Phantom Keys: The Story Begins

by Vernon Scott

  When I arrived, I saw Gigi’s car leaving. That was quite weird to me. I wonder if she paid him a visit as well. Did she help him come to his great epiphany? Too many questions with no answers.

  As soon as I walked into the store Mrs. Chambers greeted me. The way she greeted me made me feel as if I were family. She is somewhat strange. Did she have some elaborate plan going on here?

  “This is a great place you have here,” I said to Mrs. Chambers.

  “Why thank you, dearly,” she replied.

  “I was stopping by to see what your business. It looks as if you have many visitors,” I said as if I was trying to hurry up and leave.

  “I made something for you. I think it’s beautiful,” she said while leaving the room. When she returned, she was holding a mask in her hand. “This mask is quite magnificent. It is made out of glass and I’m sure it’ll fit you perfectly. Go on, try it on.”

  I slowly put the mask on my face. As she had stated, it really was a perfect fit. “This is wonderful! How were you able to make it so that it fit my face perfectly? I don’t even need a string to hold it to my face. Did you say it was made of glass?”

  “I did. The art of making masks has been in my family for some time now. But to make a mask from glass is quite difficult. But I learned a way to perfect my talents, but that’ll always be a secret,” she had then retreated behind her counter. “I’m known for my wonderful mask making, just ask your brother.”

  As if I were shocked I stated, “How do you know my brother? Is he the reason you visited my flower shop today?”

  Mrs. Chambers began laughing. “No, Ms. Gwen I can see the resemblance. Your brother does visit this place often. In fact he just left not too long before you came. Back to the mask, you can have it. But if you need more, just give me a call. But next time I might have to charge you.”

  “That’s good to know,” I said as I approached the door. “Have a nice day Mrs. Chambers. And I will give you a call when ever I need a new mask.”

  I jumped into my car and drove away. I drove pass my brother’s house once again and his car was no where in sight. It took some time to get back to my house but thankfully I had a lot of time to get ready for my date tonight.

  I decided to wear my dark green dress. It was my favorite because of the curviness it gave the body. I slipped on my heels and put a white rose in my hair. I had to admire myself in the mirror for a few minutes. After putting on my make-up and gathering some important things, I hopped into my car and drove off. I was so happy because I’m going to be dining with my wonderfully handsome detective boyfriend.

  Chapter 3

  A Hard Days Work

  Crime has been down recently. That is both a good thing and a bad thing. I’m glad that I don’t get paid for every criminal I catch. I should feel happy that I’m not like most of the officers at the precinct. I’m just happy that I was raised with money. Sure I’m rich but not many people know it. I did not want to subject myself as being another stereotypical rich kid who lives off of mommy and daddy’s money. I want to make it on my own, at least for now.

  Later on I have a date with one of the most beautiful women in the world. She has style and flare. But most of all, she was perfect. It is true that no human is perfect, but her flaws make her better. I love her so much but I’m too scared of taking a giant leap into this relationship.

  I can’t wait to see her tonight. She decided that we should have Japanese. I should probably get something that is fancy. I want to look great. Will tonight be the night? Will I finally ask her to marry me? I love her too much to let her go another day without a ring on her finger. I can remember the first day I met her. It is as if I met her yesterday.

  ...

  Three months ago I was patrolling. I so happened to have passed this exquisite flower shop that I never bothered to notice. Seeing that all was calm, I decided to observe it. When I entered I was approached by the warm and caring air that resided in the flower shop. And then I heard an almost angelic voice call out to me.

  “Hello officer, welcome to Gwen’s,” she said from behind her counter. “How may I help you today, sir?”

  “You can call me Marcus,” I said, “this is a lovely establishment you have here. And I just looking around.”

  “Okay sir…I mean Marcus. But I’ll be here if you need me.”

  I continued to look around the store until I saw my mother’s favorite plant. “Excuse me, Ms.—”

  “Stephens…but you may call me Gwen,” she said with a beautiful smile on her face. “Do you need my assistance?”

  “Yes. I was wondering what type of plant this is.”

  “That is a Chrysanthemum. Is it for your girlfriend, if I may ask?”

  Is she flirting with me or is she serious? To humor the topic I told her the truth. “No, this is my mother’s favorite type of plant. I don’t have a girlfriend at the time.” After I said that, I saw a flicker in her eyes. “But if I may ask, would you mind being her, or am I being a little too forward.”

  Gwen began to giggle. “That sounds nice but I’ve only just met you.”

  “I know. That’s the reason why I want to date you, to become even closer to you. You are a very unique person and I would like to get to know you.” I couldn’t believe those words were coming out of my mouth. I’ve always been the quiet type, but when I spoke to her, I spoke from my true being, the being that I have not known of existing. “So what do you say?”

  “Nice way of putting it. I might as well say yes.” She walked behind the counter and returned with a piece of paper with her number on it. “Call me anytime.”

  …

  Since that day, my life was wonderful. I feel as if she really completes me. The things that I like she like. She is my soul mate and I want to be with her until the die I die. I can barely imagine living without her.

