The Adventures of Emily Tual Book One
Chapter Three

Seven years later

Emily stood in front of her mirror and looked at herself. It was her eleventh birthday. She had grown up a little bit. Her chocolate brown hair was shoulder length and brushed down. Her brown eyes that were once full of happiness and excitement had more sadness in them. She had decided to wear her favorite denim jacket. It had belonged to her mother when her mom had been her age. It went well with her red shirt and blue jeans. A tear came to Emily’s eyes as she silently made the same wish that she had made each of her birthdays: that her mommy would come back. But as always, it never came true.

Emily took out her locket and looked at the picture in it. It was of her and her mom back before the accident. “I’m eleven years old now Mommy.” She whispered to the picture. She closed the locket and put it on her. She then looked at herself in the mirror and wiped the tear away from her face. She couldn’t afford to cry right now. She was going to have guests coming soon to help celebrate her birthday. She smiled a little.

Her door then opened. “Emily!” An excited voice cried. Emily turned and smiled more. It was Rachel. The only person who could make Emily smile and mean it was Rachel.

The nine year old ran over to her big sister and hugged her tightly. “Happy birthday Emily!” She cried excitedly.

Emily laughed as she hugged her little sister. “Thank you Rachel.” She said.

Rachel looked up at her. “Are you ready to go?” She asked. “Your guests will be here shortly.”

Emily laughed again and nodded. “Let’s go.” She said. The two girls left Emily’s room.

In the middle of a forest, there was a camp. It was large. If one was to walk along a road that led to it, they would think that they were in the middle of nowhere. The camp was really about an hour away from the closest town. Near the entrance to the camp, there was a sign that said: Welcome To Camp Wolfwood. By the sign was a large stone house. It was four stories high and had a porch that went around the entire house. It looked out of place with the rest of the camp. On the porch were Gabriel and another man.

“It’s the girl’s eleventh birthday.” Gabriel was saying.

The other man didn’t speak for a few seconds. He then spoke. “Isn’t it still a little too early to see if she’s the Chosen One?” He asked Gabriel. To him, eleven was still too early to see if she was the chosen one or to tell her why she was the Chosen One.

Gabriel looked at him. “Jasper. I tested her mother when she was eleven.” He reminded him. “Just as I tested all the others who could be the Chosen One when they were eleven.”

The two men entered the large house. They walked past shelves that were along the walls. There were artifacts on each shelf. They were from all the different time periods. As they were walking, Jasper looked at Gabriel. “Are you going to give her the codex?” He asked.

Gabriel nodded. “She needs to know what her legacy is.” They entered a small room. The walls here were blank. There was a small altar in the center of the room. On it was a small book. It looked really thin and old. On the center of the cover was a very fancy looking S. Gabriel went up to the book and picked it up. The S glowed for a brief moment before returning to normal.

Jasper looked at the book. “The last time it did that for anyone, not including you of course, it was when…” He didn’t finish.

Gabriel nodded though. “It was when Emily’s mother picked it up.” He finished Jasper’s sentence.

Gabriel looked at the book for a little bit longer before he turned to leave with it. “It’s time to see whether or not Emily is the Chosen One.” He said.

Jasper followed him. “What about him though?” He asked. “You know that he’s been after that book for a long time.”

Gabriel nodded. “I know.” He then turned to Jasper. “Is our young guest ready?” He asked.

Jasper stopped walking. “Yes.” He simply answered.

Gabriel smiled. “Good. We’ll need him with what’s happening this summer.” He then left.

At Emily’s home, Emily and her guests were playing tag in the backyard. Rachel was it. Emily and Delaney were hiding behind a bush watching Rachel trying to tag one of the other kids. “How long do you think it’ll take before she notices that we’re hiding?” Delaney asked.

Emily smiled. “It’ll take her a few more minutes.” She answered. The two girls quietly laughed. As they were watching, Delaney looked towards the road. She frowned.

“Look at that.” She said. Emily looked in the direction that Delaney was looking. There was a car parked next to the sidewalk on the other side of the road. It looked old fashion. It was impossible to see who the driver was. The sun was reflecting off the front window and the side window where the driver would be was all the way up.

“How long has that been there?” Delaney asked.

Emily shook her head. “I don’t know.” She answered. “I don’t exactly look at every car that comes through our neighborhood. Probably one of the neighbors got a new car.” She looked at the car. “Or at least as new as that can be. I’ve only seen that type of car in some of the old movies that my dad watches.”

