Author's Note: Yikes! Been a week since I updated. Really really sorry, but I've been studying for my exams, which will end on Wednesday. So that means the next chapter will be out on Thursday! :) Meanwhile, keep on reviewing! I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Disclaimer: Eoin Colfer owns the mentioned Artemis Fowl characters.
Chapter Ten: Holly Loses Control Again
(Holly's point of view)
It was safe to say that Holly had been taken by surprise. Her first reactions were to throw him overboard, or slap him for his audacity. Maybe even hit him on the nose or jump on his face. Because how could he be so bold, kissing her like that?!
Yet, the beauty of the kiss was that she had kissed him back. She didn't know what had possessed her to do it; it was just an instinctive reaction. Now she knew, deep down in her heart, in her very own heart, there lay a whole new sphere of feelings she hadn't known she had.
Artemis had pulled away when the cable car came to a halt. The door jerked open, just like Holly jerked back to reality. Her heart was racing at an immensely fast speed, and she suddenly felt shy. She looked down at her own hands, not knowing what to say.
"The cable car's stopped. Shall we get out?" Artemis inquired.
Holly didn't trust herself to speak, and merely nodded. The two stood awkwardly in the open air, the night breeze blowing Holly and Artemis' hair about.
"Well..." Artemis began, and trailed off.
"Well..." Holly repeated dumbly.
Artemis grinned at her. "I can see I'm not the only one suffering from the effects of our shared kiss."
Holly felt a flush rise up to her cheeks. "Oh! You cocky piece of filth! Did I say I enjoyed it?!" she cried indignantly.
"You certainly reacted very pleasantly."
Holly turned away from him, suddenly embarrassed. She felt Artemis' arms slide around her waist, and instantly felt a little tingle down her spine. He whispered in her ear tenderly.
"Don't be angry, Holly, okay?"
"I'm not angry!" she said loudly.
Artemis chuckled. "You have a tendency to really overreact."
Holly fumed, and felt Artemis' arms leave her. She turned around to face him, bewildered. She had liked his arms there, keeping her secure.
"Come along now, Holly, it's getting late," Artemis called out, walking casually away from her.
"Wait up, you jerk!" Holly yelled, running after him.
"You need me so much. I'm so touched," Artemis said sardonically.
Holly couldn't care less. She was feverish with joy, her heart hammering out a lively rhythm; so loud that she was afraid her heart might injure itself. Although Artemis hadn't directly said that he liked her, Holly was pretty sure of it by now. Holly looked at her feet while she walked, not daring to spoil such a tender moment. Artemis clearly wanted to remember it too, keeping quiet while they walked towards the hotel. Their footsteps echoed in the shy silence that hovered between them; but Artemis was the one who finally broke it. He took her by the shoulders and lifted her chin, and Holly trembled at this gesture of affection.
"Are you happy, Holly?" Artemis inquired, frowning. It was strange how he could be so sarcastic one minute, and then not know what to say next.
"Delirious," she whispered back, smiling.
Artemis broke into a bashful smile. "That's good," he murmured, and gently slipped his hand into hers, causing yet another flush to rise up in Holly's cheeks. Not many words that were kept hidden at the bottom of their hearts could be expressed between them, maybe because of pride or an uncertainty of how to react, but Holly understood. It was funny how she could lose her head, or even her strong personality, over a seemingly trivial matter like love. It hadn't seemed important before. Now it was.
I'm so glad to see you're happy, Holly... a tender whisper resounded in her mind.
Holly's back grew rigid, and she stopped in her tracks. Artemis, who was walking beside her, stopped and frowned.
"What's wrong, Holly -" he began, when Holly raised a hand to cut him off. She herself frowned, and she noticed that Artemis was beginning to worry.
"F-Father?" she tried tentatively, turning around to look for any sign.
"But Holly, it's so late at night, he couldn't possibly..." Artemis trailed off weakly when Holly let go of his hand and began to comb the surrounding area.
