"Fuck it all!" Alaina tossed the cushions of her blue corduroy couch. Vigorously she searched the folds of her comforter for her ID badge. It wasn't like she slept in the living room every night, but the garish display of Christmas decorations reflecting into her bedroom window was enough to drive a man mad. She had enough of that at work lately. The last thing she needed was to be bombarded with it when she was on her own time. Her hand brushed through old popcorn, pencils, and an assortment of take out sauce packets and cutlery before it found its target. "Bingo!" She exclaimed as she pulled the evasive plastic card free. Tossing it into her purse, she grabbed her bag, keys and coat and headed for the door.
She stopped by the mirror at the last second to quick check her outfit. White button down blouse with a navy blue pencil skirt. Locking it behind her, she made a beeline for the Pontiac Grand Prix that sat in her driveway, backed out and headed to work. It was a pain to commute to and from, but the cost of an apartment in town was outrageous. Besides, a 40 minute drive was nothing. Except when you were late. Alot. Like she was. Today was rare. Aside from the badge fiasco, everything was perfect. She had her breakfast, homemade egg muffin, granola bar, and a cup of coffee with so much sugar her aunt swore it would give her diabetes. Her outfit looked great, and her hair cooperated. She was on fire today! Still though, it was a good thing she was on time because if she had been late another day, she was going to lose her job.
Alaina worked for Exelsior Events, the company charged with the Christmas and New Years celebrations in Kirkland Square every year. Hence why her neighbors' house drove her bonkers. She spent every waking hour staring at oversized decorations and even though she appreciated her job, she needed downtime. Still, it paid well enough to keep her in a nice neighborhood. It began to sprinkle so she flipped on her wipers and lowered her speed as she approached a stop sign. Right as she began to cross the road, a jet black car zipped in front of her causing her to stomp on her brakes. Narrowly missing her, it continued down the road. "Asshole!" She shouted in vain. Collecting her wits, she drove the rest of her way more cautiously.
It was the Christmas Eve auction tonight. Alaina and her coworker Sophie were in charge of greeting the guests and checking everyone in. After that, she needed to assist the auctioneers with calling the items. She pulled into the parking garage and found a space on her floor. Not believing her luck, she parked and pinched herself in case she was dreaming. Alaina wasn't the most delicate or politically correct person in the world so for this many good things to happen on the same day probably meant something bad was around the corner. Her friend Sophie used to joke that she needed to wear a hazard sign. She hid her purse under her passenger seat and slung her id over her neck. Shutting her car door with a thud, she checked her phone before silencing it. Her boss hated personal calls while at work. Thankful that she didn't need to get in an elevator, she walked into the office, swiped her badge,and found her desk.
"Have you seen the news?" Sophie popped her head over the edge of Alainas cubicle. The woman had no patience. Standing at a short 5'2 to Alainas 5'11, Sophie Denning was a spitfire. Sitting down in her swivel chair, Alaina swung around over dramatically. "No, what possibly could have happened? Did Timmy get stuck in a well?" She put the back of her hand against her forehead as if she was feeling faint. Sophie chuckled. "Funny girl, but seriously, someone went missing last night." Alaina sighed. Sophie did love her mysteries. She had a "friend" in law enforcement so she always came to work with some little bit of intrigue. Impatiently waiting to share the rest of her story, Sophie tapped her fingers against Alainas desk. Starting her computer for as long as she could just to mess with her, she caved. "Ok," she began hesitantly. "What do you know?" Sophie squealed and rolled her chair around to Alainas cubicle. "Ok, so according to witnesses, this girl was walking outside for some air or something, got a phone call and walked to the alley to answer it. Immediately I was like what? You never go in an alley, in what story is the alley the safe place to be ever? Anyway, she went into the alley to take her call and never came back out. Some said a couple guys might have followed her in but they never came out either. They all just vanished. Freaky right? " Patently awaiting her friend's response, Sophie sat quietly. Alaina had to admit, it was weird and it had more interest for her than Sophie's usual morning tidbits. Last week, she talked for an hour about some guy breaking into a batting cage. Still, it brought her joy to share, so she indulged in these little morning stories. "It's definitely weird. Keep me posted?" Sophie nodded and went back to her cubicle. "Will do Laney, Don't forget, we are working the donors auction tonight so we gotta be out of here early."Alaina groaned.
She abhorred dealing with stuffy nosed twits and that's all that ever attended those things. She spent the rest of her day double checking the guest list and scanning her email for late reservations and attendance changes. Right as she was about to log off, a message popped up from her boss.
Hey girls, Just a note for tonight, don’t forget I’ve left your wardrobes in the staff closet. Please remember, we want to express an atmosphere of holiday cheer and class so smiles!
Josie
"Oh for the love of God, she got us costumes..." Alaina stared at her screen as Sophie strung together some rather colorful expletives. Pushing away from her desk, she headed toward the break room with Sophie in tow. It always smelled like old burnt popcorn and stale granola. Hesitantly, she opened the closet at the back of the room and removed the two black garment bags. Handing Sophie the one with her name on it, Alaina placed her bag on the table and unzipped it. Amongst the contents of both bags were long red satin dresses, heels, and a bag of holiday themed jewelry and hair accessories with a label that said "Optional".. Alaina sighed. “Yeah right, optional” she said under her breath. This would look great on Sophie, she had the body for it. Things like this never felt comfortable on her. Being so tall, she always felt uncomfortable dressing up. It's why her at home wardrobe consisted of witty t-shirts and pajama bottoms. Sophie had already run to the restroom to change by the time Alaina turned around to ask her opinion. She knew she would be excited. Shutting the break room door, Alaina began to change. Making a mental note to not think about how her boss knew her bra size, she removed the dress from its bag and hung it on the corner of the door. She smoothed out the gown and held it against her body. Thanking Josie profusely for not picking a cartoon character, she began to get dressed.
