was surprisingly light for what looked like solid metal.

"Well, that was weird" he said to himself as he wiped the evidence from his face and licked his finger while he looked at the pendant in his hand. "How could this thing work anyway? And what the hell is inside it? A fart bomb?" he asked.

He suddenly heard footsteps in the hall behind him and rather hurriedly kicked the phone and the pendant under his bed out of sight. He climbed to his feet as he saw Gavin appear in the doorway, the horse looking down at him curiously.

"Andy, I hope your behaving yourself" Gavin said. "I'm enjoying the peace and quiet" he added as he looked down at the boy. Andy shook his head as he looked back at Gavin.

"Yes Gavin. I thought I'd stay in my room and keep out of your way" he said to him with a nod and a soft look on his face. Gavin said nothing as he looked down at the boy, giving him a look that suggested he wasn't going to believe a word he said, but he didn't argue or say anything to the contrary as he exited the doorway.

Andy said nothing as he heard the tv suddenly turn on in the living room before he dove back under his bed and groped his hand around. It took him a few moments to find the gold chain and he pulled the necklace out, an evil grin spreading across his face as he held his salvation in his hands.

"Lets see them get rid of me now" he said with a smirk.

Dinner that night was take away fish and chips, and everyone was sitting at the table with their portion on a strip of the take away paper. One thing about fish and chips, was you could eat off the wrapper. For once, Mary had come home early enough to actually pick up dinner instead of letting Gavin organise it, and she usually got take out on such an occasion.

"So, how was school today?" Gavin asked as he poured himself a drink from the bottle of soft drink that had come with dinner.

"Today, I drew a picture of a bunny in art, and the teacher liked it" Emily said with a smile as Gavin filled up her glass next, the little mouse girl watching the bubbles fill her glass with a giggle.

"Did you now? Well, that's special right there " Mary said with a proud smile to Emily, as the little girl looked happy from the praise.

"We dissected a frog in science class" Patrick said as Gavin poured him a glass next as he smothered his chips with red tomato sauce.

"I thought they did dissection in high schools nowadays" Gavin said as he looked over at Mary.

"I guess they just start everything earlier nowadays" Mary said with a shrug as she ate her chips with her hand.

"I have to watch a movie and read a book and do a report on how they're different" Thomas said as Gavin filled his glass next.

"Which book was that? Hopefully not that Shades of Grey crap" Gavin said. He saw the look on his wifes face. "Well, if he did get it, he shouldn't bother asking you about it. You threw it out after the first chapter" he pointed out.

"It's actually Charlie and the chocolate factory" Thomas said.

"Oh, I loved that book when I was a kid" Mary said with a smile. "Which movie version do you have to base it on? The musical one, or the remake by Tim Burton? Most go for the original" she said.

"The teacher let us choose" Thomas said.

"I think the one by Burton was better. It was more faithful to the book" Gavin said as he finished pouring everyone a drink and sat back in his char. "It actually had squirrels, the golden geese weren't in the original book" he said.

"The original is always best" Mary said to her husband. "Jhonny Depp wasn't a good Willy Wonka, and the oompa loompas were rather joyless" she pointed out.

"But you have to admit, the chocolate river actually looked like chocolate" Gavin said. "Plus, usually the original takes a while for everyone to realise how flawed it was" he said to his wife.

"Is no-one going to ask me about my day?" Andy said with a pout, speaking up for the first time as he glared over at Mary and Gavin from where he was sitting on his side of the table, sitting next to Thomas.

"You were grounded all day and spent most of it in your room. What's to ask?" Gavin said as he took a drink of his soft drink. Andy glared at the horse as Gavin started to eat his battered fish with his fingers.

"Actually Andy, we have something we'd like to announce in regards to you" Mary said as she looked over at the boy. "And I'd like to do it in front of everyone so that they know what is going on" she added.

"I'm getting my birthday party?" Andy said rather hopefully as he gave Mary the cutest eyes that he was able to muster. "Caase I was a good boy all day?" he asked.

"Like hell you are" Gavin said to him with a shake of his head, an exasperated tone in his voice. "Just because you were quiet in your room for one day doesn't mean it undoes everything you've done wrong lately" he pointed out.

