Read Online The Search for Artemis (The Chronicles of Landon Wicker) by P. D. Griffith - Free Book Online Page B

consume ever last morsel of food and drink the orange juice dry. If Sofia hadn’t knocked on the door, Landon would have moved over to the plate of cold food from the night before and devoured it just as fast.
    “You ready to go?” Sofia asked after poking her head out from behind the door.
    Landon stood up, still not uttering a word, and walked out of the medical quarters, following Sofia.
    They walked briskly through the Gymnasium, not taking a moment to pause along the way. Unlike the day before, Landon paid no attention to his surroundings. He followed Sofia blindly, disconnected from the world around him. Eventually, after passing through a secured door, Landon entered a small room.
    With beige walls, dark wood wainscoting and four rows of wood tables, it was nothing too impressive. Each table had along one side a set of four chairs with green leather cushions and a pair of brass desk lamps with green glass light shades. At the head of the room a large whiteboard covered the wall and tucked away in the corner was a second door.
    Sofia ushered Landon into the room, telling him to sit wherever he liked and that she’d return with someone else who would also be attending the orientation. Landon walked up to the second table from the front and began to move down the row. He ran his hand along the top of the table, his fingers gliding over the grains of the wood. Before reaching the chair, Landon stopped abruptly and turned to Sofia.
    “Do you know what they did with my clothes?” he asked her as she turned to leave.
    “Your clothes?” Sofia asked, looking a bit surprised to hear his voice. It was the first time she heard him speak since the examinations. “Well, I believe we were going to throw them out. Why?”
    “Can I have the jeans? I don’t care about the shirt, but I’d really like to keep the pants.”
    “Well, typically we would dispose of clothes that looked like yours upon arrival,” Sofia said.
    “Oh,” Landon replied, dejected.
    “But, let me see what I can do. I’m not making any promises, but I’ll do my best to see that you get your jeans back.”
    “Thank you . . . for everything,” Landon said and then turned around and sat down at the table.
    Before leaving Landon alone in the room, Sofia stood against the doorjamb and stared at him for an extended moment, trying to figure out what was so different about this kid.
    After about five minutes of Landon sitting patiently and looking off into the distance, Sofia returned with a girl around his age. She was tall and had long, wavy brown hair and tan olive skin. Sofia ushered her into the same row as Landon and gestured for her to sit down beside him. She had a kind demeanor about her, but there was an unspoken strength that came through in her posture.
    “Landon, this is Celia Jackson. Celia, this is Landon Wicker,” Sofia said.
    Landon rose out of his chair, never taking his gaze off Celia’s face. Both their appearances were strikingly similar. In addition to their hair color and skin tone, Landon recognized a familiar shape to her nose and lips. They were also identical in height and build, and they shared the same grey, stormy eyes.
    “Hi, Landon. It’s nice to meet you,” Celia said. Her voice was confident but soft. Celia tossed her hair over her shoulder before sending him a furtive glance. He could see other guys falling easily for this type of charm, but he sensed the façade of the gesture. Celia had a feline quality about her. He would hate to be her prey.
    “Good morning.”
    “Well, I guess I’ll be going,” Sofia interjected after a prolonged period of Landon and Celia staring at each another. “If you will take your seats, the session should be starting momentarily.”
    Celia and Landon sat down in their chairs and looked ahead at the whiteboard. While waiting for the session to start, Landon kept peering at Celia out the corner of his eye, attempting to pinpoint what it was about her that intrigued him. Eventually,