Unusual Circumstances: Chapter 7

Rebecca lay very still, her eyes shut and breathing deeply. She wasn't particularly claustrophobic, but anyone who has been forced into a small space under such stressful conditions would be likely to have a panic attack, which she was now trying to avoid. She told herself that there was plenty of room, and that she was there because she wanted to be there.

"Of course you are. You do this all the time, just for fun," one part of her mind thought sarcastically. She ignored it.

Once her heart beat had slowed down she opened her eyes. Of course, it was pitch black so she couldn't see, so she started feeling around. She didn't know what she was looking for, but whatever it was, she didn't find it and gave up after a moment.

"What am I going to do?" she wondered. She was pretty sure her chances of escape had been reduced to zero, if not lower. Wherever they were going would certainly be far from civilization, and, considering everything she had seen so far, would probably have a very good security system. Not that she'd get far with Butler around.

She shuddered at the thought. Butler was not someone to cross.

As for Artemis, she wasn't entirely sure what to think. In some ways, he was even more terrifying than his servant. He was obviously used to being the one in charge; the way he carried himself radiated authority and confidence; and from what she had seen, he seemed pretty smart.

But who was Artemis exactly? The way he'd introduced himself made it sound like he must be someone important. Seriously, who still included things like 'the Second' these days?

His name was vaguely familiar, though. Maybe she'd heard them in passing, like on the TV or in the paper. Although, that seemed unlikely...

Rebecca groaned and gave up; maybe if she left it alone it would come back to her eventually.

She wondered what he was going to do to her. He had said that if she tried anything then unpleasant things would happen. Well, she had certainly tried something so, supposedly, her situation was about to become even worse.

She was surprised at how calm she felt. She decided it must be because there was nothing she could do. There weren't any options to consider, no trying to find a way to out smart them. All she could do was sit there and think.

About a minute later she smacked her forehead. She'd forgotten to finish her English essay that was due today!

She started giggling hysterically.

"Seriously?" she thought. "That's what you're worried about? I bet John didn't finish that paper, and he wasn't even kidnapped!"

She imagined going up to her teacher and trying to explain what happened while she just screamed "NO EXCUSES!" and ended up laughing so hard she started crying.

ArtemisPOV

Artemis stared stonily at the back of the chair, deep in thought.

The events of the past hour disturbed him slightly. He had anticipated the girl trying to escape and had been prepared to take action- or rather, had been prepared to let Butler take action- but he had hoped to avoid it. Even though he knew that Butler would never harm her without provocation, she didn't, and he knew she must have been terrified.

Why was it necessary for her to be here? He had faith that Holly would never ask him to do something like this unless she was a threat, but how could she be? She had been completely helpless in the hands of Butler. Not for lack of trying either; he could tell she had been fighting with everything she had. It was simply that she was a normal person who would never stand a chance.

Therein lied his confusion. Like he had said the night before, she was completely unremarkable. She obviously wasn't a genius, a genius would have realized that such an obvious form of escape would be futile, and she didn't seem to have any unusual abilities. The only other thing he could think of was if she had harmful knowledge, but he had ruled even that out with his questioning. He did have a theory as to the mumbling, but even if it was correct, which they usually were, it still didn't justify this kind of reaction from the People.

He wondered why it bothered him so much. He was surprised at just how sick doing this made him feel. He wasn't a criminal any more but he was still Artemis Fowl. Surely he wasn't going soft?

He looked around the seat at Butler. His knuckles were white and he was repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fists around the wheel.

"Speak your mind, old friend, before you break the steering wheel."

Butler was silent a moment, then let out a long breath. "I don't like this, Artemis. I thought that the criminal activities were over. I feel disgusting making her come with us against her will. If it were anyone but Holly..." He trailed off.

And that was the heart of the matter. No matter how much they disliked this situation, they would go through with it because Holly asked them to.

"I know, old friend. Hopefully, this will be over soon."

Butler remained silent, and Artemis resumed his contemplation.

He had told Rebecca that if she tried to escape then she would be punished. He had hoped that she wouldn't be stupid enough to try, but apparently not. Now he had to think of some way to frighten her.

He sighed. Why couldn't the girls he kidnapped just behave?