The Search for Artemis (The Chronicles of Landon Wicker) (23 page)

The room erupted in cheers and applause, the screams melding together and bouncing off the cafeteria walls until they reached a constant, deafening roar. Riley grabbed Landon’s shoulders and shook him violently while screaming at the top of his lungs. Landon couldn’t help but laugh and smile as the contagious joy of his peers consumed him.

“Settle down! Settle down!” Dr. Wells continued. “We still have the team assignments to determine. I imagine there are many theories as to what I will do this year—as there always are. Based on the past few winters, my choice would seem an obvious one, Tables 2 and 4 against Tables 1 and 3.”

Riley and Katie Leigh’s eyes seemed to be bulging out of their heads. Had they accurately predicted Dr. Wells’ assignments?

“However, that’s a little too obvious, so I’ve decided to do something a bit unorthodox—something I’ve never done before. I’m repeating last year’s assignments: Tables 1 and 2 versus Tables 3 and 4.” He said it with a flair of pomp and circumstance, like the ring announcer before a boxing match. “With the talent in this room, I expect it to be a wonderful and thrilling match. And now that the pie is being served, I think it’s time for me to stop talking and for everyone to get to dessert. That pumpkin pie is calling to me. So good luck, happy Thanksgiving, and remember, you are all that is holding you back from reaching your full potential.”

The student body broke off into hundreds of conversations. Some were excitedly talking about their team members amidst high fives; others were talking about how they wished they’d sat at other tables. Riley, in particular, was probably speechless for the first time in his life.

“Well, this is exciting!” Celia said, gleefully. “So at this event, this First Frost Frenzy, everyone in the Gymnasium attends?”

“Yes,” Katie Leigh answered. “Everyone . . . doctors, scientists, professors, tutors, cooks, janitors . . . everyone.”

“Amazing!” Celia looked to be enjoying the prospect of showing off her skills. She had proven in training that she was a force to be reckoned with, and Landon couldn’t help but feel a twinge of relief knowing she’d be fighting on their side. “Seems like it should be a lot of fun.”

The four of them then selected a piece or two of pie and forced themselves to eat it. Landon had a slice of pumpkin with a bit of whipped cream and a wedge of pecan.

Once everyone had inhaled their dessert, they left the cafeteria and headed to their rooms for bed. Thanksgiving Day always ended early, as sleep seemed to be a necessary follow up to gorging one’s self to the point of stomach distention and a noticeable need to unbutton one’s pants.

FIRST FROST FRENZY

Before Landon realized it, the day of the First Frost Frenzy had arrived. The entire student body of the Gymnasium gathered back in the cafeteria around ten o’clock in the morning to organize themselves into teams and to put on their respective uniforms. As the event took place outside in the snow, the members of each team were supplied with a pair of muted grey snow boots, ski pants, gloves and a winter coat. Everyone looked identical except for a few strips of fabric that had been sewn onto the shoulder, lapel and back of the jacket. The team Landon was on had blue strips, whereas the other team’s were red.

By 10:30, Professor Tzu and Professor Clemens organized each team alphabetically by last name into a single file line and began to guide them to the battleground that had been set up outside. As Landon marched behind a tiny redheaded girl named Susie, he couldn’t help but look up and down at the other team’s members. He was looking for Brock and his friends. They had all disappeared after Thanksgiving.

When Landon woke up the morning after the feast, he noticed that Brock never returned from dinner. It wasn’t unusual. Many nights Brock would disappear for a few days and then show up unexpectedly in the morning, so Landon paid this occurrence no mind. That was until Wednesday, when Landon noticed that he also hadn’t seen any one of the people Brock hung out with for what was going on six days. Where had they gone? Their mysterious absence did nothing to help suppress Landon’s curiosities, especially those surrounding Brock’s search for information on Artemis.

Landon continued to walk behind Susie, moving on autopilot, as his focus remained trained on the other team. He didn’t see any of them, not Cortland, not the Crane twins and not Brock. Riley said many times over the week that he hoped they stayed missing until the First Frost Frenzy was over because that would mean their blue team had a chance at winning.

