Heyo! Thanx for all the reviews. You made great suggestions. Right now, my computer is acting retarded, esp. the Internet, so I can't get the reviewers names down to thank you all. But I PROMISE to try again next update. I know it has been a while. I have had a huge writer's-brain fart- no inspiration- type thing. This story hasn't even gotten checked over. I have been really busy, and spending what little free time I have had trying to write. Sorry, all!
OK, here it goes. Thanx!
Disclaimer: As usual, Eoin Colfer owns all Fowl paraphernalia. No teen, tween, whatever, owns anything but their own creations, including me. And I have very little original creations. Well, on with the show! (huge cliché, I know, I know.)
Shiver: Chapter 2--- Amazing
Holly woke up early, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. The room was cold, but that was not abnormal; she turned the heater down to save energy and money. She stepped out of bed and began to get ready. Another usual, monotonous day was ahead.
"Great," Holly rasped, glancing at the moonometer. It was already too late to take a shower, and she would have to eat on the way. Holly pulled on her moss-green Recon suit and grabbed her helmet, and looked into her bedroom mirror. Dark bags lined her eyes, and her short, red hair was a mess. Stunning, thought Holly sarcastically. Absolutely gorgeous. She started combing her hair when her watch beeped.
"D'arvit!" said Holly repetitively, sprinting out of the bathroom, out the bedroom, and grabbing a VitaBar on the way out the door. She hadn't even bothered to turn out the lights. That would add to her electricity bill, no doubt.
Yes, working for the L.E.P. sure had its perks. Long hours, mountains of paperwork, and very little action nowadays. And the traffic, and the tourists, added Holly mentally, as a hovercab nearly ran her over. The cabby honked and gave her a very creative, rude catcall. She decided to put on her helmet, seeing a gang of smelly dwarves congregating on the corner. A flock of Atlantian tourists passed by, gazing openmouthed at the Main Plaza's greatness. Carrying digital cameras, for Frond's sake. Those things were outdated by at least thirty years. Yes, walking in the city was difficult enough, but being in the L.E.P was worse. The usual bombardment of questions and comments assailed her, as if she had some magnetic force that attracted the remarks. She had to shut her visor in order to tune out the sound and avoid a major migraine. Ah, well, it could be worse, thought Holly, trying to gain a positive attitude in order to make it though the day.
Famous last words, she thought a split second later, as she did a rather amazing gymnastic feat as a swear toad ran in front of her. The ugly creature turned to her and called her names she had never even heard of. Well, it couldn't be any worse, but she would never take up a new job. Recon was her life, even if she had to handle the tourists, gnomes, and swear toads.
She battled her way through traffic and pushed open the steel doors to the L.E.P headquarters. Flashing her identity badge at the security guards, Holly walked to her cubicle. No doubt a pile of paperwork was waiting to greet her. Smiling at the memory of how many times she had sprinted the cubicle in order to avoid Roots booming voice calling her into his office for criticizing, Holly wished for a moment he would hear his yell. That cramped space of her 'office' nearly gave her nightmares. The Commander's scream would definitely be welcome today or even a new dangerous mission. Facing the meanest troll was less threatening then the forms she would be looking at all day long. What in Frond's name did she do to deserve this?
Just as one foot glumly stepped into her office, a miracle happened…
"SHORT! GET IN HERE!" Heart skipping a beat with joy, she turned abruptly and nearly sprinted to the office. She composed herself before opening the door.
"Yessir?" said Holly nonchalantly. She wanted to bounce on her toes, but contained herself, for she had to act professional if she wanted the case. "What's the case?" Root's rose face was turning purple gradually, resembling an overripe cherry with angry, bulging eyeballs.
"What the Frond do you mean, what's the case," he bellowed, eyes bulging even more rapidly.
"I mean, what is the new case you obviously called me in here for?"
"WHO SAID THERE WAS A CASE? THERE IS NO CASE AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED!" he roared. Holly merely blinked patiently. She looked Root in the eye, devoid of emotion, even though her heart was pounding with excitement. Root glared at her for several moments, indignant anger flashing in his eyes. A blue vein pulsed in his temple, as if threatening to burst out of his skull and throttle Holly. Finally, Root sighed, some of the tint fading from his cheeks.
"All right, there may be a case," he added, "but no promises." He looked dejected. Almost. The Commander glanced at her shrewdly. "How did you know anyway?"
"Begging your pardon, sir, but why else have you called me down? We haven't really talked since…" Holly trailed off, trying to hide a wince. She failed miserably. Her stomach lurched unpleasantly. Since the Fowl mindwipe. Her mind finished, although she hated thinking about it. But I won't show it, be professional, girl. Making her face stony, although her soul was howling like a rabid troll, she looked at Root. He raised and eyebrow inquisitively, but quickly lowered it, coughing and clearing his throat.
"Well," he said aloud, "Foaly says he was checking his various satellite monitors this morning. He insists that when he checked some of our satellites that he noticed something pretty damn unusual. Uncanny. Several LEP satellites were picking up strange frequencies… FOALY!" Root yelled into his telephone. Holly jumped at the sudden cry.
"Yes, Julius?" replied Foaly over the loudspeaker, obviously hearing Root.
"Bring in the photo-what-cha-ma-call-it. And don't call me Julius!" Holly could clearly hear Foaly's sarcastic, humorous whinny.
