Crazy Files

by Yvi Valentin

  “Oh my god,” I whispered. My mind was racing. Was this all real? Andy did seem genuine while he was telling me about what Evan had done.

  “I know this is a lot to process Aimee, but I promise, I’m not making any of it up. It’s all real and I need to get you away from Evan before time runs out. With you there, Evan could try to wipe your memory again and put new ones in its place. I’m trying my best to get you back.” My instincts told me he was telling the truth. I felt horrible for not believing him.

  “Andy, I’m so sorry. I should have believed you before. None of this would have happened if I had just gone with you in the first place.” I hated myself for doing this to myself. Why didn’t I just leave with him right when he asked? Why did I have to make things so difficult?

  “Aimee, it’s not your fault. You had no idea what was going on and couldn’t know any of this was going to happen.” He held me in his arms, trying to comfort me. I was surprised it was working. It was that moment I noticed we were sitting on a hill, looking down at a huge field of flowers. In the distance there were mountains. It was such a beautiful sight. “I knew you would like this,” he said, reading my mind. “I saw you looking at the garden in the back yard when we were trying to get away and I read your mind. I knew you wanted more time to enjoy the view.”

  “Why am I not surprised?” I laughed. “So how are you going to get me back? I’m in the middle of nowhere, there’s nothing but farm all around. How can you get here unseen?”

  “I guess I’m going to need backup. I’ll have a team go in to distract Evan and whoever else is there so I can sneak in to get you out.”

  “Do you know where I am?” I asked.

  “Yes, you’re on a farm in central Illinois. It’s one of Evan’s safe houses.”

  “When will you come get me?”

  “Right away,” Andy answered. “We’re coming up with a plan now. If you stay asleep, Evan won’t be able to change your memories and I’ll be able to update you with everything that’s going on. I’ll let you know when it’s safe for you to wake up again.”

  “How do I keep myself asleep for however long it takes?”

  “Relax and take deep breaths whenever you feel like you might wake up soon, and if you do actually wake up, pretend to be asleep and try to fall asleep again. Aimee, this is very important. If you wake up, Evan might be able to tell that you know what happened and he could erase and replace your memories.”

  “I’ll try to stay asleep at all costs.” It was all pretty scary. My life was in danger and if I didn’t do everything Andy told me to…everything he had done for me could have been ruined. Andy disappeared and I sat on the hill taking in the gorgeous view and reflecting on everything that had happened so far as I waited for him to come back to me. It didn’t seem like I was asleep for very long when he reentered my dream.

  “You can wake up now Aimee,” he said. “You’re safe.”

  I woke up to see Andy sitting next to me. I shot up and gave him a hug. “Thank you.” I must have sat up too fast because I started to feel dizzy. Andy gripped me closer to him in order to stabilize me. I felt better being close to him and I could feel the electricity running from his body to mine. I wondered what the cause was, but I didn’t care too much because the feeling was intoxicating.

  “We’re soul mates Aimee,” Andy said, reading my mind again. “That electricity you’ve been feeling…it’s the connection that’s felt only between soul mates. We were together for a long time before Evan saw you and fell in love. When he realized there was no spark between the two of you, he came up with the plan I mentioned before.”

  “That’s insane!” I exclaimed. “How could he think changing my memory would make everything better?”

  “He’s crazy. Who knows how his brain works.”

  “Andy, why didn’t you tell me about this from the beginning?”

  “About which part?” he asked.

  “Everything, that we’re soul mates, about Evan, about this war.”

  “I didn’t think you would believe me if I told you the truth from the start. I wanted to ease you into it so you wouldn’t run away.”

  “It’s all so hard to believe, but I’m not going to run away. I still want answers,” I said as I rested my head on Andy’s chest.

  “And I’m going to give them to you. I just want you to be patient,” he replied as he wrapped his arms around me.

  “I’ll try.” I paused for a moment. “What do we do now? I mean…Evan is bound to come after me again and what about this war? Please don’t tell me it’s just about Evan trying to get me to be with him.”

  “That’s only a small part of it. It’s Evan’s problem really. We still have to keep him away from you while we fight this war.”

  “What’s this war about? You know, besides the whole good versus evil thing.”

  “It’s about saving the world,” Andy started, “there are star children, like us, who are sent here to protect the world from evil and we actually do. Then there are the children who turned their backs on the world, like Evan, they think they’re above the job we were sent here to do so they try to wreak havoc on the world and the people in it.”

  “So we’re trying to stop them?”

  “Exactly.”

  “It sounds a lot like a war of angels versus demons.”

  “It kind of is. Star children go by many names here on earth but the main thing you need to know is that good star children are what humans would call angels and the star children who turned their backs on the mission they were given are what humans call demons.”

  “If that’s really the case then why do humans have different depictions of angels and demons?” I asked curiously.

  “Back in the ancient times, people saw star children and knew good and bad ones basically look the same. They needed a way to show that there are different kinds of star children. I guess it just stuck throughout the years.”

  “I always thought demons were something completely different from angels.”

