Felix stands up, arms reaching up to the sky as he stretches. There’s a pop, a release of tension and a buzz that ripples through his entire being. He finishes with a yawn, mouth stretching wide as he sucks in oxygen before he staggers over to one of the other chairs in the room.

“How you handling it, kiddo?” His voice is rough. Tired. As if he hadn’t slept enough, but maybe he hasn’t. Felix scrubs at his hair as he gives another yawn.

“I’m fine.” Aizel waves at him, attention fixed on the papers scattered in front of him on the shitty hotel desk. Always trying to prove himself, that is Aizel. The poor kid is trying to figure out how to woo Rizeal. As if he could bend her to his ways.

Rizeal was a bit of a stubborn one, no matter how many talents you have.

Honestly, Felix was impressed when the little run away soldier threw a stack of papers at him a week ago and told him that he found Tyria Ionar’s killers. A duo that worked with a small mercenary group called Ashei. An irony, in Felix’s opinion, that a mercenary group is named after justice.

Even Rizeal was impressed when she perused through the paperwork. Even if the boy is wrong, there is enough backing to give them a solid case. Not that Rizeal said anything, she gave the boy a quick glance, a shake of her head and then she led the trio all the way to Atynik

Atynik is a mess. It’s busy and loud, bright flickering lights with cars rumbling down barely paved roads. It’s full of life in a way the countryside never could be and Felix loves it. It’s like being whole, being reunited with a long lost loved one. Their horses are currently subjected to some stable on the outskirts of the bustling city and they hailed a taxi to one of the cheaper hotels before they were able to drop everything and melt into the beds.

Rizeal, naturally, just stuffed things into the dresser before she ran away looking as if she was harried. Felix gave her a split second of his attention before cuddling a pillow close to himself and succumbing to the sweet, sweet caress of sleep.

Horseback was shit. Is shit. His entire being was going to be sore for days and then they’d need to ride horseback all the way north and-

Just thinking about it gave him cramps.

“Well, if you’re sure- I am going to go out and… meander. Make sure no one sees you.” Felix claps the boy on the shoulder, taking a perverse joy as the boy jumps and startled gold eyes glance at him. Aizel doesn’t even say anything, pinching his lips together before he looks back down at the papers in front of him.

It’s a warm day, compared to the past month. The sun shines high and the air is this stilted peace, not even an antsy rustle as the minutes go by. The hotel they crashed at is one of the older ones, sitting down city and away from where the main events happen. Not that it matters, Felix plans to stay away from that train wreck.

Protests were never his thing. They’re loud, jostling and full of bodies all screaming different things. The tinier protests, like the one in Mavinsport, Felix could tolerate. But these? The ones in the big cities with hundreds clustering up on the streets as they shouted and plead at whatever big namesake they were trying to move.

Protests never worked, you see. They work in little ways but nothing big. He’s watched huge protests fall into riots and for the streets to run red as the violence escalates and escalates. It’s terrifying.

He shuts his eyes, inhaling the winter air with spring dancing in its footsteps. A step forward and then he just walks.

People are lively, energetic and bustling. There’s smiles and joy. Even amazement as citizens’ gossip about the protest and the CME. There’s a kid, bouncing on the toes of his feet as he babbles to his older brother about how one day he was going to join the CME. There’s a girl, cleaning windows and frowning at a set of noisy teenagers as she curses the amount of tourists the protest brought.

There’s more, this warm buzz resting on Felix’s mind and,

It’s nice.

Calm. Like a lake in spring. He could be fishing, sitting on the bank with a line out and there’s this gentle breeze rustling his hair. The sun would be high, warm. That’s what Atynik is like, a lake in the springtime. The protest is simply a couple kids playing in the water, laughing and shrieking as they splash one another. A small disturbance, but something joyful.

For now at least, but it hasn’t started. Not officially. Rizeal is off schmoozing with old friends whilst Aizel is hiding away in their hotel on the off chance someone might recognize the runaway.

Felix is just here to enjoy the weather. And recruit. Always there for recruiting. Rizeal might recruit a few people, but she never mentioned their true goal. It’s scary, to the others. To help out hybrid nephlims is to set yourself up for death after all. Everyone knows how it goes thanks to the CME.

There’s a man, slim and jaunty resting against one of the bricked buildings. A shop, Felix notes as he takes a second look. The man is flipping through some notebook, a pensive look on his face and his mind is this dark hole. Someone that pulled the short straw; someone undeniably in the CME. The poor sod is cursing his luck for getting this watch. Nothing interesting is going to happen after all, not this early at least. If he was going to get a watch, he would have preferred one of the later ones. Or one where he could sit in some building and enjoy the warmth of a fire. Either or, he wasn’t picky.

