The Nature of Predators - Venlil Foster Brother (4/6) (Patreon)

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Memory transcription subject: Jimek, Venlil Art Student

Date [standardized human time]: February 2, 2137

To my surprise, Rauln switched on the recording function of his holopad, angling it toward the spoiled child. That deflated my eagerness a bit, realizing that the officers were unlikely to take drastic measures while cameras were rolling. It would give too much fuel to lawsuits to catch violence on tape. There was a tranquil glow in the pyromaniac Venlil’s eyes, as he circled Vana’s son like a predator weaving around its prey. Cylek seemed more afraid of the smoke-furred exterminator than he had of Dustin, when his jaw was being pulverized. There was no buying or name-dropping his way out of clear-cut predator disease today; these exterminators had shown they weren’t backing off. Maybe the guild had changed in more ways than one.

Rauln straightened his tail, and stood dangerously still. “Let’s begin, with a recap of the facts. Multiple exterminators witnessed you threatening a fellow student with a knife, a behavior which has been captured on camera before—establishing a pattern. You said aloud during the ride in the van that you did it because the student lacked the same wealth as your family. We’ve seen zero remorse for your cruelty, and that you clearly enjoy another child’s suffering. Do you challenge any of these facts?”

“No, but…”

“How would you define predator disease?”

“It’s…unpeaceful, anti-herd behavior. Herds have to be selective, and protect each other. The kid in question is a weirdo who has predator disease!”

“Why? Because he enjoys art, and isn’t ‘classy’ enough? I believe that was your word.”

“Jimek spends all of his time drawing, and has no friends! The only one he socializes with is that violent predator…there!”

Cylek flailed his tail in Dustin’s direction, and my brother rolled his eyes. A scowl rippled across William’s features; Fyron watched with concern, as the black-haired human hobbled forward. The Terran exterminator made a point of flashing his teeth, and leveling both pupils straight at the bully. I got the sense that Mr. Kane was less fond of those labels for Earthlings than even my family. His eyebrows slanted downward, contrasting with the seeming happiness of his smile. After the Farsul had worried about him falling back into old ways, I also wondered whether he would slip back now. This primate knew how to be menacing.

Let’s see how much Mr. Kane sticks to his claim that as an exterminator, he can do whatever he wants. Rauln hasn’t had nearly enough vitriol, but maybe Will can come through. I hope he doesn’t back off, just out of fear that Volek finds out!

William’s eyes darted toward Dustin, and he waved. “Come here, Dusty. It’s alright. I’m not a piranha, I won’t bite you…not today, anyway.”

“Actually, piranhas have a very bad rap, but they’re not the people-eating aggressors you think,” Dustin began, scampering over with glowing eyes. “They’re one of the more skittish fish, despite their big teeth. They swim in schools to protect themselves from predators. Of course, they’re predators themselves, and will eat almost anything if hungry…but we’re a lot bigger, and kill a lot more of them than they do us.”

“Dammit. Kid, I brought you up here to show you’re not some violent predator, and you rapid fire something like that. You’re shooting me in the foot!”

“I know a lot about animals. I wanna be a zoologist when I grow up. This planet needs zoologists who can just study and write the facts.”

Rauln narrowed his eyes. “If you’re an animal expert…maybe you should work for the guild. We need that. I’d…like you to look at a specific attack footage, and draw some conclusions about an aggressive beast. A people killer.”

“You can’t bring your mother back,” Fyron whispered.

“I don’t want to bring her back. I want to know how to find every one of those monsters that’s still alive!”

Luala’s beak parted with sympathy. “We all know what it’s like to miss family, between the four of us and Dustin. Let Will continue, Rauln.”

“Oh, I will. As abhorrent as some human customs are, recruiting Terrans has shown that they’re assets to the guild. They can identify true dangers.”

William cleared his throat. “Which leads back to my point. Who’s more violent: the predator kid who wants to study animals, or the one who brings a knife to school and carves another’s ear? Answer me, punk!”

“That bloodsucking monster was just talking about humans hunting other predators—how you kill way more of them!”

“You guys burn predators and say they don’t have feelings. Why the fuck would you care? Don’t wimp out. You have something to say about humans, then say it to my face, Cylek.”

