A/N: wheeee @_@; ... -types- You BETTER appreciate this! It's taken me nearly an hour and a half to write ;p |

" Not necessarily..." Lily commented. " If me and Tess can climb down from a locked room twenty-eight stories up, we can probably climb up this.. it isn't THAT high. Maybe ten stories, tops?" Tess nodded in agreement.

" Yeah. I was in rock climbing when I was little, and this looks pretty easy..." The two oldest Baudelaires looked at the two in horror, but contemplated what it would feel like to be burned to a crisp instead... And it really didn't suit them. Lily caught a glimpse of Violets uncertaintly, and smiled.

" Its okay Violet. You can trust me and Tess' judgement." Lily soothed, and Violet nodded weakly. Tess cracked her knuckles and looked up, suddenly business-like.

" Allllright! I'll go up first, as I'm the one who had lessons and knows what I'm doing. Lily should come up next, then Klaus, then Violet. We'll have to strap Sunny to one of our backs somehow." Lily grinned and pulled out a long, hideous pink satin ribbon, that looked as if it had once belonged to a bathrobe.

" Olaf made me wear this thing... it was HORRIBLE. But I think I can tie Sunny my back. C'mere Sunny." Lily hoisted the youngest Baudelaire onto her back and tied her to herself in a way she had seen in a Japanese movie entitled Grave of the Fireflies. She jumped around a bit to make sure Sunny was secure, and then lined up next to the wall, the heat starting to become smothering once more. Tess started the climb, carefully placing her hands and feet into small holes in the cliff's face. Lily followed, carrying Sunny and apparently having relative ease with it. Klaus followed Lily, and Violet went last, making a mental note to come up with an invention that could scale a rock face for you.

The flames reached the base of the cliff at an alarming rate, and all five children could feel the heat searing at their backs. The fire slowly began to attach itself to the dry grasses that had found small patches of dirt and began to eat away at that as well. They had to hurry, or they'd surely be burnt to a crisp... They all hurried, hands getting cut, knees getting scraped, and all and all getting banged up. But, surely enough, the children made it to the top before the flames even had a chance to get within 10 yards if them. All three were panting heavily, but all had triumphant smiles on their faces as they walked swiftly away from the ledge, escaping the fire.

" We...rock...no...pun...intended..." Lily breathed slowly, Sunny still in her back. The others nodded, all exhausted from the climb. A cold gust of wind blew against them, causing them all to feel oddly cold. It gave each youngster a off, tingling sensation, as they had been scorching hot only a few minutes ago. They all instinctively huddled closer together to conserve heat. They walked...and walked...and walked. In fact, I cannot contain in writing how long these five children walked into the cold night, all shivering and nearly freezing the whole way. None had a clue as to where they were going, nor did they really CARE. They just needed to find shelter and get away from the fire. At first, they discussed several things and finally all agreed Olaf had set the fire, and just had not anticipated their escape. Anticipated is a word here meaning expected the children to be clever and strong enough to climb up a cliff face. But eventually, they all fell silent, shivering too hard to care. Violet gave up her poncho, which Lily and Tess quickly decided to share, and they wrapped the ribbon around Sunny in an almost mummy style. Shortly after that, Violet ripped the poncho's neck a bit and huddled under it with the others, and lastly, Klaus joined them as well. They looked quite funny, although it wasn't comical to the children. They were cold, cramped, exhausted, hungry, and frightened. And that, if you can't tell, is NOT the best combination of moods to be in. In the early morning sun, the group could make out a faint shape in the distance...

" Whazzat??" Lily inquired sleepily, squinting and yawning.

" I dunno." Tess responded.

" Can't tell..." Violet added.

" Too far away." Klaus finished.

" Busco." Sunny said, meaning " My guess is as good as yours..."

The youngsters all stared for a moment, trying to figure out what on earth was coming towards them...