Afterburner (SS Mini-Series)

Episode 4-2: Love Love

    His tongue flaps around eagerly as his teeth close the distance. I try to push his face away, but my fingers get cut when they slide on his teeth by mistake. I can't move! I can't get away. His grip is so firm, it won't let me move my head.

    "No, please!"

    Chomp!

    My eye—lash! He missed just barely, my eyelash is pulled out with a stinging pain.

    "Help! Somebody! This man is molesting me!" I shout at the passing people.

    Faces in the crowd turn sour and disgusted. They all shout for Clyde to let me go, hopping over the little fence that separates the public sidewalk from the cafe's perimeter. Clyde seems to notice them, but he chooses to continue to hold me hostage. The people are intimidated by his size, but in numbers, they confidently force his hands off of me and let me run away.

    "What's wrong with you?"
    "No means no!"
    "Get the cops over here!"
    "How could you treat someone like that?"
    "You were hurting him, you dumb moron!"
    "Fuckin' gross behavior, bro!"

    They continue to tell him off, and he just stands there with a lost look on his face taking it. I hop the fence and start speed walking in the same direction Love Love went. Don't worry, Clyde, I know you didn't mean it. I'll catch that creep and force him to remove his curse from your mind.

    Blending into the crowd makes the search harder, not easier. I can't see over the heads of most people. I'm not complaining about my short stature, but what I wouldn't give to be a few inches taller right now. Just look for the purple hat. That's not easy to miss. I jump between steps, peering over heads, and noticing a spec of purple further down the sidewalk. The bastard didn't even bother running. Doesn't want to get sweaty in his fancy outfit.

    I try pushing my way ahead of the dense foot traffic, but there's no way I'm going to beat the fortitude of your average big-city resident.

    "Sweetheart!?"

    Oh no.

    "Please wait for me! Raise your hand! I can't see you! You're so small! We should really stick together if we're going to make progress on this case!"

    Clyde's wandering eyes peer over the top of the rest of the crowd. They let him go already? It feels like I'm on a conveyer belt staying in the same place while Clyde catches up, and Love Love gets away.

    He was willing to gouge my eye out in the name of love, I don't want to find out what else he'll do when he catches me. Is this why Victoria's casket was closed? What happened to her body? How did she die? It must've been so gruesome that we couldn't even dare a peek.

    If I jump another time to check on Love Love's direction, Clyde will definitely see me and pursue relentlessly. If I don't, I'm going to lose him and I'll never be able to get Clyde's mind back. The crowd keeps bumping me left and right, forward and back, it's infuriating.

    There's no chance for mistakes here, my instinct is telling me Love Love is probably changing directions right now. If I miss it now, I'll never find him in time before Clyde butchers me like a feral in the woods. I have to jump now!

    I jump. There he is! He's turning off to the left!

    "There you are, my cute foxy!"

    Shit! I'm spotted. I can see him pushing passed the people in front of him like they weigh nothing. All the angry shouts do nothing to stop him, he just acts like he doesn't hear them. I try to push passed too, but I can't. It's like trying to break through a brick wall without a gadget.