Man, how did I make the holidays so freaking dark? Everyone else is writing fun, joyous stories and I'm putting that edge on a time to be merry. You guys seem to like it though, so enjoy this next bit with Suitcase Sam!
Eyeball and Amethyst visit the local antique store for their last minute Christmas shopping rush only to encounter a chilling sales clerk.
GIFTS
Eyeball and Amethyst open a wooden door with a glass frame to peer inside. They dare themselves not to proceed past the threshold to look at the various antiques from within that are strewn with dust and a few small cracks on dark wooden tables.
Amethyst raises her eyebrow as looks over to her companion. "I don't think this is a good idea, Eyeball. There's nothing but a bunch of memorabilia in here. Steven's not gonna be interested in this stuff." Eyeball scoffs, folding her arms. "Well do you see any other toy store in town?"
Amethyst shakes her head, casting her eyes down on the dusty carpet. "No, but couldn't it have been easier to have Greg drive us over to say Ocean Town and get something there? Or Jersey even?" Eyeball steps past the threshold, taking her hand. "Come on."
Amethyst bites her lip as she looks from pots and vases to swords and broken Gem tech. Amethyst stops as she tugs on Eyeball's hand. "Eyeball, what is that?" Eyeball turns her head to look at the broken fragments of a Gem destabilizer.
Eyeball steps up to the table to reach out for it--a spark zaps her finger, causing her to screech. Amethyst grimaces as she covers Eyeball's mouth, dragging her away from the table. She casts her eyes down on hers. "Are you okay?" Eyeball nods and Amethyst let's go of her.
Eyeball points to the fragments on the table. " I've felt that shock before. Those are the fragments of a priming Gem destabilizer. It's weak but it's still active. Amethyst looks around as more and more of the similar technology pop up into her perception.
"Is all of this--broken Gem tech--in a dump like this? There's no way." Eyeball gasps and she covers Amethyst's eyes. Amethyst groans as she grasps the chubby red hands covering her eyes. "Eyeball, I can't see!"
Eyeball gulps as she whispers in her ear. "You don't want to see this. We should really get out here." Amethyst pulls Eyeball's protection off of her. "Eyeball, what is it that don't want me to see-!" She gawks as her eyes bulge. "What the-!"
The two Gems gaze at jars upon jars of Gem shards in front if them made to look like pieces of Gems to the human eye. "These can't be!" Amethyst stumbles into Eyeball who pulls her in close. "Wh-who would do this?!" Eyeball shushes her for a slight moment as footsteps creak against the floorboards.
"Eyeball, I really think we should find Greg, now!" Eyeball shushes her again, this time louder in her whisper. "Amethyst, keep your voice down!" The footsteps grow louder as the two Gems shudder against each other. "Wh-what do we do?!"
Eyeball notices the silhouette of a man up ahead. "Play it casual. Pretend we're hippies." The two attempt to calm down as Eyeball let's go of Amethyst who can hardly stand anymore, her color turning a bright pale of her purple.
Eyeball takes Amethyst's trembling hand and she keeps it steady behind her back as the man steps out if the shadows, doning a brown business suit and an eye patch. "Can I help you?" His voice isn't raspy or coarse like Eyeball, but rather stern and slightly chipper.
Eyeball clears her throat, forcing a smile. "We were just stopping by! We're checking places like this for our friends for the holidays--uh, for gifts." The man steps closer as Eyeball resists moving a muscle from her sweating exterior.
Amethyst steps in, her voice slightly shaky. "Yeah, yeah! We saw--THIS!" She grabs ahold of a jar of Peridot shards. "jar of--Peridot sha-!" Eyeball quickly corrects her. "GEMS! Ha ha! They're gems and uh, we were wondering if we could buy it?"
The mustachioed man raises an eyebrow. "I do not accept your economic paperbacks. I take it with the barter system." Eyeball gulps, her smile faltering. "We don't know what that is!" The man puts his hands on his hips, bending down towards the Gems.
He narrows his eyes in his cold glare, causing Amethyst to lean closer into Eyeball to have her her from cracking up. "Really? Aren't you two a part of that group that adapts to nature and smoke the grass and wear those gems like tattoos all over their bodies?" Eyeball bites her lip as Amethyst takes a step away from her.
"Yes, we are. We are--NEW to the neighborhood! We just moved in and we don't know what your system is, so maybe you could tell us how it works so we know ahead of our fellow hippies?" The man chuckles, letting up on his glare, allowing Eyeball and Amethyst to relax a bit.
"Well aren't you two slowpokes! You see, before the economy made its own source of income, there was the barter system also known as trading. You know how trading works right?" Neither of them nod or shake their heads in response. "You give me something and I give you something for that item. Got it?
They nods their heads this time. "Okay. So what is your collateral for the Peridot gemstones? Also, how many do you want? You can't take the whole jar. I mean, this is all I have." Amethyst exchanges frowns with Eyeball and whisper to each other.
"So what do we do? Do we take the shards and run?"
"Are you nuts?! He probably took all those Gems out on his own! We'll could be next if we try to pull anything on him!"
"So should we get the heck out of this place or what?"
Eyeball nods. "Let's! Besides, it's Christmas Eve and I'm not dealing with this noise on the most wonderful time of the year!" Amethyst turns back to the business man, forcing her own smile. "Th-Thank you, sir. But we really should be going. I mean, it's not like we have any value--on us!"
The man stares at them as they turn to leave. "So goodbye! Merry Christmas!" They push the door open and they step out, panting. "What the heck did we just walk into?" Amethyst shrugs.
"I don't know and I don't want to know. Let's go find Greg and get him to get us a ride down to Ocean Town. If worse comes to worst though, we're taking Jersey." Eyeball nods as they walk away from the store. "Agreed."
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