15. Peter's Secret

The car stopped outside an old historical building. I wasn't sure if this was Peter's home or not. It was a rather interesting building and I found myself looking up at it when I got out of the car.

"It's old... the building... it was my parent's home and now it's mine," he said with melancholy as I stared at him.

He seemed very quiet as he stared up at the building but then he turned to look at me with a seriousness I couldn't fathom out.

"Are your parents no longer around?" I asked feeling a bit apprehensive about the question but I wanted to have it confirmed to me.

"Yes, they died in a car accident when on holiday in Italy," he said with a dimness I could not apprehend.

"Oh... I'm very sorry," I said feeling sad for him.

"It was during my last year at college when it happened. I was about to graduate and they took one last holiday before they came to my graduation... well... you can guess the rest," he said as he walked straight ahead and got out a key to open the front door.

I noticed how the sadness abruptly disappeared. I followed him into his home. I gasped when I saw the richness of the hallway. The floor was dark oak wood and there was a spiraling staircase in front of me that looked expensively lavish. In fact, the place smelled of divine richness and money. I hadn't realised Peter came from a rich family.

"Where are we going? Is the charm here in your home?" I asked as I followed him down the long hallway.

"Yes," he said with no further indication of where it was hidden.

I still had the charm in my pocket that I had brought back from my excursion on the chair. I was thinking of telling Peter about it but I still felt a little unsure about whether I should or not. Could I trust him? Did he trust me? He must do because he had brought me here.

He opened a door and we went down a creaky staircase. It was dark but Peter picked up a flashlight from a nearby shelf and turned it on. When we got to the bottom he pressed on a switch and some lights came on. Then he retrieved a key from his pocket and put into a lift. He turned the key and the lift opened. I was shocked as we got into the lift.

"Are we going up?" I asked.

"No... we are going down," he said with a smile.

"Down? But how? Do you have a cellar or something?" I asked feeling a slight trepidation as to what was going on.

I was consumed with fear. I didn't like what was happening but I was curious.

"Don't worry... you will be very interested to see what I have down there," he said and I believed him.

The lift opened. Peter stepped out of it and I followed him as lights came on automatically.

"Come... over here," he said as I tried to catch up with him.

What I saw next astounded me. How could this be? It was impossible!

I was completely at a loss for words to see that right in front of me was the chair! Not the same one but another version of it.

"How could this be? How did you get this? It's different to look at but it seems like the same kind of chair... is it?" I asked curiously.

"No, it's not the same one... it's my one... I invented it... you see... I can invent things too and Dr. Darrell must know this but I have never told him. He must have found out somehow. I think I had a servant here who leaked it to him. You see... I can't trust anyone anymore because of Dr. Darrell. So, I think he must have found out and stolen my invention to make his own." He said with disgust. "He can't be trusted! Not ever!" 

"I see... so does your chair do the same things as Dr. Darrell's one?" I asked.

"No... mine is better but I wanted to experiment his one without him knowing it but you called him and that was the end of that!" He said with a hint of anger in his voice.

"But how could he have found out about the chair if it's all the way down here? Did someone gain access to your lift?" I asked feeling strange about the whole thing.

"All I can think of is that Dr. Darrell got someone to spy for him... one of my employees... I found out something recently about who it was... you see... I took him on to do some admin work for me... but he's gone now," he said with a sadness I couldn't understand.

"Oh... were you, friends, too?" I asked.

"Sort of... I trusted him... So... now I don't trust anyone!" Peter yelled as flapped his arms up and down.

"Dr. Darrell must have seen the plans for your chair in order to make his own one... it would be impossible unless he had his own ideas," I said.

"He did... I know that for a fact because the guy that worked for me photocopied them... I caught him... I didn't realise what he was doing until one of my security men told me about it... you see... he was caught on-camera... I have cameras everywhere in my house to protect me... they help me to see when I disappear into thin air... they are there for my guidance too." He said as I walked nearer to the chair.

I couldn't believe how talented Peter was. He had invented the chair first. I started to believe everything he had told me.

"You mustn't tell Dr. Darrell about what you have seen here or that you have been here or spoken with me today," Peter said seriously.

"I won't... can I try the chair?" I asked feeling in awe of it now.

"Yes... if you promise me to let me try Dr. Darrell's chair as soon as you get your key back... of course, without him knowing about it," he said convincingly.

"Yes, I promise you," I said accepting his offer.

"Do you want to see the charm first? Come over here," he said as I turned to follow him.

He got out another key and put it into a large box in front of us. It opened and there to my surprise was a glistening silver charm. It was bigger than the one in my pocket. I put my hand out to touch it but Peter grabbed it and swung it away.

"You mustn't touch it. It's too dangerous," he explained.

"But why? It might not affect me," I said as I looked up at him.

"I don't care... if it did affect you... well... you could end up like me," he said agitatedly.

"I see," I said in a quiet voice.

I knew it wouldn't because I had one in my pocket and so far it hadn't done anything to me. I wanted to tell Peter about it but I wasn't sure whether to trust him yet. Could I tell him? What would he say?

No. I won't tell him anything until I have tried his chair.

"Can I try the chair now?"

"Yes... come on I will strap you in," he said eagerly.

I suddenly felt unsure when I, eventually, sat in it. Peter strapped me in and I felt the chair move me backwards getting ready to start.

"I will just set it for one minute because this chair is probably more powerful than Dr. Darrell's," he stated as I felt a nervous tremor enter my body. "Is there anything you want to see?"

"No... not really," I said trying to think of something.

"Then just let your mind rest and the chair will do its thing," he explained as I nodded back at him.

I felt something zap my head and then I closed my eyes and thought of nothing until I felt something touch me but it was I couldn't work out.

I opened my eyes. I was in a small town and in front of me was a man with a gun. He was pointing it right at me. The man looked familiar but I couldn't place his face. Was he from a tv show I had seen? Yes. He was. 

I felt excited as I realised who I was looking at. It was Crowley from Supernatural! What was going on? Why was I seeing characters from Supernatural? It must mean something!

I moved closer but he stepped back. I put my hand into my pocket and felt the charm. I took it out and then Crowley disappeared into thin air. What just happened?

I put the charm back into my pocket and walked on until I came to a house. It felt familiar. I realised it was something to do with my past as I opened the door and walked inside. Whose house was this? It felt like mine back in England when I was a little girl. There was a pot of tea on the table with some cups. I remembered the table from my childhood. It all felt like a dream until I woke up in the chair and stared at Peter's fuming expression as he placed his hand on my pocket. I knew I had been found out and now I would have to explain where I had got the charm from!

Read chapter 16. The Truth