Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from The Matrix. I am only temporarily borrowing these amazing people from Andy and Larry Wachowski.

Artemis: Chapter Two Commencement

I stared at my computer. What the hell was happening? I couldn't believe it. The computer was talking to me. I finally snapped out of my daze and slowly reached for the keyboard.

-Artemis here. Who is this?

I waited. One minute...two...three..after four minutes, I convinced myself that it was just some idiot hacker trying to make a fool of me. I started to shut down my computer when

-Wait. Don't shut down. Artemis, be careful who you encounter and who you talk to.

-What must I do?

-Pick up the phone.

Suddenly, the phone rang with a blast, surprising me and forcing me to fall out my seat. I don't know what scared me the most. The loud ring or the uncanny coincidence. I walked across my room and picked up the phone with a shaking hand. "Hello?"

"You are not safe. This line may be tapped. They are looking for you just as we are. Your brother will be home in ten minutes. Take him to Narrow's Road within the next half hour. Whatever you do, do not stop until you arrive. It's time." The phone clicked dead. The deep, unwavering voice left. My breathing retreated to small, short breaths, scared and confused. I shook my head, thinking this was a practical joke.

// Who could have done this? // My mind raced with the possibilities of those in my class who would delight in making me look stupid. I went over all those with computer compatibilities. But I was on good terms with them. No one else held a grudge against me; I just seemed to disappear in the shadows enclosing the back of the classroom. No one knew me, and no one would care if I was gone.

Mark, maybe. But if I was going somewhere, he was definitely joining me. I remember being told that he and I should have been joined at the hip; we used to be so close. It's amazing what time can do to two people.

As I waited for Mark, I nit-picked through every possibility, every situation, and every consequence. Like being in this dump was bad enough. The constant yelling, drunken breath, rainy days entering the ceiling; for some reason I've always believed that I wasn't supposed to live this life. Like something more was waiting out there for me, calling my name, and just yearning to take my hand and introduce me to my real fate.

After thinking this once a month, I would hit my head against my desk, punishing myself for living in a dream world. But my mind would go into its "philosophy stage" (as I lovingly called it). This was when I would think over something, then contradict it, and in turn, contradict my contradiction. This was a terrible and frustrating habit of mine. I was always getting depressed when I wouldn't come to a conclusion in my thinking because of my constant contradictions.

I peered over to my almost-broken clock radio. According to the anonymous caller, Mark had sixteen seconds to get his ass through the front door of our run-down apartment. I shook my head once more and plopped down on the bed, trying to concentrate on my breathing. The apartment door opened and slammed shut, forcing the apartment walls the shake. Then next thing I saw was Mark running madly into my room, His face was flushed and his breath was wheezing with exhaustion. Once again, I didn't know what frightened me the most, Mark in this state or Mark just being there.

"Mark! Fuck, what happened?" I walked towards him with worry carved onto my face.

"Man.Black suit.Runs way too fast..," Mark managed to gasp out. I had no idea what he was talking about. I had a strange voice telling me that he was in trouble, and soon enough, I would be too. I decided to take this as a sign, and I commenced telling Mark about my day. In five minutes, I was able to spit out about the people outside the dumpster, the computer hacker, and the mysterious caller. When I looked up at Mark's face, I expected to see a look of disbelief. But he looked concerned and just as scared as I was.

He sighed. "We have to leave. Whoever that person was, they know something. They can help us. I know you get those feelings, Marie. I get them too. There's something different and wrong with the world. Those people are the ones that are going to show us. Trust me, I would love to cease getting chased by men in suits."

I nodded and walked towards my dresser, to get some clothes out. Mark placed his hand on the knob and shook his head "no".

"Take nothing. We will arrive with nothing. We have to start a new." I had no idea why Mark was so anxious to leave. His life seemed perfect. I was still in shock from the fact that my life might change completely. Mark knew something that I didn't, and it upset me. But I just ignored it for that time, and we walked out of the apartment with out heads up and butterflies in our stomach. We were not prepared for what was going to happen in the next hour.