Chapter 68: Unwilling to bow (2)
Silence hung in the air.
Hex felt every eye land on him. It wasn't comfortable but he didn't let it appear on his face.
Some gazes were malicious but most were confused. And that was what Hex wished to see.
'Don't accept their stories like morons. Doubt it. Question it. Ask yourselves if you wish to see your loved ones act like puppets.'
He had seen the people being swayed by the stories. The idea of having their loved ones return was too alluring. By disrupting the momentum he hoped to give the crowd enough time to think further.
"Brother George, what do you mean? We are not forcing anyone," Herman chuckled. "I am surprised by your outbursts though. Don't you wish to see your son again?"
Although Herman's tone remained amiable, Hex wasn't fooled by it. He could see his clenched jaws and narrowed eyes.
"That's not it," Hex sighed, shaking his head. "We do want our son back...BUT not like a lifeless body. Gorge is a lively boy, sometimes too stubborn and willful, but always smiling and trying to help others...having him only as a puppet would be selfish of us."
Having experienced Sloan's father's emotional speech, Hex knew how to vary his tone and facial expressions. But it lacked the naturalness a real father had when talking about his son. Luckily, he wasn't alone.
Althea complemented his act brilliantly. Her teary eyes, trembling of her body, and occasional burying of her head into his chest with faint sobs, not only covered the flaws in Hex's performance but even increased the sympathy people felt for them.
Hex noticed the expressions on many faces did change from longing to pensive and even sadness.