He’s not even in uniform, which if they were hiding would make sense. But there is no reason for the CME to be hiding. There shouldn’t be a reason anyways, not unless they were expecting something to actually happen.

Felix walks past the man, only sparing him one last glance before barging into the bustle on the other side of the street. It’s a group squabbling over who has cooler abilities, the shapeshifter that can barely change or the girl who is technically a leech, but unable to take the disease. The other boy in the trio just has his nose in the air as he loudly proclaims, “Obviously I’m the best. Who can beat illusions? That’s like, pulling a rabbit out of a hat kind of shit right there. Magic, the real deal.”

The other two are nowhere near impressed and Felix huffs a chuckle as he slides between the squabbling teens. He’s a distance away as he hears a shriek, the lake rippling as a pebble is thrown and the girl shouts, “You can’t even do anything!”

“Neither can you!”

There’s a scuffle, shoes skidding against concrete and Felix doesn’t even need to look back to picture the girl trying to grab the other boy as he ducks under their other friend whose just done with them. Sweet childish antics. Sometimes, he misses those times. Back when nothing really mattered and everything was carefree. Given, when he was a youngster the disease wasn’t even a thing.

Magic was simply a fairy tale, something only Anate did in the stories his mother used to tell.

The lake calms again as he walks further into the city. The wind picks up and tears through the trees; thoughts and misgivings fall like the displaced leaves. He doesn’t need to focus, the air is loud and full, welcoming him with open arms and letting him hear everything.

He swings his fishing line and-

There’s a dam, somewhere in the lake. Building and building. It’s a small thing, barely noticeable but Felix can feel it.

He doesn’t pause to ponder as he slides into the gas station across from the park Rizeal should be at. It’s quiet, full of nick knacks and snacks without a soul insight. There’s a car sitting in the front, a soft rumble as whoever impatiently waits on it to fill their car up. Felix spares them a quick glance before stretching up and up and-

There’s boy minding the counter. The poor sod has his chin digging into his chest as he fiddles with a pen. He fidgets, shifting his weight from one foot to the other and Felix just watches as the boy’s head sways with the motion. The dam continues to build.

“Hello.”

Felix can’t help but smile as the boy jolts up, eyes impossibly wide and pen slipping from his grip. “Ah- Uhm- Hello. Are you- Do you need anything?” The boy bites his lip before straightening up, shoulders squaring down and he adds, “Can I help you with anything?”

He can’t be more than 16. Probably his first job, but his mind is nowhere near thinking of customer service. The boy, Davis his nametag says, keeps flickering his eyes away and out. Towards the window, as if worried and there’s this niggling little worry. CME, Felix could read the thought anywhere.

Felix’s smile turns vicious, walking straight up to the counter before leaning and, “How old are you?”

Davis’ face falls, a sour look crossing it, “Can I help with anything?” His tone is forceful, pointed. He doesn’t even glance at the window for an entire minute.

“Yes. Are you familiar with healing magic?” And that makes the boy pause. Davis stares up at Felix, eyebrows scrunching low on his brow and there’s a hesitation before,

“I’m not a nephlim.”

It’s a lie. The dam shakes, water pushing against its delicate structure. “It’s okay if you are, you aren’t going to lose anything being a nephlim.” Felix tells an even bigger lie. It feels heavy on his tongue even if in certain light it technically isn’t a lie. After all, being a plain old boring nephlim wouldn’t cause anything too disastrous to happen.

Being a hybrid would though.

“I’m not. Can I help you with anything?” The words are forceful, a push. As if they could make Felix go away. The boy is even glaring. He’s worried, wondering if Felix is CME.

“I’m not.”

Davis freezes. “You’re not what?”

Felix waves off the boy before adding, “Actually, me and my friend are here for the little get together going on over there.” Felix cocks his head towards the window looking out at the park. Davis just watches him, the dam this turbulent thing. Half of it turns to ice, the other half retreats. Worried.

The lake outside is calm, leaves littering the still surface. The calm before the storm, as they say.

“You’re here for nephlim jobs?” The words are stilted, space hovering between every syllable as if the boy was trying to swallow the words instead of say them.

“And nephlim research. And nephlim rights. Everything nephlim really.” Felix gives a grin before adding mischievously, “Including hybrid nephlims.”