"Gavin, let's not start" Mary said as she looked over at her husband for a moment, and then she looked at Andy. "But he is right Andy. One quiet day doesn't make up, you are still not getting a birthday party. In fact, it's probably in your best interest to forget about having anything to do with your birthday at all" she said.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Andy demanded as he looked from one horse to another.

"I had my meeting today with our social representative" Mary said as she crossed her hands under his chin and looked over at Andy. "I have explained our current situation and what has been happening, including the stress you have been putting on my husband. And she is in agreement. It is time for a change with you Andy."

"So, what did she say exactly?" Patrick asked as everyone at the table looked over at Mary rahter expectantly, or in Andys case, somewhat fearful.

"Andy, tomorrow morning you're leaving and being enrolled in a military school" Mary said.

"WHAT?" Andy demanded, a look of horror suddenly spreading over his face at the statement. The other kids however actually looked excited at the news that Andy was finally and actually going to leave the house and them as well.

"We have found a military academy a couple of states over that takes in troubled youths, like you" Mary said calmly as she noted the look of abject horror on Andys face. She however, was not phased by it. "They have a special program for underage children who are problem cases, and they're willing and able to take you on provided you leave tomorrow" she said.

"Military school? You're putting me in the army?" Andy said in shock. He was having trouble believing her. Military schools were supposed to be things like the boogeyman and the monster under the bed. They just didn't exist anymore.

"No, it's not technically the army" Mary said to him. "Think of it as pre army training, to help sort you out" she said to him.

"I am not going to military school. You can't make me" Andy said as he slipped his hand into his pocket. He could feel the cold glass of the pendant against his fingers as he gripped it tightly. If they were serious about it, then he had a good excuse to get this so called help and deal with them.

"Yes actually, we can" Gavin said to him as the older horse looked down at the corgi boy with a glare. "We are your legal guardiens in every sense of the law, and we have the authority to have you sent off if we can't handle you. And we are done handling you" he said flatly.

"You can't make me go. It's not fair. And I won't let you" Andy shouted at him as he clenched his hand around the pendant in his hand.

"What's not fair, is you doing whatever you want and causing trouble for us all" Thomas said suddenly, to the surprise of everyone at the table as he looked down at Andy with a furious look on his face. "I'm glad you're finally leaving, because no-one here wants you to stay" he said angrily.

"You killed our pets, you wreck our stuff, all you do is cause trouble, and we have to sit here and take it" Thomas said as he slammed his hand on the table. "I hate you. Everyone hates you. I wish you would just leave and never come back. No-one here wants you" he said forcefully. "So go away and never come back, you stupid little....jerk" he spat out.

Everyone at the table was silent as they all just sat there, taking in everything that Thomas had just spat out in anger. Normally, the other kids just kept quiet about and around Andy, as they didn't want to cause any further trouble then was needed. Not even Mary or Gavin had ever heard Thomas speak out like that before.

"No-one asked you fuck-wit" Andy said in anger as he let go of the pendant, anger taking over as he pulled his hand out of his pocket and grabbed his fork. Before anyone could react, he brought the fork down and planted the points deep into Thomas' thigh.

"ANDREW" Gavin shouted in horror as Thomas screamed and fell out of his chair onto the floor, grabbing at his leg. The fork was planted so deep it was stuck in his flesh, a dark circle starting to spread around the buried fork.

"Andy, how could you?" Mary shouted as she pushed herself away from the table and knealt at Thomas' side. The boy was clutching at his thigh as Patrick and Emily backed away from the table, both looking extremely afraid of the situation.

"It hurts...it hurts" Thomas almost screamed out as tears were flowing down his face, the dark stain on his leg slowly spreading wider. "DO'NT TOUCH IT" he screamed as Mary tried to grab the fork to pull it out, but when the boy screamed she jerked her hand away.

"I'm not going to military school" Andy shouted at everyone in the kitchen before he turned around and ran into the hallway.

"I'm taking you to the emergency room" Gavin said as he hurried to Thomas' side and carefully slipped his arms under the boys legs and his back. "Patrick, grab my wallet and keys. They're on the dresser in the bedroom. You come with me and help me" he said as he pulled Thomas' into his arms, standing himself up.

Thomas cried as he wrapped his arms around Gavins neck, burying his face into the older horses neck. Patrick nodded as he quickly hurried to the master bedroom to grab the keys and wallet.

