A Hunter's Soul

Chapter 2

The day was getting on. And for girl who was trying to act as nonchalant as possible, therefore making her seem more suspicious, the city wasn't the place to be. As soon as she'd made it out of the shop - Argyris was more talkative than she could have ever expected, and she too polite to leave before he was finished - Artemis had made a beeline for the train station, which stood out amidst buildings both new and old..

'Artemis!' She froze. And just before she'd taken the first step up to the station, too. Artemis turned to see a familiar face, one that beamed with optimism as he waved with an equal enthusiasm.

'Josh,' Artemis replied. 'What are you doing here?'

'I could ask the same of you. What's in the briefcase?'

'Nothing,' she answered too quickly. 'Just... stuff, you know?'

Silence, for a moment. Artemis gripped the briefcase harder. She opened her mouth to speak, but Josh interjected. 'How 'bout we go get coffee? It's been a while.'

Artemis hesitated before responding.

'Yeah, sure.'

***

Josh hadn't changed much since high school. Still on the scrawnier side, and would still probably have a panic attack if he saw the tiniest scrape on somebody's knee. It simultaneously made perfect sense and was completely baffling that he wanted so badly to become a nurse.

'I'm sorry to hear about your dad.' It was all he could say on the subject. Artemis knew she'd killed the mood; Josh could barely stand to look at her, instead staring into his coffee. 'He seemed like a good man.'

'You think so?' Josh nodded. 'You're probably the first to say that.' He looked up at Artemis. 'It seemed like most people thought he was a little strange.'

'Well, now that you mention it-'

'He was a good man though,' she interrupted. 'His heart was always in the right place, and he'd do anything to protect those he loved.' Artemis began tearing up. 'And even those he didn't. Kind of like you.'

'Kinda like me.' Josh looked up at Artemis, noticing her tears. 'Artemis.' He put his hands upon hers. 'If anything happens to you, I want you to come to me. I don't care what it is, I just want to be able to listen and help as much as I can, okay?'Artemis nodded. 'You're going to promise me, okay?'

Artemis sniffled. 'You really haven't changed at all. I promise.' She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked away from the table. 'It's getting late. I should go.' Artemis stood, making sure to grab the briefcase.

'I'll talk to you later, yeah?'

'Yeah.'

***

Artemis was beginning to regret letting Josh pull her so far away from the safety of the train station and more populated streets. What little crowds there had been had dispersed long ago, leaving only herself and some strangers that seemed preoccupied with their phones, or closing stores, or something or other.

I should have asked Josh to come with me.

She held the briefcase to her chest.

At least I would've had some company.

Artemis looked around at the people. A businessman, talking on the phone. He looked serious. An older lady, closing up shop for the night.

And, as she passed a narrow side street, she noticed the most beautiful stranger, looking in another direction, as though watching something else. Hair longer than she could ever imagine, the stranger being on the short side - definitely smaller than she was - and slender. He almost looked like something out of a movie.