Phantom Keys: by Vernon Scott (if you give a mouse a cookie read aloud txt) 📕

and try not to trigger the alarm. Looking down at my watch I timed myself. But instead of making it so that my watch started the count down from twenty-two minutes, I set my watch for twenty.
My first obstacle was to pass by the electric saws that traveled along a path on the floor. I was about to jump passed them but a giant pendulum came from the ceiling and a ray of light passed before my eyes. She must have been truly serious about this one, I thought. And where did she find the necessary space for all this stuff?
The pendulum passed over head every five seconds meaning jumping was almost impossible. The circling electric saws were continuously going pass me therefore walking through it was out of the question. The lasers were being fired for each second the pendulum was moving and stopped firing when the pendulum was directly over my head. Therefore the only time I could get pass the first obstacle was to advance forward when the lasers stopped firing for that one second in which the pendulum is over my head. I strategized to see how I could pull that off.
I looked beyond the pendulum to see that there was an open spot on the floor behind my first obstacle. But beyond that, I saw that there were more lasers. Knowing my mother, I know that I have to act fast starting from here on out.
As soon as that split opportunity came I did a jumping summersault landing on the open floor. I then hurried and performed a cartwheel between the red lines and lasers. I quickly ran up the wall, did a back flip to dodge a trick wire, and landed on the stair railing. I ran up the stair railing and jumped back and forth between the railing and the wall to keep from slipping and hitting any red lasers. I reached the top of the stair way and sprinted across the flooring strait toward my mother’s room. Each piece of the floor I stepped on soon fell. I saw something sparkle on the ceiling near the entrance to my mother’s room. Trying to avoid stepping on a panel that will release what ever it was, I decided to do another jumping summersault but instead of just stopping I decided to kick down my mother’s door as well.
As soon as I entered my mother’s room the door closed behind me. I looked down at my watch and saw that I still had ten minutes left. I looked around the room and saw another note which said:
“Congratulations on getting this far. If you want to see your mother you’ll have to find her. She’s in the place where your new life had started. You have 15 minutes to figure it out.”
What new life, I thought to myself repeatedly. Seeing that I didn’t have enough time to run back down the stairs I decided to jump out the window and see if I can try to run to her location.
I made it to my house within two minutes, thanks to my newly found speed. I searched every room and she was not there. I began to think back. What new life, I thought once more. And then it hit me. I ran down the stairs and rushed toward my store. I thought the note was talking about when Chuck had shot me in the head, but it was actually talking about my new life as a thief.
I reached my store with five minutes remaining. I search for her and found nothing. I thought she might have been in the basement and that’s when I found another note which read:
“If you really want to see your mother again, she’ll be at the furthest place that you’ve been to today. This will be the final location. PS: Make sure you bring some clothes from your sister house. You have exactly ten minutes.”
I ran as fast as I could go and made it to Gwen’s house in two minutes flat. I found an outfit for Gwen to wear and ran out the house after locking her doors. I had 7 minutes to make my way to the final location. The farthest place I had been to today have to have been the hospital.
Once again I ran as fast as I could but this time it felt as if my feet weren’t touching the ground. So I looked down for a second to confirm that I was not literally flying but the feeling was right. I was indeed flying. I had about a minute and a half to go when I reached the hospital. At first I was going to take the elevator but that would have taken too long so I ran up seven flights of stairs.
I reached the room where my sister’s fiancé had been. I walked in, completely out of breath, to find my mother sitting next to my sister.

Chapter 7
Finally the Truth

Giovanni entered the room looking very tired. He was looking at mother with much concern in his eyes. In his hands, there was an outfit.
To break the silence in the room I decided to speak up, “Gigi, how come you look so tired?”
“Why not ask mother,” responded Gigi.
I turned and looked at mother and she looked somewhat dumbfounded. “What do you mean? Mother had only come into the room almost a minute before you. So how would she have anything to do with what’s going on with you?”
“Why don’t you explain it to her mother? Isn’t that what you told me you were going to do? There is no more time for lies now. Tell the truth for once.”
My mother stood and said, “Okay son, I will. But not here.” My mother had then Stood up and walked towards the door. She nudged her head signaling us to follow her. I got up and left the room and entered into some strange world.
“My children,” said mother, “I want you two to know that I didn’t truly want to lie to you two for so long. I brought you guys here so I can tell you guys the truth.” I took a look around and saw that we were in a tropical area. The view was phenomenal. “I know you’re wondering where we are, and I will tell you in due time. Gigi, I know I told you that your father, Roberto, was a thief, but that wasn’t the full truth. And Gwen I told you he was a policeman, and that wasn’t completely the truth. Well the truth is…”

