Chapter 14 - The Oompa Loompa Village

Author's note: Hey everyone! Sorry about the long wait. I went through a brief phase of writer's block because I was trying to come up with some song lyrics. (I am a musician, but I really only write instrumental songs.) In the meantime, I updated my other story, Roy and the Chocolate Factory, a few days ago. This story will be my priority until I complete it, and then I'll make sure to dedicate more time to the other one. Time to respond to your reviews:

Linkwonka88, you can visit Roald Dahl's website to find out more about the missing content from the novel. And yes, it would be pretty cool if Spotty Powder was a real item! (At least that's what I would have said when I was a little kid!)

Sonny April, I'm glad you found it interesting. The room in this chapter is one that you have requested a couple of times (if you haven't noticed the title), so I hope you'll enjoy it!

Turrislucidus, I guess I must have overlooked that fact. Oops. Your suggestion about the kids observing the different stages of the effects of Spotty Powder would have been much more in line with the original draft.

Guest, that room will appear in the next chapter! :)

XXCandyLoverXX, that was very interesting. I know that the swirls would have been a lot more Burton-esque, but I was actually thinking about the Inventing Room, with the black floor and steel ducts and pipes, when designing the Spotty Powder room. One of your suggestions will appear in this chapter, if you didn't glean anything from the title. :)

Charlie Bucket, that should be interesting. I'll consider that room for later. Now, on with the story!

I was quickly running out of breath as we sprinted even further down the corridor. We rushed past several more locked doors, and it felt like an eternity before Violet suddenly exclaimed, "Here's an unlocked door!"

We all stopped in front of a round door that was even larger than the other doors in the corridor. The glowing pink label above it read: "OOMPA LOOMPA VILLAGE".

"Let's check this room out!" Violet said. "This should be interesting."

"Ugh," Mike groaned. "I absolutely hate those freaks!"

"Grow up," Violet said, glaring at him. "We're on a mission, and we're going in, whether you like it or not."

Violet opened the door, and a wave of searing heat washed over us as we entered an enormous jungle-like room. The domed ceiling was about one-hundred feet high, and a huge projector displayed white clouds that leisurely floated across an azure sky. Large, spherical tree houses were suspended high up in the trees, and they were connected by an expansive network of wooden bridges. The tree trunks were mostly hollowed out, and a spiral staircase wound upwards inside each one. The ground was mostly covered with moss and large ferns.

"Why is it so hot in here?" Veruca asked. She took off her mink coat and placed it on a nearby hook.

"Remember, the Oompa Loompas are used to hot temperatures," I reminded her. "Mr. Wonka said that to us back in the Entrance Hall."

As we began to explore the area, I noticed that the Oompa Loompas in the village wore outfits made of animal skins and woven grass instead of their usual work uniforms. Some of the Oompa Loompas were mingling with each other in a large clearing near the center of the room, and others were gathering cocoa beans from a large tree which seemed to produce endless amounts of them. There were even tiny Oompa Loompa children who were happily skipping across the bridges from treehouse to treehouse.

"Excuse me?" I asked an Oompa Loompa who was busy stuffing cocoa beans into a large bag. He looked at me with a curious expression. "Have you seen a key in here anywhere?"

"No, I haven't," he responded. "You should ask our supervisor, Roy. Every single day, he inspects every room in the entire factory to see how well we are doing our jobs. Ever since we moved in to the factory, Mr. Wonka never had to discipline or fire any one of us. That's how loyal we are to Mr. Wonka."

"So, where would we find him?" Mike asked.

"I don't have any idea of his whereabouts as of this moment, sorry," the Oompa Loompa said. "However, we do have a special surprise for all of you."

"Not another song," Veruca groaned.

"Uh, we really need to get going," Violet said urgently. "Maybe later."

"We'll let you be on your way shortly," the tiny worker said with a mischievous smile. "But first..."

He whistled sharply, and the sound of drums and trumpets began to fill the room. Hundreds of Oompa Loompas appeared, swinging acrobatically from vine to vine and rushing down the stairs to the ground. Some were playing musical instruments, and the others began to sing.

One has done right, four have done wrong,

So that is why we're singing this song.

We hope you'll leave with lessons to be learned,

Because, you four, your prize has not been earned.

