Crazy Files

by Yvi Valentin

  “No, I’m just scared,” I lied. I looked at myself in the mirror and saw a murky pink cloud come out of my head. It wasn’t just a fluke. Everything was real and my heart filled with excitement. “I’m stuck in an unknown place and all I know about what’s going on is one story my sister told me.”

  “What did she tell you?” Lucifer asked nervously.

  “She told me that her and my mom are in here because they had a nervous breakdown after I ran away and I came back to visit them and started talking about the apocalypse. I got invited to stay and shortly after I was committed, I freaked out and managed to put myself into a coma.”

  “That is exactly what happened.” Another lie.

  I was thrilled to discover I had my abilities. I could have done cartwheels knowing I wasn’t crazy. I knew I would see Andy again and I couldn’t wait for that moment. I needed to pretend I had no clue what was happening so Evan wouldn’t erase my memory. I needed to give my family their memories back. And most important of all, I needed to get out of this mental hospital. The big question was: how was I going to pull it off?

  “Do you think I’ll ever get my memory back?” I asked trying to distract Lucifer. I decided to break down his shield.

  “I think so,” he said pleasantly. I focused on his shield like I did with Evan a while ago and tried to break it down without him noticing. The problem was that he did notice; he kept repairing every dent I made. “Well, it seems like you’re doing alright so I’ll let you get back to bonding with your family.”

  “Thanks,” I said as he walked out of the room.

  “What did he say?” my mom asked as she walked back into the room with Eve.

  “He just asked me a few questions about what I remember and told me I’m fine,” I answered.

  “I’m glad you’re okay,” she said as she held onto me tight.

  “Me too,” I replied trying to hold back my tears. It hurt to know they didn’t remember who they really were. If I was going to give them their memories back, this was the perfect opportunity. I held onto my mom and thought about every memory I had of her and passed them along to her. I knew it wasn’t going to be every memory she had and I wished I could have fully restored her memory, not just the ones I had of her, but in the moment it was good enough.

  “Aimee,” my mom said confused. “What’s going on? Where are we?”

  “Not too loud,” I whispered. “We can’t let Lucifer hear us.”

  “Lucifer’s here?” she asked in a panic.

  “Yes, but it’ll be alright, I’m going to get us out of here,” I answered.

  “What’s going on?” Eve asked. I grabbed Eve’s hand and gave her every memory I had of her. I wished I could have fully restored her memory too, but I knew it wouldn’t happen. “Is this Evan’s doing?”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “You just gave me my memory back, didn’t you?” Eve asked.

  “Yes,” I answered.

  “It had to have been Evan’s doing,” Eve explained.

  “How do you know about him?” I asked. “I didn’t give you any memories of him.”

  “I have all of my memories,” Eve answered.

  “I do too,” my mom added.

  “How is that possible?” I whispered.

  “Have you been to Uriel?” my mom asked.

  “Yes,” I replied.

  “He gave you the rest of your abilities, didn’t he?” she asked.

  “Yes,” I repeated.

  “That’s good,” Eve began. “It means you can get us out of here.”

  “We can’t let Lucifer and Evan know we remember who we are,” I whispered.

  “What’s the plan?” Eve asked.

  “We have to lay low until I can talk to Andy,” I said.

  “How are you going to do that from in here?” my mom asked.

  “He can control my dreams,” I started, “it’s how we’ve managed to stay in contact with each other whenever Lucifer got a hold of me.”

  “You mean this has happened before?” my mom asked in horror.

  “He’s managed to capture me, but never put me in a mental hospital before,” I answered.

  “So you’re going to talk to Andy and come up with a plan?” Eve asked.

  “It’s too dangerous for him to come here,” my mom pointed out. “He could get stuck with us.”

  “We’re going to have to come up with a plan ourselves,” Eve suggested.

  “Alright, let’s get started,” I sighed.

  “I’m sorry ladies,” Evan said as he entered the room. “I really need to check on Aimee now if you don’t mind.”

  “She was already checked on,” my mom replied protectively.

  “It’s true,” I added. “I was.”

  “Alright, I’ll go talk to one of the other doctors,” Evan said and he left the room.

  “He suspects something,” I whispered.

  “How do you figure?” Eve asked.

