The Search for Artemis - By P. D. Griffith Page 0,116
along with the hovering descent of the Alpha Chariot. Once they had landed, the harness holding Landon disengaged and disappeared back into the seat. Everyone began to stir and got up from their chairs. Dr. Brighton turned from the controls and walked toward the back of the aircraft. With his hand resting on the latch release, he looked back at his team of operatives, anxious to complete another mission.
“All right, team,” he said, “we’re just over two miles from Metis Labs. Remember, this is a simple grab-and-go mission. If all goes well, we’ll be back in the air in about two hours. No one do anything foolish.”
He pressed the button and the platform dropped from behind him, creating a ramp out of the rear of the Alpha Chariot and onto the squishy soil of the woodland clearing.
Landon was the first to disembark, stepping onto the dark ground and awaiting the rest of his team to join him. The air was humid, almost choking him, and the intense smell of pine and wet wood consumed his senses to the point he could almost taste the forest. Apart from the delicate rustling of branches, the woods were eerily silent and the bright moon shone overhead, casting a cool blue glow over them.
“Listen up,” Dr. Brighton continued once the entire team was standing at the ready in the clearing. “These woods are thick and extremely easy to get lost in, so stay close to one another and don’t go wandering off. And now would be a good time to turn on your comm. links.”
Everyone nodded and with a quick press to the ear, activated the communication device. Without another moment to lose, Dr. Brighton lifted his arm, hand extended upward, and then motioned forward toward the woods, signaling for the team to move out.
The woods were dark, so dark in fact that it was almost impossible to see anything more than a few feet in front of them. Dr. Brighton’s pace was fast, giving Landon no time to even process what was going on around him, but rather just remain reactionary, running as close behind Jeremiah Crane as he could and leaping over fallen logs and twigs just in the nick of time.
The forest floor made their movements almost imperceptible, the dampness of the late spring ground cushioning their feet as they trekked closer and closer to the research compound hidden away in the wilderness. If it weren’t for the steady breathing and the occasional brush of a stray, low-lying branch, Landon imagined they could have stalked a wild deer without it knowing they were on its trail.
Again lost in their heads and concentrating on keeping up with Dr. Brighton, the team fell silent as they blew past tree after tree and scaled and descended the uneven terrain of the woods. As they continued through the dark, Landon’s lungs were on fire and his mouth dry to the bone. He breathed heavily in an attempt to replenish the oxygen in his body. The air was thinner than to what he was accustomed. He’d experienced something like it when he first came to the Gymnasium, but judging by his forceful inhalations, he imagined they’d ascended to an altitude much higher than the one to which he was now conditioned.
Lights began to shine through the dense forest from ahead, getting brighter and clearer with every step. Dr. Brighton stopped just before they broke through the tree line and crouched low to the forest floor. The rest of the Pantheon followed suit and hunched over behind their leader, awaiting their orders.
Metis Labs could now easily be seen before them. The complex was surrounded by a reinforced electrified fence with six guards patrolling the perimeter at all times. Standing high in the middle was the fifty-five-story cylindrical tower.
As Landon watched, he could see one of the patrol guards stop and look intently into the woods in their direction. Had the guard heard them approaching? Could he see them congregated behind the tree? But before long, the guard turned back and continued on his rounds.
“Echo,” Dr. Brighton whispered low enough so that the team could just discern what he was saying, “you’ll stay here and guide us through the complex. The rest of us, we’re going to need to move quickly and quietly.”
Everyone nodded in affirmation. Landon could feel his heart starting to beat a bit faster in his chest, just like it felt the moment before jumping off the high-dive.