Hey, hey, hey, guys! I'm back with a brand new story for Fat Albert! This one will be darker than the other stories, as it deals with heaving topics. The gang, except for Albert, have been kidnapped. This story will take place in the aftermath of it all, as we see the boys dealing with what they went through while imprisoned. And how they express their feelings by writing, hence the title. I hope you enjoy.
Warning: This story will contain flashbacks and mentions of physical, mental, sexual, and emotional abuse. If you have a hard time dealing with this sort of stuff, you may want to turn back while you can, unless you think you have the guts to read it. You have been warned.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. They belong to Bill Cosby & Filmation.
Prologue
Albert walked down the hall, holding a bag of Cook Out food, and a cup of water. He knew his friends might be starving... and he wanted to bring them something. His mom would come over later with some baked cookies.
After a few minutes, he found the room he was looking for and knocked on the door. It opened, revealing a young woman who had to be in her early thirties. She smiled when she saw Albert, "You must be Albert. They said you'd be visiting. I'm Barbara, one of the counselors..."
"Hey, hey, hey. I have to see my friends after they escaped." He replied.
"Well, one of the boys is here right now. The others are still in surgery or are not ready to come in here."
"Oh. Okay."
With that, he walked in the room, which to him looked like a kindergarten classroom, with colorful walls, and a soft carpet. In sitting on said carpet... was Russell. Since this was the first of the boys he was seeing since their rescue, Albert winced at his state.
The small child had bandages on his face, his left arm in a sling, and he was wearing dark blue pajamas instead of his usual winter clothing. He still had his Ushanka hat (which he begged to keep). When he looked up at Albert, he whimpered.
"Hey, hey, hey, Russell..." Albert greeted, "How're you feeling...?"
Russell looked away as if he was trying to find the right words. Albert walked towards the boy and sat down next to him, "I guess it's still rough, huh? Well, don't worry, it'll get better. And they'll find the people who took you and the rest of the dudes."
At the mention of his kidnappers, Russell whimpered again, trying to blink back tears.
"Are you feeling okay, sweetie? Do you need the trash can?" Barbara asked.
The child shook his head, before looking down at the back Albert was holding, "Oh, this is some food from Cook Out. Some good stuff. I figured you'd be hungry." The large boy explained.
Russell continued to look at the bag before he grabbed it and took out a tray. Opening it, he saw fries, a burger, and a hotdog. Albert smiled, "My mom will be here later with some cookies. I'm sure you'll love that, don't you...?"
The child just shrugged, as he popped a few fries in his mouth. It was now that Albert realized that Russell wasn't talking at all. He looked over to Barbara, who said, "I've been trying to get him to open up to me. But he hasn't said a word since he came here."
"Oh..."
Albert looked at his friend, and wonder if he could get him to talk, "Hey, Russell. Maybe we'll get to see the dudes again. I'm sure you'll be happy to see Bill when he starts recovering."
Suddenly, the second Albert mentioned Bill, Russell then broke down into uncontrollable sobs. This caught the large boy off guard, but he was quick to comfort the child by pulling him in a hug and rubbing his back, "It'll be okay... Bill will be okay..."
"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!" Russell cried, speaking finally, "YOU DON'T KNOW THAT AT ALL! YOU WEREN'T THERE WHEN THOSE PEOPLE... they... they might have killed my brother... I may never see him again... they did... horrible things to all of us... they... they could have killed us..."
"I know... I know... and we found you guys. Those people might have escaped, but the police'll find them, and bring them to justice..."
"... It won't make a difference, Fat Albert. After what happened, nothing's gonna be the same..."
"Maybe not, I know you dudes won't forget what happened, but we can still go back to the way things were..."
Russell sniffed, "No we can't... we just can't..."
Albert frowned. He hated seeing the youngest of the gang, the sassy strong-headed one, so broken, defeated, and terrorized. And it was probably the same for the other dudes as well. Albert had no idea what happened when the gang was kidnapped, and what those people did to them, but judging by Russell's current state, it had to have been horrendous...
And as much as he hated to admit it, Albert himself felt affected by these events... his friends were taken away, hurt in brutal ways, and he wasn't there to help them... not this time. He felt like he failed, but he kept his head up with the fact that his friends were still alive...
However, he knew that whatever happened, it would be a long while before they could fully recover...
Wow. Judging by this, you can tell that a lot has happened for the boys. Next chapter, we'll get a flashback of how Albert first found out about his friend's disappearance. Until then, I'll see you guys later. And as always, don't forget to review, please. Thank you.