…

“Your father was a schizophrenic. One of his personalities was a policemen and the other was the thief, known as ‘Alas preciadas del Ángel’, in English it should mean ‘the Precious Wings of the Angel’. Mostly all people on your father’s side of the family were thieves, a tradition that many of his relatives were proud to hold on to. But my side of the family had a big secret that we kept away from the rest of the human race. We were blessed with gifts, gifts that even the smartest scientist could not begin to describe. This realm that we are in is the same realm that I first visited on my twenty-first birthday. I was told to use it to improve my skills. Gigi that is the reason I wanted you to make sure that you told Gwen to be away from people on your twenty-first birthday. Some how Gwen was able to tap into that power earlier than expected. But I suppose it was because of the great amount of stress she was in last night with those kidnappers.”
“Mother, what happened to father,” I asked.
“I was getting to that,” she continued. “One day, October 20, 1988 to be exact. Your father was on patrol one day and ‘The Angel’ brought himself forward. Your father lost control of himself. That night the museum had a new Egyptian exhibit. The most precious item was being displayed, the crown jewels of Nefertiti. Your father went to the museum that night and while attempting to escape your father unknowingly jumped across the alley below him and fell from the roof. The impact on the ground was not enough to kill him but he was dazed. When he was once again focused, he was Roberto. The police had soon found the alley and arrested him. When he was charged for his actions he was unable to say that he committed the crimes or that he didn’t. His only answer to each charge was that he didn’t know. The night that you two were born was the last night anyone had heard of ‘The Angel’.”

…

I stared at my mother with astonishment. How could she have kept so much from us? Were we that naïve? I could not believe what I was hearing.
“Mother, what was the point in shooting me in the head,” Giovanni asked.
“She did what,” I yelled.
After a short pause my mother spoke, “To speak with you. I wanted you to think that you were experiencing some psychological translation between the two of us. I couldn’t take lying to you any more. Chuck thought it’ll be better if I left out the fact I wanted him to do it. But I couldn’t.”
“Since we’re talking about Chuck anyway, who is he? And why did he say he had known you for about eighty years?” Giovanni had a quizzical look in his eyes. “Mother, what if that shot would have killed me?”
After another short pause, my mother sighed and replied, “Chuck is your cousin. And he has known me for eighty years. Chuck is actually ninety-seven and I’m one hundred and twenty-five years old. I knew the shot wouldn’t have been enough to kill you because we share the same blood. You didn’t wonder how come your sister looked so clean, to be in a brawl with so many people and leave without a scratch? My kind is immortal. Let me rephrase that, ‘our’ kind is immortal.”
Feeling left out of the loop I decided to speak up, “Mother, why are you finally telling us this.” At that second someone appeared in the shadows.
“Hello darling,” said Mrs. Chambers.
“What are you doing here,” I asked. “No, better yet, how did you get here?”
“Hello Great Grandmother,” said my mother.
“Great Grandmother,” I shouted.
Mrs. Chambers finally spoke, “Well I’m guessing she didn’t tell you about me. Well I’m her great grandma, Great Grandma Meredith, but please don’t call me that it makes me feel very old.”
“But you are,” said mother.
I took a good look at mother and Mrs. Chambers and it seemed as if they were getting younger by the second. “Gigi, look at them. Are you seeing what I am seeing?”
“See what,” he asked.
“If you really look at them you can see that there getting younger,” I replied.
“We are,” said mother and Mrs. Chambers.
“See this realm shows our true appearances. We revert back to our true selves. And we look the same as when we did when we were twenty-one years old,” said Mrs.