To add to the oddities, Dr. Brighton had also disappeared. Landon had received a rather impersonal note from him the day after Thanksgiving canceling their private session for the next day, and then on Monday, when Landon went to Telekinetics, Professor Clemens was there as a substitute.

It wasn’t until Landon’s eyes were watering that he realized he’d gone outside. The brisk December wind was whipping through the valley, but the weatherproof uniforms kept everyone comfortable. Hanging high in the sky, the sun also cast a mild warmth that made the cold weather all the more bearable, but reflected off the powdery white snow with blinding intensity.

The teams were soon brought around to a large field; the blizzard had blanketed the grassy area in a thick layer of soft white powder. Lines had been drawn on the field with black paint, creating a wide two-hundred-meter square, and at either end a small strip of snow was colored to match the fabric strips on the winter jackets.

Set up across the field, an assortment of items—hollow tree trunks from huge fallen trees, boxes, steel crates and large panels—had been set up throughout the area, developing a maze of objects for the students to use as cover and concealment during the match. It reminded Landon of an oversized paintball arena.

Resembling a platoon of military personnel awaiting marching orders, the teams were escorted into a large clearing at the center of the field and organized into a rigid formation. They stood staring at a set of bleachers that had been erected along the side of the field and butted up against the woods. Every professor, tutor, scientist and worker from the Gymnasium sat on its steel benches. Two towers were positioned at either end of the bleachers, and on the top of each, a single person stood beside a large horn.

Landon, after being manhandled into his appropriate position in line, began to scan the audience. The first person he noticed was Dr. Wells, who was wearing a large plaid wool cap. He wasn’t hard to find. Then, to his surprise, sitting right beside him was Dr. Brighton—he was back.

Dr. Wells stood up and spread his arms out over the crowd, commanding silence from the already quiet spectators. Then, in a stentorian fashion, he began to speak.

“Welcome, students, to the Eighteenth Annual First Frost Frenzy! The rules of the game are simple! Each team will begin in their designated colored zone, and when the horn blows, the game will begin! Do not forget, every snowball must be constructed and thrown using your abilities. Once you’ve been hit, you’re out of the match! The horn of your team will sound each time someone has been eliminated. We will continue until all members of one team have been defeated! Now, teams, proceed to your colored zones and remember, you are all that is holding you back from reaching your full potential!”

As the blue team broke formation and started walking toward their zone, Landon looked back to get a final glimpse of the red team before the match, but just before turning around to follow his team to their colored zone, he saw Cortland through the mass of bodies. If he and Dr. Brighton were back, Landon imagined the rest of them were too. Seconds later, Riley and Katie Leigh ran up to him and confirmed his suspicions.

“Brock’s back!” Riley said after catching his breath.

“Yeah, they all are!” Katie Leigh added. “Landon, have you seen Celia? She’s our only chance at winning this now.”

“Umm,” Landon said as he searched his memories of the morning. “I remember seeing her in the cafeteria changing into her uniform, but now that you ask, last time I saw her was before we lined up.”

“We’re doomed!” Riley blurted out.

“Come on, Riley!” Katie Leigh said enthusiastically after giving Riley a quick little slap on the shoulder. “We definitely are with that attitude. We haven’t lost yet.”

“Riley, Katie Leigh’s right. We haven’t lost yet, and we’re not going to.” Landon’s competitive nature strengthened within him. Growing up, Landon would always try to play it off like he didn’t care whether he won or lost, but the truth was he had a need to win that almost rivaled Celia’s. He gritted his teeth with determination and felt the warmth of his abilities heat up inside and course through his body. 

Riley and Katie Leigh looked at Landon with wonder. He’d seemed so apathetic to the entire event since its announcement, but now, there was a fire in his eyes. They all turned and looked across the field, awaiting the start of the event.

“All right,” Katie Leigh said without turning to look at Riley or Landon. “We need to survive the first few minutes if we want to actually compete. There are just too many players at the start, so focus your energy on defense and once the field has cleared a bit, we can change our strategy.”

“Got it,” Riley and Landon answered in unison. In the back of Landon’s mind, he was surprised to hear Riley so willingly accepting orders from Katie Leigh.

