The Chosen

Artemis wrapped her delicate fingers around the heart-shaped pendant. She could feel its energy pulsing around and through her, matching her heartbeat, synchronizing with her breathing. It was getting stronger with every pulse, and it at once was as soothing as being held by her mother, being sung a sweet lullaby, and also as energetic as electricity running through every nerve. Her 12-year-old self did not feel like twelve anymore. Instead, she felt the surge of knowledge and emotion of more than her lifetime.

With sudden dread, Artemis dropped the pendant on the soil where she picked it up. She recoiled quickly, looking at her open, empty hand. Was it glowing?

“Artemis Zen?” her father called, “where are you?”

“Here Daddy” she heard herself say, still staring down at the rapidly fading glowing hand.

Artemis was playing in her cave, the part of the house that was under the ground where she could safely play. At least here she only needed to concern herself with worms, critters, and rats. Those creatures were nothing to be afraid of, at least not the ones under the ground. On the other side of the walls of their longhouse which they shared with 20 other families were the monstrosities from which nightmares come.

Artemis realized she was letting her thoughts drift to the negative and shook her head as if to shake away the thoughts of the depressingly deformed and vicious animals that survived the day it all ended for billions on the globe. Only the remote places where habitable, if you could make it there, as the cities were the ones targeted with the biological weapons intended to cause maximum casualties with great pain for all living organisms.

She was 5 when it happened. The warnings were so numerous, people started to believe their own lies instead of the truth. Because, really…who would purposefully destroy all life for profit? The truth was incredibly ugly: the very people that started the lies were the ones who were making the profit, careening the planet into chaos where no one knows or even cares who went first; both sides had their destruction in the air before the first missile hit. Artemis, her father, mother, and brother were on vacation in a remote wooded area when the sky lit up with vibrant, violent light that flooded their camp site. They knew the city where they lived was gone, and that they were on their own, at least for a while.

Joseph Zen was a man who did not care when people called him “paranoid”, a “prepper”, or even “mental unstable”. His family knew him as he was: a person deeply concerned with the safety of his family to the point where he would stash away supplies for hunting, canned foods, and found a place in the mountains of Montana that had a deep aquifer where he was able to drill a well. This is where the 20 other families had come, this is where they found safety.

“There you are bubba,” Joseph playfully greeted his daughter with a smile as he lifted the sheet she kept over the entrance. Their house’s solar system provided them all the electricity they needed, so even though Artemis was in her cave, it was well lit by the hanging LED light.

“Daddy, tell me my bedtime story again. Please?”

“Ok, bubba, here we go. Once upon a time, there was a girl named…

“Artemis!” they both say together enthusiastically.

“She was a special girl,” Joseph continued, adding “she was the chosen one given to heal the world from the hurt through her special power of her…” pointing to her heart-shaped birthmark on her chest “…special heart.” Joseph waited for Artemis to giggle like she always did, but this time she was serious and said “How will I know Daddy?”

“Know what bubba?”

“How will I know when it is my time to heal the world?” Artemis queried looking Joseph right in the eye, showing more seriousness than he had ever seen in his life. He knew how important the next words would be for his daughter, but the real answer was that he just didn’t know. This was a recurring dream he had and it always ended before he could answer this question. After only a brief moment, he decided to be fully truthful with her.

“I don’t know Artemis. I wish I did, but I don’t. I have the feeling in my soul that you will know when it is the time and what you need to do then. That’s not my path, but I believe it is yours.” Joseph had a far away look in his eyes as he spoke these new words to his daughter, calling her by her proper name rather than by her nickname. He wanted to make sure she was not afraid of what lay ahead of her, and he wanted her to know that he always would protect her. Matching her gaze, he added “You know I’ll always have your back”.

Artemis stayed still as she said “Daddy, I have something to show you.” She stretched out her hand with the faint glow still present. “something happened right before you called me. I found this locket over here,” and she pointed to the place in the dirt where the locket lay. Suddenly, the locket sent out a deep vibration that resonated in her ears but did not seem to affect her father. “I know it’s my time now, I know that the wisdom of the ages will guide me toward our healing. But I need to go from here. Will you permit me to do the work for which I was destined?”

Joseph looked at his daughter in awe. Her vocabulary and manner of speech were no longer that of a little girl. This was the sign. “Honey,” he spoke with tenderness, “I will go with you and protect you.”

Artemis simply smiled. With much excitement and a little bit of fear, she reached for the locket and put it up to the perfectly matched birthmark near her collarbone, watching it light up filling her with light, knowledge, and compassion unknown before. It was time.