Chapter 5: The New Problem

In the car:

"Alright, some things you need to know." Aunt Mallory said sternly. Right at that moment Sarah's phone started buzzing. "Who is that? You know I'm talking to you right?" Mallory said, annoyed. Sarah checked her phone to see that it was Apollo. When did he get my number? Sarah thought. Oh, right, he had me put my number in his phone in case I wanted to talk. Same thing with Isi and Blake. She started reading his strand of texts as Aunt Mallory asked if she was listening again. (Are you okay? What ball was she talking about? Sarah please answer, we're worried about you.) Sarah quickly typed (I'm fine, talk later.) "You better put that phone down before It's gone." Aunt Mallory said with haste in her voice. "Sorry." Sarah said. She then had a thought. You know, if Apollo and the other's were willing to take me in, maybe that means someone cares. But, maybe not. I can leave Mallory, I should. Mom always said to leave whenever I could. As soon as I could take care of myself. Alright, I have to leave now. I'm going to, or maybe not? Sarah thought, her level of anxiety rising. *Buzz**Buzz* Sarah looked down at her phone. Another text from Apollo. (Okay, I get that you don't want to talk but please don't let her take control of you. You are your own person, we believe in you.) Okay, I'm going to stand up. Little victories. Sarah thought as she remembered her Mom's therapist telling her that. "Sarah, put down your phone now." Mallory said. "No, I won't. It's my phone, Mom got it for me. Not you, it's not your property." Sarah said, forcing her voice to sound clear. "Excuse me?!" Aunt Mallory said, surprised at Sarah's new attitude. All of a sudden the man who had been silent this entire car trip raised his voice. "THAT'S ENOUGH MALLORY! Leave the poor girl alone. You managed to leave me, you why don't you leave her out of this." The mysterious man said with clear irritation showing in his voice. Sarah decided to speak up once again. "Sorry but who are you? I've never seen you before and you've been dead silent this entire trip." "I'm your Uncle Lok---Luke. I'm your Uncle Luke." The man said. "Let's hit a pit stop driver!" Mallory said, almost doing a dance. Shortly after, they stopped at a hotel so Aunt Mallory could use the bathroom. As Sarah and Aunt Mallory washed their hands, Aunt Mallory calmly started speaking. "I know that me and you don't get along very well but there is something you should know. Whether you believe me or not is completely up to you. She is never this calm. It's like she's being possessed. Sarah thought. "Your Uncle is the literal devil. He's seriously the worst. Remember when I said he's godforsaken earlier. Yeah, I wasn't kidding. His real name is Loki, that means deceitful in Scandanavian." Aunt Mallory said. "Oh my god. You are ridiculous. First, we wouldn't be here if he was the devil. Second…..Second….. I don't know but I still think you're being ridiculous Aunt Mallory. I'm going back to the car" Sarah said.

As Sarah got back to the car she realized that Uncle Luke was staring at her. "Soo….. Why haven't we met before?" Sarah asked. "Oh we have", Uncle Luke stated. "You just don't remember. You were just a tiny one the last time I saw you. Could barely walk on your own." "Oh, I guess that makes sense. It's not like we leave town very often." Sarah said while trying to remember the last time she went on a real vacation. They moved a lot, but never anywhere near family. Sarah started talking again, "why would she pick a hotel? What ever happened to a gas station?" Sarah asked. "Your Aunt is a picky person, I'm sure she can't stand being around what she calls the "common folk of today". Anyway, I'm sure you're wondering why you're here." Uncle Luke said. All of a sudden Sarah's mind flooded with memories of her family trying to control her. They knew something that she didn't. But they wouldn't tell her. Sarah thought of her Aunt making her feel awful for anything she ever did. Criticizing her. Back when Sarah and her Mom lived with the rest of her family in Arizona. Even then, everyone had to make every single move for her. Sarah reacted to her Uncle's words on impulse. "NO! I'M NOT WONDERING! OKAY? GOD! YOU CAN'T READ MY MIND AND TELL ME WHAT TO DO ANYMORE, OKAY? I'M SICK OF IT! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Sarah screamed as massive pain came to the left side of her head. She opened the car door and jumped up as fast as she could, grasping the side of her head. "SARAH!" Uncle Luke called out as he hurried out of the car. Sarah did what started as a swift walk away from the car that became a jog, then a run, then a sprint. She sprinted as fast as she could across the hotel parking lot, desperately trying to drown out the pain in her head. Uncle Luke caught up to her, and grabbed Sarah's arm. "Sarah, something's going on with you." "NO DUH!" Sarah screamed, now holding her head with both hands. "I need you to listen to me Sarah." Uncle Luke said. Sarah felt a compulsion to be attentive to him. He started talking again. "Sarah, take your hands off of your head now." She did as he said. "Now, get back in the car and act normal. We'll deal with this once we get back to my estate." Uncle Luke said, starting to sound impatient. Once again, she did as he said. They sat silently in the car until Mallory finally got back. Uncle Luke was the first to start speaking again after the incident. "Sarah, put these on now." They were noise proof headphones. "Yes Sir." Sarah said, her voice sounding almost robot like. "What. The. Hell. Did. You. Do. To. Her." Aunt Mallory said questioningly. "She just now learns how to talk back and you break her. You're no fun, you godforsaken animal." "I didn't do anything to her. She broke herself. Once she spoke up, they had no control, well, except....." Uncle Luke said. "Well except what?" Mallory asked impatiently. "Except pain. They can disrupt her thoughts with pain. But I don't think that's what they did. If they would have done that, she would have been grasping a different part of her head. She was so focused on the left side. I think they started screwing with her memory Mal." Luke concluded, with a worried tone. "Don't call me Mal. I'm not your wife anymore. But...… How would they screw with her memory? We got that…...that.....thing....That thing removed from her brain when she left their services." Mallory stated, sure of what she had just said. "I'm not entirely sure Mallory. Do you think they gave her a new one at school, or maybe...…..no, that's not possible." Luke said. "Maybe….maybe what LOKI?!" Mallory asked aggressively. "It's a bit too obvious, but, maybe they never got rid of it in the first place. They both glanced nervously at Sarah, now fast asleep in the back of the car.