The Phobos Archives

I never felt scared throughout my whole life, literally. I found my lack of fear very peculiar, much more for those people around me. I'd chuckle uncontrollably on a Halloween ride, look down at my feet on a high apartment and rise without budging. My Uncle even came running when I put my hand down his piranha tank back when I was seven. The cause for my fearless ability, or disability, is still unsure - almost like a mystery. However, whenever we got a check-up with the science folks - psychologists, neurologists, and so on - all had the same thing to say: my hypothalamus was unusual, though they are uncertain if it was mutated, enlarged or has shrunk - probably something that's similar to Professor X, though I can't still read people's minds.. I'm not even sure if my disability or a superhuman ability. With my unusual quirk, I was never teased. Well, I was back in Fifth grade. You know, the usual big bulky bullies who prey on the silent people. "Hey, Grimm! Heard you don't get scared. That means you're a son of the devil, ain't you?" Pubert, the chubby blonde guy teased when the class was dismissed. It was all that took my hands to his neck and got two of his teeth out of his gums. I wasn't scared of punching the big guy in the nose. Since then, it never happened again (the bullying, not the punching). Instead of being looked down on, I tried to make myself normal. Well, that's Caroline Grimm for you, the "embodiment of fear" or whatever. However, all of my days as a regular normal, sorry, "not so-normal" life unexpectedly changed with the renovation of the Public Library. I was a bookworm and I poured a lot of my frustrations and stress into reading books. There was something about them that seemed to mesmerize me - how the stories end, the surprises and twists that are hidden beneath the plots, the different timelines that are dwelling in their chapters, all of them seemed to entangle my mind and pull it inside them. Of course, I was an only girl (I have two annoyingly cool brothers) so you can't blame me if I had a very creative mind. I don't know why, but sometimes, I tend to imagine myself as the main character in a story and before I know it, I was already in the land of fiction, me being the protagonist who battles with the dragons or running away from the masked murderer. The renovation of the public library was a lot worse than the big red F in your homework. A week before its initial demolition, the library was open and was bustling with people. There was no ruckus or anything but I immediately grabbed my best friend's hand away from his friends when school ended that afternoon. "H-Hey! Where the hell are you taking me?" Nine asked as I dragged him through the crowd. "To the library," I answered. "To the library?! We don't even have homework!" he exclaimed. "Not for the homework, you i***t," I answered and stopped in front of the library. A crowd has assembled in front of it. All of them were staring down at the boxes on the ground. My hunch was right. "C'mon. They're giving free books!" I said, though I didn't wait for him to answer. "Oh, for damn's sake Caroline," he snobbed and followed me. The whole scuffle for the books was tiring and very annoying, but it was also fun. Lots of literaries were laid on the ground. Stephen King, Carol Lewis, I even found Confucius' works in one box (I don't understand Chinese calligraphy but I think it's Confucius because why not?). It was a mini paradise for bookworms. "Are you even done yet?" Nine asked as he enthusiastically looked at a pile of Reader's Digest magazines. I glared at him like the woman I am. "You can go home first if you want. I feel like I'm forcing you here" "You are. Just joking!" He quickly added as I aimed a small hardcopy at him. "Jeez, you're hard to joke at." "And scare, too," I added as I stood up and looked around. I looked down at the books that I got. There was Alice in Wonderland, Dante's Inferno, Vergil's Aeneid, some works by Stephen King. I even almost got tempted to get a volume of Steele's works but decided not to - Auntie can get this herself. I looked around and there were still a lot of books to look around, but evening was also slowly coming and I wanted to get these books to the librarian's counter for clearance. I decided to check for them later and went inside the library to get the clearance. "Hello, Ms. Grimm," the librarian greeted me, her huge spectacles looking at me. Ms. Volpis was one of the public librarians along with Mr. Great. She wasn't the typical stereotype of a librarian. She was still in her 30's and would've looked gorgeous if not for her huge eyeglasses