When things go wrong

Chapter 2

I stared open mouthed at my new house from the car. It has two stories with very faded pink paint, it was peeling off revealing white underneath. The garden looked like a bomb had hit it, and the windows were so grimy it would be a miracle if you could even see your reflection, let alone see inside.

I huffed angrily and tugged a couple bags from the back of the truck. I trudged up the uneven wooden steps and onto the creaky veranda floor. I dropped the bags and went back to the car for more. Liam was carrying four bags, my dad, Matt, was carrying five. I slowly walked back to the veranda with three more bags, dumping them beside the other eleven that lay there.

"DAD! Give us the key!" I yelled.

My dad didn't reply, but threw an old set of keys at my face, I caught them with my left hand and jumped over a bag to get to the front door.

I stared at the peeling white paint for a moment, glaring at it. Finally I shoved one of the keys that was hanging from the chewbacca keyring, it didn't fit.

I grabbed the next one and stuck it in the bronze key hole. No luck. I sighed, and picked the last one, sticking it in the keyhole I gave the door a shove with my shoulder. It swung open after a bit of hesitation and I stumbled into a very dimly lit living room. White sheets coated the furniture, and dust coated the sheets. I walked around the house, eyeing every piece of furniture, before finally claiming my bedroom. When you walk upstairs, you turn right onto a small corridor, immediately on the left you would find a reasonably sized bathroom, and opposite that was my bedroom.

"I SHOTTY THIS ONE!" I yell to nobody in particular.

I stood in the doorway and waited for a reply, none came so I took a timid step into my new room. There was a huge bay window that dominated a whole entire wall, it looked over the street and I could see my dad leaning against the car, looking up at the house. My brother was leaning against the car beside him, probably texting.

To the left of the window was a dressing table, the white sheet had protected the varnish so it still glowed with life. I hopped over the bed that was mattress-less and tugged on the wardrobe doors. Quite spacious really.

I gave my room another once over and skipped down the stairs, ready to be refreshed by the woods. I skipped down the path, and stopped before my dad, he was smiling at me.

"I'm going for a run" I announced.

"Don't be seen." he answered.

I nodded my head in agreement before traipsing around the back of the house to the woods. I walked a kilometer or so before I stopped.

I closed my eyes and felt myself change. When my eyes opened again, my vision was much clearer and my nose picked up lots of new smells, mostly pine though, and the occasional squirrel.

I also heard my dad talking to my brother.

My family is the Jackson family, there are ten families like us in the world. I don't know any other families like us though, only my dad is bestowed with that knowledge, and if he tells anyone he just dies on the spot. Pretty harsh right? Well, those are the rules of Henchman House, the royal family of shape shifters. The royal family of people like me.