Chapter Three: Plague

Disclaimer: Wishes but doesn't own the characters; all belongs to Eion Colfer.

LEP Headquarters

Holly Short braced herself, preparing to enter Roots office, and yet hoping not to leave deaf. Pushing away a strand of auburn hair that found its way to her face, she realized there was no need for further provoking the Commanders ire through stalling. Either way, there was going to be eardrums popping. Holly entered the sound proof room, expecting earthquakes or explosions, but instead heard the outraged officer of the recons full force demand an explanation from Foaly. Close enough.

"I told you Julius, the warrant..."

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE D'ARVIT WARRANT!"

"Um, commander?" asked Holly.

"WHAT!"

"Ah, yes, Holly. Sorry you caught us at such an awkward err... moment. A distress call came from the region of the northern boundary. We have some warlock medics, but they're a bit tied up. Are you running hot?" Foaly asked.

" Yes." She responded automatically.

"All right then. The Hummingbird 3001's is in the back. You know where."

Hummingbird 3001? Those are brand new. "Exactly how bad is the situation?" she queried.

Foaly shook his sadly. "Hurry."

Holly U-turned quickly into the alleyway, following the hysterical red beeping on the screen map of her wrist watch, which suddenly stopped and fell silent. Grimacing, she hovered momentarily above the ground, her hazel eyes scanning the deserted environment. Satisfied, she then alighted softly on the pavement.

It was a rural suburban area with no people about. If she had ever seen a ghost town, this was one. Walking towards the target house a few meters away she prepared for the brutal sting in her eye and pressed her hand over it. After exclaiming a brief "ouch", the iris-cam, now a constant regulation for all LEP officers, zoomed in on the wooden doorway of which she just faced. Switching to infra-red, she heard Foaly manipulate the controls, which is quite a feat, compared to the excessive shouting in the distance that felt as though it were 2 feet away.

"Two bodies, none armed, and both in the upper section." Holly stated for Foaly to note down. To gain more info, one eye had zoomed into focus at the second story, even though the other was still level with the door, a particularly hurtful experience.

"You're getting careless, Foaly." Holly growled.

"Tell that to Julius." Foaly replied coolly, temporarily drowning out a constant stream of swear words. "He's quite over-reacting."

"Hey, I would too if a criminal suddenly left."

"What was that, Holly?"

"Nothing."

Foaly mumbled something.

"Come again?"

"I said I'm not going to be of much use if you can't hear me." Foaly emphasized hear. "I think it would be better if you'd tape this mission. Or wait until Julius regains sanity."

"10 OFF YOUR BUDJET, PONY!"

Foaly sighed. "I don't think I can count how many cough drops that poor, hoarse throat needs."

Before another 'slash of budget' threat could vibrate in her skull, Holly rejoiced at one highly useful attribute in her helmet. The 'mute' button. As she busied herself to activate the 'recording' chip, she didn't notice the face peering cautiously at her through a crack in the door. Not until she heard the creaks and moans of a door slowly being closed she realized her distressed person was there. Holly, not wishing to be either rude or permanently denied entrance, hastily wedged her foot in the door. The face stared at her blankly.

"LEP business." Holly spoke quietly, her hand pulling out her badge.

Shock dully registered on the man's forehead, and then nodded quickly in understanding. Holly groaned inwardly. Another slow idiot, she thought. The man backed a few spaces, giving her space to come in, and stared. Really slow, Holly added as an afterthought.

"What's the situation?" Her voice becoming terse.

The man gaped a little longer and after summing all the courage he could muster, he said importantly, "A man down the street needs medically attention." He puffed out his chest. Holly let out an exasperated sigh.

"What happened and why couldn't you administer this attention yourself?"

He seemed to shrink back into the shadows. Self-consciously he made note that he must probably seem quite incompetent under her stare. "I dunno. He collapsed on the sidewalk, now bloody sidewalk, screamed bloody murder, and gave me a bloody headache."

Holly waited for him to continue.

"Tara shuttles left early today."

Yeah, at 4 o'clock pm, as usual. Instead of waiting for a shuttle call an ambulance. Or use common sense. Displeased but yet content, Holly recited the boorish procedures. "Thank you for your cooperation and time in your aid to the community. Please make note that should this situation goes haywire, you shall be openly questioned of the days/nights events in front of the council. There shall be no charges as of being a speculative." So what if Holly added her own twist of the regulations?

The fairy nodded as she left the house and sped down the long alleyway, never taking his eyes of her. Holly scowled, harassed as she was, as she continued looking for the body.

Holly was fuming as the cold air slapped her face. Aid the community, she thought. As if he couldn't at least hospitalized the man instead of complain about the screams. Yeah, people do that when their in pain. Shut the door in her face, doesn't even give a decent location-. Holly realized she was being irrational. Stuff like this happens all the time. The fact people would rather hide in their homes other than face what's terrorizing their small minds. She paused. "What has got me so stressed?" she asked herself aloud.

Maybe because of the so many deaths. Foaly said it was probably some kind of flu, but she still could hear the worry that crept into his voice. Maybe because her last remaining family member lay dying in bed. Root offered her a break to see her, her sister, but Holly felt that if she could find a cure, it would be at work, not at home.

As for the illness, it consisted of sudden loss of breathing usually, but it came in many different forms. She once overheard Foaly, awed yet terrified, reporting such a case to the Commander. That a sprite's heart just beat 500x the normal rate, and then died in sixty seconds. Since then, Holly hadn't heard much. Maybe the virus was finally content. She shuddered to think it. That was probably the quickest way to kill someone.

