Storm Chaser: Chapter 12

Chapter 12

By the time the bulk of the paperwork had been sorted Elena was more than ready to crash. She glanced at the clock. It was still early by local time but when she figured the time difference between DFT and local time she realized she had put in a long day.

“Besides, it is late enough that I won’t wake up too early,” She said to herself. Spin had already curled up in her basket bed and didn’t stir at Elena’s comment. She pushed the paperwork back into a neat stack next to her laptop and clicked off the light. Her laundry had been completed but the clothing was still in the dryer. She opened the dryer door and extracted some still warm pajama pants and a t-shirt from the swirled mass of clothing. Deciding that wrinkles could be dealt with another time she closed the door and hauled the sleep wear to the bed room. Elena changed quickly kicking her worn clothing into a pile and pulling on the clean pajamas. The still warm cotton felt wonderful against the room’s chill and as she slipped between the sheets she thought of the old fashioned bed warmers she had seen at a house museum during a tour.

“Just an updated version really,” she said as she snuggled down. Her eyes drifted closed and she was asleep in minutes. The dreams came instantly.

She was alone on the Storm Chaser, sailing through the black. The scene was familiar from both life and the many dreams of the Calling. She heard the whispers and turned sensing an area of space where a new channel could form. It was like a worn spot on her favorite jeans. With a bit of pressure the worn spot could become a hole, or in this case a channel. She concentrated on the spot and the channel widened. Soon it was wide enough for the Storm Chaser to glide through.

Elena resisted taking her ship through, words of caution threading their way into her mind even though she was dreaming. She checked the new channel and mentally recorded its depth. The ship could pass. She ran through her list of safety precautions. Was the channel a two way or a one way? Once she had gone through it would she be able to return the same way or would she have to make a crossing to another channel in order to return? Was it a space to space or a space to planet channel? What were the coordinates on this end of the channel so they could be recorded and what was on the other side?

She let her mind drift through the channel trying to detect the details and record information. Snatches of images like a whirling kaleidoscope met her inner sight as she peered through the new channel. It was enough to let her know it was a planetary channel and she tried to sort through the images. They whirled together becoming a true dream instead of an aspect of the calling and she drifted into normal sleep for the remainder of the night.

The next morning Elena woke, pleased to notice the complete lack of headache but worried about the butterflies in her stomach. True the store wasn’t opening until Saturday but today the new staff would be trained. So far Roger had not thought any of the products were strange but there had not been an intense questioning period before. Today people would begin to ask about the goods. She could only guess at the random questions that would be tossed her way and hoped that everything would go all right.

‘After all,’ she thought as she ran through her morning routine and got ready for work ‘Which is more plausible, that I have high end goods that are new to the market or that I am brining in goods from other planets and repackaging them for sale on Earth?’ Elena pulled one of her heavy coats on and headed out the door, the grocery bags with supplies in one hand and her purse slung over the other arm.

The wind was brisk and took her breath away when she stepped out of the shelter of the building. She was instantly glad for the coat. Luckily when she turned to walk the wind was at her back instead of in her face so there was some chance of getting to the store without having her cheeks chapped. The walk was familiar and as cold as it was she reveled in the crisp fresh air. She smiled. In the five years she had lived and worked here the street had undergone a series of renovations.

While they were not the trendy touristy area, nor would they be confused with the exclusive condo developments to the east, the neighborhood had found its comfortable middle ground. It was primarily composed of apartment buildings and the old fashioned retail venues that once house apartments for owners above. Many of those upper floors now held apartments again. As she walked Elena took in the changes since she had been gone. On the corner the old neighborhood grocery was undergoing a renovation. While it didn’t look to be a return to the grocery of yore, she knew from the merchant’s association newsletter that a specialty meats and cheeses store would go into that space.

Elena made a mental note. It would be good to recommend other neighborhood stores when their goods complemented her own. Another business had also been mentioned as opening soon. The newsletter had called it a consulting firm and it was located in the same block as her two stores. She passed the newly renovated building and saw its door now bore a sign. Zolotoy Consultants. She shrugged as she passed. What they consulted on she couldn’t tell but maybe they would bring in the type of clients she could turn into customers. Elena came to the crosswalk and watched the morning traffic go by. When the light changed, she crossed the street, more than willing to get back inside. She reached for her keys as she approached the door and was a little non-plussed to see Susan already bustling around getting the store ready for opening. She shook her head and let herself in.

“Morning,” Elena called, letting Susan know she had arrived. It was an odd feeling not being the one to open the store but she didn’t want to interrupt Susan’s flow. “I’ll be next door if you need anything. The staff training is going to start around 9.”

“Great,” Susan said brightly. “I thought of a few more things for you after you left and sent them up to the conference room with Andre since I wasn’t sure if you would be in the office,” Susan indicated the little office at the back of the store. Elena tried not to wince at the thought of more paperwork and concentrated on the fact that it was good that Susan was so thorough and reliable.

“I’ll take a look,” she promised. She left Susan to finish opening up and went to the still night dark Nibbles.