Why, hello again! Fancy meeting you here. So, these past few chapters have been pretty short. It seems that, when the chapters are limited to 3-5 pages or thereabouts, I can update more frequently. It boils down to: would you prefer longer chapters, with longer to wait in between, or shorter chapters that are much more frequent? Review if you enjoy, because it keeps me writing and keeps the voices away. Otherwise, I start killing people. So, if you value continued quality literature (and functioning lungs) I would advise reviewing! 3
~Yours in Madness, Lendruel.
Holly and Artemis were in the garage. Butler was off somewhere else, presumably cleaning his guns, beating the stuffing out of a training dummy, or reading a romance novel. He had… varied interests. Artemis left him a note not to worry, and that he was simply taking Holly out for a day.
Artemis had so far refused to enlighten Holly of his plans for the day. All he would say was that he planned to make sure this vacation was all about her. Now, however, Holly was worried about something else- Artemis was climbing into the driver's seat of a sleek, black, extremely expensive looking car.
"Arty, is it safe for you to be driving?" Holly paled as she stood by her open door, unwilling to enter the car.
"Of course it is. I have my license, do I not? Besides, it's not like you could drive above ground, especially while shielded."
"Well, yes, but- well, sometimes you can be a little… clumsy? I'm not keen on dying today."
Artemis only smiled, infinitesimally, as Holly climbed reluctantly into the passenger seat.
"Clearly, Holly, you haven't seen me drive." With that, he commanded the garage door to open with a small remote, and they were out onto the drive.
They moved at a reasonable speed at first, as they left the garage. This lasted just long enough to lure the fairy into a false sense of security, and then the sped down the path like a bullet from a gun. Holly was pressed back into her seat, gritting her teeth in a grimace. She had always viewed human cars as little more than large metal death traps. Artemis' pose was mirroring hers, except his teeth were bared in a very slightly manic grin. He spun the wheel and they fishtailed onto the road. In her terror, Holly only barely remembered to shield out of sight before they reached a major road. As they sped past signs and trees at about twice the speed limit, Holly loudly lamented her imminent death at the hands of a crazed mud man. Artemis' only response was to laugh, and drive faster. At least that was something, though- Artemis Fowl was genuinely laughing. Somehow, it helped put Holly's fears to rest as they rounded another corner, barely slowing as the tires screeched.
Artemis slowed down to the legal speed limit as they entered inhabited area, gliding past office buildings. Finally, they slowed to a stop in a parking lot, which was secluded enough that no one would notice Holly's door seemingly opening and closing by itself.
"This way for our first stop, Ms. Short." Artemis strode down the sidewalk, hearing Holly's footsteps keeping pace with his. He slowed slightly to accommodate her shorter stature. They stopped outside a large hospital, covered in huge windows. The sunlight made the panes opaque, blinding to look at. Artemis entered through the double doors, which were helpfully already propped open.
As they walked through an empty wing of the hospital, Holly once again tried to coax information out of Artemis.
"Why are we in a hospital, Artemis? Not exactly a common place to choose for a casual outing, is it? What are we doing here?"
"We're paying a visit to someone." And that was all she could get out of him until they reached a glass wall, separating a hospital room from the hallway. The curtains were drawn open, showing an emaciated teenage boy lying on a bed. A card and a vase of roses stood on a table by the bed. He was hooked up to a series of monitors and machines that Holly didn't recognize, as well as a heart monitor and IV drip. He was asleep at the moment, and Artemis stood at the window. He faced the child with his hands clasped tightly behind his back. Holly stood at his side, and for a few moments they simply watched the sick child. Finally, Holly broke the silence.
"Do you know him?" Holly could see no other reason to visit a patient, especially for someone usually so stoic.
"No. not exactly."
"Then why are we here? Who is he?"
"He's sick. Very sick. He's been in a coma for years. He was supposed to die within the year." Artemis did not look away from the boy as he spoke. Holly gaze up at him, still confused. Before she spoke again, Artemis continued.
"That estimate has changed now. He's expected to make a full recovery. Indirectly, you saved his life." Holly was more confused than before, now.
"How could I have saved him? I've never even met him, and I don't know anything about human medicine!" Artemis smiled faintly.
"When I was younger, before I met you, I created several patents in the fields of technology, science, and medicine. As well as many others, of course." Holly rolled her eyes. He could never resist bragging, could he?
"Many of the technological devices, lifesaving technology, I had planned to keep off the market, for personal gain. I meant to sell them to the highest bidder at the right time. Gold is power, is it not?" Artemis spoke bitterly, saying the words with disgust. He sneered at his reflection in the glass.
"It was only after I met you that I changed. Only after you told me to encourage that spark of decency. You took that small, weak little spark, and you made a flame. You lit a candle in the dark, when you changed me. I decided to share what I had created, in the hope that I could right a little of the wrong I had done. Now countless lives have been saved in hospitals worldwide, thanks to you." Holly looked at Artemis with and shook her head.
"I don't know about that, Arty. you've always been good, even as deep down as twelve year old Artemis buried it. All I did was give him a little push- he would have gotten there by himself, in time."
Artemis gazed longer at the child behind the glass. One hand rested low on the window, and he said, "If it wasn't for you, it would have been too late for him." With that, he turned and walked back to the doors of the hospital. As Holly followed, she wondered if he had been talking about the sick boy, or about himself.
In the hospital, a small, sick boy woke up. He reached out a hand, picking up the card on his bedside table. It was old and weathered, but his family had made sure it was not thrown away. He remembered it had been given to him on the day of his admission to the hospital, by his classmates. As a nurse rushed to get a doctor, announcing his awakening, the child read the message for the first time. It was written in a spidery, elegant script, surrounded by the signatures of his fellow students. He remembered only one student who wrote like that. In all honesty, he was surprised he had written anything on the card at all.
It read, simply, Get well soon, from all of us at St. Bartleby's.
