Act Natural

Ch. 6 - That Was Quick

***

Exuvius immediately hopped out of his seat and grabbed my arm. This is like... the 4th time we've touched each other for no particular reason. Nice. He dragged me off to the exit hastily as I stared at the Calendar. For some reason, I couldn't take my eyes off the guy. There was something off with his smirk. Smirks are not to be trusted. I broke out of my trance as soon as we stepped back out into the sunlit streets.

"Oi!" Exuvius nudged my shoulder as we proceeded to run away. "I don't understand the weight of the situation, but that was a bad guy right?!" He panted.

"DUH!! PICK UP YOUR a*s AND RUN."

Now, I don't think I've mentioned this, but I've got pretty high stamina (Emphasis on "pretty"). My proof includes running a marathon twice and never get tired and holding my breath long enough to give someone a good French kiss.

Running's the main thing I'm good at. I've been doing it for years; metaphorically and literally. It's like nature to me. And, to be honest, it's pretty fun. The downside is it makes me feel like a rabbit getting hunted for sport.

Speaking of hunt, the Calendar had started chasing us, thinking that 5 seconds was a good enough head start. And- oh look! He brought friends! Absolute. Bastards.

With three Calendars on our tail, we sprinted across the town, occasionally bumping into fruit stands (sorry!) and random bystanders (sorry!). We passed countless buildings that towered over us like giants. I don't know how long we've been going, but by the time I noticed all 5 of us were slowing down, the sky was a picturesque splash of pink, orange, and purple with rolls of clouds scattered along with it. We were somewhere in town where there were little to no people. Buildings towered over us like walls covering out view of the rest of the world. 

By now, the Calendars were panting and resting themselves on their knees. "Time out, time out..." One of them wheezed, wiping a bead of sweat off their cheek and making a 'T' with his hands. I, for one, was tired. Very tired. My marathon running skills have apparently gotten rusty. I was in the same pose as the guy was. Exuvius stands a few feet ahead of me, breathing heavily. I glared at the guy who said "time out".

"You're the ones that chased us, dipshit," I panted, picking up a dry leaf from the ground and throwing it as hard as I could at the Calendar. To my surprise, it didn't do much, and halfway through, it fell back to the earth. Exuvius gave me a look that said "I swear to God, you're an i***t" and face-palmed. The Calendar gave me a scowl and rummaged through his coat pockets for a g*n. It wasn't an ordinary g*n. Just like the handcuffs from a few chapters ago, they were 'electric'. Those handcuffs bound me with electricity, while the g*n could shoot... well... bolts of electricity. "Blacke, you're a criminal."

"Surprisingly."

"You're coming with us."

I laughed, flipping them the bird. "No, thanks?"

The Calendar next to him raised his g*n too. "Don't resist, you goddamn asshole. Your messing with time gave me thrice as much paperwork that I had to do! Jesus!"

"Thrice is a lot," I said.

"I know, right?!"

"Shut up. "Smirk Guy snapped, taking out his g*n and firing somewhere near my feet. I jumped back, watching the dry leaf disintegrate into nothing.

"We'll take you to HQ peacefully and conscious if you just COOPERATE."

I felt The Pen in my pocket vibrate like a phone getting plugged into its charger. Great timing!

Whoever puts those rules in the handbook is a freaking genius.

"Eat my entire a*s!" I yelled, pulling The Pen from my pocket. As I did, the Calendar's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "SAYONARA OR WHATEVER," "WAIT-!"

I clicked the pen three times in a row. It worked the same way that Beetlejuice did. Say his name three times, and he'll appear and do some green n' black wacky demon ghost-man voodoo magic. In the case of The Pen, if you click it three times, it can actually stop time.

Rule #14 – The Pen will gradually run out of energy, but once it is charged fully, you can either 1) time travel twice or 2) stop time temporarily for a maximum of 15 minutes

Note: Stopping time will reduce its energy back to 0%, while time traveling takes it back to 50%

I winced as a mild headache came over me. The atmosphere rippled like a tub of stagnant water as Smirk Guy tried to sprint towards me. Right before he could grab my face, he stops in his tracks. His arm had outstretched towards me with his fingers spread to grasp my face. Not the kind of grasp that was 'loving'. It was anything but loving. More like threatening. But he was stuck there like all his limbs were super-glued. For a whole 15 minutes, he, the Calendars, and the rest of the world are statues. I refrain from taking out a marker and drawing a mustache on his face.

That was quick.

I enjoyed the silence for a few seconds before I heard someone clear their throat behind me. I jump in shock and point my tiny blade at whoever it was. It was Exuvius.

"Um... am I not supposed to be moving?" He asks, gesturing to a bird flying above us. Well, was flying above us. At the moment, it was just there, floating mid-air. I sigh and grab his arm, darting away back into town. "Yes, but we can't talk now!" I yelled, talking as fast as I can. "The thing I just did- stopping time- only goes on for 15 minutes. We have 15 minutes to beat them at hide-n-seek."

"Hide-n-seek?"

"Yes, and it's complicated, okay, just-"

"Complicated."

