Felix dug his thumb into the crumpled wad, counting the thickness over and over again. His short fingers trembled as he smoothed out the wrinkles in a joyous mood. A strong urge to skip down the sidewalk briefly came, but was quickly discarded.
As he stood up, the cash, which was admittedly meager, went straight into the torn backpack, followed by a zip of the fastener.
He ran across the street, entirely ignoring the sudden blare of car horns and the sharp screech of tires.
Once inside the gas station, a giggle escaped his lips. Having to slap a hand over his mouth, it came as a surprise—the sheer thrill of money. It was the overwhelming variety of choices on the shelves that made him behave like a child.
But a glance around withered his wide grin into a frown. His explosive entrance had made a scene.
Whether reacting to his trembling frailty, his haggard clothes, or that unsettling snicker, the nearby customers stared back with a volatile mix of pity and disgust.
"Welcome—"
The cashier started a robotic greeting but stopped dead at the sight of Felix's face. Annoyance twisted his features.
"Oh. It's you. Ash! Your friend is here!"
The man turned away, deliberately ignoring Felix to count cigarette packs on the rack.
'Prick.' Felix rolled his eyes.
It was without surprise that after visiting this store frequently and never buying a thing, workers when noticing Felix were less than kind. There was only one who could stand him.
"Felix? I knew it!"
A blonde girl emerged from the stockroom door, waving enthusiastically. Although she had a large smile, there was a suspicious absence that troubled Felix.
"Hey Ash. It's great to finally see you."
"When I heard my colleagues. . uh, well, coworkers mention someone like you lounging around, I thought it was odd. Sometimes, I didn't think it was you. When I did, I thought you could be avoiding me."
As soon as she said this, she exclaimed emotionally:
"I still can't believe it's you. It's been so long. And now we have so much to talk about."
Surprisingly, even with how erratic she was acting, Felix had kept an unfazed expression. He remembered Ash as being bubbly and expressive, so he allowed a smile to appear. He was still happy to see how little she changed after these years.
"Maybe another time. I was hoping you could help me with something."
At his words, her composure cracked like a sudden hiccup before she instantly masked it. It might have passed as normal, if not for how fast she tried to cover it up.
"What is it?"
"As you can probably tell by my appearance, things haven't been great. That can be attributed to why I left Bellwether. As you can guess, I have a plan. But I need your help."
She may have tried to be subtle, but Ash had given some focus to some of Felix's appearance, especially the dark purple bruises under his eyes.
"I need you to help me steal some lottery tickets."
"W–what!"
A panicked glance shot over her shoulder, making sure no one was close enough to hear what had just been said.
"Relax, I wouldn't have said anything if people were around. We have a few minutes before the assistant manager from earlier comes to spy on us."
"How do you—"
Ash shook her head so quickly it blurred.
"You know what, nevermind that. What's going on? Why do you—"
"I can't explain. You understand, don't you? My reasons have to be reasonable and justifiable. That's what you always thought about them, right?"
She scrambled for words. Not long, she stammered out defensively:
"Well, yeah, but that was before. I mean, I was just a dumb kid following you. Now, seeing as I have a job and have taken the liberty of controlling my life, I've changed."
Seeing him stare at her with a deadpan expression made the blonde girl shrink. Aside from her rising anxiety, an effort at personal change was apparent—or at least, an effort to project that image.
A second attempt at reasoning was required. Memories of her decisions always pointed to an emotional foundation.
"I'm not asking you to rob the place blind, Ash. It's only a few tickets, which I've done the work and I've made it so it'll be remotely undetectable. Dare I say you've helped me out with worse."
"And I regret that."
As soon as the response came, Felix let out a whistle. In response, Ash looked around to see the assistant manager, the one who told her Felix was here, stopping by to count cigarettes.
That's when it had suddenly hit her.
And after a study of her face, a wave of irritation washed over Felix when noticing what was showing.
It wasn't the disappointment clearly in her eyes. Disappointment was normal—expectations were built to be abandoned. It was how she was slowly beginning to show hesitance, which was the true source of anger, pissing him off.
"Felix, are you sure. . 'that'. . Is the only way? Hear me out. I think I can help you. The store isn't hiring right now, but I think I can vouch for you."
"Nah. Although you've changed, I haven't. A job isn't for me."
"Oh my lord."
Once she reached into her pocket and took out some cash, Felix raised his hand to immediately reject.
Felix turned his back completely, shutting down the conversation before the conclusion. A normal, mundane job? The mere thought caused a bite to his lip. He might as well bore himself to death.
"Do you think I'll at least see you around?"
Hearing Ash, he had quickly nodded, "of course!"
"Well, that's good then! I suppose I should get back to work. See you sometime, Felix."
* * *
A loud sound rang out somewhere in the distance of the station, evidently, closer to the counter.
The assistant manager abandoned the register, marching down the aisle and found Felix on the floor on his hands and knees.
Beside him, a cardboard display lay completely upended, scattering small candy and food cans.
"Seriously? I swear, kid. You're only bad news!"
Hurling a barrage of insults while Felix scrambled around like an insect, gathering the mess, Ash stepped between them, her arms extended to shield Felix from the towering man.
"Hey! Back off!"
As the two coworkers shouted over one another, Felix stayed low. Using Ash's body as a blind spot, he reached straight behind the far edge of the counter. Only then did he quietly push himself up.
"Look, I just want to pay for my stuff and leave."
The cash came out of his pocket, thrown down alongside a few pieces of candy while a toxic glare locked onto the cashier.
"Isn't that what you want?"
The man grumbled a final curse, stomping back to his register to scan the items. Felix offered Ash a half-smile.
"Thanks."
Ash gave a weary nod, her eyes tracking him with intuitive suspicion.
"In case you're in trouble, don't be afraid to reach out. In fact, maybe the others might be more inclined with your current goals. Since you somehow learnt of my location, I don't think it'll be hard for a psychic like you to find out."
With a small laugh, Felix left, clutching a tiny plastic bag containing a roll of candies.
By the time his shoes hit the rough ground, Felix had started to snicker, which then evolved into sounding maniacal.
Reaching deep into his oversized pockets, his hand pulled out a small, thick book.
Weeks of stalking this specific gas station had yielded the staff patterns and other intricacies, which he then used to gather specific information.
The assistant manager was in line for a promotion, forcing the man to carry the regional transport and delivery schedules around.
It took many attempts that involved Felix embarrassing himself, but he finally inferred from the aggressive protection near the far edge of the counter that the hiding place had to be somewhere there.
The greatest opening was certainly the two employees screaming at each other, which Felix didn't particularly feel bothered about instigating.
A coffee candy went into his mouth. The bitter, synthetic sweetness hit his tongue, instantly killing his laughter. The taste of coffee was absolutely hateful. Bitter or not, he chewed anyway.
He paid for the candy, so he planned to finish it.
Focusing on the book, he opened up to the first page.
'Now let's see–'
A sudden, very loud rattle shattered the thought.
The next instant, his cheek pressed against freezing concrete, his body collapsing forward, completely out of control.
His strength vanished. So did the sensation in his fingers and toes. It was like he was being submerged in ice. Seriously, it was unimaginably cold.
When trying to remember what happened mere seconds ago, trying to learn how he ended up like this, he could only imagine something blinding. There may have also been a deafening roar and a muffled noise causing violent vibrations inside his head.
The ambient street noise grew distant, echoing as if trapped underwater.
Blackness crept in rapidly, swallowing the streetlights, the stolen logbook, and finally, Felix himself.