and oldie hairstyle - the kind of bun thingy that reminded me of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I never saw her wear anything besides her dress. Talk about being formal. "Good day, Ms. Volpis. Everything alright?" I replied and put the books on the table. She looked down the pile of books and shuffled for her stamp under the cabinet. "Yes, young lady. It just makes me sad and happy at the same time to bid farewell to these books." "They're in good hands, Ms. Volpis. Don't worry, I'll take some good care of those," I assured her. "I'm sure you will, Caroline," Mr. Great said as he came out of the staff room carrying another box of dusty paper. "And you've brought Mr. Aurum, too. That's great." Mr. Great was, well, great. He had hair that looked like it wouldn't stick out, a little bit hunched shoulders, a polo shirt that made him look like he was going to have a hole-in-one anytime of the day - he was almost the stereotype of a male librarian except that he wasn't boring to talk to and he was also in his 30's, just like Ms. Volpis. "Hello, Mr. Great. Doing great?" Nine jokingly called back. "Ha-ha-ha! Funny, Nine," Mr. Great laughed unenthusiastically and put the box on the floor beside the table. "Anyways, nice pick Caroline," he said as he looked down the table. "What are those, Mr. Great," I replied, ignoring his remark. "These? Just some random files that got stuck in the old archive room. This was supposed to be thrown out but I don't want to do it. Care to take a look?" "Yes, please," I said and kneeled down to inspect them. There were old newspapers that looked older than your Grandmother, magazines with faded-color covers, some yellow-paged phonebooks - but I didn't care about any of them. In the left corner of the box was a white folder. It looked like a draft for a research paper or thesis but what attracted me to it was the word that appeared in the middle of the folder. I got the dusty folder and stood up. "Phobos," I read out. "He's the god of fear in Greek mythology, right?" "Good to know you read mythologies, Caroline. But yes, what you said is right," Mr. Great answered. "However, I don't have any idea what that stuff is. Probably came from another library, I guess" I brushed all the dust away from the cover and read. There was only the word Phobos and a date under it. "The date says 2nd of May, 1998". Besides that, nothing is here." Ms. Volpis looked at me, her face suddenly glum. "May 2, 1998, you say?" I nodded. "Yes, and nothing else. Why?" "Well, that was a depressing day for the city, young girl." Nine looked at the folder and then to Mr. Great. "What do you mean?" "It's...well...something adults would never tell you. Maybe some other time, Nine," Ms. Volpis spoke. "But -" "No but's, if's or and's, young man. Do you want that wrapped, too, Ms. Grimm?" the librarian asked me. "Oh. Yes, please, Ms. Volpis," I answered. After wrapping the books with brown paper, she stamped and tied the whole bunch with a red ribbon. "There you go. Take good care of them, okay?" "Yes, Ms. Volpis!" I shouted as Nine and I went off. "She's a great lady, ain't she?" Nine said as we walked home. "Don't tell me. You like her, Nine! Seriously?" "She's not my type, Caroline. Besides, something's off. Why didn't she let Mr. Great answer your question?" "First, you're Casanova and now you're becoming Nancy Drew?" I asked him. "Boys and their suspicions..." He nudged my shoulder. "Boys ain't suspicious, you women are. Besides, I'm not playing detective. I just don't know what happened on that date, but whatever it is, Ms. Volpis is trying to hint it wasn't good." "It was the 1990's, Nine. From the perspective of Gen Z, it's a boring era," I said. "Just don't mind it, you're not the one who's gonna read it after dinner." With that note, he shut up. Men and their weak will to confront women. The sky was already dark when we reached our street. Crickets were chirping as we walked. Moths fluttered around lampposts and before we knew it, I was beside our house. "I'll chat to you later. Make sure to be online after dinner. Maybe I'll find some good stuff with that mysterious file," I said to him. Nine chuckled. "Who's the Nancy Drew now, hmm?" "Oh shut up, Nine. Don't forget what I said, i***t," I said and went inside our house. If you're wondering what a girl with no fear's house looks like, it's nothing different from other houses. Well, not until you know who's residing in it that you'd say it's not an ordinary household. You can tell it already when you arrive at the porch. A wind chime with different-colored beads and strings hung above and bobbed as a cool breeze swept