It seemed like it took days for the starting horn to sound, but when it did, the field was sent into chaos. Numerous members of the blue team moved into the labyrinthine field, inching closer so they might get in range of their opponents. Some, to Landon’s surprise, charged the field with full force, counting on their agility and speed to keep them alive.

Simultaneously, what must have been hundreds of snowballs of various sizes were launched into the air. Many of them fell short or collided with the barriers, but some reached their targets and the deafening sound of horns started to blare in rapid succession as numerous members of each team were eliminated. The blue team’s bell seemed to ring much more often than the red one.

Landon, Riley and Katie Leigh stayed back in their blue zone. Lying in wait, they used a nearby partition wall as a shield, while, with the flick of their hands, they deflected the occasional snowball that got by.

The horn blasts began to slow, a sign that the field had cleared a bit, leaving only the most capable, or the luckiest students, on either side. Landon peeked around the wall, looking to get a gauge on the current lay of the land. From where they were stationed, Landon saw twelve members of his team scattered around the field.

In the minute he watched, a single red team member, Parker, ran by at an unbelievable speed and blasted two from the blue team with snowballs, which hit them with such force that they both fell backward into the snow. The blue horn blarred two more times.

“Landon!” Katie Leigh yelled as she pulled him back and stopped a snowball that was going to blast him right in the face. “Pay attention!”

“I think it’s time we figure out our new strategy,” Landon said. “Our team is getting taken out one by one. We’re all gonna have to work together if we want to win.” Then, without even consulting Riley or Katie Leigh, Landon turned around the edge of the partition and yelled out to his teammates, “Blue team! Come back here! We need to regroup!”

Landon watched as seven blue team members who were still in view turned and looked at him with an expression that said
Ha, I don’t think so
.

“All right,” Landon said after turning back to Katie Leigh and Riley, “looks like it’s just Athos, Porthos and Aramis left to win the day, as usual. So, our strategy—”

Before he could finish, someone bolted around the partition wall and crashed into Katie Leigh, throwing the group into a state of confusion. Preparing to take down the intruder as quickly as possible, Riley formed a snowball in front of him, but just as he prepared to launched it, Landon put his arm across Riley’s chest. It caused him to hesitate just long enough to realize what Landon and Katie Leigh had already; the person who’d joined them was short with cropped blonde hair and pale skin. It was Peregrine Mortimer, and on her shoulder was a strip of blue fabric.

“Riley,” Peregrine said as she gasped for air. She was crouched over with one of her arms pressed against the wall, holding herself up while she caught her breath. “Turn around . . . and . . . throw that . . . that way . . . now.” With her other arm she pointed in the direction behind Riley and looked forcefully up at him. He just stared at her as a snowball floating a few inches above his hands. “
Now
, Riley!”

Riley turned around and shot the snowball to where Peregrine had pointed. It seemed pointless. No one was there, and now he’d wasted the snowball by launching it off into nothingness, but just as it reached the large crate in the distance, Parker emerged and the snowball collided with her chest. She had no chance, and as the horn for the red team sounded, Parker stepped off the field. She never took her eyes off Riley. She looked at him the same way she had the first time Landon saw her during his orientation—angry and vengeful.

“Whoa, I believe we’ve found our D’Artagnan,” Landon said, excited and impressed. “And I think I have an idea. Peregrine, that night in the Atrium, you told me you used your powers to see, right?”

“That’s right,” Peregrine answered.

“That’s how you knew Parker was going to come around that crate. Can you tell how many of the red team is left?”

“Seventeen,” she replied without even breathing first.

“And how many of the blue team?”

“Nine.” A horn sounded. “Eight.”

“Landon, you can’t seriously be taking Peregrine’s word on that!” Riley interjected. “This is Peregrine Mortimer you’re asking! She can barely lift a pen! How could she know that?”

“Riley, please!” Landon replied before turning back to Peregrine. “That night when we met in the Atrium, you said something to me that, if I’m remembering correctly, could give us a fighting change. Peregrine, you said you could sense everyone in the Gymnasium and knew exactly where they were, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And could you direct us to exactly where everyone is on the red team?”