"Mary, stay here and deal with Andy" Gavin said as he gave his wife no chance to argue with him. However, she didn't even try as she nodded. "Emily, you be a good girl and do everything Mary says" Gavin said. "Come on Thomas, I got you now. You'll be fine" he said to the boy in his arms as he carefully started to make his way to the front door.

"Emily, go to your room and stay there. Keep the door closed" Mary said to the frightened little girl as she heard the front door open and close, the sounds of Patrick and Gavin heading outside towards the car. Emily nodded, a terrified look on her face that suggested she was about to cry, but she instead ran to her room as quickly as she could.

"Andy, you come out of your room right now. You have gone too far this time" Mary shouted as she headed into the hallway, hearing Emilys door close. The door to Andys room was shut, so she hit it several times with her fist.

"Andy, I am not playing around" she said angrily towards the door. "You have one chance to come out on your own, or I'm coming in there after you" she said. She allowed exactly five seconds to pass before she grabbed the knob and turned.

"You show yourself right now young man" she shouted into the room as she stepped in, taking a look around the room to see if he was there. "Andy, I am not playing around. You come out from wherever you are hiding" she ordered as she knelt down to look under the bed.

At least, she thought he was hiding under the bed till she heard the bedroom door slam shut. And she jumped back in shock as she heard the lock turn and click into place.

"Andy, you rotten little child, you open this door right now" Mary shouted as she grabbed the knob of the door and turned as hard as she could. But it was useless. The window didn't open because it had been secured in place to prevent Andy from escaping that way. And the door could only be opened from the other side. Which meant she was completely stuck in the room. "Andy, open this door this instant. You are in big trouble, you hear me?" she shouted through the door.

"I told you what I'd do if you didn't listen" Andy shouted through the door with a smirk on his face. "But you didn't wanna listen. So its' your fault" he shouted through the door as it rattled and shook from Mary pounding on it.

"What you'd do? What are you...ANDY. You little bastard, if you touch her kitten, I swear to god I will beat you black and blue all over" she shouted. She was that angry and terrified that he would do so she didn't care about the repercussions.

Andy however completely ignored what she was saying as he headed down the hallway to Emilys room. He pushed the door open with a loud bang, making Emily jump from where she was huddled in the cornor, her kitten clutched protectively in her arms.

"Hand it over" Andy said angrily as he walked up to the scared mouse and held his hand out expectantly.

"No. She...she's my kitty. You'll hurt her" Emily said as she tried to hide her kitten away from him by turning around with her back towards him.

"I'm not gonna hurt her. I'm going to cook her. Now give it here" Andy said as he grabbed the girl by the hair, making her cry out in sudden pain. He pulled hard and then shoved his arm forward, pulling the girl by her hair to the floor. Emily cried out loudly as she crashed to the floor, tears streaming down her cheeks as her kitten jumped out of her arms.

"Say goodbye to kitty" Andy said as he grabbed the small cat around its neck. It mewled from the sudden uncomfort it was feeling, but he ignored it as he held the cat like a dirty rag in his hand. "And if you come after me, I'll put you in the oven with her too" he shouted at Emily as he left her crying in pain on the floor.

He was smirking in triumph as he carried the helpless animal into the kitchen and pulled the oven door down. It was an old fashioned stove top model, and gas too. Ignitable by the touch of a button. He could still hear Mary shouting and hammering on the door, but he ignored it as he held the kitten up in front of him.

"Stupid animal" he said with a sneer to the kitten, who simply mewled and licked its nose, staring at him with big curious eyes. "I hope it hurts" he said as he knelt down in front of the oven. He had a grin on his face as he simply tossed the animal like a dirty rag into the oven, the cat suddenly scrambling as it held onto the wire rack, looking confused. Andy grinned an evil smile on his face as he slammed the door shut.

Then the lights went out.

Everything went black, like all light had been pulled from the world. For a moment he found himself in solid darkness so thick he couldn't hear himself breath. And then, the lights came back on quickly, the lights overhead flickering into place one at a time.

"What the hell?" Andy said as he looked around the kitchen from his position on he floor. But nothing had changed. Everything was still in the same place, but...he couldn't hear anything anymore. The sounds of Mary shouting and hammering on the door were gone, almost like she had just vanished.

