The Butterfly Effect

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Chapter Five – Remembering

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"Take a deep breath in, let it out, and relax. You are completely asleep. I want you to take me back to when you were in the woods with Aiden. You can pause, rewind, or slow down anything you want. Just like a movie. Do you understand?"

"Yes." The unconscious girl replies. "Spencer is next to me. I have my hands over her ears, but I’m not hurting her, I’m protecting her."

"That’s great Ashley. You’re doing great… Now, let’s move forward in time. What’s going on, what do you see?"

"I see… a car." She cries out in pain. It hurts to remember.

"What car Ashley? Tell me about the car."

Somewhere deep down she wants to but her mind won’t allow it.

"It’s just like a movie Ashley. You’re safe. Go on."

"Its not there! The car it… it disappears." Broken words spill out of her mouth. The pain intensifies with each syllable.

This level of pain is new. She’s always been a tomboy, always loved to play anything the boys were playing, none of the broken bones compare to this. Broken bones are easy, feeling like someone’s inside of you poking at your insides is anything but.

Fearfully Christine stands. She’d love to interfere, anything to keep her baby from experiencing pain, but she can’t. This needs to happen, it’s for her own good.

"The car is still there Ashley. It’s just that the movie in your head is skipping. Put the pieces together. Now tell me about the car."

"Aggg… I can’t."

"You’re stronger than this, fight it Ashley."

The images flashing through her mind become too much and blood pours out of her nose as her body begins to shake uncontrollably.

Understanding the dangers of the current situation he speaks in rushed tones. "When I count to ten you will wake up feeling refreshed and remembering everything we talked about. One…"

It’s all coming back to her now. Images flash through her mind. First it’s the mailbox.

"Four."

Images of Aiden.

"What’re you doing to her? Stop it!" Christine shouts as she kneels down to her daughter’s side.

"Eight."

Then it’s back to the mailbox. Her body is shaking so hard now. It’s the four of them now; Aiden, Spencer, Glen, and herself. She sees the blockbuster in Aiden’s hand. And then there’s blood. She can almost see where the blood is coming from.