Artemis

Chapter 2


Jet revved his motorcycle and shot through the yellow light at 75 miles an hour. He laughed under his helmet at the stunned looks on people’s faces as he zoomed by. His motorcycle was of his own design and nearly completely silent. Entirely black with no licenses plate and the only light at the front to see by, most people didn’t know he was coming until he’d passed them.  
His helmet rang and Chanel’s face popped up in the corner. He shook his head and hit the refuse button on his handlebar. Maybe he shouldn’t break up with girls over text, he’d admit, but it saved him so much time in listening to them cry and get angry and yell and fuss at him. She’d say what all the others said, she loved him and had given months of her life to no one else so wasn’t she worth more than that?
The answer: No.
They used him like a piggy bank and to get in the best places. It helped their careers, their family’s status, even their friends did better in life. Jet used them for, well, he used them. They’d give it freely and he’d take it, then anytime they went out she’d have to have some ultra-fancy high dollar something and he’d buy it for them. He was never going to love those girls and it wasn’t right that they wanted him to. They didn’t love him, why should he love them? They didn't even know the meaning of the word, and it disgusted him that they threw it around so carelessly.
He couldn’t help it his billionaire good looks made all the girls faint. He couldn’t help his black hair was always cut shaggy and made his sea green eyes endless pits of awesome. He cared about how he looked and spent hours every morning working out at his home gym to keep his waist trim and his abs sharp. Girls loved his broad shoulders and rough hands, what could he do about that? So was his burden. Women loved and wanted him. He loved and wanted women. He smiled.
He turned down Hellman’s St. to go to one of his favorite bars and thought better of it, turning quickly down another street to get away. All the girls he used to go with knew his favorite bars because he’d take them with him. Knowing Chanel she was probably going to each one searching for him, and that was something he didn’t want to deal with right now. The bouncers knew the girls he was with at the time and would not refuse them entrance until he was with someone else.
He ran a red light and cars swerved and laid into their horn, he didn’t care. Thinking fast, he headed for the bar his dad used to go to when he needed a break. It wasn’t in the best of neighborhoods and the drinks tasted old, but so long as you tipped well and bought at least one round for everyone they didn’t care who you were or what your business was. And them not knowing him was something special. Something new and exciting. They knew him enough to know his dad used to come in, but that’s it.
The streets started to roughen up, the lights turned to an old yellow color, and the buildings around him became less and less suitable for living. Most of the buildings around here were abandoned and allowed to fall into themselves, some were still filled with people and trying to hold itself together.
Jet passed the one which had burned to the ground last night, an electric fire they said, and shook his head. The building wasn’t partly gone with some beams and walls here and there like normal, it was all ash. The fire department hadn’t shown up until most of the place was gone and even then they didn’t try and put it out for a while after that. Even in this part of town, the fire department got here in minutes, not the hour it took yesterday. And since when did they wait on putting a fire out? While he didn’t believe the news story of an electrical fire, he knew even his money wouldn't get the truth from anyone. And something else, he knew he shouldn’t ask questions or he might be next.
For reasons he didn’t know, he slowed his bike to a crawl and turned down the alley near the burned building. He parked in the darkest part and turned his bike off, sitting there for a while in curious silence. He wondered what had been in the building that the people responsible had hated so much as to leave absolutely no trace of it left.
Jet got off his bike and walked a little towards the ruins, making sure to stay quiet in case anyone was around and they saw him. He could get away easily enough on his bike, but he didn’t want to have to deal with an old man in a dumpster asking questions. Jet kicked at some burned bit of wood and it crumbled beneath the tip of his boot. He shook his head again and turned back to his bike, more than usual ready for a drink.
He heard something move behind him and he stopped, listening again. There was another sound, like the soft grinding of metal against metal, and he turned slowly to see. Someone was crawling out of the storm drain and placing the metal rack back in place. The person stood and looked at the pile of ash, not even seeing Jet in the blackness of the ally.
Jet started. It was a girl. A beautiful girl. Her hair was braided and pinned to the top of her head, her frame was thin and shapely, she was a little short, and her black uniform confused him. Her eyes, he stopped. They glowed blue. Unworldly blue. Like something from a drawing or a cartoon.
