The Search for Artemis - By P. D. Griffith Page 0,115

boarded the Alpha Chariot and Dr. Brighton began to prime the engines. Once he’d secured himself into his seat in the back, Landon could feel the almost non-existent hum and vibration that signaled the machine’s activation.

The aircraft’s interior was like a luxurious version of what Landon had seen on military documentaries. The inner casing was composed of some smooth dark metal and covered in dials, blinking buttons and monitors displaying readings on the external environment. In two columns, five rows of individual leather seats ran down the center. They had high backs and looked sturdy yet comfortable. Everything seemed smooth and new. Trained to fly the aircraft, Dr. Brighton and Brock took the seats at the helm. The Cranes sat behind them, then Cortland and Parker, with Peregrine and Landon taking the seats toward the back.

“Whatever you do, don’t push the red button.” Cortland was looking back at Landon from his seat a row ahead. He was referring to the two buttons Landon was eyeing on the arm of his chair. There were two of them, one red and the other yellow; Landon’s finger was dangerously close to the red one. “That’s the emergency eject button. The yellow one activates your safety harnesses, so you can push that whenever you’re ready.”

Landon wondered why no one had told him these things in training yet before cautiously pressing the yellow button. The straps of a five-point harness shot out from the chair, two from above Landon’s shoulders, two from his hip and one jetted up from between his legs. Automatically, they connected at a point around his naval and tightened until he was snugly held in his chair.

A few minutes later, a powerful ding resonated through the cabin as a bright green light switched on overhead. It was time for takeoff. Landon looked over at Peregrine, who still had an anxious look on her face, but now it was paired with a hint of excitement in her eyes.

The feeling Landon experienced as the aircraft began to rise was akin to having his insides jerked down to the base of his stomach—it was less than pleasant. Watching their ascent through the window beside him, he took in the moment as the Alpha Chariot rose out of the Stable and hovered above the Gymnasium for a moment. Landon looked down on his home and reflected on the journey that led him to that point. Just nine months ago, he was sitting in his room dreading his return to high school. Now, he was sitting in an advanced government transport heading to his first mission with the Pantheon. Nine months ago he had no idea he was a psychokinetic; he had no idea what he would become.

As the steel doors on the roof of the Olympic Tower closed, the Alpha Chariot rotated until it was facing a southward direction. Dr. Brighton then put the aircraft into gear and they flew out of the valley into the darkness.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

A SIMPLE

GRAB-AND-GO

MISSION

The entire flight to Metis Labs was silent. No one spoke to each other. While staring into the darkness below, Landon imagined that everyone had a different reason for their personal solitude. Some were probably nervous about the mission, dreaming up all sorts of improbable scenarios and figuring out what they’d do should the situation arise. Others were more than likely preoccupied with problems outside the Pantheon, worrying about boys, girls or tests but mentally unaffected by the task at hand. He hoped the reason Dr. Brighton and Brock were not talking was because they were too busy concentrating on piloting.

No matter what the others were thinking about, Landon just concentrated on the world outside the Alpha Chariot, fighting to see anything amidst the shadow-covered mountains and forests. At one point, he saw an orange glow on the horizon and imagined a towering city whose street lamps, buildings, and cars created the massive aura. For a minute, Landon wondered if it might’ve been his old home. It would seem strange to most, but he almost missed the constant din of the big city that he used to hear even into the late hours of the night.

After about an hour and a half, the aircraft went into its active stealth mode, sealing the windows to complete its special undetectable casing. There was no confirmation of this, but when the metal stretched over the small glass hole he’d been looking out of, Landon figured they’d entered Metis Labs airspace.

Before he knew it, Landon felt the weightless sensation that came