Here's chapter 4. I hope you enjoy, this was a fun one to read.
Holly and Artemis were sitting on his bed. "I'm what?" Holly said, eye's wide in shock.
"You're losing your magic," Artemis told her, "Foaly says that you picked an Omen from the oak tree."
"An Omen? But…a case of this disease hasn't been seen since before I was alive. I thought it had died out."
"Apparently not."
"What am I supposed to do," Holly cried, tears forming in her large eyes, "I've lived my entire life as an Elf, using magic to help get me through the day. And my life span--I only have about 50 years left of my life."
"Holly," Artemis said, trying to comfort the elf, "50 years is a long time. You can still lead a fruitful life, even if it is shorter than you had expected."
"But, Artemis, I've almost lived for twice as long. You don't understand. To you a year may be a significant fraction of your life, but to us fairies a year is nothing. How am I supposed to live when everything I had done up to this point was useless?"
"Holly, stop this. This isn't like you."
"Not like me? Let's take away everything you knew about yourself and see how YOU act."
"Stop it," Artemis yelled, surprised at the force behind his words, "I don't want to hear such a defeatist attitude coming from you. Foaly said there was a cure. You're going to be fine. After all," he smiled, "just because I can't get to Haven, doesn't mean I can't help as well. I'm going to find that cure before you lose your magic permanently if it's the last thing I do."
Holly sniffed and chuckled, "Ever the arrogant little boy, huh?"
"It's how I've managed to survive." Artemis said. The two smiled at each other.
Butler knocked on the door to Artemis' room, "Sir, we have…company."
"Company?" Artemis repeated, "send them away, Butler. I don't have time for company."
"I don't think you understand," Butler said, "this isn't normal company, if you know what I'm saying."
"Crap," Artemis said as he stood up from the bed.
"What?" Holly asked.
"Since we've come into contact with you, Butler and I are carriers of the disease. So if any Fairies come near us they'll lose their magic." Artemis opened the door and looked down at his visitor. "Mulch?"
"Mulch?" Holly asked as she jumped off the bed, "what are you doing here?"
"Well, before Haven went into lockdown the centaur sent me a little message asking me to stop by."
"You idiot, Mulch, what were you thinking? Now that you're here you have the disease. It's going to drain you of your…"
"Bingo," Mulch said, "no magic to lose. Seeing as you won't be getting any help from your crafty equine-friend I'm your handyman."
"But, why?" Holly asked, "What do you care about me losing my magic?"
"What?" Mulch asked with a huge smile, "Isn't it my nature to help friends who are in trouble?"
"No," the three said flatly.
"How many years, Mulch?" Holly asked, wondering how many years he would get taken off his sentences for helping them.
"Well, considering the danger this little disease of your could have on the People down under, the nice bosses decided to give me a full pardon for all my crimes, excluding that incident in France."
"What incident in France?" Artemis asked.
"Well, let's just say there won't be any tourists in the Eiffel Tower for some time after I gave stinky cheese a new meaning." Artemis mentally hit himself for asking such a question when, after having worked with this dwarf on several occasions, he should have known to expect something like this to have been the reason. "But, anyway, long story short, they don't want this disease hitting Haven, so they want you to research a cure on the surface while they work on one down below."
"Great," Artemis said, "and how are you going to help?"
"Simple. I can get you in and out of any research facility, and I apparently make a pretty good lackey when that whole issues with authority think don't hinder me." The dwarf laughed at his little joke, "Oh, and this," Mulch pulled a folded piece of paper from his beard and handed it to Artemis, "the centaur forgot to mention a few things."
"Artemis," the boy read aloud, "two things I need you to remember.
1) Minimize contact between you and other animals, especially humans. While the disease dies quickly outside of the host, close contact (about 5 feet) gives it more than enough time to spread and create new carriers. Make sure that if you travel, use Mulch to get around groups of people. Also, make sure that everyone you do come in contact with is detained in a secluded place.
2) Based on my research of previous incidents we have one week to administer a cure before Holly loses her magic. While I cannot update you on my progress due to the lockdown, if I find a cure I will get it to you as soon as possible to be administered to anyone who comes into contact with you.
3) Remember, this disease is unlike anything you have ever seen as it is spread through brainwaves. It doesn't spread through the air. That being said, don't think that you can go out in public by wearing some sort of biohazard suit. Anything that has a brain will become a carrier if you get too close.
Good luck, Artemis. We're counting on you.
Signed—Foaly
"Hmm," Artemis said as he folded the note. He walked over to his desk and pulled out a digital clock. He set it to countdown from 168 hours—one week. "Mulch, I need to you dig me a path to the Fowl section of the airport."
"Where are we going?" Butler asked.
"The beech."
"The beech?" Holly asked, "Artemis, I know your pale skin has caused you some issues on your image, but this is no time to be working on a tan."
"Holly. You heard him. All we have is a week. Now, I have very little time to discover a cure for a disease that I know nothing about that spreads in a way that should not be possible based on everything that I have learned from Medical Textbooks. So I have to work with what little information I've got."
"Information? What have you found out that tells you we need to go to the beech?" Holly asked.
"He said anything with a brain is a potential carrier. So, the first thing we should look at is something that has no brain. Now, what's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of brainless?"
"Zombies?" Holly answered sarcastically.
"Wrong," Artemis said, "it's jellyfish."
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for reading.
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