Avoidance
Haha! I have figured me out. (to a point) If I promise to write something, something gets written. Ergo, if I make a promise every night to write something, I'll actually get somewhere with this story.
How's everyone else doing? Anyone need encouragement? Brainstormed ideas? A cookie?
Main Street was just how she left it. Following his directions she came to the big building he’d described. It was a cement building that reminded her more of a courthouse than a hotel. It was a busy place, it looked like there was a formal party going on. Now and then a black car would pull up and a bellboy would help out a young lady in an evening dress. Gen figured the hotel part was the upper levels where all the windows were at. A couple of windows were lighted up but most of them were dark. Probably everybody in the hotel was there for the main party. Gen stuck to the shadows as she approached the building from the side. She walked as nonchalantly as she could on the sidewalk leading up to the main doors. Another bellboy was helping someone out of their car. Gen ducked into the alley quickly before he turned in her direction. She’d seen the sign outside but had only caught the words “Society” and “Annual”, nothing too surprising there. Gen peeked slowly around the corner, hearing the laughter and clink of glasses as the doors opened and shut behind another patron. The bellboy was standing at attention at the doors again.
This was probably going to be too fancy a place for her to stay unnoticed, Gen thought to herself. She still didn’t have any money to speak of and she wasn’t exactly dressed for dancing. Gen looked down at her dark trench coat and wondered if girls wore long coats in this time period. She looked up, thinking fleetingly about scaling the wall into an empty room.
Someone was already climbing the wall. Gen quickly flattened herself against the wall as quietly as she could before risking a look upwards again. She hadn’t imagined it, there was a dark figure making their way up the side of the hotel. A burglar, Gen thought immediately. Maybe come to sneak into the rooms while the guests were away at the party. But something wasn’t quite right. They were scaling the wall quite easily but Gen couldn’t see any ropes or ladder or even a fire escape on this side of the building. Nothing to climb on but the smooth cement and an occasional ledge or two. This meant either he was an extremely skilled cat burglar or...
Gen absorbed her coat into herself, knowing full well what came after the “or” in that sentence. He was too suspicious to be where he was and that was her cue. Gen liqueified her hands and feet just as the figure reached the window he was aiming for. It was a lighted window on the top floor, four stories up. It took a second for her to figure out how he had gotten up there in the first place but found that there were reinforced bars in the cement that were more than easy to grab onto. That is, easy if you could phase through cement. Gen climbed as quietly as she could, hoping that she wasn’t going to be too late. As she neared the lighted window ledge, she could hear two voices inside.
“...doing here?” said one man’s voice.
“Are you Dr. Joseph Adam Carlton?” the other voice said in a low monotone.
“I really don’t know what business it is of yours. How did you get in here? We’re four floors up.”
“Are you Dr. Joseph Adam Carlton?”
There was a small pause. Gen was able to reach the window now and peeked over the sill cautiously. Inside was a well furnished hotel room, one bed with awful brown flower wallpaper, a bookshelf and a writing desk. A middle aged man, somewhere between 35 and 40, was getting up from the chair at the writing desk. The man standing in the middle of the room was still a black figure even though he was now in the light. He was dressed all in black but Gen couldn’t make out any other details about him from her side of the lace curtain covering the window. She levered herself up a little higher, trying to see what was going on.
The man being questioned took off his glasses, a confused look on his face. “Yes, that’s me. What’s all this about?”
“I have a message for you,” the intruder said.
Gen saw a quick movement and nearly fell off the window as she saw the man, Dr. Joseph Carlton, collapse to the floor in front of the dark figure. Gen pulled aside the lace curtain as the intruder turned towards the window at the sound. One look was all Gen needed. Same black outfit, black belt, and eyes devoid of any emotion. Quatrix, Gen thought frantically to herself.
“Quatrix!” she called out at him as she launched herself into the room at him. The yell caught the other Quatrix off guard for a second, which was what Gen was hoping for. She hit him low and hard, throwing him back against the desk with a crash. The desk cracked and broke beneath them. Gen jumped back quickly, avoiding being hit with an arm as the other Quatrix was trying to get his feet back under him. He recovered a bit quicker than Gen had wanted. He followed up his punch with a piece of wood from the desk. Gen flipped backwards, just barely missing getting knocked cold. As her hands hit the floor mid-flip, her feet came up, kicking towards her opponent’s face. He managed to avoid it by a fraction of a second.
