by Yvi Valentin
“You came with me willingly. I didn’t force you to come.”
“You didn’t give me any other choice!” Everyone stared at me. I forgot where I was for a moment, not that I really cared. “Sorry,” I said loud enough for the microphones to pick up.
Lucifer glared at me. “You’re going to have to clean this up.”
“What do you suggest I do?”
“You’re going to make all of these people want to vote for Evan no matter what.”
“Because that wasn’t part of your plan before,” I mumbled.
“The speech is over and now you’re going to have to stand by Evan to get your picture taken,” Lucifer ordered. “Pretend you like him.”
I rolled my eyes and stood up as Evan gestured for me to go over to him. “This is going to suck,” I muttered as I walked towards him.
“This is my lovely wife,” Evan said as he put an arm around me. I cringed as he did it but quickly tried to act like I didn’t want him dead.
I forced a smile and waved. It was obvious I was faking but it was better than openly showing that I couldn’t stand Evan. It seemed to take forever but eventually the impromptu photo shoot was over and we headed back to the limo.
“What was that outburst!?” Evan yelled the second we were all in the limo.
I nodded towards Lucifer. “Ask him.”
“She got emotional while we were talking about the reason she came here,” Lucifer answered.
“Emotional!?” I yelled. “I’m pissed! You’re trying to make it seem like I want to be here when you know very well I don’t!”
“Then why did you come here willingly?” Lucifer challenged.
“Because I knew it was the only way I could keep you from killing so many people and destroying the place I love!” I shouted.
“You’re my daughter; you’re supposed to be on my side!” Lucifer yelled.
“I’m not your daughter and I don’t have to be on your side if I don’t agree with anything you say or do,” I argued.
“Well either way you’re here,” Evan pointed out.
“He’s right, Aimee. So you may as well just do what I tell you,” Lucifer added.
I knew I wasn’t going to get through to them so I decided not to say a word for the rest of the car ride. I pretended to be tired so it would make sense that I wanted to go to sleep as soon as I got back. I needed to see Andy right away. I missed him so much plus there were things we needed to talk about.
“Are you tired, darling?” Lucifer asked. I always hated when he called me that. It made it seem like he was a caring father…he definitely wasn’t.
“Yes,” I yawned.
“Then take a nap,” Evan suggested.
“I can’t sleep in a car,” I whined.
“We won’t let anything happen to you,” Lucifer said.
“Forgive me for not finding it comforting,” I mumbled.
“No worries,” Lucifer replied. “We’re almost home anyway. You can sleep for a while and we’ll talk about our next steps over dinner.”
By the time we got back, I was actually tired. I almost fell asleep in the elevator but managed to stay awake long enough to make it to my bed. The second my head hit the pillow I fell asleep. I remembered to keep Lucifer from being able to poke around in my head as I waited for Andy to enter my dream. I was excited to see him again and pass along the new information.
“Aimee,” I heard Andy call but I couldn’t see him. I looked all around me and saw nothing but darkness.
“Where are you?” I asked as I tried to feel my way around. Pretty soon the darkness faded into a beautiful beach.
“Right behind you,” Andy said as he wrapped his arms around me.
“It’s good to see you again.” I turned around and wrapped my arms around his neck.
“I missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
“I saw Evan’s speech on TV,” Andy said as we sat down.
“I didn’t pay attention to a word he said.”
“I could tell. There was one point where you looked scared and then when you yelled that you didn’t have any other choice…” Andy laughed. “It was priceless.”
“That was caught on film?” I asked in shock.
“Yeah, it was great. Everyone thinks you’re being held against your will.”
“That’s awesome,” I laughed.
“Yeah, no one is going to want to vote for Evan after seeing his “wife” behave like she’s being held against her will,” Andy laughed. “Why did you look so horrified?”
“Because I realized that Evan is the antichrist,” I answered.
His smile dropped. “Are you serious?”
“Lucifer told me Evan is the antichrist and he wants me to help him win the election.”
“By controlling the public to vote for him.”
“Yeah, he wanted to test my ability to control people. So while Evan was giving his speech, I was making the entire crowd cheer. Lucifer knows I can control people by the thousands now and he intends to take full advantage of it.”
“We have to get you out of there.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
“Aimee, I have to ask you something,” Andy said hesitantly.
“Anything.” He was never hesitant to ask me anything so it worried me. I hoped I wasn’t going to hear bad news.
“Did he take you to hell?” Andy was scared of the answer, I could feel it.
“Yeah, how did you know?”
“There are reports of a lot of people escaping from something called the Torture Unit.”
“Oh, good, Holly pulled it off!”
“You’re behind this?”
“Lucifer took me there right after he got me from headquarters.”
“What happened? Did he hurt you?”
“No, he wanted to test my bravery. At least that’s what he said. He wanted me to watch him torture someone and then do some torturing myself. When I refused, he threatened to torture me and left me alone in the room with the girl he was torturing.”
