The Search for Artemis - By P. D. Griffith Page 0,14

be. Just that morning, he thought he saw his mom roaming the streets of the city.

But there were those men—those suited men—loitering around him, always finding him within days of moving to a new hiding place in the city. He couldn’t seem to ever get away from them . . . until now. They were gone, but now he found himself in a car with a complete stranger as they seemed to move toward the edge of the city. How was she able to telepathically talk to me back there? How did that bus get lifted into the air? Did I do it? What’s happening to me? Landon needed answers more than ever before. She swore to him that she could help him. She said she had the answers. He only hoped that she wasn’t lying.

The drive seemed endless as hour after hour crept by and Landon waited. He found himself constantly staring at the mysterious woman who ushered him into the car. She looked to be in her late twenties. She had long, platinum blonde hair that waved around her face. Her skin was the color of ivory, pale and smooth, and her eyes blazed ice blue. She wore a white suit with a flowing, sapphire blouse peeking out from the lapels of the jacket. With her slender legs crossed, she hadn’t moved an inch since they took off from the alley. She never said a word. She sat like a statue, staring back at Landon, frustrating him with her complete lack of expression.

The tension of the silence built within Landon over the hours. He couldn’t understand how this woman with her angelic voice guided him to freedom and then refused to say a word once he got into the car. He still didn’t know what possessed him to enter the car in the first place, but if this woman could do what she promised—help him remember and explain that night—then he didn’t care if it was the right decision or not.

The silence overwhelmed him, and he cracked.

“Ok, who are you? Where are you taking me? How did you do that back there? You said you could give me answers.”

The woman blinked in deliberate time and continued to stare expressionlessly at Landon, who now leaned forward with raised eyebrows, waiting for a response. Why isn’t she answering?

“Something is happening to me and I can’t figure out what it is. I am doing things that are impossible. I mean, impossible! And you said you had answers. So what are they?”

After what seemed like several minutes, she parted her lips, causing Landon to lean in even closer.

“My name is Sofia Petrovanya. We are going to the Gymnasium. It is a sanctuary for people like you. And all your other questions will be answered in time.” The sound of her voice was the same as before, but now she spoke mechanically; the angelic tone which he trusted wasn’t there at all. It was robotic.

“What? That’s it? They will be answered in time? All you say to me is, ‘My questions will be answered in time.’ And what do you mean ‘people like me?’ I need answers now!” He was irate. His breathing was violent, and he was leaning closer and closer to the woman with every word. He had been holding everything in since he got in the car, grateful for what she had done for him, but now it was all coming out. “And you’re taking me to a gym?”

“I’m sorry, Landon, but I cannot tell you anything more.” Her voice was soft again. She looked like she wanted to answer Landon’s questions but that her duty was holding her back. “Trust me. All of your questions will be answered in time.”

Landon sank back into his seat, crossed his arms and turned his head toward the window, staring into the darkness of the glass. Tremors of frustration coursed through his body. It made him sick; he was getting nauseated and he felt his blood boiling, heating up his skin and causing a thin layer of sweat to build up over his entire body. All of his questions continued to swim around in his head, and to add pressure to the situation, he couldn’t figure out how he felt about the woman sitting across from him. Initially, he saw her as a savior. A beautiful, attractive savior. Now, she infuriated him. For another long period of time the car remained silent.

It wasn’t until they went over a particularly sizable bump in the