text: Flora 123 The Unexpected Journey 
   
   
   whis is a no chapter story 
   The Unexpected journey 
   On a normal day Emily was walking home from school with her two friends Bobby and Rae. Emily is in second year in High school along with her friends, Emily likes school. She is a hardworking pupil and she loves drawing and listening to music. Bobby is the opposite of Emily, he doesn’t like school, he always tries to get out of subjects he hates most, which is all of them, but he loves spending time with his friends and he is always on his bike practicing stunts. Last of all there is Rae, she is a quiet girl and she doesn’t show lots of emotions, mainly because she is half demon and if she shows too much emotion it can have catastrophic consequences. Because of this she mostly reads books and meditates, she is also very mature but she doesn’t mind hanging out with friends. “I can’t wait till tomorrow, it’s my birthday!”Squealed Emily happily, “Yes, it’s exciting... where are you going? Are your parents taking you anywhere?”Asked Bobby. “Em... oh thanks for reminding me, I need to go to my granny’s house by myself for two weeks, my parents say it’s because I haven’t seen her in ages but I know the real reason. I heard them talk about it, it’s because we are moving house and they don’t want me in the way” said Emily sadly. “So, your granny is nice though...Isn’t she? Asked Rae still reading her book. “Well she lives in the middle of nowhere and what’s worse all she does is knit, she doesn’t even care about me, that is also the reason why my parents don’t want to come, because they don’t like her” Said Emily.” Good luck then and don’t worry, I read lots of books and if I know one thing, it’s that in the middle of nowhere all the mysterious and cool stuff happen,” said Rae enthusiastically.”Thanks that helped, “said Emily sarcastically, “anyway I need to go home and pack, see you after the holidays, if I don’t die of boredom,” joked Emily as she walked down her garden to her door, the others waved goodbye and slowly left. Emily came home and found a note saying : 
   
   Hi Emily, dad and I are away for now we will be back tomorrow, probably, so get packed and ready to go because you are leaving really early tomorrow to go to your granny’s house remember take something to keep you occupied because it is a six hour journey there by bus, oh we left dinner in the microwave for you if you want. 
   
   
   Lots of love, 
   
   
    Mum and Dad. 
   
   Emily was used to her parents not being there, they were never there because they were always too busy with work. Sometimes she would not see them for days because of the schedule. The schedule went like this: Emily wakes up for school at 7:00am and her parents would be sleeping, she then leaves the house at 8:00am and her parents are still sleeping, then she comes home from school and both of them are away at work and they would take triple shifts often for more money so they would come home at 11:00 or 12:00 at night so she wouldn’t see them then either, and that was the cycle for the whole week, even for Saturdays and Sundays, so Emily would usually go to see her friends. 
   Emily slowly walked upstairs then into her room and she sat down. She started packing everything into a suitcase. She took five tops and three trousers, she didn’t get her clothes very dirty often and she knows that when she gets there she will be sitting doing nothing in her room anyway because it is so boring in her granny’s house. Next she took a few things that will (hopefully) occupy her for two weeks, so she decided to take two sketch pads, 10 sketching pencils (just in case), a charger, Headphones, her phone (to call Bobby and Rae if she’ll be bored, which she most definitely will be), a book (Rae made her take it because she said it passes time quickly, Emily wasn’t the reading type but she wanted time to fly by even though she knew it wouldn’t), Colouring pencils ( Bobby bought it for her for the trip as well) and last but not least she took some food and drink (because the only thing she remembers last time she was at her granny’s is that the only thing granny knows how to cook is cabbage soup which Emily hates). She was packed; all she had to do was wait till tomorrow. 
   She slowly walked down stairs and looked into the microwave there was a sad little baked potato with a bit of cheese next to it. She heated the potato up and sadly sat down to eat it. She looked out the window and it was getting dark, she looked at the clock on the wall - 9:00pm. She looked back out the window and it started to rain, she sighed at nothing in particular and walked back upstairs to wash. Once she was washed and in her PJ’s she sat on her bed and phoned Rae. Rae told her not to worry and that if something she can teleport over to Emily and she can stay the two weeks with Emily but Emily didn’t want to ruin Rae’s holiday especially that Rae bought five chunky books to read over the whole holidays so Emily said “no thanks”.”I’ll call you when I get to my granny’s but now I need to go to sleep, it’s a long day tomorrow especially for me” said Emily to Rae. “Yeah if something I will always be in touch, bye Emily” Said Rae. “Bye” said Emily and ended the call. Emily decided to sketch a little before bed. Then she looked at her clock – 10:00pm, bedtime, and she switched the light off and went to sleep. 
   Her alarm went off the next morning at 7:00 and she woke up and went downstairs. She got ready to go and we was about to leave the house when she decided to go see her parents. She went to her parent’s room but sadly they weren’t there, but there was a note left on the bed. She sighed sadly and opened the letter. 
   
