The Adventures of Emily Tual: Revelations Book Three
Chapter 7

Audrey looked out the window at the vehicles leaving. Her arms were crossed over her chest. She shivered a little. It wasn’t because of the air conditioning that she felt cold. She couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong for sure. Her thoughts went to the man and the woman that had been walking with Jasper and how they had wanted to take her away. She hadn’t seen that many Black Hands but she could tell that the two of them had been Black Hands. She wondered if the Black Hands were now after her since the ritual had been interrupted and basically had failed when it had come to Emily.

She wanted to believe that her parents would protect her but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad had happened to her parents. There was no sign of her family’s van. It should have been there by now for sure. Most of the vehicles had already pulled out. Audrey looked at the office phone. She wanted to call her parents but she was scared of who might be on the other end on either of her parents’ phones. It could be a Black Hand that was after her. She looked at the office door. It was locked. Audrey had already tried to leave but James had locked it right after she had gone in.

Audrey looked at the computer screen. The computer was on. She realized that now was a good chance to see if something bad had happened in New Philadelphia. She went to the computer and got onto the internet. She looked up New Philadelphia. Her eyes widened when she saw what was in the top news articles. Several fires had been in the city, impossible to see through fog, a giant blackout that had covered the city, multiple deaths and a giant prison break. Her heart began to beat faster as she read the news. Several SWAT officers and police officers had been killed fighting what looked like people dressed up as zombies, prison guards and prisoners alike were killed in a giant fight. She nearly got sick at the sight of all the orange-suited prisoners that were spread all over the ground. Red splotches painted their suits.

She then saw a news article about the death of a couple. She slowly clicked the link. Her heart sank when she saw what it was about. Her parents had been murdered before being caught in a giant unnatural fire that destroyed the entire house. She gasped when she saw a picture of the destroyed house. It had been burned nearly to the ground. Only a few small parts of the walls were still up. Audrey closed the internet and covered her head as she sobbed. Her family and her life were destroyed. She was an orphan again and she had nowhere to go. She was alone. She wondered if James, Jasper and Gabriel knew about this. They had to. Jasper seemed to have been dragging his feet when he had been leading the man and the woman over to them and James had told Emily to turn her invisible.

She heard the door open and close. She looked up and saw that it was James. “You knew, didn’t you?” She asked through her sobs even though she already knew the answer.

James looked at the computer. “You found out what happened in New Philadelphia.” He said. Audrey nodded as she looked down and cried. James sat next to her and wrapped an arm around her. “I’m sorry Audrey.” He told her. Audrey leaned against him and continued to cry. It was quiet in the office except for Audrey’s crying. James felt his shirt getting damp but he didn’t care. Audrey needed someone to be there for her.

Audrey looked up at him. “Is that why those two people were here?” She asked him. “Were they going to take me away and kill me to finish the job? I could tell that they were Black Hands.” She couldn’t get the man and the woman out of her head. They were terrifying despite being elderly.

James nodded. “They were here to take you away but I don’t think that they were going to kill you just yet.” He told Audrey. Audrey frowned and wiped her tears away as she finished crying. “I think that they were going to try to place you with Black Hand operatives to get you out of the foster system and away from anyone who might try to give you a home first.” James explained. “I know who they are and just how dangerous they are. Compared to them, the Magician is a weakling.”

That didn’t make Audrey feel any better. Jasper and Gabriel had told her, Emily and Emily’s cousins and sister just how dangerous the Man with the German Accent was and how he didn’t hold back when it came to pleasing the Darkness. If the man and the woman who had tried to take her away made him look like a weakling, she had a feeling that she would never be safe as long as the two were alive. “Who are they?” She asked James.

James looked around before looking at Audrey. “Their names are Harold and Hannah. They’re not affiliated with the Seven Circles that make up the Black Hands here in the United States or the Triads that make up the European and Asian Black Hands. They usually work on their own in the Foster System and jump around from State to State if the situation arises for them. They’ve taken homeless kids and have turned them into Black Hands. No one challenges the two of them. When they want a case, doesn’t matter what state it’s in, they take it. They’re ruthless and will do whatever it takes to get the job done.” He told Audrey. “They also make it a point to kill any possible Chosen One while they’re still a child and make it look like an accident or a suicide.”

Audrey felt weak while she heard James talking about the man and the woman. “Why didn’t they go after Emily then?” She asked James. “I mean she’s the Chosen One, not me.” It wasn’t fair. Emily was the Chosen One and yet it was her who had to lose everything. “Why won’t the Black Hand leave me alone? They’ve been ruining my life since I was a baby!” She got more upset as she spoke but she didn’t care. She had to let this out. She needed someone to hear how she felt.

