Due to my involvement with Basal Wormwood and her story, A Succession of Unfavorable Experiences, I have also become involved with a secret organization you may know about. I was asked by my good friend Sunny to depict her and her family's adventure after leaving the island, and there you have it.
(By the way, Basal and I are also working on the story of another pair of unlucky siblings (the ones mention on page 130 of Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography. This should be up in a few days. I'll be doing most of it, as Basal is quite busy with her research of the Fairchild siblings and therefore doesn't need another huge research project - which is where I come in.)
The Calamity Continued
By Kab L. Indigo.
Chapter one: Yes, they are still unlucky.
For weeks, the four Baudelaire children had been preparing for the day when they would leave their island sanctuary. They had read every book, journal, newspaper article, and commonplace book that had been placed in the library or washed up on the shore. They needed to know as much as possible, and, after finding the diary of a volunteer called 'R', they learned that VFD was reforming, and growing stronger! They were starting to outnumber the villains now!
If there was ever a time for the Baudelaires to return to the world, it was now. They wanted desperately to aid the other volunteers in the rebuilding of VFD, and now that there seemed to be hope in Good triumphing, they couldn't help but get their hopes up.
Violet, Klaus, Sunny, and Beatrice hope that they might be able to find a volunteer quickly, and perhaps even their other missing friends – Duncan, Isadora, and Quigley Quagmire, and Hector. Perhaps even Friday Calliban, who had left the island months before with the other island dwellers – there was a possibility she was alive after all, right?
They disembarked at high tide, and the first few hours of sailing went very, very well.
Ah, but it was not to last.
With a loud BANG, the Beatrice crashed into a coral reef. Almost immediately it began slowly filling up with water, and the four Baudelaire children huddled together at the highest point of the boat, trying to avoid it.
"What can we do?" cried Violet. "We're going to sink!"
"I've read about people in situations like this," said Klaus. "But they usually escaped with a life raft, or swam to shore. We're much too far away…"
"Or a square made of books," reminded Sunny, "Kit, remember?"
"Mama." Said Beatrice, looking warily at the water. It was closing in fast.
"Right," agreed Violet nervously. "But all our books and supplies are in the hull. What can we possibly – oh!" suddenly Violet stopped talking. As her siblings watched, the oldest Baudelaire reached into her dress pocket and pulled out a ribbon.
All of those aboard the Beatrice smiled.
Violet stood and, carefully avoiding the water, began busily gathering things from the boat: one of the diving suits that had washed onto the island, a few extra nails and boards, chewing gum, and ropes. Violet handed the gum to Sunny (who still enjoyed biting), the rope to Beatrice, and the board and nails to Klaus.
"I'm going to go down and see how big the hole is," said Violet. "If I think we have enough materials to fix it, I'll push the boat away from the reef an try to repair it. Klaus, your job is to sit on the side of the boat over there and hand me the boards and nails when I need them. You're the only one who can reach far enough."
"Roger," said Klaus, taking the board and nails and walking carefully down the boat to assume his post.
"Beatrice, you tie this rope onto the neck of the figurehead." Violet continued. "I'm going to hold on to this part, and it'll need to be very tight, alright?"
"Roger," said Beatrice, copying her brother, and crawled to the head of the boat to begin tying.
"Sunny, I need you to chew up that gum, so we'll be able to seal out any leaks."
"Roger!" said Sunny, unwrapping the gum and starting to chew.
The children worked diligently, and for a time it seemed all would be well.
But that was simply not to be.
"Ahoy!" cried Beatrice. "Ahoy!"
"What is it?" asked Klaus, handing the next board to Violet.
"Ello!" Beatrice said urgently. "Ello! Open!"
Sunny spit a large wad of gum into her hand and handed it to Violet. "What do you mean, 'there's a wave coming'? I don't see – oh no!"
There was indeed a wave. It had started out large, far away from the children, and only seemed to be growing in size. It wasn't acting like a normal wave, to be sure. As Violet popped out of the water, the children stared at the strange wave, so shocked by the water's uncharacteristic actions that they didn't even think to move out of the way.
It looked as though a larger hand under the sea was holding up a wave puppet, and as it drew closer to the Beatrice the hand seemed to be pushing it further and further out of the out of the water. And it was headed right towards the children.