Augustus Gloop, the eating machine,

Was stuck in the pipe, and what a sight to be seen!

Violet Beauregarde, it's so wrong

To be chewing, chewing all day long.

Veruca Salt, you little brute,

You almost went down the garbage chute.

Greed that went uncontrolled

Caused the squirrels to grab hold.

It was a miracle you were spared.

Mike Teavee, we did not regret that we

Stretched you tall, tall like a tree.

And who, just who, do we have here?

Little Charlie Bucket, have no fear,

For you've done absolutely no wrong!

So carry on, everyone,

Cause soon it will be down to one.

Only one can win the prize,

And we're watching with eager eyes.

Will you ever find the key?

We have no choice but to wait and see!

I was the only one who applauded once the song began to fade out. I glanced at Veruca, who was busy glaring at the Oompa Loompas, before turning to the others. Violet and Mike just stood quietly, and Augustus was still tapping his foot along to the fading drums.

Veruca turned around and stared at me with her blue eyes.

"I'm certain that was rehearsed as well," she said. "It was like they combined everyone's songs together, along with what was supposed to be mine."

"The nerve of them, reprising their stupid songs," Mike muttered under his breath.

"That's pretty much exactly what I said to Charlie after the two of us left the Music Conservatory!" Veruca exclaimed. "I believe they should all be fired at once."

"Veruca!" I exclaimed. "Don't say that! You're in their village, remember? They might have heard you." I frantically scanned the area, but I couldn't see or hear any sign of them. Thank goodness.

"I don't care," Veruca growled. "Someday, they'll get what they deserve."

"I really think we should go now," Mike said as he walked back towards the Main Subterranean Corridor with Violet and Augustus.

"Fine!" Veruca yelled before angrily storming to the entrance. She grabbed her coat from the hook, and I quickly followed her and the others into the Main Subterranean Corridor.

"Veruca," I said before putting my hand on her shoulder, "please calm down. We must keep looking for the...AHH!" Veruca roughly pushed me away from her, and I barely managed to keep my balance as I nearly fell over.

"I'm tired of this search," Veruca growled. "I hate those Oompa Loompas, I hate this factory, and I want to go home NOW!" She cupped her hands to her mouth and screamed, "DID YOU HEAR THAT, DADDY?!"

"Shut up, Veruca!" Mike yelled. "He can't hear you, anyway."

"You can stay here, Princess," Violet said, "but we're moving on." She, along with Mike and Augustus, began to walk further down the corridor to investigate more rooms.

Veruca and I just stood where we were for about five seconds before she broke the silence. "Fine!" she shouted. "I'll come along, then!" She grabbed my hand and we ran to meet up with the others.

"Oh, I see you're back already," Violet said coldly. "I guess you're a little bit more determined than I thought."

"Well, yeah," Veruca said with a scowl. "I'll do anything to get what I want."

"And you said that you'll do it yourself? Good job, best friend," Violet responded with more than a hint of sarcasm. "And to think that less than a minute ago," I heard her mumble, "she wanted to quit."

"Can ve go back to zhe Magic Hand-Fudge room?" Augustus asked. "I loved zhat fudge."

"Even after nearly becoming fudge yourself?" Violet said, snickering. "No. Besides, we can't backtrack any more. We need to keep moving."

The next few doors that we passed were labeled: "STRAWBERRY SHARKS", "BLUEBERRY BEARS", and "CRANBERRY COBRAS". To my dismay, they were all locked.

"Well, that doesn't help now that they're locked, does it?" Mike asked.

"No," Violet said, "but there should be an unlocked door coming up."

Just ten seconds later, we came across another door.

"Yes, it's unlocked!" Mike exclaimed in triumph as we stopped in front of it. The door was labeled: "SCARLET SCORCHDROPPERS".

"Great! Let's check this room out," Violet said before pushing open the big, round door. We followed her inside.

Author's note: I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. When I mentioned Roy, that was a reference to my other story that I'm writing. Hopefully my attempt at writing lyrics turned out well. The updates from now on will be more frequent, so don't worry. Also, something major will happen to the group in the next chapter, and I'm not telling you what it will be! (You can take a guess if you want, though!) Stay tuned! :)