Artemis Fowl: The Unpredictable Future

Chapter 21: To Hell And Back

Rachel poked her head out from the bedroom. Noticing Holly and Foaly on the ground, she hovered over to her and gasped after noticing Artemis' body outside. Every instinct Rachel had inside her started to yell at her to lie down and cry beside Holly. Fighting this urge, she raised her hand and slapped Holly across her face.

Foaly gaped at the sight and the loud smacking noise that resonated off of Holly's cheek.

Holly screamed out and held her hand against her face as she looked up at Rachel, "Wha... What the hell was that for?!" Her expression didn't look mad or even upset, she was still fighting her own tears.

Rachel furrowed her brows and pointed outside, "I can't stand idly by anymore while that monster takes everything away from you. He took your life, your home, your friends, and now, even your lover."

Foaly raised a hand up to his mouth. Holly's... lover? He took a fleeting glance back at Artemis.

Rachel grabbed Holly by her shoulders and helped her to her feet, "For Frond's sake, he murdered my father! I'm through with this crybaby routine. How about you? How much more does he need to take away from you before you do something about it?"

Holly stared at her motivator, forcing her breathing to become steady. She could see the fire in Rachel's eyes as her words slowly sunk into her head. Holly clenched her fists as she looked outside, "No more... This ends now." She tucked Artemis' note into her pocket as she looked at the last bomb.

Foaly bent down and picked up the hand gun on the floor, "In his final act, he was able to support us with one more life line." He handed it to Holly who sat the bomb down on top of a nearby table stand.

She popped the clip out and sighed, "Two bullets left. It's not a lot, but it's a lot more than what we had to start with." She flinched as another RPG exploded against the window, causing it to show a visibly large crack on it now.

Foaly gritted his teeth, "We'll be lucky if this house survives two more hits like that one." He looked outside and counted the hostiles, "Three centaurs, four sprites, and that lion. It looks like they are all out there and still keeping their distance." He turned to look at Holly, "They are all behind Artemis. You have to throw it now while they are that close to him."

Holly shook her head, "Out of the three of us, I'm the only one with any experience with a firearm. One of you will have to throw it and I will try to cover you."

Rachel walked up, "I'll throw it. I want to show them and prove to myself that I'm not just another weak girl either." She picked up the bomb and approached the door. Foaly rested his hand on the door knob and looked at Holly.

She breathed in deeply and crouched in front of Rachel, readying her aim, "On the count of two, Foaly, open the door. On three, Rachel, pull the pin and throw the bomb at Artemis. I know that sounds horrible, but it was his instructions for us to do so."

"Right," both Foaly and Rachel responded, keeping it simple.

With one more deep breath intake, "One." Holly cocked her pistol and took a deep, steadying breath. "Two." Foaly turned the door knob and pulled the door open wide enough for Rachel and Holly to see outside. Holly fired one shot at a sprite who was taking aim at them. The sprite screamed and fell to the ground, grabbing at his groin. He'll live. His magic will save his precious package. Probably. "Three!" Rachel pulled the pin and grunted as she threw her explosive, watching it land a few inches in front of Artemis.

Foaly closed the door and the three braced themselves. Holly blinked and peeked out of the window from behind the wall. "It... It didn't go off?" She growled internally after seeing Fulton kick Artemis' body closer towards the bomb on the ground and watched him abandon his comrades behind a line of trees. Holly ran her fingers through her hair as she let out a disgruntled sigh.