From within the driver’s seat of the car, the mistress was watching the two girls. She was happy that no one could see under her disguise. Her paws were covered by long sleeves. Her tail was tucked under her and it was killing her to sit on it. She had a hat on her head to cover the cat ears. Her eyes narrowed in on the one girl. According to him, that was the child who had turned eleven that day. According to what he said, her name was Emily Tual. The mistress had been sent there to see if Gabriel showed up at all with a certain item. She groaned and leaned back in her seat. There had been no sign of the old man.

Her phone then began ringing. She looked at the screen. It was him. She quickly answered it. “What is it?” She asked. “Where are you?” She hissed. “Why didn’t you tell me this before? No, I’ll be there.” She looked at Emily and the other girl as she hung up and put her phone down. She would be back. The mistress started her car up and drove away quickly.

Rachel appeared without warning, startling both Delaney and Emily. “Found you!” She cried triumphantly. She tagged Emily. “You’re it!” She took off running, giggling as she went. Emily looked at Delaney before she smiled mischievously. Delaney, recognizing the danger she was in, quickly took off, followed by Emily.

In the house, Mr. Tual and his sister were getting the table set up for the birthday cake and presents. “How is Emily holding up?” His sister asked. Mr. Tual looked at his sister. He knew why she was asking. Emily still showed signs of feeling sadness and depression. Even after seven years, her mother’s death was still affecting her.

“She has been better since you last asked three months ago.” He answered as they went into the kitchen. “You know how close she was to her mother.”

His sister nodded. “They were very close.” She leaned against the counter. “Are you sure you still want to send her to that camp this summer?” She asked.

Mr. Tual looked at her. “It was you who suggested that I did that.” He reminded her.

His sister nodded. “I know but you seemed hesitant at first.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I just want to make sure that you’re not having any second thoughts.” She continued.

Mr. Tual shook his head. “I’m not. I think going to a camp where she’ll be able to get away from everything here will be good for her.” He told his sister. “Camp Wolfwood sounds like an interesting place.” He looked at the table through the doorway between the dining room and the kitchen. “We’re just about ready. We just need to get the kids inside.”

That was when there was a knock on the front door. The two looked in that direction. “Were you expecting anyone?” Mr. Tual’s sister asked him.

Mr. Tual shook his head. “Not that I was aware of.” He answered. He looked at his sister. “How about you get the kids.” He said. “I’ll see who’s at the front door.” His sister looked at him for a minute before she went to the back door. Mr. Tual went up to the front door and opened it.

A man was standing there. He had gray curly hair and had glasses over his gray eyes. He was wearing a geeky professor outfit. “May I help you?” Mr. Tual asked hesitantly.

The man nodded. “My name is Professor Smith.” He answered. “Or at least I was a professor until I retired a few years ago.” Mr. Tual raised an eyebrow. The man shook his head. “I’m here because I have a gift for your daughter. Or rather your wife did.” He continued. He took out a small bag. “Your wife had called me before the accident. She was looking for a certain book. Said it was supposed to be a gift for your daughter.”

Mr. Tual tilted his head. “You knew my wife?” He asked suspiciously.

The man nodded. “I was one of her college professors.” He answered.

Mr. Tual smiled. “So you’re the Professor Smith that she told me about.” He said. Professor Smith frowned. Joan talked about him? Mr. Tual, oblivious to the man’s frown, continued. “She said that you inspired her to look into being a history teacher.”

Gabriel smiled and held the bag up to Mr. Tual. “I just wish I could tell her that I’m sorry it took so long to replace this book for her daughter.” He said.

Mr. Tual took the bag. “It’s okay. I’m sure Emily will love to get something like this.” He told Gabriel. He wasn’t sure why he had said that. Maybe it was because his wife had spoken so highly of Professor Smith.

Gabriel smiled. “I need to get going.” He said. “I just wanted to stop by to make sure that this got here.” He said.

Mr. Tual shook his hand. “Thank you Professor.” He said. “And please, feel free to come back anytime you want. We can talk about my wife in your classes.”

Gabriel smiled. “I would enjoy that talk.” He said. He then turned and left. He waited until he was out of sight of the house before he snapped his fingers. His geeky professor outfit was replaced by a simpler outfit appropriate for the age he appeared to be. He didn’t want to draw any attention to himself. He of course had also gone there to make sure that neither the Man with the German Accent or his associates showed up. Satisfied that none of them were there, he disappeared into thin air.