Chapter 3: In Which the Baudelaires ACTUALLY WATCH THE MOVIE! And in which I still don't own anything!

The previews were over. Finally. Klaus had started to get restless when there were no ads for lilypad documentaries on the screen. But what happened next blew those lillypads right out of his rather large head.

The happy Disney music changed abruptly to a single, eerie violin. The television screen went black and in the darkness of the remote mountain cave (you always turn off the lights when watching a movie) the Baudelaire orphans shivered.

The blackness on the screen changed slowly to dark navy, and only when there were ripples did the Baudelaire's realize that it was a body of water. The cries of unseen birds were heard, and a dark figure swooped past. Klaus couldn't help but remember Lake Lachrymose, and its unseen dangers. Violet thought of how once you fell in before waiting you were dead, no way to stop it. Little Sunny shuddered at the thought of the leeches, with teeth so dangerous. She delicately fingered her own four fangs.

The screen went dark again, and the Baudelaires found themselves looking at the coarse fur of a cat – a black cat. Its green eyes stared intently at each of the children and it curled its paws, as if ready to pounce at them and out of the television. Instead, the cat shook, its fur standing up angrily, and walked next to a ladder. Its skinny tail lightly curved around the ladder's leg, and with a sudden jerk, the cat pulled the ladder down. The camera followed the cat as it scurried away, and the scream of a man could be heard. Violet reminded herself to never be a construction worker.

The cat slowed down, its footsteps a steady rhythm of pat pat pat until it came to a cliff edge. Upon looking down, the screen turned to the same navy colour as before, the one that so resembled Lake Lachrymose. In an instant large jaws swooped up from the dark water, and much thrashing could be heard. During all the action, the camera was pointed towards a lone tree, whose only leaves were on the ground, dark and crumbled. When the noise subsided, the camera went back to the cliff edge only to see a jumble of rocks, and no cat or sea creature.

The wind picked up and leaves flew across the screen so wildly the vision blurred. When clear again, a cracked mirror was seen in the upper right hand corner. The only image was a woman brushing her hair. Her face was older behind her years, and her dark hair curled like seaweed on her shoulders.

At a time like this, Klaus might say, "Why, that's physically impossible! No human can lick their elbow, get out of the pretzel position in under two hours or havetheir reflection in a mirror without being in front of it!"

Violet might think, "How spiffy! I think I'll invent a mirror like that!"

And our dear Sunny would most likely say, "Kewl," meaning 'I imagine it would be quite an experience biting such an object,"

However the Baudelaire orphans said nothing. Their eyes were transfixed on the screen. Violet wasn't sure why, but her heart was beating wildly. Klaus squeezed his hands to find his palms sweaty; Sunny realized that she had been grinding her teeth.

The movie went on. The woman stepped away form the mirror and into the bleak room. She was wearing dark robes. The woman walked swiftly and the camera followed her to a stable. Stealthily, the woman mounted on the horse and put it into a gallop. As they flew across a field, the woman's robes fluttered in the wind, to reveal an eye on her left ankle. All that could be heard was a swish as the pair moved across the wind, the horse's running silent. A loud buzz broke the silence and surprised the orphans. It was from a fly, moving tauntingly across the screen. After a moment, it disappeared, and the camera focused on the horse and rider again.

They were now nearing a cliff, the same one the cat had gone to. Instead of stopping, the horse ran, ran right over the cliff and into the air. There it stayed beautifully then dove in a graceful arc. Once again, the camera focused on the single tree in the area as a light plop was heard.

This time, there was something different about the tree. The leaves below it were arranged in a ring circling the tree. The image of the tree went blurry for a second, then faltered, blinking. In a snap the tree had disappeared and all that was left was the ring. The camera went into a birds eye view and looked down upon the ring, where, if not a tad bit obvious, the word 'The Ring' appeared in a red, dripping text. The image stayed on screen for but a moment, until it was promptly replaced with static.

No one got up to bang on the TV until it got working again. No one got up at all.

From the depths of the remote mountain cave, the phone rang, its brrring penetrating the silence. The orphans exchanged glances and Violet whispered, "I'll get it," She stood up shakily and walked deeper into the cave, her siblings watching her until she disappeared into the darkness.

The static remained.

It's been a while since I've watched The Ring, so I improvised. I tried my hand at a little horror, but I've decided that next chapter is definitely humor again. Thanks so much for the reviews! They really inspire me… sniff Incentives are good….o.o Anyways, enjoy the summer heat (assuming that you don't live in Antarctica) and see you next chapter! ;)