Categories > Books > A Series of Unfortunate Events > A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Thirteenth: The Ferocious Fire
Chapter 3
That night, Olaf led the siblings to sleeping quarters. These sleeping quarters were even farther below the regular level. They had to take a wobbly looking elevator to get to the bottom levels, where the sleeping quarters were. The elevator stopped halfway down. For a few frightful seconds, the group was terrified, including Olaf, but then the elevator made a loud screeching noise, and slid down to the bottom floor.
"Stairs?" Sunny asked.
"What does she mean by that?" Olaf demanded.
"She meant 'can't we use the stairs next time?'" Violet replied.
"There are no stairs. Now no more questions!" Olaf snapped.
"No stairs?!?" Klaus asked impulsively, even though Olaf told them not to ask any more questions.
Olaf immediately stopped walking. The Baudelaires then realized with mounting nerves that Olaf's hands were balled in fists, his hands shaking with suppressed rage. "NO QUESTIONS!" he shouted. Then, with a move like a lightning bolt, he punched Klaus hard across the eyes. This was the second time that Olaf had done this. Klaus slumped on the floor, holding broken glasses. His eyes started puffing up and turning a brownish color. His lids started swelling over his eyes. Tears then poured from Klaus. Sunny and Violet both ran to him and sat with him, comforting him. Olaf just glared and said "Get up"
"He's hurt! He needs ice or something!" Violet said, pleadingly.
"NO! NOW GET UP!"
Now, you must be wondering what possessed Olaf to do such a horrible thing. Some say it was just his evil nature. Others say Klaus deserved it. But I know the truth: Count Olaf was bi-polar. From his birth, he was diagnosed with it. He had nothing to control it. This just may be the reason for all of the terrible deeds that Olaf had committed in his lifetime.
Seething with anger, Violet helped Klaus up and comforted him, as he sobbed uncontrollably. Sunny just crawled behind them, baring her teeth in case of another attack. Olaf led them through a dimly lit hall, with only a few torches here and there. It reminded them of the tunnel from the Baudelaires' mansion. After a few twists and turns, Olaf ushered them into a cold, empty room. The room seemed very cramped and small. There was straw and a stick of butter on the hay. There was a kerosene lamp in one of the corners. Also, scattered throughout the room, were large muddy looking piles of fresh poop.
Although Violet was surprised and disgusted at these horrid conditions of their sleeping quarters, she dared not ask any questions.
"Now get inside and stay inside. No coming out until tomorrow morning." Olaf said, and with that, he slammed the door, and bolted it on the outside.
"Violet, what do we do? We're trapped, my eye is sore, and we are stuck in a series of unfortunate events!"
"I have a plan, but it's dangerous, and I don't know if I want to share it yet." Violet said.
Taken aback at her secrecy, Klaus suddenly snapped "Violet! This a time for sharing your plan! You need to confide in us!"
Violet screamed back "Klaus, you don't understand! This is dangerous, what I have thought of!"
"I don't give a damn how dangerous it is! We need to escape!"
Silence reigned. No one spoke. Klaus had never before used a curse word. Even Klaus seemed surprised at himself. Now, I know you all are probably thinking "why had he not uttered a curse word before?" And my answer is that his parents raised him so as to never curse even in times of stress. You see, Klaus, Violet, and Sunny were all raised as "goody-goodies". They never did anything bad. This is why the silence reigned...
"I'm so sorry, Violet. I didn't mean to yell at you. I'm just under a lot of stress now.
"I guess I will forgive you, Klaus, yet I feel like giving you another shiner."
"I just need to know one thing: When will you share your plan?"
"I don't know. Maybe very later tonight. In fact, if all goes well, we will escape tonight. But for now, rest."
Klaus obliged, but he couldn't help wondering. He was so anxious, it took him a long time to sleep. As he closed his eyes and finally snoozed off, he took one last look at Violet. She had her eyes wide open, her hair in her ribbon...
*
"Klaus, get up! Psst, Klaus, get up!" Violet whispered to Klaus.
