Lenny was starting to drive the brothers mad.

His constant comments about nothing in particular while Malcolm tried to get help to his brother were just plain annoying, not to mention pointless.

"Did you know that spiders have eight eyes?" he said uselessly as they acted as a crutch for Donald, wandering through bushland.

"Do you have any facts about where the nearest hospital is?" Malcolm asked in irritation.

"No mate, no idea." He replied. "You seem a bit stressed. I know where the nearest massage place is!"

"There are more pressing matters!" Malcolm said. If this didn't stop, he would have to stab him.

They lifted Donald over a log before he told them he needed to sit down. Malcolm looked at the cuts and bruises that covered his brother, and wished he'd taken the fall instead. Donald was only a child, and he didn't deserve this.

"Do you think my arm's broken?" Donald asked. His arm was more bruised and swollen than the rest of his body, and he wasn't able to move it. They'd used a jumper to support it, but Malcolm was positive it was broken.

"It'll be alright." Malcolm lied. He also didn't mention that he thought Donald might also have broken a couple of fingers and maybe even a rib or two.

"Have you got any food? If not, I've got cookies." Lenny said randomly.

Oh great. Some more stale biscuits from Lenny's disgusting sleeping bag.

"We're fine." Malcolm replied.

"You'll be hungry later." Lenny smiled, and then spun to grab at something in the air. Malcolm looked away before he got the temptation to laugh.

"I'm tired." Donald said. They'd been walking for a while now, and Malcolm was starting to feel a little fatigued too. He nodded in agreement.

"Here – you can use my sleeping bag!" Lenny thrust it into Donald's sore arms, and Malcolm gave him a sour look as he threw it back at him. Lenny looked sad.

"What was that for? I was only trying to ..." he stared off into the distance, and Malcolm turned around. There was nothing special, just a little bush filled with black berries. But from the look on Lenny's face, it seemed that the plant was the most exciting thing he'd seen in a long time.

"I'm going to need some for later use!" he exclaimed, standing up and heading over to the berries.

It's probably poisonous. Not that Malcolm said that out loud, Lenny could find that out for himself.

Donald yawned, and Malcolm helped him lie down on the log. He shut his eyes and drifted slowly off to sleep, opening his eyes occasionally in the process to watch Lenny's progress or to shift his position. It wasn't long before he was fast asleep.

Malcolm was leaning up against the log, flicking between watching Donald, Lenny, and trying to get to sleep himself. He shut his eyes, weariness taking over. He was almost asleep, when a disgusting smell came to his attention. He opened his eyes slightly, to find one aqua eye and one red-brown eye widely staring at him, the person's nose almost touching his.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" the boy smiled, laughing, and Malcolm threw a stick at him, keeping one eye open to watch him. He was too exhausted to yell.

"You're so boring." Lenny said, resigning himself to sitting on the ground. He immediately found a rock, and played with it as if it were a car. Malcolm's eyes slowly shut, and he turned his head away from Lenny's – he didn't want to wake up and have to look at him again, and he was hoping the wind that was picking up and brushing past his face would blow his stink in the opposite direction.

Lenny made funny noises for a while, but was soon silent. After a few minutes of silence, Malcolm finally relaxed enough to drift off to sleep, rolling over and having another dream which mingled with his memories ...

Kei pulled him back towards the bamboo garden, away from Lenny and poor Donald. He followed gladly, his hand warm in Kei's.

"I've always loved this garden. I used to sit and watch the fish as a little kid." Kei said, once again dipping his hand in the water. It rippled a brilliant purple, sending the fish scattering away. It was surreal.

He felt a hand clasp on his shoulder, and turned to see Jimmy McBethness.

"Oi, stop that!" A sharp pain radiated from his nose as Jimmy smashed it in. It was bleeding – was it broken?

"Get off him you bastard!" Kei yelled, before being thrown into the fountain. Fish scattered into the garden as Malcolm's blood smeared the path and some of the fish.

Jimmy advanced on him, with his girlfriend Ella Ladibeth behind him. Lillian Hexagon looked horrified after them.

Malcolm felt a fist slam into his gut, then into his side. He dropped to his knees.

"Please, Jimmy, I-"

"Silence!" Marty Flea called, rushing over with Billy Banquet.

"What happened here?" Marty asked.

"I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Shut up, fag." Jimmy spat, clubbing him over the head. He fell to the concrete, rolling over to look for Kei. But the water was filled with his blood now, and he couldn't see a thing except some dead fish floating on the surface.

"I caught him kissing Kei!" Jimmy proclaimed.

