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| Story: A New Life - Chatper 8 Monday, 17-Apr-2000 01:02:14
Here comes another swing in Sarah's life and perceptions..... Sarah plunked down in her office chair, immediately pushing her navy-blue flats off her tired feet. A large sigh could be heard escaping from her red lipstick-covered lips as she leaned back, closing her eyes. It had been a rough day. She had attended two different press conferences before lunch; although she had picked up a great deal of good information from both, she had felt drained after the hours of questioning and patient listening. On her way back to The Post, she had received a call on her PCS phone - the editor, telling her of a new development with the Union strike of the Budweiser plant. Sarah had forgone lunch in order to be the first journalist on the scene. She had been, and had been rewarded with a scoop over the rest of the news media groups. But there had been a price to be paid: she had spent the rest of the afternoon talking to both the strikers and representatives of management, trying to get as clear and objective a picture as she could. She had only now got back from those interviews, and it was almost five o'clock. She was tired and hungry, and there was still work to do. She sighed again, swiveling her chair around to face the computer. At that moment Ms. Wayne came walking by Sarah's area, on her way to a meeting with her photography staff. She spotted Sarah and changed direction, knocking on a partition. "Sarah? May I come in?" Sarah turned her head and saw her employer standing there. "Hi, Lana. Please do. Did you have something for me to do? Another late-breaking story or something?" The editor smiled at the little joke, but just by looking at Sarah, she could tell that the journalist was worn out, trying to put up a facade of enthusiasm. "Yes - actually, I do have a very good project for you, Sarah. Go home. You've been here since almost six this morning, and I know you didn't eat any lunch. I appreciate very much all the hard work that you have put in for us today; so far what I've run across from that Budweiser strike will make for some very good reading on tomorrow's printing. But I don't wany any of my employees - especially my star journalist - to run themselves into the ground." She looked at Sarah closely, nodding her head as she made some internal assessment. "In fact, I want you to take tomorrow off, too. I can have Ramon cover that congressman's speech tomorrow afternoon." Lana watched Sarah begin to open her mouth, probably to object, and the editor held up her hand. "I mean that, Sarah. Get out of here. Now." She gave the journalist a smile. "Enjoy your three-day weekend." Then she pivoted on her heel and departed. Sarah gave out a breath of relief, which was a bit unexpected. She had been about to object to her boss, but when she had cut Sarah off and left, she began to think about it. 'Three days off....it might be nice. I am tired, and I have a few things to do around the apartment.' She shut her computer off and slipped her shoes back on. Standing up, Sarah gathered up her purse and a small folder of papers to work on. She left her office; when she passed by the main conference room, she paused, catching Lana Wayne's eye. The editor favored her with another smile before continuing on with her meeting, and Sarah had to smile back. Lana had become a very good friend to her - and not just because Sarah was good at her job. She reminded Sarah a lot of a younger Elizabeth; she had that same caring nature, reinforced with a strong will and good principles. The two women got along splendidly, and had a relationship that most employers and their employees never had a chance to form. Sarah finished the walk towards the elevator and got in. "Oh - - hi, Sarah.", Andrew Peters stammered out. She smiled at him, and he gave her a shaky smile back. "What - what floor?" "Parking level, please. Thanks, Andy." "You're welcome, Sarah." He pushed the button, and stood there, fidgeting nervously. As the elevator descended, he kept giving Sarah sidelong glances. "Uh.... So - - where, umm, where are you headed to now?" "Home. Ms. Wayne told me to take tomorrow off, as well. Said I've been working too hard recently. Maybe she's right - I don't know. What about you?" "Me? Oh, nothing, nothing. Just heading down to the, uhh, to the archive storage to pick up some reports for Sharon. For what it's worth, Sarah, I also think you've been working too hard. Not that I'm trying to tell you what to do, or anything....." He stopped and looked down at his feet, wondering if he had gone too far. But Sarah reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze. "It's okay, Andrew. I know you mean well. I count myself very luck to have such good friends who care about me." She grinned at her friend. "Besides, this may do me some good." The elevator's bell rang out, and the doors opened up at Andrew's floor. But he just stood there, smiling back at Sarah. She raised her eyebrows. "Uhh, is this your floor, Andy?" "Hmm? Oh! Yes, thank you!" He stepped out of the elevator. Just as the doors began to close he said, "I hope you have a good weekend, Sarah, and I'll see you on Mon - " And then the doors closed, cutting off the rest. She rode the elevator alone the rest of the way down. She walked to her car, parked in its usual spot on the third row from the door in the parking garage. She started the little Toyota up and pulled out of the garage. She was eager to get home. During her short (and fascinating) chat with Andrew, Sarah realized that she indeed needed this time off. She had been pushing herself the last couple of weeks, and she had just realized why. Tomorrow would mark the 12-year anniversary of her landing on Earth. This was something that she was not very thrilled about remembering. It wasn't that she wanted to forget about her true roots; she