Categories > Books > A Series of Unfortunate Events > The Ferocious Fire

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by froggy999 3 reviews

The Baudelaire orphans' tale gets even more startling and sad than ever in this dramatic end to a great series...

Category: A Series of Unfortunate Events - Rating: PG - Genres: Drama - Published: 2005-11-14 - Updated: 2005-11-15 - 1272 words

1Cliche
Chapter One

"Life is like a box of chocolate; you never know what you're going to get." This is a very silly phrase. If you think about it, it should be "Life is like a box of chocolate; you always know what you're going to get". You will get chocolate, obviously. However, this story is so complicating and confusing, that I can tell you right now that this book is no box of chocolate. I am warning you that this book is not fun; it's not happy; it's a confusing, twisted tale of three orphans who lead lives full of nothing but devastation and sadness. I am warning you right now: Why don't you pick that book off the shelves about a happy little elf that has giddy friends and has nothing but happy adventures? Don't disturb your mind reading this depressing tale. I have warned you.

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If you happened to live near the Hotel Denouement on one sad day, when the hotel burned to the ground, you probably would have seen a raft on the ocean. On that raft, you would see three children dressed in hotel concierge uniforms and also one tall thin man by the name of Count Olaf. The children probably would have looked very depressed and sad. I am sorry to say, this book follows these sad peoples' lives.
As the waves crashed around the raft, bouncing into the raft floor, Klaus Baudelaire was taking an oar and rowing fast, taking glances back at the burning hotel. Klaus, the youngest Baudelaire orphan was an avid reader and researcher. Right now, he was thinking of ways books and novels might help him and his siblings out of there trouble. However, he could think of nothing that had similar predicaments as to the one he was in now.
Violet Baudelaire had her hair tied in a ribbon and was helping Klaus row. Anyone who knew Violet knew that she was a genius inventor and that when she had her hair in a ribbon it meant she was thinking of an invention. Right now, she was thinking about an invention to take the three orphans away from the raft and away from the misfortune of their lives. However, she could think of no practical solution and was stumped.
Sunny Baudelaire, just out of babyhood, tried to help her brother and sister with the oars. While helping, she couldn't help thinking about her recently developed cooking skills. Along with her culinary skills, Sunny had unusually sharp teeth: four of them. She liked biting more than anything. With her thoughts, she brainstormed ways about how her skills could come in any use, but unfortunately, could find none.
"My dear old mother used to tell me 'Life is like a box of chocolate; you never know what you're going to get.", Count Olaf said abruptly. "She was right, you know."
"How can you not know what you are going to get with a box of chocolate?" Klaus asked. "It seems to me, life is more like a box of books. You never know what book you're going to get."
"Shut up, orphan. You're too intelligent for your own good." Olaf snarled.
Although Klaus felt hot with anger at this statement, he said nothing. He did not wish to do anything to incur Olaf's wrath. Klaus and his siblings all exchanged grim glances. He could not believe that under a year ago, he and his siblings were living happily with his parents. Ever since the deadly fire that destroyed his home and his parents, his life had been one unfortunate event after the other.
As Violet was rowing, she heard a scream coming from the distant burning hotel. She looked around, but couldn't see anyone, because of the smoky atmosphere. However, she could see a murder of crows hovering in the distance. Those crows had delivered the sugar bowl to the Hotel Denouement. No one was able to recover the sugar bowl, because the crow had dropped it into the depths of the Denouement Lake. Supposedly, this sugar bowl was the answer to all of the orphans' problems.
"Now, you must be wondering where we will be traveling?" Olaf said suddenly. The children did not reply, for fear of more bipolar wrath. "Well, we're heading towards V.F.D. headquarters. That is, Villains Fighting Denouement. Since, you three are on my side now and have no hope of returning to your volunteers, you will be forced to come with me. You have no choice. I can feel that my side of the schism is winning. Although I have lost Esme, a very valuable asset..." Olaf mumbled.
Olaf seemed to have a sad watery look in his shiny eyes for a moment, before snapping back to normal. The ocean they were in headed back towards Briny Beach. The siblings could distantly see the beach. Briny Beach was where they first learned the news of their parents' death.
After another twenty minutes of rowing, the quartet made its way to the beach. "V.F.D. quarters?" Sunny asked, which meant something like "Where is the V.F.D. headquarters you speak of, Olaf?"
"What does she mean?" Olaf grunted.
"She means something along the lines of 'Where is the V.F.D. headquarters you speak of, Olaf?' "Violet replied.
"On the beach, of course! Not so bright, are we?"
Puzzled as to how the headquarters could be on a beach where they had been to for years, the Baudelaires said nothing. Olaf suddenly rowed harshly into the beach sand. A deafening scrape accompanied this movement as the raft crunched into the sand.
"We're almost here...We only need to walk a mile or two." Olaf said.
The Baudelaires exchanged confused looks. They had no idea where this headquarters might be on the beach. Olaf started walking across the beach with a long stride, kicking sand everywhere. The orphans quickly followed. In the far horizon of the ocean, the siblings could see the outline of some sort of structure in the ocean. However, rushed as they were, the siblings had no time to consider what the structure was. I, on the other hand, can tell you that that structure was the outline of an inflatable raft that Kit Snicket was on. She was waiting for Captain Widdershins to arrive at any moment, and I can also say that Widdershins was not going to show up, due to a very unfortunate event.
After a good amount of time walking, and occasionally running, the Olaf suddenly slid to a stop in the middle of the beach. A pirate flag was being waved from the rooftop of a house parallel to the spot on the beach they were at. A small tortoise shell was popping out of the ground where Olaf stood. Looking cautiously around, Olaf started digging sand around the shell. He motioned for the Baudelaires to do the same. They complied immediately, extremely confused. Finally, after many minutes of digging, Olaf said to stop, and he shoved one more pile of sand away, to reveal something that surprised the orphans exponentially: a metal hatch, stuck in between some sturdy bricks. Olaf checked to see that no one was around and lifted the hatch. There was a vertical passage that had a ladder on the side.
"Go down that ladder. I'll follow. Hurry!" Olaf growled.
The siblings obeyed, worried about what they were going to find at the bottom. After thirteen rungs of the ladder, Violet stepped on solid ground. Next came Klaus, and lastly Sunny. Violet gasped. Someone was at the end of the hallway with a torch.
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