I pulled him into an alley between two buildings, narrowly avoiding a couple and their children who, just like the Calendars, were as still as statues. The smile that danced on the child's lips had the same amount of creepiness as a vintage baby doll. "Stop repeating whatever I say!" I said, grabbing a couple of crates and stacking them to make a small wall to hide behind. Not very creative, but effective.

Exuvius was silent again, staring at me and waiting for an answer.

"Okay, yes, it's complicated, but I've gotta ask you why you're..." I made wild hand gestures to him and his surprisingly functional body. That wasn't supposed to do that. "Moving."

"Uh... I'm human. I think."

"No, not that, stupid. Notice how everything but us is moving. I'm supposed to be the only one moving."

He raised an eyebrow. He puts the third crate on top of the pile I made, then picking up two more to put on his side. "I don't know anything about that, but I can't say I'm surprised." His voice was still stoic and emotionless as if this has happened to him a lot.

"I'm immortal, my wounds heal fast, and I just found out that you, of all people, were stopping time whenever the hell you want. Learning new things every century, I suppose."

I blinked. "You know when I stop time?"

"Sort of. It's been like that for a while. I got used to it, but it gets annoying sometimes."

I c***k a small smile, taking a seat behind the crate pile. My lips were starting to roughen and c***k. "Sorry 'bout that. How's it feel?"

He shrugged, taking a seat across from me behind his pile of crates. "The first time it happened, I was about to trip in the middle of the street, so it saved me from embarrassment. It's... very freaky, but useful."

"Aww, glad to be of help."

The Pen vibrated in my pocket a second time as our surroundings slowly resumed. The noisiness of the streets filled my eardrums. Footsteps against brick roads clacked and stomped away from the alley we stayed in. The birds that were previously hovering over us continued flying to their destinations. I flinched as the group of Calendars passed the alley we were in.

I exhaled heavily as they ran away from sight. "We're safe for now, but we've gotta stay for a while to avoid them."

"So... What are they going to do to us when they find us? What are they going to do to you?"

"They'll..." I paused, looking out at the entrance of the alley cautiously. "Kill me. Probably. Hopefully not. I've been caught before and all they did was keep me in a cell while they figured out how The Pen worked. I'm guessing this time, they'll erase my memories or anything like that."

"Any clue on why they'll do that?"

I turn my head to him and look at him as if he'd just told me a really bad joke. "That's a secret."

"Do you want to trade an answer for an answer?"

"I'm rich. I don't trade. I buy." I sassed, prodding a finger at his chest.

"Why don't you buy a personality then?"

"Compelling, but no thanks. I'm curious about your immortality, but I'll ask you about that later. It's so stuffy her—"

"Immortality? Who's immortal?" A kid's voice asked from... above us?

Exuvius and I jumped at the sound and looked up. There was, indeed, a kid. His face and clothing were caked with dirt, and he was giving us a bright, innocent smile that any of my aunts would have loved gushing over. His chestnut hair pointed in different directions, giving the impression that he hasn't brushed it in a long, long while. Eyes like polished emeralds sat in his eye sockets, looking down on us from the balcony he was sitting on. The boy looked to be about 13 or 14. He was probably younger, but that was the least of my worries at the moment.

"Hey, hey!! I asked a question, mister!" He cooed loudly, swinging his legs back and forth. "You said 'im-mur-talty' right?!" He mimicked my accent, standing up and jumping down from the balcony. If I didn't care so much about little children, I would've caught him and slammed his head on the brick wall for being so loud. But ohhh, no. This little offspring of pandemonium would cause too much of a ruckus if I let the ground hurt his poor soul. Screaming and hurt children are frowned upon in this society. I settled for catching him bridal style with my hands under his knees and back.

I gave the little guy a glare. "What do you want, kid?"

"Nothing. Just got curious. You're hiding from someone, right?!" He piped, jumping out of my arms. "Ye—"

"Cause I know a place where you can hide!" Goddammit. Interrupting me AND loud? Annoying little s**t.

I brought a finger to my lips. "Please lower your voice-"

"You're hiding right?"

"... Yes."

He walked over to Exuvius and grabbed his arm as a lost child would to their mother. And honestly? They really looked like a lost kid and their mother. "Let's go then! Right over there, there's a passageway where I came from."

"Okay, hold up, why are you hel-"

"Sssh!" The kid shushed, pulling a confused Exuvius to an arrangement of beer barrels. "You look strong! Can you push these?"

"Um... sure." Exuvius hesitated, but grabbed two barrels and let them roll away. Behind the remaining barrels was a wide, gaping tunnel enough to fit me if I got on my knees and crawled. It was like those secret tunnels I encounter often in medieval palaces. Except it was the 18th century and this dusty hole was anything but a palace.

"Get in! Oh, by the way, I'm George," 'George' respectfully bowed his head and pushed Exuvius to his knees. He grunted in response.

"Hey—"

What the hell is happening.

"Look, little guy, I'm-"

"Little?! I'm 16!!"

"Shut up. We don't know you, you don't know us, how do you know we're being hunted?"

"A hunch!" The kid exclaimed, pushing me to the tunnel. "In!"

"But—"

"Hurry!" George interrupted me, pushing my butt further in and getting into the tunnel himself. "The Calendars were just around the corner."