Well, I'm back for a late Christmas present... though, it's not all that joyous
Please remember: THIS STORY DOES NOT HAVE AN ENDING YOU WOULD EXPECT. PLEASE TURN AROUND NOW IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO HAVE AN UNHAPPY ENDING.
Now, for the remaing people, an explanation "why," will be at the end. Please enjoy : D
Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl, or Beckett Fowl, or Myles Fowl, or Butler. But I certainly wish.
Chance
One by one the lights of the second floor of the building shut off. Tired workers pulled themselves out of their desks, saying half-hearted goodbyes.
Carie Lanton stood and stretched, rotating her wrists to prevent carpal tunnel. The back of her neck was sweaty despite the fact that her blonde hair had been tied up. The air conditioning hadn't worked all day.
She smiled and waved goodbye to her cubicle partner, who was as always, working overtime.
When did working here become and everyday thing? Without ceasing, in this failing little company with no title.
She didn't even bother to ask, continuing on with a spark of hopelessness in her mind.
Her high heels clicked against the linoleum floor of the lobby as she walked out the large swinging doors.
Years ago, like any child, Carie had dreams and goals of being something big. But like everyone else, these dreams only became immature childish memories.
You can't expect to achieve your dreams just because you dream them, almost every working-class adult says in some sort shape or form, you have to be good enough, talented enough, dedicated enough to achieve it.
With that, at the bright age of seventeen, she decided to turn off those dreams forever. She just wasn't good enough.
It was five o'-clock and chilly, the sun casting an orange and red fusion into the brilliantly purple sky.
An expensive looking vehicle pulled up on the curb, and a young man in a fresh suit stepped out. His eyes were a blazing blue against his pale features and ink black hair.
For only a second their gazes locked, and as soon as she noticed he was looking at her the exact same way she was looking at him, she snapped her head away.
A large man stepped out of the driver's side door to catch his charge looking at a briskly walking female. Her bun had come undone just slightly, wisps of blonde hair blowing in the wind.
"Is something the matter, Artemis?" He finally asked.
The man said nothing to him, muttering, "Curious," under his breath before proceeding towards the building.
The lobby was a dreary little thing, but if the Fowl Company were to invest in it, changes would certainly follow.
The CEO nearly fluttered down the elevator with happiness at the sight of his hope. He shook Artemis' hand eagerly as the black haired young man looked around impassively.
Carie looked quickly to the left, and then to the right before sprinting across the two way street. She sighed, hoping that this would never happen again. When she tried to wake up this morning, it was almost like someone was dragging her down, refusing to let her wake. She ended up parking two streets down from the company as there was limited parking.
If she had been any later she would have had to work overtime.
"Ah…" The CEO looked slightly nervous, "Could Carie come to the lobby?"
The brunette pushed up her glasses. "Carie left just a few minutes ago…"
"Anyone would do, I'm sure. This was quite a sudden visit so I'm sure you're not all that well prepared." Artemis actually liked sudden visits. He could see the company for what it really was.
The middle aged man laughed as light-heartedly as he could. "No, you see, Carie is my best employee in the secretarial division. We'd promote her if she was a bit less gloomy."
She took a deep breath, finally reaching the last street. With another quick look to the left and the right, she just about leaped across the pavement.
Someone blared their horn loudly, and just like a frightened creature, she tripped, ripping her stockings and receiving sizable scrapes on her knees and hands. As she struggled to get up, slightly dazed, the horn continued to blare.
"-off the road!"
She was below the sight-range of a car, sprawled across the black pavement.
"I can't stop! Get off the road!"
With sudden realization, she saw the same car barreling towards her, still honking its horn for all it's worth.
Unbearable pain shot up her legs and towards her head like a firecracker. A short but piercing screech left her mouth.
And then there was nothing.
There was a noisy clatter and the bespectacled secretary dashed toward Artemis, picking up the cup from the table before running off for a towel. He quickly but calmly slid out of his seat, watching as the tea eventually dribbled off the side of the table.
"I'm… terribly sorry…" His words sounded as surprised as he was.
His negotiate just nodded, also a little surprised.
"I really don't know what was going through my mind at that moment."
Indeed he didn't. For a second he was paralyzed with fear, and the cup of tea took that second as an opportunity to slip from his grasp.
Butler had been quietly observing until then, and now, even he was shocked at what had happened. Slip ups were just not in Artemis' vocabulary, neither were they in his muscle memory.
The flustered secretary returned with a roll of paper towels, hurriedly wiping up the remaining tea on the table and the rest on the ground.
Minutes later they had finally seated and returned to their discussion when a siren was heard wailing down the street. The people in the lobby turned to look through the glass windows as an ambulance launched itself out of view.
