Bracelet of Mentality

Disclaimer: See chapter one for disclaimer. I do not own Artemis Fowl.

Setting: Emporia, Kansas. Other Realm

Chapter 2: On the Run

Horns blared at her as she ran across the busy street. Cars screeched to a halt as she jumped in front of them, then quickly moved forward. She could hear Adamina scrambling to catch up with her, frantic to demolish her prey. The rain kept pouring; water was sloshing around her feet, slowing her down, even if just a bit. There was a residential area across this street. If she could just make it there, perhaps she could hide out in one of the homes or behind a home…

Another car slammed on its brakes, the owner abusing the horn in his anger. She had no time to apologize; he'd just have to be mad. The traffic light switched to red up ahead and the cars around her began to halt. This was both a blessing and a curse. Her chances of being struck down by a vehicle were diminished now, but her pursuer would certainly be gaining speed now that her obstacles were removed.

Amara had finally reached the other side of traffic. She shot a glance back to see where Adamina was and found, to her great displeasure, that she was only a few lanes of traffic away. She took off toward the residential unit, cutting across the muddy park at her right. There were swings, which were being playfully pushed by the wind, a slide with water puddled on the end, a jungle gym big enough to entertain any child, and a sandbox full of dense, soggy sand. If things had worked out differently, she wouldn't have minded spending time at this park. It held an aura of innocence and peace about it that called to her. Come and play. Relax and be at ease. Do not fret. Oh yes, it certainly did call to her.

"You'll not escape me forever, Amara!" the heated voice of Adamina shouted at her. Amara noticed that her speed had decreased while she had been admiring the playground. She doubled her efforts and finally made it down one of the streets.

This wasn't a rich neighborhood, but it wasn't the ghetto either. The houses were mostly well kept with their trimmed lawns, tidy yards, and clean windows. The neighborhood held many well kept homes, and nearly all were two stories. Several were run down though. They had bashed-in doors and windows, or were vacated. Those had warning signs on them that indicated it was dangerous to enter the unstable buildings. These structures were being torn down relatively soon to make way for newer homes. It was a weekday, so most of the driveways were empty or held one vehicle. There were children too young for school running about on the streets and splashing in the falling water. Ever watchful parents opted for the shade that porches offered or kept an eye on their children from their kitchen windows.

Amara's brain was franticly working out any options she had from here. If she continued on at a straightforward run, Adamina would catch up to her eventually. She could, however, take to the neighborhood yards and try to lose her pursuer amongst the maze of backyards and fences. Her mind told her to go for the latter. The chances for her escape doubled from this option.

Without a second's more of thought, the girl dove into the front yard of the next house: a stylish new tan colored home that was two stories tall. She rushed to the side fence and proceeded to jump over it. To open it would not only take more time, but she wouldn't have time to close it and that would ultimately leave the biggest clue Adamina could ever need to find her with. By jumping the fence, she saved time and, quite possibly, her own life.

The backyard was not as large as it had seemed it would have been from the front. It must have been the appearance of the large house that made it seem the yard would be just as big. There was a small inflatable pool with two young boys and a baby girl playing in it. They all halted and stared at her as she ran to the back of the yard. Amara threw herself at yet another fence and climbed it, but not before she heard the shocked shrieks of parents from the porch of the yard she'd just been in.

The next yard was not any bigger although it appeared no children lived in it. There was a porch with three chairs and a table, a nicely trimmed flowerbed, and a clean-cut lawn of grass. Amara leaned up against the wooden fence, her heart pounding in her chest. Adamina might figure out her plan and double back to the street that Amara was now on. She couldn't risk that. There was only one way to ensure her safety: publicity. She needed something that would gather lots of people onto the streets and make it impossible for her Guardian to murder her.

An idea came to mind. A bad idea, that was. 'That's all you can come up with?' she ridiculed her mind. 'You come up with something better than that, why don't you?' She sighed. 'All right. Fine. I'll do it. But you need to think up something a bit less destructive and more inventive next time.'

Amara slunk over to the fence at her left. She peered over it to see if any one was home. Not a soul in sight. She did the same to the house at the right. There was a young boy playing with toy trucks in a sand pit that was covered by a Ramada. Perfect.

Amara jumped into the yard occupied solely by the toddler. He gazed up at her as she approached. His eyes widened and his head cocked to the side in wonder. It bothered her that the boy would trust a complete stranger to such a degree that he would allow them this close to himself and not even be panicking. She smiled as she approached, not bothering to show her worry, and then leaned down right in front of him.