“Humans can’t do anything but kill and reproduce. Everyone has a problem with you eating flesh, from any living thing you can find, and you think it’s funny. Burning predators and eating them aren’t the same.”

“That’s the first thing you’ve said I agree with. One of those outcomes is a lot quicker, and for an actual survival purpose. Now what’s the knife for? To hear a kid scream? Do his screams protect the herd?”

“The knife is because predators go to my school!”

“Lies!” I hissed. “You brought knives and weapons long before first contact with the humans. This has been going on for years, and it wouldn’t be that hard to find videos to back that up.”

Rauln swished his tail with triumph. “Didn’t you say I was beneath you, when I intervened in your vicious attack?”

“It wasn’t nearly as big of a deal as you’re saying,” Cylek objected.

“But you said it. Just like you also said that the exterminators wouldn’t dare come near you, because your mom is Vana of Vana’s Flamethrowers?”

“Vana is important to the guild. She’s had business connections and given you strong tools for years!”

“So you confirm you said that too. Doesn’t that imply that you think the exterminators will never investigate you for predator disease, because of your mom’s personal connections? That everyone’s turned a blind eye to your behavior, at least until that video made it crystal clear what you were?”

“No! Your interpretation of that video is wrong: it was of a predator attack! I’m a victim, like my mother knows. Nobody else sides with the predator…nobody agrees with these lies. Let me go!”

Dustin smirked. “Administrator Evsi said something very similar to Rauln, when your mom went crying the blues to stop us from getting into art school. Vana tried to threaten Evsi with the need for guild funding. Your mother didn’t even argue with the claim that you had predator disease.”

“That’s not true. My mom doesn’t think that.”

“How do you know?” Fyron chimed in. “Not all parents have the heart to send their children for an evaluation.”

“Vana knows I did nothing wrong. She tells everyone I have a bright future, and she never tried to stop me.”

“So Vana knew what you were doing to Jimek?” William growled.

“Of course she did! Vana pointed him out as low-income filth at orientation. We both know hardly anybody would miss Jimek, and that he’ll never amount to anything. The guild made a mistake hiring him; my school—no, my planet—would be better off without bottom feeders like him!”

Rauln lashed his tail, before switching off the camera recording. The Venlil stared at Will for a long moment, with the lens off, perhaps expecting his roommate to throw a punch; Mr. Kane started to brandish his crutch as a weapon again, before he noticed Fyron’s sad expression. His walking support lowered back to the ground, and he grumbled something about “CTE” and “head trauma limits.” The pyromaniac looked shocked that Cylek hadn’t taken a beating, though I was hopeful that the smoke-furred teen would handle it himself. He hesitated, staring at his own paws.

Rauln wants revenge for somebody called Nam, who seems to have stabbed him in the neck. Cylek reminds him of that, so maybe he’ll go for it.

My fur was bristling with anger, and I couldn’t hear Dustin’s words through a rush of blood to my ears. I thought my adoptive brother said something about how horrible Cylek’s comment over nobody missing me was, and that I was one of the best people in his life, but the bully’s comments weren’t sending me over the edge of despondency. All I felt was anger. That brat would’ve been happy if I gave up, and was no longer alive because I couldn’t suffer through that hell anymore! I hated being isolated from the herd; before Dustin Curtis’ arrival in the foster program, I was completely alone. It was difficult to get up every morning, and I kept wondering why I was meant to suffer.

Why had I deserved to be singled out and tortured? Screw being “consumed by hate”; sometimes, people deserved to be hated! Why weren’t the exterminators giving Cylek what he deserved, after everything he just said? I wanted to see him carted out to a predator disease facility, or to a hospital due to fresh injuries. Rauln needed to make good on his earlier remark, about getting his paws on this bastard.

“I think that’s all we need. We’ve got that on video. You just admitted that Vana encouraged you to bully a kid because his roots are more humble than yours, that both she and you know you have predator disease…and thought you could get away with it,” Rauln growled. “Vana not only knew what you were doing, but didn’t want you to stop. You’ve been harassing him for years, you’ve gone as far as bringing weapons to school, and you didn’t challenge that you enjoy his suffering.”

