Crazy Files

by Yvi Valentin

  “The most they could have done was put a GPS tracker on the outside; no one will be able to hear us.”

  “If we leave the car at a parking garage for too long, won’t Evan notice? Won’t he come after me again?”

  “He’ll always try to come after you, but we’re not going to make it easy for him. I won’t let that happen.” He tried to reassure me but it didn’t work. We arrived at the parking garage, which was across the state border and walked up four flights of stairs to get to the new car. Once we were situated in the car, we drove off.

  “Where are we going now? I know we have safe houses all over the world, but I’m curious to know which one you’re taking us to.”

  “I was thinking we could go to the L.A. house.”

  “Sounds great, I love it there.”

  “You remember?” Andy was confused. Maybe he forgot about the memories I was given not long ago.

  “That L.A. is where we got married? Of course I remember!”

  “Good,” he said as he kissed my hand.

  Chapter 9

  “Hey Andy,” I called from the bedroom.

  “Yes sweetheart?” he asked as he poked his head in from the bathroom.

  “How come we never wear wedding rings?”

  “We keep them here. After Evan kidnapped you the first time, we realized he wasn’t going to give up on you and decided it was better to keep our rings here so we never lose them.”

  “You forgot to give me that memory,” I teased.

  “I know, I’m sorry.” He walked over to the dresser where there sat a small heart-shaped ceramic box. It was painted light pink with an intricate gold detailing on the lid. “Your grandma made this for you and you always kept our rings in here for safe keeping.” He picked up the box and took out two wedding bands. He put one on his ring finger and the other on mine. “That’s better, sorry I forgot to give you that memory.”

  “I think I can forgive you.” I paused for a moment as I thought. “No one gave me memories of my family. What do you know about them?” Andy seemed hesitant about answering. He was hiding something but I didn’t know what it was. I tried reading his mind to find out the answer, but he was blocking the memory from me. “Andy, what aren’t you telling me?”

  “Aimee, please, you’re not ready for those memories yet. Trust me.” He squeezed my hand and walked out of the room. He thought I was going to drop it, but he couldn’t have been more wrong. What was so bad about my family that I wasn’t ready to hear?

  “Did you ever meet them?” I asked as I followed Andy out of the room.

  “A few times,” he answered. I could tell he was trying hard to keep the disgusted expression off his face.

  “What’s wrong with them? You don’t make a face like that for no reason.”

  “I was hoping you wouldn’t notice.”

  “Well I did, now spill.”

  “Please.”

  “I’m going to find out anyway so you may as well just tell me now.”

  “No.” I could feel his anger, but I didn’t want to drop it. Didn’t I deserve to know about my relatives? “I’ll tell you when the time is right, I promise, but right now is not that time.”

  “You told me my grandma made me that box our rings are in…can you tell me anything about her?” I asked, trying a different approach. “Why mention it if you weren’t willing to tell me anything about her at the very least?”

  Andy sighed. He knew I was right. “Your grandma was a nice woman. You didn’t know her very well before she died and you always felt horrible about that, but you knew she loved you very much. She always used to make things for you and your family and you always treasured everything she made for you. She crocheted a lot which is where you got your skills from; you told me whenever you crochet, you felt closer to her. That’s all I really know about her.”

  Memories of my grandma, mom and sister flooded my head. “She used to mail us food too. I was supposed to visit her the summer after she died.” Tears streaked my face. “I would have gotten to know her better during that time, build a relationship with her, but I never got to. I spent so much time wishing I had been a better granddaughter, but there’s nothing I can do about it now. She’s gone…and she’s never coming back.” Andy held me as I put my head on his chest. “I’ve seen her ghost a few times and I wish I could have spent time with her then, but it was like she was gone in a flash.” I wiped the tears from my eyes. “I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.”

  “All of those memories just came to you?”

  “That and more.”

  “What else do you remember?” he asked nervously.

  “I remember my mom and sister. I get the feeling that they aren’t who you’re trying to keep from me.” I paused for a moment as I realized the truth. “It’s my dad…isn’t it?”

  “Aimee, please,” Andy started. He fidgeted with his hands nervously as he avoided making eye contact.

  “I remember asking my mom about him. No matter how many times I asked, she never told me anything. I think my sister knows something, who he is at the very least, but she never told me anything either. She always said that it wasn’t her place to tell me. I don’t think she ever understood how I feel about the whole thing. She at least knows who her dad is and I’ve always envied her for that.”

  “You know your sister is technically your half sister?” Andy had a puzzled expression on his face.

  “Yeah,” I said quietly. I felt like crap as my emotional baggage flooded my brain.

  “So you don’t know anything about your dad?”

  “Not even his name. You know who he is, don’t you?”

  The expression on his face told me he did, but I knew he wasn’t going to tell me anything. I wondered when I would be ready to know his name at the very least. I had little energy left to argue so I walked back into the bedroom and decided to sleep it off.