"Guess the bitch shouted herself stupid or something" Andy said with a shrug, quickly forgetting about the strange and sudden blackout as he turned back to the oven. He turned the dial over to the self cleaning mode, which he knew for a fact would incinerate anything inside the oven and leave it as a dust pile to sweep out. It had to be true, it was on all the advertisements.

"Bye bye kitty" he said with a grin on his face as he flicked the lock over to secure the door, and then very eagerly pressed the button.

The floor suddenly groaned as he felt it vibrate underneath his legs, and he fell back onto his backside in surprise. The vibration started to slowly pick up as he felt the room start to groan around him.

SLAM. The kitchen door suddenly slammed shut, and so did the back door. He gasped as he heard the locks click into place before he felt the floor start to tilt underneath him. Andy looked around as he suddenly felt the floor start to lift up, and it took him a moment ot realise that the whole room was lifting up forward, as if someone was tipping the room over.

"What...what the fuck?" Andy screamed in fright as he grabbed at one of the table legs and held on for dear life as the room continued to tilt forward. He held on as he felt his body dangle from the table leg as the entire room sat vertically. He gasped in fear as he looked around, seeing everything was still in place, just all sitting perfectly on the wall as if it was still the floor.

"What...what the fuck...OH GOD" He screamed out as he heard the sound of twisting metal and timber below him. He chanced a look down and screamed to God himself as he saw the oven suddenly sink into the wall, pulling the entire cabinet array with it. Everything just started to sink down into a well, the entire wall becoming akin to a funnel with the oven right at the bottom.

"Oh fuck...MARY. MARY HELP ME" Andy screamed in fear as he clutched at the table leg for his life as the over door started shake, as the metal construct seemingly woke up. The knobs began to twist and turn as they suddenly blinked at him, the door slowly creaking open like it was a giant metal mouth.

Andy screamed as a belch of bright red flames erupted forward as the metal monster head suddenly roared, the boy feeling the heat all over his body. The entire kitchen was know glowing an unhealthy orange as he clutched onto the table leg, his feet dangling in the orange and red aura.

"MARY...MARY PLEASE HELP ME" He screamed as something fell from the table into the metal beasts maw. It was one of the plates of unfinished food. Something had dislodged it and it fell down into the deep funnel and then into the beasts mouth. The plate and the food suddenly burned pitch black and erupted in a small cloud of dust, the ceramic plate instantly incinerated.

He cried out as one of the chairs suddenly tipped over, falling for a moment before it crashed onto one of the cabinets and then continued to tumble down. It met with the same fate as the plate and was incinerated in the beasts mouth. A couple of knives and forks suddenly fell from the table as they were knocked from their position, an unfinished glass of soft drink falling with them.

He was whimpering now as he clung to the leg for dear life, feeling his body start to sweat from the heat of the ovens fire. He cried openly, tears streaming down his face as he tried to look around him for a way out of his situation, but he couldn't see how to get out without falling into the oven.

Something softly thumped next to his ear, like fingers tapping against the floor, and he turned his head just a little see. He almost lost his grip as the boy screamed again as what looked like a giant spider was right next to his face. But it took him a moment to realise it was a horrible white hand walking along the floor wall like a giant spider.

Andy felt his heart thumping in his throat as he looked around and saw more of the horrible disembodied hands were now coming into view, and they weren't alone. They were crawling into the doorless cabinets and were slowly pushing and nudging the contents off the ledges, letting the items fall tumbling into the over.

"Oh fuck..oh fuck... someone help me" he sobbed and screamed in panic as each item fell into the gaping maw of the roaring beast and was instantly incinerated into a puff of black dust. Glass tumblers, Gavins bottle of brandy, the heavy metal electrix mixer, the cardboard boxes of pasta and cereal. Each item fell from the cupboards that he had ripped open and fell into the inferno below him.

"Please someone...Mary...Gavin...SOMEONE HELP ME" Andy screamed as he saw a hand beside him crawl along like a giant spider and press two of its fingers against the leg of a chair. Without any effort the chair tilted forward and spun in the air as it fell into the inferno where it met its demise.

"Why would anyone want to help you?"

Andy looked up as he saw the underside of the table, several of the horrible white hands were gathering and climbing ontop of each other like some horrible writhing mass. The fingers interlaced together, each hand seemingly falling into place until they formed some kind of grotesque horse head made out of hands.

"Why would anyone help a child like you?" the head said, fingers moving as lips. "You are not worth helping, all of the pain and misery you caused because you believed it was fun" it said.

