Ice Cream | Changlix

four

Felix didn't know what to do.

Police sirens broke through the ringing in his ears. His hand felt sticky and his mind felt slow and his heart would not still; it rattled in his chest as his eyes remained pinned on the stranger. His skin was sickly white, pale, as blood seeped through the wound in his side.

"We...We need...to go." The stranger struggled to squeeze each word out, the excruciating pain stealing his voice. Felix opened his mouth to speak but he felt like his airways were shut.

What had just happened?

There were two corpses in the floor. The white tiles had red smeared and pooled across them. Someone was bleeding to death right in front of him.

Then two words came through his foggy mind, clear and true.

The hospital.

Felix couldn't let the stranger die; they had to move. Would the police take them to the hospital? They would sort everything out right? Would Felix get in trouble for the two dead people in the shop? What would his boss think? Would he lose his job?

"Felix." The word escaped the stranger's lips as no more than a plea.

"H--how do you know my name?" Felix asked, breath short. The stranger grit his teeth and pressed his hand harder onto his side.

"Name tag."

Oh. Felix felt stupid.

"We have—to—go." The stranger sounded desperate. "Please."

Felix didn't know what it was. The fact that the stranger had saved his life, or the fact that he was dying on the floor, the very essence of his life leaking out of him, or if it was the fact that the fluorescent lights made him look ten times worse that he was. Or maybe he actually did look that bad. Felix didn't know.

He clamored to his feet, his knees feeling weak like they had been replaced with bags of water, and bent over. The stranger made a tremendous effort to sit up, to meet Felix halfway, but his arm gave out from underneath him. Felix caught him before he could hit the floor, his arms feeling weak but holding strong.

The stranger grunted as Felix pulled him to his feet, his side smarting. Felix continuously muttered I'm sorry under his breath, feeling remorse for being the cause of this pain.

Blue and red lights could be seen flashing down the street.

"Let's go." His teeth were gritted. "Now."

Felix made his way over the two dead bodies, overwhelmed, but feeling a sense of urgency that was emanating from the stranger he had leaning on his left side. There was a back door, an exit that would lead into the alleyway, and they could make their way somewhere from there.

Felix didn't want to be associated with this. He couldn't be found here. It would ruin his life that had just now barely begun. He had finals to pass, family members to prove wrong. He could not let this tarnish his reputation.

With the stranger on his side, with blood covering his uniform, he walked with an uneven gait as he left the mess of a parlor behind, sirens still echoing loudly through the area.

~~

There was only one problem Felix faced as he stumbled through dark alleyways.

He had no idea where he was going.

The stranger was no help; he had lost consciousness a while back. Even Felix was no help to himself because he could not get his thoughts sorted. It was a mess. He wanted to go back to the dorm and sleep and pretend like this was all some bad dream.