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

“Are you okay? You seem upset.”

I closed my eyes and let out a long breath. Without direction, I wasn’t sure how to proceed. If I was in danger, I needed to prioritize my own safety over the mission. If Delilah was the target all along, I had no idea what that meant for my mission or Penny.

“I’m fine.” I held up a thumb for good measure, but my heart wasn’t in it.

“Okay.” Her brows were squished in the middle of her face. “There’s a party tonight at Alpha Chi Omega, and I wondered if you wanted to .”

“No. I’ll be too busy.” I said before she could finish.

“Oh . . .Okay. Maybe next time.”

She stood there for a moment and waited for something more, but I didn’t appease her. So, she walked away. As I watched her go, I was unsure of whether or not I’d behaved appropriately.

***

I spent the entire rest of the day deciding on a course of action and couldn’t think of a thing. I tapped my feet in the familiar way that my nervous tail might wag, and I found myself scratching my scalp compulsively.

After hours of useless anxiety, I decided to go to the party and find Penny. Surely if the culprit was after me, they would have found me by now! And, perhaps a good session with Penny would give me some relief. Perhaps, my mission was still something in my control.

I left the library late in the evening when they closed and asked random students around the campus where I could find Alpha Chi Omega. The party was audible from quite a distance and directions were nearly unnecessary.

Outside of a large, brick building were many young men and women socializing. Despite the chill of the evening, they wore little clothing with the men often shirtless and the women in short, tight pieces that showed a lot of their legs and breasts. Their behavior was charged with sexual rituals, and I could smell their pheromones on the breeze. There was something else about it that was strange, though. Many of them weaved back and forth and were quite loud. It was curious.

Penny didn’t appear to be outside, so I moved toward the front door and noticed many eyes on me as I entered. They sparkled as they took me in. If the mission was still viable, other candidates existed among these party-goers.

I searched through the different rooms which became more and more crowded the farther I got into the extremely large residence. At one point, I could barely move without feeling another body on mine. Hands began to hold out cups to me, and I eventually took one just so that I wouldn’t see another one in my face.

Smoke clouds rose from the mouths of several of the people that I passed, and there were spicy smells like the coffee shop and the fiery scent more like the burn pits I’d seen in India before my colony’s move. There was another smell too in some of the clouds. Something herbal and earthy that I’d never smelled before.

I trudged through the crowd and eventually happened upon Penny sitting next to a man on a plush couch. He was placing his hands on her waist, and she was trying to remove them. She didn’t appear happy to be with him, and the entirety of my body tensed and pushed my posture up straighter instinctively.

I stepped forward, stood stock straight, and demanded, “Penny, are you alright?”

She swiveled a little and almost lost her balance from her seated position. Then, wide-eyed she answered me, “I’m uh...”

I narrowed my own eyes and flared my nostrils at the man. He was also unsteady as he jumped to his feet. While sloppy, his stance was aggressive.

“What’s the problem, sweetheart? You wanna join in?” he asked and then grabbed at my behind.

I reached behind me with my left hand, clenched his wrist tightly, and twisted it until I heard a slight crackle. He grabbed at it and squinted with anger in his eyes.

"You, bitch!” he yelled and then threw his drink into my face.

I closed my eyes and wiped the putrid liquid away. When I opened them again, another male had approached him and the two were clapping each other’s hands. They were laughing in some sort of celebration.

Full of the tension of the last twenty-four hours, I charged at him and forced him to the ground. He tried to push himself up off his back, but I pinned him with my knees. He was so weak, and he hadn’t even known! It was clear in his eyes that no one had bested him before.

He struggled under my weight, and I pressed him harder against the floor. It took only one of my hands to press both of his onto the floor above his head. The power was intoxicating. An incredible release after the powerlessness that had weighed me down for the last day. I raised my fist to strike him and was encircled by a boom of chants, “Fight, fight, fight, fight!”

And then, “Nat . . . Natalie?”

Penny’s voice broke through, and I looked up at her. Her eyes mirrored his. She was terrified. I looked around at the rest of the party and saw so many other eyes on me. I’d drawn too much attention.

I stood up from my position on the floor and was greeted by cheers and laughter and boos. The weak imbecile stayed on the floor, stunned. Several of the party-goers patted me on the back or wagged their upturned thumbs at me. Somehow, this skirmish had amused them.

I looked around for Penny, but the crowd swallowed me, making it impossible to keep up with her. The others congratulated me for losing my temper and challenging the idiot! How ignorant could they be? Disgusted, I pushed by, but it was no use. Penny was gone.

***

I pushed my way back through the crowd to the front door. Just before I