James looked at Audrey for a few seconds before he spoke. “The Black Hand has been ruining lives for as long as they’ve existed.” He told her. He hugged Audrey close against him. “They would have kept chasing you down either way though. They aren’t too keen on letting those they view as a threat get away from them. They had kidnapped Emily and had tried to kill her several times but the Darkness, by the sound of things, didn’t want anyone to kill Emily before the ritual and had those who did try to kill her punished.”

Audrey didn’t realize that Emily had been nearly killed several times already. “What about her family?” She asked James. “Did they ever go after them?”

James nodded. “There was an accident when Emily was four. The Black Hands during that time wasn’t sure of whom the Chosen One could be from Emily’s family so they caused a car accident to try to kill as many of the girls in her family. Emily’s mom died sacrificing herself for Emily and Rachel.” He told Audrey. “The Black Hand a few weeks ago went after her and Emily’s cousins and sister were there as well. They barely escaped but Emily was captured”

Audrey started crying again. “I still have no family though.” She reminded James. She knew that she had never cried this much before but it was like she couldn’t help it. She had never felt this alone before. Even with James there supporting her, she still felt alone. “What will happen to me now?” She asked. “I don’t want to go with Harold and Hannah.” She was scared which was something she didn’t think she ever felt before. “How many possible Chosen Ones have the two of them killed on their own?” She asked James.

James looked away from her. That made Audrey even more scared. “James, how many have they killed on their own?” She asked. She needed to know how many lives Harold and Hannah had ruined.

James sighed. “They’ve killed more possible Chosen Ones than any other Black Hand.” He answered. “They found out about possible Chosen Ones shortly after the possible Chosen Ones were born and would cause accidents to happen, blaming it on the doctors and nurses. They would order hit and runs on the roads. Nearly every school shooting since Nineteen Ninety-Nine was done on their orders. It didn’t matter if it was a Black Hand, a random hire or even another child or teenager. They made sure the job was done.” James thought about the deaths that Harold and Hannah caused. They had caused more deaths of possible Chosen Ones in the last decade and a half than the Man with the German Accent ever had since Seraphina defeated the Darkness.

Audrey’s eyes widened. “How did they get away with all of that?” She asked. “Wouldn’t have someone noticed the two of them at each crime scene?” There was no way that Harold and Hannah could have pulled off each of the jobs that she was thinking of without drawing suspicion to themselves. “Surely they would have appeared in crime scene photos or witness interviews. There’s no way that they could have stayed invisible all of this time. Didn’t anyone notice them?”

James shook his head. “Since the crimes were committed in different places and none of the victims could be connected together, the police never noticed the pattern.” He answered. “Not exactly like Gabriel, Jasper and I could tell them that the victims were descendants of the same person and that this is a feud that has existed for thousands of years. Harold and Hannah would also have made sure that the crimes could never be traced back to them. That’s why no one ever interrogated them before.”

James went to a bookshelf and pulled a book off of it. He took it to Audrey and opened it. “No one but Gabriel, Jasper and I know of this book.” He told her. “Not even Emily knows about this.” Audrey looked at the page that James had opened to. It was a news article from eight years ago. The article had a picture of a car turned over with police and an ambulance. “This article was about the car accident that took Emily’s mother.” James continued. “Look carefully at it.” He pointed at a few people in the background. Audrey looked and her eyes widened. It was Harold and Hannah. They were eight years younger but she recognized them.

“I don’t understand.” Audrey said, looking at James. “Why were the two of them there? Did they cause the car wreck that killed Emily’s mom?”

James shook his head. “No. The Black Hand behind this attack was the Magician. He was the same one who had Emily kidnapped earlier this week for the ritual. He’s been obsessed with her since then and believes that she is the Chosen One because Gabriel and Emily’s mother were determined to keep her alive.” He looked at the picture. “I’m not sure why those two were there though.” He admitted. “They would be the only ones who could answer that question.”

“I think that they were there because of Emily’s mother.” James continued. “She was thought to have been the Chosen One because of a special book, one that has been passed down through their branch of the family tree. With how important the book was, I think Hannah and Harold were there that day to try to see if Emily’s mother still had it.” James shook his head and closed the book. “Doesn’t matter though if they were after you just earlier today.” He said. He put the book back away and looked at Audrey. “If Harold and Hannah think you’re the Chosen One, you won’t be safe until you’ve defeated those two.”