Hello, again. Getting rather old, I know, so next time I will say something different. Perhaps: Greetings! Or: Salutations! Or even better: Many happy returns of the day! (I can't help it. Pooh Bear is absolutely adorable. But Tiger is my favorite, if you really want to know. I ought to add that to my bio.)
Anyway, moving on. I don't know much about the exact layout of hospital helicopter pads, nor whether or not my security assumptions or accurate, nor whether they keep a spare key there. I do know most US hospital roofs are easy to run on, and have gravel or rocks on them if they're nice. (which most are) I do know what I have fits the story nicely though, so deal with it. Even if you or you mother or father works at a hospital, and you could draw me blueprints with your eyes shut.
AgiVega: Plenty of romance. Teary ending that turns happy. That's my specialty. Anyway, like I said in the email I wrote you, I have to update everyday. I'm glad you're annoyed with me though. It means you like it, I suppose. Yeah, Justin is a nice guy. I like him too. Tell me what you think of the chapter. The reviews aren't so terribly important to me, but next year, I'll wait a week between each update. I promise.
Ahava: Of course. There's never really much to say, unless the chapter's horrible. You ought to update your story. (not the 100 words one, the real one)
The Blazing Blade: Tickled pink about the review. :) Thanks. I read your new chapter. I love it. Update soon. And yes, Juliet and Justin do happen. I think it's quite cute.
Disclaimer: Juliet Butler and all references to the Artemis Fowl series are in the sole possession of Eoin Colfer. I do not own anything except everything else.
Justin opened his eyes, shaking away his sleepiness. He should no better than to be falling asleep. Really. She could have just walked out.
His eyes fell on the open window. And then on the empty bed, where tubes and needles were arranged in a neat pile. He blinked. Just once, and glanced around again, to make sure she wasn't standing in the far corner, laughing at his dismay. She wasn't. She was gone.
The clock said four twenty. Ten minutes to find her. Ten minutes until the nurse came back, and would want to know where her patient was.
Justin stood, and hurried across the room to the window, swinging himself out onto the roof with a thud. In the corner of his eye, he saw something move, darting around the corner of the roof.
He ran to the side, dropping down flat, and calling softly. "She's loose. Make sure she doesn't get down!"
Startled, the men paused, and then hurriedly spread out, making their way all around the building. Justin waited to make sure they didn't have questions, and then hurried towards the place where he had last seen her. His watch said eight minutes.
Juliet hurried along the roof, wishing she hadn't left. She would have liked to turn around and go back, but Justin was awake, and no doubt angry. If she went back, she would be in just as much trouble. Besides, she had already started, and she might as well finish the attempt. She just hoped she could come up with a way to get off the roof.
Down below, she heard feet pounding, and knew they were already looking for her.
Juliet swore silently. She was right back in the same position she had started in, only now, she was much weaker, and there was no way she was going to jump. And they knew where she was.
Behind her, she heard the crunch of the loose gravel across the roof. It was probably Justin. For a moment, she wondered what he would do to her when she had been caught. She quickly made herself forget that thought. She had to concentrate on getting free.
Biting her lip against the pain, Juliet sped up around a corner, only to be confronted by a sheer wall. Much too high to climb, and especially with her arm. On top was the helicopter pad. She could see one of the blades sticking out over the edge.
The helicopter.
All she had to do was get to it. Which was much harder than it sounded. Justin was coming closer, she couldn't climb up the tiny pipe that ran along the wall, and she saw no door.
For a moment, she hesitated, knowing the seconds were ticking on. Her watch said she had five minutes, and then everyone in the hospital would be looking for her as well. Not good.
Juliet turned, ran to the side, and slid down one of the inclines to the floor below. She'd have to risk it.
Above her, the footsteps sped up. He'd heard her running. Juliet ignored it, and crept along, looking for a window that was open.
Finally she found it. The window was small, and open just a crack, but the room was empty and dark, and there were no cameras. That was always a pro. She didn't want to get caught.
Justin stopped. He'd heard her go down a story. They had three minutes. What was he going to tell the nurse?