"I did not" Andy screamed in fear at the face as he clung, his arms starting to ache with how hard he was clutching onto the wooden leg of the table. "It wasn't fun...it wasn't funny.....This isn't funny...This isn't fun...please...help me" he begged.

"Are you having fun now?" the face said calmly to him as the oven suddenly belched again and another roaring blast of fire exploded into the air and swirled through the kitchen. The table, the fridge, the cabinets, the remaining chairs, everything. Everything was now coated in flames as the entire kitchen was now on fire.

Something moved in the swirling flames as they started to take shape, a figure forming in front of the terrified boy. A female figure, he couldn't make out what but it looked like some kind of deer, made out of living flowing magma was hovering in the air, its arms crossed in front of its bosom, Emilys kitten curled up in the crook of its elbow, purring in its sleep.

"To think, a child like you would want to hurt something so innocent" the burning figure said as it slowly stroked the kittens fur with its glowing fingers, its motions tender. "Perhaps we should put you in the oven and see if you like to be burned alive instead" the figure said, turning its burning eyes towards Andy.

"No..no please...please don't...I dont wanna get burned alive" Andy cried out as he struggled to hold on, but the sweat that was pouring from his body from the heat was soaking into his fur, and it was getting harder to hold on as his arms were aching something fierce.

"Imagine that, he knows how to say please. It is such a shame he can only say it to save his own life" the hand face said before it turned slightly towards the burning figure. "What do you think?" it asked.

"Lets see if the self cleaning option works as well as its advertised" the burning figure said as it stopped stroking the kitten. It reached its hand out, its fingers glowing like molten metal as Andy struggled, trying to pull back while holding on for dear life. The finger then touched against the wood of the leg.

Andy screamed as the table leg suddenly flared and burned under his skin, turning into a leg of black ash almost instantly. And Andy began to fall.

He screamed as he plummetted, burning debris of the kitchen falling with him as he fell down into the inferno of the maw below him, the fire roaring in his ears as he plummeted downards.

With an oomph he suddenly found himself on a solid marble floor, the wind momentarily knocked out of him as he coughed a bit, trying to regain air into his lungs. He could taste the ash of burning debris in his mouth as he coughed and sniffed, pulling himself to his knees.

"What...what happened?" Andy whimpered as he pulled himself to his feet, the shock of still being alive settling in and bringing with it the fear of what was going on. He trembled and whimpered as he looked himself over carefully. There was no sign of burn marks on his body, and his clothes were still intact. "I don't like this...what's going on?" he whimpered.

"I can answer that for you" said a voice behind him.

Andy looked up as he found found himself staring at a large and imposing black throne. It was gilded with gold along the edges, a huge circular disk above the throne with a glowing eye of Ra set into the black marble.

Sitting on the throne was a grey lion dressed in some kind of royal garb, sitting cross legged like he was completely at ease. Andy looked around and saw that he was now sitting on a grey marbled floor, the walls around him rising high into the air. It felt like it was in some kind of palace.

"Who...who are you? What's going on?" Andy whimpered as he looked up at the lion, his entire body trembling in fear as he found himself in the gaze of someone who was literally looking down on him.

"I am Mentu-Hotep, and I am your judge for the request of help made on you" the lion said with a smile. "It did not take long for the request to be made about you" he said with a smile on his face as he held up a golden staff in his hand, tapping the end on the black marble at his feet.

"Re...request? Wait..." Andy said as he suddenly had a clue about what was going on. "Are you...the Helpline? But...but I called you for help....and...this...this isn't help" he whimpered as he tried to regain himself as best as he could. "This...this isn't what I wanted..." he whimpered.

"This is not your request, this is someone elses" Mentu said with a smile on his face. "Your request has been now rendered invalid. You can no longer ask for it" he said as he slowly stroked his fingers down the shaft of his staff rather tenderly.

"But...But I made a request with that girl...I still have it" Andy said as he dug his hand into his pocket, his other hand rubbing his face to try and wipe away the tears and ash that had collected on his face. "See? It's right here" he said as he took a sniff and dangled the pendant from his air as he thrust it towards the lion.

Mentus expression didn't change as the pendant dangled rather uselessly from its chain. The black smoke that had once swirled within was now gone, the glass beetle now just clear hollowed glass on a gold chain. Andy looked at it like he couldn't believe what he was seeing, and he could already feel his hopes dribble away.

