Chapter Five
"Izzy. Isadora. Isadora Quagmire!"
"Huh?" Isadora turned to Klaus, her eyes red and her face splotchy.
"We should get moving. We need to find Violet and Duncan."
"Yes." Isadora took a deep breath. "Yes, you're right. L-let's find Violet."
"Sunny crawled over to Isadora and placed a tiny hand on her arm. "Greenie."
"Duncan will be okay," Klaus reassured his friend. "I promise, we'll find him."
...
"Duncan. Duncan, are you awake?"
The dark-haired boy laying in the hospital bed next to Violet blinked awake. "Where are we?"
"Tied to a bed in some hospital room."
"Oh, great. I'm trapped in another small space with a girl."
It was at that moment that Violet realized something about Duncan she had not previously known. "You're claustrophobic."
"Me? No. I just feel like this room is a bit cramped, don't you?" Duncan struggled against his bonds.
Violet laughed. "Sure."
"Hey, you'd be afraid too if you got trapped in the bottom of an elevator shaft!"
"So you admit it!"
Duncan groaned. "Just untie me already."
"Self-centered, much?" Violet said jokingly, sitting up and untying the rope around her feet. "Come on," she cut Duncan free. "We're getting out of here."
The two children climbed out of the bed and crossed the room to Babs. Duncan untied her; after warning her to be quiet the trio went in search of a fast way out of the hospital. They slipped into a break room to talk over a plan. Babs began to laugh nervously.
"If we put on these medical coats and disguise ourselves as doctors we can wander freely around the hospital," Violet said, grabbing some white coats off the coat rack.
Duncan smiled. "That's what our siblings would do."
"I'll do it!" Babs shrieked. "I'll do anything! I want to live!"
"Well that's a shame, isn't it?" The trio turned. Count Olaf stood in the doorway, looking at them with a menacing grin. "We don't always get what we want."
...
Moments before the previous scene, a different trio entered the break room.
"What do we do now?" Klaus asked. "We'll never find our siblings if we wander around the hospital singing all day."
"If we could get a look at a patient list, we could figure out where Olaf is hiding Duncan and Violet," Isadora said. "But no one is going to hand over their patient list to a couple of children."
"Incognito," Sunny squeaked, pointing to a rack of medical coats and a fake beard.
Isadora smiled. "If Olaf can fool people by wearing disguises I don't see why we can't."
Klaus nodded. "Let's get to work."
A few minutes later, Klaus and Isadora with Sunny tied to her exited the break room.
"Excuse me, you there!" Klaus called to a passing volunteer fighting disease. The volunteer turned.
"My colleague and I have misplaced our patient list," Isadora said in a fake British accent. "Might we have a look at yours?"
"I'm afraid I need my list," the volunteer said. "But I'm sure that other doctor over there would be happy to lend you his."
"Who requires my assistance?" Count Olaf in disguise asked. His nametag read: Dr. Matthias Medicalschool.
"We were wondering if we might see your..." Isadora's voice trailed off as Olaf came closer.
"If we might see your patient list," Klaus finished for her.
"You both look a bit young to be doctors," Count Olaf said. "Where did you study medical school?"
"Oxford," Klaus said matter-of-factly, not pointing out that you study at medical school.
"Sure you did. I'd be happy to make you a copy of the list in my office. This one looks like she could use the exercise." Olaf poked Isadora's over-large stomach, which was really Sunny under her hospital coat.
"Sir, we have a patient in urgent need of medicine," Isadora lied.
"And you wouldn't want the public to know that a patient died on your watch," Klaus said, stepping right in front of Count Olaf. "Would you, Dr. Medicalschool?"
"All right," Olaf said through gritted teeth. He spun his clipboard around, making the list impossible to see. "I saved a life today. You're welcome, um... What did you say your names were?"
"I'm Dr. Faustus," Klaus said promptly. "And this is my colleague, Dr. um..."
"You don't know your own partner's name? Awkward."
"Tushman. Dr. Tushman," Isadora said.
"Tushman?"
"M.D."
"Hmphf." Olaf walked away.
Klaus and Isadora waited for him to turn a corner before speaking.
"Now what?" Isadora asked. In response, Sunny's tiny hand poked out of Isadora's coat, holding the patient list tight. "Your sister is amazing!"
...
"You're a very naughty girl, Violet," Esmé Squalor said as she and the white-faced women belted Violet to a hospital bed.
"What have you done with Duncan?" Violet cried, struggling to get free.
"Well, as much as I enjoy young love, you were quite the bad influence on him. We decided to separate you two."
"We call that forbidden love," one of the white-faced women said.
"Now it's time for you to sleep," said the other woman, fixing a plastic mask to Violet's face.
Esmé counted back from ten, and Violet blacked out.
...
No matter how much Duncan struggled, he couldn't free himself from the chair. "Let me go!"
The hook-handed man rolled his eyes. "Honestly boy, do you really think yelling at me is going to make me obey you?"
"Well, what would make you let me go?"
"You could beat me in poker."
"Bring out the cards."
"Okay." The hook-handed man stood up. "Wait! No! You won't get away that easily. Not this time." The man wheeled over an anesthesia machine. He strapped a mask to Duncan's face. "Sweet dreams."
These chapters feel really long when I'm writing them, but when I go back and read them they seem really short? Do you think the chapters are too short?
Please review if you have any comments, questions, or suggestions. You can also review simply to say you liked the chapter.
Well, that's all for now. See you in the next chapter!