She looked like she was in pain, her soft, beautiful face tight and tears were streaming down her cheeks. She stumbled and leaned against the building behind her, her hand on her stomach and mouth. She shook her head and looked away, wiping the tears from her cheeks and straightening her back. She pulled a black mask over her face and turned towards the alley Jet was hiding in, then froze as she saw him for the first time.
Jet’s helmet was specially designed he could see clear as day at night, and he was entirely hidden in the alley so no one would notice him. So, unless her visor was set for night vision, how was she seeing him?
She jerked her head to the right and back at him. He didn’t hear what she’d heard, he tilted his head. She fell to the ground in a roll just as a bullet sailed into the stone building behind her- right where she’d been. She stood and ran towards him. Jet didn’t know what to do, so he stood frozen in place while she ran. She came to him, grabbed his hand, and yanked him towards another alley.
Not stopping to think, Jet ran with her down every twist and turn she made. Gunshots rang out, and he heard people running after them on both the rooftops and the ground behind them. Radio sounds crackled in and out, and he felt surrounded by some unknown, yet clearly deadly, enemy. The strange woman still held his hand in some type of death grip and ran almost too fast for him to be able to keep up with. Typically he’d be out of breath by now, but when his life was on the line, suddenly he had all the time in the world.
A bullet shot past his right ear, he flinched away. The woman looked back for only a second, then ran faster. He didn’t know where they were going or who they were running from, he just knew he trusted this stranger with his life and she was somehow going to save them from this all too real threat.
They turned down a dead end and without pause, she slammed into a back door. It crumbled inwards and Jet wanted to stop and stare at this unheard of marvel, but she pulled him forward and he had to keep going. They were inside a Wal-Mart which had obviously seen better days as the walls were fading and the floors were scuffed too much. People screamed and jerked their children up and away from the black suited freaks. They ran down aisle after aisle in no real order, trying to make a difficult path for anyone to follow. Finally, they headed for a side door and she broke through it with ease, alarms blaring behind them.
They stopped short outside the door. Six men with guns stood on the other side, their little red lasers pointed at Jet and the stranger’s chest. She released Jet’s hand and put them above her head, Jet followed suit slowly. After everything they’d just done and she was giving up?
“That’s right, freak, on the ground. Since you didn’t die with the others last night, you get to come back with us and show us just how much you’ve changed.” One of the men snarled.
The stranger lowered her head and slowly went to one knee. “One, two, three,” she finally spoke.
“Hey, shut up!” another man yelled.
She looked at them and Jet could almost feel her disgusted smile beneath her mask. “They won’t miss me.”
Everyone aimed their guns at her but it was too late. With unnatural speed she was up and beat two of their heads against one another, the men crumbled. Shots rang out and Jet fell to the ground to try and avoid them. Two more went down and she shot a third. The first man who spoke to her was shaking as he pointed his gun at her.
Armed with one of their guns, the woman stalked towards the last one slowly. “Pain and suffering, they bring to me.” She tilted her head and the man stumbled backward. “You know what I am and you know the people I’ve killed, yet you dare remind me of the loss I’ve just had.”
“Get on the ground, freak!”
“Wrong answer.” She shot him dead before Jet could blink. She went to the others and killed them, then dropped the gun and grabbed Jet’s hand. “We don’t have time, come on!”
Jet stumbled to his feet and let her pull him away from the dead men. He’d never seen a real dead person. In TV shows and in his war video games, sure, but there was something different about a real body. So final, so permanent.
They ran through alley after alley, building after building. Soon enough Jet didn’t know where he was and he was pretty sure he didn’t want to. Men never stopped coming after them, they were always around the corner and behind every shadow. The woman killed them all as they presented themselves to her, seemingly never tired or out of breath, but Jet had been running for too long at too hard a pace. He couldn’t keep this up much longer and she seemed to know that.
She turned down a black alley and they went halfway down before she stopped at a storm drain and yanked the bars away. She gestured for him to go first and Jet paused only a second before following her orders. She was by his side in an instant, the bars replaced, and the forced him away from the opening. She stopped and held his hand tightly as they waited for some sound to come from above. Seconds later they saw lights and heard heavy footfalls and radios at the opening.