The dam bursts, flooding everything. It’s chaos and Felix drowns as the boy stutters out, “Hybrid? Ah- Uhm. There’s- I’m-“ Davis is like a small animal, cornered by the hungry fox. His eyes darting everywhere and he even takes a step back before raising a hand. It trembles in the air. It’s a threat, soft and quiet, but still a threat.

“I’m not with the CME.” Felix reminds, smile dropping as the words escape in a quiet hush. “Actually, we’re here specifically to help.”

How do I know that? Why would I trust you? The words might as well be written on the boy’s face. Davis swallows down the words, hand still hanging in the air.

“You don’t need to. I’m just here to tell you there are other options.” Felix reaches next to the counter to grab a bag of chips. “And, I’ll take this.”

Davis is horribly young, his parents must have been terrified when the law was passed. The poor boy gives a shaky nod, hand falling to his side before he takes a step closer to the register. “That- That’ll be 1 silver.”

Felix digs into his coin purse, offering up a silver coin for the kid to take. Davis’ eyes shift, flickering from the coin to Felix to the window and then back to the coin. The poor thing is thinking it’s a trap, a small part of his mind still thinking that Felix is with the CME. How a simple coin transfer could be a trap, Felix would never know.

“It won’t bite. Promise.” Davis scowls, snatching up the coin and shoving it in the register as he snaps,

“Thank you. Please come again.” Felix chuckles. He doesn’t even need the world to be loud for him to hear the underlying words.

Felix presses his hand against the counter, leaning in as he whispers, “You should be safe for now, but be careful about the CME. This city is stuffed full with them at the moment.”

The boy’s hand freezes over the register, eyes an unblinking stare. Felix gives a sharp toothed smile as he adds, “Look for Andrea’s in Laqrea if you or your family catch the wrong attention. If anyone asks, tell them Nathan sent you.”

Felix pushes away, swiping up the bag of chips on his way out. The dam’s flooding slows, a hiccup here and there as the poor kid tries to figure out what to do. Most likely, he’s going to ignore Felix and his words. Brush it under the rug and go on about his day.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

But one day, probably sooner rather than later, something will happened and with any luck the boy will remember.

All it takes is one word to set something in motion after all.

The lake is still calm outside. Leaves litter the smooth surface, the sun reflects with its blinding light. The park is loud, not full of kids like one would expect but swarming with chattering adults. Rizeal is somewhere in the chaos, probably more close to the center point where a stand rests.

There’s benches scattered about, with trees looming over and providing shade for those running from the sun. Not that there is a reason to flee, it is barely warm as it is- and that’s with the sun beaming overhead.

On the outskirts, there’s men and women with the stiff CME uniform donned. Probably even more CME enlisted in civilian clothes hidden amongst the crowd. It’s a wonder on how many of them there are. He’s never seen so many in all honesty- not in one place at least.

There’s an old lady on one of the benches flipping a phone open and close. Odd, since one wouldn’t work in the city to begin with. She’s impatient, mind buzzing with something akin to a hunger and-

It clicks.

Leeches.

Of course the CME would bring leeches. It wouldn’t make sense for them to neglect that part, especially if they are already getting letters worrying about the fall out of such an open event.

There’s probably at least one more lurking around. Conspicuous in the environment and blending in with all of the mayhem.

Felix blinks, strides over to the old lady and slides into the other side of the bench. She jumps, side eyeing him for a second before flipping her phone open again.

A counting game, Felix decides as he scans through the crowd.

There’s about seven in uniform, ropes of differing colors hanging from their shoulders. He thinks it’s something to do with their job. Or rank. One or the other, he’s never really paid too much attention to the CME. Know thy enemy Rizeal would scold. She knew. She cared.

Felix was too angry to care back when it would have been important. Now it simply isn’t vital for him to know.

If there are seven in uniform there’s probably at least three out of uniform. Which, Aizel said he thought there’d be ten. Twenty if they expect it to get rowdy so maybe it’s just the CME being the CME. Hiding in plain sight, just in case. He wouldn’t put it past them.

The lake ripples, the make believe kids freezing in spot as something bubbles in the distance. Anger, rage. Unfairness. Felix shuts his eyes, leans back. The old leech shuts her phone again with a harsh click.

If the CME doesn’t expect it to be rowdy, they’d be stupid. No matter what everyone’s hopes are, there’s still the open wound of Tyria’s death in the newspaper and the CME’s lack of action. She died, and they left it alone. People can’t help but prod at open wounds.

