Crazy Files

by Yvi Valentin

  “Aimee, you have to get out of there,” I heard Andy’s panicked voice in my head.

  “How?” I asked. “Where are you guys?”

  “We flew to the closest hotel.”

  I headed towards the exit and hoped War and Pestilence wouldn’t catch on. I walked slowly and tried to make it seem as if I was looking around for the group I came with. I made it outside and flew to the nearest hotel within seconds. I didn’t have time to care if anyone saw me.

  “I’m outside,” I said once I landed. “Where are you?”

  “Right behind you,” Andy answered.

  “Oh, good.” I turned around to give Andy a hug.

  “What happened?” he asked furiously.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m talking about how you just ran into the airport without paying attention to your surroundings.”

  “I wasn’t thinking.”

  “Well while you were spacing out, the rest of us noticed War and Pestilence were nearby.”

  “Then why didn’t you stop me!?”

  “Because you walked away too fast!” Andy yelled. He paused for a moment to calm down. “Let’s go inside, we’re trying to come up with an exit strategy.”

  Andy led me into the building and up to the room we were going to be staying in for as long as it took us to figure out how to get out of Amsterdam. Andy opened the door and everyone stared at me for a moment.

  Jen rushed to hug me. “I was so worried about you.”

  “You had us all worried kiddo,” Brian added.

  “I’m fine, I just spaced out for a moment,” I replied.

  “Anyway,” Evan interrupted. “Let’s figure out how to get out of here.”

  “Do you have any suggestions?” I asked.

  “No,” Evan said, embarrassed.

  “There’s no way we’ll be able to go through the airport,” Brian pointed out.

  “That much is obvious,” Jen said.

  “What if we fly?” I asked.

  “All the way back to the states?” Evan asked, shocked by my suggestion.

  “How else are we going to get there?” I asked.

  “That’s a lot of energy we’re going to have to use,” Evan pointed out.

  “We can make stops for more energy when we need to,” I suggested.

  “It’s probably our best bet,” Brian added.

  “We can all meet back at Aimee’s apartment in Chicago if we get separated,” Andy offered.

  “Sounds like a plan,” Jen said.

  “Who’s going to carry the riding crop?” Evan asked.

  “I’ll do it,” I offered.

  “No, Aimee, it’s too dangerous,” Andy protested.

  “Or we can stick together and we’ll both take it back,” I suggested before he could get another word in.

  “I can live with that,” he answered.

  “Let’s recharge for tonight and leave first thing in the morning,” Brian suggested.

  “I’m fine with that,” Jen said.

  “Me too,” I chimed in.

  “It’s settled then, we’ll leave tomorrow morning,” Andy announced.

  Chapter 26

  The morning came and we all got ready to fly back to Chicago. I hoped Andy and I would make it back first so we could hide the riding crop without Evan finding out. I looked in the container to make sure the riding crop was still inside. I didn’t sleep very well because I kept waking up to make sure Evan wasn’t trying to steal the riding crop.

  “See you guys in Chicago,” Brian said.

  “Be careful,” Andy replied.

  “You too,” Jen added.

  We checked out of the hotel and found a secluded place to take off. Andy and I watched everyone else take off before we embraced and took off ourselves. I hoped we wouldn’t have to stop often. We couldn’t afford it.

  I was surprised we didn’t stop at all, but I figured it was because it was two of us flying together. Maybe one of us picked up the slack when the other ran low on energy. Either way, it didn’t take us long to land in my Chicago apartment.

  “That was fast,” Andy said.

  “I know, we didn’t have to stop at all,” I replied.

  “How is that possible?”

  “I thought maybe it was because we were flying together.”

  “Maybe, but I didn’t feel like I used much energy at all.”

  “That’s weird.”

  “Yeah, did you do anything?” Andy asked expectantly.

  “I flew.”

  “Maybe you don’t use as much energy as the rest of us,” Andy suggested. We were both baffled by the situation but knew we had to hide the riding crop quick before Evan showed up. “We should get to work.”

  “Where are we going to put this thing?”

  “I’m not sure. Where did Brian and Jen put the handkerchief?”

  “I don’t know, it’s probably better that we don’t know.”

  “You’re right. So where should we put it?”

  “Somewhere safe,” I answered.

  “Well I figured that much,” Andy laughed. “Come on we might not have much time before Evan gets here.”

  “Alright, let’s just walk around until we find somewhere that seems safe enough.”

  “That’s too risky. Remember what happened when we sent Evan out with a fake handkerchief?”

  “That’s true. What if we put it in a storage facility?”

  “I don’t know those places can get broken into.”

  “Any place can get broken into if the right person is properly motivated,” I pointed out.

  “That’s true, but we need more security.”

  “We need to figure this out fast before Evan gets here.”

  “We could build a safe for it,” Andy suggested.

  “I don’t think we have time for that.”

  “We could put it in one of our other houses.”

  “What happens if we end up staying there?”

  “We’ll make sure we don’t stay there.”

  “Alright, pick a place and let’s go.” I wasn’t happy about hiding the riding crop in one of our houses and I was sure Andy could tell.

