The Penny Drops (Sea the Depths Book 1) Karmon Kuhn (life changing books TXT) 📖

me. Another male. Shorter than Darius with a bronze complexion and smooth, shiny black hair. Even considering his size, seeing this human-in-disguise made it clear just how sickly Darius looked.

The male lifted his chin to me, and I stepped aside for him to enter and then closed the door behind him. “Have you come with my learning credentials?”

“Yes. I am Ali. If you are in need of future materials, I will likely provide the delivery. You can gain access to the learning facility with this card, but do not draw attention to yourself.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Here are more bills.” He held them out to me and then pulled them away. “Do not spend them so quickly.”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Have you made contacts yet?”

“Yes. I have met with, Darius, a fellow tsuṣuṣe.”

“Darius? I do not know that name. Are you certain that it is correct?”

“Yes. He is also present at this lodging. He offered me some funds while I waited for more. He told me that the instructor had asked him to do so.”

Ali scrunched his brows at me and puzzled. “I see. What else do you require?”

“I am not in any other need at this time. Thank you.”

He turned to leave and then looked back at me before he opened the door, “Be careful, Natalie. Do not trust easily. This world is a dangerous place.”

Before I could respond, he was gone.

***

A few days later I met with Darius again. I learned that a new female had shown real interest and then reportedly ceased contact.

“They are heathens,” he said, “Just as we were taught! Even though they think that they are civilized they prize nothing of importance. Neither health nor each other nor the planet!”

“Do you find this to be true of all of the humans with which you have interacted?” I queried.

“Yes. They are barbaric. Are you surprised by this? You’ve been addressed inappropriately yourself. What of that? Have you not had other experiences of their cruelty? Their waste? Their selfish burdensome lifestyles?”

His eyes were narrowed as he watched me and waited for my response. I thought of the refuse receptacles at Mug and Muffins and the rude behavior of the hotel attendants. But then, I thought of Penny’s offer to learn more and the doctor’s nurturing. As little respect as I had for humans, I didn’t hate them.

Trying to change the subject, I asked, “Do you have any other prospects for your tsùges̈ss?”

Before he answered, Darius lingered on the unanswered questions and then broke eye contact. “Yes, I believe so. I must be sure to find where this one resides so that I can make myself frequently visible and available to try and expedite the process.”

“Have you been instructed to retrieve only females as well? If so, do not forget to assess for natural born sex. Many humans express gender fluidly. You do not want to rush and bring home an unusable tsùges̈ss.”

“You act as though I am the new trialist, when it is you! What have you come to me for if it is not questions?!” he asked, clearly indignant.

“Have you any experience at the college? My potential tsùges̈ss attends, and I have student documentation to get closer to her. However, I am not entirely familiar with the environment and expectations.”

“All that I know is to be wary. While education standards are laughable, there are some bright humans at the colleges who might become suspicious of you.”

“Thank you, fellow. I appreciate that advice. Have you any other suggestions?”

“Yes. Should you mount a woman, do not let her leave you thereafter? Take her then, unless you want the savage to disappear!”

***

Despite the urgency of the mission, I took time to acclimate, so I spent a few days learning to purchase food and other supplies rather than rushing into more contacts. I practiced conversations with the humans I met. Some were pleasant, others short, and others even unpleasant, but there was value in each conversation. I especially liked the “text messages” that Penny sent me. Photos of cats or thoughtful check-ins to find out about ‘my day’. After I’d become a bit more comfortable with my social skills, I decided to take on the challenge of the university. While things with Penny were still developing nicely, I had to explore options available at this resource.

To ready myself, I cleaned, dressed, and adorned my body for the day. After dressing, I organized my things in the satchel, and as I did so, felt a rumbling from my core. I was definitely getting hungry and would need to remember that regular mealtimes thrice per day were common for the humans here. I wanted to be sure not to stand out for improperly following common eating patterns.

I’d passed a ‘diner’ near the inn several times that advertised eggs in the window and was excited that these humans prepared one of my favorite foods. When I crossed the street toward the restaurant, I got a strange prickle on the back of my neck. I stopped for a moment. What did it mean? Before I could find an answer, a horrific noise blared at me from a nearby vehicle. I ran the rest of the way to the diner to escape the machine and forgot all about the tingle I’d felt.

At the diner, a hefty human, a woman I thought from the sweet undertone of her natural smell, approached me. I was getting better at detecting the difference between the sexes. There were anomalies, but for now, I was satisfied with my progress. She showed me to a table, handed me a folded, plastic list of food items, and asked, “What’ll you have?”

Breathless, still recuperating from my run to the restaurant, I replied, “Eggs.”

This created a list of options for which I was unprepared. “Scrambled, over-easy, over-hard, sunny side up, or an omelette?”

“Those are all eggs?”

“Yup. How will you have ‘em??”

“Please choose what you like best.” I requested.

“Comin’ right up!” she said.

As I waited for my eggs, I watched the street from the diner window