I am sitting in the dark, and I am crying very hard, because this is my last chapter. Just kidding. I am in the dark, but that's because it's computers class. I'm just pretending to cry. This is, after all, the last chapter. It's shorter too, so I'm sorry.
Disclaimer: This isn't mine. It's Eoin Colfer's.
aperfectattitude: Thanks so much.
Black Aliss: So you're crying with me. I still am, by the way.
notyouraverageblond: Thanks.
Holly woke up, almost a week later, tightly bandaged, tied to a hospital bed, and lying in a dark room. Everything hurt.
She shouldn't be alive. What had happened on the beach? She couldn't remember.
A door opened, sending a bright ray of light across her face for a moment, and then shut.
"Are you awake, Holly?"
She strained her eyes to see. "Sir?"
Julius pulled out the chair beside the bed, sitting down. "Yeah. How you doing?"
"Hurting," grunted Holly. "Why'd they tie me down?"
Julius motioned to the various needles sticking into her. "You kept trying to pull your tubes out."
Holly nodded slightly. "I see."
Julius glanced down at the floor. "I ah, want to apologize Holly. I have been a bit… okay, a lot, discriminating. And… on the beach last week? I wouldn't have done that Holly. Not for anything. I would have never jumped. Never. I thought, that a female didn't have a place on Retrieval. But… you've proved me wrong. All of us."
He looked up, seeing the indecision in Holly's eyes. "I'm just here, to say thank you."
Holly nodded again. "I'm sorry about your brother, sir. I didn't see… any other way."
Julius rubbed his eyes. "No Holly, you were right to do that. He deserved it. There was no other way."
He stood, setting a hand on Holly's shoulder. "Holly, tell me something. Did he touch you?"
Holly refused to look at him.
Julius leaned down, looking her in the eye. "Listen Holly, no one else is going to know about what Turnball said or did. I've talked to them all. But I feel responsible." He stared at the anger on her face. "He did, didn't he? I'm sorry Holly."
Holly shut her eyes. "It's not your fault, Julius," she sighed. "What happened after I blacked out?"
"That pony actually had the brains to send someone up when he couldn't get a hold of us. They found the shuttle, with everything ripped up, and heard the gun shots. They showed up about two minutes later. Things were really messed up for a while."
Holly's eyes widened. "I forgot—"
"What?"
She shivered. "Turnball wasn't the only one on the island, Julius. Fowl… he was there too. I think. At least…" Holly rubbed her head, struggling to think. "He was… I know he was… I just can't remember… I don't know why. I've hit my head, and I can't remember whether or not Fowl was there. He was… no… yes he… no…"
Julius waved a hand. "It was a bad dream thing Holly. Fowl wasn't there. It was a hallucination. We did the scan, and the only persons on the island were Turnball and Arno. Besides, why would he have been there, and why didn't we see him if he was?"
"But I'm sure he was there. How'd he find us again?"
Julius stood. "I don't know. Let's talk about something pleasant. Did you know, you're a national hero? Really. The phones won't stop ringing, you're all over the front page, on all the news channels every night… you're really big at work too."
Holly looked confused. "Why?"
"Why not?"
Holly squirmed, trying to think of something to change the subject with. "Did Trouble get the job?"
Julius paused, sliding a hand into his pocket. "Well… no. Listen to me Captain. I was wrong. A lot of people were wrong. I'm sorry. You're going to have a hard time… I know, but I think you can do it. You proved me wrong by becoming Captain Short."
He leaned over, pressing something hard, and cold, into the palm of her hand with just a hint of a smile. "Or should I say, rather, Active Commander Holly Short?"
He turned towards the door, and stopped. "Congratulations Holly. And thank you."
Artemis Fowl lay on his couch, thinking, as Juliet gave him a massage. "Juliet?"
"What?" she asked shortly, poking a little too viciously at his sore back.
"Look." He turned over, catching hold of her arm. "I know you're angry with me about what happened. I didn't know. I just found out today though, that Holly's out of the hospital, and, she got promoted to Active Commander. Julius's old position."
Juliet looked at him blankly. "So?"
Artemis smiled. "So, everything's fine now. And now, we can go to our next plan."
"For what?"
Artemis's smile widened, resembling that of a vampire's. "You will see, Juliet. Soon."
Juliet shivered. For some reason, it bothered her when her employer smiled like that. It meant something was going to happen.
The end. Please review, all you people. I really enjoy hearing from you. Write me if you want, and please give me ideas. I'm going nuts. I feel guilty about not having a story ready right now.
Thank for all that have stayed with me. Goodbye for now, unless you write me regularly, as some of you do.
