The Shrink Program

Chapter 17

-A week earlier-

"Think. What would James Bond do?" I whispered to myself, peering over the high fence.

"When faced with the mission of infiltrating a heavily guarded evil lair..." Well, more like a cosy suburban home, guarded by really disturbing garden gnomes. "....Walking into what is almost definitely a trap..."

Go through the front entrance. Brilliant plan.

As silently as possible, I open the gate and creep into the front yard, using what little moonlight there was available to navigate.

Just act natural, we don't want anyone to think that the teenaged girl sneaking around in the middle of the night might actually be up to something...

I sagged momentarily in defeat.

I'm screwed. So screwed.

As I continued forward, I couldn't help but mumble to myself.

"Geez, its times like these that I wish that I had actually watched a James Bond movie before... Could really use some sort of reference right now..."

A quiet, skittering noise came from my left.

Slowly, calmly, I took in a deep breath.

Time to do what I came here for.

Silent and swift as a ninja of death, or so I like to think, I threw myself towards the noise, hands reaching blindly in the dim light.

Only to grab a body that, judging from its size and the screeching meowing noise it created, was most definitely not the bad guy I was looking for.

Instead of seizing what I had initially thought would be someone crouching in the shadows, my hands came up with an arm full of cat.

Very angry cat.

Too late, I realised my mistake, and for a second, we found ourselves balancing on the knifes edge. We both knew that if anything so much as moved, I was going to end up torn to shreds. The cat growled lowly, its tail twitching dangerously as it glared at me.

Damn it. Just how many innocent infants did I drown in my past life to deserve this?

"Ah... I know that this doesn't look good... " I pleaded nervously. "But I swear I'm not a... you know..."

Oh well, this ball of fluff is going to tare me a new one, either way, I might as well deserve it.

"... Cat burglar." I gulped, sealing my fate.

If none of the neighbours had noticed my presence at the house yet... the sound of a screaming teenaged girl tripping over every gnome, bush and flower in the garden in her attempt to wrestle the feline ball of fury from her face might have given them some clue.

When the dust settled, I lay defeated, face pressed into the cold grass and my hands over my head to protect myself. As soon as I stopped struggling, the cat decided to remove its claws from my arm. It jumped away from me with a disgusted yowl.

Miserably lifting my head, I watched on as, with a peeved hiss, the cat ran off towards the house.

.... How did I manage to get out of that alive?

At this point, I was just contemplating throwing in the towel and crawling back home... when I saw the cat enter the house.

Through the door, which stood slightly open.

Now, I may not be Sherlock, but a front door being left open in the middle of the night is just a tiny bit too obvious.

"They have to be in there," I whispered to myself, ignoring the pain of the scratches as I shoved myself to my feet.
Before I could even begin to think better of it, I was at the door, pressing it slowly open. Peeking in, I saw nothing but a harmless, innocent hallway.

This is soooo a trap.

Even so, turning back now was not an option.

Swallowing my dread, I pushed the door fully open and stepped past the frame. As I crept down the dark, silent hallway, I couldn't help feeling a little nervous.

Knowing my luck, the house is probably haunted...

After a few steps, I stood framed in an archway, and with a deep wary breath, I turned my head to peer into the room beyond.

If this was a movie, this would be the moment lighting would strike, lighting up the room and its occupants.

Instead, I found myself facing five shadowy silhouettes.

My heart stuttered in my chest. Like it does when you go walking about your house in the middle of the night and catch a glimpse of something human-shaped in the dark. You usually realise it's just a strange shadow, and your heart settles, and you laugh at yourself.

The way my heart began to race, and the sudden urge to scream was what it must feel like to come face to face with a stranger sneaking around your home.

Then again, I was the person actually breaking into this house, so I suppose it would be kind of redundant to freak out and call the police right now.

Everyone stood still, making no move as I watched them silently. Waiting for me to make the first move.

Swallowing my initial fear, I took a step towards the room.

"I got your message." I began, my voice deceptively calm. Saying the words brought with them the memory of why I had come here. Why I couldn't afford to screw this up.

Gritting my teeth, I had to resist the urge to throw myself at them, to beat them all to a pulp and get the answer I wanted.

"Where is...." I started, taking another aggressive step forward only to freeze when the room before me exploded into blinding light.

Expecting an attack, I backed away instantly. Blinking my eyes rapidly as I waited for my eyes to adjust. Nothing came, and I felt the tension flee my body with shock as I came face to face with the devastation of the room before me.

Seriously, either these guys just had the greatest bachelorette party ever, likely involving a rhino and a packet of skittles, or they'd figured out how to set off a mini atomic bomb in the living room.

Tearing my gaze away from the devastation, I stared at the people before me, trying to make the connection. The normal, human-looking teenagers before me should not be able to cause this level of destruction. Not without a bulldozer any way.

I opened my mouth... well, rather I reopened my mouth after gaping at them like a drowning fish, and was just about to ask just what they'd done... and how they had managed to do it... when something chose that moment to bludgeon me in the back of the head.

By the time I realised that I had been knocked out, I was waking up crushed under a bookcase, with an exasperated looking police officer standing over me, being yelled at by a man who was obviously the homeowner.

Maddison Tramph, accused of breaking and entering the home of Greg Hudson and vandalising the teacher's living room. Was unable to flee the crime scene after being knocked out by a fallen bookcase. Conviction?

Guilty.