  I screamed so loud you could have heard me from the international space station. I could still see this thing even with my eyes open and it left me petrified.

  “What is it?” Andy asked as he ran into the room.

  I sat up in bed, still staring at the spot where I saw it only moments before. “It appeared in my dream.” I was shaking. “When I woke up, it was still there and it stayed there for a while. It wasn’t just a dream, it was really there.”

  “What did it look like?”

  “It was a big green eye. There was no head attached to it or anything, it was just an eye and it was solid. It was bright, almost glowing green.”

  Surprise and concern read all over his face. “I’ve never heard of anything like that ever happening. I don’t know what it could be.”

  “Isn’t there someone we can ask about this?” I was in a full blown panic. Something bad was going to happen…I could feel it.

  I knew Andy read my mind because he had a troubled look on his face. “We need to get out of here…fast.”

  “Why? Andy what is it?”

  “With what you saw and the bad feeling you have, I think we should trust your instincts.” He was already packing up our stuff before I could even respond. “Evan could have something to do with this.”

  “How?” I asked while packing up my clothes. “Isn’t Evan a star child too? Can any of us do anything like that?”

  “No but he has other creatures working for him.”

  “Other creatures? You mean there are other things out there? I thought those were just urban legends?”

  “The legends are true to some extent. Plus a few things that modern myths don’t cover.”

  “I can’t believe all of this is happening. Where are we going next?”

  “It’s best not to give specifics while we’re in here, someone could be listening.”

  “Right,” I said taking my suitcase outside to the car. Andy did the same and we were on our way to destination unknown. “Is it safe for you to tell me where we’re going now?”

  “I’m still trying to decide where to go. Do you
have any preferences?”

  “How about we go to New York?” It was the first place that came to mind. “Do we have a place to stay there?”

  “We have a place all around the world,” Andy said with a mischievous smile.

  “You mean we can go anywhere around the world!?”

  “Yes, love. Did you just change your mind about New York?” He laughed. He knew me all too well…I shouldn’t have been surprised.

  “Umm….yeah!” I laughed. “Let’s go to Italy!” My excitement was building. I had almost forgotten the reason we were relocating in the first place.

  “Italy it is.”

  “I don’t have a passport…how will I get there without one?”

  “Don’t worry, I’ve got it covered.” He paused for a moment and said, “I’m going to have Brian pick up the car after we get to the airport so it’s not sitting in the parking garage for too long.”

  “Good idea.”

  We got to the airport, bought our tickets for the next flight to Italy and waited in the terminal for a few hours. I never realized how uncomfortable I was in large crowds until that moment. I felt a multitude of emotions that I didn’t know what to do with. Andy must have sensed my high level of discomfort because he gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. I knew I was going to be fine, but it was going to take some getting used to. Not only was I feeling an intense amount of energy, but I was also seeing things. There were orbs of blue, red and white flashing all over the place. There were lines of yellow, green, blue and every other color imaginable speeding across the room and through walls. I saw shadow people not attached to anyone almost everywhere I looked. I didn’t know what most of it was and that scared me the most.

  Eventually we boarded our flight and hours later landed in Rome. We rented a car for the weekend and were on our way to our new home for an undetermined amount of time. We drove for what seemed like three hours outside of Rome before we reached the driveway of our house. It was a beautiful two story house with a white panel façade and a porch big enough to fit a swing and large party comfortably. It looked slightly out of place considering we were in Italy, but there wasn’t another house around for miles. I figured it was where we came when we wanted to disappear because our other houses were nowhere near as secluded as the house in front of me.

  We walked through the door and the first thing I noticed was the beautiful pale blue color on the walls, without a doubt chosen by me. The next thing I noticed was the fireplace; I had always wanted one but was never able to afford a house that had one. Everything was shades of blue with chocolate brown accents. I must have done the decorating because I could see my style plastered everywhere I looked. It was the house of my dreams, or maybe I had remembered the house while I was out of commission.

  “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Andy asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

  “Yeah, it’s the house of my dreams.” I was still in awe of everything around me.

  “Well I hope so. You designed and decorated this whole place.”

  “You mean those weren’t just dreams? They were memories?”

  Andy’s smile dropped and I could see the shock all over his face. “I didn’t know you literally meant of your dreams. Evan must have done a horrible job at erasing your memories.”

  “Or maybe he only erased the memories he thought were necessary for me to forget.”

  “Good point. Hey, why don’t you go check out the rest of the house?”

  “Okay.” I walked into the kitchen and to my surprise, it was huge! It was the kitchen I always wanted. It was big enough for me to dance while I was cooking and there was enough counter space to comfortably fit everything I would need to make my meals. The walls were white except for one wall which was painted a vibrant yellow. As I gazed upon the bight wall, a memory reached my consciousness: Andy and I were looking at paint colors trying to decide which one to use in the kitchen when I decided on yellow because it would bring a positive energy to everyone who entered the room. I was excited to have another memory back and wondered how many more I was missing out on.