Luala trilled with delight. “Rauln’s right. I’ll tell you what happens now. We’ll be charging you with assault, and not taking you to a facility; we’re taking you to a lockup, which just so happens to be on the human side of the guild. You’ll be detained there while we decide what to do with you.”

“No! I don’t want to be near those bloodsucking monsters!” Cylek protested. “How much money do you want? Vana can pay you…you can be set for life.”

Fyron’s eyes twinkled. “Oh, Vana won’t have any money left. When we release that video, Vana’s Flamethrowers stock will tank. The board will be rushing to get rid of her, but I don’t know if even that will save the company. Actually…wait, before we release that, we should all go short the stock. We’ll be rich from that.”

“Does Skalga have laws about insider trading? If not, top-tier move,” William agreed.

“Cylek’s video is public information. It’s not like we have plans to arrest Vana; we’re just releasing an interrogation video of a predator disease suspect. How could we predict what public pressure will do?”

My tail fell in disappointment. “So that’s it? A get-rich scheme for you, and he maybe goes to the facility? You can’t take him in, right…you’re suspended, and you said if Volek heard about this, she’ll go after you!”

“Rauln and I thought about it, and…Volek said not to show my face, so I gave her a call. I told her the truth, about a young student who recently started working for us being tormented. About how Rauln wanted to atone for almost burning the humans at school, and how I wanted to do something positive for an innocent kid. I hoped to do something that’d make it worth the chance she took on me…something I could be proud of.”

“I still don’t know how the fuck you convinced her. We’re both majorly on her shitlist,” Rauln grumbled.

“Volek appreciated that I came to her. She said if I did this without ‘chaos’ and ‘volatility’, she’d accept my evidence. Lord knows it was hard not to give this fucker a kick in the teeth, but I don’t wanna be that guy. I wanna be someone that the people I care about…they don’t look at me flying off the handle, and walk on eggshells about what I’ll do next.”

I stamped a hindleg in anger. “This isn’t about you! It’s about me. He deserves volatility, and the people I care about know why I’m losing it.”

“Jimek, I want you to go down a better path than me. My partners here knew why I was losing it too, and how righteous I thought I was. I will never forgive myself. Please…since you wanted my help, accept it. Cylek will be ruined. He’ll be expelled from your school. The problem is solved.”

“And if that’s not good enough? I don’t feel happy at all.”

“Then you’ll have to learn the same lesson I did about how to handle people mistreating you, because it’ll poison you and cloud your judgment. Dusty and I both know what it’s like to be treated unthinkably. You think the Terran refugees haven’t been lonely? You think your brother hasn’t been suffering too, trying to fit in at school and find any friends? Get sidetracked on this hate parade, or be there for him. It’s your choice.”

I cast a glance at my human brother, and my gaze softened as I saw his sheepish posture. Despite his feelings about the exterminators, Dustin hadn’t hesitated to accompany me on my mission to stop Cylek; he’d covered for me with Callsi, even though he was terrified about angering her and being sent away somehow. My brother had always been the one who protected me, but William was right: I hadn’t considered how much he must be suffering. The Venlil kids couldn’t tumble out of his way fast enough when he walked down the hallways. This was an alien planet, where he’d only wound up because of wide-scale death—an all-encompassing tragedy against humanity.

A billion people dead is way worse than my bullying, no matter how horrible it’s been from my perspective. I can’t imagine how scared Dustin must’ve been for Earth, and living here in general, when exterminators could just burn him alive for his eyes.

My brother hadn’t had an easy lot in life, but he’d been selfless in helping me, regardless of his personal grievances. Unlike me, he hadn’t even had a loving mother like Callsi to fall back on; no matter what Cylek did, I always had her love, and the certainty of a stable home. How lonely would it be if I didn’t have a parent around, to comfort me in the hard times…and if I felt like a store item that could be returned at any second? What William said about being consumed by hate was accurate, since I had been too blind to how my arrest would impact my brother. We were each other’s only real friend. What would happen to Dustin in school if I was taken away?

I wouldn’t leave the single person my age who’d ever accepted me to fend for themselves, and to toil in unbearable loneliness. The exterminators’ plan got Cylek out of my school and put an end to my bullying, which I supposed was what I originally wanted. Being Dustin’s herd would have to provide happiness, since all I felt toward my bully was rage and pain. I’d have to find a way to move forward, now that the guild’s protection would bring us peace. There would be difficult things ahead because of this solution, like working for the anti-predator profession and hiding the truth from Callsi. However, I wasn’t going to let this baggage get in the way of being a good sibling anymore.

