(Matilda's POV)

Quietly, I open and peek through the doorway, looking around for any sign of life. I see none.

"All clear," I tell the rest of them as I step out into the hallway.

"Okay. Where to now?" Uncle Nigel asks.

"Well, like I said, we need to find the lab. It contains the antidote."

"How do you know he even has a lab?" Veruca asks.

"Where else would you create potions and antidotes?"

"Touche."

"Anyway, it's very far down," I explain as we walk through the corridor.
"We suspect at the very lowest level of the factory. We need to look around for any staircases or secret passages that he may have."

"You mean, like this one?" Dani asks as she scurries over to the end of the corridor.

I rush over to her and, sure enough, there's a secret passage in the form of a staircase.

Killing two birds with one stone, I think.

"Yeah. How did you see that?" I ask astonished.

Dani gives a small shrug.

"Guess I just could."

"Okay, c'mon everyone. This way!" I exclaim to the rest of the group.

The group catches up to me. I'm about to take a step inside when I feel a paw grab onto my sock and pull.

"Wait a minute. Something doesn't feel right about this," James tells me as I look down at him.
"Why would a secret passage just….be open like this? Unless it's a trap."

"Why would it be a trap? Maybe Wonka forgot to close it the last time he used it."

"Doubt it," Violet adds.
"He may be scatter-brained, but he doesn't seem like someone who would make mistakes like this."

I consider this possibility; maybe it is a trap? I'm not sure. I don't know Mr. Wonka THAT well.

"Maybe we should just give it a try," I suggest.

Slowly, I place my foot on the first step. Nothing happens.

"Seems okay so far."

I place my other foot down on the second step. Then the third. Then the fourth. Then the fifth—

"What was that?" I gasp.

All of a sudden, I see the stairs begin to flatten into a slide, and my eyes grow wide.

"I told you," James shrugs.

I try to grab onto someone for balance. I grab Augustus's hand. Violet grabs his. Veruca grabs Violet's. The squirrels cling onto them. And Mr. Salt just stands there. I slip underneath my feet as the stairs flatten, sending me and the others tumbling down the slide.

We spiral down, screaming all the way, until we hit onto flat ground. I find that it's extremely dark. I hear something dripping and splashing. I see glowing eyes, and I begin to fear the worst.

"It's not—"I begin to say, my heart pounding in my chest.
"It can't be."

"Oh, ho, ho, but it is," Willy Wonka's voice cackles through an intercom.

"I know you're afraid of log flumes, my dear, especially being trapped in one, so I took the trouble of propping open a secret passage for you to stumble upon."

In panic, I fall into a ball and begin rocking back and forth in an attempt to calm myself.

"Now I know you must be in pure panic right now, but that's normal. My oompa loompas are on their way to collect you and the others and return you to your rightful places."

His emphasis on the word "rightful" makes me shiver at what it means for my friends, but I nearly scream at the thought of what it means for Augustus, Violet, and Veruca.

"Now don't try to go anywhere. There are animatronics ready to grab you at any time. However figuring that perhaps you should be foolish enough to try to escape, I have sent logs through the tunnels. But I wouldn't try to do so. It's impossible to escape without the assistance of my oompa loompas. Now enjoy the ride, dearies. For some of you, it will be. your. last."

And the intercom clicks off, leaving us in dead silence.