June 25th exciting excerpt of Learning Curve X2

I had planned on doing a story this week, but didn't get to it before my operation. And didn't feel like working on it last night.

So Here is one more excerpt of Learning Curve X2 

Another beginning of an exciting fight. 2,600 words this time. I have the feeling that I did this already but I couldn't find it when I looked. Maybe I placed it elsewhere or my memory is playing tricks with me. But if so it will be slightly different.


Enjoy: 
The fact that I leaked V-nergy bothered me. After a short rest I drummed some more, which included practicing with other percussion instruments this time. I thought I could expand on what I played and get more gigs. Three months ago someone had given me a set of two large tambourines set on a stand with cow bells above them, and I had one African Djembe drum already. After a set of drumming, I wished for a gig. I could use the money, but I also needed the experience of playing with a band in front of an audience. It had been a couple of months since my last performance and I missed it. 
After a while I realized it was dinner time and--I looked at the puppy who woofed--time to take her out for a walk. A thought formed, I could head for the Rounder Meal and walk the dog at the same time. I grabbed the money from the table, my sweater, one of my purses and my bracelet. I usually don‘t take a purse with me, that is what pockets are for after all, I only usually carry a few items. I had three purses though. One was very nice with leather and custom jewels that looked real. I used it for the few times I go some place nice or even rarer on a date. This time grabbed the black one with brown trim. It looked like denim and was small. I placed it over my shoulder.
I looked at the puppy and said, “We are going somewhere new. You will have to wait outside while I get my dinner. You will behave yourself because I still don’t have a leash for you, so no wandering.” 
Just before I started down the stairs, a thought popped into my head. I told the pooch, one moment, and got an old pizza box that I hadn’t recycled yet. I found the number for the place and called them. It was early for dinner so I expected they wouldn’t be busy yet. I ordered, a small pizza with extra cheese, jalapeños, pepperoni and mushrooms. After a moment I said to double the jalapeños and mushrooms. The person on the phone sounded like one of the staff there who knew me. For some reason I added that I had more money than usual after a job I had done. He probably wouldn’t have cared how I got the money but I think I wanted to assure him that I had the money. The management had changed since Brittany discovered it over a year ago. She no longer stopped there, since they had gotten cheap with the ingredients. And with phone orders, if you didn’t have a card. That went along with the fact that I had heard a couple of ex-employees had sued the new owners, but I didn’t hear why.
They said it would be ready about the same amount of time it took me to walk there. I said good and that I would be there very soon after it was done. We left.
The walk took longer than I thought it would, since the puppy wanted to sniff at almost everything and had to stop twice for business in the bushes. We rounded a street corner and headed down the street. A strip mall took up half of the block, the pizza place was one of the few businesses still open. Most of the businesses had closed and half the houses in the first part of the block had no one living in the them-except for homeless people in one. That surprised me since two months ago more of them had people in them. I wondered how long the exodus had been going on and why I had never noticed. 
About half way down small mall, I saw three guys standing around near an open business next to the pizza joint. I looked them over from where I had spotted them, but didn’t see anything I couldn’t handle with my V-nergy and MMA training. We continued our walk. Half way there though, the puppy growled and looked in the shadows. I stopped looked at her mystified. She had never growled like that before. Once she gave a half hearted menacing snarl, but this was new. 
I saw a deeper shadow when I turned the way she looked. Three men stepped out and another two shadows moved. To what I assumed was an attack position. I didn’t have to think about the situation. I was in fighting mode before the three men came all the way into view. I readied three Tricks and pulled in more V-nergy from instinct along. One pulled out a hand gun and I saw glints off of two in the belts of the other two with him. I assumed the ones still in the shadows had them too. I glanced down the street to see what the men I had seen were doing. They were gone. I didn’t know if they had been some type of lookout and diversion, therefore would join these five, or if they just disappeared when trouble started.  
With the thought of throwing them a loop, and because I would enjoy myself, I gave them my best predatory smile. Two did look unsure for a moment, the leader didn’t look worried though. Okay, let’s see about scaring them off first. I held out my hand; I thought about translocking all of their bullets, that included the two still in the shadows, to my hand and letting them drop out from between my closed fist, but decided that long of a translock would take a lot energy from me. I have watched someone do that, it can be very effective when the bad guys pull their triggers and nothing happens. So I just sent out a Trick like a wave, it would make gunpowder unable to react to the spark that would set off the gunpowder. That included all ammo; in other weapons, or in clips or loose in their pockets. 
The puppy let out a woof, when I glanced down she looked at me puzzled. She must have felt me send out the Trick. I would have to explore that later. She turned back to face them and growled loudly. She even looked at the ones in the shadows. 
The leader took a step forward and pointed the gun at me, “Give us your purse lady and tell your dog to shut up.”
I sighed as loud as I could, “It’s not my dog, she can control herself, too bad you can’t control yourself.”
“Just give me your purse and any other money you have. I’ll take those earrings too.”
My hand almost went up to the side of my ear to check on what earrings. Oh, those nice ones Daisy had given me. I had forgotten I had put them on this morning. 
I shook my head, “They aren’t yours. They wouldn’t fit your ears anyway, and the colors won’t go with your outfit tonight.” I may have heard someone snigger. 
He snarled and said, “Give them to me,” in a loud voice. 
Again he stepped forward-he smelled of BO, alcohol, and something else, probably pot. Up this close I saw his mouth moving, he might be chewing gum I thought. Could use a piece right now. The flavor would get rid of any bile that came up and the taste caused by his odors. 
“Lady, give us the money or we will leave you in bad shape.”