"Is your mother home, kid?" She questioned the boy. He nodded once, his mouth agape in wonder. "Good, good. I need you to do me a favor, ok? I want you to turn and face that back fence so that what I'm going to do won't hurt you. Can you do that?" His head bobbed up and down one more time and he complied with her request. "That's great. Now stay just like that for me." Amara slipped over to the back door, occasionally peeking back at the kid. The door was made from sliding glass. It was cleaned nearly to perfection, save for the few raindrops that had been blow onto it.

She pushed against it once just to see how thick it was. Not so thick that her plan wouldn't work, but thick enough that it would cause her pain. Amara heaved back with her elbow and smashed it into the door. Millions of glass particles rained down onto the porch and living room of the home. Amara felt the skin on her elbow slice open and spew forth blood. She'd deal with that later.

There was the worried and angry voice of a mom calling from inside the home, "For God's sake, David, what have I told you about throwing toys at the door-" The woman stopped short at the sight of a drenched and now bleeding stranger in her backyard.

Amara put on a mask of disappointment. "Damn. I didn't think anyone would be home. Oh, sorry about that. Lost my temper." With an insincere smile, she fled to the side gate and passed over it. Adamina would have heard the breaking and would certainly come to investigate, but the police would be here soon, she had insured it. The mother in the home would be frantic. She would gather up her child and lock them both in a room with a phone. The woman would call the police and report the attempted robbery, or breaking, or whatever it was that Amara had "attempted" to do.

Amara made a point of letting herself be seen from the front of the house. Any motherly instinct would tell you to become assured that the threat was really gone from the vicinity. Indeed, the mother's head could be seen peeking out from a window in the front of the house. She pulled behind the curtains when she realized Amara was still there.

Now all she had to do was hide out until law enforcement arrived and, of course, avoid Adamina. She might need some type of crowd to gather about the house to better ensure that she could mingle in with a crowd and escape from the gathering unnoticed. There was only one way she could think of that would guarantee such a crowd. Vandalism.

The front yard of this particular house was gravel. Amara grasped a handful of larger rocks and hefted them one at a time at the home. Various windows shattered and a rainfall of glass crashed to the ground. She then grasped a rake, which had conveniently been left in the front yard, and smashed up the one car that was occupying the driveway. The garage door was next. Once that had been dented and shattered into an unrecognizable mess of metal, Amara once again checked to see that the house owner was keeping an eye on her. Shocked and petrified eyes peeked out of the same window, which was the only one still intact. She had avoided hitting that one for a reason. Although she may be doing the property damage, she believed strongly in doing no physical harm to others.

The house next to the one she had just ruined was tenantless, she assumed. Well, technically, there wasn't much to that conclusion. There was a sign on the front door that read "Do Not Enter: Unstable Foundation." Windows were absent, as was any sign of a resident. All clues pointed to the property being empty.

"I'll take my chances," she murmured before sneaking out of the traumatized woman's view and into the ramshackle premises next door. The door had been locked, but with a few rough shakes, it peeled open on its own.

The roof of the home was leaking in, and not in just one hole. There were too many leaks to count. The walls were rotten, most likely from the rain. The carpet floor was collecting mold and the tile flooring in the kitchen- it was just off to her immediate right- was building up a layer of slime. Yes, this was an undoubtedly condemned home. The Sister made her way into the closet in the hallway. This was the unrivaled, single dry area in the home. The door was hanging on by only one hinge so she left it open. She needed the light anyway so she could check her wound.

Amara tumbled down the wall, not too gracefully, and peered at her elbow. A sliver of broken glass had embedded itself there and was securely lodged in the skin. She hated having foreign objects in her skin, especially when she had no tweezers to remove them with. The intruding shard glared at her in the dim light. This was going to hurt like hell.

She sucked in a deep breath and held it while she plucked at the intruding glass. She could feel it moving and sliding around her bones and muscle. Her own fingers tore at the tarnished skin of her elbow. Nausea set about in her stomach as she yanked at it. With a sickening squelch! the shard came loose. She halted and looked down at the previously offending object. It was half an inch thick and long enough to have gone all the way through her bone. It was thrown to the ground in complete disgust.

