Artemis fumed. When he had asked No.1 to send him back in time, No.1 had messed everything up, and now he was in the future. And without Holly and her magic, he was stuck. Artemis silently promised to have Butler wring No.1's neck so hard he would squeal like a girl. When he got back…If he got back...No. He couldn't think about that. He had to find out where he was.
Artemis looked around. He was in some square or another. A rusty old sign pointed to two roads leading away into the gloom. One arrow said The Seam, and the other said Victor's Village. He walked over to where a huge crowd was gathered around a woman on a stage. She had spiky pink hair, and was standing in between two large fish bowls."Hello everyone! Welcome to the Reaping! Lets get started!" Her voice was cheerful, but it didn't match the gloomy mood of the crowd. She reached into one of the fishbowls, and pulled out a piece of paper.
"Our girl tribute is..." The woman unfolded the slip of paper.
"Katniss Everdeen!" The crowd groaned. One person near Artemis muttered to his neighbor
"Again? That's her, what is it, THIRD time? Poor girl."Artemis looked up at the stage. The woman was holding another piece of paper.
"Our boy tribute is..." Se unfolded the new slip of paper.
"Artemis Fowl!" Her happiness momentarily turned into a look of confusion.
"Who's he?" someone said. Artemis went up the stairs onto the stage, where a girl immediately followed him. She had harsh eyes and rough brown hair. She must be Katniss, Artemis thought.
"I've never seen YOU before," she said. Then the two of them were hustled on a train.
"Where are we going?" Artemis asked.
"You'll see," said Katniss sourly. She was acting mean to Artemis, but on the inside, she was feeling sorry for him. That's what the games had taught her. Never show your feelings.