  “No, Luc…” he trailed off. “Never mind, we have lots to do.”

  “What do we do now?” I asked. I ignored the fact that he decided to keep something from me. If there really was a lot to do then I had to focus on what needed to be done.

  “Training,” he said. “You need to learn what your abilities are and how to use them before we can even think about fighting in this war.”

  Chapter 7

  “How much longer ‘til we get there?” I asked. We were walking through a forest for what seemed like hours and I was getting tired.

  “We’re almost there, I promise,” Andy said. “When we reach the clearing up ahead, we’ll rest for a little while before starting your training.”

  “Okay.” I looked around and could see Aspen trees everywhere. It was a breathtaking sight. After Andy and his team rescued me from Evan, we went to Colorado to hide out while I learned about my abilities again. I still had some trouble believing everything was real. Sometimes Andy had to prove to me I wasn’t crazy. He was surprisingly patient and I was grateful for it.

  We got to a large clearing where there were a few logs scattered around the edge, flowers and a grassy field with a dirt path splitting the clearing into two even sections. I always loved being in nature and taking in the beauty of it all. I took in the scene and instantly felt calm; I was mesmerized by my surroundings. I kept my focus on the environment and suddenly felt a surge of energy run through my body, before I knew it, there was a ball of energy in my hand.

  “You did it!” Andy yelled excitedly, snapping me out of my trance. “I didn’t even have to teach you!”

  “What?” I asked. “Oh, I was just spacing out and suddenly there was an energy ball in my hand.”

  “This is great! Your abilities are developing faster than I thought they would.”

  “So I guess we don’t need to be here anymore.”

  “Nice try. There’s more to learn than how to make an energy ball but it is a good start
.”

  “What’s next?” I was both excited and nervous about everything I was going to learn. The possibilities seemed endless.

  “I think you should try making an energy ball on purpose. Now that you’ve done it by accident, it should be easier for you to do it whenever you want.”

  “How do I do that? Last time I just relaxed and somehow it happened on its own.”

  “Relaxing is a big part of it,” Andy started, “you need to focus on your energy. Now close your eyes and take deep breaths.” I sat down on a log, closed my eyes and started breathing deeply. “Listen to my voice closely and do what I say the best you can.” His voice was so relaxing, I felt like I was going to fall asleep. “Think back to what your body felt like a moment ago when you felt that surge of energy.” I thought about what I felt like only moments before. I remembered feeling like my entire body was tingling and I remembered feeling it more so in my hands just before the energy ball appeared. “Feel for that energy in your body and if you can, make it stronger.” I felt the tingling sensations return; it was very weak, so I breathed in more deeply to take in more energy. It wasn’t long before the energy inside me grew stronger. I knew the next step was to feel the energy flow through my hand and out to form a ball of energy, so that’s exactly what I did. “Aimee, you did it!”

  “I know!” I squealed. “I did it on purpose this time!”

  “I know, I was reading your mind as you did it.”

  I laughed. “Of course you were.” The energy ball remained in my hand as we were talking. “Is this normal?” I asked as I pointed at the white ball of energy.

  “No, it’s not. Most people who are trying to learn their abilities can’t even create an energy ball the first time they try let alone sustain it while they’re having a conversation.”

  “I guess I’m just special.”

  Andy leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. The electricity was so strong that I could no longer sustain the ball of energy as it dissolved into the air. “You are pretty special,” he said as he gave me a squeeze that made me blush. I was never used to the whole romance thing, at least not in any of my most recent memories. I still had no memories of my life before Evan erased it. “Don’t worry; those memories will come back to you. I’ll make sure of it.”

  “I hope so.”

  “Let’s go back home. You did a really good job today, so we’ll just relax and train some more tomorrow.”

  “Okay.” I paused for a moment and said, “I just wish I could remember everything from before. Is there a way to get those memories back?”

  “I can show you things from our past together and hopefully it will trigger some memories. I’ll ask my mom if she knows a way to get your memory back.”

  “Great,” I said as I wrapped my arms around Andy’s neck. He gave me a kiss before he grabbed my hand and lead me out of the woods.

  “Are you hungry?” Andy asked as we got home.

  “I could eat.”

  “We could make eggplant parmesan.”

  “Sounds great, I could make a hot fudge brownie sundae for dessert too.” Andy had a shocked look on his face. Tears were in his eyes. “What is it?”

  “We used to make this exact meal and dessert together all the time.”

  An image of Andy and I making dinner flashed through my mind. We had so much fun cooking together and it always brought us closer. “I remember.” I was stunned and excited as tears filled my eyes. “You were right. My memories are starting to come back to me.”

  “That’s amazing!” he cried. Tears streamed down his face. I knew he was happy for me to remember at least one thing of my past with him. He gave me a hug that left me breathless and whispered, “Soon you’ll remember everything.”

  “I hope so.” His touch was so intoxicating that I wouldn’t have let go if I had been able to breathe.