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About an hour and a half later, the women examined themselves in the bathroom mirror. Sophie ogled her own back end and Alaina admired her friend's handiwork on her hair. Her long chestnut mane had been tamed into soft billowing curls that cascaded down her back and shoulder. Sophie's hair was in a messy french braided bun. Both women wore the snowflake earrings and necklace that Josie had selected. Looking quite a pair, they exited the rest room and headed for the elevator. Alaina went to the back right corner and held on tight. She hated these things. She never cared for tight spaces in general but the threat of plummeting to your death had her avoid elevators whenever possible. It was now 7:50. The auction doors opened at 8:00. It's a good thing this thing took place in the auction house across the street. As the elevator dinged and released them, Alaina exhaled and got out as quickly as possible. Sophie followed behind her as they made their way across the road to their posts. "I'll get the attendance lists real quick, see you inside?" Sophie scurried across the street. Shaking her head, Alaina walked after her.
The roads had been blocked off for the night, so no worries about traffic. She stepped up on the curb but her right heel slipped and she started going down. Preparing herself for a ruined outfit and a bruising, Alaina reached back to brace her fall. Out of nowhere, someone caught her. "Are you alright?" they asked. "I'm fine, thank you so..." she turned to face her savior but they were already gone. Confused as to how they disappeared so fast, she stood up. Alaina disregarded the incident as she headed to her podium inside where Sophie was waiting. Handing her a clipboard, they took their spots and the clock rang 8:00.
People came in by the dozens. These things were always the same. Sophie covertly flirted with every guy who looked remotely single and ended up getting wuite a few boosted donations. There were always people who insisted they were on the list when they weren't, and Alainas feet were killing her by the end of it. Finally, the doors closed and everyone proceeded into the auction hall. Turning her board into the security desk, Alaina started making her way to the auction block to display the items. Sophie was about halfway there when out the corner of her eye, Alaina saw someone run by outside. Curious as to why anyone but a police officer would be out there right now, she stopped and called after Sophie. "I’ll be right in, I forgot to sign my board again." Sophie laughed. "You'd forget your head if it wasn't attached. Go on, we've got a couple minutes. Josie asks "I'll just tell her you had to use the restroom or got swept off your feet by some club footed billionaire." Alaina laughed and nodded in appreciation and headed for the exit.
Pushing the door open and gathering the bottom of her dress, she walked in the direction of the mystery person. The clack of her heels against the concrete was hardly covert, but she needed to know what that was. The mystery person zipped around the corner past the Kinkybean with her hot on his heels yet when she rounded the same corner, they were gone. Bracing her hand on the cold brick next to her, she paused to catch her breath. Just as she was about to turn back, she heard a scuffle coming from the alley way. She could just hear Sophie's voice in her head from earlier. Despite her friends wise words, she took off her shoes to muffle the sound of her steps and walked toward the noise. Spooked by a large bang against a dumpster, she ducked behind an old fridge box. Peering up over the edge, she watched and listened in. There were two people. One standing on his phone, and the other slumped against the ground. The one on the asphalt appeared to be female. Had she just walked in to a lovers quarrel? Attempted mugging? The woman looked like she was wearing nice clothes, maybe she was heading into the auction? "I don't think its her," the man on the phone began. "She doesn't smell right…. That's where I went, there were a fuck ton of people there…. No I didn't go in, there were cops at the door and I'm hardly dressed for whatever was going on in there." The woman on the ground began to stir. The mans back was to her and she noticed. She frantically caught Alainas eye. "Help me please, he's a monster!" The woman screamed as the man shoved his phone in his pocket and picked the woman up by her throat.
Unable to remain hidden, she ran out from behind her hiding place and ran full speed at the assailant. With one motion, the attacker swung his arm toward the wall and Alaina was flung against it. Hitting her head on a fire escape, she blinked in and out of consciousness. The man dropped the girl to the ground and walked toward her. "Well well well, who have we here?" Alaina slid her hands around looking for something to use as a weapon. She found a busted piece of glass just as the man leaned down to her. Waiting for him to come in a little closer, she readied her hand. He came in real close. Good lord his breath smelled like a rancid garbage disposal. The assailant inhaled deeply. His nostrils flared and a crooked smile appeared on his face. “How fortunate that you came to me, had you done this sooner, it might have saved that poor girl an awful lot of trouble." He reached up to brush a stray curl from her shoulder. Seizing her moment, she quickly slashed his face, leaving a long and deep cut across his cheek. He shrieked back in pain. “You bitch!" He reached down and pulled her up by her hair. Dropping her glass, she desperately tried to free herself. The man’s face looked distorted. "I'm supposed to bring you in, nobody said you had to be in one piece."
Paralyzed with fear, Alaina closed her eyes. The man raised a hand and right as she was sure he was about to strike, he let out an oof and she fell to the ground. Scooting back against the wall, she watched as someone new tossed her assailant against the brick wall behind them. The man stood up like it was nothing and just disappeared into thin air. The stranger turned and walked over to her. Unable to comprehend what she had just seen, and feeling the effects of the highly probable concussion she had, Alaina passed out.