Artemis Fowl and the Master Experimentation

Chapter 5

The door swung open easily at Holly's touch and they both jumped out of their skins when they found someone behind the door. A ghostly someone with long hair and a far away smile. Holly could feel Artemis relax a little and smile at the girl, Faylinn.

You found where I'm hidden- she mouthed.

"Not quite yet," said Artemis, dropping Holly's hand, "take us to the room you've been locked away in."

"Artemis," warned Holly.

But Artemis paid her no heed, following Faylinn who's arm was still bleeding and droplets that fell from her fingers to the ground and she walked around. Holly bent down and dipped a finger in a small droplet of blood, raising it to her face. It was real blood alright, but it was coming from someone that wasn't really there. Holly took an empty vial from her belt and smeared a cotton bud in one of the droplets, putting it inside the vial and ceiling it. Foaly could annalise it when she got back. She stood and hurried after Artemis and the girl who were rapidly getting away from her. They twisted down so many corridors, never meeting anyone, always sloping down wards into the ground. Then they finally reached a set of double doors, the kind you might find in a hospital. Behind them Holly could hear, on the edge of hearing, weeping. She felt a great sense of foreboding as Faylinn pushed the doors open. Holly clasped a hand around Artemis's wrist and he looked to her with serious grey eyes.

"Artemis, this is our last chance to turn back."

"Holly, as much as I value your company and your advise, I gave my word." 

"Alright," she said softly.

They both stepped through after the ghost of Faylinn and saw a corridor lined either side with doors. Ahead of them was another set of doors, but in front of them was a pixie in a lab coat and carrying a clip board. Luckily he had his back to them so Holly snuck up to him and gave him a swift tag with her buzz-baton. The pixie fell to the floor in a heap and Faylinn watched with bright eyes. Holly then looked in the small windows to each room, seeing that inside each was an occupant of different species, both fairy, human and animal. In one was a great white tiger. It looked up at her and their eyes met, then she realised the pained eyes were blind. One of its fore legs shaved entirely and had the same stitching and bleeding that the girl, Faylinn had. It hopped around the edge of the room, its breathing laboured and Holly could feel her heart breaking. On her helmet she pressed record and went around each of the rooms, filming aa couple of minutes of each of the occupants. 

In the mean time, Artemis followed Faylinn to the end doors, stepping carefully inside after her. There she was, the real her, on an operating table and out cold. She was strapped down and in a plain white hospital gown. Artemis ran over to her and undid the straps, trying to lift Faylinn from the table. Beside him the ghost Faylinn faded and the Faylinn on the table's eyes flickered and opened, her blue eyes with gold rimmed iris's locked on to Artemis's cold grey ones.

"You found me," she whispered. 

Artemis nodded and smiled at her, she absolutely beaming at him. She sat up and he helped her from the table, both of them leaving the room to find Holly waiting. All three walked to the door, but Holly hung back for just a moment. That tiger seemed to have more if a hold on her than she'd thought. 

"Go on ahead," she hissed.

She intended at first just to open the door to the room, which she did very quickly, then started to head back towards where she'd seen Artemis and Faylinn leave. But when she remembered that the tiger was blind and was injured it wouldn't be able to leave the room and this place with ease. So she turned back and went into the room, talking to the tiger quickly and softly in its own language, thanks to the fairy gift of tongues.