"Yes, you did make a request with us" Mentu said with a grin on his face, the only kind of grin you would see on someone who was in complete control, and knew it. "But there was one made before you. The pamphlet you found, was used by someone else. And that someone, has made their request, on you."

"What?" Andy said in shock as he dropped the pendant on the floor where it clattered uselessly. "But...but who would do this to me? I didn't do anything wrong...." he whimpered. Something about the lion, although he had not once raised his voice, was giving Andy the feeling of having to wet himself. "But...you said you do all requests...." he whimpered.

"It is true that we take into consideration all requests that are brought forth." The white hands were swarming over the floor and convened on each other, starting to build themselves up into the strange form of a horse made out of hands at the side of the throne "However, that doesn't mean we grant them all. We can't grant yours if someone has made a request on you first."

"And we wouldn't grant yours anyway." A burst of fire appeared on the other side of the throne, the burning maga figure appearing, its very presence lighting up the dark temple. "You request for help, would be better granted removing you to make everyone elses lives easier" it said in a female voice that Andy was able to hear properly.

"The amount of damage you have caused to everyone elses lives, is staggering" Mentu said as he leant forwards. "Cruelty towards your foster siblings. Disobedience to your foster parents. Expulsion from your school. Drinking and smoking. Violence. Foul language. Disrespect towards everyone" Mentu said as he glared down at the child before him.

"I..I....I'm just a kid" Andy shouted at him with tears in his eyes. "I'm just a kid...I'm only ten..." he whimpered as he suddenly found himself unable to give out the usual excuses. "I'm...just a kid...it's not my fault...." he whimpered.

"You may be a child, but you are still responsible for choosing to do all those actions. Which you did. Willingly" Mentu said as he slowly stood up, revealing his royally garbed figure that made Andy want to back away or run away. "You did everything under the knowledge that no child can be held accountable for his actions, and cannot be disciplined for it. Which you exploited at every turn. Willingly" he said firmly.

Andy suddenly found himself unable to speak back as he looked towards the three figures around him, but they were displaying no signs of sympathy towards him. He tried to defend himself, to come up with any of the excuses that could have helped, but instead, he started to cry.

The three figures looked down at him, unmoved by his tears as he revealed himself to what he really was, a terrified scared little boy who was openly crying out of fear for his life. Mentu stepped forward, the time had come to deliver the verdict.

"I am the morning and evening star. I command the sun to rise and the moon to fall. The waters of the Nile drown my enemies and the burning sands of egypt scar those who wish wrong. I am the voice of my people, and the law of my kingdom, and I pass judgement upon you" Mentu said, his voice echoing around the tall temple above the boys cries.

"And that Judgement, is guitly".

Andy stopped snivelling as he looked up at the lion who was pointing his staff towards him. Then he heard a noise behind him. Andy slowly turned around to see that the slabs of marble on the floor behind him hand sunk into the ground, turning into marble steps. And moving up those steps was a horrible creature he had never seen before.

It had the head of a crocodile that was drooling around its razor sharp teeth. Its torso was that of a cheetah, heavily laden with muscles. And its hind quarters was the backside of a hippo. The beast was colossal, the size of a mountain bear. It snapped its huge jaws, a long slimey tongue licking across its sharp teeth as it focused its attention towards Andy.

And it looked hungry.

"Ammit" Mentu said as he looked down at the boy. Andy fell back on his rear end in shock as he was suddenly overcome with a fear he had never experienced before in his life. The creature opened its huge maw, saliva running between its huge teeth as it suddenly pounced.

"Stop!"

Andy opened his eyes with a whimper as the crocodile monsters mouth was merely inches away from him, the creatures maw big enough to almost swallow him whole. For a moment, the creature didn't move, then it slowly pulled back and sat on his hind legs like a giant dog. It did not stop looking at him as it licked its great chops.

Andy heard footsteps behind him as he turned and saw the regal lion walking towards him. Mentu said nothing as he pointed the ankh of his staff towards Andy and the pudgy child suddenly felt something cold touch his chest.

He pulled his shirt away to see a black scarab had imprinted right in the middle of his chest. He touched it with his fingers, but it didn't smear. And it felt cold to the touch. It looked like a tattoo, but it filled him with a dread he had never known before.

