Chapters are going to start being this sort of size from now on

The saucepan sizzled as the beckoning smell of eggs filled the air. Amelia had gotten up early to make Alex a special breakfast because it was his birthday and she wanted to make it perfect for him. All the birthdays before this one had had something go wrong in them, either his mum turning up or something making him cry or his friends using his parties as a way to get to him. This year it would just be him, her and dad. A nice small celebration of his turning 9 that nothing was going to ruin, Amelia would make sure of that. Her dad came through the door, acting like an entranced man with his nose in the air inhaling deeply, and his arms stuck out straight in front of him.

"What is that smell I am uh…smelling?" he asked, opening his eyes and taking in Alex's breakfast. He came up and hugged Amelia,

"Put it back," she said sternly, he put down the sausage he had attempted to sneak from the plate and pulled back, his mouth pulled down making him look like a grumpy 4 year old.

"Yours is over there," she pointed to a plate of cheese on toast with a siding of boiled eggs. He yipped excitedly and rushed to sit down. Amelia laughed quietly and finished making the bacon into a smile as Alex bounced in.

"It's my birthday!" he shouted, jumping up and down with joy,

"Does the birthday boy want to sit at the table?" Amelia asked, a smile tugging at he lips,

Alex immediately dragged out the nearest chair and plonked himself in it. Happiness practically radiating from his small body.

"Close your eyes," she said whilst picking up his breakfast, she placed it in front of him carefully then said "Open!" and watched as his face lit up.

"It's Mr Smiley! Thank you!" he reached up and practically suffocated Amelia as he hugged her.

"Don't kill me yet! That's only surprise number 1!" he let her go then tucked into his breath. It was moments like that which made her light up inside. She plunged her hands into the warm soapy water as she reminisced about what her plan for today was. There were lots of surprises for Alex and she was sure that he would love them all.

As soon as he had cleared his plate Alex jumped from the table and raced into the living room, Amelia close behind followed by Dad. When he saw all of the presents piled high he his eyes practically bulged. He flung himself down in front of them and eagerly started reading the names off.

"Charlie, Toby, Nanny Frieda, Auntie…"

"Wait, what?" Amelia interrupted, confusion etching her features.

"What do you mean?"

"Who did you just say?"

"Auntie Tanya,"
"Before that,"

"Nanny Frieda," she turned to Dad,

"Who is this Nanny Frieda? Did you put that present there?" her Dad looked just as confused as her,

"I don't know who she is. Might be a relative of his mother but… I don't know," Amelia carefully picked this present up and shook it by her head. It rattled a little but apart from that, she couldn't tell what it was. She put it aside and then turned to smile at Alex.

"So let's open Charlie's present first then," He received a racing track, various albums, a game boy and some games. But none of them was a match to what Amelia had got him, a bright blue mountain bike with 10 gears and a full set of mudguards. As soon as he'd opened it he stood back in awe. He knew how much it had cost and had only dreamed of riding it when he gazed at it in the window of the bike shop. Amelia had known how much he had wanted it and had saved up her pocket money for weeks to get it for him. An extra special surprise for an extra special brother.

"This is so cool!" he whispered. He grabbed the bike and lugged it out the front door, so excited he almost slammed the door on Amelia but she caught it and carefully closed it behind her as she followed him. Her Dad had stayed to make himself a nice cup of tea, catching himself a few moments of peace. Alex climbed into the seat and set off down the street, screaming in delight, his hair a whirlwind behind him. Amelia laughed and ran after him, shouting for him to slow down but he didn't. Luckily once he reached the bottom of the street he squeezed the brakes and slid to a halt, gasping with exhilaration was off again, heading in the general direction of the park. She ran and desperately tried to catch him up but who could really catch up with a hyper 9 year old zooming about on a pristine mountain bike. She stopped running and watched as he rode out of sight. She knew where he was going and knew a shortcut. She turned left and cut down an alley that ran between 2 large houses, you wouldn't even realise it was there unless you knew the area well. She picked up her pace and followed it through. She was almost out when an old woman stopped in front of the alley entrance, blocking her in,

"Excuse me," she said, attempting to slide past but the old woman refused to move. Amelia carefully tapped her shoulder and she turned around. Her face was twisted into an evil sneer and her eyes looked hungry.

"Well, hello Dearie, Amelia is it?" Amelia not knowing what to do just turned and ran back the way he came. An evil cackle followed her and chilled her to her bones. She turned round briefly and saw that the old woman was following her. She boosted her speed and ran out of the alley, heading towards the park and people. The old woman was fast for her age and Amelia could hear her catching up behind her. She bolted around a corner and saw the park up ahead; Alex was just outside the gate talking to Sam, his best friend. Sam saw her and his eyes widened when he saw what was happening. He pointed behind Alex and started shouting at him, making him turn around. He saw the sign of fear in her eyes and knew that all was not what it seemed straight away, he started to ditch the bike and run towards her when a massive black thing swooped down and plucked Alex from the ground. He screamed her name and she screamed his then Amelia was hit from behind. All she remembered was a boy with black hair running towards her before she blacked out.

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