“Where did they go?” someone shouted.
“They couldn’t have gotten far.”
“We were just on the other side of the alley.”
“Who has eyes on them?”
“The bitch killed twenty-seven of ours.”
“Who’s with her? I thought we took care of the other freaks.”
“How is she even alive?”
“Do we have people back at the sight?” there was long pause as the man waited for a response. “What do you mean ‘no’? Get people back at the sight now.”
“Sir, it’s going to take a little bit to get more guys here.”
“What do you mean?”
“We needed everyone we had chasing them.”
“Shit.”
The voices got harder to hear as the men left and Jet and the woman both relaxed against the wall. Without a word, the woman stood straight again and walked down the tunnel a ways, waving for Jet to follow her. He was drained and completely out of breath, his knees shook as he stepped forward.
Some time had passed in silence before she stopped and turned to him. “Thank you.”
Jet stopped and stared at her. That was the first time she’d spoken to him for anything. It was also the first time she’d spoken and not killed someone. Her voice was soft and thick with loss, yet she seemed to mean what she’d said.
“I should be saying that to you,” Jet replied softly. “You saved my life how many times up there?”
She shrugged and started forward. “You didn’t have to come with me, you didn’t have to trust me as we ran, you could have left at any time and saved yourself.”
“Why wouldn’t I trust you?”
She stopped and looked at him. He felt her glowing eyes boring into his very soul even though they were perfectly hidden by the mask. He shifted uncomfortably and looked away. She took a step closer to him and Jet had never felt so uncomfortable this close to a woman.
“I am a governmental owned experimented creature who has killed hundreds of people.” She said it directly, as though they were just words and had no meaning to them.
Jet stared at her. She was telling the truth and he had seen firsthand how dangerous she was, but she wasn’t a killer. There was more to her story, a lot more, and her pretending like it was no big deal was just a test. She wanted to see what he would do, if he would run and hide or stay with her a little longer.
Jet took a step closer to her and lifted his head a little. She already had to look up to see him. “Fine. Anything else?”
She stared at him for a long moment and then turned on her heel. “You need to leave me.”
“Jet.”
“What?”
“’You need to leave me, Jet’.” Jet replied. “My name is Jet.”
She stopped and looked at him again. He shrugged and she shook her head. “Fine. You need to leave me, Jet.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
“I appreciate you not running and screaming away from me, but I really am extremely dangerous. They will never stop hunting me and they will find me soon enough. If they find you with me, they will kill you without question and leave your body here to rot.” She looked up at him, trying to make him understand. “Jet, you need to leave.”
He paused a moment and shook his head. “I don’t even know where I am.”
Her shoulders slumped and she gestured to the path they were taking. “This path will take you back to your bike. You are free to go now. You are already too much into my life, any more is signing your own death certificate.”
She stumbled and caught herself quickly. Jet took a step towards her and she held out her hand for him to stop. She shook her head as though to get her bearings straight and stumbled again. She swayed and fell against the wall. She grabbed her head and bent over. Yanking off her mask she vomited, blood coming with it. She finished and pushed off the wall, falling onto the other instead and slipping to her knees.
“What is it?” Jet asked quickly, going at once to her side.
“You don’t smell it?” she asked. “You don’t hear it?” she gripped her head again and slammed it against the stone wall.
“Smell?” Jet sniffed and only smelled her vomit. “I don’t hear anything. What’s wrong?”
“They found my tunnel. They’re coming for me.” She bent and vomited again, coughing as more blood puddled around her. “I can’t,” she stopped and moaned. “I can’t go on. Leave, Jet, while you still can. Please.” She closed her eyes and laid her head back, wincing from whatever she was hearing. Her breaths were becoming labored and there was a strange blueness about her lips.
Jet stood and looked behind them. He couldn’t hear or see anyone coming, but for her to be acting this way they must be close. He looked down at her shaking form and knew at once he couldn’t leave her there. Those people would kill her in this state easily. Now it was his turn to save her.