As Beatrice had predicted, the wave crashed right beside the starboard side of the boat – right where Klaus was balanced. The foam of the wave barely overlapped the boat, but the wave was huge, and this was enough. Klaus disappeared under the water, and all three Baudelaire girls jumped up to run (or, in Beatrice's case, crawl) over to the side of the boat and look desperately into the water.
"Klaus?" Sunny said in a small voice.
"He – he might be okay," said Violet after a few seconds, when it didn't look as if he would resurface. "We're all very good swimmers, after all."
"Caba where gruene?" asked Beatrice, meaning something like: 'But where would he be?'
"I don't know," said Violet, "But look:" she pointed into the distance.
Far, far away from them, the sea seemed to be gathering again. It slowly but surely began to form another wave, which crept closer and closer.
"Another wave." Sunny said in a whisper.
"We have to finish fixing it, quick," said Violet. "It's our only hope."
"I really don't like when you say that." Sunny said nervously, starting to unwrap some more gum.
"I know." Violet replied grimly.
"La quey." Said Beatrice. She probably meant: 'But maybe she's right.'
So the girls got back to work, trying not to think of what could have happened to their brother. They would be no good to Klaus – wherever he was – if they were there as well…or worse.
Two minutes later, Beatrice was interrupted from her careful watching of the wave – which was getting closer by the minute – to Sunny saying, "Violet? Violet?"
Beatrice turned and crawled closer to Sunny, who was standing nervously at the edge of the water.
"Pull?" asked Beatrice, pointing to the rope.
"Yes, thank you, Beatrice. I'm sure she just can't hear me…" Sunny said, but she didn't look so convinced.
The wave was getting closer.
Beatrice tugged gently on the rope. Her first thought was that Violet must be close to the surface, because the rope gave easily. But then, out of the water, came the end of the rope: far to short, frayed, and not containing a sixteen-year-old inventor.
"Oh no!" gasped Sunny grabbing onto the end of the rope. "Violet!" she cried, scanning the water.
"Bite?" asked Beatrice, beginning to cry softly.
"No – it's okay–" said Sunny, even though they knew that it was no such thing. "I'm sure she…she…I don't know."
Beatrice sniffed. They really did have awful luck. Sunny sat down on the wet deck, still holding the rope, and pulled Beatrice forward to sit on her lap and hugged her.
"Come on, you little thing." Said Sunny in an encouraging tone, though she was crying silently as well, "We'll be okay. I think it's fixed enough to make it to the beach, and we still have Klaus's maps – let's try and raise the sail."
But the two young girls had forgotten completely about the strange wave and, to add insult to injury, it hit at that moment, at it hit much harder than the time before.
If you have been an infant hit by a large wave in a half-broken boat after possibly loosing most of your family, then you know how Beatrice felt at that moment. If you have been a young girl who, after already losing parents, guardians, and friends, has just lost her two elder siblings on top of that, and is now covered by salt water with only a rope to hang on to, then you can identify with Sunny. Otherwise, you cannot imagine their terror.
Beatrice and Sunny were both very good swimmers, having grown up on an island, but the wave was very, very strong. Beatrice managed to reach out and grab ahold of something, and Sunny simply clung to the rope, both of them trying not to breathe in saltwater.
And then the wave settled. The youngest Baudelaire found herself holding tightly onto the wheel, which was turning slightly back and forth from her weight. The wave had managed to push the boat completely upright and off the reef, and only minimal amounts of water leaked from the nearly-repaired hull.
But where was…
"Sunny?" Beatrice called, scanning the boat and surrounding waters. "Sunny!"
"Beatrice!" called a faint voice to the infant's right. Beatrice crawled as fast as she could and pulled herself up to look over the side.
There was Sunny, at least three metres away and moving further fast. She appeared to be clinging to the figurehead of the boat, which must have come off with all the pulling on the rope Sunny had been holding.
"Sunny!" Beatrice cried again. "Swim!"
"No, Beatrice! I won't be able to make it! The current is to strong!" Sunny's voice was fading fast, and Beatrice had to strain to hear the rest of her adoptive sister's words. "Get to the beach, Beatrice! Find VFD–"
And then Sunny and her voice were gone.