Chapter 1
Hannah sighed. She was hiking along the Shenandoah mountains, on Skyline drive with her grandpa and three friends from school, Bob, Alice, and Steve. It was a cool fall afternoon in Virginia, and Hannah loved it. She imagined gazeing at the mountains and valleys, then turned back around to see the rest of her party yards behind her.
“Wait up” Bob said panting. “We’re tired. Let’s stop and take a break, okay?” Bob had deep blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair.
Hannah turned to face her friends, eyebrows raised high. “We have only been hiking for about a minute.”
“It’s steep” Alice protested. Alice flicked her long blond hair in its ponytail to the side and looked up at Hannah, pleading with her light green eyes. She was very pretty, all the girls wanted to be her friend and a lot of the boys had crushes on her, but she hang out with them anyway, even if they weren’t considered ‘cool’.
“We have been walking on flat ground for the past minute y’all.” Hannah argued. “Please, just a little bit further?”
“Hannah” her grandpa said in a commanding voice “Let your friends rest. They not used to this sort of thing.” Hannah thought that at least her grandpa, who knew the mountains and woods like the back of his hand, would be on her side.
“Fine” she grumbled, plopping down on a nearby log.
“Thanks H” Steve said his green eyes showing his appreciation. Hannah studied her friends. “They are in no condition to do a real hike.” She thought to herself. The boys had plain shirts and what looked like new jeans. Alice had a short dress and comfortable pants. All three of them had on nice shoes too. Hannah had worn jeans and a old shirt on with worn shoes, just as her grandpa. Hannah and her grandpa were also carrying a backpack full of supplies for hiking, whereas Hannah’s friends had only brought their cell phones not thinking that they needed anything else.
Then something caught Hannah’s eye. A light blue ball looking thing hovering at about her height a few feet away. At first it she thought it was a trick of the light, but then she realized it wasn’t. Hannah noted that the rest of the group didn’t seem to notice the orb.
“I’ll be back...” Hannah told her grandpa, and then letting curiosity take over, ran further down the path.
“Hannah!” Her grandpa called after her. “Where are you going? Hannah come back here! Hannah?”
Despite her grandfather’s call, Hannah just kept running after the glowing orb.
Soon the orb and the twelve year old reached a dark cave made out of a few large boulders. The orb paused, as if waiting to see if she would go in first, then seeing Hannah’s hesitation, sped in the cave.
At first, Hannah just stood there, imagining that she had a angel on one shoulder and a demon on the other. The two were muttering angrily at each other. Hannah shoke her head. Why didn’t she just take a quick look and then report back to the rest?
Hannah wasn’t normally this curious, but something seemed to call her to follow the orb. Carefully, she stepped into the cave, trying to prepare for something impossible to happen. Hannah sighed at herself. Maybe one day her imagination would stop running wild at all the wrong times.
“Hello?” Hannah said aloud, then regretted it almost immediately. What was the point? Who would respond? There wasn’t anybody there besides her, and least that’s what Hannah thought. Hannah went deeper into the cave.
The orb seemed to be waiting for her next to a swirling blue and green light that looked strangely like a portal, based on the ones Hannah had read about in books and seen in movies. The orb went a little bit towards the portal, then back to it’s spot, as of gesturing for Hannah to go in it. Then the orb came up behind her and pushed her towards the portal, then went back to it’s spot.
“All right,” Hannah said, “but just a quick peek and then back, ok? My grandpa and friends are probably worried sick. I’m suprised nobody has come looking for me yet.”
The orb bounce up and down rapidly, as if agreeing to Hannah’s terms. Hannah took a step forward, about a inch away from the portal.
“Orb, are you sure ...?” The orb just nodded up and down even more quickly, making Hannah laugh. “Okay orb” she chuckled, stepping into the portal with the orb.
