The Adventures of Emily Tual: Camp Adventures Book Two

Audrey looked around her as her parents and she walked towards a cabin. “Why am I here again?” She asked her parents.

Her dad looked at her. “We want you here for the week while things cool off back at home” He explained. Audrey knew what he was talking about. Ever since that strange night with the weird horse guy and some guy and even before that with whoever that old guy was fighting those guys, things in New Philadelphia had been uneasy. Police were patrolling every street. There were patrols at the schools guarding every entrance. Not all of them were police though. Veterans and former police were helping with guarding. The parks were put on stricter open times.

Audrey had seen her neighborhood gone from a fun place to a strict battlefield. None of the little kids spent time outside after five in the evening. They were ushered back into their homes or their friend’s home if their parents weren’t home. Audrey would look out into the street and see men taking turns guarding their street at all times of the day and night. She had wondered if the other streets were doing that as well. It was like New Philadelphia had turned into a war zone getting ready for a fight.

Audrey looked at her parents. Her father had joined the neighbor patrol. He was taking the time though away to drop her off at the camp. He was serious about keeping his family safe. She had a feeling that she was there so she would be safe while they dealt with whatever was happening back at in New Philadelphia. She looked around her at everyone dropping off their kids. She wasn’t sure if she would enjoy this week at camp. The three of them went to their vehicle to get Audrey’s stuff. “Where did they say my group was?” She asked her parents.

Her mother smiled. “The staff member we talked to said your group is called Experimental Explosion B and that they would be by the cabins for Experimental Explosion A, the younger first time group.”

Audrey managed not to roll her eyes. She couldn’t believe that she was stuck in a group like that. It sounded like something for little kids. She knew though that her parents were doing it to keep her safe from whatever was happening back home. “Let’s go meet my group then.” She said as they got her stuff out of the trunk. They headed towards her cabin.

From a distance, James watched the three heading towards the five cabins. Audrey was about a year older than him in physical appearance but James knew he was older than her by quite a bit. He had been there during the final fight between the Darkness and Seraphina. The thing was that he couldn’t remember much about his life before the final fight. He shook his head. Audrey didn’t seem to be any different from anyone else he had ever seen besides the Black Hand, Gabriel and Jasper. Then again, Emily looked normal in every aspect. Not even the two kidnappings made her stand out. Other people had been kidnapped more than once.

James looked at Audrey. She looked a little bit like Seraphina. She looked more like Seraphina than Emily did. He wondered if Emily had ever seen a picture of Seraphina. He thought back to Emily’s book. He had never looked in the book before. Gabriel had never allowed him to open it before. Gabriel had told him that only the Chosen One was allowed to read from it. He wondered if Gabriel meant to say chosen ones. He did after all keep Audrey close and in a safe place. The same thing he had done for Emily’s ancestors when he took them into hiding when the Black Hands had been hunting down Seraphina’s descendants.

James spotted Emily and her family heading towards the same cabins as well. He knew that before the week was out, Emily and Audrey would know about each other and maybe even know that they were distantly related to each other.

Emily looked at the group of people around a picnic table she assumed was their group. There were two counselors. One was a man and the other was a woman. They looked like they were older teens to younger adults. There were two other girls and four boys. There was another picnic table. There was another group there. They looked a bit older than the group she was going to. Maybe a couple of years older or so. There was a couple and a daughter heading to the other group. She looked at the daughter. That was when she felt a chill despite the heat. There was something about the daughter. She almost looked familiar but Emily wasn’t sure why.

Emily’s counselors went up to her and her family. “Hello.” The guy said. “My name is Tony. This is Kat.” He pointed at the female counselor. “We’ll be your counselors for the week.”

Kat smiled and looked at the four girls. “And what are your names?” She asked the four.

Emily looked at her cousins and sister. “This is Rachel, Delaney and Elizabeth.” She told the two counselors. “My name is Emily.”

Kat smiled. “Well, if you all follow me, I’ll show you where we’ll be staying for the week. After you settle in, we’ll go meet the rest of our group.” She led the six of them into one of the cabins.

Audrey watched the female counselor lead the six into a cabin. She then looked at her own group. There were about three boys and two other girls. They all were teenagers too. The two counselors with them were a guy and a girl. They both looked a few years older than the campers. The female counselor went up to the three of them. “My name is Eloise.” She told Audrey and her parents. She gestured to the male counselor. “That is Jonathan.” She looked back at Audrey. “And you are?”

Audrey smiled. Maybe this week wouldn’t be so bad after all. The counselor seemed nice enough and the other group that she had been told would spend time with her group seemed okay so far. “My name is Audrey.” She answered.

Eloise smiled. “Excellent. Well, if you and your parents follow me, I’ll show you our cabin.” She led Audrey and her parents into the girls’ cabin.