  “Hey,” he said as he wrapped his arms around me. “We only have two more objects to get before this is over.”

  “You mean until the horsemen will stop chasing us, but this is the apocalypse we’re trying to stop, there will be other people and creatures to come after us.”

  “You’re right but right now we have a job to do.”

  “Alright, let’s pick a place and get this done.” I was impatient. I wanted this to be over. I wanted to wake up from this hell. I wondered yet again if there was anything I could do to wake myself up. “What about Manhattan?”

  “I don’t know,” Andy started. “I was thinking about somewhere with more hiding places.”

  “What about our place in Colorado?” I suggested.

  “It’s too far away.”

  “Andy, we just flew here all the way from Amsterdam in no time, I think we can handle flying to and from Colorado.”

  “You’re right, let’s hurry.”

  We secured the riding crop and flew to our house in Colorado. It took a few minutes and hardly any energy to get there. I wondered if the apocalypse was somehow making me stronger. Once we went inside the house we inspected everything to make sure there was nothing wrong. There was no sign of a break-in.

  “Where…” I started, but Andy put a finger on my lips before I could finish my question.

  “I’m not sure if there are any bugs in here so let’s just talk like this,” he said telepathically.

  “Where should we put the riding crop?”

  “In the basement, there’s a safe hidden down there.”

  We made our way to the basement and I failed to find where the safe was hidden. I watched Andy walk towards a bookcase and push it to the side. Behind the bookcase was a plain wall that fit in with the rest of the room. Andy pushed on a crease and it swung
open.

  I followed Andy into the room and telepathically asked, “What is this place?”

  “We can talk in here,” Andy whispered. “This is our safe room. I had it put in for emergencies.”

  “And no one knows about this place?” I whispered.

  “Just us.”

  “Okay, so are we just going to put it in here and hope nobody finds this place?”

  “No,” Andy said softly as I watched him walk over to a painting in the room. He pulled the painting out to reveal a safe. I watched in amazement as he put in the combination and unlocked the safe.

  “You put a safe in the safe room.”

  “Yeah, in the rare event that someone finds this room, they won’t easily find whatever we want to hide in here.”

  “And that safe is big enough for this?” I asked while shaking the container with the riding crop inside.

  “It’ll fit perfectly.”

  “It doesn’t look big enough.”

  “That’s because it’s not supposed to.” Andy smiled a mischievous smile.

  “Of course, you always have a trick up your sleeve.”

  “You got that right,” Andy bragged as he opened a compartment of the safe. It revealed a huge section big enough to fit the riding crop and its container. I handed the container over and watched Andy carefully place it in the safe. He put the divider back in. “We should probably put something in the front…just in case.”

  “Nothing too important though.”

  “Maybe some cash and invaluable jewelry.” I nodded and walked upstairs to find some money and look through my jewelry. I picked out a few expensive looking items and brought them down to the safe. “Are you sure you want to put these in here? What if they get stolen?”

  “It’ll be fine,” I answered. “It’s just costume jewelry.”

  “Very smart,” Andy said as he placed everything in the safe. He closed it up and put the painting back into place. We left the room and hid it once again behind the bookcase.

  After we were sure the riding crop was safe, we headed back upstairs and relaxed for a moment before we had to leave for Chicago. I worried about what was going to happen next. With two of the horsemen after their objects and knowing we were after the remaining two; I knew everything from this point forward was going to get more difficult.

  “Are you okay?” Andy asked.

  “I just have a bad feeling about things.”

  “Like what?”

  “Something bad is going to happen.”

  “What do you think is going to happen?” Andy looked at me with concern. I knew he didn’t want anything to happen to me and I wanted to say everything was going to be fine, but he could always tell when I was lying.

  “I’m not sure about what exactly is going to happen, but I know that whatever it is, it’s not going to be good.”

  “Do you think it might have something to do with the horsemen?”

  “It might,” I nodded. “There are two horsemen trying to get their objects back and they know we’re after the last two so they’re going to be on high alert. It’s only going to get harder.”

  “That’s true but I think we can handle it.”

  “Not if Evan…” Andy put a finger to my lips to keep me from finishing my sentence.

  “We should probably go.”

  “Do you think everyone will be there when we get back?”

  “I’m not sure. I guess we’ll find out when we get there.”

  We locked up and left for Chicago. It took us a few minutes to get there which still shocked me. I didn’t feel like I had used any energy that time and wondered why. I made a mental note to bring it up to Michael during our next meeting.

  “Are you kidding me!?” I yelled as I saw the door wide open.

  “I knew we couldn’t trust…” Andy stopped himself as Jen ran into the hallway.

  “Jen!” I exclaimed. “Did you leave the door open?”

  “Brian did,” she answered.

  “Oh, good,” I said, relieved.

  “Is Evan here?” Andy asked.

  “No, we were the first ones to get here.” We headed inside when Jen asked, “Where’s the riding crop?”

  “It’s safe,” I answered.

  “We decided to hide it before Evan got here,” Andy added.

