The Wasteland

Chapter 7: 16 September 2192

Chapter 7: 16 September 2192

Later that night, I was awoken from my peaceful dream but the sound of a scream. I ran downstairs and found my father standing in the living room with a knife in his hand. Behind him were the dead bodies of the rest of my family. My heart stopped. My father put down the knife and picked up a small rolled up piece of paper that was on one of the end tables. He pulled out a lighter and lit the stick. He's high, I thought. My father staggered over to me. "Now look who's left. My handsome, young boy." My dad was about to rub his hand down my face but I slapped it away. "Now, don't be mad. It was just an accident. I won't be the one getting in trouble anyway; you'll be." my father said with an evil grin. He went over to the end table where he set down his knife and he picked it up. He walked back over to me and put the knife in my hand. My dad went into the kitchen and picked up the phone. He dialed a number and put the phone up to his ear, "Yes, police?" my dad said in a voice that sounded like he would cry. What a filthy liar, I thought. "Yes, I just witnessed my son murder his mother and siblings and it won't be long until he kills me." He gave me a twisted grin. He then hung up the phone after saying "Okay" and "Uh-huh" a couple of times. He walked back over to me and had me sit down on the couch. "Now, you stay there and don't move. Let the police take you away. If you tell the police I killed them," he said, pointing at the bodies of my family members with the stick in his hand, "Well, then, I'll just have to kill you myself. I will give you a slow and painful death. A pain that you have never experienced before. And as I kill you, I will laugh and smile. Got it?" my father said to me as he approached me. I couldn't move. The words he had just said would haunt me for the rest of my life. My father then ran out the back door as he heard the sound of sirens closed in on us. I sat on the couch frozen. Next thing I knew, I was being taken away from my home to the rest of my life; prison.

"Oh, great." I said as I rubbed my head. I could feel a headache coming on. "Oh no. Oh no." Artemis said as she got up and started to pace the floor. "So, you just passed out and got a vision from a demon who wanted the Agathon Stone. And that the demon was really my dad." Artemis said, trying to comprehend the situation. I put my hand on the rail to help myself get up. But, when I put my hand in the metal, I immediately pulled it away. "What's wrong?" Artemis asked. She grabbed my hand and looked at it. "C'mon. We need to get your hand into some water. Now." Artemis commanded. As she pulled me up the stairs to the room, I looked back at the rail still confused about what had just happened.

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When we got up to the room, Artemis pulled me over to the sink. As she ran the cold water down my hand, an image was starting to appear as my burn cooled off. The image was a diamond that had another diamond within it but sideways. In the middle of the two figures was a symbol that looked like a Shuriken. Artemis looked at it closely. "No way." she said. "What?" I asked trying to get a better look. Artemis pulled my hand back toward her. "Hey," I said, pulling it back, "It's my hand." I looked at it. I could swear I had seen it before. "Artemis.," I said as I looked up at her, "By any chance, is there a library around here?"