He grabbed the mask she’d left on the floor and tucked it into his riding jacket so they wouldn’t have it. There was nothing he could do about her vomit, but he could try and leave little trace of them here. He bent and slipped one arm under her legs and another under her back. He lifted her easily and her head fell back and her arms dangled.
“Hey,” he whispered in her ear. “Hey, you?” he shook her a little and she made no sound. Blood dripped out of the corner of her mouth and he ran forward towards the exit she’d promised.
There was a small staircase with steps missing leading up to the night sky. He set her down gently and ran up the stairs and grabbed the bars blocking their freedom. He pushed against them and they barely moved. He put all of his strength into it and with a grunt the bars gave way. He slid them aside and ran back to the woman. He lifted her more carefully and took the stairs as quickly as he could. He ran and set her beside his bike, still hidden by the dark, and hurried to put the bars back into place.
He pressed a button on his watch and his bike started quietly. He grabbed the woman and set her in front of him as he straddled the bike’s small seat. She moaned and he whispered in her ear to be quiet. He walked the bike to the road and made sure he was completely on it before gunning it.
They shot through the dark streets easily and soundlessly. When they got to the better part of town, he remembered they’d be on camera now and whoever was hunting her might check the cameras and see a strange bike with two people on it when before there was only one.
He pressed the side of his helmet and said, “Hanger’s Bar.” The phone rang ten times before the owner picked up, sounding less than happy to have to do so. “It’s me,” Jet said.
“Oh, kid. Hey,” Hanger changed his tone to one less angry.
“I need you to be my alibi in case anyone comes asking,” Jet started.
There was a pause as Hanger thought over Jet’s question. “Whatcha need?”
“I’m with this girl,”
“You didn’t kill her did you?” Hanger asked, interrupting Jet’s story.
“Of course, not!” Jet was insulted. “Listen. She’s short with blond hair and brown eyes. She’s wearing leather pants and a black lace shirt. She was already at the bar when I got there and I’m taking her home now. Charge my card for a couple of rounds and make sure everyone there knows the same story. Make sure the charge goes through for an hour ago so it’ll go with my story. Tell the guys there I’ll give them cash next time I come in.”
“Blond, green and sexy,” Hanger repeated. “Easy enough. You in some kind of trouble, kid?”
Jet looked down at the woman passed out in his arms. “No,” he finally replied. “My friend is and she needs my help, so I need yours. These people might not even come asking, but if they do they will be serious looking and I’ll need you to keep to the story.”
“You’re on your bike, right?” Hanger asked.
“Yeah and I’ve not taken off my helmet, so they haven’t seen my face. But I was heading your way and if they see my bike on camera with just me on it and then coming back with a woman, they might look more into it. Can you help me, Hanger?”
“Sure, kid, of course. For your dad.” Hanger said, his tone suddenly becoming soft.
Jet blinked back a sudden tear and nodded, knowing the man couldn’t see him. He hung up his phone and sighed heavily. She’d asked him to leave her and to get out of her problems while he still had the chance, now he was right in the middle of them and he didn’t even know what that meant. He’d gone too far, was too seen and now had lies to keep up, to be able to leave her anywhere.
He got home quickly and down the back alleys, knowing which ones didn’t have cameras and choosing those instead. The back of his building had a blind spot he used for his comings and goings, today was no exception. He rode his bike in through the hidden wall and it shut silently behind him, the parking spot lighting up.
He turned his bike off and slipped his helmet off, setting it on the back bar before looking at the woman. Her lips were a normal color now and she seemed to have stopped bleeding, for which he was grateful. Her face was still in pain and it made her look old. He wondered absently at how old she really was as he got off the bike and lifted her into his arms. He took his private elevator up to his penthouse and the rooms lit up in warm light as he walked back to his bedroom.
He laid her gently on the king mattress and stepped back to look at her. He didn’t know much about first aid, but he did know he needed to clean her up a bit and get something to help her stomach settle. He went to his kitchen and grabbed a glass to fill it with water. He grabbed some tums and a rag, then a small bowl of warm water and a sleeve of saltine crackers.