"What ever your heart desires, Julius," he answered, faking an air of gentleness. Root swore viciously into the one-way phone that had a link to Foaly's office. In a few long moments, Holly heard the familiar clunk of hooves on the tiled floor. The door opened automatically with a pneumatic hiss, and a familiar centaur sauntered into the room, horse-like teeth pulled into a cynical grin. He tossed a few papers onto the Commander's desk, with an air of superiority.
"These photofrequency images show…" began Foaly, but Root held up a hand.
"Hold it, now, the what?" Foaly sighed as one would a stupid child.
"Photofrequency images. Honestly, Julius, how did you pass high school without knowing what Photofrequency images are?" Root, violet with suppressed rage, glared at the centaur. His carotid artery throbbed warningly, ready to burst. Holly interrupted before Julius deafened her with his shriek.
"Foaly, begging your pardon, but I don't exactly know what a photo…whatever… thing is. You, being the superintelligent fairy you are, should explain what exactly is the photo-thing and what it does." She looked pointedly at her commander, who calmed down slightly, but only slightly. Foaly looked at both the pixies, rolled his eyes, and decided it was best to tell what this (relatively new) piece of technology did.
"Ok, half-wits of a fairy pair. A photofrequency image, in tech-for-morons language, basically translates soundwaves that are picked up by an audio recorder, into photographs. In other words, it changes sound into a picture. Usually the soundwaves are from sonar resonating from some form of aircraft." He paused for a moment. Commander Root interrupted.
"So, basically, this machine picked up sonar frequencies coming from an unidentified aircraft. What's so special about these images?"
"See for yourself," he said, pushing the images forward. Holly and Root bent over the images. Almost immediately, they gasped in awe.
"B-but this…" Root stammered, "This is unreal. I've never seen anything like it. What exactly are we looking at?"
"It looks as if…" said Holly, pausing, unsure of what to say. The image was what looked like an aurora borealis, but it appeared…solid. Like light, but in the shape of some sort of aircraft.
"A UFO. Alien craft. It appears to be made of light, but emits sonar. Made of energy, but has solid form." The pixies looked at Foaly. He had a peculiar expression on his face. He seemed dreamy, even more in awe than them.
"This is technology the People have never seen. Maybe it isn't even considered technology. In all my years in this world, I have never seen anything like this before." The fairies turned back to the wondrous, extraordinary image. Even though the picture was immobile, the colors of the aircraft seemed to swirl and change. Pink to green, crimson to indigo. Silver and gold. But it was compact, not a random splatter as the Northern Lights were. But as the fairies stood, transfixed, something was happening to Foaly. His eyes widened in terror. A muscle in his jaw began to spasm. His hands shook. Holly, sensing something, looked up.
"Foaly?" she said worriedly. Her heart skipped a beat; somehow, her body figured out what was wrong just before her mind did. She had noticed for the past several weeks that her centaur friend had been hiding something. She now realized what was wrong. He was ill. And now, his body shook. Oh, gods, he's having a seizure! She thought. And, as if in response to her thought, Foaly's four legs buckled, and he collapsed, shuddering, onto the floor.
"COMMANDER!" she screamed, rushing to Foaly. She knelt, and saw that Foaly's jaw had locked. She desperately tried to pry open his mouth, for he might swallow his tongue. But his maw was shut like a cruel, Mud Man's steel trap. Root had become aware of what was going on, and yelled.
"Foaly! FOALY!" Root's eyes bulged in his head. Holly felt horrified tears run down her cheeks. She took her eyes off of Foaly and cried to Julius.
"Call the hospital!" Root stood stupidly, gaping at the centaur's spasming figure. A dull, uncomprehending look was in his eyes. "COMMANDER!" Holly sobbed desperately, screaming to make Root move. Finally, after several vital seconds, he ran to the phone, punching in numbers.
"Hello, hospital! Come down to LEP station at once! Foaly the centaur is having a seizure. Please hurry!" He hung up. Holly turned back to Foaly. His skin was pallid and damp with sweat, and his eyes were glazed and unfocused. Holly shook him, grabbing his shoulders and shaking, shaking. The centaur's eyes focused on Holly for a moment, and she screamed in terror, for she saw the pain in his eyes. And the comprehension; he knew exactly what was happening to him. His back curved upwards, and then crashed down onto the floor. Fearing he would injure his spine, she placed one tiny hand underneath him, but quickly pulled back, crying out in alarm. As his back struck her hand, she felt one of her fingers snap, and felt immense pain wash over her. Holly moaned, feeling faint from fear and hurt.
Just then, Root placed his hands under Foaly's back, and held him off the ground. How strong he must be, Holly's mind muttered. She saw Root's forehead glazed in sweat, tendons tight in his arms and neck. His face twitched from the enormous effort his muscles and mind were putting in. Suddenly, Foaly's face slacked and he opened his mouth.
" Art is foul," he rasped. Holly thought he's delusional. But then realized he had not said art is foul, he had said… yes… He said FOWL! ARTEMIS FOWL! She screamed the name directly at Foaly's face.
"ARTEMIS FOWL! FOWL!" The centaur seemed to nod, mouthing something. She realized after several seconds what he had mouthed. Sirens were screaming outside, and paramedics were tumbling into the office. She did not hear them. Holly only heard her thoughts on what Foaly had murmured.
Get Fowl. Get Fowl. Get Fowl. Get Fowl.
Shocking, eh? I'm about ready to cry. I ADORE Foaly! Sorry this chapter took so long. I have been busy and have had a creative brain fart. I'll try to get the next chapter out quickly. Thanx for reading!