Stolen Treasure

Chapter 17

"I-I'm not...from here," I admitted. Jim looked at me peculiarly, not understanding my meaning.

"I come from...another dimension," I said quietly. His eyes widened a bit.

"Where I come from, the adventure we went on, the journey to find Treasure Planet, it's all a movie; a fictional story with moving pictures like your holographic children's books. I used to love watching it over and over again. I would watch you solar surfing and fighting pirates and discovering yourself," I said, smiling at the memories of late nights secretly watching the movie.

"I got too old and no one was adopting me. The orphanage was basically gonna kick me out on the street. So on my sixteenth birthday, I made a wish; I wished I could be in Treasure Planet. I didn't think for a second that it was going to come true! I had just finished watching the movie and all I wanted was to get away from there and the bleak life that was ahead of me! But it did come true. And then you found me on the side of the road, and you know the rest of the story," I explained.

Jim's eyes were still wide open in shock, but he was listening intently. I let my story sink in a bit before I continued.

"Alex comes from the same world as me. We were at the same orphanage together for a few years, but he got adopted when I was six. I never saw him again until the night he kidnapped me. Somehow, he ended up here too, only he's been here for quite a bit longer. He says he needs my help to get back to our world. Jim, he wants to take over the world we came from! We don't have technology like in this universe. We can't travel between galaxies or shoot lasers out of pistols! He would be able to rule over everything! Nothing and nobody would be able to stop him! And somehow I'm the key to getting him back there, but I don't know how or why!" I exclaimed.

"I was gonna tell you, Jim. I really was! But it just didn't seem important anymore. I thought the past was behind me and that I could go forward without ever looking back. I didn't think it would come back to haunt me like this! I-I'm sorry, please don't h-hate me! I-I-" I started crying, all the memories and emotions building up inside me until I couldn't contain them anymore and they spilled out all at once.

Jim quickly embraced me, a silent declaration telling me that he wasn't mad at all. I cried into his shirt, relief flooding through me. He pet my head, trying to calm me down.

"I could never hate you," he whispered. "It doesn't matter where you came from. You're still you. Nothing will ever change the way I feel about you. I love you Raphaelle."

It felt so wonderful to hear him say it. I briefly recalled the first time he'd told me maybe a half a year ago at the Interstellar Academy.

"I love you too," I replied.

He lifted my chin so that I was looking up into his eyes. He started leaning down towards me for a kiss, but then he paused.

"Do you hear that?" he asked, glancing behind him.

I shook my head, frowning a bit. I opened my mouth to say that I didn't hear anything, but he brought his finger over his lips to tell me to stay quiet. He moved a couple of inches away, probably thinking that he would be able to hear it better in a different part of the room. Listening closely, I could faintly hear something too, but I couldn't figure out what it was. Am I imagining it, or is that very quickly getting louder? Then...

SMASH! A laser-ball crashed straight through the wall, sending small pieces of wood and metal flying everywhere. It was heading straight for my head, and I was so stunned that I couldn't react except to drop my jaw in shock. Jim, having the swift reflexes that he does, quickly spun around and slammed me down on the floor. The giant laser-ball soared right over our heads and exploded into the wall behind us. Jim was on top of me, protecting me from the debris with his body.