He went back to his room and set everything on the nightstand. He dipped the rag in the water and carefully wiped the blood from her face. After a few times, her face was cleaned and she didn’t look so terrible, just still in pain and angry. He lifted her head a little and poured some water down her throat. She didn’t choke but he was still careful and after a few sips he set the glass back down and laid her head on the pillow.
Looking at the dozens of hairpins holding her hair in place, Jet wondered how comfortable she could be with all of that pressing into the back of her head. He set to work methodically removing each and every one, dropping them on the nightstand beside everything else. When he’d finally finished, he counted forty-two hairpins and marveled at how serious she was for making sure nothing came free.
Jet ran his hand through her long hair, brushing it out gently. It was soft and wavy and the strangest gray color. He wondered what she’d been through that made her hair turn gray, then shook his head and focused on how the hair came out in waves around her. Severe and filled with pain, she was still beautiful and her skin was still soft.
He looked at her uniform and wondered if she was wearing anything underneath it. He searched until he found a zipper on her right shoulder, then tugged gently until it moved. He pulled it down a little and saw a pale blue shirt, so he pulled it down further and soon enough had it off of her and had her more comfortable. She wore a simple blue shirt and well-worn jeans which fit her body exactly. She wore plain blue flats that matched her shirt and that was it. No jewelry, no wallet, nothing.
Something looked different under her shirt and Jet traced it with his finger. There were two solid round circles which felt to be on a chain. He tilted her collar back a little and saw a dull silver chain. He pulled until the objects were free and stopped, staring at something he didn’t understand.
One of the glass circles was empty, the other held a blue mist that sparkled and continuously moved. He touched it and the mist immediately went to his finger. He jerked his hand back and the mist swirled freely once more. He shook his head and rubbed his temple.
“What have I gotten myself into?” Jet asked no one. He stood and pulled the blanket he kept at the foot of the bed up and over the strange woman. He took the rag and bowl of water out of the room and back to where they belonged.
Glancing at the clock it was only eight and Jet was exhausted. It was a beautiful Saturday night and there was fun to have before work started again Monday, yet Jet didn’t feel like it. There was a woman in his bed, usually a good thing but this one he didn’t dare touch, and there was a strange blue mist in her necklace and killers were after them and he’d run half of his life away. He wanted a hot shower and to go to bed to sleep away the weirdness and wake up with better understanding of everything. He set his alarm system and went to his bathroom to shower.
The water was scorching and Jet didn’t care. He stood under the stainless steel shower heads and let the water wash over him and take his troubles away. He washed off with overpriced shampoo and bar soap and stood there for a while longer.
The light above his door started blinking and he froze. Someone was trying to get inside his apartment. He shut the water off and grabbed a towel to wrap around his waist. He grabbed the gun he kept hidden in a drawer and wiped the water from his face as he walked out of his bathroom.
Everything was silent and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but the lights above all the doorways were blinking. He walked towards the living room and stopped.
She was standing in the center of the room with her hair all about her and her chest was heaving. She swayed and struggled to keep herself steady. “Where am I?” her voice was filled with hate and for the first time, he felt afraid of her.
His phone rang and he reached for it without thinking. She was in front of him suddenly with her hand around his neck and the other gripping his wrist with the gun. Jet choked and dropped the gun.
“It’s the alarm company,” Jet struggled to say. “I need to tell them everything is okay or cops will come.”
She studied him for a moment, her blue eyes icy and dangerous. She released him and Jet took in a deep breath. He cleared his throat and shook his head, then answered the phone.
“Mr. Knightingale, this is Andreanna from SafeLocks. Your silent alarm was activated and I’m calling to make sure you are alright?”
 “Yeah, I’m sorry, I’m fine.” Jet tried to sound embarrassed. “I forgot to tell my girlfriend the alarm was set and she opened a window. I’m fine.”
Andreanna paused for a moment and said, “Code, please.”
“613476,” Jet replied easily.
“Thank you, Mr. Knightingale. Have a nice evening, sir.” The phone clicked and Jet hung the phone up.
“See, everything’s fine.” Jet told the woman with burning blue eyes.
She stumbled and fell against the kitchen counter, her head swaying. “Where am I?”
“You’re at my apartment. No one knows you’re here and right now no one is coming after you. You’re safe.”