  I’m glad that our dinner date is at ten o’clock. That gives me enough time to make get everything prepared for tonight. Tonight will be the night to remember.

  Chapter 4

  A Night to Remember

  I pulled up to the Japanese restaurant feeling over excited. I couldn’t wait to get inside to see Marcus. He called me not too long ago and promised me the best night of my life. I was looking magnificent and I just know that he’s going to be looking great.

  When I open the door I saw nothing but beauty. They had a table that represented the entire country of Japan. It had every mountain, every river and stream, and it even had a few waterfalls. As soon as I walked in I almost cried from the scene. I was absolutely astonished. The employees were kind and all uplifting.

  As the waiter guided me to my seat, I happened to know that the restaurant was quite empty. It was a group of people near the entrance of the restaurant but they were so quite that I barely heard them. Another group was sitting in the back, but they kept themselves at a whisper.

  After waiting for a minute or two, Marcus appeared looking very handsome. He was dressed in a dark shade of blue that almost looked black. As he sat down I found myself staring at him with amazement.

  “I reserved the restaurant for the two of us, but some others had already reserved there spots for tonight as well,” said Marcus. I forgot all about the other occupants in the restaurant. “I promised you that tonight will be the best night of your life and I meant it. But first, let us order.”

  We sent our waiter off with our meal choices. I wonder if tonight will be the night. I want him to propose to me. But I believe everything shall happen in time.

  Our meals soon came afterwards. The food smelled delightful. I made sure that I took small bites to make sure that I don’t accidently swallow the ring. I finished off everything on my plate and still no ring. I somewhat felt disappointed. I thought tonight was going to be the night.

  Marcus then stood and announced, “Let’s get up out of here. I already paid the bill. I was prepared fo
r anything. So may I have my lady so I can escort her out?”

  When I walked outside, I saw a stretch limo that was waiting for me and Marcus. Hope is not lost. Maybe he will still propose to me.

  We stepped into the limo and it drove off. We were riding for almost thirty minutes until we suddenly came to a stop. Marcus rolled down the window and spoke to the driver, “What is wrong? Why did we stop?”

  The driver turned around and gave a scandalous smile. The doors then opened wide. Two people dressed in all black sprayed some stuff into our eyes that knocked us out.

  …

  When I woke up I saw that we were in a ware house. I looked to my right and there, hanging right beside me was Marcus. The culprits had us both tied up hanging by our hands. The rope was giving me a rope burn. Marcus looked as if they had beaten him. His face was bruised all over.

  “Marcus…Marcus,” I whispered.

  He began to groan. His eyes flickered. He couldn’t fully open his eyes because they were swollen. I began to tear up.

  “Gwen?” he called out.

  “I’m here,” I replied.

  “There’s something I need to tell you,” he struggled to say. “I had tonight planned out. Well not this part. I wanted you to have a nice romantic dinner at the Japanese restaurant. And then we were going to have a cruise in my yatch. And when we got near my family’s island, I was going to propose to you.” I began to cry. “Don’t cry Gwen. You know I hate to see you sad. Remember that I will always love you Gwen.”

  “Well, well, well, how touching,” said a stranger. “Seeing that your little woman is fully awake now, maybe you might want to cooperate. Now tell me where your family’s fortune is hidden. Or your little lady friend here is gonna pay the price.”

  The stranger then pulled me by my hair which made me yelp. “Let me go, or you’ll regret your decision of kid napping me.”

  “Regret in what way,” said the stranger. He then raised his hands and struck me across my face. As soon as he hit me, Marcus screamed.

  “I’ll tell you…just let her go,” said Marcus.

  “I’ll let her go when you tell me what I want to know,” he replied.

  “DON’T TELL HIM ANYTHING!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.

  “Shut up tramp!” said the kidnapper as he slapped me across my face once again.

  That was the last straw. I eased my feet out of their confinements and kicked our holder in his face. I then managed to raise myself up to free my hands. I soon found a saw and cut myself free. By that time the culprit was back to his feet. Then his other friends came out of nowhere and tried to jump me. Not knowing that I was a master of many martial arts tactics, they attacked. I manage to knock out at least five of them until a buff man hit me across my back with a metal pole.

  Is this the last of me? I thought to myself. How could such a perfect day come to a bitter ending? Marcus I love you.

  The pain from the hit soon evaporated into nothingness and I rose back up. I felt like new, but there was something different. My vision was still blurry but all I could see was red. Had I gone to hell? What have I done wrong?

  My vision began to start clearing up and I could see that it was fire. It was surrounding me. I was still in the warehouse. All of the kidnappers that were still conscious were looking at me in astonishment. At that moment I noticed that the fire was coming from me. But how could this be? The fire died down and I felt newly energized.

  I charged at them and with great force knocked the remaining four to the ground. I ran to Marcus to help him down. “Marcus, are you okay?”

  I cut him down. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why is your body so warm?” he said. He was still quite weak but he continued to talk. “You are the…the best thing that has ever come to me. I love you.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a box. “Gwendolyn Rebecca Stephens, will you marry me.”