"Holly, Holly!" Artemis called out loudly behind her. "Your father's not in Tara, he's in China....!"
I know that now you're happy, Holly. So don't be selfish...make me happy too...
"Tell me...tell me where you are...!" Holly cried.
"Holly!" a worried Artemis clearly sounded anxious.
Kill...kill him, Holly....he's a threat to our plans!
"No!" she shouted, stumbling to the floor. The voice was making her dizzy, and the world around her dissolved rapidly into a kaleidoscope of colours. All she heard - all she could see - was her father. A blurry image of her unkempt father came into view. He was reaching out a hand towards her. She wanted so much to take it....to take it... her father was smiling, he couldn't mean any harm, could he?
"Holly!" a jarring voice cut through her shaky dream like a sharp knife, and Holly lost her father's image. The world spun back into its rightful position, and Holly turned her head to see Artemis running towards her, wanting to help her up, wanting to hold her in his arms and comfort her...
No!! the voice shrieked in her head. Holly was overwhelmed by giddiness again, and all that flashed before her eyes were swirls of colour painted by her upside-down world.
Don't fight me, Holly! the voice said angrily. We must be strong....we will be strong...together!
"You've....you've already destroyed Haven....what more do you want...?" she whimpered softly.
It's not enough! the voice resounded greedily in her head. This world must be destroyed!! It has been too cruel to my existence....this world was the world that destroyed a perfect life like mine!
"Stop...stop it, Father..." Holly moaned.
Holly could hear a vague, sketchy voice in the distance, but she was too far-off to comprehend what it was saying. Couldn't someone save her from this...?
Holly...accept me, Holly....you are a good girl...
"I'm a....I'm a good girl..." Holly repeated, feeling her willpower crumble.
That's right, Holly. Remember what a good girl you used to be? Mother and I were so proud of you...
"Proud of...proud of me..." Holly said again and smiled, a hint of insanity creeping into her voice.
Yes....good girl, Holly...come with me....
The voice was just so warm, so friendly, so affectionate...
Holly succumbed.
~*~
(Artemis' point of view)
"Commander Root!" he yelled as he banged furiously on the door. "Commander Root, damn it, open the door!" You could just imagine just how much worry Artemis was in. He never said words like 'damn it'.
"I say!" Commander Root tittered as he yanked open the door without warning, almost causing Artemis to fall. "If a raving lunatic knocked on your door so furiously it sounds as if his knuckles were bashing against it, would you think twice before opening the door?! OBVIOUSLY!" he boomed.
"Stop ranting and listen, okay?!" Artemis yelled back, his hands ruffling his hair restlessly and fretfully.
"Okay, WHAT?!" Commander Root yelled. "You've come here to tell me you killed Holly?!"
"NO!" Artemis lost all patience.
"Well then, that must mean....you killed Trouble!"
"NO!" Artemis yelled. "Where's the virtual map Foaly gave you? Have you been checking it?" Artemis' voice was raised. He was severely agitated.
"Gee, try calming down, Artemis!" Commander Root exclaimed. "We only just got here a day and..."
"SO YOU HAVEN'T BEEN CHECKING IT?" Artemis was beside himself.
"Well, look here, it's not entirely my fault, I just thought Holly's old man couldn't move that fast and -" Root tried to defend himself.
"Shut up and tell me where it is," Artemis had narrowed his eyes and had suddenly gone back to his icy composure. His frosty tone of voice carried an underlying, dangerous threat. His blue eyes sent chills down Root's spine. Artemis clearly unnerved him.
"Er....well...it's in my room..."
"Go and get it," Artemis said coolly, finally having calmed down. Or maybe he realised he had been making a fool of himself by screaming and shouting, allowing his emotions to get the better of him. "Go and get it," he repeated, "before I kill you with my bare hands."
"That's physically impossible, I'm stronger than you are..."