After finishing such revolting business, it occurred to Amara how exhausted she was. What with all the running and spying she had done, the little happiness the rain had brought her had been sapped away in seconds. It bothered her that no matter how hard she smacked herself, her head continued to droop forward toward her chest. Could she afford to rest here? Adamina was sure to carry on looking for her. She wouldn't be expecting Amara to hang around the scene of the crime, which she would use to her advantage. Was it really worth it to try and deny the natural needs of her human body? (Well, something related to a human body anyway.) No, it probably wasn't. It was settled then. She would rest here until her body awoke her or until outside forces interfered. Satisfied with her decision, Amara cuddled into the back corner of the closet and allowed her heavy eyelids to shut.

The wind blew softly upon the grass, tossing it this way and then that way. She could see the girls lying under the grass where she'd left them. They looked so peaceful. To think of what their lives must have been like before such chaos as this nearly brought tears to her eyes. Amara pushed back what sorrow she felt and stomped up to her sisters.

"White Bringer, Silent Reaper," she called to them. The Reaper was the first to awaken. She peered about the area until she came upon Amara. Her eyes bulged in their sockets. She nudged the Bringer until the other relented and sat up. Once she was positive she had gained their attention, Amara started her speech.

"Look, I know I shouldn't have gotten so angry before. I have no right to and no reason to. It's just that, when you're pursued as long as I've been, it gets to you and you begin to get uptight about everything." "

It's fine, we understand. Don't we, Reaper?" The Bringer asked.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it. So, what's up now?" Her Sister questioned lazily.

With little hesitation, Amara retold them all that had occurred recently. Both girls shot up at the mention of the Guardian.

"Is she still after you?" the Silent Reaper asked. "

Without a doubt. She'll always chase me. Until my death, that is."

"Alright, look, you should be fine where you are. If anything bad happens, your body should wake you up, right?" the Bringer interjected.

"Yes, I'm sure it will. I was just so tired; I couldn't stop myself from resting. Usually, though, my instincts are awake and active when I'm asleep. You learn to rely on those sorts of things on the streets."

"I bet," the Reaper threw in. Amara raised an eyebrow at her.

"I never caught your names. I told you mine, but I'm afraid that I stormed off before you could reveal yours."

"Yes, I know. I'm Huyen Dur, and this is-" "Deidra Nevin. I go by Dei mostly though, so feel free to call me that."

"Right. Huyen and Dei. It's very nice to meet both of my Sisters. I hope we can spend much time together once we are-"

Before she knew what had happened, Amara was awake. What was going on? She shook her head vigorously and blinked her eyes to clear her vision. There were bright lights and loud noises coming from outside. She stumbled to the window and gazed out cautiously. The police had arrived later rather than sooner as was usual. It appeared to be an hour or two later than it had been when she'd gone to sleep. My, how time flew in the Other Realm.

She made sure that no one was watching the house, and then Amara snuck out the side gate, trying to make it look like she'd come from the house next door, which was a clean cookie-cutter home. A crowd was gathering to view the damage she had wreaked upon the home. The homeowner was in tears, her son clutched tightly to her leg. The cops walked all about her property surveying the damage and then walked through the crowd to see if there had been any witnesses. Luckily, there were none. Making use of her skills, Amara slid into the crow unnoticed. Whispers and voices full of shock and wonder shielded her from the rest of the world. She felt comfortable here amongst people who, currently, had nothing against her. Then her senses began to tingle. She was here.

The crowd didn't notice the new arrival until she shoved through them. Once she had made it to the front nearest the home, she stopped and turned around. Amara didn't move. The hunter turned back around and faced the homeowner. She was met with stares of disbelief and curiosity. What interest did a woman such as herself have in an ordinary theft?

"What did the thief look like?" she asked. Amara didn't stay long enough to hear the response. She knew who would be described and what would happen after that.

She made use of her abilities yet again and slunk through the crowd. No one in there would miss her. Once they knew what she looked like, they'd hunt her down for the heinous crime she'd committed. Head low, Amara stumbled down the street and into a newer, nicer looking neighborhood. She didn't see the white sedan trailing her through the community.

Author's Note

That's chapter two down. I know it's taking me some to time to complete it guys. I'm very sorry. Not sure what's going on with me. I haven't felt inspired to write lately and I can't write if I don't feel it. I can write words, but they hold little or no meaning when written as such. As always, thanks for reading, and reviews are very welcome. Love you all.

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