   Morning Emily, 
   
   
   I hope you are ready to go, I hope you have a good time at your granny’s. Sorry we aren’t there to say bye to you but dad and I got a shift in the morning today. I will see you in two weeks, bye  
   
   
   Love from,  
   
   
   Mum and Dad. 
   
   Emily kind of knew that they wouldn’t be there; she put the letter in the bin and walked outside to the bus stop. She wasn’t looking forward to this she thought to herself while waiting for the bus. Then the bus arrived and just in time because it was starting to rain, she walked on the bus and asked for one ticket to Flow Ville, the bus driver asked, ” Is there a reason your going there, it is an old sleepy town with dodgy people, I’d look out if I were you.”Emily replied,” I am going there to see my granny and I think I will be fine and if something I will call my friend, she is half demon.” The bus driver looked at her strangely and said, “You youth watch too many movies, demons aren’t real little girl.” Emily looked at the bus driver and she realised that she better not tell that to people because they will think that she is a paranoid little girl that watches too many movies even though she actually does have a half demon friend, she realised lots of people don’t believe in anything, sad life they have she would always say.”Umm... I didn’t say Demon” she lied, “I said umm... decent... yeah decent, a decent fighter that is what my friend is.” The bus driver looked at her and said “My apologies I must have misheard you,””Demons? I’m too old to believe in demons, I know they aren’t real” She lied even more, ” I am thirteen years old today, I don’t believe in that kind of stuff.” “Happy birthday” the bus driver said, “Thanks, “said Emily then she went to the back of the bus and found a seat. 
   After the long journey she finally got out of the bus. She saw a very old sign that said Flow Ville and at the bottom someone wrote in pen “turn back when you can” she said quietly and it was ringing in her head for a long time. She decided to start walking but she didn’t know where to go, she went one way until she saw a lady waiting in front of a store. She walked up to her and asked,” Excuse me do you know where Misty Cottage is?”The lady looked at her in shock and replied, “It is that way but why would you want to go there? There are rumours going around saying that those fields surrounding the cottage are roamed by the Hide behind. The hide behind has the ability to hide behind anything and there are bushes and trees surrounding that cottage so it’s a good hiding place for it.””What is the hide behind capable of,” asked Emily. “No one knows but lots of people see a tall shadow like thing roaming the fields and once someone tried to go after it and they were never seen again, if you are going to that cottage then make sure you are there before night, everyone mostly sees it when it’s dark, “the lady said but with a concern in her eyes so Emily knew she wasn’t lying. 
   Emily left as soon as possible after that, she wanted to be there before night just like that lady said. After five hours of walking she realised that it was getting dark, she looked at the setting sun and she was getting extremely concerned about the fact that she was walking for a long time and she hasn’t seen a cottage yet in fact all around her she couldn’t see anyone, just fields. Then she saw a small speck in the distance, she could make out a small cottage, then it came to her. The lady said that around the cottage there were fields and that is where the Hide Behind roamed. Suddenly she lost sight of the cottage because an eerie fog covered the entire fields but luckily she remembered the direction of the cottage. She slowly started walking forward and then she felt a cold wind stir in the air but then her heart started racing because she walked past a tree and the leaves weren’t swaying but she felt a really cold wind and it was strong wind too. She decided to calm herself down and remembered that once Rae told her that if you’re scared, try to look on the logical side of things, so Emily did. She told herself that it’s dark and foggy that is why it’s cold and it was probably not windy enough to move the tree leaves even though deep inside she knew that wasn’t the reason why. After what felt like forty minutes of walking (but it probably wasn’t) she found the antediluvian cottage, it made her uncomfortable looking at it, it looked like it was staring at her, lifeless. Oh she thought to herself, it has been a long day and she needed a rest so she walked up to the door and rang the door bell. 
   She stood there, waiting, she was nervous but she didn’t know why. She looked behind her and it looked as if the fog had surrounded the house, as if she was trapped inside unable to escape. She cleared that thought from her mind and started smiling to herself, “wow I am really tired. I am starting to be paranoid over nothing, “she said to herself softly. 
   Finally the door creaked open, slowly. 
   She walked in and realised that no one had opened the door, was it automatic? No this house is antediluvian it dated back centuries if not an entire millennium, it couldn’t have automatic doors. She slowed her pace and finally said, “Hello? Granny are you there? It’s me, Emily. I came for two weeks.” A light went on at the end of a long corridor and she saw something at the end, a silhouette.”Wow this house is long, on the outside it looks so small but it is brobdingnagian on the inside, like a mansion, “she whispered ever so quietly to herself. The small silhouette started walking towards her slowly until it reached the same room that Emily was in. The silhouette turned on a little desk lamp and the silhouette turned out to be Emily’s granny. “Welcome dear child, welcome, I’m glad you could make it” said granny with a wheezy voice. Emily was going to say something but her granny stopped her.”Let me show you to your room, you will spend two weeks in this house so I will tell you everything you need to know,” Said granny. They walked upstairs and granny told Emily that her room is by the stairs and the toilet is opposite her. She also told Emily that she will be getting three meals every day that granny will make and Emily got a menu, on the menu it said:  for breakfast: cabbage soup, dinner: cabbage soup with a carrot and for supper: cabbage soup.  Emily looked at the menu in disgust but she gave her granny a small smile as if she loved cabbage soup. Next granny told her that next to Emily’s room there is granny’s room but Emily isn’t allowed in that room even if a meteor was about to hit the house, when Emily asked why her granny just said, “because,” and changed the subject. For such an enormous house with tons of rooms she was only allowed in two rooms, her own room and the toilet. Emily thanked her granny and her granny disappeared down stairs. 
