~~~~ Chapter 5 ~~~~

"What?" Artie leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. "How?" he asked without opening his eyes, his voice suddenly coarse, like he hadn't used it in years. When Claudia didn't answer he opened his eyes and looked at the woman sitting a few feet from him. "Claudia, what happened?"

Claudia didn't answer right away; it was obvious she didn't want to relive the past. But she eventually did, "Artie, you never woke up." She paused but continued the story, "It was about 10 when I finally got up and when I went downstairs you weren't there. I thought it was odd because you were always the first one up and last one down. But it was Christmas so I thought maybe you decided to sleep in a little bit, especially since there were no artifacts that we had to worry about at the moment. But then about an hour later, you still hadn't come down. And Jacob told me you didn't come down really early and go back up so I decided to wake you up. You didn't answer your door and that worried me more so I opened it and there you were, sleeping like a baby. For a second I thought I would let you sleep but then I thought you would chide me later about letting you sleep that late so I went to wake you."

"I shook your shoulder and said your name. You didn't stir one bit which weirded me out cause you are a freakishly light sleeper. After like five minutes of trying to wake you I went and got Jacob. We did everything we could think of to wake you up." Claudia was fighting back tears again.

"Jacob called 911 and I called Pete and Myka. When the paramedics got there they said you were most likely in a coma." A single tear trickled down Claudia's face but she strived on. "Right when they were putting you in the ambulance your heart stopped. You were declared dead at 11:03." The end barely comprehendible over her attempt to choke back sobs.

Artie went over to Claudia and hugged her. "I'm sorry, Claudia."

A minute later, Claudia freed herself from his embrace and wiped the tears from her face. She stood up and began to slowly pace the room as Artie watched.

"Pete and Myka got back around noon. After grieving for a few hours they were determined to find out how and why it happened. They swore it was MacPherson's fault. I joined in their belief and hatred for MacPherson and even after Mrs. Frederick warned us of the dangers of going after him, we wouldn't rest until he was found. We didn't know how he did it but we didn't care. The only thing on our minds was how we would kill him once we found him."

She stopped pacing and sat in Artie's empty chair. "It took us two years. But we found him. He was hiding out in plain sight at a California antique shop." Artie scoffed. "I know right? Kinda seems anti climatic for such a psycho maniac. But I figure once he killed you, he didn't get the same rush of his cat and mouse games with the rest of us so he skipped town. But he eventually screwed up just enough for me to catch him. After two years we finally had a lead."

"Pete and Myka were to go and deal with him. Believe me, I wanted to go too, but they convinced me otherwise and so I was the backup and tech support. I was not happy about it but they were the field agents and the only ones trained to use a gun." Claudia paused again, and Artie could only guess why he hadn't seen either of them around the warehouse, "something happened… MacPherson was ready for them. There was a fight, Leena ran off and MacPherson ended up with two bullets in his chest, died instantly. Pete had a flesh wound on his arm…"

"Myka?" Worry filled Artie's voice.

"She was shot in the stomach. She had lost a lot of blood by the time the paramedics arrived. They weren't sure if she was going to make it. When they got to the hospital it was discovered that the bullet was lodged in her liver and it was almost impossible to get out. She died on the table."

Claudia stood and began to pace again.

"I'm sorry." Grief plagued Artie's voice.

"Pete was devastated. So was I. Mrs. Frederick naturally brought in a new agent to replace Myka. His name was John or Joe or something. Pete stopped going on missions for a while to take care of his kids."

"What? Pete had kids?" Artie couldn't help but smile at this piece of good news in a dismal future.

Claudia stopped pacing and glanced at the exit again, "yep. Twins. With Myka."

Artie followed her gaze at the door a sudden realization hit him in the face, "wait. The two 'you's? Warren and Trent?"

"Yep. That's why Pete and Myka wouldn't let me go after MacPherson. Babysitting duties," Claudia informed him with a weak smile.

"Huh, for a second there I thought the recruiting age for warehouse agents was lowered dramatically in the past twenty years." Claudia laughed. "Wait, Pete and Myka?" Claudia nodded. "Pete and Myka get together? And have kids?"

Claudia grinned at his surprise, "told you."

"Huh, so what's happened since then?" Artie questioned, eager to know more about this possible future.

"Um, well, about six months after Myka…" Claudia glanced to the floor before continuing, "Mrs. Frederick made me a fully fledged agent. I got to carry my own gun and everything, but I preferred the Tesla. Joshua came back and kinda took over the warehouse duties for me while I was out on missions. The new guy was not working out at all and so I eventually convinced Pete to come back. For Myka. While Jacob took care of the kids."

Claudia paused, possibly catching her breath or thoughts, trying to figure out what else needed to be said. Artie asked the next obvious question that entered his mind, "Where are Joshua and Pete now?"

Claudia began pacing again and Artie could guess what she was about to say. "About ten years later, Pete had the flu so Joshua came with me to get an artifact. It was supposed to be a simple bag and tag… no one saw it coming."

"It's always the easy ones," Artie mumbled, more to himself.

Claudia continued over Artie, "We hadn't seen or heard from Leena since MacPherson died, but when we finally arrived at the town where the artifact was, she was there too. I hesitated, stunned at the sight of her, I guess. But that was when she reacted. She held up something and pointed it at me. The next thing I knew I was three feet in the air, being held with what felt like scorching hot talons." Claudia seemed to shudder at the painful memory, "I was in so much pain. I nearly blacked out when I saw Joshua tackle Leena. I fell free but Leena had escaped Joshua's grasp and began to use the thing on Joshua. I heard him scream in pain but I couldn't move," Claudia turned to her former mentor, not bothering to stop the tears flowing freely from her eyes. "Artie, I couldn't – I couldn't help him."

Artie remained silent, anger welling up in him at Leena, for something she really hadn't done yet and guilt filling his soul at Claudia's pain.

"All I remember is Joshua scream's fade and his body falling limp on the floor. I blacked out. When I came to I was at the local hospital, someone had heard the screams and called 911. Joshua was already dead by the time help came." Claudia stopped again. Her eyes set on a certain spot on the floor somewhere between her feet and Artie, wide and red with tears. The agonizing memories flooding to the front of her brain again.

Artie walked slowly over to the girl, not sure if he should disrupt her concentration on the floor for fear the guilt that was already punching his stomach would move to a more prominent place and just rip out his heart. Overcoming his fear, he pulled the skinny woman into his arms. She neither moved to return the embrace or back away. It was like he wasn't even there.

Artie felt two wet tears make their way down his cheeks. He couldn't even imagine what she had been though. When Artie knew her, at nineteen, she had already dealt with things most people didn't need to worry about until they were Artie's age. She lost her parents when she was just a kid. Then her brother was taken from her for twelve years. Sure, she got him back but she spent her adolescence alone, an orphan, and she even spent time in a mental hospital before she got to hug her brother again, like Artie was now.

And then, not even a year after she felt like she found a family, Artie was taken from her. Then Myka and Joshua. It wasn't fair. Not to her or anyone.

A feeling of purpose filled his body, pushing out his guilt as if they couldn't occupy the same space and he gently released Claudia from his embrace. "Claudia," he clasped his hands on either side of her cheek, forcing her to look up into his eyes, "I'm going to fix this."

Claudia didn't say anything but Artie could see the hope in her eyes. She nodded once.

"I would love to know just how you are planning to do that."

I know, I know...I'm a sucker for cliffhangers. But there's a quote out there somewhere about leaving them wanting more? ;P

And yes, it is a depressing possible future, but... well... it's just an idea. Get over it.. haha ;)