  “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.” He gave me a kiss on the lips and the electricity I felt between us was more intense than ever. I could have kept it up for hours, I wanted to. I just wanted to be as close to Andy as possible in every way. He pulled away and said, “I could do this for hours too, but maybe we should start cooking. We have company coming over later.”

  “Who’s coming over? Not that I would really know who they are, never mind.”

  “I think you’ll really enjoy this visit.”

  “Really? Why?” Excitement started to build up inside me as I wondered who our guest was going to be.

  “It’s a surprise.” Andy smiled mischievously. I tried reading his mind but all I heard was “I’m not telling you!” I tried to suppress a laugh, but Andy knew what I had done. “Hey! You read my mind! You’re getting better at this.”

  “So we can control what thoughts we want other people to know about? You do realize you’re going to have to teach me that…right?”

  “Aw, but I was enjoying the VIP pass into your mind.”

  “If you don’t teach me I’ll just have to ask your mom.”

  “I’m so scared, you’re going to go running to my mommy,” he said, giving me a hug.

  I laughed. “Then you better teach me if you don’t want me telling on you.”

  A look of disbelief flashed across his face. “We used to tease each other like this all the time. I can’t believe this is happening already. Maybe I should call my mom…she might have answers.”

  “After all of that, you’re going to call your mom anyway?” I teased.

  “Yeah, I’m not sure why you’re getting your memory back so fast…it’s not normal for star children.” I could feel Andy’s emotions. I felt how happy, shocked and relieved he was. He was on the verge of tears which meant I was also on the verge of tears.

  “Maybe it’s just coming back naturally,” I offered. “But if you think there’s something off about it, you should ask your mom.”

  “I’ll call her tomorrow. We have dinner and dessert to make and then a guest to entertain tonight.”

  “You’re really not going to tell me who this mystery guest is, are you?” I asked, hoping he would cave in.

  “Nope,” he laughed.

  “This is torture,” I whined.

  “I know. You’ll find out soon enough.”

  We made dinner followed by Andy watching me make the hot fudge brownie sundae. It was a lot of fun; we had a mini food fight, laughed at each other and bonded. I knew it was like old times and loved every minute of it. When all the cooking was done, we sat down and had a dinner that was as much fun to eat as it was to make. I knew I loved Andy with every fiber of my being and I hardly remembered anything about him or my existence with him. I didn’t want to question any of it. I had to remember to trust my instincts and they told me it was the real thing. We finished eating and not much time passed before the doorbell rang.

  “That must be the surprise guest.”

  “Yes it is,” Andy said with a huge grin on his face. “Stay here, I’ll bring in the guest of honor.” He rushed to the door as I sat at the table, wondering who was about to enter the room.

  “Brian!?” I was shocked. I definitely wasn’t expecting my best friend to walk in. “What are you doing here?”

  “Andy invited me over,” he answered. “I wanted to see how you’re doing. It’s good to see you again.”

  “It’s good to see you too,” I said giving him a hug. “But how…”

  “We had it planned from the beginning,” Andy interrupted.

  “Planned what?” I was so confused. Why was my best friend standing in front of me after everything I learned about myself? Was he part of all of this?

  “I’m a star child too Aimee,” Brian started, “Andy wanted me to get close to you to ensure your safety.”

  “So all those times I asked you what was happening to me…you knew? And you didn’t tell me?” I was a little angry. My best friend kept all this stuff from me knowing I wanted answers. It felt like a betrayal.

  “I know this sounds bad, but it was to protect you,” Andy said.
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br />   “Protect me? You think keeping me in the dark was protecting me?” I shouted. “You knew I was about to be kidnapped the first time didn’t you Brian? That phone call…it was part of the plan, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes, it was. I’m so sorry Aimee. I never wanted to hurt you,” Brian replied. I knew his apology was genuine, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.

  “Aimee, I asked Brian to come over to help with your training. Plus I thought you would like to see your best friend.” Andy tried to ease the tension as I tried to calm down.

  “Yeah, I know,” I began, “it’s great to see you Brian, it’s just a shock to find out that you knew exactly what I’ve been going through the entire time. I don’t hate you, I could never hate you. Plus, it explains a lot of what happened before.”

  “What do you mean?” Confusion read all over Brian’s face.

  “Remember when I told you about that dream I had? The one Andy was in. Well I heard you on the phone with who I now know was Andy. This explains that conversation. I had a feeling you were keeping something from me and now I know what it was.”

  “You also knew I was reading your mind.”

  “Well…yeah, that was obvious. But what I want to know is why Brian was there to protect me and you weren’t Andy? Why couldn’t you have been there for me?”

  “Evan knows that we’re basically attached at the hip and he was following me hoping I would lead him to you,” Andy answered. “I wanted you to have someone there to protect you but as hard as it was, I knew I couldn’t be the one to do it.”

  “We were all friends before this whole thing happened.” Brian answered my question before I asked.

  “I will never get used to you guys listening in on my thoughts.”

  “We know,” Andy and Brian replied simultaneously.

  “Here’s the key to your apartment,” Brian said, pulling my keys out of his pocket. “Don’t worry, everything is in its proper place and I locked up.”