“Holly.”
“Yeah, I unchained her and healed her wounds. She told me Lucifer was holding a lot of the good star children there. He’s trying to torture them into joining his army. So I decided to get them all out of there.”
“How did you pull that off?”
“When Lucifer came back into the room, he didn’t pay attention to Holly at all. He threatened to torture me and when I didn’t back down, he gave up and we left. I made sure Holly knew the plan and left the door open slightly behind me,” I explained.
“Well it worked.”
“That’s great!”
“Yeah but with a break out of this size Lucifer is bound to find out and that’s where your problems start.”
“He’ll know it was me and who knows what he’ll do.”
“I don’t want to find out, Aimee, we have to get you out of there.”
“How?” I asked as I became panicked.
“I don’t know I’ll come up with something.”
“What does Michael have you working on now?”
“The same horsemen stuff but we can’t find them, it’s like they’re in hiding.”
“Why would they be hiding? They’re supposed to be causing as many deaths they can.”
“I know. I don’t understand it either.”
“Andy, Evan is the antichrist. What are we going to do about it?”
“I don’t know,” Andy answered. “I’ll talk to Michael about it next time I see him.”
“What’s our next move?” I asked.
“We’re going to have to get you out of there before Lucifer finds out about the escape.” I could tell he was trying hard to keep calm.
“Where should we meet in case something happens?”
“Our place in Chicago,” Andy answered.
“I only know the apartment I lived in before all of this stuff started happening. Plus the house you had me taken to, but Evan knows whe
re that is, it’s probably not safe.”
“We have another place in Chicago. I lived there when you had your memory erased, it’s a few blocks away from your apartment.”
“How can I get there if I don’t know where exactly it is?”
“Let’s meet at your place and then I’ll take you to the apartment I’m talking about.”
“That’s risky. What if we meet in Colorado to check on the riding crop?”
“That’s good,” Andy said. “We’ll meet inside the safe room.”
“Okay, I’ll leave the first chance I get.”
“How soon do you think you’ll be able to get away?”
“I don’t know. If I’m not there in a few days and you haven’t heard from me…” I started.
“Don’t even think it Aimee,” Andy interrupted.
“I don’t like it either Andy but we have to be realistic.”
“If that happens you have to promise not to give up. You have to try to get away no matter what.”
“I will, but if I can’t get away as soon as I thought, I’m going to need you to come help me.”
“I will go to the ends of the earth to help you, sweetheart.”
“I know,” I said as I gave Andy a kiss. “Lucifer said he wants to talk about our next steps over dinner tonight so I want to be there to find out what he has planned next. After that I’ll leave the first chance I get.”
“Find out as much as you can and then come meet me. You should go now. We probably don’t have much time left before Lucifer hears about the breakout.”
“Alright.” I took a deep breath. “Take care of yourself.”
“You too,” Andy said as he gave me a kiss. “Come back to me in one piece.”
Chapter 30
“What’s for dinner?” I asked as I took my seat at the dining room table.
“It’s a surprise,” Evan said with a smile as he lowered himself into the chair next to me.
“Where’s everyone else?”
“Off doing other things. I wanted to have some one on one time with you.”
“Why?”
“I want to talk to you.”
“What about?” I was nervous. I had a feeling Lucifer was finding out about the breakout and it wouldn’t be long before he came back to punish me.
“About what’s going to happen next.”
“Start talking.”
“You already know I’m the antichrist, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, your dad wants you to help me win the election.”
“I already know that. Tell me something I don’t know. Isn’t that the point of this dinner?” I was frustrated. I needed new information before I left and I had a feeling Lucifer was closing in on me.
“Did you know you’re going to have to help the false prophet too?”
“Who’s that?”
“Do you not know anything about the apocalypse?”
“Yes! I’m asking who’s playing the part.”
“Gina,” Evan said casually. “Why do you think she’s always around?”
“Because she’s hopelessly in love with you,” I mumbled.
“That’s the other reason.”
I got a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. Lucifer was close and I was running out of time. I needed to come up with an excuse to leave the table so I could make my escape. “There’s something I want to show you.”
“What is it?” Evan asked suspiciously.
“It’s a surprise,” I answered as I stood up.
“Do you need any help with it?”
“No, I can handle it. You just sit there and relax.” I walked towards my room as fast as I could without alerting Evan to my plan. I quietly closed the door behind me and walked over to the window. I looked outside to make sure there was no one around who would notice. Once the coast was clear, I opened it as quickly and quietly as possible. I heard footsteps coming towards me. I panicked and quickly flew out the window. I hoped Evan didn’t see me leave.
It wasn’t long before I arrived in Colorado. I flew through an open window upstairs as usual. I wondered if Andy was already there. I carefully walked out of my bedroom and through the hallway. I felt the pull of Andy’s energy so I knew he was around, but I wasn’t sure if there was anyone with him.
