¤Artemis¤

This fire that familiarity lingered in their joints finally faded as the weight clamping their eyes shut faded away. Despite this, Artemis didn't want to open their eyes. The existential dread that followed them throughout their day after the accidents fogged their minds. For the past seventeen years, Artemis had grappled with whatever forces of nature seemed to be after them, plotting their demise at every corner and losing. It was exhausting but a routine, nevertheless. Opening their eyes, Artemis stared at their bedroom ceiling. They were back in bed the next day. Just like every other time, they thought in bitterness.

Sighing, Artemis threw off the blanket and sluggishly sat up. Their back flared up in scorching pain, eliciting a muffled groan from the back of their throat. Tossing a glance around, the bareness of the room threw Artemis off, but the closet was the worst. Once cluttered with storage containers, throngs of clothes, and random junk Artemis had amassed over the years. Now, it was empty except for one last item. At the bottom was a small box. Inside the box was a collection of papers, various articles from newspapers or magazines, and photos concerning one topic. Grabbing it, Artemis walked to the mirror that now leaned against the wall it had once hung on and stared at themselves.

Their pale green eyes stared back as Artemis assessed their appearance. When Artemis was younger and still identified as a girl, they had long black hair. Artemis' mother always said it was unruly. She would spend hours trying to comb it down. Artemis smiled as they brushed their curtain bangs behind their ears, nails that hadn't been taken care of due to the move clinking against the multiple piercings surrounding their ears. The industrial, conch, and two lobe piercings on the right shone in the sunlight while the two lobe piercings, three helixes, and daith on the left were coated in the shadow. When they came out as nonbinary, Artemis' mother was ecstatic. Immediately, she booked a hair appointment and let Artemis tell the stylist how they wanted it. They have worn the same shaggy wolf cut that barely passed their shoulders for years but added the light blue streaks throughout it recently.

The piercings were another outlet of expression Artemis' mom encouraged, leading to the ears, septum, and snake bite vertical labrets that decorated their nose and lower lips. Looking down at the loose white tank top they wore, Artemis could see the black ink painting their skin. The entire thigh piece of Santa Muerte is the most prominent. Artemis sighed, memories of her and her mom designing it together coming forth, goals of getting matching ones squeezing their heart, before placing the shoebox on the empty desk and grabbing the pile of clothes they had worn yesterday. It was the only clothes left unpacked. The shoebox contents would have to wait until they returned to their place on the corkboard in Colorado.

Artemis jogged downstairs after changing into their black binder under the loose white tank top and black sweatpants. Their father, Victor, was taking a box from the kitchen when he saw Artemis enter the living room. "Hey, Kiddo," he called out with a smile. Artemis silently gave a two-finger wave as they picked up a heavy box of books from the living room bookshelf. "When are we going to be able to leave?" Artemis asked as they watched their father push open the cracked-open front door with his foot. Victor paused, thinking for a second. "All we have to move next is the piano, and we are done," he said as he hopped down the porch steps, making Artemis freeze up at the top. As much as the thought made them sick, Artemis knew they had to convince their father to leave the piano. Artemis had never been stuck in an endless death loop, nor were they aware if it was possible. They weren't keen to find out.

"Uh, Dad," Artemis spoke, catching his attention, as they carefully stepped off the porch, their long legs skipping a step along the way. His hazel eyes turned to his child with a curious gaze. "Do we have to move the piano?" Surprise overtook Victor's face. Artemis knew how it sounded. It made them sound cold and heartless for wanting to leave their mother's most prized possession behind. What made the guilt churn worse was that Artemis did this for selfish reasons.

"You want to leave your mother's piano?" he asked in disbelief. Hissing at the sharp rocks that dug into their bare feet, Artemis hastily came up with an excuse: "Well, I don't see the point of taking it."

Ok. Bad start. Artemis deserved the cutting burn in their feet.

"I mean, all it does is sit there and collect dust. We never play it, and I think mom would rather have someone enjoy it more than it is for it to rot away," Artemis tried to calm the shale in their voice as they spoke and, after seeing the consideration in their father's eyes, could see that the conversations were in their favor. After a few seconds, Victor sat the box he was carrying down and brought his rough hand to tug lightly at the greying roots of his brown hair. He finally agreed with Artemis. Rushing to set the box down, Artemis hugged Victor before heading inside to grab the remaining boxes. It took about an hour to get everything ready for our departure. The house I lived in was now blank and bare. Within that hour, Victor had arranged for a second-hand company to come and retrieve the grand piano. Artemis traced a hand along the end as a last goodbye as the two men lifted it.

The next exhausting part of moving was the 12-hour drive both father and child had to endure. Artemis hopped into the moving truck while Victor hooked up the family truck to be pulled along. It was a bittersweet journey for Artemis. Despite the beautiful Colorado landscape, it was a massive change from Texas's dry grass and hot temperatures to Colorado's snowy mountains and chilly atmosphere. Artemis tried to spend most of the trip sleeping between the frequent stops and singing sessions with their father. Eventually, a small sign caught Artemis' attention as the wilderness surrounded the small family.