Nonsense, she thought, plagues don't think. Or be coordinated. Or evolve so quickly and experimentally. "Where in the name of Frond did this originate!" She shrilled. A moan responded. A figure lay still on the street.

Rapidly descending to the sprite's side, she studied the writhing body. Her gaze lowered to his chest. Possibly because the shirt was damp and the color red. Looking at it, she knew that wasn't the original color. He wasn't breathing for that matter either. Holly stood straight and took deep breaths, dumb-founded.

The Warehouse

Artemis shook his head. Then shook it again, as if trying to dispel a thought. "It's not possible." He finally declared.

"Yes, it is. You see, once they see your blood-stained body, they shall experiment, vainly trying to find clues that are not there, to find what triggered the reaction. Trust me, I know." Her eyes unfocused for a moment and glistened, then blinked and returned to normal. "Using your blood to do this, they shall transfer it to another, only to find that they now have the symptoms." Artemis had seen her smiling ever since he got here, but her smiles had different brands. This smile was a pleased and almost giddy smile. "And die in sixty seconds. If not, my secondary plan, though not as satisfying, will to have rodents or some animal transfer it and become contagious. There's no escape."

"You know this because?"

"I've had my guinea pigs."

For once, Artemis felt sorry for the small furry animals. But was she talking about animals? "Are you sure the LEP hadn't found their bodies yet?"

"Your concern is touching, but they will find those that are meant to be found. Besides, they would already pass the vital stages beyond recovery."

"What if those bodies are contagious?"

Opal smiled and Artemis compared it to his own vampire one. The resemblance disturbed him. Is this what expression I took when I mentally destroyed Holly? No, he thought, I didn't take joy in it.

"That's the beauty of it. Each of my guinea pigs was different. And so were the disease. Let's just say it took different forms. And each time it became more painful and quicker, until I was content." She paused. "Though it seems you've lasted longer than I expected. Well, you are human. The magic just complicates it."

Magic? "So tell me why you aren't dead then, Koboi." Artemis was becoming more somber by the minute. Being a pawn didn't suit him. He wished badly she would stop talking in riddles and be concise. Artemis could also tell that his breathing and heart rate had slowed considerably, not giving him much time.

"Being a sole witness to the disease, I know how to stay on the brink of death, and to stay in that before-state. It seems like you're in water. And if I went any deeper in the illness, the symptoms are so simple. Your heart stops, breathing ceased; all because your brain orders it done. Do you know why?"

Artemis considered. "It wants to stop the wound." He said finally. It was the only thing that made sense. After the Butler incident, Artemis knew that the body would go to any lengths, like go to coma or other to save itself.

"Which wound?" Koboi's eyebrows rose, like asking a child a difficult mental math question.

Artemis looked for any clue in their previous conversations. One stood out, so Artemis decided to guess. "Tears of Blood." He said quietly. "You bleed from the eyes." D'Arvit, Cudgeon is sick.

Opal spun around and clapped her hands. "So tell me tell me why elves have a difficult time, Arty."

Artemis despised at being called 'Arty', especially from someone other than family. So he spat out bitterly without thinking, following what seemed the process of events. "The magic starts the heart again causing the involuntary muscle to beat harder and faster until the pressurized blood is rushed to the brain and damages it, ending consciousness permanently."

"Figured the components yet?" Koboi asked, meaning what was the fluid in the injection.

Artemis hesitated before saying, "Adrenaline, to make the heart beat faster- ." Artemis trailed off there, lost in thought. So when she said magic; is that what the adrenaline is?

"The tears are not actually necessary. It's just for entertainment." Koboi laughed. "That's included in the concoction. But basically, you'll cry. And once you're finished off, the disease will transfer and evolve to new hosts; the elves. And spread like a wildfire."

"Why aren't you dead then?" Opal continued, as if responding to his thoughts. "One, you haven't had your second shot. The one containing the adrenaline, making this so much faster." She ticked one of her three raised fingers down. "Two, your in a time-stop, partially the reason why I'm not in the cataclysm, which I call the aura state. Three," She stopped to let loose the few giggles she'd been holding. "Three, I'm not done with you yet."

Alleyway

Holly gaped open-mouthed at the unmoving figure that lay hunched on the ground. "Impossible. There-, there aren't any wounds." She stuttered. Yet there it was; the blood soaked shirt, neck, and face. Examining it more closely, she found the blood seemed to originate from the eyes.

Holly was deeply confused. Blood, coming from the eyes? And no heart beat or breathing. No doubt the sprite was dead. And it revolted her to look at him. Kneeling beside the poor elf, she laid her fingers splayed across his chest and whispered "Heal". Nothing happened. She was too late. Rising up, she prepared to leave and report the events to Root when a curious sound resonated in her ears.

Thump. She looked around wildly about her. Thump. "What the-!" The sprites heart was beating. Slowly, then progressing to normal rate. The man was dead. Dead, dead, dead. The heartbeat begun to beat faster. DEAD! Her mind screamed. Faster and faster it beat, until it was almost a constant hum.

Her body wouldn't move and her eyes were wide in disbelief. Again, the crimson tears flowed, but the blood seemed directed elsewhere. She was caught between running and healing. The man's eyes stared back at her. She had only just noticed. Holly stumbled back a few steps, unwilling to believe she was witnessing his death for the second time. "Do what you came hear for." She softly whispered to herself. Placing her hands on the sprites chest, her mouth formed the word. "Heal." The magic scurried down her fingers.