   She opened the door to her room and walked in. She closed the door and looked around, on the left there was a small desk and a squeaky old chair that was falling apart. In the middle of the room there was a small window and some black small curtains. On the right there was a bed that looked like it was in the first and Second World War, There was also a small wardrobe just by the door but it looked so grimy and repulsive she decided to keep her stuff in her suitcase. Something in that room made her shiver, maybe it was because there was no heating in the room or maybe it was the mould and damp climbing up the walls. Whatever it was, she didn’t like that room. She decided not to be too fussy about the room; she thought that the best way to forget that she is here was to take out some things that she liked. She took out her sketch pad and a pencil, her phone and something to eat because she was hungry. After she took something’s out her bag she sat on the bed and tried to call bobby, but no answer. It wasn’t like Bobby not to pick up his phone but it is the holiday’s so he is probably out somewhere. Next she called Rae, she did pick up. “Hi Emily, how are you enjoying the holiday?”Rae said. Emily answered, “It’s horrible, I am only allowed in two places in the house, granny only makes cabbage soup and everyone tells me that apparently a Hide Behind roams the cottage fields, no o...”suddenly Emily got interrupted by Rae.”The Hide Behind? I have read about it in an ancient legends book once. He has the ability to hide behind anything and he is like a shadow, you can’t catch him but he leads people into getting lost forever,””I don’t care about any Hide Behind, tomorrow I am going outside because I can’t stay here a moment longer! I will see if there is a Hide Behind roaming the fields,” Emily said raising her adrenaline.” Oh, so you are brave now? Well just try not to raise any trouble with anything, remember if something I do have dark magic so I can help with creatures, “Rae said monotony ( mainly because she is reading and talking at the same time).”Right I need to go, I am tired after today’s journey, bye Rae,” Emily said tiredly, “Bye,” said Rae and she ended the call. 
   The next morning she woke up but she didn’t sleep well that night, she kept on hearing creaks, the room was really cold and she thought she was going to get hypothermia in the middle of summer, and next door ( her granny’s room) she heard metal clanking as if her granny was building something. Emily got dressed and she ate something, she decided to walk downstairs. Her granny was sitting on the prehistoric sofa and she was knitting but when she realised that Emily was here she looked so shocked, “What are you doing here?””I am going outside for some fresh air granny, “Emily said and then she left the house. She closed the door behind her. When she turned around she realised that the fog was still there. How strange she thought to herself. She felt like she was battling through the fog and when she got out of the fog she realised that the fog was only around the cottage as if it was a barrier, nothing can come in and nothing can get out. No she thought to herself, it was probably just a coincidence and she walked on. While walking she fell on to the grass and she looked around to find a lever sticking out of the ground. She was curious to find out that it does, she got that from Rae, she never used to be curious but Rae showed her how awesome it is to be curious. She kicked the lever and a tunnel opened into the ground, there were stairs leading down to darkness. Would she go in or would she hesitate? She went in. 
   Walking down those old creaky wooden stairs made her think of Rae and how much she would have liked this. She decided to call Rae but she forgot her phone. Oh well she thought, Rae was right, in the middle of nowhere all the cool things do happen. At the bottom of the stairs there was a metal heavy door, Emily opened it with all the strength she had. When she walked in she found out that this was an underground bunker. She walked in even further to explore, she found a bedroom, laboratories, kitchen and canned food that can last the next fifty years, Library with really old books, there were a few rooms that were locked so she couldn’t get in. She was searching through some folders when all of a sudden she heard a creak, she turned around and she found a tall man standing there. He had abnormally circle eyes as if they were made of golf balls; he was wearing something that an old army plane driver would wear.”Umm, Good afternoon,” Emily said politely, “sorry that I’m in your bunker, I was walking and the lever tripped me up and the door opened to this place and...” Emily tried to finish but the man interrupted her.” Its ok, is this place interesting? Have a look around if you want,” replied the man calmly.” My name is Steve and this is my bunker where I do various experiments and research, and you are?” Asked Steve.” I am Emily, I have come to see my granny and she lives in that cottage not far from here. I am sorry if I have invaded your property, I will show myself out” Emily said, she was just about to leave when Steve asked if she would like to see the laboratory and Emily agreed. The laboratory was in one of the rooms that were locked, Steve obviously had the key and he opened it. She sat down on a chair and Steve was facing a cupboard full of paper and he didn’t see Emily take out a folder. Emily opened the folder and she read it quietly to herself while Steve was busy. The folder said:”  The Shape shifter, Has the ability to transform into anything it sees. He is the most dangerous thing on the planet. The shape Shifter got out once and he took the form of a shadow, the towns people have seen him and they called him the Hide Behind, I managed to recapture him and put him in a steel cage, he took my form and my name as well, my name is Steve Johnstone and if you are reading this then you aren’t the shape shifter because he has a problem opening books and folders, here is my advice to you, RUN! 
   
