Article: 288615 of talk.bizarre From: page@tapaboy.ma.ultranet.com (D. Page) Newsgroups: talk.bizarre Subject: FTSD REPOST: "Catburglars" Date: 1 Dec 1996 13:55:39 -0500 Organization: The Tapaboy Newt Institute Lines: 137 Message-ID: <57skbb$e00@tapaboy.ma.ultranet.com> Reply-To: page@boutell.com X-No-Archive: yes From: page@clydesdale.cs.odu.edu (d.) Newsgroups: talk.bizarre Subject: Catburglars Date: 9 Dec 1993 15:29:55 GMT Keraah jumps up and hoists himself on the ledge with an easy grace. So strong...I could never leap that high. "Come on, Norwoh," he says. "I can't." "You can. I'll help you. I'll catch you. Come on!" Oh, Gods. I turn and walk a few feet away. Turning, I see Keraah standing on the ledge, waiting, green eyes reflecting a nearby street lamp. The building reaches up into the sky farther than I can see, forcing the moon to one side. "Come on already!" Cold purpose forms in my stomach. This will probably hurt. I run. I leap. My hands find the concrete ledge, but my legs dangle into space. Gravity catches up with me, pulling me off. Keraah grabs me by the scruff of my neck, easily lifting me up. So strong. "Told you could do it." "My hand is bleeding." One of my nails has been entirely ripped away. The pain has yet to surface through the adrenaline in my blood. "Worry about that later. We've got a long evening ahead of us." Keraah leads the way to a large glass window with iron bars in front. Fortunately, the bars are spaced too far apart to keep us out. I mutter in pain as my hand begins to ache. "This'll be easy," says Keraah. He sits down, and I see him begin to relax. The night seems very still all of a sudden. The window now has a glowing circle in it, outlined in red. It's about a foot in diameter. As I watch, the red glows brighter and brighter, becoming a bright white. The circle of glass falls outward, clinking on the concrete ledge. "Careful," says Keraah. There is strain in his voice. "The edges are still hot." I nod. Keraah steadies himself, and leaps through the hole. I jump after, falling several feet before landing on the floor. Pain. "Oooow!" I cry. My hand is alive with fire. "Shhhh!" Keraah says. It's too late, I hear footsteps in the hall. Clump. Clump. Clump. Heavy guard boots, and a stabbing flashlight beam in the doorway. "Do your thing!" Keraah hisses. I clear my mind but the pain in my hand is too intense. Whack! Keraah bats me upside the head. The surprise forces me into the right state. I reach out inside... The flashlight beam wipes over us, but we do not register to the guard. He shrugs and clomps off. "Good job, Norwoh!" Keraah says. He smiles. "Come on!" We scuttle down the hallway, looking up at the maps on the walls so we don't lose our way. Its a short walk. "There!" Keraah whispers. On the wall, behind a large pane of plexiglas, several necklaces are displayed on black velvet. All are diamond and gold, ruby and silver. Keraah gives me an evil grin. I nod back. He sits on his haunches again, and concentrates on the glass. A lower rectangle of it glows white hot after a long, long time, and falls out. Clang! "Go distract the guards," Keraah gasps. "Meet you outside." The guard-steps are coming out the hall again. I step out, and wait for their approach. "Hey!" I cry. "Over here!" One exclaims in gibberish language and the other appears to be laughing. I streak between them, and come to a stop. They turn. The talking one is kneeling down, making soothing noises to me. I saunter up to him casually, smile at him disarmingly, and bite him HARD on the nose! He stands up screaming! The other dives for me! I sidestep hurriedly and he falls to the floor. He kneels while standing up and I jump on his back, using him for a springboard. I fly right into the first one's face and rake him nicely with the nails on my good hand. He yells some more. Out of the corner of my eye I see Keraah sprinting down the hall, something glinting held in his mouth. The first guard is still screaming and clawing at his face. His hands are covered with blood. The second has stood back up, and is growling angrily. "Um, I didn't hurt you guys, did I?" I say. This seems to put the angry one off for a moment, long enough for me to barrel between his legs. He cries out, but I run like I shot down the hall. As I pass one doorway, I see Keraah jumping through another red-hot hole in a glass window. It's pure agony, but I manage to come to a screeching stop. I spin, run into the room, and leap through the hole without a second thought. On the ledge I leap again, catching myself in a shrubbery. The branches scratch my face and sides, but cushions the blow as I hit the ground. Keraah is there. "Let's go!" he shouts, and we race off down the street to our hiding hole, two very rich thieves. Sometimes, life rewards the bold... d. -- Text copyright d. Page, 1996. This post is given first distribution rights via Usenet and Usenet ONLY. Please do not redistribute.