From his hiding spot, Josiah watched the families going into the two cabins. He had been ordered to watch for when the girls arrived. The Man with the German Accent had given him the order to spy on the Chosen One and her family. The other girl, Audrey, well, he had been ordered by Anthony after helping the imprisoned Black Hands out of prison to spy on the girl. He couldn’t help but smile. Infiltrating the Man with the German Accent’s manor and gaining his trust had been way too easy. No doubt because he had brought with him several fresh released Black Hands.

While Josiah had been working for the Man with the German Accent, he had taken the chance to snoop around. He didn’t find any proof that the Man with the German Accent knew that Anthony had given the order to Agent Simmons to try to get rid of the Chosen One. He had been interested in the four coffins in the basement. He knew that they were for the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse but he had found it odd that two of them were closed and that two of them were opened and empty. If he had to take a guess, it meant that two of the Horsemen were on the loose somewhere. The question was wear though.

He also found Dordrem to be odd. Not just odd, but a bit creepy as well. Dordrem seemed to be converting Black Hands to his own little personal army. He had seen the red uniforms they were wearing. Word around the manor was that the old man was the Horseman of War. He had looked all around the manor but didn’t find the suit of armor that matched the description of the Horseman of War. He seriously doubted that the old man himself was the Horseman of War. He had gone to the Man with the German Accent to find out all he could from him about Dordrem but not even the Man with the German Accent was able to tell him much.

Josiah’s eyes grew blood red and his sight changed to the inside of the one cabin. He could see what Audrey was doing. She was putting her stuff on one of the empty beds. He knew that it was important to know which bed she was going to be in. According to Anthony, she was supposed to be a danger to the Darkness and his plans. He had a spy in the camp who would be able to take care of Audrey very quickly.

Josiah took out his phone and smiled at it. He was way older than he looked. No one in the Black Hand, not even Anthony, knew how old he was. The only one who knew his age was the Darkness. Not even the Man with the German Accent knew his age and he was one of the oldest members of the Black Hand. He called his spy. “When can we meet? We have a lot to talk about.” He then smiled. “Excellent. I’ll meet you at the rendezvous point. Make sure no one follows you and make sure you have a good alibi for being gone for this meeting.” He then hung up.

James was watching Audrey, her parents and Eloise coming out of the one cabin and Emily, her family and Kat coming out of the other cabin. He had seen Emily looking at Audrey. He wondered if Emily recognized her from somewhere. Gabriel would want to know about that if Emily did recognize her. He looked at Emily’s group again. It would soon be time for him to be a part of their group to guard over Emily. That was when he saw it. A small red glowing in the forest near the cabins that Emily had just come out of. He had a feeling that he knew who was there. He disappeared into thin air.

Josiah was about to leave when a boy appeared in front of him out of nowhere. “What are you doing here?” The boy demanded.

Josiah looked at him. Judging from the way that the boy was talking and standing, he held some sort of power in the camp. “If you know who I am, then you know why I’m here.” He told the boy. “The real question is why would Gabriel leave the protecting of two Chosen nes to the hands of a boy?” The boy didn’t look tough.

James glared at him. “Gabriel trusts me to watch over Emily and Audrey.” He told Josiah. “I did save Emily from Bastet and the Magician.”

Josiah was surprised to hear that. “You’re the one who got her away from them?” He asked.

James nodded. “And I’ll keep them both safe from you Black Hand.” He answered. Josiah smiled and laughed a little. “You really have no idea who I am, do you?” He asked. James shook his head. “Doesn’t matter.” He answered. “You’re a Black Hand.”

Josiah shook his head. “I am not just a Black Hand.” He told James. “I am far more dangerous than the Magician.” How dare the boy think he was just a Black Hand. James was surprised to hear that. Gabriel had said only one Black Hand could bring about the Dark Storm. Was Josiah the one who cast the Dark Storm? It didn’t matter. James knew that he had to defend the chosen ones.

Josiah looked at his watch. “As much as I would like to have this fight with you, I have other places to be.” He smiled at James. “I’m sure the Magician will be thrilled to know that you were the one who got the girl away from him.” He told the boy. He wasn’t going to tell the Magician anything but the boy didn’t need to know that. He had a meeting though with his spy so he could tell the spy where to strike when the time came. He disappeared in red flames, startling James.

James backed up surprised as the Black Hand disappeared in red flames. He had never seen a Black Hand do that before. Granted he hadn’t seen that many Black Hands disappear into thin air but he knew that none of them could disappear like that. He had to go talk to Gabriel. He needed to know about this Black Hand. James had a feeling that the Black Hand wasn’t a Seeker like that Black Hand who had attacked him at the hospital so the question was left of who this Black Hand was. He took off running towards the lodge.