  “You still don’t trust him?” Jen asked.

  “Do you?” Brian asked as he met us in the living room.

  “No, I was just making sure,” Jen answered.

  “I have to tell you guys something,” I announced. Andy glanced at me in confusion but quickly realized what I was going to say.

  “What is it?” Jen asked.

  “While we were in Amsterdam, I had a vision of Evan talking to War and Pestilence. It seemed like a casual conversation but I couldn’t make out any words.”

  “Do you think he’s going to try giving the objects back to the horsemen?” Brian asked.

  “I think so,” I answered.

  “Why else would he be talking to them?” Andy asked.

  “Then we should get rid of him.” Jen started to panic. I didn’t think she could handle another betrayal after what happened with Frank and Liz. But this was different; Evan was never a friend to any of us.

  “We should talk to Michael and see what he wants us to do,” Andy suggested.

  “Should we go now or wait for Evan?” Brian asked.

  “If he’s there with us we won’t be able to talk about my vision,” I answered. “Not without causing a scene.”

  “Then let’s go now,” Jen said.

  Chapter 27

  We walked our usual route through the department and into the conference room where we always met with Michael. We took our seats at the table and were surprised when Michael was nowhere to be found.

  “Where do you think he is?” Brian asked.

  “He’s an archangel, he could be anywhere,” I answered.

  “But this is the apocalypse we’re here to talk about,” Andy reminded. “You’d think he would make this a priority.”

  “Maybe something more important came up,” Jen offered.

  “More important than saving the world?” Brian asked.

  “We should ask someone where he is,” I suggested.

  “Do you really think anyone around here is going to know the answer?” Brian questioned.

  “It’s worth a shot,” I replied. “This has never happened before.”

  “Who would we ask?” Andy asked.

  “The receptionist is bound to know something.” I stood up and made my way towards the receptionist’s desk. I barely made it half way when an alarm pierced the atmosphere.

  “Aimee!” I heard Andy yell from the conference room doorway. He rushed towards me and held me in a tight embrace. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, but what’s going on?” I yelled above the alarm.

  “I don’t know, this has never happened before,” Andy said.

  Just then, a voice bellowed throughout the hall and I was sure everyone else in headquarters heard the same voice. “Give us the girl and no one will get hurt.” I recognized that voice anywhere. It was Lucifer and he was furious. There was a pause for a moment before I heard a loud bang followed by the entire room shaking. “Aimee, get over here now!”

  “I guess we know why Michael is M.I.A.,” Brian said.

  “Yeah,” I replied nervously. “What are we going to do?”

  “You should be safe here,” Andy answered.

  “Why doesn’t that sound comforting?” I asked.

  The ground shook again and I feared the whole place was going to fall apart. Lucifer’s voice roared through the building again. “Come willingly because one way or another, I will get my way!”

  “We have to do something!” I shouted over the still ringing alarm.

  “What do you suggest we do!?” Brian yelled. “He’s the devil in case you forgot!”

  “We can’t just sit here and let him tear apart our world!” I yelled. I h
ated Lucifer for making my life hell among other things. I was ashamed to share his DNA. Every fiber of my being wanted nothing more than to reject him, but at the same time I spent the majority of my life wanting to spend quality father daughter time. That was before I knew I was the daughter of the devil. If I had known, I never would have wished for this.

  “What are we going to do?” Andy asked.

  “Let’s find Michael,” Jen suggested. “He’s bound to have some ideas.”

  I was about to walk the rest of the way to the receptionist’s desk when I realized the four of us were alone in the department. “Where did everyone go?”

  “I have no clue,” Brian answered.

  “I don’t think they went out the main door. We would have noticed,” Andy pointed out.

  “Then let’s look for an emergency exit,” I suggested.

  “It would probably be somewhere towards the back,” Jen said.

  “What are you four doing in here?” I heard Michael yell from somewhere behind us. We turned around to see him standing in the doorway of an emergency exit. “Come on, we need you.”

  We rushed towards Michael and followed him down a dimly lit hallway. “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “To our shelter,” Michael yelled over the alarm. I couldn’t believe it was still going off. It seemed like such a long time had gone by since it first pierced the atmosphere. “We knew something like this would happen sooner or later.”

  “What are we going to do?” Andy asked.

  “First you guys are going to tell me why you came up here,” Michael started. “After that, we will determine our course of action.”

  “We have War’s riding crop,” I replied.

  “Is it secure?” Michael asked.

  “Yes,” Andy replied.

  “I certainly hope so because you are going to be up here for a while,” Michael said.

  “Do you think Lucifer will give up eventually?” I asked.

  “Not anytime soon,” Michael answered.

  “There has to be something we can do to stop him,” Andy pleaded.

  “We will discuss it soon enough.” Michael paused. “Was there something else you wanted to tell me?”

  “Yeah, it’s about Evan,” Brian started.

  “We don’t trust him,” Jen finished his sentence.

  “I had a vision,” I added.

  “What happened in this vision?” Michael was curious but I could tell he knew this was going to happen.