Gen’s feet hit the floor, her fists up in a defensive position and her pulse racing. The Quatrix snapped the wood in his hands. He reared back suddenly, sending the sharpest piece straight for Gen’s heart like a lance. Gen didn’t have time to focus, she phased her whole body to silvery black and the wood flew harmlessly through her and out the window behind her. Gen heard it splinter against the building across the way. She didn’t have time to think about how close that had been. Her opponent was flying at her again, feet first. She sidestepped him, rolling across the bed to the other side. He hit the wall with both feet, running along the wall without falling. Gen backed up fast and found the desk chair behind her. She brought it up just as he reached her and she smashed down as hard as she could.
He must have been ready for it because he passed right through it without the chair touching him. But in phasing his body, his aim was messed up and he missed Gen entirely, smashing into the broken desk again. Gen tossed aside the chair and grabbed the unconscious doctor’s legs, pulling him along the rug and away from the Quatrix. She had to protect him at all costs. She bent quickly to feel along his neck. She found a good pulse and breathed a silent thank you.
The second Quatrix was coming at her again, faster than she was ready for. Gen ducked a swing for her head but his other hand hit her middle with a karate chop that knocked the wind out of her. Gen charged at him in a football tackle but he grabbed her and tossed her across the room with great force. Her back slammed into the bookcase and she fell painfully to her knees. Shake it off, she told herself, getting up on one knee and trying to catch her breath at the same time. She was braced for another attack but a noise behind her caught her attention first. Gen tried to turn around but it was too late. The tall heavy bookcase, knocked free of the wall screws, came crashing down on top of her.
The second Quatrix stood there looking at the fallen bookcase for a few seconds as if waiting for something to happen. When nothing moved, he stooped to pick up the man he had been programmed to find. But there were footsteps running towards the room. All of that noise had not gone unnoticed. The figure left the unconscious doctor behind and leapt out of the window just as the door was flung open.
A woman in a white evening gown screamed at the sight inside while people started crowding in the doorway. On the carpet lay Dr. Carlton, face down. A single hand was sticking out from amidst the crushed books underneath the toppled bookcase.
“Somebody call the police!”
to be continued...
How's everyone else doing? Anyone need encouragement? Brainstormed ideas? A cookie?
Main Street was just how she left it. Following his directions she came to the big building he’d described. It was a cement building that reminded her more of a courthouse than a hotel. It was a busy place, it looked like there was a formal party going on. Now and then a black car would pull up and a bellboy would help out a young lady in an evening dress. Gen figured the hotel part was the upper levels where all the windows were at. A couple of windows were lighted up but most of them were dark. Probably everybody in the hotel was there for the main party. Gen stuck to the shadows as she approached the building from the side. She walked as nonchalantly as she could on the sidewalk leading up to the main doors. Another bellboy was helping someone out of their car. Gen ducked into the alley quickly before he turned in her direction. She’d seen the sign outside but had only caught the words “Society” and “Annual”, nothing too surprising there. Gen peeked slowly around the corner, hearing the laughter and clink of glasses as the doors opened and shut behind another patron. The bellboy was standing at attention at the doors again.
This was probably going to be too fancy a place for her to stay unnoticed, Gen thought to herself. She still didn’t have any money to speak of and she wasn’t exactly dressed for dancing. Gen looked down at her dark trench coat and wondered if girls wore long coats in this time period. She looked up, thinking fleetingly about scaling the wall into an empty room.
Someone was already climbing the wall. Gen quickly flattened herself against the wall as quietly as she could before risking a look upwards again. She hadn’t imagined it, there was a dark figure making their way up the side of the hotel. A burglar, Gen thought immediately. Maybe come to sneak into the rooms while the guests were away at the party. But something wasn’t quite right. They were scaling the wall quite easily but Gen couldn’t see any ropes or ladder or even a fire escape on this side of the building. Nothing to climb on but the smooth cement and an occasional ledge or two. This meant either he was an extremely skilled cat burglar or...
