Surprise! I was editing several other stories when an idea hit me to continue this little string of yarn. One of these days I'll get around to publishing the next chapter of Irresistible Johnson and a few others you folks keep bugging me about. In the meantime, expect some new stuff coming, too. And please, never stop bugging me. It helps motivate this writer, vain as that might be.
This one is going to require another chapter or two, but it's pretty long. I only edited it once, so please forgive trivial errors and the JUNK SCIENCE. To be fair, I'm doing nothing more than taking the original concept, turning it on its head, and adding a little more spice. Be warned: this first segment sets up a lot of the story, but stays pretty soft. For those who demand hardcore action in all their erotica, this may not be suited for you. It is heavy on the Exhibitionism theme. It may travel other directions in the future.
*****
The flash of light left Emily Mockingbird blinded. A moment ago she had been in a dark alley walking home to the new flat she recently leased. It had lots of open space, high ceilings and large windows, everything she wanted. In Emily's mind, it was a compromise. It was higher rent and more expensive to heat, but it was close to work and the environment was congruent for her art. She worked in a museum, but Emily had yet to share her own art with anyone. She hoped this year maybe she would get the courage to do so.
Living only a few blocks from the museum meant Emily could save money on travel. She ditched the car and now walked to work, and the nearby grocery store when needed. Uber rides handled the rest. It saved considerably over car notes, parking fees, gas and insurance.
When Emily first started walking home, it had been no problem. Every weekday at 6:30, she left the museum and strolled four and a half blocks to her flat. The neighborhood was gentrified and while the streets were well lit, and law enforcement patrolled the area regularly, it wasn't always enough. A group of punks who hung out near a seedy bar on the corner of Fifth and Washington took notice of Emily's new routine and by the second week, they would always be outside waiting on her.
These punks, for no better term, would harass Emily with cat-calls and sometimes surround her, making her feel awkward and unsafe. After this happened on several occasions, Emily started taking the alley from Fifth to Glover Avenue, and walked to the back entrance of her flat. It kept her from bumping into those assholes, but it was kind of dark and scary. At first, she wondered if she was better off just keeping to the main streets, but instead of getting jumped by transients or punks, the alley only appeared more intimidating than it actually was. Dark and dirty, but otherwise vacant. After taking the route a few times, Emily felt fine about it.
Until now.
This time, as Emily was about halfway through the alley, something appeared to drop from the sky in front of her. Before she could react, a bright light flashed off in her head sending her reeling back. She fell to the ground. Emily was about to scream when a voice sounded off in her head. It didn't sound like a normal voice, or like she heard it with her ears, more like it was telepathically inserted into her brain.
"Emily, don't fear," said the voice.
"You no longer need fear," said another voice, a softer one.
Emily was rubbing her eyes, trying to focus, but all she could see was white light and black circles. "I.. I can't see.. What's happening?" Emily put one hand to the ground to lift herself up. The other was still rubbing her eyes, trying to hold back the now-fading light.
"Calm now, child. We're here to help."
"Help me with what?" Emily was trembling, but managed to get back to her feet. Her vision seemed to be coming back, yet in front of her were two humanoid images she couldn't fully make out, as if she couldn't focus on either them specifically - like they stood behind a light, with static and visual noise interfering.
"You no longer need to be afraid. You no longer need to hide from others."
The deeper voice broke in now, and Emily could see that one of the humanoid images was expressing itself with its limbs (if that's what you called them). "No more hiding, Emily. The more you expose yourself, the stronger you become."
"What? I don't... what do you mean?"
The smaller figure with the softer voice stepped forward.. or it looked like it did, yet it didn't appear to be any closer after the fact. Emily was freaking out over the assault to her senses as she engaged with these otherworldly entities. "It's your time, Emily. We've been watching you."
"My time? Watching me? What? Why? Why me?"
The deeper voice, "Consider it... a lottery... with no particular reason why you were selected."
"Selected? Selected for what?" Emily continued rubbing her eyes, even though she was aware it served no purpose in better focusing on the things standing before her. She was nervous, but somehow didn't feel in danger for her life.
The softer voice spoke again, "Emily, this gift is yours. You no longer hide and you become stronger. More confident. Everything you want."
"What? What do you mean by that?" Emily cried, frustrated. She wasn't understanding any of this.
The voice continued, "You no longer need to hide down alleys. You no longer need to hide from criticism. You no longer need to hide your gifts from others."
The deeper voice: "You must expose yourself. Give yourself away, believe in yourself, and you will gain the strength you need to conquer your fears."
"Give myself away? What?" Emily stomped her foot, aggravated the creatures would not explain themselves more clearly.
The images began to flicker and for some reason, Emily knew they were leaving. The deeper voice spoke last, "We will be watching. Trust yourself. Expose yourself. Conquer everything."
Suddenly, another flash of light erupted in the alley - or maybe it was simply in her mind, Emily wasn't sure - and the alien figures were gone. Emily looked back and forth, then up in the sky, but there was no trace of anyone... or anything.
