Artemis 9: Part 2

I sat there waiting in the cold exam room.

What’s taking so long?

*click*

The door opens as the young doctor walks in, clearly exhausted.

It was 4 o’clock in the morning at a hospital that was over an hour from my apartment, and I was checking in.

I looked at the gash on my hand, now stitched and bandaged. They’d numbed it locally so it didn’t hurt anymore.

“So let’s talk about your hand. How exactly did you hurt it?” The doctor asked bluntly.

“A door cut my hand,” I answered, terrified of what would happen if I told them everything.

I know what I’d sound like. I’d sound crazy. Hearing a strange voice in my head? Teleportation? Strange doors to nowhere? Yeah I’d not leave this hospital for a while.

“I see. Well all the tests we took came back negative and we’ve given you all the precautionary shots, so you should be fine. Though I would maybe consider getting a new door,” the doctor said with a smile.

Yeah. No shit.

“You can feel free to check out at the nurse’s station,” the doctor stood up and began to leave..

Well geez..

Do not leave.

“Oh hell no,” I said aloud before I could catch myself.

It’s the voice! The voice with the door!

The doctor quickly turned back, “I beg your pardon?”

Tell the doctor what happened.

No fucking way! They’re going to lock me up forever if I do.

Tell. The. Doctor.

“Uh doc, I hate to pull you back from your job but, I may not have been completely honest with you,” I blurted out.

What the fuck am I doing??

“Oh?” The doctor’s face fell in disappointment and, what I’d read to be, irritation.

“Yeah. I um… doc, after I heard knocking at my door I heard a voice in my head and then I was teleported to a weird door that lead to a void or something and then something tried to come at me through the void so I tried to close the door but it wouldn’t close and it cut my hand and I fell and when I opened my eyes I was on my bathroom floor,” I said never taking a breath.

The doctor stared at me blankly, “wait here.” The doctor left and closed the door.

Yep. I’m never leaving here.

Sit. Wait.

“Why the hell am I listening to you? Aren’t you the one who did this?” I say to no one as I wave my stitches in the air.

No. You did. I did nothing.

“Oh a technicality, huh? Well fu-“

“Hello!” A nurse burst into the room holding a hospital gown and a plastic tray, “I need you to place all your electronic devices and personal effects on the tray and change into this gown.”

“Wait the doctor said I was leaving-“

“Oh! Well the doctor re-evaluated your chart and decided an overnight evaluation may be needed. After you change into your gown, I’ll be back to take you to your room and get some blood samples!” The nurse chirped and strode away.

Yep. I’m being committed. This is it, I thought as I changed into my new backless garment and a pair of grippy socks.

Don’t be so dramatic. You will be fine. Tomorrow will be new.

“What the hell does that-“

“All set?” The nurse burst in, far too energetic and cheery for four in the morning.

“Yeah. I guess,” I said defeated as I followed the nurse down several hallways, up 5 floors and into the psychiatric ward.

Maybe this is good? I mean… maybe I really am sick because that shit doesn’t HAPPEN in real life. Does it?

It’s real. Just wait.

“Here is your room! If you could sit here on the bed, I can take your blood samples and you can get some sleep, okay?” The nurse smiled as I sat down and held out my arm.

After sampling my blood, the nurse left and the lights went out.

What. The. Fuck. Is. Happening?

Tomorrow you will be met with a new friend.

“Yeah I’m pretty sure that’s the last thing I fuckin’ need right now.”

Do not fear. This is where you are supposed to be right now.

“What the hell does that even mean? I’ve noticed you seem to know an awful lot for someone who doesn’t like to share. Why the hell should I trust you? Why am I even talking to you? I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to be ignoring you anyway.”

You can try if you like.

“Well I will then..””

…

When I woke up a few hours later, I could hear people talking in the doorway. The nurse who took my blood sample spoke first, “the patient’s vitals are all normal.”

A second voice, one I had never heard before, spoke next, “Wonderful. The last two we transported weren’t stable and my partner lost an eye.”

What the-

“Good morning! You have a couple visitors!” The nurse chimed and walked out.