Slowly, he turned around and ran back to the room. She couldn't go anywhere. He'd tell them she had had an abusive mother, and the tubes had no doubt made her think of the past, or something like that. Juliet was wandering around in the dark, and he'd been on the roof because he had opened the window, and he was afraid she might have climbed out. Only he should look for her, because other people might frighten her into doing something drastic. If they saw her, they should stay away, and tell him.
It sounded crazy, but they were a medical facility. They'd eat it up.
As he stepped through the window, the nurse opened the door. Before she could go into trauma, which he was sure she would if he didn't explain, he repeated his story.
Like he had though, she was quite gullible, nodding sympathetically, and promising to alert the rest of the staff as to the problem. No one, she said, would approach Juliet. They would simply alert him.
Justin waited for her to go, and went back out on the roof again. Somewhere around the helicopter pad.
Juliet darted down the quiet hallways, pleased that she was barefoot. Bare feet made no noise. Of course, they were a little dirty, but that was expected after all the things she'd done.
Up ahead. Just like she'd thought. There was a door leading up to the helicopter pad.
Her heart sank. It would be locked of course, and she couldn't pick it. Her fingers could hardly move, and her entire upper body throbbed at each small jerk and twist.
None the less, she set her back against it, and gave it a push. To her astonishment, it opened easily.
Then, she understood. This door wasn't locked, it was the one at the end of the hall. They wanted to get people in and out as fast as possible. She had already gotten into the restricted area through the window. Once inside, there were no more locks.
With a smile, she darted up the stairs, ignoring her arms, and finally came to the small landing beside the door that led onto the roof. Now to find the keys. Surely they'd keep an extra one handy.
Her eyes ran over the wall, finally spotting the keys. With a slight whimper, she wormed her fingers into the holder, and pulled them out.
It was time to leave. She'd been here too long.
Juliet turned around, and pushed on the door. It didn't open. It was locked, naturally.
She bit her lip to keep back tears of frustration. Elated one minutes, and in despair the next. Of course it would be locked. Why would they leave an outside door unlocked?
Another key. There had to be one.
Again, she looked out the door. She was so close. So close… If she could only get past that, she would be free. And safe.
Frantically, she began to search along the wall for the key. It was at least ten minutes past when the nurse should have come. Unless Justin had come up with a really good story, they were probably looking for her everywhere.
A story. She would have to come up with one too. The Anthonys would catch her if she was alive, and if she had said anything it would be more than a little painful.
In a fit of anger, Juliet kicked the door, ducking as something fell from the frame above. It clinked on the concrete, skidding a little ways, and then lying still. It was the key.
After a moment of agonized groping, she managed to pick it up, and push it into the key hole.
Slowly, the door opened.
She was free to go now. Ten feet lay between herself and a helicopter to which she had the key.
Juliet dropped the key to the door, gripping the helicopter keys tightly in her fingers, and ran across the pad to the copter. A few more minutes, and she would be gone.
Justin stood at the foot of the wall, listening for any noises below that would tell him where she had gone. He'd heard her go down a floor, but she might have come back up once he'd gone. It might be best to wait and listen for a few minutes just in case.
From somewhere behind the wall, he heard a muffled thud, and then silence again. He froze. It was someone inside. Possibly kicking the wall, or something like that.
The helicopter pad. He would be able to see the entire roof from there. Quickly, he turned, testing the small pipe that ran along the corner. It would be just barely, but he might make it.
His fingers clung to the pipe and the cracks, and slowly, he began to make his way up the wall. It was all in his arms. There was no way she could have gotten up here.
Finally, he got a grip on the top of the wall.
As he hung there, he heard the crunch of feet on gravel on the roof above him.
Justin froze, mind racing. The thud inside. What if she'd gotten back through a window, and gotten a key somehow, and got outside, and— The helicopter.
wicked chuckles ;) We shall see, children. We shall see. Sooner or later, the story will continue. Probably sooner if you guys take the time to review. (Again, I am using guys in a non gender specific way here. For those of you wondering, no I haven't gotten complaints, but I just feel like saying that. I like the sound of the words. I collect words in a little book I carry around with me everywhere. I even sleep with it in case I wake up with something good in the middle of the night. If you have a verb, adverb, or adjective I might not have, please mention it in your review. I shall make sure to write it down, and see if I cannot incorporate it into one of my novels.)