Chapter 10: Good Vibrations?
Click, she heard the clothes chest lock and close and only managed not to panic and draw Olaf's attention through a supreme effort of will; but perhaps it'll be this will and determination that'll end up killing her in the long run, or perhaps, situation considered, the short run.
Of all the things that can be claimed as dead, the thing which is most often proclaimed to be so is the doornail. This is because it is clear that out of all the inanimate objects in the world, the most inanimate is the doornail. Not only does is just sit demurely on the door, but every now and then someone comes around and bangs it against the wood until it has been knocked lifeless once again. Right now, I'm sorry to say, Sunny was feeling as if in a few short hours, that she too would be dead, much like that poor over-struck doornail.
She strained her ears and attempted to listened through the steel encasement half-full with her own laundry. Her attempts were futile though because as much as she concentrated the only thing audible to her ears were the faint mumblings of people beyond her cage which only told her that they were still in the room.
As people moved around and things were said she noticed should could feel the vibrations of their feet through the floor far easier then she could hear their conversation through the steel chest and decided to pay more attention to their footsteps. As she listened images swirled in her mind about how the scene was playing out beyond, the loudest step was most likely the big man who looked like neither a man nor a woman, the self-assured brisk step was certainly Olaf's, the other two scraping steps, which told her they were sliding across the floor instead of walking, were most likely her siblings. Whatever was going on out there it sounded like it was probably painful. Sunny had the urge to make some noise so Olaf would find her and she could join her siblings, but shook herself off in time; it was no use to be in their horrid position as well. If she was, she couldn't help them later.
The vibrations changed and were slowly moving away and leaving the vicinity. She payed careful attention for a long time, just sitting there and concentrating on the vibrations through the floor; nothing, she felt nothing. They must have gone. Now she could panic without worry, and did so.
It is times like these where a superhero would summon up all his strength and use it to burst out of the trap or shackles or whatever other predicament they found themselves in and get away to defeat their enemy another day. Unfortunately for Sunny, she was not a superhero; she was an infant and had very little strength. What she did have was teeth; strong, yes; razor sharp, yes; useful in this situation, I'm sorry to say, no.
She tried to bite through the locking mechanism and free the hood from its restraint to no avail, it was simply too thick. She tried to gnaw through the metal walls of the chest but simply couldn't get a good enough angle in order to sink her pearly whites into it. Her teeth were useless in this situation.
She tried to bend the sides; dent it; anything. But with what little strength she had and her weak hands she only managed to hurt herself. Not only that, but while she was exerting all her energy she was beginning to get short of breath and the clothing covering her was getting sticky as she began to sweat. Inside the chest was quickly becoming a furnace and leaving her short of breath.
She gave up for the time being and relaxed her tired muscles and attempted to think of something to get her out of this situation. What would Violet do? she asked herself.
After a moment of vigorous thought no ideas came to her, but what did come to her was the vibrations of someone walking through the empty – a word here which means, "should have been empty, but now wasn't" – house.
She contemplated the situation for a moment. If it was Olaf she'd be captured and their plan would be foiled, while at the same time, if she couldn't get out their plan wouldn't work anyway. There was nothing at all of any practical use in the chest along with her so there was really only one logical choice: she made as much noise as she could and hoped whoever opened it for her wasn't Olaf.
The rumbling footsteps came toward her, attracted to the noise and it shouted something unintelligible to her and tried to open up the chest. It didn't budge.
"The key is on the dresser!" Sunny shouted out to whoever it was – a phrase here which means Sunny didn't shout "The key is on the dresser!", but rather "Drasaur!" – the person apparently didn't understand what she said and walked around aimlessly for a little bit before he or she finally found his or her way to the area where the dresser was and stopped for a moment – presumably to pick up the key – and walked back over to the chest.
There was a clink when the person inserted the object into the chest and another one when he or she twisted it in the latch. Before it opened Sunny sent up a prayer that those footsteps were good vibrations.
Where some people may blither and smatter in such a situation, Violet and Klaus responded with a placid acceptance as they were lead unceremoniously – a word here which means that they are not practicing any ancient traditions at the time – into the woods. Each step they took fell with a squish in the mud and the children quickly felt their feet grow heavy as all the mud in the path attempted to make their feet a means of transportation to somewhere more interesting.
By the time the two captors reached their destination the two elder Baudelaires were exhausted and far too lethargic to even think of making a quick getaway. Besides which, even if they did manage to escape from the big person's hands, they were far too disoriented in their surroundings to be sure that they could (a) find their way out of the forest and (b) get back to the house where their sister was stuck in the clothes chest.
They were at a clearing which made the Baudelaires' eyes pop out of their heads – a phrase here which isn't followed by "so they had to kneel in the mud in order to recover their lost eyeballs," because this phrase is merely used to describe the children's surprise and disbelief at what they saw.
If you have ever seen one of the great relics of the old world then you probably already experienced what the Baudelaires were going through when they looked upon what appeared to be a temple. It was large, not the Roman Coliseum big, but still rather large for a temple, and it also appeared to be made out of the same material as the Coliseum. Meeting their eyes as they looked at the building were two great gargoyles with bejeweled red ruby eyes as they loomed over the rectangular double doors that could only be the entrance to the sacred building.
It was not the type of display that would intrigue visitors enough to coax them inside; it was more of a warning to the unwary passer-by that, if they entered it, bad things would undoubtedly happen. Even Olaf gave the menacing creatures some respect, considering they both still had their ruby eyes.
They were herded into the building by Olaf and his henchman and willingly filled their eyes with its splendor. The room was drab, filled with dirt and leaves from the surrounding wilderness that had sneaked into the room through the windows which lacked coverings, but despite that, the room emanated with holy serenity which was probably strengthened by old chipped statues which looked like they were once beautiful works of art; it was definitely a temple.
Olaf took out a rope from a bag laying somewhere near what it appeared was supposed to be an altar and tied Willis-Sunny up so that the monkey would be completely incapable of moving and told the man with no discernible gender to keep a close eye on Violet and Klaus while he went somewhere.
Violet and Klaus shivered with apprehension. Did he know that Willis wasn't the real Sunny? Did he realize she was still back in the house? Was he going back to get her? These are questions I highly urge you not to find the answer to and to just stop reading now, but if you truly wish put yourself through the kind of agony that only knowledge can bring you, then flip the page and find out.
Author Notes: Review please. Don't make me beg, I dislike begging.