  “I just have a feeling,” I answered. I went to the door and carefully listened for any sign of Evan ratting me out to Lucifer. I could hear the other patients going about their lives and doctors doing their job. There was no sign of Evan or Lucifer. “That’s strange.”

  “What is it?” my mom asked.

  “There’s no sign of Evan or Lucifer,” I answered.

  “Where would they have gone?” Eve asked.

  “Maybe Evan needs to make a public appearance,” I suggested.

  “Why would he need to do that?” Confusion was painted all over my mom’s face.

  “Because he’s running for president,” I answered. “He’s the antichrist.”

  “You’re kidding,” Eve shouted, stunned by my words.

  “I wish I was,” I replied. “Hold on, they’re coming back.” I rushed away from the door and sat on my bed. I tried to listen to what they were saying, but not a single word passed their lips. I figured they were talking telepathically so I decided to listen in.

  “I’m telling you, she knows something,” Evan whined.

  “I don’t think she does,” Lucifer said. “You need to bring me proof before we do anything drastic. She’s the key to winning this war and you’re suggesting we erase her memory and start from square one.”

  “I’ll get you that proof,” Evan replied. He walked into the room. “Aimee, can I talk to you…alone?”

  “Whatever you have to say to me you can say to my family,” I protested.

  “Alright, I know you’re faking it.”

  “Faking what? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I tried breaking down his protective shield so I could control him into letting us out. Every dent I made was quickly repaired. He knew what I was doing. Time was running out.

  “Did you know that we’re married?” Evan asked.

  “Wouldn’t I feel something for you if that were true?” I struggled to hide my anger from him.

  “No, because you don’t remember anything,” he answered.

  I cried as I realized I had to play along. “Oh.”

  “I know this must be scary for you.” He inched closer to me. If he was going to touch me, I was going to be ready. I created an electric current through my body.

  “You have no idea,” I sobbed.

  Evan put a hand on me and I saw his protective shield absorb the shock of the electricity. I couldn’t help but gasp. “You just tried something, didn’t you?”

  “No,” I answered innocently.

  “Yes you did, you just tried to electrocute me,” he yelled as he grabbed me. He headed towards the door and I knew he was going to tell Lucifer.

  “Leave her alone!” My mom used her ability to fling Evan across the room. I froze in horror.

  Evan rushed out of the room yelling, “You’ll never get out of here now!”

  “Mom! Why did you do that!?” I yelled in a panic. “He knows now!”

  “I couldn’t let him hurt you!” she answered.

  “We have to get out of here now
!” Eve shouted.

  “How? There are bars on the windows and guards at every exit.” I listened for signs of Evan ratting me out to Lucifer like a child. I heard him running all over the place, looking for Lucifer. I could tell he was excited by his discovery. “Evan’s looking for Lucifer.”

  “Then let’s get out of here!” Eve yelled.

  “Hold on,” I said. “I hear them.”

  “What are they saying?” my mom asked.

  I listened closely to their conversation.

  “I have the proof!” Evan yelled excitedly.

  “What is it?” Lucifer asked.

  “Rosie flung me across the room with her abilities,” Evan answered.

  “How is that possible?” Lucifer angrily asked.

  “Aimee must have given her family their memories back.”

  “Is there any other proof?”

  “Aimee tried to electrocute me.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I felt it on my shield. She also tried to break it down. I felt it happen as she did it but managed to repair it before she could do anything.”

  “I thought she did that to me too,” Lucifer murmured to himself. “Alright, I believe you.”

  “What are we going to do about her?”

  “You’re going to erase her memory,” Lucifer began. “And the memories of her family, I don’t want them remembering they’re related. Do you understand me?”

  “Yes.”

  I stood there frozen in fear as Lucifer and Evan ended their conversation. My eyes were wide open and my jaw dropped. I wanted to tell my mom and sister of the horror I heard. I wanted to warn them but all I could do was gasp.

  About the author

  Yvi Valentin is a poet and novelist from Chicago. Born with a creative spirit, she has spent most of her life writing. Her experiences with the paranormal inspired her to write science fiction novels.

  For more information visit: http://supposedlyspiritual.blogspot.com

  Be on the lookout for the next book in The Crazy Files Series:

  Psychotic Break