"Sunny get up! Psst, Sunny, wake up!" she then whispered to Sunny.
"Huh? Wha-What is it?" Klaus blearily murmured.
"Shh! We're going to put my plan into action"
"Oh, right." Klaus said, and he instantly put on his spectacles and polished them.
Sunny then drearily got up and rubbed her eyes. Violet then started pacing the room, biting her fingernails, an unworldly habit.
"I've got a plan that will be helped into action by some of the resources found in this room."
"Violet, please, tell us what the plan is!" Klaus asked.
"Okay...it's not that brilliant, but it's very dangerous. It involves...fire."
"F-fire? Again?" Klaus stammered.
"Yes, Klaus, again. Now, the bolted door is made of wood. Strong wood, but wood all the same. You see the kerosene lamp in the corner? Well, I've been trying to keep it lit all night, and I've succeeded. All we need to do is drop the lamp. Once it breaks, the fire will spread rapidly. That's why we need to move the straw away from the door. That will prevent the fire from spreading too much. And, unfortunately, we will need to shovel some of this...waste...in between the straw and us. That will prevent the fire from spreading toward us. We will move the straw stack onto the far side of the room, away from the door. The waste will surround the stack."
Klaus and Sunny just stared at her, flabbergasted.
"Well, don't stare at me! Help me shovel the straw onto the other side of the room."
Klaus and Sunny obliged. Soon all of the straw was on just one half of the room. Then came the messy part.
"Klaus, Sunny...now we need to move some of the waste around to surround the straw. Use anything you can find to shovel it."
Although disgusted, the Baudelaires all pitched in, using old rags and straw to move the poop around, trying their best to keep the poop away from their hands and skin. Finally, a thick layer of waste surrounded the straw.
"Okay, each of you take some straw. First I'm going to light all of this isolated straw, then I will light the straw that you pick up. Once I light your straw, hold it up to the door immediately. Eventually, the door will burn through. Also, after we get through, the fire on the rest of the straw will eventually burn through the waste, and will spread throughout the entire place. That's why we need to escape fast."
Quickly, Klaus and Sunny took several handfuls of straw and held them near the bottoms. Violet grabbed a bunch of straw and in the other hand, took the kerosene lamp up. She threw it in the straw stack, and it went immediately into flames. Then she lit her handful of straw in the flames, motioning for Klaus and Sunny to do the same. They immediately did. Holding the burning straw tightly, the orphans touched the straw to the door, trying to make it burn. After a few minutes, the door finally charred enough so that there was a tiny hole in the door. The orphans threw their burning straws behind them and clambered through the hole in the door.
Smoke was already filling out through the hole. Running and holding their noses, the Baudelaires reached the elevator, repeatedly clicking the "up" button. Finally, the elevator rolled down, and the orphans slid in. As the elevator began going up, it stopped again about halfway up, causing the orphans to get very scared. Then, however, it lurched up and continued upwards. Finally, its doors opened up. The Baudelaires ran through the doors as fast as they could toward the end of the tunnel, which was where the ladder to the outside world was. Silently praying that no one would catch them, they sprinted forward.
They reached the ladder, and hurried up, Sunny first. As Violet went up last, she heard a voice shouting behind her and she hurriedly scrambled up. Once outside on the beach, Violet shut the hatch. She immediately began thinking of a way to lock it. She told Klaus to fetch her nearby stick, which he did. Taking the sturdy stick, she shoved it between the handle and the hatch, knowing it was only a temporary bolt. Motioning for Klaus and Sunny to help her, she started shoving sand over the hatch, so as to add an extra weight to the hatch. Finally, it was completely covered, and Sunny and Klaus then stared at Violet, as if telepathically asking "what do we do next?"
"I don't know what to do!" Violet sobbed. "After all the excitement, I realize that I never considered what to do next!"
"It's okay Violet" Klaus said, soothing her, "I know what to do...we run. Far away."
And as he said it, the sand covering the hatch gave a slight tremble, and Violet and Sunny knew that Klaus was right, so they began to run. As they thought they were running away from their troubles, I sadly know that they were running right towards their troubles. In fact, they were heading right towards the heart of all their troubles.