Artemis calmly flipped open his handphone. "Hmm....maybe I should call Butler..."
"All right, all right!" Root said, and went back into the room to get the virtual map Foaly had given him.
Artemis tapped his foot impatiently. Root came out of the shadowed depths of his room and emerged before Artemis, the map in hand.
Artemis snatched it from Root's hand and peered curiously at it. The red dot, which represented Holly's father, was still blinking away on the continent labelled "China".
"There, you see?" Root said pompously. "He's still there!"
Artemis narrowed his eyes and scrutinized the map some more, trying to find a fault with it. "Something's not right," he revealed.
"What?! Don't let Foaly hear you say that, it's his state-of-the-art technology..."
"No, I'm sure he's here. I'm sure he's in Tara!" Artemis muttered to himself, pressing around on the buttons that surrounded the glass screen of the map.
"Fowl, what is up with you?!" Root retorted.
"It looks like a stand-still picture to me...." Artemis continued to mutter.
"You're weird."
"Someone's been feeding the same image to us. It's a ploy..."
"MUD BOY! WHAT IS GOING ON OR CAN'T YOU HEAR ME?!" Root shouted.
"HOLLY'S LOSING CONTROL AGAIN!" Artemis shouted, finally revealing the truth.
"WHAT?"
"I SAID HOLLY'S LOSING CONTROL AGAIN! Stop testing my patience!" Artemis seethed. He hated it when people made him repeat himself again. It made them look stupid. Especially since he was so worried and edgy already, it made his patience run all the more thin.
"SAY WHAT?" Root repeated.
"I give up!" Artemis growled, stashing the virtual map in his pocket.
"DOES THAT MEAN HER FATHER'S IN THE VICINITY?!" Root roared.
Artemis turned slowly around, his blue eyes icy again. "Obviously. Now if you can just move, we can go and save her," he said sarcastically.
"Don't use that tone of voice with me, young man!"
"Who do you think you are, my father?" Artemis said, amused.
"Grrrrrrrrrr!!!" Root growled, stalking after him and waking Butler and Trouble up.
"Come on, Trouble! We've got some fairy butt to save!" Root barked.
"Come on, Butler. We need to save Holly," Artemis said matter-of-factly.
"And how do you know her father's here, Fowl? Are you psychic?" Root spat. He watched as Artemis turned around and regarded him coolly.
"That image of China is fake, Commander. I don't know how someone managed to change the image of Tara to become China. That's what put us off guard. He's never been in China all along. He's been here," Artemis said quietly. "And I know he's here. He's taken over Holly again."
Artemis looked at his feet. I don't want her to regret what she's done, I don't want her to be hurt, I don't want to look in her hazel eyes and tell her something she doesn't want to hear.....I don't want her to hate herself, Artemis thought, but as usual, kept his feelings to himself.
"So you were with her, then?!" Root said angrily. "And you couldn't bloody well save her?!"
"Yes, I was with her. No, I couldn't save her," Artemis replied inaudibly, ashamed of himself. He felt like such a failure: defeated, hopeless, deterred.
Suddenly something - or someone, for that matter - flung himself against him. He winced in pain as blows rained upon his face; cold, fast blows that came so quickly his own bodyguard had no time to protect him. Artemis staggered backwards, clutching a bleeding nose. Another blow came in the direction of his mouth and he felt his lip tear, his blood oozing out slowly in crimson droplets, like every drop of his strong, intelligent personality - the one that couldn't save Holly. Then his eye got punched and he shut them instinctively, bracing himself for another round, for another injury... He wouldn't fight back. This was his punishment.
"That's enough!" came Root's authoritative voice, which cut through the air like a scalpel. That someone did not listen - he seemed to be beyond listening. He drew back his fist and it came in contact with Artemis' face with a sickening punch. Artemis did not cry out, and remained passive. He deserved this for betraying Holly to her fate; he deserved this for letting her go, the only woman he ever loved...