just wanted to leave them as her past. Her family that Xris - who also happened to be the computer-driven image of her brother - were all gone, and she couldn't remember them at all. They seemed more like a history lesson, like she had taken during college; a retelling of a past that she had no memory of. However, the deaths of both Elizabeth and Donald very much affected her, and still weighed a bit heavy on her conscience. She sometimes still felt pangs of remorse and regret of her apparent abandonment of Elizabeth so soon after her husband's death. It didn't matter that her surrogate mother had told her to go ahead and pursue her career. Elizabeth had said that she would be fine, and that Sarah shouldn't feel obligated to stay with her. Sarah had believe that - - until she had received the notice of her mother's death during her tenure at Colorado University. Ever since, she had felt that she should have stayed with Elizabeth, at least until she was sure that her mother would be okay. All of this together made facing her own sort of anniversary tough to bear, and thus not a subject of great happiness. Sarah pulled onto a main street - and into rush-hour traffic. "Oh, boy. Looks like we're off to a great start this evening.", she muttered aloud. The cars ahead of her were barely moving. Traffic at this time of day was usually bad, but not like this. She tried to look past them, but could not see anything. 'Looks like it'll be a while before I can start on my weekend.', she envisioned. Her stomach grumbled with hunger, and she rolled her eyes. Oh, well. She might as well sit here and try to make the best of it. Suddenly some people ran past her car, disappearing on the other side of the large delivery truck stuck behind her. She twisted her torso back against the seat, trying to see where they had gone. A couple more people quickly rushed by. "What's going on?", she shouted to them. A woman stopped and shouted back, "There's been an accident up ahead! A lady's child is trapped in her car! We're trying to get help!" Then she resumed her mad dash. A thought appeared in her mind, appearing so abruptly that it took Sarah by surprise. 'I could help....', the thought rang. This had been the first time she had thought about her powers for a long time. While she had been living with the Carter's, she had enjoyed discovering and experiencing the feel and abilities of her natural body. However, after their deaths, her green-skinned form served as a painful reminder of what she had lost, and so she had resolved not to ever change again. She would live out her life as a human being, not a Gammonian. But still the thought had popped up. And, much as she hated to admit it, it felt like the right thing to do. She could almost hear Elizabeth's kind voice, appealing to Sarah's own conscience. Sarah looked over to the right and, upon seeing a small side street, cranked the steering wheel over. She drove down the street a bit until she was just out of sight of the backed-up boulevard. Exiting her car, Sarah looked up and down the narrow street, seeing no one. She then removed her shoes. Feeling the harsh pavement through on her soles through her dark pantyhose, she began to concentrate. Concentrating on a part of herself that had not received any attention for nearly six years. It took more work than she had remembered from those previous times, but soon Sarah felt that very warm feeling build up in her chest, its heat-laced tendrils spreading all through her body. She brought her hands up to her face. She saw that her efforts were demonstrating the desired effect: her skin was rapidly altering hues, trading its somewhat tanned pigmentation for a light-green one. She also could feel her clothing starting to tighten up as her body commenced its growth. She watched as her dark-gray skirt wrapped more and more snugly around her thighs as their bones, tendons, and muscles enlarged. The sleeves o fher white blouse felt increasingly constricting her arms as they, too, changed size and shape. She hurriedly removed her dark-gray jacket; she didn't want any pieces of her outfit to be ruined if they didn't have to be. Sarah watched and felt her arms as they grew longer and thicker, her biceps forming tight, rounded bumps on their tops. The white fabric began to rip open, as if to flaunt her growing green arms. Tha's when Sarah realized that she could feel the surface of the small street righ ton her feet. Lookding down, she saw that her hose was quickly being torn apart, her toes and heels already free. The garment kept tearing apart, not being able to stretch around her calves, either, as they became both thicker and longer. Their forming teardrop shapes split the black pantyhose, creating growing runs that flowed up her expanding legs, further undermining the failing garment. Sarah lowered her hands back to her sides, her growing green hands curled into loose fists. As she did so, large rips instantly opened up around and over her expanding shoulders. Her dark-blonde hair had turned a very deep brown, and it was extending past its former shoulder length, its curling ends spreading across her straining blouse. Soft dark-green flesh began appearing around the red lipstick on her mouth as her lips swelled, becoming more full. The tightness around her thighs began to subside; she watched as her skirt began tearing right up the middle of her stronger green legs. More rips initiated on her sides as her hips widened beyond the skirt's ability to contain them. Sarah felt a wave of embarrasment come over her as the ripping skirt revealed her white cotton panties. They, too, were tearing apart, showing off sections of herself tha tshe wished to be kept hidden. But there was nothing to be done about it right now. Her transformation wasn't over. Her blouse was in the midst of tearing open. The white fabric split open its back, between her wider, more rounded