“You’re right. Dustin has been through a lot,” I said aloud. “We should get back to school. We belong there…and I think Dustin actually likes being there.”

My brother shrugged. “Depends on the class, and how much the Federation has their toes in it. Science is awesome!”

“I don’t agree with you on that. But you know what is awesome?”

“Strawberry lemonade? Spaghetti?”

“Well, yeah. You could add slippery socks and piñatas to the list too, ‘cause I definitely want a piñata at my next party! But I was going to say you. You’re awesome, Dustin, and I’m really glad you became my brother.”

“Guess you could’ve gotten a real terror in the foster program. I’m not so bad, huh?”

Rauln waved a claw threateningly. “I rescind what I said about you making the humans look bad. However, if either of you ever show up on my doorstep again, I’ll send you back to Earth via the Rauln Space Program.”

William knitted his eyebrows together. “What does that even mean? You’re gonna punt them into orbit?”

“I see where you’re going, and I don’t need a reminder of my crooked legs! You’ll learn what the Rauln Space Program is when I literally kick you out as my roommate.”

“That would be very uncool. Hurting an injured, down-on-his-luck human who can’t even walk.”

“Your leg was stabbed once. I got stabbed in the neck, and I didn’t bray about it half as much. I’ve also had crooked legs all my life, and you don’t see me complaining. When I dropkick you through a window, it’ll finally be a fair fight.”

“No need to dropkick Monkey Chops to space. Just change the locks,” Luala suggested.

Fyron’s whiskers twitched with amusement. “You’d need a reinforced door, or Will could just knock it down.”

“Can we not plot the best way to kick me out of my apartment? Unless you want me to move back to the refugee camp and rejoin HF,” Mr. Kane huffed.

Dustin gasped in horror. “You were with those extremists?”

“Just to investigate them. We caught one of their murderers, who Rauln burned. Moving on. Let’s take the children back to the school, and then we’ll bring Cylek to his new, six-by-eight, home.”

Luala barely clamped her beak shut, clearly feeling that key details were left out of Will’s stint with Humanity First. With what he said about being consumed by hate, regret in his voice, that filled in the details for me about how far he’d gone for revenge. Was that guy he’d been sitting with, when he first ran into me at the bar, allegiant to those human supremacists? I decided not to press the subject any further, instead wrapping my tail around Dustin’s wrist as we climbed into the van. Cylek was herded unwillingly into the holding cage. My mind was embroiled in thought as we rolled back in the direction we’d come from; I didn’t pay much attention to the flamboyant banter of the gang, which popped up in sporadic bursts.

I was eager to get back to school, and plot how to cover up my absence from class; my mom would freak out if she found out the exterminators wrote me a pass! That could steer her right toward finding out that I’d sought out their help, and that I would be working for them. Rauln made a comment to Dustin about coming with me, when I reported for my first day of work in a week’s time. The smoky-furred Venlil seemed serious about seeking my brother’s animal expertise, and it wasn’t like the teenaged predator could be uninvolved from this situation. If he was comfortable working with the guild, it might not be bad for him to come with me, under a joint cover.

My tail swished idly, as Luala steered the vehicle back into the parking lot. Dustin and I climbed out of the vehicle, with Rauln and Fyron following close behind. It was only then that I heard an enraged shriek off to the side. My full attention pivoted in the direction of the sound, to find a panicked Callsi lunging at the Venlil exterminator, trying to get him away from my adoptive brother.

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A/N - VFB 4! Cylek is interviewed, and admits on camera to his crimes, to Vana's encouragement, and to his predator disease. Rauln and William both hold off on their usual brutish ways, settle for ruining for Vana's Flamethrowers, and persuade Jimek to remember what's important: his brother, and thinking about how Dustin must be struggling. What do you think of the interview, and the exterminators' chosen course of action; does it show growth, especially with not going behind Volek's back? What do you think will happen between Callsi and Rauln, after she was waiting for them at the school; how will she reacts, if Jimek's plan comes out?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting!