Beautiful Creature

Chapter 1

Edited: July 6, 2020

Clare

           "Come on, come on your gonna miss it," Stacy shouted from the couch in the living room. I quickly run in and threw myself in front of the TV, careful not to drop my pancakes on the floor. Before the news started to play, the screen went black and I stared at my reflection.  A 19-year-old girl with brown hair and brown eyes stared right back. The plainest combination on the planet, but it didn't bother me too much. Stacy shoved bite full after bite full down her throat as she waited on the couch. Stacy's my roommate and best friend. Her red hair and playful blue eyes were the ultimate boy magnet, but boys were the last thing on my mind right now. 

          The news station played their introduction before switching to a news achor sitting behind a desk. "Last night, the last surviving member of a team from SEAR's latest deep-space mission died from unexplained injuries to the chest," the news reporter stated, "SEAR has been caring for the crew at there company base. They have yet to release any information about the mission they were on."

I took a bite of my pancake as the reporter continued to talk. 

          "The chest injury is similar to the injuries the other crew members had upon landing. SEAR stated, 'the unique injuries to the crew were from an unexplained accident in the ship when it entered the planet's atmosphere'. Though this is most likely the case, many people are saying that it was aliens that caused the deaths of the crew. This theory has not been confirmed nor denied. The number of missing persons has risen once more as two more people go missing. Making for a total of ten missing persons. On a higher note the museum of-," the woman's voice was cut short when I clicked off the TV. 

          "Wow," said Stacy in awe as she fell back against the couch, "Can you believe it, real live aliens!" I rolled my eyes, swallowing another bite of pancake, "They never said that there were aliens," I stated plainly. "But they never there weren't!" she countered in her high pitched voice. I sighed knowing there was no arguing with Stacy when she got like this. That's one of the things we both had in common. We were both incredibly stubborn and it's gotten us stuck between a rock and hard place more than once. 

          I looked at the clock hanging above the TV and saw it was fifteen minutes to when my shift was supposed to start. "I'm going to be late again!" I shouted standing up, my bones cracking with protest.  Stacy gave a muffled reply while stuffing her face with more pancakes. I swear that girl could eat anything in record time. 

          Mrs. Harper is my boss at Hilltop Restaurant, the classy cafe that I worked at. Mrs. Harper was very strict, so being late two times in a row wasn't something I could afford to do. Her chain of restaurants were the only ones in the city and almost half the city worked there. So finding somebody to fill in my spot wouldn't be too hard for her but finding a new job for me was an entirely different story. 

          I walked into the kitchen and set my syrup covered plate in the sink. Small and simple was pretty much the theme of the apartment. the kitchen had a stove, a refrigerator, and a sink. The whole apartment was painted with a cheap white and consisted of one kitchen, two bedrooms, a living room (if you would call it that), and one bathroom. Stacy and me didn't mind it though, it was a place to sleep and eat and that was all we need right now. I walked through the archway to my right and grabbed my favorite dark blue sweatshirt and black purse off of the coat rack. 

          It was the middle of fall and the weather was starting to get just a little chilly. The point was proven by the sharp cold air the blew into my face as I walked out of the building. To most people, this may have seemed like a pretty decent day but I had always been a little more sensitive to temperature. The building where my apartment was, was about five blocks away from the restaurant. So I walked to work every day, despite the temperature.