That night, Olaf led the siblings to sleeping quarters. These sleeping quarters were even farther below the regular level. They had to take a wobbly looking elevator to get to the bottom levels, where the sleeping quarters were. The elevator stopped halfway down. For a few frightful seconds, the group was terrified, including Olaf, but then the elevator made a loud screeching noise, and slid down to the bottom floor.
"Stairs?" Sunny asked.
"What does she mean by that?" Olaf demanded.
"She meant 'can't we use the stairs next time?'" Violet replied.
"There are no stairs. Now no more questions!" Olaf snapped.
"No stairs?!?" Klaus asked impulsively, even though Olaf told them not to ask any more questions.
Olaf immediately stopped walking. The Baudelaires then realized with mounting nerves that Olaf's hands were balled in fists, his hands shaking with suppressed rage. "NO QUESTIONS!" he shouted. Then, with a move like a lightning bolt, he punched Klaus hard across the eyes. This was the second time that Olaf had done this. Klaus slumped on the floor, holding broken glasses. His eyes started puffing up and turning a brownish color. His lids started swelling over his eyes. Tears then poured from Klaus. Sunny and Violet both ran to him and sat with him, comforting him. Olaf just glared and said "Get up"
"He's hurt! He needs ice or something!" Violet said, pleadingly.
"NO! NOW GET UP!"
Now, you must be wondering what possessed Olaf to do such a horrible thing. Some say it was just his evil nature. Others say Klaus deserved it. But I know the truth: Count Olaf was bi-polar. From his birth, he was diagnosed with it. He had nothing to control it. This just may be the reason for all of the terrible deeds that Olaf had committed in his lifetime.
Seething with anger, Violet helped Klaus up and comforted him, as he sobbed uncontrollably. Sunny just crawled behind them, baring her teeth in case of another attack. Olaf led them through a dimly lit hall, with only a few torches here and there. It reminded them of the tunnel from the Baudelaires' mansion. After a few twists and turns, Olaf ushered them into a cold, empty room. The room seemed very cramped and small. There was straw and a stick of butter on the hay. There was a kerosene lamp in one of the corners. Also, scattered throughout the room, were large muddy looking piles of fresh poop.
Although Violet was surprised and disgusted at these horrid conditions of their sleeping quarters, she dared not ask any questions.
"Now get inside and stay inside. No coming out until tomorrow morning." Olaf said, and with that, he slammed the door, and bolted it on the outside.
"Violet, what do we do? We're trapped, my eye is sore, and we are stuck in a series of unfortunate events!"
"I have a plan, but it's dangerous, and I don't know if I want to share it yet." Violet said.
Taken aback at her secrecy, Klaus suddenly snapped "Violet! This a time for sharing your plan! You need to confide in us!"
Violet screamed back "Klaus, you don't understand! This is dangerous, what I have thought of!"
"I don't give a damn how dangerous it is! We need to escape!"
Silence reigned. No one spoke. Klaus had never before used a curse word. Even Klaus seemed surprised at himself. Now, I know you all are probably thinking "why had he not uttered a curse word before?" And my answer is that his parents raised him so as to never curse even in times of stress. You see, Klaus, Violet, and Sunny were all raised as "goody-goodies". They never did anything bad. This is why the silence reigned...
"I'm so sorry, Violet. I didn't mean to yell at you. I'm just under a lot of stress now.
"I guess I will forgive you, Klaus, yet I feel like giving you another shiner."
"I just need to know one thing: When will you share your plan?"
"I don't know. Maybe very later tonight. In fact, if all goes well, we will escape tonight. But for now, rest."
Klaus obliged, but he couldn't help wondering. He was so anxious, it took him a long time to sleep. As he closed his eyes and finally snoozed off, he took one last look at Violet. She had her eyes wide open, her hair in her ribbon...
*
"Klaus, get up! Psst, Klaus, get up!" Violet whispered to Klaus.
"Sunny get up! Psst, Sunny, wake up!" she then whispered to Sunny.
