The Adventures of Emily Tual Book One
Chapter One

Two-Thousand and Eleven

Four year old Emily looked outside her car window at the bright fair lights. Her family had just spent the entire day at the Carroll County Fair. Her little face was covered by a bright butterfly paint job. A red balloon was tied to her wrist. Her light brown hair was framing her face. It had been brushed back at the beginning of the day but it had gotten messy after the hot day. The hot weather though didn’t bother Emily at all. Not when she had been so focused on the rides, treats and the face painting.

Her mom looked at her from the front of the van. “Did you have fun today?” She asked Emily even though she already knew the answer. Emily’s face lit up with a huge smile.

“Yes!” She cried excitedly. Her mom smiled before looking at Emily’s baby sister. Little two year old Rachel was fast asleep in her seat. All the fun and excitement had worn her out. It was amazing that she didn’t make a fuss. Emily claimed it was because of her. Her parents did know that, despite the young girls’ ages, the two were very close already. Emily was the only one they turned to when little Rachel was fussy or whiny. Emily always was able to make Rachel smile and laugh.

Emily looked at her little sister. There was no one else she rather be with. She loved spending time with her. Little Rachel had a flower painted on her cheek. She was fast asleep. She didn’t have a balloon. Their parents didn’t want to risk her popping it and pieces of the balloon going in her mouth. Emily knew that and had to promise her parents she would keep the balloon away from Rachel.

That was when it happened. One minute they were going through a green light and the next, their vehicle was hit from the right, sending it flying. Luckily there was no traffic from the left. Their van landed and rolled a bit before finally stopping upside down. No one in the vehicle was moving. Emily’s balloon had popped and the pieces were all over the ceiling. A black sedan with a beaten up front then sped by them as in the distance, police sirens could be heard.

There was a black limo in an alleyway nearby. It was hidden by the darkness of the night and the house next to it blocking the festival’s lights. In the back of the limo, two bright eyes watched the sedan pull away after hitting the car.

“It looks like it was successful.” The driver told the owner of the eyes. “Are you going to tell him that the problem has been dealt with?”

The eyes flashed to the driver. “Not yet.” A female voice purred. “We have to make sure that the problem is dead.” The two watched as people came out of their homes and rushed to the totaled car. A few minutes later, ambulances and a couple of police cars showed up. “Now we see if the problem is still alive or not.” The female voice purred.

Emily moaned as she woke up. Instantly she felt pain all over. She opened her eyes and got blinded by a bright light. She closed her eyes quickly. It was still bright but not as bright as it had been.

“We have movement.” A male voice said. She slowly opened her eyes after the bright light got blocked. To her fright, there was a man with part of his face covered by a cloth. That was when she saw that he was in an outfit similar to the people at the hospital.

“Where are my Mommy and Daddy?” She asked before she winced.

The man shook his head. “You were in a car accident.” He told her. “Your parents are okay and at the accident still but you and your sister…” He didn’t finish his sentence.

Emily’s heart sank. “Where’s my sister?” She cried. She looked to her left, crying in pain as she did that. She saw little Rachel and she sobbed. Rachel was very pale. She had an ugly gash on her forehead.

“She’s not dead.” The man told Emily in a gentle voice. “But we need to get you both to the hospital. You both got seriously hurt and we were surprised that your sister,” Emily closed her eyes and continued to cry, blocking out what the man was saying. She couldn’t lose her sister. She just couldn’t.

Back at the scene of the accident, Emily’s mom was in the back of an ambulance talking to a police officer. “So your husband was going through the green light when your vehicle was hit from the right?” The officer was asking.

Emily’s mom nodded. She closed her eyes. “Has there been any update on my daughters?” She asked again.

The police officer shook his head. “Ma’am, I promised I would give you an update if anything happened but I need you to answer my questions.” He told her. “Mrs. Tual, please work with me here so I can understand what happened.”

There were people watching the scene as they walked by or just stood there. Some of them had called in the accident and had talked to the police shortly after the police had arrived. There was one man though who no one really noticed. He hadn’t been there when the accident had happened. He had shown up after the police and the ambulances had arrived. No one was talking to him or even looking at him. It was like he was a ghost. Not even his unusual robes had gotten anyone’s attention. The man’s eyes were full of sadness. If only the rest of the people there knew what he knew. He started walking towards the ambulance where Mrs. Tual was. As he was walking, his clothes changed into a police uniform.

One of the doctors in the ambulance looked at Rachel’s heart monitor as it started to beep faster and faster. “We’re losing her!” One of them said. One of them took out the AED. Emily watched as they tried to get back her sister. She closed her eyes and sobbed as the heart monitor gave one long beep and then nothing.

From within the limo, the owner of the bright eyes smiled in the dark. “Someone has died.” She purred. She didn’t know which one of the family members it was but she could sense it. She was hoping that it was the problem that she had been sent to deal with. She looked at her driver. “Contact him.” She ordered. “By the time he picks up, we should know who it was.” She rolled her window down and turned her ear to the accident. Normally people wouldn’t be able to hear what was happening from the distance that she was but she wasn’t normal or a person. The darkness was also hiding who, or rather what, she was.