There’s yelling amongst all of the bustling. Felix can see the angry fingers being pointed. One of the men, fuming over the lack of justice. The lake ripples as the CME agent jerks away with furious thoughts. It wasn’t their fault, so why should they have to deal with it? They’re just doing their job. Nothing more, nothing less.

Just another paycheck.

Felix’s eyes flick open and he stares up at the sky. Not a single cloud in sight, the sun beaming high above.

He thinks it should rain today. Today doesn’t seem like it is going to be a day worth sunshine.

The phone snaps open again. A sharp click amongst all of the voices buzzing in the air. He spots Rizeal for a second, charging over to the other side of the park- her blonde hair like a neon sign.

There’s a fight, a man shoving at one of the CME in uniform. Another leaf falls into the lake, sitting on the surface for a split second before it drowns.

The phone snaps shuts, the old lady adjusts her posture as she leans forward with a frown.

Magic, you see, can be quite the disastrous thing. Nothing happens despite the tense figures.

Rizeal pulls at the man’s shoulder, apologizing to the CME. She’s worried, it hasn’t even started yet and people are getting antsy. She’s trying to figure out how to distract the man, get him away. No need to antagonize the CME after all, they had the power. Not the protestors.

There’s a pause, the lake rippling in anxiety before the man steps back on his own. Another leaf falls, a ripple and then it is calm once again. Another CME charges over, instantly gesturing in the air with their hands. Complaining about their lot in life, probably.

The phone flips open and Felix lets his curiosity win over, leaning over to catch a glimpse at it and-

It’s a smiling kid, a tooth missing and chubby cheeks. “Yours?”

The old lady startles, head jolting back before she glances over at him, “My son’s.” The phone clicks shut and her other hand goes to engulf the small device.

Felix gives a soft hum, looking back towards the chaos unfolding before them, “Are you with the CME?”

She laughs, this croaking kind of laugh. “No, I’m not.” She’s smiling though, eyes crinkled and she’s thinking, you get paid more contracting. She doesn’t say it, doesn’t need to. Felix understands. “Are you?” It’s an innocent question, she doesn’t actually care.

Felix shrugs, “Nah, my friend is here for the protest.”

“So is my son.” Her thumb rubs against the top of the phone.

“And you?” It’s her turn to shrug at Felix’s question.

“I’m here if anyone catches something they shouldn’t.” He wonders if it includes stopping anyone that gets too feisty. He’s never been sure how the leeches work- blood contact, he remembers that. Would she need to touch a perpetrator to draw out the disease from their blood?

He’s never had to interact with a leech before. Blessings from the godlings he supposes. Nathan and Rizeal had to use leeches before, but Felix was always separated from those trips. Too risky they’d say.

“Think they will?”

She gives a snort, the sound drowning in her throat as she gives him another glance, “You’ve got hundreds of nephlims and humans in one location. It’d be impossible for the disease not to spread.” She thinks he’s stupid, thinks everyone here is stupid. She might be right, but not for the chance of an outbreak.

No, they’re stupid for something else entirely.

Rizeal stands on the stage, playing with a microphone as she talks to one of the other participants. She’s too far from the speaker for her voice to carry, but she’s gesturing with hurried movements. Another leaf falls into the lake, another ripple.

Felix rubs his legs as he goes back to counting. There’s another CME in uniform that popped up, making their numbers at least nine. The old lady is still clutching at her phone, thumb moving in circular movements. He’s not the only one that can sense the discord.

Standing, he flashed the old lady a grin and says, “Well, I hope nothing too entertaining happens.”

She gives a nod, lips not even twitching in a smile as she stares off in the distance, “Hopefully it’ll be just another boring complaint about the CME.” Felix freezes, grin twisting into something ugly and unnatural before he gives a jerking nod. The protest wasn’t supposed to be about the CME to begin with.

Rizeal isn’t even touching the microphone anymore, she’s banding close to someone and arguing. Her posture tense and hands clutched to her sides and contained. There’s herds of people between Felix and Rizeal, groups clutching together as they talk over one another as if that can decide who’s right and who’s wrong.

Another leaf falls into the lake. The children are still frozen, joy long forgotten.

Felix wades into the water, throwing himself right in the middle of the fray as he rushes towards Rizeal.

She’s shocked, when she sees him. Her blue eyes go wide for a second before narrowing, she holds up a hand to pause her companion before calling out, “Nathan. I thought you were staying in the hotel.” With Aizel goes unsaid.

