Menta-Life (Book 1)

Chapter 7: Welcome Home

Walking over to my clothes, I quickly scan the room to make sure no one is lingering around. Yes, I'm out of prison, but I still don't know who cut the power so I can break free or why. Someone out there wants to find me and it's unlikely for good intentions. I start putting on the tight black faded-at-the-knee jeans that fit perfectly to my hips, the tight black tank top, the dark yet obvious green leather cropped jacket, and the black knee-high boots. The boots are a special design made to fit my "running" habits, not for fashion.

I notice the last things left on the bed are a pair of fingerless leather gloves and an Econ phone. An Econ is a mobile phone made for the ear. The name stands for Ear Connect. It rests inside of someone's ear like an earplug and it can get access to anything by tapping it, then requesting. These will definitely be a necessity for climbing and keeping up with things around the city. I put the gloves and the earpiece on, then check myself out in the mirror on the wall.

My jacket is cropped a little bit higher than the tank top and has three-quarter sleeves; the way I like it. Now that I'm no longer looking like a battered prisoner, it is time to go about the city and pay off my false debt to Trex. I exit the bedroom. Dayio is standing at the railing looking over the party, so I walk over and join him.

Dayio asks, without looking at me, "Do you ever wish you could be like them?"

I answer, "Not at all. They do the same things year round. I bet most of them don't even like each other. Let's go."

I immediately start walking right toward the stairs and Dayio follows behind me as we make our way down to Feegle. As we approach him from behind, he is having a laugh with some of his guests; probably about another person in attendance tonight. No, Feegle isn't the type for that. He loves this new world and everyone in it.

I stop and say to Feegle, "We're taking off."

He passes a smile with his reply, "Okay, dear, and do try not to stay absent for so long again."

With a conclusive comeback, I walk away. "Prison will do that to you."

His guests begin expressing subtle amusement as Dayio and I walk away. I guess they think I'm joking, but Feegle doesn't because I don't hear his laugh echoing behind me until he starts faking a laugh with them. We make our way through the guests, passing the basement door, toward the bakery section. The cooks are all lined up on the right side of the door to the shop. We enter the door to see the shop is only a few feet bigger than my cell was. Feegle's MechCi is behind the counter and display, watching the store.

It turns to us and articulates, "I hope you have enjoyed the festivity. Have a great night, citizens. Goodbye."

We ignore the mech and exit to the street as I ask Dayio, "Where's the courier meant to meet with the buyer?"

Dayio answers, "Not too far from here. Let's go."

He starts walking to the left and I follow behind him. The city streets are all lit with white street lights. They're not bright enough to blind someone, nevertheless they are very tall. I'm about five-eight, so take about eleven of me from head to toe and we got a street pole tall enough to illuminate half of a city block. The streets are packed full of friendly city folk, all properly dressed in their colorful robes. Nothing ever changes here in this city, except for the people. The rich get richer and the poor continue to work for them to make a decent living.

I've been smuggling since I was sixteen. The thing that made me a great smuggler back then was that no one ever saw me coming. Nobody in their right mind would suspect a teen with a backpack to be transporting packages through the city for people.

I didn't do it much when I was younger because all of my foster parents expected me inside by curfew and out for school. Once they sent me back to the group home, there was zero smuggling for me. Not many people have packages they want delivered from door to door. The big prizes are in city to city smuggling. When I turned seventeen, I was of legal age to be on my own.