“Andy, I’m here. Is there anyone with you?” I asked telepathically.
“I’m alone and in the safe room. I’m glad you made it.”
I rushed down to the basement and into the safe room. I was excited to see Andy again. Seeing him in my dreams wasn’t as good as seeing him face to face. The second I saw him in the safe room, I ran into his arms.
“I missed you,” Andy said.
“Me too,” I replied as I maintained my tight grip on him. “I hate constantly getting taken away from you.”
“I hate it too, sweetheart, but we’re together now so let’s enjoy the moment while we have it.”
“You’re right.” I took a deep breath. I was still scared, but I tried to enjoy the moment I had alone with my Andy because I had a feeling I was going to get taken away again. “Did you check on the riding crop?”
“No, I wanted to wait for you.” He walked over to the safe and opened it. The jewelry and money were still there. “That’s a relief.”
“Yeah, but check on the riding crop. If someone came looking for it, they wouldn’t have bothered taking anything else.”
“Right,” Andy said as he pulled away the panel to reveal the container.
“Open it.” I watched Andy open the container to reveal the riding crop. I grabbed a piece of paper and used it to hold the riding crop. I inspected it to make sure it was the same one I had stolen from War.
“Is it the same one?”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes.”
“Good, now let’s get out of here.”
“Off to Chicago?”
“Yeah.” He put the riding crop back in place, closed up the safe followed by the safe room. “Let’s go out the window you came in.”
“Do you think someone’s following me?” I asked, scared of the answer.
“It’s possible. Once they realize you’re gone, it’s going to be a full on hunt for you.”
“That’s what I was afraid of.”
We went upstairs to the open bedroom window. Once we got there, Andy grabbed onto me and asked, “Are you ready?”
“Yeah,” I answered. I was shaking. I was beyond afraid of what was going to happen next.
“Are you sure? You don’t look so great.”
“I’m ready; I just have a bad feeling.”
“What do you think is going to happen?”
“Do you remember that vision I had a while back?”
“Which vision?”
“The one where Evan had me in a mental hospital.”
“I remember.”
“I think it’s going to happen soon.”
“I’m not going to let that happen.”
“I know you won’t but I just have a feeling in the pit of my stomach.” I paused for a moment. “We should get going.”
Andy tried to hide his feelings. “Yeah.” He held onto me tight and we were on our way back to Chicago.
It wasn’t long until we were inside our Chicago apartment. I looked out the window we came in through and said, “I passed by here so many times.”
“I know. I used to watch you. It was so painful knowing you didn’t remember I existed.”
“I remember being so mesmerized by this building, but I never knew why. Now I know.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“You never saw me staring at the building for way longer than I should have?” I laughed.
“I should have noticed, but all I saw was you. I didn’t notice you were acting like a stalker,” Andy teased. I could only laugh in response. “What do you think we should do now?”
“Do you know where the people who escaped from hell went?”
“Most of them went
to headquarters. Why? What are you thinking?”
“I think if Lucifer is trying to build an army, we should build one too.”
“And if we get to the people he was torturing in hell, they’ll be more likely to want to fight against Lucifer.”
“Exactly,” I nodded. “Should we go to headquarters?”
“I don’t think you should,” Andy answered. “I don’t want to risk Lucifer finding you again.”
“Then we’ll look for them here on earth.” There was a knock on the door and I gasped as I jumped back. “Are you expecting someone?”
“No.”
“How did they find me so fast?” I whispered.
“I don’t know,” Andy whispered. “You should hide.”
“No, if they’ve come to take me back I’m going to fight.” I walked over to the door and looked through the peephole. I saw Holly on the other side. I opened the door and asked, “What are you doing here? How did you find me?”
“While we were in hell I made sure to remember what your energy felt like so I could find you when I managed to get out,” Holly explained as she entered the apartment.
“How did you get out?”
“Lucifer isn’t as smart as he looks. He left the exit of the Torture Unit and lifts unguarded,” Holly explained.
“I guess he never expected anyone to be able to get out of the chains.”
“He probably didn’t expect you to let anyone out.”
“I’m alright with that,” I laughed.
“Me too, I can’t thank you enough for helping me.”
“No problem, I was only doing the right thing.”
“Well I’m glad you did.”
“Me too.” I paused for a moment. “Why did you come find me?”
“I wanted to let you know I got everyone out of the Torture Unit without any problems,” she began. “Plus, we all talked about it and decided we want to help you stop Lucifer. If he’s building and army then we should too.”
“That’s exactly what we were thinking.”
“How many of you are there?” Andy asked.
“I didn’t get an exact count but I know there are hundreds of us who broke out of hell at the same time,” Holly answered.
“Lucifer probably has thousands of people in his army,” Andy pointed out. “We’re going to have to get a lot more to fight with us.”
“Do you know how many people Lucifer has fighting for him, Aimee?” Holly asked.