"Huh? Wha-What is it?" Klaus blearily murmured.
"Shh! We're going to put my plan into action"
"Oh, right." Klaus said, and he instantly put on his spectacles and polished them.
Sunny then drearily got up and rubbed her eyes. Violet then started pacing the room, biting her fingernails, an unworldly habit.
"I've got a plan that will be helped into action by some of the resources found in this room."
"Violet, please, tell us what the plan is!" Klaus asked.
"Okay...it's not that brilliant, but it's very dangerous. It involves...fire."
"F-fire? Again?" Klaus stammered.
"Yes, Klaus, again. Now, the bolted door is made of wood. Strong wood, but wood all the same. You see the kerosene lamp in the corner? Well, I've been trying to keep it lit all night, and I've succeeded. All we need to do is drop the lamp. Once it breaks, the fire will spread rapidly. That's why we need to move the straw away from the door. That will prevent the fire from spreading too much. And, unfortunately, we will need to shovel some of this...waste...in between the straw and us. That will prevent the fire from spreading toward us. We will move the straw stack onto the far side of the room, away from the door. The waste will surround the stack."
Klaus and Sunny just stared at her, flabbergasted.
"Well, don't stare at me! Help me shovel the straw onto the other side of the room."
Klaus and Sunny obliged. Soon all of the straw was on just one half of the room. Then came the messy part.
"Klaus, Sunny...now we need to move some of the waste around to surround the straw. Use anything you can find to shovel it."
Although disgusted, the Baudelaires all pitched in, using old rags and straw to move the poop around, trying their best to keep the poop away from their hands and skin. Finally, a thick layer of waste surrounded the straw.
"Okay, each of you take some straw. First I'm going to light all of this isolated straw, then I will light the straw that you pick up. Once I light your straw, hold it up to the door immediately. Eventually, the door will burn through. Also, after we get through, the fire on the rest of the straw will eventually burn through the waste, and will spread throughout the entire place. That's why we need to escape fast."
Quickly, Klaus and Sunny took several handfuls of straw and held them near the bottoms. Violet grabbed a bunch of straw and in the other hand, took the kerosene lamp up. She threw it in the straw stack, and it went immediately into flames. Then she lit her handful of straw in the flames, motioning for Klaus and Sunny to do the same. They immediately did. Holding the burning straw tightly, the orphans touched the straw to the door, trying to make it burn. After a few minutes, the door finally charred enough so that there was a tiny hole in the door. The orphans threw their burning straws behind them and clambered through the hole in the door.
Smoke was already filling out through the hole. Running and holding their noses, the Baudelaires reached the elevator, repeatedly clicking the "up" button. Finally, the elevator rolled down, and the orphans slid in. As the elevator began going up, it stopped again about halfway up, causing the orphans to get very scared. Then, however, it lurched up and continued upwards. Finally, its doors opened up. The Baudelaires ran through the doors as fast as they could toward the end of the tunnel, which was where the ladder to the outside world was. Silently praying that no one would catch them, they sprinted forward.
They reached the ladder, and hurried up, Sunny first. As Violet went up last, she heard a voice shouting behind her and she hurriedly scrambled up. Once outside on the beach, Violet shut the hatch. She immediately began thinking of a way to lock it. She told Klaus to fetch her nearby stick, which he did. Taking the sturdy stick, she shoved it between the handle and the hatch, knowing it was only a temporary bolt. Motioning for Klaus and Sunny to help her, she started shoving sand over the hatch, so as to add an extra weight to the hatch. Finally, it was completely covered, and Sunny and Klaus then stared at Violet, as if telepathically asking "what do we do next?"
"I don't know what to do!" Violet sobbed. "After all the excitement, I realize that I never considered what to do next!"
"It's okay Violet" Klaus said, soothing her, "I know what to do...we run. Far away."
And as he said it, the sand covering the hatch gave a slight tremble, and Violet and Sunny knew that Klaus was right, so they began to run. As they thought they were running away from their troubles, I sadly know that they were running right towards their troubles. In fact, they were heading right towards the heart of all their troubles.
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