Two men in black suits walked up to the bed as I sat up.

“Can I help you gentlemen?” I asked curiously.

“Hello. We are with a very special government program and we need to ask you some questions,” the first man said as he held out a badge.

The men stood entirely too still for my comfort and the dark sunglasses over their eyes made me feel like they were dissecting me behind them.

“I’ll do my best to answer,” I said, incredibly confused.

“Very good. You say that you were home alone last night when you heard a voice, that was not your own, speaking to you inside your head?” the man said flatly.

I nodded, “Hey did they tell you that? I’m pretty sure that’s a violation-”

“What did it say to you?” The second man interrupted.

“Open the door.”

“What door?”

“The door that cut my hand when I tried to close it,” I said as I could feel a headache forming. My brain takes a bit to warm up in the morning anyway and only sleeping a few hours wasn’t helping me think.

“May I see your hand?” The first man asked.

Do it.

I held out my hand and he touched one of the stitches with some kind of metal rod and observed it.

The rod seemed to light up with a green glow and the first man nodded to the second.

I chuckled, “who are you guys, the Men in Black or something?”

Both men glared at me in silence.

“Thank you for your cooperation. If we have any more questions we will contact you,” the first man said and they both promptly turned and left.

The nurse returned immediately after and gave me my discharge papers, “The doctor says you’re good to go!”

“Thank you,” I said, in shock.

What the hell? What. The. HELL??

Leave.

“Wait nurse, why did I have to stay the night?” I asked again.

I know I asked last night but I don’t remember doing anything except the blood tests.

“Oh the doctor just wanted to do an overnight observation. Everything seems fine!” the nurse said and left.

I gathered my things and checked out. After checkout I attempted to find my car.

Where the hell did I park again?

Wait here.

“Wha-“

A dark suv pulled up and the two men in black suits stepped out.

“Did you gentlemen have another question?” I asked nervously.

This is it. I’m about to be murdered.

“Would you mind taking a ride with us, we have something to discuss with you,” the first man said as the second opened the back passenger door.

Yep. I’m dead.

You are fine.

These men were able to convince hospital staff to allow them to enter a psych patient’s room outside of visiting hours on top of convincing them to violate my rights. They could probably kill me and say it was an accident. I’d better just do what they want.

Yes.

Yeah, you confirming that gives me zero comfort.

I climbed into the blacked out SUV and we drove away from the hospital.

“So did I break some law I’m unaware of and this is some convoluted way to take me to jail? Or-”

“Are you aware of a government project called ‘Artemis?’ The man in the passenger seat asked.

“No. What’s that? Some kind of top secret bullshit?”

The first man spoke, “In 1989 The ‘Artemis’ Project was designed to counter extraterrestrial threats of mind control. They believed by using genetic engineering they could counter that threat.”

“Genetic engineering. Sure. So what the hell does that have to do with me?” I asked, shifting awkwardly in my seat.

“The project was designed to take an Earthly human fetus and genetically engineer it to be capable of telepathy using the DNA of humanoid extraterrestrials already capable of it. It began by attempting to incubate genetically altered fetuses on site but unfortunately fetuses 1-8 all died due to improper incubation.”

“Dude…”

“Artemis 9 survived because they were able to find a suitable candidate willing to incubate the fetus as a living host instead of in the lab.”

“Can you speak plain English please, This whole ‘beating around the bush’ shit is really getting old,” I say as my headache increased.

The second man turned around and said, “In 1990 your father was arrested on a military base for dismembering a fellow soldier with his bare hands. Instead of serving his punishment in a military prison, your father was offered an opportunity to serve his country in a different way.”

“Woah what the fuck? Can ya’ll please just-“

“Your father offered his next child with his wife, to the government in exchange for not serving time in a military prison. The voice you have been hearing in your head is one of our agents and the door you experienced was the gene finally being capable of expressing itself. You are Artemis 9.”

I sat in silence for a moment.

What the fuck?

“So you… I’m-”

“Property of the government since before you were born,” the first man said as we turned onto a hidden road where a black helicopter waited for us.