Artemis Fowl and the Master Experimentation

Chapter 21

There was silence. It was cold and black. 

Artemis's eyes flickered open, giving him the view of a white ceiling. He groaned softly, sitting up slowly. Suddenly that voice started speaking, saying his name a couple of times. He looked about for the source in the small, enclosed room. It issued from a small screen mounted on the wall. He stood shakily, going towards it. The Masters face filled the tiny screen.

"This is a recording," said the Master, "it will start playing when it senses significant movement within your cell. You are probably disorientated, seeing as you are clearly far from where you were tranquilized. You are in one of our bases, your friends are here also. Especially your particular friend."

The Master's face disappeared from shot and replaced with the image of Faylinn strapped to a gurney, struggling against the restraints, then flicked back to the Master.

"I intend to kill her, eventualy. The Captain will remain alive throught, I have something special planned for her. This will change if you do something stupid. Obey me."

Then the screen flickered off and Artemis stood, staring blankly at the screen.

 Artemis had found himself in many sticky situations before, but this situation seemed to be so much more worse than any of the previous. He was trapped in a base teaming with enemy forces and two of the people he cared about the most were trapped here, waiting for torture and death. And he, he was going to be used for something terrible. 

He sat back down on the bed, his normally high-speed mind dragging at a snails pace, a residual effect of the drugs, he assumed. He seemed only able to sit and wait. 

Faylinn thrashed against the restraints, her breathing laboured. This was bad, very bad. She had woken up like this, strapped to a gurney, in a hospital gown. The worst part, she decided, was that it wasn't the first time she had found herself in this situation. At least  this time she knew what she was up against. But, this time, she was certain she wasn't getting out alive. 

She paused for a moment, straining her ears for the tinyest hint of a sound. All she could hear was the low level buzz of the lamp above her. She twisted her wrists against the restraints and let out an angry scream. 

The door opened and there was a rattle of a trolley as someone walked into the room. Faylinn strained her neck, trying to see who was coming in. It was that short fairy again, in the white coat. The doctor one. The one that had overseen all of the procedures carried out on her. Fear rose even more in Faylinn. She didn't want to be operated on again. 

Faylinn struggled against the restraints with more vigor, desperate to get away.

"Please do not struggle," said the fairy, "I do not wish to hurt you, Princess."

"Then let me go," she cried.

"Lower your voice, please," he murmured, pushing the trolley laden with surgical instruments to beside her table.

"I'm tied to a table! Again! Why should I make it easy for you?!"

He lent over, not that he really needed to seeing as he was so short already, whispering into her ear.

"Because I'm going to help you get out of here."

Faylinn was stunned into silence as she watched him arrange the surgical instruments carefully.

"I never wanted to have any harm come to you," he murmured, "your father and I were close. An unlikely friendship, certainly. I was the one that assisted him in his escape to the surface. It is a shame that the Master didn't do an in-depth background check on me. A shame for him and the Council, that is."