Gen absorbed her coat into herself, knowing full well what came after the “or” in that sentence. He was too suspicious to be where he was and that was her cue. Gen liqueified her hands and feet just as the figure reached the window he was aiming for. It was a lighted window on the top floor, four stories up. It took a second for her to figure out how he had gotten up there in the first place but found that there were reinforced bars in the cement that were more than easy to grab onto. That is, easy if you could phase through cement. Gen climbed as quietly as she could, hoping that she wasn’t going to be too late. As she neared the lighted window ledge, she could hear two voices inside.
“...doing here?” said one man’s voice.
“Are you Dr. Joseph Adam Carlton?” the other voice said in a low monotone.
“I really don’t know what business it is of yours. How did you get in here? We’re four floors up.”
“Are you Dr. Joseph Adam Carlton?”
There was a small pause. Gen was able to reach the window now and peeked over the sill cautiously. Inside was a well furnished hotel room, one bed with awful brown flower wallpaper, a bookshelf and a writing desk. A middle aged man, somewhere between 35 and 40, was getting up from the chair at the writing desk. The man standing in the middle of the room was still a black figure even though he was now in the light. He was dressed all in black but Gen couldn’t make out any other details about him from her side of the lace curtain covering the window. She levered herself up a little higher, trying to see what was going on.
The man being questioned took off his glasses, a confused look on his face. “Yes, that’s me. What’s all this about?”
“I have a message for you,” the intruder said.
Gen saw a quick movement and nearly fell off the window as she saw the man, Dr. Joseph Carlton, collapse to the floor in front of the dark figure. Gen pulled aside the lace curtain as the intruder turned towards the window at the sound. One look was all Gen needed. Same black outfit, black belt, and eyes devoid of any emotion. Quatrix, Gen thought frantically to herself.
“Quatrix!” she called out at him as she launched herself into the room at him. The yell caught the other Quatrix off guard for a second, which was what Gen was hoping for. She hit him low and hard, throwing him back against the desk with a crash. The desk cracked and broke beneath them. Gen jumped back quickly, avoiding being hit with an arm as the other Quatrix was trying to get his feet back under him. He recovered a bit quicker than Gen had wanted. He followed up his punch with a piece of wood from the desk. Gen flipped backwards, just barely missing getting knocked cold. As her hands hit the floor mid-flip, her feet came up, kicking towards her opponent’s face. He managed to avoid it by a fraction of a second.
Gen’s feet hit the floor, her fists up in a defensive position and her pulse racing. The Quatrix snapped the wood in his hands. He reared back suddenly, sending the sharpest piece straight for Gen’s heart like a lance. Gen didn’t have time to focus, she phased her whole body to silvery black and the wood flew harmlessly through her and out the window behind her. Gen heard it splinter against the building across the way. She didn’t have time to think about how close that had been. Her opponent was flying at her again, feet first. She sidestepped him, rolling across the bed to the other side. He hit the wall with both feet, running along the wall without falling. Gen backed up fast and found the desk chair behind her. She brought it up just as he reached her and she smashed down as hard as she could.
He must have been ready for it because he passed right through it without the chair touching him. But in phasing his body, his aim was messed up and he missed Gen entirely, smashing into the broken desk again. Gen tossed aside the chair and grabbed the unconscious doctor’s legs, pulling him along the rug and away from the Quatrix. She had to protect him at all costs. She bent quickly to feel along his neck. She found a good pulse and breathed a silent thank you.
The second Quatrix was coming at her again, faster than she was ready for. Gen ducked a swing for her head but his other hand hit her middle with a karate chop that knocked the wind out of her. Gen charged at him in a football tackle but he grabbed her and tossed her across the room with great force. Her back slammed into the bookcase and she fell painfully to her knees. Shake it off, she told herself, getting up on one knee and trying to catch her breath at the same time. She was braced for another attack but a noise behind her caught her attention first. Gen tried to turn around but it was too late. The tall heavy bookcase, knocked free of the wall screws, came crashing down on top of her.
The second Quatrix stood there looking at the fallen bookcase for a few seconds as if waiting for something to happen. When nothing moved, he stooped to pick up the man he had been programmed to find. But there were footsteps running towards the room. All of that noise had not gone unnoticed. The figure left the unconscious doctor behind and leapt out of the window just as the door was flung open.
A woman in a white evening gown screamed at the sight inside while people started crowding in the doorway. On the carpet lay Dr. Carlton, face down. A single hand was sticking out from amidst the crushed books underneath the toppled bookcase.
“Somebody call the police!”
to be continued...