Chapter 6: Fun with Frogs
An instinct is something in which either an animal or human – although there really isn't much of a difference between the two – innately knows something. One specific instinct is called the survival instinct. This particular instinct tells the individual when to eat, how much to eat, and gives them quick reflexes (such as dodging a mass of boiling tar you might see dropping from the third floor of a hotel just in time) in order to keep themselves from getting hurt. The Baudelaires did not have any special senses that no one else had, but they could still feel their instincts kick in and tell them that something very bad was going to happen in the near future. This feeling of foreboding happens to everyone who is about to go through a great deal of danger; the only reason why the Baudelaires could feel it while others may not was because they had become far too familiar with it.
So, as they walked down to the marshes and followed Aunt Blaine as she marched through the forest without following even the slightest idea of a path, the Baudelaires began getting more and more tense as they continued on deeper into the frightening forest. The three of them concentrated hard as they walked through the woods at a gentle downward slope and tried to make out any sudden movements deep within the forest. It is because of this rapt concentration that they barely noticed it when Aunt Blaine came to a stop.
"Here we are!" Aunt Blaine said as she surveyed the area with her flashlight-helmet and the orphans continued on for a few steps before her words caught up to them. The Baudelaires also looked around and saw the murky water they almost accidentally stepped in because they weren't paying enough attention to their surroundings – at least the stationary environment.
"Froggles?" Sunny asked and Violet didn't have to translate; it was self explanatory – well, sort of.
"The frogs should be hiding next to the shore here, so try to be quite and wait for them to come to you," Aunt Blaine explained.
"Then what?" Klaus asked.
"You lunge, of course," Aunt Blaine laughed. "Don't be afraid to get wet."
There was a loud splash and the two older Baudelaires quickly jerked their heads to see what it came from – Sunny apparently was not afraid of getting wet. She sat in the muddy water with a colorful red and green frog in her mouth and wore a grin that all but shouted "I got one!" with so much pride it could even give Olaf's ego a run for its money – well maybe not that much pride.
Aunt Blaine gasped and quickly looked through her supplies and took out a bottle of water while Violet retrieved the frog from her sister and put it in one of the shoe-boxes they brought down. "Don't do that Sunny!" Aunt Blaine said sternly, "You could get yourself really sick. Here," she said holding the bottle out for Sunny, "take a sip of some water, swish it around for a bit, then spit it out. Do that a couple times and you should be fine for the most part. Just don't do it again. And if you start seeing weird things make sure you tell me."
Sunny followed her orders as Klaus chased after more frogs with his older sister. They were having fun and Violet decided while tying her hair up with her ribbon to keep the hair out of her eyes as she chased the fast moving creatures. Involuntarily, the gears in her head starting moving and she consciously made them stop. She could have made an invention to catch the frogs easier, but what was the fun in that? Sometimes increasing efficiency isn't always the best thing to do.
When Sunny was finished swishing water, she joined her two siblings and all of them felt as if none of these series of unfortunate events mattered. It felt as if a giant weight was lifted off of them and they could feel young and happy again; for the first time in what felt like ages, the Baudelaires were enjoying themselves.
After a while of jumping about with beaming smiles and a lot of laughing together they had caught several colorful frogs which were placed into the shoe-boxes and were croaking loudly. The Baudelaires couldn't have been happier.
As they say, "all good things must come to an end" and, unfortunately, it proved true when they all heard loud footsteps and a low bass-pitched whistle – happiness was not an emotion the orphans would feel for a long time afterward and I can only hope they enjoyed it while it lasted.
They watched the place where they heard the whistle with rapt concentration then they heard the whistle from the other side of the murky waters, right near them. It slowly came into view, "Run children! Go back to the cottage!" Aunt Blaine screamed at them.
The monster was a big brown slimy creature with bright fiery eyes that shined in the darkness, giant jaws that bite and large taloned claws that catch. "What are you waiting for?" Aunt Blaine shouted at them as they hesitated. She unsheathed her blade and took a battle stance.
The three children stared in fright at the horrible creature, but not the one with fiery eyes, their eyes were still riveted on where the first whistle came from. Faintly, they could see the silhouette of a man wearing the rangers' hat, the silhouette of Count Olaf. There was no proof it was him, but their instincts didn't lie.
Violet was the first to move and yanked her two siblings into movement along with her, and they ran blindly into darkness away from Count Olaf, away from that horrible creature. And as they ran they heard a snicker-snack coming from Aunt Blaine's sword as she whipped her blade to and fro in order to defend herself from the disgusting beast – not Olaf; the other one.
Author Notes: Please, PLEASE review! Sorry I had to end it on a cliff-hanger type thing but yeah, that's what i've noticed a lot of people with many reviews doing so I decided to give it a wing. And thanks for all those who do review. Tell me if you think I'm beginning to loose The Voice by the way, I think I need to refresh my Voice do to the fact I havn't read the books in a long time because my sister swiped them from me before I went off to college.
No cool poetry this time around.