My Artemis Fowl fan fiction

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

A melodious tune slinked through the hallways nearing Zoey room. Artemis assumed that it was simply her radio and didn't think much of it. As he further approached the room and found the door slightly ajar, he realized that such quality music could not be coming from a box. Last time he checked, the radio station that Zoey insisted be played was difficult to hear or understand due to static, Artemis knew this, because he had tried to tune the radio to a different station several times. The song that was coming from the other side of the room was crystal clear and flawless in every way. He cautiously peered in through the slit in the door and saw Zoey, sitting up with her chin resting in her knees and rocking back and forth while singing this tune in perfect harmony with the captivated songbirds outside her window. Artemis wasn't even sure what song she was singing, but also like the birds, he was drawn in and overwhelmed with curiosity and wonder.

"Incredible..." he breathed involuntarily, capturing the unwanted attention of Zoey. She abruptly stopped her beautiful song and whirled around to spot Artemis. She gasped in fear and dove under the blankets, whimpering and shivering once again. Artemis felt like the most idiotic person on the planet, it hadn't been very smart of him just to spook her like that. "No! You were fantastic! You can come out, it's fine." He assured Zoey. She poked her head out from under the covers and shook her head. Artemis could see the terror in her now tear-filled eyes and regretted ever coming into the room after every crystal drop that scampered down her cheek. "Butler's bringing your water." He attempted to say consolingly. "And your voice, it is amazing! That song, it was beautiful." Zoey looked as if she was waiting for Artemis to catch onto something, which he did. He snapped out of the stupor that the song had put him in and yelled urgently,

"Wait, your voice! You could die!" She bit her lip and nodded, suppressing a violent sob. Her barrette began to blink furiously, making angry beeping noises as it blinked faster and faster. The beeps became more high pitched and louder and soon the sound became unbearable and Artemis and Zoey had to cover their ears so that their eardrums wouldn't be damaged permanently. Butler heard the noise from the study upstairs, and hurried to locate the source. When he had entered the room and realized what had happened, Zoey hair clip stopped in mid beep and announced in a monotone computer voice,

"PATIENT LOCATED. RETRIEVING SIGNAL." Everyone was horrified. Artemis tried reaching out to remove the hair barrette before it could destroy her, but she quickly ducked away from his reach.

"No!" she cried. Butler put his large hand over her mouth to silence her.

"Stop talking! Both of you." He ordered.

"SIGNAL VERIFIED." The barrette reported to the threesome. "TRANSMITTING..." A few beeps and clicks sounded from the clip, and Butler appeared to be puzzled by it.

"That's not a bomb. It's not even a weapon." He said. Artemis was bewildered by the device as well.

"It's just a communication device. A microphone!" He exclaimed. "We're being recorded!" Butler shushed him quickly, but Artemis didn't have the time to object. All three of them stayed quiet, so quiet that Artemis could have sworn he heard small bits of static coming from Zoey, and not from her barrette... He was refrained from pondering this because out of nowhere, the barrette spoke again.

"Hello there Zoey." A man's voice said. "I'm very glad to have finally heard your voice. Do you have anything else that you would like to say?" Zoey, who was shocked beyond belief, sat on the bed with her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide with panic.

"I- I..." she stammered nervously.

"Go ahead. Talk. I was obviously bluffing about the dying thing." The hair clip's new voice said to her. "This is a life transmitter. It's sending me all your vital signs, and boy is your heart rate up!"