"I said, stop it!" Root barked. It sounded like something Holly would say, only she wasn't here now. The very thought twisted Artemis' heart in pain, sending him in a fresh wave of self-hatred and regret. He felt someone pulling him back from his attacker, it must be Butler, and that attacker being pulled away from him too, his legs still hopelessly flailing towards Artemis, wanting so much to kill him. Artemis opened his eyes and realised that an angry Trouble had assaulted him, and he could hear Butler spitting his words out behind him.
"Damn Trouble, hurting you like that when we all know it wasn't your fault Holly lost control -"
"No, Butler," Artemis cut him off. "It's my fault. I admit. I thought I was powerless to save her, but in reality, I could have done something....instead I ran back here like a coward, wanting to blame someone else for Holly's trouble. I wanted to blame Commander Root for not checking the map...but it's my fault. I was with her, I should have protected her, I'm so disgusted with myself..." Artemis shook his head dejectedly, drops of blood splattering on the floor, a reminder of his cowardice.
"You should be!" cried a very emotionally-charged Trouble. "I don't know why you took Holly out in the first place, but D'Arvit, if you take her out, you jolly well be responsible for her! Now Holly doesn't know what she's doing, because she's come under control again! If she gets hurt...if she gets hurt...I'll bash your face harder than I did just now! I'll bash it in so hard you can't even see straight!" he cried brokenly. He sounded close to tears. Normally, Artemis would have scoffed at such unmanly behaviour, but all sarcastic remarks failed him as thoughts of Holly floated back into his mind. It was easy to understand why Trouble was so uptight. Because like him, Trouble felt an affection for Holly as well, so much that his common sense flew out of the window.
"What are we waiting for, then?" Root snapped. "We're wasting valuable time. We've got to get Holly back before it's too late!"
And with that, the party of four whisked out of the doors and into the night beyond.
~*~
(Still Artemis' point of view)
Artemis searched frantically around for a hazel-eyed, auburn-haired beauty. Butler trailed closely behind him, while Root and Trouble looked for Holly in another direction. They had promised to meet up after a certain time, at the cable car station.
"Holly!" Artemis shouted, jostling his way through the night crowd. Even though it had been an hour after his date with Holly, the night crowd was still enormous. Even at eight o'clock, Tara at night still held an attraction for them.
Not for long.
He heard a resounding 'crash' as a building fell, crushing civilians who were unfortunate enough to be standing under it. Suddenly everyone began to panic, and Artemis was engulfed in a wave of people that trampled anxiously to their own homes.
"Oh dear," Artemis muttered. Holly had already begun destruction. But where exactly was she? Artemis' forehead creased into a frown as he rushed towards the fallen building, looking for a sign of Holly.
"Holly?" he called out tentatively, knowing his effort was futile. In the noisy panic that surrounded him, how could he expect for a response from Holly. Especially since she wasn't herself...
He saw a figure rise up into the sky, blending with the inky black sky of the night, and he soon lost sight of it. Then he saw it zoom across to the opposite building, the round moon quickly illuminating the figure's features before it disappeared again. It looked suspiciously like Holly, but Artemis couldn't be sure. She was too high up in the sky.
"I HATE THIS WORLD!" a voice boomed out from on the top of the building, sounding a lot like Holly. Now Artemis was sure. Artemis thought he saw a ghost of a smile that flashed across her features before she dropped a bomb that blew up the building, ravenously engulfing it in flames. Shards of glass sailed through the air, coupled with broken metal that threatened to tear a passer-by apart with its jagged edges. Artemis brought up a hand to ward off the hot flying pieces, crying out in pain when sharp metal exploded in his face and grazed his body. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Butler sprinting towards him, trying to shield him from the flying pieces. Butler slammed Artemis down to the ground, using his body as a protection. Artemis' face met concrete and his nose began to bleed again, having not fully recovered from Trouble's previous attack. Artemis struggled to look up, to keep Holly in sight, and saw her soar into the sky again, her body pale against the moonlight, her hair flying wildly in the night breeze.
