Episode Two – Love in Need
“The guest room is ready and I guess I need to find something for dinner.” Malcolm flopped in the chair.
“How are you doing son?”
As Malcolm sat still in the chair, the pain exuded from his face spoke volumes. He plastered his hand on his head, rubbing his temples harshly. He whispered, “I can never stop the voices.” As one point, a tear fell from his eye, as he whispered, “I just want to die.”
Malcolm’s body quickly jerked as if an evil spirit captured him. “Get over that shit and let’s go!” He shouted to himself in a dark tone.
He jumped up from the chair and said, “I’ll get dinner.” He walked to the front door and grabbed his keys. Mallory looked up at him. He went to grab for his father, but Malcolm shot him a look that pierced fear in his heart.
“Daddy?” Mallory whimpered out. “Daddy please? I’m sorry.”
Malcolm didn’t answer him. He just opened the door and walked out into the hall.
Mallory stood there, waiting for his father to return. Marion sat on the couch and watched, waiting to see how long Mallory was going to stand there.
After an hour, Marion had enough of the torture. He patted cushion next to him. “Come sit with me.”
Mallory finally turned around, facing his grandfather, but he still didn’t move.
“Come on now, sit!”
Mallory shook his head again. “Malcolm says that you are ‘carnated’ Kronos and he said that you swallow your grandchildren whole.”
He still thinks I’m God. Marion let out a hardy laugh. “Come over here son. I eat children not grandchildren.” He laughed again, but Mallory didn’t see the humor. He stayed in his place. “Where is your father library?”
“Upstairs.”
Marion managed to pull himself up from the couch and walk to the stairs. “Show me where the library is?”
Mallory shot off and ran up the stairs, trying to avoid be caught by Marion. They finally reached the library, Marion opened the door and found a replica of the library that he had built back home. He was flattered. He walked over to the Greek Classics and pulled out one of Malcolm’s favorite books.
“Did you know that your father loved Greek mythology?” Marion pulled out a chair and sat down.
“No sir.”
“Do you like Greek mythology?” He opened the old wore book.
“No sir.”
“Come here, I want to show you something. Come on, I won’t bite. I had a big meal.”
Mallory carefully approached Marion and looked over his arm.
“Does your father read this story to you a lot?”
“Only when we go to Texas. He says that I need to know my history and be careful of the family ‘cause they could kill me.”
“That’s not true. Your family loves you.”
“Malcolm says that don’t.”
“I can prove your father is wrong.” He pulled out another dictionary. “Do you know what a myth is?”
Mallory thought hard for a while. Marion asked the question just like Malcolm would have, which meant that Mallory should have immediately known the answer. He bowed his head and started breathing heavy, searching for the answer in his mind.
Marion, feeling Mallory’s frustration, answered the question and let him off the hook. “A myth is a fictional tale, a story for entertainment. It attempted to answer questions that people have about life and creation but it is just a story.” He turned to Mallory. “I bet your father told you that he was God. And that Gods don’t bleed, right?’
“Yes sir?”
“Didn’t you bite him to get away from him? Didn’t he bleed?” He leaned in and gently wrapped his arm around Mallory’s waist, then whispered, “Son, I hate to say this but not everything your father tells you is true… especially about your family not loving you.” He kissed him on the forehead. “We love you… I love you.”

Title: The MPire Chronicles of the Haulm Boys
Author: TL James
Genre: Speculative Fiction
ISBN: 978-0-9824475-1-2
Publisher: PHE Ink – Writing Solutions Firm
Trade Paperback: 108 Pages
Retail: $12.95
PreSale Website Price: $9.00
Or You can purchase a pre-sale copy at Barnes and Noble online.