Menta-Life (Book 1)

Chapter 17: In The Dark

Surprisingly, the guests aren't too alarmed about being drenched in darkness. They're not having a great time; however, they're not running each other over in a panic to leave either. Just as Gene is heading for the door, the lights go out. He is among a sea of strangers, which seems like a move that I would use to my advantage.

Feegle loudly pledges to the guests, "It's alright, everyone. My MechCi is working to get the power back on immediately. I do apologize for any inconvenience."

I catch a glimpse of something moving to my right. I continue toward the stairs, then catch a glimpse again of someone quickly moving through the crowd ahead of me. I start following after the person, trying to avoid touching anyone so they won't panic and get everyone's attention. The crook in all-black reaches the stairs before I do, then quickly starts skipping stairs to get to the top. As the crook gets halfway up, I reach the stairs and begin following further.

The person's clothes are form-fitting like stealth gear. Is this person a thief? With the physique, I can tell it's a man, although I'm not certain because of the mouthless black mask hiding the face. The crook reaches the top of the stairs then crouches down and quickly speeds along the railing. I follow the same path and do the same maneuver to remain unnoticed.

The crook stops by the entry to Feegle's library, which is the door at the end of the hall just past his bedroom. I slow down and watch as the crook overlooks the party. He reaches back and pulls out a pulser pistol, then quickly aims it down at the guests. I thought this guy was actually some kind of thief, but he's an assassin. I don't know who he's aiming for, nevertheless I've got to stop him.

I stand as I kick my heels off and run over to him. I use both of my hands to lift his hands up toward the ceiling. We start silently fighting for control of the weapon. He uses his left knee to hit me in the rib. It hurts badly in this tight dress, but I tough it out as I take advantage of his imbalance. I swing us around, away from the railing, and towards the library door.

The lights turn back on and the guests start clapping as we crash through the door and fall to the floor. The door hits the wall hard enough to slam shut again. The pistol slides over toward the desk where Feegle does his reading. The desk is in the center of the room with a globe of the old world next to it. The circular room's walls are flooded with books.

The assassin and I both look at the pistol as it slides underneath the long wooden table. It then continues past the two chairs and underneath the desk. The assassin gets up and runs toward the desk. I quickly get up and follow behind him, reaching out for his shirt. Before he reaches the long wooden table, I get a hold on his shirt, then yank it back to stop him.

I try to yank back hard enough to make him fall backwards, but he stops himself by holding his stance forward. He turns around with a right backhand swing. I duck down as his hand swings over me, then rise up with a right uppercut. He shifts his head away from my attack as he continues his turn and hooks his left arm over my right shoulder, trapping my shoulder in front of his.

He moves over directly to my right, then pushes his left shoulder out into mine. He throws his right hand around and punches me in the face. I stumble back, but he holds me up with his shoulder. He comes back around for another swing. I tuck my head and let his arm swing past me. I close him in between my arms, then use my left foot to trip him, face first, onto the wooden coffee table.

He rolls onto his right side as I raise my left foot up to stomp on him. I bring my foot down, but he moves to the left onto his back, making me barely miss by an inch. He wraps his right arm around my ankle and I raise myself up on the table, dropping my right knee onto his chest. He gasps for air as I grab the top of his head and yank his mask off. It is one of the two men that Geilium was with during the party.