I rolled my eyes, “Can’t you think of something original, that is so bad and overused it’s boring.”
He snarled, let out a string of obscenities and ended with him saying he would shove a certain body part down my throat. 
I said, “No, that’s not original. All the guys like you say that. At least one time.”
Through the corner of one eye, I saw one guy’s expression turn incredulous as if to say How many guys like him has she had dealings with? And she is still alive to be a smart aleck? Of course they wouldn’t use “aleck”.
The leader grabbed my purse and I swatted his hand away. Now he looked amazed and angry at the same time. I formed an image behind me. A huge bold man with muscles and the tips of wings showing behind him. I heard three “Damns”. The leader took a step back, pointed his gun at the image and fired. Nothing happened. He pulled the trigger three more times with the same result, just a click. He looked at it puzzled. A moment later he recovered though and gestured at one of his men. That guy lifted a gun and fired it. Same result. 
The leader turned to me and said, “You’re one of them. I know how to take care of you.”
He ignored the angel that reached for him, pulled a handful of something out of his pocket and tossed it. A wad of dust flew through the air. 
I dove one side. I didn’t know if that was ground up Witch’s Hazel, but after being poisoned by it once, I really didn’t want to go through that again. The substance spread out and some made it my way. I breathed in and coughed. Something that left a taste of plant, talcum powder with a gritty texture settled in my mouth. Even as I rolled away as far and fast as I could, I spat it out. What did he do grand up ricks? 
A hard section of the building grazed one side of my head and I dropped over something. It rolled and took my middle section with it. It stopped and left me in an undignified heap, with arms and legs pointed every direction. I quickly got up though, almost stepped on a skateboard someone unwisely left behind. My stance was awkward for I had stepped wide to avoid the board. I threw out my hands with a Trick, but it seemed to sputter out after it left my hands. What? I tried again with the same results. 
A source of reflected light came at me, it took me a single heartbeat to realize it was a long knife in the hand of the leader. He lounged my way. My personal V-nergy seemed to be having problems so I raised the hand with my bracelet and muttered a command word. A wavering in the air with a slight glow showed the shield had activated. I relaxed for it had its own store of V-nergy so wasn’t depended on mine or the surroundings. I would stop the knife easy. 
It didn’t. The blade came through my V-nergy shield as if only air tried to stop it. I resisted the temptation to gawk at it and stepped backwards. My foot hit a surface that moved and my foot slid sideways. I fell again. My rear end stopped me, hard enough to create a bruise on each butt cheek. My instinct reacted, with the beginning of a certain MMA technique, but my body was in no position to finish it. I rolled to the side. A sudden stop bruised me again. Damn, I was in a narrow storefront with only so far I could go either way. That along with that skateboard and my ability stalled out placed me in a hell of a situation. I snarled at him and myself for allowing myself to get into this damnable, ridicules position. No matter what though I refused to be done in by something as ordinary as a knife. My mind couldn’t come up with any defensive move that fit the specific idiotic situation I was in. A Cross followed up by a Choke would be good, I could do the first one much less the second. Maybe a Hook.
Light from the street lamps reflected off that sharp piece of metal headed my way too fast. It appeared to be a whole lot longer and thicker than usual. I hoped that was my imagination. My elbow ached, but that shouldn’t stop me. That dust he had thrown still lay around my mouth. I got some more when I licked my lips out of habit. 
Again my subconscious saved me. It scooted my butt away. 
I heard a tear, but no pain. When I pulled away further my shirt jerked me back. Part of it stayed behind until he raised the knife again. I might be exposing my side or even my belly but he didn’t seem interested in seeing more. Too upset or high I thought.
The same moment he drove it down again, I grabbed my purse—finally worked out what bumped me—pulled it up. The strap wrenched my side. A harder yank got it up in time to block the point. Another shorter tear. The purse was made from stronger cloth than my shirt. I twisted the purse with a wrench, with the hope the knife would leave his hand, as I had been taught. It didn’t work. Maybe he knew that technique. Or I couldn’t get the right leverage where I lay. Another stab by him and again I caught the blade. This time it went all the way through the purse, I saw the large, very sharp point inches from my face. Again I tried to pull the blade out of his grip. Again he held onto it but I must have moved it for when he yanked his hand back, he had to readjust his grip on it. That gave me a couple of seconds. I pushed myself down, away from the door, with the idea of scooting between his legs. He leapt backward. At that moment one of his men came up beside him. The guy tried to shoot me, but like last time it didn’t work. So why did my first Trick work, but not the next three? He saw through the angel image, the two attempts at caging them failed, and my shield didn’t stop him. 
The knife came down three more times, fast and hard each attempt. I managed to scoot, or lean to one side to avoid it. He scored a shallow cut along my side. I moved down again, but my feet hit something—the new guy’s legs I thought.
That guy switched his gun to his other hand so he held it by the barrel like a club. A very short one, but very hard at the same time. It would do some damage if it connected. He held his hand ready to use it if he got the chance. The leader snarled and moved his hand, but his elbow bumped his man. He spat out something that sounded like “Move Pig.” I smelled sweat, and dope, tasted bile. 
He tried to kick me. Somehow I moved my leg to intersect his foot. I couldn’t stop the “aww.” Another deep bruise. Another kick, followed by one from his man. That one missed though. The Idiot couldn’t get a good swing in. 
I targeted their knees with my feet. All I needed was one to connect with one knee per man. I pulled my legs up and kicked out. I missed the knee of the leader when he moved, but hit his upper shin. It rocked him. Too bad he recovered. I hit the right target with the other guy who didn’t move fast enough, but only a glancing blow. One of the bad aspects of being short, my reach wasn’t much. He swore and rubbed his leg.  
A voice said, “He bit me and won’t let go.”
My heart dropped more. Puppy must have joined in and they would hurt her.


End excerpt