"Are you all right, Artemis?" Butler grunted worriedly. Artemis tried to be strong. "Y-Yes, of course, what could h-hurt me?" Artemis said arrogantly, trying to hide the tinge of weakness in his voice, but Butler was not put off by his strong facade. He began to curse himself for not protecting Artemis soon enough.
Artemis realised that he had a deep, red gash across his face that stretched from his forehead to his left cheek. His arms were an array of deep scratches and gashes. Although he hadn't died, thanks to Butler's saving stint, he saw the blood seeping through his shirt.
"It's - it's not your fault, B-Butler," Artemis said weakly, hating to see Butler tear himself apart from letting him get injured. He tried to stand up, and felt his knees buckle beneath him. The world seemed to be a mass of colour; Artemis' head spun as the lack of blood in his body took its toll on him. "I'm - I'm so damn useless," he berated himself. "Can't even - can't even save myself. How to - how to save Holly then?"
"Forget Holly!" Butler barked, bringing Artemis to a safe spot and checking his wounds. "We're going back home, Artemis. This trip is too dangerous for you."
"N-No," Artemis insisted. "M-must save....Holly..."
"Don't be ridiculous!" Butler spat.
"B-Butler!" Artemis said, his voice getting stronger as his desire to save Holly overtook the sensible part of him. "Who's the master....m-me or you?"
"You, of course," Butler said grudgingly.
"A--and....I say...I say that we s-save Holly."
"Artemis..."
"D-Don't argue. So now...wh...where did Holly go?"
"Artemis.....!"
"Tell me where Holly went!" Artemis said fiercely, and promptly coughed for air. "Y-You...you must have seen her...s-so...tell me!"
"You're not okay, Artemis! Will you sort out your priorities for a minute?!" Butler said, exasperated.
"Holly is my bloody priority, damn it!" Artemis yelled to make himself clear, and tried to ignore the burning pain in his chest. He coughed before he went on.
"I-I'm sorry to be corny, Butler...but...but I'm telling you....I can't s-stand life...without her. So would you please...please tell me where she went...tell me where she went....b-before I s-sack you and die of intense agony...!" He coughed again.
Butler seemed reluctant to spill the beans. "She...she's gone to the cable car station."
"Bring me there...at once....Butler..."
"Artemis......"
"BUTLER!" Artemis coughed, giving Butler an icy stare that must rattled Butler's bones, because Butler picked Artemis up and carried him to the cable car station, mopping up his wounds on the way.
~*~
"Mud Boy! What happened to you!" Commander Root was already there, fixing Artemis with a worried gaze.
"Where's Holly?" were Artemis' first words.
"The people have stopped the cable car service, because she's threatening to throw off all the cable cars!"
"No....Holly..." Artemis squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again. "Let me go talk to her, Commander!"
"It's too dangerous and you're hurt, Fowl!"
"I don't care, okay?!"
"All right, all right..." Commander Root said apprehensively. "I'll put you into a cable car, and then start up the service again, but you better watch out because Holly will start throwing off cable cars. You sure you gonna be all right, Fowl? You look like hell."
"Butler's tried to cover up some wounds. So I will be okay, I guess." Artemis grimaced. "I deserve this. I caused Holly to be in this state."
"Well....Good luck then. Try to get onto the roof and calm her down. Here's a safety rope for you to latch onto something so you don't fall off. I will also do my best to keep you safe, using my magic, so don't worry. Crazy as the idea may be, it's the only way to get her down. Yet I could send Trouble if you like..."
"No," Artemis whispered determinedly. "I'll do it."
"But you're hurt..."
"Please...please don't start that again. I want to do this for Holly."
"All right, since you're so insanely stubborn about it ..." said Root uneasily, and transported him into a cable car.