Another shiver of panic went up the genius' spine before he blinked, suddenly remembering another important errand. He pulled up his sleeve to read his watch. Yes, they had certainly overstayed the visit. "I apologize once again, but I have to pick up my brother at the hospital." Butler had already picked up the young man's coat, "We'll continue this another time without interruptions."
They bid their goodbyes and the pair drove off in the direction from where the ambulance had come from.
"Name?"
"Carie Lanton!"
"Does she have emergency contacts?"
"Yes. We'll contact them now!"
The doctors spewed out protocol ands procedures as they raced her down the emergency hall.
"Several fractures in her leg bones and internal bleeding in her intestinal walls! She also has a concussion!"
"She'll make it, we just need to do the operation now!"
"Would you please tell me the office number of Dr. Shiku?" Artemis inquired at the front desk, "I'm here to pick up my younger brother, Beckett Fowl."
The nurse nodded. "Yes… um… he's in room 427."
He politely thanked her and proceeded to the elevator.
The elevator door smoothly slid open and shut, and a few seconds later, open and shut on an upper floor.
He walked out and down the odd numbered hallway, arriving at the designated door, but when he opened it, all he found were two empty patient beds.
"Um…"
The genius turned around to see an impatient looking nurse staring at him. "Are you here to see Miss Lanton? She is still in the surgery room, but she will be staying here at this room."
"No." He quickly answered before looking at the sign. In obvious numbers it said "327."
Maybe those long nights trying to figure out how to wrench that old stuffed monkey from Myles' hands and turn him into an intelligent productive brother had finally caught up to him.
"She's losing it!"
"Just keep trying!"
Regrets.
Do I have any? She questioned as she began to stop feeling the tips of her finger and toes.
I have many, she decided as she slowly lost the will to even feel her limbs. But not regrets that make me want to stay on earth.
"Hey! You came!"
Artemis was greeted by a cheerful smile on part of his brother. "I see that the doctor has finished his check up?"
Beckett scratched his head as he eyed the cast on his arm. "Nothing that you yourself didn't mention, so I guess it was no big deal."
I have no regrets. Unconsciously her bloody lips formed into a forced smile of peace as she chanted to herself that she had none to worry about.
In the ER room a resounding and painful note played out. The sound of a heart beat flat lining. The doctors ceased the hurry for only a moment, before desperately trying to bring her back.
The nurse standing outside of the double sided door sighed to herself. There were many cases in which she had to call time of death. Possibly so many that she couldn't count them out anymore, but only a handful in which there was patient that could have been easily brought back. She noticed that the loss of will was much more dangerous than a fatal accident, and happening more and more as the years went by.
Artemis noticed that he had been drumming his fingers against the table as a nurse came in and gave the final inspections. A sense of urgency strangely filled his chest.
Inside the room, doctors began to run frantically, shouting orders and cursing under their breath. She watched silently, holding the pen to call the time. The nurse had closed her eyes, feeling something squeeze in her chest.
No regrets
No regrets
No regrets
Regrets
"We regret to inform you, Mr. and Mrs. Lanton, that your daughter passed away ten minutes ago from a fatal car accident..." the nurse couldn't help but feel a little emotion shake her voice. One more to her handful.
"Hmm?" Beckett stopped and turned to see his brother gazing intently at the patient room door. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I walked in here by accident while trying to find you." He replied.
The boy walked over. "Ah… 327. Easy mistake. You just got off the wrong elevator."
He frowned. "Not for me."
"You're such a simpleton!" Beckett smiled as he said his brother's personal nickname. "It happens, let's just go."
Artemis nodded in response, when the door suddenly opened. Out came a sobbing middle-aged lady and her husband clutching a battered looking hand bag.
"Carie…" She cried over and over.
For a second he felt rooted to the spot, a great wave of pain washed over him, stunning him enough to not even notice his brother tugging at his arm.
"Earth to egotistical geniuses…" Beckett finally broke him out of his spell. "What's wrong? We should keep moving before the dad gets violent over the loss."
He nodded once again, and they began to walk towards the elevator.
And that was it.
No throwing anything, okay?
Here's my explanation. If you read it again, you'd see if Carie was one second later, or earlier, or more cheerful, or said something. Something better would have happened, right?
This is a story about not losing hope. About taking your chances, about doing what you feel is right, about not giving up.
I'm sorry it ended on such a sober note, but this could be anyone of us. Not dying from a car accident, but dying of old age, wasting away in misery... all with unfulfilled hopes and dreams.
I just want to give hope to everyone.
And that... please, everyone with implausible dreams, don't give up. Don't give up.
Caries are everywhere, and my wish for everyone, at the end of this year, is that we can all leap for it.
Happy New Year's
-Amaya