Compromised (Part 2)

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The alarm clock hit 9AM and the sound of a bubbly pop tune blared out of the its speakers. (____) groaned and cracked an eye open, thankful beyond belief that her bedroom curtains were heavy enough to block out most of the suns bright light. She didn't think she could handle being blinded just as she woke up. Wordlessly she smacked the off button on the alarm before slowly making her way out of bed and to the bathroom to shower. Fifteen minutes later she was fresh and clean and ready for breakfast. A glint of light near her bed caught her eye making her look back. The orange rock shined under the light of her near by lamp. Wow. Almost three days have gone by since the incident. She'd become so busy with things she'd almost forgotten all about it. She figured she could find the time between today's work to fashion a wire wrap to hold the gem on a chain. She knew if she put it off any longer that she'd probably never get around to it.

So she pocketed it then went about her daily routine. First she ate breakfast, then she contacted her work to see if she had to come in to the shop today, and then got showered and dressed when she found out she did. She got in her car and drove all the way out to Beach City. It took the usual 15 minutes since there was so little traffic. Along the way she passed by a few of the small city's locals, even waving to a few. Then before she knew it she'd arrived and pulled into the parking lot of Port 1 Imports, the place was basically a tourist trap designed to make the people who visited feel like they were taking home a part of Beach City. It was a jonesy little place that sold sea themed nick knacks, key chains, mermaid pictures, postcards, t-shirts, and other useless trinkets for people who visited the city. The place got pretty good business all year round though. But the store's top selling items for five years running were (____)'s nautical themed statues and vases. One year the place only managed to keep from going out of business because of her work.

Her boss knew this too so he kept her on and gave 75% of all profits made from the stuff she sculpted. Which was a pretty sweet deal all things considered. And speaking of her sculptures, she had to go in to check which of her works needed to be replaced and how many. Every month she'd go in to take or refill stock. Because she had to keep the shelves assigned to her full. If there wasn't anything on the shelves then neither her nor her boss make any cash. Which was bad.

"Hey Jack, how's business? Good I hope." The young woman smiled at the aged beatnik as he smoked a 'cigarette' behind the counter. He flashed her an amused grin and puffed out a few smoke rings before laying his elbows against the polished bar. "It's been fantastish baby. This season's wave of yuppy tourists have been eating your art up like it's crafted from gold. You'd think they'd never seen a three dimensional piece of art before." Jack's disdain for the loud people that frequented his shop was a well kept secret between (____) and him. Crying babies and yelling parents, insipid teens here for spring break, and drunk men of varying ages weren't high on his list of favorites but he put up with them because they paid good cash for his mostly sub par and often factory made merchandise. Really the only thing on the store's shelves that isn't mass produced were her things. But nobody knew that. Jack boasted originals after all.

"Well that's a big plus for us I think Jack~" Her answering grin was cheeky but Jack just snickered in response. He started texting someone, probably his current lover, while she checked the shelves that held her goods. She made sure to jot down which ones she had to make more of. Around ten minutes passed before she was done. And as soon as she was done she bid her boss goodbye. He spared a wave before going back to texting.

(___) needed more supplies so she decided she'd go the next city over to get them. Sure she loved living near Beach City and all but the place didn't have everything she needed. But after a ridiculously long shopping trip she got some lunch before heading back to her house. She plugged her mp3 into the aux cord and hit shuffle. Soon the car was filled with a rad beat she started bobbing her head to. Then after listening to around seven different songs she'd finally made it home. After turning the key and shutting off the car she grabbed the few bags that were sitting in the passenger seat then walked up the steps to her front door. Absentmindedly she pressed the little red button on her key ring to remotely lock the car. Now she didn't live in a bad area, she actually lived on her grandparent's old farm land. She had to travel a few miles in every direction before you reached any trace of people. It was nice and quiet but she still didn't want to risk anything. Especially after that mysterious thing almost crashed into her house.

"I'm home," (___) called to the almost empty house. Kitty, her calico cat stretched from her place on the couch before jumping down and padding over to her owner's feet. She mew'd and rubbed her sides against the young lady's calves in greeting. "Oh such a cute kitty. Bet you're hungry. Come on then." She walked to the kitchen with the cat bounding ahead eagerly. She really must be hungry. So she went about filling her food bowl with cat chow then gave her a few soft pets. But now it was time to get to work. She had to make 11 little statues before the end of the week.

Though even as she reminded herself of her deadline she felt procrastination set in. She didn't really feel like sculpting anything right now. Internally groaning she ignored her better judgement and decided she was going to try and fiddle with that gem she'd found. Maybe get around to making it a wire hanger so it could be worn. "My priorities are so screwed." (____) huffed before walking out onto her outdoor living room and plopped on the couch. The wide room had screen windows so fresh air could drift through but bugs couldn't. Then she snatched up the remote from the cushion next to her and turned the tv on so she'd have some background noise. Nothing more unsettling than working in nearly complete silence. Then once it was on a show she liked she pulled out the wire and clippers from her near by craft bag and started working.

And that was how (___) spent the next half hour. Just casually cutting and bending the wire to shape around the gem while enjoying a cool breeze through her loose hair. She had to take the gem out of the wire so she could bend the sharp ends inwards without scratching it. And she had just finished that and picked up the orange gem but reeled back when it began glowing. It actually moved within her hand, which caused her to yelp in shock and toss it onto the coffee table in front of her. She watched with growing apprehension as the pointed gem rose into the air above the coffee table. Higher and higher it went until it was hovering a couple feet from the ceiling. Keeping her eyes on the gem she scooted off the couch and crawled to the french doors that led outside.

(____) fully planned on hiding but stopped short when the white light began to form a body? She knew she should really run but she was frozen in place. She watched mesmerized as the shimmering gem was surrounded by pale orange and white beams of light. Then the glowing body of light took a more detailed humanoid shape. It seemed to grow long hair and its arms grew fingers while the legs grew feet. Suddenly the white image began fluctuating rapidly into different but still similar shapes before the white body of light exploded in a burst of glittering sparkles which left behind an actual body in its place.

A woman?....Or maybe a man?...You couldn't really tell at first glance. They looked more like a woman in some respects but there was still a hint of male there too. (____) thought they looked pretty androgynous if she was being honest with herself. Um...A person with gorgeous hair down to their calves and a well built body was currently floating near the ceiling. (____) took in every detail she could manage of this new being while she still had the advantage of remaining unnoticed. The being had bright reddish orange tattoos on their face and arms. And their skin was a creamy orange. But not that fake tanned orange that certain people from Jersey had. This person's skin really was a light orange color. Like the color of Dreamcicles or orange sherbet. And their hair was an ultra pale red. Like one step from actual white pale. And they seemed to be wearing a skin tight dual toned...catsuit and boots?

(____) mentally questioned why this person was wearing something that looked like it belonged in a cheesy sci-fi movie. But her train of thought was derailed when the person slowly floated down towards the floor. As their feet came into contact with the hard surface and they gained balance (____) saw their eyes snap open. Then oh so slowly they took in their surroundings before finally focusing on her stock still form. The young woman stared back into the yellow eyes of the stranger for a second before all hell broke loose. The giant person took a seemingly threatening step toward her, so (____) did the only logical thing she could think of.

She screamed in fear before picking up anything close by and throwing it at the person.