The cable car whirred and Artemis sat inside gingerly, as he neared Holly. Holly clearly seemed agitated at the fact that the cable car service was being started up again.
"I said not to start it, didn't I?!" she yelled, and using a weapon, blasted a cable car apart. Then she used the weapon to cut away another cable car that suspended from the wire, and it crashed to the ground below.
Artemis closed his eyes, wondering how a girl like Holly could change so drastically. Just an hour before, they'd been sitting in the very same cable car, kissing, expressing their love for each other. Just the thought of that gave Artemis the determination he needed to spur on.
The cable car stopped, and Artemis jerked. He winced as the gash on his forehead began to bleed again. He had to be careful. He opened the cable car door, and tried his best to climb onto the roof of the cable car so that he would be on the same level with Holly. He attached the safety rope to a safe point in the cable car, before proceeding to climb. His arms were giving him a lot of pain, and he wished he had Butler with him here. But he would have to do this alone. At least Root was supporting him with his magic, keeping him safe. Artemis tried to rationalize things out to calm his nerves. This serves as your punishment, he thought. And he loved Holly. His wounds were the first step. Now this physical exercise was the ultimate test.
He gripped on tightly to the roof of the cable car as the cable car began to shake dangerously. He closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down, feeling dizzy at such a height.
"Open your eyes, Holly, and look at me."
"I - I can't...it's so high up.."
"No....it's not. It's not. Don't think about it. If you look into my eyes, and only into my eyes, you won't see the ground below you."
"R-really?" Holly had said shakily.
"Trust me, Holly," he had whispered.
The flashback gave him enough strength to pull himself up so that his stomach now lay on the roof of the cable car. He saw Holly hovering above him, and gulped. He sat on the roof shakily.
"H-hello, Holly, it's me," he tried to sound as calm as possible, but this height was scaring him half to death.
Holly's head turned around to stare at him. "I'm....I'm not Holly," she said very matter-of-factly.
"Oh, yes you are. I can name you a thousand reasons why you're the lovely Captain Holly Short. Would you like me to tell you why?" Artemis' world dissolved around him as he kept Holly in his view, seeing only Holly, hearing only Holly. He loved his brain for that. He loved himself for being able to concentrate on one thing, making his confidence build up as he forgot how high up he was.
"Why should I care?" Holly scoffed. "I'm not Holly."
"Yes, you are. You are a very beautiful girl. The Holly Short I know was, and still is, very beautiful. I remember how I thought she was pretty in a dangerous sort of way. I suppose that's how I liked her really." He felt uncomfortable sharing his feelings like this, but he had to go on, for Holly. "She gave me a coin for a souvenir four years ago, and I still keep it. Why? Because I liked her. And I proved it to her, today, just an hour ago."
He could see something click in Holly's head. "Happy...are you happy....?" she murmured to herself, and then started clutching her head in agony. "No......no......stop it!"
"It's true, isn't it, Holly? You kissed me, and I asked you if you were happy about it."
"WHO. ARE. YOU." she demanded in a robotic voice, pointing a finger at him, her eyes void of emotion, staring blankly into his eyes. It hurt him to see how empty this girl was, when she used to be full of strength, life, and vitality.
"Why, I'm Artemis Fowl."
"Die, Artemis, die!" she shrieked in glee, and cackled dangerously. "I am not Holly Short...."
"You are Holly."
"I am not!" she grew angry now, and flew down to him. She began to throttle him, and Artemis choked for breath as her hands snaked around her neck and she began to strangle the life out of him. "You lie....lying is bad...." she said sadistically, her eyes glinting with insanity. Artemis felt as if his head was going to split open.
"Don't - don't do this, Holly," he choked, the cable car swaying dangerously.
"I AM NOT HOLLY I AM NOT HOLLY I AM NOT HOLLY!" she screamed repeatedly, strangling him more. "You must die. You must die."
