Traveling Salesman: Astronomgonist

Chapter 4

  Teer had been up all night in his makeshift laboratory he built in his private room in the rooming house. He had carved the tips of the vampire needles into arrowheads with his wood carving knife. He had dipped them in lead-based paint and tar. He was levitating in mid-air trying to find his Zen when he heard Hazeldine running towards his door. With a thumbs up sign, turning in the air clockwise and then counterclockwise he slowed her stride to slow motion and froze it there keeping her running in place. He transformed his room into a Rubik's cube and solved it from the inside simultaneously causing it to rain soapy bubbles that washed over his stripped body.

Turning off the invisible faucet with a twisting motion of his hand, where he dried off with a towel his hair combed back with a side part, and torso became donned with a red mod polo knit shirt and his lower body with a pair of slacks, his feet with Chelsea boots. He laid his hands flat in the air as if spreading the air out thinly and the room was normal with purposefully slight disarray. He waved his hand and released Hazeldine. When she burst into his room, he was picking up his yesterday's laundry off the floor.

"Teer. Phenny split last night. His car's gone. Check it out." Hazeldine handed Teer the letter he left her. "He left this letter saying he's going to Colorfed to help our cousin, Reign who's in jail. Reign's a real gone cat. He was probably loaded. Phenny knows not to go to Colorfed without somebody with him. I wouldn't go if I had someone to go with. In Colorfed they hook your color. When I get to Colorfed, I'm going to kill Reign."

"Hang loose. We'll take the first train tomorrow."

"No. I've got a Port Holer. I haven't driven it in two years, but if you can get it revved up in time, we can go today."

Hazeldine paced back and forth chain smoking as Teer worked on her 1957 T-Bird behind the soda shop.

"Alright, baby, smoke'em," Teer said sitting in the driver's seat, sweet talking the car, trying to get it to start. But it only sputtered and puffed smoke. "Hazeldine, why don't you go and get yourself a soda." He handed her a few coins.

Hazeldine puffed on her last cigarette and went around to the soda shop.

Teer saw the carburetor needed replacing. He threaded his fingers together inward and a sharp ray of neon light poured like rain teeming directing the fuel where it combusted away from the engine with a low thermal efficiency making it easier to regulate carbon monoxide production. He configured the fuel burner for very low emissions of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and unburned carbon in the exhaust, hence avoiding pollution. He added a boiler and condenser, and with an electric air, he created and controlled with his cerebral cortex, alleviating the further tension on the car itself.

"Here, I got you a soda." Hazeldine handed the can of soda to him with the can opener. He opened the can, handed the can opener to her and drank the soda until it was gone. When Hazeldine was done with her can of soda, he took the can from her and opened the driver's side door for her to get in.

He suspended both cans of soda behind his back, liquefying the aluminum and absorbing it through his cuticles, generating it into pure energy within 1.3 seconds. Teer rode shotgun.

"Thanks for fixing my car." She winked at Teer.