SHE PULLED the hood closer to her face as people around her murmured. But she didn't care about the mocking fingers directed her way: the biting comments became an old friend.
A familiar man was about to pass her when he suddenly halted in his long strides. "Med—?"
Before he could continue, she clamped her hand over his mouth and hissed, "quiet, you idiot! We're in public!" And despite his muffled protests, she dragged him into a dark alley.
The alley was uncared for. Weeds grew wildly in the cracks of the cement and the moss became a threat as a chance to slip with every step. The road sign, which read, "Hollan Avenue," was coated with a thick layer of dust.
After she explained her newest plan to him, she reluctantly removed her hand. The man rolled his eyes and said, "Remind me why we have to banish him."
"To get back at him after everything he did to me!" She snarled.
"Perhaps I expected too much when I thought that doctors could, at the very least, tell the difference between father and son and understand simple questions," he said, his blue eyes glinting coldly. "You have misunderstood me so allow me to rephrase my question: why must I help you banish my friend for something his father did to you?"
Before he could say anything else, she lunged forward, pinning him to the side of a particularly mossy building. "Remember the note," she said. "Or I'll kill him." And for a moment, an insane expression crossed her face.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
PHOTOCOPYING THE posters was a terrible process. The typewriter creaked with every pressed button. The photocopier repeatedly clunked thunderously as it struggled to keep up with the papers. Wanting to leave the loudness behind, Adin left the room, making a mental note to return for his posters.
He left the dark building and a tall man suddenly brushed past him, almost knocking Adin off his feet. The man took one glance at Adin before he hastily sped up and disappeared among the crowd.
"Mr. Aulus?"
Adin looked around him and spotted a young girl, who couldn't have been older than eight. "Yes?" he asked cautiously, hoping she wasn't going to ask for an autograph.
"You dropped this," said she, pointing to a note on the ground.
As soon as Adin's fingertips grazed the paper, he knew it wasn't his. He had never used or seen a paper with such a smooth texture, and it felt as though the fibers had entirely disappeared. Yet he still thanked the girl and tucked the note into the pocket of his blue shorts.
Adin figured that his posters were probably finished by then, so he headed back to the printing place. The air conditioning was freezing his exposed arms and legs. He shivered and wrapped his arms around himself as he walked to the photocopier, which was spitting out piles of his posters.
"Oh dear, you look like you're freezing to death!" said a staff member, who was about his age, behind him. She sympathetically patted Adin on the shoulder. "I'll tell them to take it easy on the air conditioning. In the meantime, can I help you with anything?"
Glancing at the stack of papers in his hand, Adin stuttered, "no thanks, I'm good.
She peered over his shoulder to look at the posters. "I like the simplistic design and how the texture ties everything together, which is nice. Once I had a man come in and he chose paper from aspen trees and the ink couldn't stick to the surface properly." She shivered. "It just turned into a huge clumpy mess inside the printer." At Adin's confused expression, she explained, "depending on the type of tree, the texture of the paper varies. Cellulose fibers from aspen trees create relatively smoother paper, which makes it more expensive."
Adin frowned, and as he processed the new information, he thought of the note in his pocket. "Thanks, I'll see you, uh, the next time I need posters?"
"Oh, I think we'll meet again sooner than that. See you tonight, Mr. Aulus." She winked. "Call me Maverick," she called over her shoulder as she walked away to greet another customer.
He pursed his lips, furrowing his eyebrows at the stack of posters in his arms. Sighing, Adin left the building and pulled a roll of tape out of his backpack as he began fastening his posters around the neighborhood. It took much longer than expected, which meant that he now had less time to prepare for the show. Remembering Chris' promise to help, Adin slipped a remote out of his pocket.
His fingers flew across the rectangular screen and when the password was determined valid, a latch unlocked itself. The remote flipped open, revealing a hidden compartment, which a silvery robotic owl flew out of as it flapped its silver wings. Holding the remote near his mouth, Adin pressed a blue button and said, "call Chris Vincolare." The device vibrated in response and a screen flickered to life on the owl's stomach, revealing Chris with a gloomy background behind him. "I finished hanging up the posters and if you could grab the Paralyzer bullets —" Adin stopped mid-sentence to stare at the screen, frowning. "Where in the world are you?"
Chris shrugged nonchalantly. "One of the old, abandoned streets."
"And what are you doing there?" Adin asked, shivering as he imagined the haunted houses and mossy ground of the unoccupied streets.
"Your new cleaning lady is ah, a fangirl of yours." A smirk crossed Chris' face as he shook his head in disbelief. "Tried taking your Paralyzer bullets as a souvenir. Had to chase her down."
Adin's eyes widened. "Did you get them back? Where are they now?"
"Geez, calm down," said Chris. "I got them back and they're safe with me."
Sighing in relief, Adin asked, "Can you meet me at the square right now? To set up for the show?"
Chris grinned. "Now, when have I ever said no to helping you, dear friend?" And then he hung up.
Adin ran down the sidewalk without needing the signs on the side of the street that pointed toward "the future." The arrows led to a tall, gray building, which towered over the smaller infrastructures nearby. On a welcome sign, "Aulus Demos" was written in a bold font, and it glowed brightly under the nearly dark sky.
When he entered the building, Chris was already waiting by the door. "Took you long enough, slowpoke," said Chris, playfully whacking Adin in the shoulder with the box of bullets. "Come on! You don't want to be late for your show, do you?"
The next thing he knew, Adin was surrounded by an odd trio, who introduced themselves as his prep team. As they attempted to make Adin presentable, Chris entertained himself by pacing around the room, over and over again.
"Hey, Chris?" Adin called, repressing the urge to turn around.
"Yeah?"
Adin glanced at his watch. "Can you put the Paralyzer bullets into the gun? We're running out of time."
"Sure," Chris replied.
"Thanks!"
Suddenly, the door opened a small crack, and an auburn-haired girl poked her head in. "Chris! I've been looking for you."
Chris groaned. "Medea, now's not the time."
"C'mon! I've been dying to meet Mr. Aulus!" Medea grinned at Adin, but the smile didn't seem to reach her emerald eyes.
1211 words<3
author speaking!
OMG CHAPTER 2?? and WOOHOO NEW CHARACTER!!! but chris and adin will forever be number one in my heart— LMAO anyway, i hope you enjoy this chapter, if you did, make sure to vote and comment! love you ALL so much, so have a great rest of your day! <3000
— sophia xoxo