it. A rainbow with the word "FREEDOM" in the middle of it was glued on the door. If you still didn't see the obvious facts about me, you must've had a rough time talking to your parents. The door let out a small creak as I went inside. "Dad, Pops, I'm here!" I called out as I kneeled and removed my shoes. As usual, the two appeared as quickly as a roadrunner. Pops was wearing an apron and looked like he was cooking something while Dad was carrying his cup of coffee. "You're late," Dad said, his eyes glinting with curiosity. I kissed both of them on the cheek before answering Dad's question. "I had to get these, Dad. They're for free, y'know," I said, and showed him my stack of books. "I'm just asking, Carrie. Jeez," he answered and ruffled my hair. I was about to remove my jacket but Pops was already undressing me. "Here, let me get the jacket and you just put the bag in your room, okay?" "I can handle it , Pops," I answered. "Just let Pops and Dad take care of their baby, okay? I don't want you to get too tired and have some wrinkles on that pretty face," Pops argued, as if I was the stubborn one and got my jacket before he disappeared into the living room. "What?" Dad asked, noticing that I was looking at him. "Nothing," I replied. "What's for dinner?" "You heard your Pops, go get dressed in you room and rest for a bit. Dinner's gonna be ready soon," he answered, and went to the dining room. I still don't know why I have the coolest pair of parents in the family. My Dad, Frey Desmond Grimm, is a real-estate agent. Even with his busy work, he still manages to get in touch and have some time with us. Unlike me, he's a tall man and he's got natural blond hair. I guess I inherited my height from my Mom. Speaking of it, I never met my Mom. She died when I was still three, while she was still in Syria. She was a hero in the army. She saved her teammates by remaining on a spot while they were being chased by terrorists. Unfortunately, she was also in the bomb zone of the air support. Her dogtag was the only thing that she left for me, which is now in my necklace. I never remembered anything about my Mom. Pops, Grey Carter, is an owner of a salon. If my Mom was a man, she'd surely be like Pops. Pops would never let me leave without eating breakfast, not would he make us sleep without a glass of cold milk. He and Dad met in a fast-food restaurant and the rest is history. The walk to my room wasn't that long. I just walk through the living room, go up the stairs, pass by my brothers' room (which strongly reeks the smell of energy drinks) and there, I arrive at my room. When Dad and Pops bought this house, there were only two rooms upstairs so they had mine made. Dad made sure I had some space for my books and I argued with Pops when he told me I'd have a closet the same size as his - as if I'd be the one who's gonna be hung there instead of the clothes - though he made it up by giving me his crop-tops and leggings which I use rarely anyways. My room isn't that big but it isn't small, either. I got a cozy bed with multi-colored blankets (you guessed it right, it came from Pops), my own personal computer with a mini-library and study table beside it and the closet which is a few steps from my bed. Posters of video games and anime characters were pasted on the walls - a favor I had to ask Dad with (he had to give me some cash for the posters) and a single picture of me and the whole family just above the head of my bed. I put the bag and the parcel of books down and dressed before I sat on the bed. I looked at the pile of literature on the floor. I told myself I'd read these after dinner but it was so tempting. Unable to resist, I sat on the floor, opened it and went directly for the white folder. "Phobos...Why would you be named Phobos..." I uttered indiscriminately. There was something unsettling in those pages, something that seemed to mystify me. Before I knew it, I opened the folder as the smell of old paper wafted through the air. The content was not that surprising. A huge "CONFIDENTIAL" word in a red circle was stamped on the middle of the first page along with a message: "All the information here is classified. Any leak or sharing of this information to unauthorized individuals will result to negative consequences (for the list of authorized individuals, please refer to Protocol 12 of the company handbook). If the individual suddenly experiences hallucinations, nosebleeds, headache or nausea, please halt the reading of the data and go to medical services (excluding the Asylum and authorities under Protocol 6) to be attended to. Allevo" "Great way to introduce a theses," I thought. This