  Just as the sadness crept in, I pushed it aside and drank in the rest of my beautifully designed kitchen. The oven, microwave and fridge were a shiny steel color and the countertops were a beautiful dark grey color with flecks of a lighter grey peeking through. I stared at the hardwood floors as a memory of me attempting to tap dance while waiting for my food to cook entered my brain. I saw Andy walk in and laugh at how horrible I was at it, but I didn’t care because I was having fun doing what I loved. I couldn’t help but smile at the memory and hoped more would come back.

  I brought my suitcase to my room upstairs which was even more perfect than I could have ever imagined. The bed was king size with a blue and green striped sheet and comforter set placed against a beautifully painted accent wall. Another memory came to mind as I stared at the ornately painted mosaic pattern on the accent wall:

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Andy asked.

  “Of course I do,” I said as I started taping off random sections.

  “I think it looks fine with just the light blue.”

  “Well I think it looks boring and you know how I feel about that.”

  “I know but what you want to do isn’t going to be easy.”

  “If it’s going to be too hard for you to do then you can just watch me while I do all the work.” I couldn’t help but tease him. It always made me smile to see the look on his face.

  “Fine, I’ll help but I don’t want to hear any complaining.”

  I began painting. “I won’t.” I watched Andy and I get to work on the wall. It looked like we had a lot of fun along the way and I didn’t complain once. When the job was done I turned to Andy and said, “See, it wasn’t that bad.”

  I was brought back to the present and started unpacking my suitcase. I went to the bathroom to put away some of my things and thought I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I turned around and saw nothing so I ignored it and continued what I was doing. I went over to get more stuff out of my suitcase and thought I saw something again, but when I turned around there was nothing there. I went back to the bathroom to put more of my belongings away and once again saw something out of the corner of my eye. I turned around and saw a glowing pair of orange eyes. It was Gina; she was standing right in front of me in the bathroom door. I froze and dropped my things. I opened my mouth to call for Andy, but couldn’t manage to make any noise.

  “Is everything alright in there?” Andy called from down the hall.

  Silence.

  “Aimee, are you okay?” I heard him walk towards the bathroom. When he saw me standing frozen in fear, he rushed towards me and grabbed my face. “Aimee, what happened?” I was still looking at the spot where I saw Gina’s eyes just seconds before.

  I finally managed to look into Andy’s eyes. I let go of the breath I was holding in and quietly said, “I saw…”

  “What did you see?”

  “Orange eyes…” I whispered.

  “Gina?”

  “I-I’m not sure. All I saw…” I took a deep breath. “All I saw were orange eyes.”

  “They’re getting closer. We’re going to have to find someplace else to go. You’re in serious danger now.”

  Chapter 10

  “But we just got here. Where will we go next?” I was tired of moving around so much. I wondered if there was a place on earth where I was going to be safe from Evan and his evil plots.

  “I don’t know but we have to get out of here fast.”

  “We can’t just run away every time I’m in danger.”

  “Why do you want to stay here so badly?” Andy asked suspiciously.

  “I’ve been remembering things since we got here…I don’t want that to stop.”

  “Seriously? Why didn’t you say anything?” I could feel how pleased he was with this new information which only made me smile despite everything.

  “I was going to after I finished unpacking.”r />
  “I have an idea,” Andy said with a devious grin on his face. “I have a few more things left to teach you.”

  “What are they?” I asked, intrigued yet confused. I thought I had finished with my training a while ago. What was left for me to learn?

  “You forgot we can go in and out of our world didn’t you?”

  “Kind of, so how do we get there?”

  “Let’s get out of here and I’ll teach you.”

  “I forgot we were still in the bathroom.”

  We walked downstairs and sat on the couch. “The first thing you need to know about traveling between our two worlds is that you have to relax and focus.”

  “Alright, what am I focusing on this time?”

  “Remember that static you’ve been seeing?”

  “Is that what I’m focusing on?”

  “Yeah, focus on it and picture yourself merging with it.”

  “Okay,” I said as I closed my eyes and relaxed. After a few moments, I was fully relaxed and realized I could see the static with my eyes closed so I began focusing on it. I stared at it for a while and nothing happened.

  “You forgot to picture yourself merging with the static.”

  “Oh right,” I laughed. I relaxed and focused on the static. I then pictured myself merging with it. I felt a surge of energy run through my body and suddenly I was in a completely different world. I panicked as I struggled to catch my breath.

  “That happens to everyone the first few times.” Andy laughed. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.”

  “This is our world? It looks like we’re floating in outer space.” I looked around in amazement and saw billions of stars miles ahead of me. There were asteroids and planets and a bunch of spacecrafts all over the place.

  “We pretty much are, but we can come and go without any spaceships or the need of spacesuits.”

  “What do humans see when they come up here?” I asked. “There are so many creatures here; people are bound to see them and even us.”

  “We just look like stars and comets to humans looking at the sky.”