“I don’t think we should be here right now.” There’s a shout, people shoving and there’s that bristling anger bubbling up in the water again. Someone from the CME intruding where they aren’t wanted. It’s their job though and-

The park is so horribly loud, the further in he wades the louder everything gets. The leaves tremble against the surface, some dipping dangerously in the water. He was lax, he should have paid more attention. The dam wasn’t the only thing he should have looked for, Davis still sits frozen in the gas station as Felix’s fishing line tangles with everybody else.

“What? It’s fine-“ Rizeal looks back at her friend, Sam maybe, but Felix never meant the man before. “Ah, Nathan,” She cocks her head to the side where the other man stands, “meet Adrian. Sam’s brother.” Adrian’s a tall guy, long and lean with dark hair tied up into a bun and scruff on his cheeks. A few gray hairs here and there flying loose in the chilly wind.

Felix smiles, offers up his hand for the other man to shake. “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard more about your sibling than you, I must say.” Adrian gives a laugh, grasping Felix’s hand as he says,

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure she never got over her crush on Sam.” There’s a wink before Adrian pulls away.

Rizeal rolls her eyes, “Yes, yes, because if an eleven year old befriends someone it’s obviously because they have a crush.”

“I mean, if the shoe fits.” She shoves at Felix before charging into a different topic,

“Anyways, Nathan and myself are working on changing the consequences for criminal actions. Killing people is just…” Her lips press together in a thin, white line.”

Adrian shifts, another leaf falling into the turmoil lake that pretends to be calm. “I mean, it makes sense to a point. What else are they supposed to do? Plus, people shouldn’t be abusing the disease for criminal actions anyways.” He’s more worried about other people, the ones that are victims to the society that the war crafted.

“There’s not even proof-“

“I think,” Felix interrupts, eyes drilling into the other man, “that it isn’t so much the criminals we are trying to help. If you look into it, there have been countless times that bystanders would get drawn into the CME’s investigation and the CME isn’t exactly fond of leaving witnesses. That’s what we are trying to prevent.”

Rizeal gives Felix a glare before turning her attention back to Adrian, “Are you really telling me you don’t care? You know what happened, and you don’t care?”

“Look, Ri- Athena. Athena, there’s a reason-“ And it’s suddenly cold, as if Felix was dunked into the lake and is only just now pulling himself out into the freezing wind.

Adrian knows. If not everything, most of it. Enough to guess.

He knows, and he doesn’t agree. He’s more worried about other things, thinking let all the hybrid bastards die. They don’t do any good after all. Just sit there and exude a disease that kills everybody else.

“Athena,” Felix’s voice is loud even to his own ears, a distinctive ringing following it as he speaks right over Adrian, “I need to steal you away real quick.”

Rizeal pauses, stares at him before giving a quick nod. Adrian looks up to the heavens for a second before waving his hand, “We can talk again later.”

There isn’t going to be a later.

Felix smiles, “Yeah, I’ll be around.”

He tugs at Rizeal and flashes the other man another grin; not that it matters, Adrian is already looking elsewhere, grabbing the nearest person and talking to them. Nothing about him says he’s worried, but yet another leaf falls into the lake.

Felix can’t even see the calm waters anymore, it’s more like a littered forest path than a sparkling lake.

Adrian is worried that they know, but it’s not possible. Nothing about it is possible because he was just so careful.

“We need to leave.” Felix repeats, making sure his voice stays soft and silent. Rizeal opens her mouth, glances around. Shuts it.

They rush out of crowd, dodging wayward elbows and clumsy feet on the hurry out. More people have gathered, nosy passersby curious on what the whole thing was about as if they haven’t heard the gossip. Some people join just to belong, to pretend that they are doing something even if they aren’t.

The old lady is still on the bench, staring down at her open phone. Felix pulls Rizeal to one of the trees drooping over into the streets, the benches mere feet away. Close enough to still be involved, far enough to not actually interact.

The lake ripples, more leaves fall. There’s shouting but Felix doesn’t bother to listen. It’s unimportant really, everything about it. It’s all unimportant compared to the fact that-

“You told him.”

“He doesn’t know anything about Andreas’. It’s fine.” Rizeal whispers back, shoulders hunching and face darkening into a scowl.

“Yes, but he knows.” Rizeal doesn’t understand, she’s still thinking of Adrian as the teen next door that helped her do her homework. No harm, no foul. Why would Adrian betray them after all?

Because there’s money to be had. Favors to be earned. The CME would be willing to bend for a price, and hybrids have always been a delectable price.