  Tears started to form in my eyes. “Yes! Yes! I would love to marry you. I love you so much Marcus.”

  “I love you too, Gwen.” After he said those words, Marcus passed out. With all of my strength I was able to carry him to the now empty limo. I drove Marcus to the hospital, where I fell sound asleep waiting for him by his bedside. This truly was a night to remember.

  Chapter 5

  Life Changes Too Quickly

  I was so excited I finally had an alias. It was so adventurous and so magnificent. If only mother knew about it. I couldn’t wait to tell Gwen about it, I hope she accepts it. I checked my phone and saw that I received a message from Gwen saying she needed to see me pronto, and she had to tell me something important. The thing that worried me the most was the fact that she was in the hospital.

  At that moment I ran to my closet and threw on some clothes and ran out the door. Not knowing, I realized that I was running faster than usual. I barely paid any attention to the fact that I didn’t bother to get my car keys.

  My pace continued to increase but I didn’t know why. I looked down for a second and realized that my feet weren’t touching the ground. At that moment my mother’s voice came roaring into my ear.

  “Son, there’s something I must tell you. When you and your sister turn 21, your bodies are going to have a tremendous change. It is unexplainable. But on that day, please make sure that you are away from people because if you’re not you might end up harming someone. And make sure you tell Gwen.”

  Is this the change she was talking about, I thought. Did she get our birthday wrong or something? I might have to call her as soon as possible so she can straighten some things out for me.

  I reached the hospital within five minutes. It would have taken at least half an hour to get here if I drove. I must have had some incredible force pushing me.

  After entering the hospital I called Gwen. “What room are you in?”

  “Room 746,” she replied.

  I took the elevator to the seventh floor. When I entered the room I saw a person with bandages on their head. But thankfully I saw that Gwen was sitting right next to the person. She looked as if she had been crying.

  I knocked on the door to signal that I was entering. Gwen looked at me and tried to force a smile on her face. I could tell she must have been through a really bad time in the last twenty-four hours. As I stepped closer I realized that it was a man lying in the bed.

  “Gwen, are you okay?” I asked.

  “I’m alright, just a little shaken up that’s all,” she replied.

  “What happened?” I asked while pointing at the man lying in the bed. As Gwen began to fill me in on what had happened, I couldn’t help but notice the sparkling diamond ring on her finger. “Wait a second. Gwen, what is that?”

  “This is my engagement ring. My fiancé is lying right there,” she said and continued to tell her story.

  I was both in shock and happy at the same time. I was shocked because of what had happened to her but I was happy that she was getting married.

  When she ended her story, I asked her, “How did you beat up all of your kidnappers?”

  A flash of concern went across her face. “I don’t know. I thought I was down for the count once the big guy hit me across my back with a metal pole.”

  “What,” I semi-yelled. “Let me see if he hurt you.” She turned around and I checked. There were no scars at all. It was as if she miraculously healed herself. “Did anything strange happen.”

  “No,” she lied.

  “Gwen, you know that I know when you lie. Your cheek always quivers. So tell me the truth, what happened.”

  “Well, after the big guy hit me with the pole, I fainted,” she said. “Some how I regained consciousness, but that’s when all the strange stuff happened. A ring of fire surrounded me and was absorbed by my body. It gave me strength and that might be the reason why my body healed.”

  “Wow,” that was all I can say. “I need to call mother to ask her something.”

  “Before
you go, what was this important thing you were talking about yesterday?”

  I thought back and realized she was talking about the text message. “I finally came up with an alias. If you want to see the full costume, come by my house later.”

  “Well since we’re on the topic. There is something I must tell you about mother.”

  As I listened to Gwen as she explained how mother somewhat lied to me for almost 10 years. From what Gwen has just told me, it seems as if mother was the thief and my father was a policeman who was quite abusive. “How come she didn’t just kill him,” I asked Gwen, once she finished.

  “I think it’s because she loved him,” she replied.

  “Maybe,” I said sarcastically. “I will be back later. Love you Gwen. And you might want to go home and take a shower, or do you want me to go to your house and fine an outfit for you? They might let you use the patient’s bathroom.”

  “I might go home to shower. But if I’m not up to it, I will call you to let you know. And I love you too Gigi.”

  After that, I took my leave. It took me almost three hours to walk back home. But I was glad because the walk gave me a lot of time to think.

  As soon as I walked into my house I realized that the door was already open. I searched around my house for about five minutes until I heard a large crash upstairs. I hope that wasn’t my priceless vase, I thought.

  When I got to the top of my stairs, I realized that it was my vase that fell and I also saw a pair of shoes moving into my closet. It was quite ironic that a thief was getting robbed by another one. When I approached my closet door, I waited a few minutes to see if the person was about to come out. Seeing that the thief wasn’t coming out I ran into the closet. As soon as I turned inward to the closet all I heard was the sound of a gun going off. I fell backwards and lay still as my killer stood erect with the gun still in his hand pointing it at the same angle where he had shot me.