looks like someone smuggled work out the Pentagon. Why would this be confidential though? Well, one way to answer that is to flip the page and uncover the information... "Hey, Sis!" My heart seemed to jump out of my chest. I looked around. Of course, who could it be but my annoyingly tall brother. "Do you even know how to knock?" I said and put the folder back to the stack of books. "Hey, I was knocking three times and calling out your name. You didn't even hear me so I had to open the door, you know," he said with a smirk. "But still!" I shouted and tried to think for an excuse. "I was busy, okay!" "If you say so," he said, his face not showing any signs of being convinced. "Anyways, dinner's ready. Pops just made some lasagna so if you don't hurry, me and Harry will be finishing it in a second," he said and hurried downstairs. I stood and put the books above the study table. "Yeah, I will. And I'll break your neck if you eat it all, i***t," I called out teasingly. Being the only girl in the house has its advantages and disadvantages. My brothers, Harry and Jake, are neither. They're not my brothers by blood - they're Pops' adopted sons - but they treat me like I'm their real sister, annoying me, for example. They sometimes cause a ruckus with clothes and they eat a lot - something that isn't obvious with their sturdy physiques. However, they're also kind of famous in the school, not only because they look cool and handsome but because they have talents. Harry is a varsity player in football while Jake is the student council's vice president. They may be irritating at times but they are very kind and cool brothers, but yeah, emphasis on the irritating part. "And there was this kid on the seventh-year class that almost made the science laboratory explode when he mixed hydrogen peroxide on the solution..." I could hear Jake's voice as I walked downstairs and went quickly to the dinner table. "If you didn't leave some lasagna for me, I'm gonna break your necks!" I said when I arrived. "Ummm..." All of them uttered. The dinner table was full of our usual dinner. Beef casserole, green salad and some bread, a pitcher of fresh orange juice and mashed potato. However... "Where's the lasagna?!" I exclaimed. "Sorry, dear, but we already ate it all," Dad answered. "We've been calling you but you didn't go down so we ate first." "Sorry, Sis," Harry and Jake said in unison. I sighed. "Great. I'm not hungry." Perhaps it was my face or their patience but they laughed all at once. "Just kidding!" Pops said. "Of course, there's some lasagna. We still haven't eaten yet. Sorry, baby," Pops said and hugged me. "I hate you all," I muttered. "You know that's not true," Dad said, which was not a lie as I'd never hate them, well, Pops and Dad, not my brothers. "Sit now and I'd get the lasagna from the oven," Pops ushered as I sat down. The dinner went smoothly - as they do in weekdays - and everything was fine. It was until the two boys spoke. "Heard you pulled Nine the moment he went out the class, Sis," Harry asked. Jake spooned out some mashed potatoes. "Yeah, I heard too. Where'd you go?" "Are you two gay? No offense meant," I quickly added, seeing Dad and Pops about to react. "What's that got to do about you?" "Hello? We're your brothers. Besides, we'd like to know who's gonna be our next bro," Jake explained. "Yeah, right?" Jake agreed and high-fived with Harry. "Nine's not boring, though. I mean, he's into volleyball, ain't he?" "Now, that's something I'd be agreeing on," Pops added. "Volleyball is a good sport. I was once a ball guard in the Jackson Penguins and we only lost once during the Districts." I pouted. "Pops!" "What? I'm just sharing my experience," he answered. "Jeez. He just went with me to the library. You know, the free books I brought when I arrived," I said and ate a mouthful of lasagna. "Okay, chill, Sis," Harry said, completely not convinced. "We're just saying if he's gonna be your boyfriend, that's not gonna be a bad thing." "Yeah, and that's a big IF." "Now, now, stop ganging on your sister, guys," Dad defended. "She's just shy, okay?" "Dad!" Fortunately, I didn't throw a mad temper like a crazy 12-year old. After dinner, I offered to wash the plates but Dad and Pops insisted. Well, can't disturb their free personal time, of course. Harry was going to his practice while Jake went to have a group study with his classmates. I know there's a chance they're gonna be in the same place and flirt with some girls but I didn't think of it much. Right now, I had only one thing in mind: I had to read that white folder. Little did I know it would spark a matchstick of change into our life.