Chapter Two : A New Menace
For several centuries a jewel had passed through the world's history. Despite its humble appearance this ruby was a form of evil that no one could understand. Whom ever possessed it would acquire fame, fortune, and prosperity but at a high price. It had a malicious intent on controlling powerful people and creating anarchy. Through out earth's history it had been possessed by the most notorious and/or powerful people of history: Cain, Ramzes II, Attila the Hun, Emperor Chin, Gangus Khan, Benedict Arnold, Napoleon, Stalin, Hitler, and many other influential people. It's effects different from person to person, but ultimately death and ruin. Since the fall of Hitler it had fallen into controversy, and eventually completely forgotten. No one knew that it was the jewel that had caused such tragedies.
It had been boxed up, and put into a storage unit in lower Manhattan. For several years it remained there, until the business collapsed and no one came to claim the item. Eventually kids used the building as a place to play, and one crisp morning a young boy opened a box that was covered completely in dust. Most of the boxes surrounding it had been opened long ago, and had been used as dens for unwanted strays. Johnny fingered the box, unsure if he should open it or show it to his parents. Curiosity won over and he tore of the thick tape that had surrounded the box. Inside he found a long gold necklace with a beautiful ruby set in the middle with engravings around the side. Astonished Johnny blinked twice, looked around him in the dark dimly lit storage unit, and pocketed the treasure. Later on when he got home, Johnny went to his mother. "Hey, mom?" Catharine looked down at her brown haired son and smiled, "Yes honey?" Looking down at his feet, Johnny withdrew the necklace from his pockets and turned his palm upward to his mother. "I found this today when I was out playing. Is it valuable?"
Catherine stood immobilized by the beauty of the necklace, and slowly palmed it herself. "It is beautiful,' she looked at her son and smiled weakly, 'we can hope can't we?"
A week later an antique shop bought the necklace from Catherine for a hundred dollars, two months rent on their mobile home. The jewel itself was transported to a large antique shop in downtown Sioux Falls. The price was lowered due to the lower economy found in rural South Dakota. The necklace remained in the antique shop for many weeks, without many prospective buyers.
Then one hot day in early July a middle-aged woman came into the shop to take a look around. Her daughter's birthday was coming up in a couple days, and it would be great if she could find something for her in this old shop as her daughter liked anything pretty and authentic. The woman looked around, and her eyes instantly fell onto the ruby, hanging around a foam manikin's neck. It was almost as if her eyes were drawn to it. That it was her destiny to take the necklace away. She knew she wouldn't leave the store without it, and new instantly that she had to get that necklace for her daughter.
"Excuse me?" The woman said to catch the salesman's attention. "How much is that ruby necklace right there?"
The man sized the woman up in front of him, and then glanced toward the necklace that he had had difficult selling. "The red ruby of the land of Egypt?" He had no idea where the necklace had come from, but he found out a long time ago that customers liked stories behind the products they bought. "Ah yes…that arrived only yesterday." The man lied. "It is rumored that it was worn by many of the great Pharaohs of the land of Egypt." He instantly tried to make up a believable story that the woman would believe. He smiled when it seemed to be working. "Really?" The woman asked in awe. "Which ones?"
"The uh…" He stammered. "Well, what does it matter who the ruby was worn by, when we know that it was in fact worn by royalty?"
"How much?" Her daughter would love this necklace very much. She had to get it for her. The ruby was also her daughter's birthstone…things were working out perfectly!
The salesman glanced down at the ruby in the glass case before looking back at the woman. "I could not let such a delicacy go for any less then $50."
The woman glanced down at the necklace, then up at the salesman. "$20."
"A ruby worn by the gods of the sands themselves cannot go for any less then $45." The salesman argued.
"But the paying customer is only willing to offer $25." The woman said smugly.
"The Pharaohs of Egypt will look down from the heavens on me with disdain if I let the necklace go for any less then $35."
"Sold." The woman grinned broadly, taking out the cash.
"At this rate I'll be bankrupt by Saturday." The salesman grumbled reaching for the necklace.