Chapter Three
The hands gripped his shoulders, holding him down, and a chuckle sounded in his ear. He struggled as hard as he could, kicking and thrashing, but the hands only tightened their grip. It hurts, he wanted to scream. It hurts. Stop!
They moved further down his body instead. An acidic taste filled his mouth as they touched places that weren't theirs to touch, sending jolts of both pleasure and pain up his spine. Which was worse? The pleasure, which curdled in his stomach like a betrayal of his own making, or the pain that made his stomach heave, made him feel sick and weak all at once? It didn't matter except as an answer to his own questions. A puppet made no decisions, after all, and thinking about it wouldn't make what was happening hurt any less–
"Fowl? Artemis! Wake up!"
Artemis yelped, jerking away from the hand that had followed into the waking world. His back pressed against something firm, leaving him unable to put more distance between himself and it, and horror twisted in his stomach like a panicked animal before the situation began to resolve itself, his memories rushing to fill the gaps. Hand. A small hand. Holly's hand. He was with Holly, not him, and so that meant that he was safe. Nobody would hurt him here. Nobody could hurt him here.
Right?
Swallowing hard, Artemis raised a hand to massage his chest. His heart rate started to slow and settle; the adrenaline left his skin cold and hairs standing on end as it subsided, allowing him to think rationally again.
"Holly?"
Her hand brushed against his, and her smaller weight depressed the cushion beside him. "I heard… It sounded like you were having a nightmare. I didn't know if I should wake you, but then you started thrashing."
Even that light touch made him shudder. Artemis masked it – or tried to – by sitting up straighter, shifting away from the heat of Holly's skin under the guise of correcting his posture. A nightmare. Of course he'd have a nightmare now of all times, when she could see, when he was vulnerable. How useless and attention seeking could he get? Now his host had to comfort him like a child because he'd been crying in his sleep! He shouldn't be here. He wasn't good enough for her help. What had he been thinking, begging her to rescue him? She deserved so much more than to be saddled with a fearful, broken–
The dry air made his throat burn, annoyingly enough that it distracted him from the way his gut was trying to swallow itself. Better to focus on the here and now. He'd already been weak enough.
"Sorry- sorry to bother you. I'm fine, really." The low croak made him wince; not good enough. Try harder! "I- could I have some water, please?"
She pressed a cool glass into his hand. At least she didn't try to talk to him as he drank; he focused on the sensation of the water sliding down his throat, his heart rate settling bit by bit. The raw, irritated tissue still grated with each breath he took, but he didn't feel like he couldn't breathe at all anymore, so Artemis decided to take that as a positive sign.
As he calmed down, normalcy began to reassert itself. The distance made his dreams seem even more foolish by contrast: nothing here felt threatening. Holly's presence was fine, as long as she stayed where she was. There were cars going past on the street below, more of them than earlier, the sound somewhat comforting. Domestic, even. He heard a quiet sound from opposite the couch, too, like voices. That sound was stable, not moving one direction or the other. A television, perhaps?
"What are you watching?"
If Holly could guess why he'd changed the subject, she didn't bring it up. "I just put on the news. It's reruns from the nightly stuff." She shifted again. "I can turn it up if you want to listen better."
Anything to distract himself. "Please. I suppose I've missed a great deal, being..."
"Yeah."
Holly's voice had an odd tinge to it. Artemis opened his mouth to ask – well, he didn't know what to ask, and it was too late anyway. He settled for wiping at the tacky, drying tears on his cheeks, lips curling at the sensation. The newscaster's voice filled the silence, crooning Haven accent easily recognizable even after years not hearing it. Cocking his head, Artemis tried to follow the words. Some were easier to remember than others, like home and crisis, but the reporter spoke faster than he could translate. Not that that bothered him much. Holly had been right about the news being good white noise, the kind that made his body feel heavy as the last vestiges of adrenaline faded.
He wouldn't sleep, though. Not yet.
A harsh beep sounded from the next room; footsteps receded toward it, then stopped. Curious, Artemis strained to hear what Holly was doing, but he didn't hear anything for a long moment. Then she cursed quietly and began to move back and forth. Packing something? Getting ready to leave? Pacing?
"Problem?"
A snort. "Disaster, to hear Foaly tell it. But nothing I won't be able to manage. Sorry I haven't really given you a full tour yet." Artemis heard the sound of a zipper. "There's a bathroom through to your right. Just keep going until you hit the wall if you need it. I should only be a couple hours."
Artemis raised an eyebrow in spite of himself, but didn't point out how useless those directions would be. He'd be fine for a few hours.
"Very well. Good luck, Captain."
How hard could it be to just sit there and entertain himself with the news? He'd survived with less in the way of entertainment for years. It would be fine.
Right?
oOoOo
Police Plaza was in chaos when she arrived. This was, admittedly, its usual state, but Holly felt an unusual energy among the crowd the moment she began to wade through in an attempt to reach the front desk. Several civilians even leveled nasty looks at her on her way past; nobody was stupid enough to outright attack her, and nobody impeded her progress unduly, yet Holly's hand hovered close to her belt just in case. She was reminded of a few years ago when the goblin/dwarf terf war had been at a fever pitch, only now she sensed less animosity between the gathered civilians themselves. No, they seemed to be directing that latent animosity at LEP officers instead.
What on earth is going on here? Anxiety clawed at her insides as Holly broke free of the crowd and made her way toward a lesser known meeting room at the station's rear. The corridors were remarkably clear – had nonessential personnel been sent home? She encountered no one but a harried secretary until she reached the meeting room, where two bulky elves from Retrieval stood to either side of the door. One stepped forward as Holly approached, signaling for her to stop. She saw his partner's hand on his neutrino.
"I.D., Captain."
Holly had never been proud, per se, that she was infamous among her colleagues, but she'd gotten used to being immediately recognized. It came part and parcel with being a female in a male-dominated field. Top brass clearly wasn't taking any chances today, though.
She didn't let her surprise show, offering her citizenship card for inspection. The Retrieval officers put her card through a handheld scanner – barely glancing at the readout – and held the door open so she could pass.
"Good luck," the one who'd hung back said, sotto voce.
That's comforting, Holly thought. But allowing nerves to get the better of her wouldn't help the situation, so she squared her shoulders and gave them a brisk nod.
"Thanks, boys."
The door slammed shut once she stepped inside, its sound drawing all eyes to her. Never had she felt a sound echo quite like that; Holly took a deep breath and approached the table, trying not to take that as an omen.
oOoOo
Author's note: I apologize for the long time between updates, my friends. My computer decided to die on me, and after a process of 'can we get it fixed' that took about a month total, I finally got a new one. Things should go more smoothly now, knock on wood, even though I have classes to contend with as well. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this short chapter. I wanted to get something out there and I had these scenes in mind the entire month my tech issues were getting sorted, so I was itching to write them.