“I’ve been talking to Sam for years, so yes they know bits and pieces. They’ll help us, Adrian might complain but they will.”

“No, Athena, they won’t. And-“ Felix huffs, standing tall to peek around them. It’s not a conversation to have in public. None of this is, who knows who can listen in on them. It’s dangerous, especially with so many CME crawling around the park. “We need to leave.”

“Not yet.” Rizeal hisses, hand flying open before she clenches it shut and drags it closer to her torso. “I’m one of the speakers, I’m not just going to vanish. This could-“

Felix rounds on her, puffing up and glaring because, “No. We are leaving. It’s not worth it.” He peeks around them, at the carefully contained chaos. The lake ripples, bubbling as if the water was boiling underneath the leaves. “Trust me.” He entreats.

Rizeal hesitates, glances back at everything. They still have the letters upon letters dictating all the speeches and concerns on the protest. Rizeal agonized over her own speech for hours, staying up later than the other two on the journey and waking up even earlier. It’s her last chance before Felix fully takes the reins and turns their rag tag team into renegades.

She folds and-

The lake becomes a geyser, spitting out boiling hot water and scattering the leaves of misgivings. There’s a scream, the earth rumbles and splits. Toxic yells echo, thoughts become a whirlwind and it’s the dam but worse because it’s everyone.

No one knows what happens, a hand was- is raised.

The CME stand in the midst of chaos, the air shimmering with an unknown heat. There’s a tree shifting, growing and consuming everything. Roots reach out and then the earth is falling. The wind whistles and Felix tugs at Rizeal just as everything erupts

People shout,-

Felix gives another tug and Rizeal turns.

Someone cries out, this blood curdling scream-

The dam breaks by the gas station, fear this toxic little mix with the adrenaline already pulsing through Felix’s veins. He’s jittery, twitching as he drags Rizeal away. She’s stiff for a second, watching-

The earth bends again, this aching groan as it opens up-

And then she runs.

It’s a stampede within seconds. People running, screaming. The geyser spits out more steam, thoughts whirling by faster than Felix can catch them. Not that he wants to-

He can’t-

If he does, it mixes and mixes and-

The earth rumbles, even the grass reaching to trip them up. The sky burns in a way it shouldn’t in the end of January.

The CME are there, reaching, grasping. Dangerous-

Something happened, the geyser spits out another bout of steam.

Felix bolts, feet crushing the moving earth beneath him.

A shove, a stumble-

Rizeal trips over somebody and there’s yet another scream-

There’s a kid-

There’s magic-

The disease-

Everything-

The world crumbles around Felix, the ground ceasing to exist and he just falls, falls, falls-

Need to get out-

Can’t believe-

This is why they need to die-

Monsters, all of them-

It hurts, it hurts-

Where’s mother? I can’t-

Move, move, move-

Why is this happening?

Why-

Felix presses against-

Something. It’s something. Cold and hard, and it’s not the free air. Maybe it’s the ground, he can’t tell.

The geyser rumbles, a looming threat and Felix’s mind spins. Over and over, odd words echoing in and out and there’s footsteps and-

He shuts his eyes, breathes one large inhale-

Holds-

Where’s my-

I can’t find anything-

Stop shoving-

Why-

Where-

What-

Hel-

Pl-

N-

He releases, counts-

One, two, three, four, five-

Breathes. Doesn’t open his eyes, just focuses on the numbers and not the sounds, not the geyser, nothing but the cold thing he rest against and the numbers.

Over and over and over again.

The disease pulls at his mind like a taunt, echoing everything over and over again. Horribly loud.

The earth shakes.

It’s good, to notice the shaking earth.

A hand touches his. Soft, warm. Reaches up to rub at his shoulder. Over and over again, calm. Felix breathes and flickers his eyes open.

The world is chaos, people rush around him and he’s pressed against a wall. Rizeal stares down at him, eyes wide and worried and-

It’s happening again. Too much and he’s not used to it anymore and-

“I’m fine.” It’s a lie, but one they both need to hear. Rizeal gives a nod, even sparing a smile.

A kid runs past them, tugging on every adult they see and asking “Have you seen my mother?”

Why someone would bring a kid to a protest astounds Felix. The earth rumbles again, angry and tearing. The disease eats away at the world, an ecstatic joy that spreads far and wide.

The leech is probably jumping with joy.

“Let’s get back to the kiddo.” Felix suggests, shutting his eyes again and pressing his head back into the cool brick wall behind him.

Rizeal doesn’t even argue.