"You are a despicable child who would willingly throw away the life of an animal for no reason" Mentu said above him. "you are horrible towards everyone, and I cannot see your life improving. You are nothing more, then a stain that should be wiped off this earth like a mark on a window" he said.

"BUT" Mentu said as he glared down at the child. "I am going to give you one chance. Remember that boy, it is only one chance. You have once chance to change your life around and strive to be better. One chance to prove to me that you are not a stain and that you deserve your life. "

"But remember this boy above all else" Mentu continued as he glared down at Andy. "Ammit knows your scent. She will find you no matter where you go or how you try to hide. Ammit does not listen to reason or to begging or tears. If it is decided that your life is unworthy, she will come. And she will find you."

Andy said nothing, unable to speak at all as Mentu waved his hand over the boy and he disappeared like a breath of dust on the wind. Silence fell in the temple for just a moment, before the light faded and everything went dark.

"I thought that he would have put up more of a fight then this" Gavin admitted as they watched the social worker walk Andy out to her car. The strict looking doberman was watching the boy closely as he carried his suitcase by himself.

"I know. Something must have scared him for him to...behave" Mary said in agreement as she stood at the doorway with her husband, still somewhat confused over the events of the previous night.

Last night, after Mary had pounded on the door for several minutes, screaming at Andy with every threat that she was able to manage. And then the house had gone dark. Her first thought had been that the power had gone out, but then the lights came back on almost at once.

And then Andy had opened the door. Mary had been prepared to scream at him right then and there, hell she was even prepared to bend him over her knee again. But, the boy looked like he had seen a ghost, or something far worse. He was pale, sweaty and trembling, looking like he wanted to hide.

She had watched, shocked as Andy walked past her and got into his bed, pulling the covers over his body. It took her a moment to actually remember what was going on before she hurried out of the room to check on Emily.

Mary had found Emily in her room, curled up in the corner and crying. But her kitten was safe and sound when they both managed to find her in the kitchen, sitting on one of the plates and rather calmly eating some of the still warm fish. Mary was so relieved to see that the kitten was ok and that Emily wasn't hurt that she put Andy out of her mind for a while.

Gavin returned from the emergency room after a few rather surprisingly quiet hours with the boys. Thankfully, Thomas did not have any permanent injury aside from some small holes in his leg. Gavin had been prepared to strangle Andy for what had happened, but Mary managed to convince him not to, and just let the matter go.

"I don't think he's going to be a bother anymore" Mary had admitted to her husband. When the social worker had arrived that morning, Andy offered no resistance to anything that was going on. He had remained quiet, although he still looked shook up over whatever had happened the previous night. He had even admitted that he deserved to be taken away to the social worker, and the boy was gone in less then an hour of her arrival.

"Still, I'll be glad that he's gone. He's someone elses problem now" Gavin said as they watched the car drive away. Andy was in the back seat, and the boy didn't look back as it drove it. The couple watched the car drive to the end of the street before it turned, taking Andy out of their life.

"What do you think was going through his mind? It's...like he's a different child now, like something scared him into someone different" Mary admitted as they stepped inside their house. "I don't know why...but...I feel sorry for him" she admitted.

"I don't" Gavin said as he shut the door behind them. Mary didn't argue with him. She went to go check on Thomas to make sure he was doing ok and to help him change his bandages, as Gavin headed into the living room to turn on the morning news.

"Emily, what are you doing at the window?" he asked as he noticed the little mouse girl was standing at the window overlooking the street. She held her kitten in her arms, the cat nuzzling up against her neck with soft purrs of affection.

"Watching Andy leave" she said as she turned and looked at Gavin. Gavin nodded, figuring she just wanted to make sure that he was actually gone. He really didn't blame her. He knelt down to her level and touched her shoulder gently.

"Guess you don't need to worry about him coming after your cat anymore' he said with a smile to her, before he noticed something strange. "Did your kitty get a new collar?" he asked as he noticed the slender golden chain that was around the cats neck.

"Yes" Emily said with a smile. "A nice lady gave it to me" she said.

"Well, you'll just have to say thank you to that nice lady then. It looks adorable" Gavin said with a smile as he gave Emily a gentle rub on her head before he stood up and made his way to the couch.

Emily smiled as she went to join him on the couch, feeling better then she had in a long time.