Mrs. Tual’s heart sank. She could tell something had happened. Her fear was confirmed when she saw the police officer finish talking on his radio. The police officer looked at her but before he could say anything, another officer joined them. “I need to talk to Mrs. Tual.” The new officer said. Mrs. Tual’s eyes widened. She knew who it was. The first police officer looked at the new one.

“I have to tell her something first.” He said. The new one raised an eyebrow.

“I heard it over the radio too so I can tell her.” The way he said it made it clear that the first officer was to back off. He waited until the first officer was gone before he went up to Mrs. Tual. “We don’t have a lot of time.” He told her.

Mrs. Tual looked at him. “Professor.” She said. He wasn’t just a professor though. She had known him since she was a little girl. She knew that he wasn’t just a professor. He had been many different people and no one else knew it. “Which one is it?” She knew that he knew that one of her daughters was dying.

“It’s the younger one.” The officer/professor told her. Mrs. Tual closed her eyes.

“Was this their doing?” She asked. She had a feeling that this hadn’t been a mere accident. Not with what she knew.

The man nodded. “It’s too much of a coincidence, given your past.” He told her.

Mrs. Tual looked up. “You need to save her.” She told the man. “Emily can’t lose her sister.”

The man sighed. “Nor can the girls lose their mother.” He replied. Mrs. Tual closed her eyes. She knew where this was going.

“Please Professor.” She said. “This isn’t just about me being a mother. You know what’s coming. One of them might be the one.” She took a breath before she continued. “The prophecy must be fulfilled.”

If it had been anyone else there, they would have thought she was talking crazy. The officer/professor knew though what she was talking about. He had been the one who had told her about the prophecy and the one. “Very well.” He said. “But know that what you’re asking comes at a steep price.” Mrs. Tual looked towards the opening. She could see her husband talking to another police officer. She knew that she would never get the chance to say goodbye to him or their daughters.

“Do it.” She said.

The officer/professor closed his eyes. “Very well.” He said. His hands began glowing blue as he held them over Mrs. Tual.

“You’re still the bravest girl I’ve ever met Joan.” He said. Mrs. Tual looked up and smiled.

“Thank you Gabriel.” She said. She started crying. “Goodbye my dears.” She said. The images of her daughters and husband came to her. “I love you all.” She then closed her eyes and her heart stopped.

In the other ambulance, the doctors were trying to comfort Emily when Rachel’s heart monitor started beeping. The doctors looked at the heart monitor and then at little Rachel. “Impossible.” One of them said as the toddler began breathing again. They had all seen the baby die. Emily looked at her sister and she smiled through her tears.

“Rachel!” She cried. Rachel looked towards her and reached towards her. Emily started crying from happiness and reached out towards her sister. “I’m here Rachel!” She cried. “Big sister is here!”

The owner of the bright eyes rolled her window back up and hissed. She had sensed the change. Now it was the mother who was dead. Not one of the two kids. “Ma’am?” The driver asked. He looked back towards the darkness. “He’s on the phone and demands an update.”

From within the darkness, a human arm with a cat paw came out. “Give me the phone.” The voice hissed. The driver quickly placed the phone in the voice’s paw. The paw pulled the phone into the darkness. “I have bad news.” The voice said. “The two children are alive but their mother has died.” The voice’s ears laid back as she heard the person on the other end say something. “I’m not sure how. The sedan driver confirmed he had hit the right spot where the two kids would be sitting. They should have both died.”

There was a moment of silence as the person on the other end spoke. “I didn’t see him there but he might have come in a disguise.” The voice answered. “I’m sorry.” The voice then said. “Should I try again?” The driver leaned back against his window as the phone came suddenly out of the darkness without warning and shattered against the front window.

“I take it he doesn’t want you to try again.” He said, getting a hiss from the back seat.

“Just get us out of here.” The voice hissed angrily.

Mr. Tual and a police officer rushed over to Mrs. Tual’s limp body and the police officer there. “What happened?” Mr. Tual asked as he rushed to his wife’s side. Gabriel looked at him. Mr. Tual didn’t know who he was.

“I was about to tell her that there was bad news when her heart gave out.” Gabriel told Mr. Tual. Mr. Tual took his wife’s hands.

“Joan?” He asked. He couldn’t accept that his wife was dead. Especially since she hadn’t been as badly hurt as their daughters.

The police officer looked at Gabriel. “Radio the ambulance that have their daughters. Tell them that we lost one.” He told Gabriel.

In the ambulance, Emily looked at one of the doctors as he lowered the radio. The look on his face worried her. Why would he look sad? The doctor looked at her. “I’m sorry.” He told her. Emily was scared.

“What’s wrong?” She asked. Her sister was okay so why would the doctor be saying sorry? Unless something happened to her parents. “Are Mommy and Daddy okay?” She asked. The doctor shook his head.

“I’m sorry but your mother didn’t make it.” He told her. Emily closed her eyes and started crying. She had lost a family member after all.