Felixentric

Scene 7

When they left the gallery, Felix's control faltered, like the energy was being tugged away by the increasing panic. Like a light bulb dimmer, slowly turning the light out inside him.

As he and Hen passed through the final arch to the front door, the weeping behind them stopped and was replaced with yelling chatters. One person shrieked, "What's happening? What's happening?" Another screamed, his voice rising like wind hollering against the sides of an old house.

In the lobby there was a pearly, low-ceilinged area with a circulation desk. The man who had first greeted their arrival kept his glossy, intent eyes glued to them. He stood with a phone frozen in his hand. Someone was on the other end, getting louder the longer he didn't respond. The cops? Ambulances? Armed forces? It could be any one of them on the other end.

I'lloozjhen, in the flesh, glowed blue all across the white walls, leaving a shiny ring in the man's eyes as they sprinted out the door. Hen waved goodbye and gave a "toodleoo." Felix held down the rising vomit by swallowing it.

When the breeze hit the two, they met a long span of marble steps stretched down to the road and Hen growled. At the sight of police cars rushing down the road, maybe a minute away, his features capsized, twisting into the look of a young child on a big boy roller coaster. He grabbed Felix's elbow and said sternly, "If you don't want to be taken into captivity, we have to disappear in the next two seconds."

At first, the words dazed Felix, but then Hen evaluated them for him. "I can wipe their minds for the last half hour. I even messed with the surveillance cameras. They won't remember your face or report to the police. But I can't keep all the police straight if we lolligag. I can't afford wiping anyone who walks up the street, and I definitely can't afford a photographer getting a picture of you for the newspaper."

Felix bit his tongue at the thought of his pale cheeks on the first page accompanied by the heading, "FELIX RUBY-HOHL ASSAULTS CIVILIANS WITH BRAIN PAINT." They would probably throw in the the words "city loon" and then send the police out to murder him with tazers, guns, and flamethrowers. "Afford?"

"I don't have enough juice in my system for all that!" Hen screamed, much less patiently than before.

What Felix had always assumed was that Hen's energy source was as headstrong as a bull. Like, no matter how much he used that power, he wouldn't run out.

Felix was about to ask another question when a sizzling noise came from behind them. He imagined a giant puddle of water boiling somewhere on the street. Boiling puddles could be found anywhere in Jupiter.

But Hen took the state of a clucker spooked from it's pen. "Move!" He pushed at Felix's shoulder blades. His hands were strong and his voice was thick.

"What?" Felix started to turn, but Hen pushed harder and he complied, sprinting down the steps and down a short road that led straight into the forest. They disappeared into the trees of Jupiter Forest just as the cop cars parked and men in black uniforms ran out with guns.

Though they wouldn't catch up, Hen threatened to kill him if he stopped. It took Felix a few more seconds to notice why and, when he did, he nearly stumbled. A tree was on fire. Birds screamed. The smell of a parking garage entered Felix's nose. The dark forest flickered with the shadows of the flames.

Sweating. Increased heart rate. High adrenaline. Additional sirens blared.

Felix's composure melted away, not that it had been all that strong prior. The tree cracked. It screamed for him to help it as it died, shrivelled up, and began to tilt. Falling over. Exploding in a heap of ash behind them.

Hen panted. "Hide your face from him! Now!"

Felix sucked in air through his teeth and sped up again, his feet crushing plant leaves as he stepped on them on accident. I'm sorry!