She scoffed at that and struggled to remain on her feet. “I will never be safe and someone is always after me.”
Her eyes rolled back and her knees gave out as she crumbled. Jet grabbed her before she could fall and carried right back to his bed. He set her down on the edge of the mattress and she pushed him away. Jet fixed his towel and studied her as her hair cascaded down the right side of her body and tumbled off the bed.
“I brought you some water, tums and crackers. I know after I throw up I don’t want anything, but those help me so I thought you might try them. Do you want something else?”
Her shoulders shook as she laughed and she looked up at him. “What are you doing?”
Jet looked at her. “Trying to help.”
“Why?”
“I,” he paused. He didn’t know, he only knew he had to. “I want to.”
She looked away and bowed her head. “You never should have. You shouldn’t have come to the ruins, you shouldn’t have let me take you, you shouldn’t have stayed with me, you shouldn’t have brought me here. I need to leave.” She stood and took one step before falling again.
Jet caught her against his chest and held her. “You aren’t in any in condition to try and leave. Besides, where would you go? No one knows you’re here and for right now we are safe.”
She pushed him at arms-length and held her head in her hand. “You don’t know the danger you put yourself in every second I am here, Jet.”
“No, I don’t,” Jet replied a little too sharply. “I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know who you are or even your name. I don’t know who those people were or why they were trying to kill us. I don’t know why you have blue mist necklace things or why your eyes are glowing blue. I don’t know anything about you but you killed a lot of people, and I know there’s more to the story than that but I’m not asking. You are a total stranger and obviously dangerous, and I don’t care. You are hurt and in pain and I had the means to get you away from people who wanted to torture you to death.
“I’m not holding you hostage and you can leave anytime you want, I’m only asking you don’t. I’m actually begging you to stay here until you are healed. Stay here as long as you want, I won’t care. I have plenty of food and space for us to never see one another again if you don’t want to. I have the very best security in the world and no one can hack it. The top four floors of this building are mine and because I trust no one, they are bulletproof, soundproof, no electronics work here unless I plug them into my system, and heat trackers can’t read through my walls. I have an AC/Heater and water supply separate from everyone else and it can’t be messed with either.
“So, if you want to leave I won’t stop you. I’ll give you some food and cash and open the door wide for you and never speak or think of you again. But, if you think you’d like to risk a few days or weeks here in relative safety, you are more than welcome to. I’d like to help you, and, no, I don’t know why. I just want to help you. For some reason I trust you, and I’ve never trusted anyone but my sister.”
“Artemis,” she whispered.
“I’m sorry?”
“My name,” she added. “Artemis.”
“Nice to know you, Artemis.” Jet bowed at the waist and Artemis laughed once. “Not my best look, I’ll admit, but women have never complained before. Jet Knightingale, billionaire who dabbles in a little of everything but mostly oil, electricity, and security. I also play the stock market and don’t do too badly in judging people for exactly who they are.”
Artemis looked at him. “Artemis. Government-owned, experimented on since I was three, sent on the most dangerous missions they wouldn’t even send soldiers, killer of thousands, memory of nothing but what they did to me. Five others like me and a friend who got us all out were killed yesterday and I, for some reason, lived.”
Jet looked down, not knowing what to say. “You were three?”
Artemis nodded and lifted the empty bottle to her lips. She exhaled and the bottle filled with the same blue mist as the other bottle, only hers was a little brighter and more filled with sparkles. She corked it and dropped it against her chest. Her whole body swayed and her eyes closed, tumbling forward in a heap.
Jet cursed and caught her limp frame right before she hit the ground. “Talk over, I guess.” He grunted and lifted her into his arms, then pulled the sheets back and laid her in the bed. He took her shoes off and covered her back up, looking at the blue necklaces she carried now with more questions than ever.
Making sure she would be alright, he got some underwear and pajama pants and slipped them on. He grabbed the gun and put it back in its place, then went to the kitchen and opened the fridge. He stared at all the food neatly packed into its place and grabbed a water instead. Looking longingly at his king sized bed that was memory foam and immensely comfortable, he sighed and went to his couch instead. Plopping down on the couch he threw his arm over his eyes and tried to block out the day from his mind.