Ten
The point of no return is a point where going back the way you had come is impossible, and it usually refers to whenever we take a trip and we find that the road behind us has suddenly collapsed into a pothole or we've boarded a plane and then come to realize that it only has one working engine and then use a parachute to leap out, we could easily refer to this as the point of no return.
For the Baudelaires, they had reached the point of no return a long time ago, whenever they'd stood on Briny Beach and heard Mister Poe inform them that their parents had died in a ghastly fire and that meant there was no chance that the orphans would ever be children again; and therefore they had reached a point where they could never return to the life they once knew.
If you have read this far into the terrible tale of the Baudelaires then I'm sure you realize that the point of no return for you is probably whenever you picked up the first story of the children's woeful lives and began to read and have continued to read ever since on the assumption that the orphans haven't yet reached the point of no return.
But let me assure you, that just as Thursday, Miranda Caliban's husband and Friday's father died onboard the In-Finite Express and won't be returning that you have passed the point of no return and so now you can stop reading and return to some other point of interest to you or to your friends, such as peeling drywall or listening to classical music.
Because as Monday, Thursday's apparently wicked sister stepped over the pile of luggage that had crushed her brother, the older train attendant from the Kitchen was coming up to investigate the loud noise he had heard and the Baudelaire orphans were finding themselves stuck in the middle of these two people, one of which they were certain had joined Mister Dominic to rob the elite express they were all traveling on.
"What happened?" Ronald asked as he saw what had befallen poor Thursday.
"These children are murderers! They killed my poor brother!" Monday declared.
"That's not true!" Klaus said, pleading with the older attendant to believe him. "Oh dear me, I should inform Donald right away! This is totally against policy!" Ronald declared and then moved thru the Inventory passenger car, leaving the children alone with Monday. "But this was an accident!" Violet stated. "And we weren't the ones rummaging thru the luggage! You were!" Sunny added angrily.
"My brother and I have never seen things the same way, but he is still my brother just as I will always be his sister. So therefore I am blaming you for involving him in this mess just as I blame the Duchess for stranding us on that abysmal island years and years ago," Monday snarled angrily.
"You can't blame people for something that wasn't their fault," Violet argued, although she had no idea how Monday or her brother had wound up on the very same island that Kit Snicket had died on; but suspected that it probably wasn't the fault of anyone but a sheer accident much like their own lives seemed to have been.
"Shut up, Baudelaire! You don't know anything! Why don't you run off to your leader? I must mourn my brother," Monday muttered as she knelt down beside the crushed figure of Thursday.
Just then, the train attendant and another man who looked exactly like Ronald appeared from the other side of the Inventory passenger car and the twin declared, "Oh my goodness! What has happened here?"
"They murdered Thursday!" Monday squealed.
"Which is entirely against policy!" Ronald told him.
"I knew that allowing children to become attendants was a bad idea," Donald declared and then glared down at the four Baudelaires and said, "Ever since you boarded my lucrative locomotive you've caused nothing but trouble! First missing luggage and now a train attendant! What will be next?"
"But this wasn't our fault!" Violet tried to inform the man. "I've heard enough of this," the conductor commented and then added, "Where is that man who gave us the idea to use them as train attendants in the first place?"
"Mister Dominic is staying in the seventh passenger car, he is our guest," Monday said as she finished her brief mourning of her brother and then added, "If I were to suggest anything it would be to lock these miscreants up in their room and never let them out again!"
"I have a train to run! So I can't be bothering myself with these orphans," Donald decided and then turned to the frilly haired woman and said, "Since they did murder your brother, they are now your responsibility! Once we arrive at our destination we'll turn them over to the proper authorities!"
"But we didn't do anything!" Sunny objected. "And she was trying to rob the train!" Klaus added.
"An attendant robbing the very train she is working on? That's preposterous!" Ronald said with a chuckle.
"Why is that?" the middle Baudelaire asked.
"All of our attendants adhere to the In-Finite Express' policy of getting here to there without the mess!" the twin explained. Klaus and his sisters realized that it would be pointless to argue any further with him or the other attendants so he sighed weakly and waited as Donald and his brother left and soon they were with only Monday in the Hallway passenger car.
"You'll pay for what you did to my brother," Monday stated angrily and then added, "And I bet you are behind that theft as well!"
"Suolucidir!" Beatrice commented, which probably meant, "Why would we want to steal a termite collection?" or perhaps, "We were just trying to find out who drew this map!"
"I'll let Mister Dominic handle you!" she said with a wicked grin and then knocked on the villain's cabin door. In a matter of seconds, the children's nemesis peered out and looked down at them before stating, "What have we gotten ourselves into this time, Baudelaires?"
"They've killed my brother!" Monday stated.
"My what a vile thing to do," Mister Dominic commented, and behind him Professor Edwick stated, "I'm sure they're behind the theft of my termite collection as well." "I assumed the same," the frilly haired woman said with a nod.
"Hmm, well we can't have such dangerous individuals lurking about this thundering train, they should be locked in their room until we reach our destination!" Mister Dominic said with a sinister smirk. "You know for a fact that we didn't murder Thursday!" Klaus shouted.
"We're not killers!" Violet argued. "Just deal with them Dominic, and I'll help you rob the train," Monday declared and added in a conspiratorial whisper, "I do believe I might accidentally forget to lock the door to the Employees only passenger car tonight…"
"We'll discuss matters pertaining to my plan later. Allow me to deal with these annoying orphans," Mister Dominic told the train attendant, who winked back and then went off to perform some other duty.
"We didn't murder Thursday," Sunny added, although I'm sure by now you know that saying this didn't do much good for them.