'South Park'

'Population: 500

Wow, small town, Artemis thought with a growing smile. After living years in the bustling city of Austin, Artemis was eager to experience the quaintness of a small town. Victor took turn after turn as he navigated the small town. Passing a few restaurants, city hall, the police department, and even the elementary school, a row of houses came into view—a neighborhood. Dashing through the thick snow, young kids zigzagged throughout the street, laughing and playing. When they caught a glimpse of the car, the kids immediately moved their activities out of the way and to the sidewalk to let us through. The vehicle then stopped in front of a small, two-story house. It was a pleasant light red with spruce accents.

Hopping out of the moving truck, Artemis shivered as the snow crunched under their leather boots. They quickly tugged on the thick hoodie and then their favorite leather jacket. It was the last birthday gift from their mother. "This is our new home, Arty," Victor's voice sounded out as he walked to Artemis's side. Artemis gave a small smile before sighing, knowing it was time to unpack everything the two had spent days packing.

The small family took hours to set up the kitchen, living room, and bathroom. Neither bedroom had yet to be touched, barren of any life. The two sat the boxes inside them but didn't unpack them, the furniture showing the bones of their personality. Settling onto the couch, both father and child heaved a sigh. "I'm starving," Artemis whined as they sprawled across the cushions. Victor chuckled as he leaned forward and snatched his wallet off the coffee table. "I saw an Asian food place on the way into town. Wanna go pick us up some takeout?" Victor asked as he shuffled through his cash before pulling out two twenties and waving them into Artemis' face. Their seafoam eyes peel open and peer at the money with a gleam. "Can I take the truck?"

Within the next five minutes, Artemis was pulling out of the driveway, promising never to dent the bumper again. With a quick check of the directions, Artemis arrived at City Wok. The exterior and interior's appearance felt as if it should be offenses...somehow, but regardless, it was charming and well kept. Most of South Park that Artemis had seen gave that hodunk charm that insinuated more to the picture. This section of uptown South Park consisted of dark alleyways painted with a soft yellow glow and shifty people congregating. Feeling chills grip her skin through the leather jacket, Artemis shuffled inside and met the man at the counter. After ordering the to-go order, Artemis anxiously waited in the foyer. Being in an unfamiliar place was already nervewracking to Artemis, but something about the air that night made their skin crawl and chest tighten. Luckily, the food was done quickly.

With their hands full of take-out boxes, Artemis turned and used their hip to open the door. The struggle to get all the food to sit nicely on the passenger side floorboard took longer than Artemis liked to admit, but by the time they slammed the door of the old truck, they huffed a sigh of aggravation. "Sonovabitch..." Artemis grumbled as they walked around the hood but stopped short once stepping on the snow-littered sidewalk. Movement behind them caused snow to crunch loudly. Swiveling around, Artemis was met with four men staring them down.

"Can I help you?" Artemis asked, eyes narrowing into a heated glare. Each man wore dark clothes—heavy jackets, jeans, and boots with beanies covering their heads. Despite the shadows of the low light obscuring their features, twisting them into monsters, the grins shone maliciously. "Heard you struggling a little, Sweetheart. We just wanted to see if we could help," the man in the center snarked, slease dripping from each word. If any alarms in Artemis' systems hadn't gone off, they were indeed going off now.

"No, thanks, dude. I'm good," Artemis grumbled and went to take a step closer to her truck. Unfortunately, one of the men off to their side stepped up and blocked the only apparent escape. "We've never seen you around here, baby. And we would remember such a pretty face," one of the other men said next. Trying not to let the assumption of their gender get under their skin, Artemis ignored whatever they were saying to try and spot anyone nearby. Signaling for help was their next best option. Regrettably, taking their eyes off of the men was the first mistake.

Before they could react, two of the men lunged forward, latching their sweaty hands onto their arms, and struggled to drag Artemis into the alley they crawled out of as the teen fought against their grip. The smell of alcohol and rotting garbage curled into Artemis' nose as the minimal light dimmed the further they were tugged and dragged. "Agh! Let go of me, assholes!" Artemis screamed as they twisted their forearms back and forth, trying to pry it away from the men. Each just laughed at their attempts before throwing Artemis towards one of the grimy walls.

With a loud thud, Artemis' shoulder and hip slammed against the bricks again, pain flaring up in its place, likely forming a pretty bruise. "Calm down, baby girl. We just wanna show you a good time," one of the men sneered, cocky as he took a step forward, hands twitching as it reached forwards, eager to touch Artemis' skin. Panic quickly filled Artemis with adrenaline. If they let themselves get any more backing into a corner, there is only one way this will end, and it will not be good. Before their brain could catch up with their motions, Artemis lunged forward, their right hand reaching for the man's exposed wrist and tugging the man closer, causing him to lose balance and footing.

Next, Artemis twisted at the waist slightly and, in one fluid motion, slammed their elbow into the center of the man's radius, a sickening crack echoing throughout the alley, followed by the man's screams as he entirely fell forward, body focused on the pain. It slammed face-first into the brick wall beside Artemis. Another crack rang out, quieter but still shattering in the stillness. The man had broken his nose in the fall. As the man crumbled on the concrete, the other three stood stunned. Artemis panted, mind catching up with their actions before turning, arms raised to block their face and chest, and facing their assailants, who still stood frozen. Artemis would fight out of this one way or another, a burning desire coursing through their veins, lighting their whole body with strength and determination.

They'll have to kill me...