Chapter 15: The Tunnel of Terror

AN: Now, it's time to see what's next on the schedule after the departure of Truffle Shuffle and his family. Enjoy!

After a moment of silence, the group was still looking at the closed hidden door with looks of bafflement. It wasn't long before Patrick decided to break the ice in order to reflect on what they had just witnessed.

"Well, that just happened," Patrick commented.

"Yes and I must say that all seemed rather rehearsed," Filthy Rich nodded in agreement.

"Like they knew it was going to happen," Button also nodded.

"Yeah, what kind of place you running here anyhow, Wonka?" Jackpot said to the chocolatier.

Instead of answering that question, Wonka began talking in French. "Uh, Mesdames et Messieurs, nous partons maintenant pour un petit voyage en bateau."

"What did he say?" Mr. Mash said in confusion.

"Souhaitez-vous monter à bord du Wonkatania?" Wonka gestured to the nearby tunnel behind him.

At that moment, something was coming out from within the tunnel. Coming out of the darkness was what appeared to be a boat. Once it came out into the light, they all saw that it was a blue and white paddle boat with a total of 12 seats with red cushions. The paddle wheel near the stern was also colored red. One Oompa Loompa was steering the boat while four Oompa Loompas were near the back operating the paddle wheel. The boat also had a blue-and-white striped umbrella cover over the seats. The boat also had a small flag pole on the bow with a blue flag on it. On the side of the boat, the guests could see the name spelled out in capital letters, WONKATANIA. The guests stared at the boat in awe as it came up to the side of the bank and stopped in front of them.

"Wow! Look at the boat!" Flurry said.

"Yeah, it looks good enough to eat!" Bob smiled.

"That's quite a nice little dinghy you've got there, Wonka," Mr. Mash said in amusement.

"All I ask is a tall ship and a star to sail her by. All aboard, everybody!" Wonka invited the guests to board.

Bob, Flurry and Patrick all stepped forward, but Filthy Rich held out an arm to stop them from boarding.

"Hold it! Ladies first, and that means my wife and daughter!" Filthy Rich said, allowing his wife and daughter to board first.

While the rich family boarded first, Bob and Patrick had scowls on their faces while they also boarded the boat with their little sister.

"If they're ladies, then my brother and I are Parasprites," Patrick said sarcastically.

"Well!" Spoiled Rich huffed, having heard the comment.

"Are you sure this boat will float, Wonka?" Mr. Mash asked as he, his wife and son all got onto the boat.

"With your buoyancy, sir, you can be rest assured," Wonka nodded.

"I will admit that she's tres joli, but is she seaworthy?" Spectacle questioned.

"You have nothing to worry about, my dear lady. I take good care of my guests," Wonka said as he helped both Spectacle and Trixie onboard.

"Yeah, you took really good care of the shuffleboard kid over there," Jackpot rolled his eyes as he boarded.

Wonka then got onto the boat himself and did a quick head count to make sure everyone was onboard. In the first row of seats were Bob, Flurry, Patrick, Spoiled Rich, Diamond Tiara, and Filthy Rich. In the second row of seats were Mrs. Mash, Button, Mr. Mash, Spectacle, Trixie, and Jackpot.

"Everybody aboard?" Wonka said before sitting on a small stool in the front. "You're going to love this. Just love it."

The Oompa Loompa at the steering wheel ran a bell, signaling the Oompa Loompas in the back to resume paddling the paddle wheel. The boat began moving through the colorful valley and passed by the waterfall and glass pipes. It was extremely peaceful, until the voice of a certain rich brat caused everyone else to roll their eyes in annoyance.

"Daddy, I want a boat like this! A beautiful paddle boat like this is exactly what I need!" Diamond Tiara declared.

"The only thing she needs is a good slap on the wrist," Patrick whispered, causing both his siblings to snicker.

The ride continued to be gentle and soothing for the guests, but one of them was feeling a little queasy.

"I think I'm going to be seasick," Spoiled Rich moaned.

"Here, try one of these," Wonka handed her a rainbow-colored gumdrop.

"What is it?" Spoiled Rich asked.

"A rainbow drop. If you suck them, then you can spit in seven different colors," Wonka replied.

"Spitting's a dirty habit," Trixie said as she started to file her nails.

"I know a worst one," Wonka smirked.

As the boat continued on, Jackpot and Filthy Rich began to bond with each other, due to both of them being successful business men.

"What business are you in, Mr. Rich?" Jackpot queried.

"Nuts and Zap Apple Jam. You?" Filthy Rich answered.

"Magic tricks and casinos," Jackpot countered in return.

The boat continued to travel down the chocolate river until it went around a bend and started heading towards the other tunnel at the end of the room. This started to worry the passengers due to the darkness of the tunnel's interior.

"Hold on, where are we going?" Mr. Mash said in alarm.

"I don't know, but I don't like the looks of that tunnel. Hey, Wonka, let me off!" Jackpot yelled.

"Around the world and home again! That's the sailor's way!" Wonka answered with an eerie smile.

Soon, the entire boat was swallowed up by the darkness of the tunnel. With the absence of light, nobody could see anything in front of them.

"Faster! Faster! Faster! Faster! Faster! Faster! Faster! Faster!" Wonka ordered.