Mister Dominic merely smiled at the defenseless children and remarked, "It seems no matter where you go that unfortunate events always happen as a result of your meddling. And now a precious husband and father has died because of the Baudelaires. I find this very amusing."
"Are you going to lock us in our room?" Violet asked. "I think that is the most sensible suggestion," Professor Edwick said with a nod and then added, "How else can we be certain that they won't mess things up."
"Yes, much like the missing termites; the Baudelaires always tend to get in the way," Mister Dominic agreed and then stated, "Locking you in your room will be the best way to see to it you are done for good!"
Before the four orphans could object, the two dangerous villains began to push them toward the Hallway passenger car and Klaus commented, "What're we going to do?" Violet though seemed the least worried and said, "I think I have an idea, but you'll have to trust me."
"All right," Sunny said with a nod. The four orphans cooperated as Mister Dominic and his associate made it all the way to the lounge, where other passengers had apparently already heard of the crime they had committed. "Keep those criminals away from me!" one man commented.
"I thought it was against policy for there to ever been an incident!" a woman cried out. "I really wish that they had found some bananas!" Mr. Bass stated. "I always knew they were trouble!" Mrs. Remora remarked with a sneer.
"I always knew they were trouble!" Nero mimicked and then added, "Where are you taking them Dominic?"
"To their rooms where they will cause no further disturbances," their nemesis stated. "But we didn't commit any crime!" Klaus tried to argue. "But we didn't commit any crime!" the Vice Principal stated and then added, "If it wasn't for you Baudelaire brats I'd still be teaching at Prufrock Prep!"
"Don't waste your breathe, orphan. No one onboard this train will be helping you!" Mister Dominic said with a laugh as they arrived at the Quiet car. "Since you're going to be locking us in our room, I demand to know what it is that you're plotting," Violet declared. Professor Edwick laughed and said, "She is just as stubborn as her mother."
"It will do no harm really," Mister Dominic conceded and then smiled and said, "I suppose you know by now that there other volunteers on this tangled train besides yourselves or Mister Caliban; am I right?" Before the children got a chance to confirm or deny that they knew this, their nemesis stated, "And this train is headed toward the rendezvous, the very same one that Gustav directed you to go to."
And before the orphans could deny or confirm this; their archenemy declared, "So the reason I chose to board the In-Finite Express should be obvious, Baudelaires! I'm not going to let anyone interfere in what I have planned for the Duchess! This train will never reach its destination!"
Pushing them into their room, Mister Dominic stated, "I'm afraid you've reached the point of no return, Baudelaires. That means there is no turning back now!"
As he closed and locked the door, the four siblings heard him and the Professor walk off back toward the front of the noisy train and Klaus sighed and went to stare out the window.
They were apparently now far from Lake Lachrymose, and far from the mountain range that might've been the Valley of Four Drafts; and far from their allies altogether and the middle Baudelaire felt very much like a failure because they had surely reached the point of no return.
"I wish we had gotten more of a chance to speak with Thursday," Sunny mumbled. "Or to find out where we are headed," Klaus headed. "Hsinif," Beatrice remarked, which probably meant, "We're locked in our room and now Mister Dominic is plotting to derail the In-Finite Express!" or perhaps, "Violet, didn't you say there was a way out of this mess?"
"Maybe," the eldest Baudelaire said as she tied up her hair in a bow and then paced around the small room to think. Once about ten minutes had passed, apparently Violet had conceded defeat and sank onto the bottom bunk bed and sobbed softly. "So we are trapped here," Sunny realized, and then sobbed alongside her sister. Violet tried to wipe her tears as she explained, "I had thought that whomever had drawn us those maps might've saw Professor Edwick and Mister Dominic push us back here to our rooms… but I guess we really have reached the point of no return."
"Don't despair Violet," Klaus told her and then sat on the other bunk bed and cradled Beatrice and stated, "Maybe there really are other volunteers on this train and they're coming to rescue us right now!" "Or maybe we're trapped in here and this exuberant express is going to derail," Sunny pointed out.
"I don't know… I had thought…" Violet said in between her tears, but apparently she couldn't even finish her sentence as she continued to cry.
All four of the Baudelaires cried for quite a while, because they felt certain that they had finally reached the point of no return; which you may already have realized is whenever there is no going back; because they couldn't see any way out of their room and they had no idea how they would even warn the other passengers onboard the In-Finite Express or be able to stop Mister Dominic from reaching the rendezvous; because the Baudelaires had reached the point of no return.
But sadly this was not the case, because they still had other unfortunate events to deal with onboard the In-Finite Express and they would not be pleasant at all; just as being stung by a scorpion whenever you have a sore toe is unpleasant.
And much like they had failed to save Thursday, they will fail to rescue everyone onboard the train they were traveling on, and only sink deeper into despair as the metal machine is derailed by Mister Dominic. They cried for quite some time, until the youngest Baudelaire noted that someone had slipped something under their door again and tugged at Violet to pay attention.
The eldest orphan looked down and smiled in surprise, because she had felt certain that she and her siblings were doomed. But then she frowned because whomever was assisting them on the In-Finite Express had not given them a key to leave the Quiet car, but instead it was another finely drawn map. "How is a map going to help us whenever we're stuck in our quarters?" Sunny wondered as she wiped away her tears.
The oldest Baudelaire unfolded the map and then looked down at the directions that were clear and precise and she wondered if they would even be able to follow them out. "What does it say Violet?" Klaus asked her, looking over her shoulder.
" 'Up and out'," she explained reading the directions, and both her and her siblings wondered if the point of no return was somewhere they could actually return to at all.
The Baudelaire's treacherous traveling is just about to be at it's worst! Read and review please!