A/N Here's chapter 10 of Unusual Circumstances. Yes, I am aware that you are probably incredibly ticked off with me at the moment. I'm not going to give you any excuses (honestly, there aren't any besides that this one just didn't come easily). Quite a few interesting things have happened since I last posted but there's too much to put here and most you probably don't care anyway. The most important thing going on is that tomorrow I will be taking that Math test that they have everywhere that pretty much determines whether or not you're going to pass or fail whatever grade you're in. Then the day after that will be Reading. So please wish me luck even if you are really annoyed with me. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl.

ArtemisPOV

Artemis listened silently as Holly told her story. It all sounded fantastic, to put it mildly, but after all these years he knew that almost nothing was impossible where the People were concerned. That being said, he was the closest thing to shocked as he had been when his homework had been returned with a red 99% written at the top.

Silence fell between the two as Holly's story came to an end, the only sound was the whirring of the laptop monitors. Artemis closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, deep in thought.

It certainly explained a lot: her completely normal persona; her apparent lack of information. It didn't explain the chip in her arm, but with more information, he was certain he would find the answer. Then again, maybe not. According to Holly, finding this girl had not been an exact science. There had been plenty of guess work and room for failure involved; it was possible that they had completely botched the process and wasted their time on someone who had nothing to offer them.

He opened his eyes.

"So how do we verify that she is, in fact, the right girl?" he inquired.

"There'll be a full moon next week. There's a test we can perform then to make sure."

"Ah, the time of the ritual." He paused for a moment, then straightened up. "Very well. We'll keep her until then, unless you had something else in mind. I assume the test will take place here?"

Holly nodded. "Yes. We were actually hoping that we could set up base here. Makes it easier to keep the entire operation contained."

"Hmm, yes." He thought for a moment. "You can set up on the north wing of the manor, where you originally stayed. We can section off the hallways, and there should be no reason for her to be over there."

"Sounds good. I'll run it through Foaly, and we can set up immediately." She hopped off the desk and started for the door.

Artemis was quietly relieved that she made no comment on his choice of location. He wasn't trying to reopen old wounds; it was simply the most logical place for them to set up.

"Oh, before you go, I-" He was abruptly cut off by a low grumbling noise.

Holly stopped and slowly turned around to stare at him incredulously. "Artemis, was that your stomach?"

He blinked. "I suppose it was."

RebeccaPOV

Upon further inspection of her room, Rebecca found that the bathroom was fully stocked with shampoo, conditioner, and any other hygiene products she may need. She didn't recognize any of the names but they looked expensive. She supposed it wasn't really much of a surprise. You could tell just by looking at the drive way that these people were obviously loaded.

Another thing she found that was both convenient and disturbing was that the drawers were filled with enough clothes to last maybe a couple weeks. The convenient part: she didn't need to worry about staying in the same clothes the entire time she was there. The disturbing part was that they were all exactly her size- even the underwear. She didn't want to know how Artemis had figured that out.

Rebecca decided that a shower was very much in order. She hadn't taken one since the night before last, and she was starting to smell and feel a bit ripe.

Fifteen minutes later, she stepped out of the shower feeling refreshed and immensely more cheerful. She was still far away from home and the prisoner of a psychotic adolescent, but at least she was clean.

She dried off and put on a plain white T-shirt and jeans and then she went to the window. She knew that it was idiotic to think they would have left such an obvious escape route open, but she wanted to cover every possibility, no matter how slim.

She was right, of course, and could find no way to open the window.

The room was on the second floor and it seemed to be overlooking a garden. It was rather bare given that it was the middle of winter, but she was sure it would be magnificent in the summer. There was a small path snaking through it and a pond a ways away to the right. About a hundred meters away was a wall that seemed to completely enclose the manor and went several floors higher than her room, so there was no way she could signal for help even if there was someone to see it. She didn't know for sure where they were, but she doubted it was anywhere near civilization.

She rested her head against the glass, thinking hard. The only way she could use this as an escape route was if she broke it. It was probably safe to assume that the window was made of safety glass, meaning she would need a lot more force to break it than she had. Even if she could find a way to break it, they would probably notice and be on her too quickly for her to actually take advantage of it.

She would also need a rope or something similar to get to the bottom floor. She might be able to use the sheets on the bed and the towels in the bathroom, but she doubted it would go unnoticed if she just started stripping her bed. Assuming she did make it to the ground floor, she'd have to get past the gate, which she supposed she could climb if she was given the time and it wasn't electrically charged. Finally, there'd probably be a several mile trek to try and find help.

Then there was Butler. If she started to make a rope out of the sheets he'd stop her. If she broke the window he'd come and restrain her. If she made it to the bottom floor he'd catch her. If she tried to vault the gate and run away he'd chase her down.

Really, the only way for any escape plan to possibly work would be if he were out of commission, and she could come up with no plausible way for that to happen. What was she supposed to do, shoot him? Even if she did somehow miraculously get ahold of a gun, she didn't think she could do it. She felt no sympathy for him or his master, but for her to actually point a gun at another human being with the intent to shoot, she would have to be truly desperate. Unfortunately, it seemed like they were getting dangerously close to that point. They hadn't killed her yet because they needed her for something. What that was, she had no idea, but it was all that was keeping her alive for the moment.

What would they do when they finally got what they wanted? Would they make it quick and just shoot her, or would they be more sadistic? Sickening thoughts started to flood her mine of all the things they could do to her. She suddenly regretted all those books and movies she'd ever read and seen that were now helping to supply her imagination. The ideas became gradually more horrific and she started to feel panicked.

Stop it, Rebecca, she ordered herself. If you lose it now you won't get it back anytime soon, and you to be ready for anything these people might throw at you.

She was startled out of her musings by a firm knock on the door.

"C-come in," she called after a moment's hesitation.

The door opened, and, who else, Butler walked in, stopping just in front of the door. She tensed, not sure what to expect but knowing it couldn't be anything good.

"Master Artemis requests you join him for lunch."

Right at that moment her stomach decided to emit a very audible growl, making her remember that she hadn't eaten a thing since the day before at lunch. Salisbury steak, canned spinach and soggy tater tots all sounded much more appealing now that she hadn't eaten in almost 24 hours.

In any other situation she probably would have burst out laughing at the noise, the person she was with at least cracking a smile, but the man in front of her was completely stoic and her nerves were stretched too thin to do something as light-hearted as laugh. She hesitated another moment.

"Requests?" she finally echoed.

"It would probably be in your best interest to attend," the manservant replied flatly.

"I suppose I'll go then," she said quietly and followed him out of the room.

A/N And I imagine that extremely unpleased emotion is back again. I completely skipped the resolution of the cliff hanger from last chapter and left you yet another. Just keep in mind that if you kill me you will never figure out what happens. The next chapter will hopefully come out faster that this last one. Crap, now I actually need to figure out just what the heck they're going to talk about... Love you guys, and don't forget to review. :)

Edit 7/14/12- Changed a few little things, not much