The Oompa Loompas in the back heeded the order and began paddling the wheel faster and faster. The reckless speed combined with the fact that there was no light began to scare the passengers, since they could logically crash into something and they all could get seriously hurt in the process.

"I don't like this ride, Daddy!" Diamond Tiara hollered.

"Mr. Wonka, please do me a favor? Tell those people to stop paddling back there!" Filthy Rich demanded.

"We're going too fast!" Spoiled Rich declared.

"We're gonna sink!" Trixie yelled.

"Why doesn't he stop the boat?!" Diamond Tiara shouted.

"Switch on the lights!" Wonka called out.

In a bright flash of light, the entire tunnel was now lit up with multiple colored lights flashing on and off, giving it a strobe light impression. While the guests were relieved that they could see again, they were still weirded out by the situation while Wonka just sat there with a plastered eerie smirk and unblinking eyes.

"What is this, a disco party?!" Trixie exclaimed.

"This isn't funny, Wonka!" Jackpot bellowed.

"I hope I live to regret this!" Mr. Mash closed his eyes and began praying. "There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place like home."

While some of the guests were scared of the sudden turn of events, some of the others actually found it kind of fascinating.

"Boy, what are great music video this would make!" Button grinned.

"You got to admit, this is kind of strange..." Flurry said with a smile.

"Yeah, strange, but it's fun! Ha-ha!" Patrick laughed.

"This is terrific!" Bob chuckled.

However, it wasn't long before all of the passengers began to grow afraid of the ride through the tunnel. On the walls of the tunnel, the guests began to see some random, creepy images. One of the images was of a swarm of bats with glowing yellow eyes flying through the darkness. Another image was a snake traveling across the face of a woman. Another image was of a pair of bloodshot eyes looking around in fear.

"I want to get off the boat, Wonka!" Mr. Mash cried out.

"Ugh, I think I'm going to be sick!" Spoiled Rich groaned in disgust.

"I can take a joke, but this has gone too far!" Filthy Rich whimpered.

"Tell the little guys to turn us around, Wonka!" Jackpot demanded.

Another image was of a silhouette of a guillotine and the blade fell down with an echoing thud, which scared the passengers into keeping quiet for the most part.

"AAH! Now I AM going to be sick!" Spoiled Rich screamed.

Another image popped up, but this time it was the face of Sombra, who looked at the passengers with a wicked smirk. After a few seconds, the image had vanished, but still left the guests unnerved.

"Sombra!" Flurry gasped.

"It couldn't be...!" Bob said in disbelief.

"Holy hallucinations!" Patrick exclaimed.

"How can you tell where we're going, Mr. Wonka?!" Mr. Mash asked in fear.

"I can't. There's no knowing where we're going," Wonka said calmly before he began to sing a mysterious ballad.

[Willy Wonka]

There's no knowing where we're going

There's no earthly way to know

So we're simply to and froing

Slowly getting vertigo

To the south, the wind is blowing

To the north, there may be snow

To the west, the moon is glowing

To the east, a cock may crow

Since we show no signs of slowing

Someone must know where we are!

But no destination's showing,

So it's all a bit bizarre!

Some of the passengers began to sing small bits here and there while Wonka continued on with song afterwards.

[Filthy Rich]

Though our mood is easy going

[Spectacle Lulamoon]

Like a game of tic-tac-toe

[Bob Nightwalker]

We must cease this dilly-dallying

[Mrs. Mash]

Shillyshallying to and fro

[Willy Wonka]

It's no mystery where we're going

Unlike Edgar Allen Poe!

Quite apart from our not knowing

It's the only place to go!

Wonka then stared ahead with a tired expression, which made the others really uncomfortable. Wonka almost seemed to have fallen into a catatonic state in which he was unresponsive. He then gave a startling yell and stared at the others with wide, unblinking eyes. He began singing again with his voice growing more and more frightening with each set of lyrics. All the others could do was stare at the chocolatier in fear and silence.

[Willy Wonka]

Not a speck of light is showing,

So the danger must be growing!

Are the fires of hell a-glowing?

Is the grisly reaper mowing?

YES!

The danger must be growing,

For the rowers keep on rowing!

And they're certainly not showing,

ANY SIGNS THAT THEY ARE SLOWING!

Wonka then let out an unearthly yowl that made the others shout and scream in terror. One final image appeared on the wall of the tunnel, which turned out to be the last straw. The image was the silhouette of a demon-like creature with sharp claws and fangs. The creature opened its mouth as if to bite at the passengers before it disappeared from sight. That was finally the breaking point for Diamond Tiara.

"Make him stop, Daddy!" Diamond Tiara screamed.

"Mr. Wonka, this has gone far enough!" Filthy Rich spoke boldly.

"Quite right, sir! STOP THE BOAT!" Wonka shouted before the lights went out and the boat came to a sudden stop.

AN: Whoa! Talk about being intense! Again, HeySpike does NOT own any of the songs. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. Next time, we'll explore the next stop on the tour. Until then, catch ya later!

Translations:

Mesdames et Messieurs, nous partons maintenant pour un petit voyage en bateau – Ladies and Gentlemen, now we are going for a little boat journey

Souhaitez-vous monter à bord du Wonkatania? – Would you like to board the Wonkatania?