"No.....! Holly....!!" he sputtered.
"DIE!"
".....I love you, Holly...!" Artemis said frantically, trying to strike a chord in Holly's heart, realising he had never said it.
"Die!!!"
"....I love you so much..." If he was going to die, at least he could take comfort in the fact that he had said it to her face at least once.
Suddenly something seemed to strike in her, and Artemis gasped for air as she let go of him. She began clutching her head again, as if he had said something to hurt her.
She was fighting her father, that much Artemis knew. What had triggered the reaction, Artemis wasn't sure. Maybe the open confession of his feelings. Whatever it was, Holly let out a terrifying scream that pierced the night, as if her heart was tearing up inside.
"Holly...?" Artemis tried tentatively, touching her on the arm.
"No! Let go of me!" Holly screamed, backing away from him as if she had been scorched. Tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm not Holly Short..." she said weakly, refusing to believe it.
"Oh, Holly..."
"NO!" Holly Short screamed, and with that, stood up on the cable car and jumped off, spreading her hands outright, as if she could fly. She plunged downwards, the breeze rippling her hair, and Artemis was so shocked he couldn't move. Then his brain kicked into action and he jumped after her, secure in the fact that the safety rope would hold him. Holly seemed to be out of his reach, falling faster than he was, and he made a desperate grab for her, but she seemed to be too fast for him. Holly was going to hit the ground if he didn't catch her, and if she did, Artemis would never forgive himself.
"Holly!!!" he yelled, as if shouting could somehow bring her back to him. He pushed forward and made a grab for her arms. Her arms slid out of his hands and he cursed, reaching out once more. The ground was coming up at an amazingly fast pace. Artemis' eyes flashed with furious determination as he threw out his arms to grab her by the waist. Just at that moment, the safety rope reached its limit and Artemis gasped as he felt the restraint of the safety rope pulling him away, further from Holly. His disbelieving eyes registered the fact that Holly's shoes had slipped out of his reach and fallen to the ground below!
The safety rope began to swing violently to the left, potential energy still bottled up in it. Artemis' heart stopped. He almost didn't dare to look, as if afraid he had missed the chance to save Holly. Yet, Artemis could almost cry with relief as he saw his hands making contact with Holly's waist, and her hair swinging back and forth in his face. Somehow, he hadn't missed, he had merely been scaring himself so much that he didn't realise it!
Holly screamed. "D'Arvit! I'm so high up!"
Artemis wanted to kiss her. "Holly!"
"What the hell am I doing so high up?!" she yelled. "And where are my shoes?"
"You're back!" Artemis cried excitedly, unable to suppress his feelings any longer. The safety rope slowly swung from left to right, as if they were on a swing, as if they were hanging onto a pendulum. The wind whipped through their hair, and Artemis thought that Holly looked so beautiful with her body bathed in moonlight and her hair flying out behind her.
"What do you mean, I'm back?" Holly said incredulously, turning her face to look at Artemis, her hazel eyes questioning. "And what are you doing here?" she asked curiously, to which Artemis made no reply. Her eyes widened at the sight of the deep gash on his forehead, and she lifted a finger to run it lightly over the bleeding gash, and Artemis felt a tingle run down his spine, even though his gash was screaming in pain. His blood stained her finger when she pulled it away, and she stared at it, aghast.
"What happened to you?" she said softly, her eyes downcast, as if she knew the answer.
"It's a long story," Artemis said simply, feeling the wind blow against his back as the safety rope continued to swing back and forth, using up its potential energy.
"Looks cool though," Holly said, chuckling, trying to lighten the mood, and Artemis laughed. His arms tightened around her, reassuring her that he wouldn't let her fall again.
"So aren't you going to tell me what happened?" Holly asked mischievously. Artemis smiled gently at her, and brought his face to hers. "Maybe later," he said softly, as he leaned in to kiss her.