shoulders, displaying rich green skin and sleek muscle. Pearl-colored buttons began bursting from Sarah's blouse, her swelling bust and chest too large to be hidden any longer. As each button popped from its place, more firm emerald flesh was shown, adding to Sarah's embarrasment. Her bra had already been reduced to a small mass of stretching, ripping silk; another surge of growth from her green breasts caused them to completely split apart, falling between her developing bare feet. The blouse's sides were torn apart with one final rush of expansion from her green bdoy. Then it was over. Sarah looked over herself. It had been years since she had seen this body; she had forgotten just how good it really felt. Her form held a physique that put her other body to shame, both in its physical power, and its sheer sexiness. But its treatment of her clothes left something to be deired. Moving her thick green fingers, Sarah twisted her shredded dark-gray skirt around a little, hiding her exposed womanhood as best she could. There was nothing to be done about the rest of her exposed form. And she had no more time to worry about her state of undress. Sarah whirled around and began running back up the street, feeling the easy power in her long green legs propelling her body to swifter speeds than any human could attain. Reaching the main boulevard again, she slowed down a bit, dodging around the jammed cars and assorted vehicles, ignoring the shouts of surprise (and a few catcalls) until she reached the scene of the accident. She came to a halt, assessing the situation. Three cars had been involved, and one was overturned. That one had five men on one side, and it looked like they were trying to get inside the car. It also looked like they were having no success. She heard from one of them that a police unit was on its way with a device to help extricate the trapped child, but that it was taking longer than expected because of the massive traffic jam. That broke through the last of Sarah's reluctance. She quickly walked up to the car, seeing the shocked epxressions of the gathered poeple. Her husky voice carried above the din of honking horns and shouting people: "I can help. Could you please stand away from the car?" The gathered men looked at each other and then back at Sarah. They all quickly backed away from the overturned car, obviously not wanting to argue with this large, green-hued woman who had appeared out of nowhere. She squatted down, feeling a few more tears being added to her skirt, exposing even more of her firm jade butt. She disregarded the slight wave of discomfiture that accompanied the new rips, concentrating instead on freeing the child. She wrapped her strong hands around the partially crushed driver's side door and began to pull. The sound of groaning metal filled the air, but Sarah's enhanced muscled proved far stronger than the steel of the door, and she pulled it off with little difficulty. She then forced her upper body inside the car itself, her green eyes sweeping the car for signs of the trapped victim. She spotted an upsidedown carseat, and a tiny hand poking out from beneath. She reached forward and pushed it out of the way to see the small form of a crying baby boy. Sarah gently picked him up, cradling him to her bare bust as she crawled back out of the wreckage. She stood back up to her 6'9" height, looking back at the baby cradled in her strong arms. He had actually stopped crying, and was looking straight at her. She smiled down at him, and he produced a toothless grin back, grabbing some of her thick dark-green hair in his chubby hand. Sarah then walked away from the car. A woman nearby rushed up to her. "Thank you! Oh, thank you for saving my baby! How can I ever thank you?!" She claimed her small son, kissing him, rocking him in her loving arms. "What is your name, miss? I want to tell everyone what you've done here for me and my son." She was about to say "Sarah Carter", but then thought twice. Would it be a good idea to reveal her true identity? What would that mean for her career, not to mention her chance at a normal life? "Uhhh, I prefer not to say, ma'am. But I thank you for your kindness, and I'm glad I was able to help. He's a real cutie, isn't he?" She grinned again at the baby, and he returned that grin again. She then looked around her; lots of people were staring at her, mumering in both amazement and comments about her looks. She belatedly realized that she was making quite a scene. 'Uh oh. I think it's time I left.' "If you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way." Before anyone else could say anything to her, she took off, running and dodging too quickly for anyone to catch up. Sarah quickly reached her car by way of another route. She stopped and knelt down, again concentrating. It was time for her to resuem her human form, and she bega to do exactly that. Less than thirty seconds later she was again Sarah Carter. She slipped her average sized bare feet into her shoes and put her suit jacket back on over her torn blouse, buttoning it up to hide her bared chest. Then she climbed into her car, started it up, and continued down the side street. She felt remarkably good. A piece of herself seemed to have found peace. As she thought about it, Sarah suddenly fell upon what it was. The last time she had changed to her Gammonian form was the day that Donald had dies. Despite all the power she had at her disposal, she had been unable to save him. So she had shut herself ff from that part of her. She realized that she hadn't felt worthy to own such abilities. But now she had just saved a life of a little child that she didn't even know, and yet it felt like she had redeemed that part of herself. As if she could feel her adopted father looking down at her in approval. Terry |
| Story: A New Life - Chatper 8 (Terry) (17-Apr-2000 01:02:14) |
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