"I hadn't even kissed –"

"Shut up!" Jimmy yelled, kicking him in the shins. He dragged himself over to the pond, dipping a hand in the water to find Kei.

"What do you think, Ella?" Marty asked.

"I never knew he swung that way." She shook her head in disbelief.

"I don't have time for friggin' girly shits." Jimmy said, and Malcolm took an unfortunate kick below his waist. He curled up in pain, giving up on life. If he was punished for loving Kei, then he may as well die.

He heard a humming noise and looked up to see a giant yellow object. Marty and Billy had scattered into the house to avoid it, and the other three stood in shock.

"What have you done?!" Jimmy screamed at him, "You've cursed us all!"

"I didn't do anything." Malcolm replied softly.

Jimmy glared at him, clenching his fists, and the two girls darted away. He followed, after giving him one last kick to the leg.

Malcolm looked up vaguely, to see the broad front of a tractor rocketing towards him. He waited for it to glide over him, taking him back to reality; but instead it turned, and he felt a hand pull his collar upwards. He fumbled into a stand to see a boy pulling him into the passenger seat, his blonde hair gleaming, grey eyes mischievous and his dimples showing greatly as he smiled.

It was Kei, here to rescue him.

"I figured you needed some help." He said as he pulled the tractor away from the party. He let the wheel go and held Malcolm, who sobbed as they rumbled off. He'd never trusted those people again.

As if he were falling, Malcolm jolted awake. He looked down to see a little brown spider crawling up his leg, and he flicked it off to stop the tickling sensation its legs were creating on his skin.

He looked back at Donald, still asleep, and relaxed again. He waited for sleep to overtake him and take him back to Kei, to finish the story. That strange recollection wasn't completely true, but it told the basic story more or less – Jimmy had found them kissing, beaten them up, and then Malcolm had gotten away. He'd never even known what had happened to Kei, and he often wondered about him. More than anything, he wanted to see him again. He still loved him, even though the event was years ago, and his love had faded slightly over time.

As he shut his eyes, he suddenly re-opened them to look around in front of him. Where had Lenny gotten to?

"Lenny?" he called out. No answer.

Out of curiosity, not because he actually cared, he got up and took a quick look around the bushes, calling his name. Even his sleeping bag was nowhere to be seen.

He ventured further after taking another look at Donald, still asleep. He wandered through some sharp weeds, growing in large clumps which were blocking his way. It was painful, but luckily there was a slight path already carved out for him to take. At the end of the carved path, he tripped over and fell onto rich green grass. He pushed himself up, and moved silently through the narrow clearing. He started to hear a loud electronic drone, and he ducked – it was a siren. Not just any siren though, he soon realised – an ambulance.

He took off at a run, following the sound. It wasn't far up ahead, probably behind the tall trees before him. His heart raced as he neared the trees and the sound of the siren. Malcolm could almost touch one tree now, but then he saw a black shadow near him. He jumped, turning back slightly. He could see that it was an adult in a black shirt, which said 'Paramedic' on the back in white. Malcolm looked further beyond and saw the faint outline of a big white truck, with a slightly obscured red cross on the side. He stood behind a tree, watching them fuss over something on the ground.

"When was he found?"

"About twenty minutes ago. An old lady found him."

Found who? Malcolm leaned in closer, craning his neck to see through the branches. He stepped forward, snapping a twig. They didn't hear.

He pulled back a branch to see a boy stretched out in the clearing, his familiar dreadlocks covering a lot of his face, his sleeping bag beside him, and those little black berries everywhere. Malcolm suddenly felt sick, even though he hated Lenny.

"Hey!" Malcolm looked to the left of him, to see one of the paramedics pointing at him. Another followed, and he set off at a run to avoid them. He looked back to see two of them following him, and then looked forward at the sharp weeds. There was another possibility of where to go through some bushes, but it would mean leaving Donald alone for a longer time. And it would mean denying him medical assistance. On the other hand, it would have saved him from the wrath of the police if he went through the bushes.

He neared the spikes now, and while his selfishness turned left, his heart turned right. He scrambled through the weeds and back to Donald, who was awake now but still lying down.

"Malcolm-"

"I'm sorry." Tears started to form as he thrust Duffman from his backpack and into his brother's hand, and then pulled away; continuing to run off. As the paramedics rounded the corner, he took one more look back and his heart broke to see Donald's confused and pained expression, looking at him as if he'd betrayed him over to the bad guys to save his own skin. But he kept running, the sick feeling in his stomach growing and his tears freely flowing. It felt as if something within him had died.