Hey guys, this story is kinda under construction and I'm going through the process of editing it. Happy reading!
Claudia sighed, growing frustrated with the crossword puzzle in front of
"Claudia, Arthur, I would like you to follow me." Mrs. Fredrick said, seeming to appear out of nowhere. Claudia hesitated, quickly earning a glare from Artie. She dropped her pencil and rose to follow them.
For someone older than Artie (who was past prehistoric) Mrs. Fredrick walked at an amazingly quick pace. They followed her as she walked through the umbilical and out the door at end. The bright South Dakota midday sunlight beat down, almost blinding Claudia. She put her hand above her eyes so that they were level with her eyebrows and squinted. There was a car coming down the road.
''Is that Pete bringing Myka back?" she asked hopefully.
"No," Mrs. Fredrick told her, motioning at the road ahead of her. "That is your new partner."
Claudia's eyes widened. "What?"
"Are you sure, absolutely positive, that this is a good idea?" Artie said, his caterpillar eyebrows showing his emotion as he spoke.
"Yes Arthur. Ms. Donovan here has just turned 21 and Mr. Potter will be 22 in the upcoming July." The car was getting closer. It stopped and out hopped a man holding a GPS.
"Oh, you bloody thing!" he yelled at the device and hurled it toward the ground.
"He's English." Claudia noted belatedly.
"Well Ms. Donovan, go say hello," Mrs. Fredrick told her, a hint of a smile on her face.
Claudia shrugged and slowly walked up to him, picking up the broken GPS on her way towards him. Old, she noted. Maybe about 4 years-old. She flipped it over to see the branding, hmmm... no brand name. She pulled off one of the panels. American. That meant that he'd gotten it from a relative, had it shipped over, or, had been here for awhile and never strayed to far from the places he knew well.
She looked up. The guy was watching her.
"Hello. Welcome to the Warehouse." Claudia said stiffly, walking forward to shake hands.
"I've been here before." he said, ignoring her offer of a handshake.
Claudia thought on that, making a mental note to follow that trail later.
"So, what's your name?" Claudia asked.
"Why does it matter to you?" the man asked, his voice filled with snark.
"It matters because we're gonna be partners." she responded with an equal amount of attitude.
"You're how old? 19?" he asked curiously.
"I was two years ago." she answered, taking his curiosity rudely.
"My name is Harry." Harry told her, coming to his senses.
"So, Harry-" she had just turned to make sure he was following her.
"Come on!" Harry called from up ahead.
"But you were behind me a second ago," Claudia said, confused.
"I run fast." Harry said with a smirk. Claudia frowned and followed Harry through the umbilical. I will find out how he did that, why he was here before, and any other secrets he's got.