Lex had seen the hell of battle, but this was a kind of anarchy he had never beheld. If only things had ended with one kid crying and one vomiting, it would not have been so bad. But, as if inspired by the first child, every kid in the vicinity started crying. Some kids who were still outside, and had not yet entered the tavern, also began to cry.
But the crying was independent of running, as they continued to do both actions separately. Even the kids who vomited started crying and running, leaving tracks behind him.
"George, make them stop," yelled a woman from outside.
"I'm trying," responded the man who had been talking to Lex. But between checking up on one kid's wound and tapping another on the back, trying to calm them down, he was incapable of reaching the one, leaving a trail across the hall.
The teenagers ran after that one kid, but he seemed adept at dodging, and navigated the hall like a battlefield, narrowly avoiding capture.