   From, 
   
   
   Steve Johnstone.  
   
   Then she quickly put the folder back and then she felt like she was about to faint. She saw the steel cage in front of her and the bars were bent apart, On the ground she then found a picture, she picked it up and it was a picture of a shadow, she moved her chair the slightest bit just to see what Steve was doing, he was having difficulty opening a book! Emily swallowed the fear and asked,” What is your last name Steve?” Steve stopped trying to open the book and he paused, then he said,” Steve Smith.” Then he started going through the things again, that is when one thought came to her head, I need to get out of here. 
   She knew that he was the shape shifter and she needed to get out of that bunker, she calmly said,” Oh well, will you look at the time, I need to go or I will be late for my cabbage soup that my granny’s making.” Then the shape shifter turned around and turned into his original form and he said,” You’re not going anywhere.” He leaped to catch her but she ran into a room that said freezer room and it had big tubes that could freeze people. She thought, if I get him to go in there, I could close the door and freeze him, but how? Then she had an idea, she ran toward an axe, she picked it up and she decided to hide behind a tube. The shape shifter looked around and he found her, he started charging toward her. She hide the axe until the last second and when he was about to grab her, she cut off one of his arms, which momentarily stunned him. Taking the chance she had to escape, she pushed the shape shifter into the tube and she closed the door. She then pressed freeze and he began to freeze. With his last words he said,” Ha you don’t even know what is happening, I will find a way out and I will find you. You never should have come here. ”She got out of that bunker as fast as she could and she was about to close the door to the bunker when she heard a big clank inside. It’s probably nothing she said to herself and she left. She walked home to her granny’s but she realised something strange, her granny’s door wasn’t closed, it was open. Emily thought that maybe her granny was warm or something. Emily walked up to the door and she walked in. 
   It was eerily quiet 
   Emily walked further in and she saw something laying down behind the sofa, it was her granny. Her granny was full of scratches, bruises and open wounds, her dress was dirty too. “Granny,” Emily screamed and ran towards her.” Her granny was smiling and she let out an evil chuckle.” Ha Ha, Young silly girl, you think I’m your granny. Your granny has been dead for seven years,” Emily’s eyes opened wide and she took a few steps back.”Do you want to hear the funny part, I killed her. Ha Ha, she was in your room, knitting and I just managed to escape, I was hungry,” said the formal granny smirking and laughing. Emily backed up all the way to the door.” Yes child, run, but I will always find you and I won’t let you rest until you break down physically and mentally, just like what I did with your granny.””Who are you?” said Emily through tears, anger and fear. The formal granny looked at her shocked,” don’t you know, I’m the thing you fear most, the thing in fairy tales, the thing that keeps you up at night, the thing that drives people into mental hospitals. I am the Shape Shifter and I am going to...get...you...too.” 
   
   The End 
   
     
     
   
   
   Text: Raven Editing: Raven All rights reserved. Publication Date: June 5th 2017 https://www.bookrix.com/-ajef4f664f83f85