Chapter 6: How it is important to carry a walky-talky
The tunnel was enormously deep. Charlie felt horrible while he and Mike were falling down. He even wondered if Alice in Wonderland thought the same during her trip. Every single time he beat his arm or leg with the iron walls, and it seemed to continue forever.
Anyway, after a while they landed.
-Hey, get off me, skinny freak! You aren't a feather, you know! – Charlie heard an irritated voice under him.
-I'm glad to find out you're all right too, Mike. – he sighed and got up, having a terrible pain in his knees. The fall was rather rough; so strange he didn't manage to break a leg.
Charlie looked around. He saw a huge round room, deepening in the center like a swimming pool. The floor of the room was all covered with cacao beans. There were also three or four pipes in the further ends of the room, and some strange machine hanging from the ceiling, just about 2 meters to the right from the hole they had fallen out. It was a heavy grey cylinder, and it had studs all over it. This machine looked much like a gigantic press and a mixer at the same time.
-Where are we? –Mike asked, looking as shocked as he was.
-It looks like a large pool, but instead of water there are these exotic beans the oompa-loompas are fond of. – Charlie noticed, cleaning the brown dust from his pants.
-You mean the Wonka guy bathes in the beans? Man, he's even weirder than I thought! – Mike laughed, smiling at Charlie.
-You have a lovely smile, Mike. –Charlie said, fascinated.
- Don't you ever tell me I'm lovely again, – the TV boy said quickly, not looking at Charlie and being a little embarrassed. – Now, where did we stop? Right, how to get out of this place and why the hell it's "top secret"?
Mike began seeking something in his pockets. He looked extremely bossy. At last he handed out a black walky-talky.
-What is it?
-It's a walky-talky, duh.
-Why don't you use a mobile phone? I know you're crazy for new technologies and your parents can afford something more modern.
-Because, you little jerk, if Marty Mc Fly from the "Back to the future" movie had used a mobile instead of this toy, he wouldn't have been able to chat with Doc Brown in the 19th century on the Wild West! We're inside Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, remember? Anything unpredictable can happen!
-I'm sorry, Mike, but I don't understand a word you're saying.
-Look, Charlie, just because you seem so nice to me doesn't mean you can be that unacquainted with movies. It's not physics or math, you know. Anyway. I'm trying to contact with my Dad right now.
Meanwhile, in the Guest room…Mr. Teavee heard a sudden noise out of his pocket. He remembered that his little son Mike put something heavy when they came to the gates of the factory. But what could it be?
"Brown reindeer, brown reindeer, this is sly fox, sly fox, do you hear me?"Mr. Teavee realized that the strange thing was a toy-phone. Everyone in the guest room looked at the walky-talky attentively. Mr. Teavee hesitated and after a few seconds of silence asked carefully:
-Hmm… Mike, is that you?
"Of course it's me! And you should call me sly fox, because in spy movies they always have some goofy nicknames!"
-Where are you, son? We're searching for you everywhere! I mean, Charlie is searching for you and we're drinking hot chocolate in the guest room… – he added, looking around at the group.
"Yeah, Charlie is with me. We together have fallen somewhere deep down, through the tunnel with a sign top secret."
Mr. Wonka stood up quickly from the cozy sofa and rushed to Mr. Teavee's walky-talky like mad:
-How could it happen, kid? It was locked by a code no one had ever known except me! I'm sure I didn't tell you! Did I?
"Well, it's all my damn scientific approach. I'm really sorry. I cracked the system. "
-How are we going to get them out of there? – Mr. Teavee asked the chocolateer, panicking. He wasn't glad when he saw that Mr. Wonka's face had given a troubled look.
-Well, it's the secret level of the factory. I can't let you go there, because I don't totally trust you, no offence. What if you let out my brilliant recipes? The kids will have to reach one of my glass elevators by going through all the rooms, some of them extremely dangerous, and end up in the upper levels.
"You mean we have to do it by our own?" - Grandpa George heard Charlie's frightened voice.
-Don't worry, little boy. You're going to be just fine if you listen to my instructions. Of course unless you entered the chocolate-making room… wait (the voice of Mr. Wonka became worried). What does the place where you landed look like?
"It's like a pond full of cacao beans. And there is a large machine hanging from the ceiling."
-Oh no, you have to get out of there, quick! The machine starts mixing the products at 14:00, and now it is…
-13:54, to be exact. – Violet said, giving a quick look at her sportive watch.
"Where is the way out?"- Violet and Veruca have never heard the voice of Mike trembling before.
-There's a little iron ladder in one of the ends of the room. But beware of the pipes! One of them provides the pool with sugar. It will start working in 45 seconds. Then you'll see warm milk flashing from the next one. You will still have the chance to escape the danger. But if you see the hot water from the third pipe, it will mean that everything's over for you.
"Why?"-I hate to say it, my dear children, but you will get boiled, then pressed and turned into the hot liquid chocolate for the river we had been swimming a couple of hours ago.
"End of discussion, Charlie. We gotta move fast!"For some time no one in the guest room dared to speak. But soon Mr. Wonka's face became bright as sunshine again:
-Anyone for a piece of cream cake?
Back to the guys…-The ladder, the iron ladder… Ok, after me! –Mike shouted, running forward, moving as quickly as he could. Charlie, not losing time, soon caught up with him.
They saw the hole of one of the pipes, and when they came closer, the red lamp in the wall near the pipe turned on. A large amount of sugar came out, making them fall off their feet.
-Too much sugar for such expensive chocolate! –Mike added nervously, getting up.
-Mike, we must run around the pool to find the ladder, right?
-Great idea, Bucket, let's do it!
They turned to the left of the pipe and started moving their feet quickly, though now it was hard. The cacao beans mixed with sugar slowed them down. Suddenly they saw another lamp burning red. The next moment a huge wave of warm milk covered them, and they now had to swim forward, not just to run.
Charlie swam as fast as he could, but still he felt he was losing control. Like him, Mike was struggling with the chocolate ingredients, and he seemed to be more successful.
-Mike, I see the ladder! Just a few meters forward, and we will be safe!
-I don't think so… -Mike said. And he was right. The third pipe's lamp turned on. The hot boiling water was coming. The boys could hear it splashing in the pipe.
Mike gave in all his strength to reach the iron handrails, and at last he had done it. He saw that Charlie had fallen behind, swimming desperately through the unready chocolate waves. There were only a dozen seconds left to save the kid. And at the same time Mike saw his wonderful, newest walky-talky in the pool! He had lost it when climbing the ladder!
"Ok, let's think what is more important: communication or a partner? Actually, Charlie is completely helpless as a partner, but… but… oh, I hate myself!"
-Quick, take my hand!
Charlie stretched his arm forward as far as he could. Mike pulled him closer, and soon they were in the middle of the ladder, going up. Now they were saved.
-Hey, look!
Charlie looked down. The pool was raising steam to the ceiling, and the machine was already working, mixing all the ingredients.
-Just imagine someone like Augustus Gloop eating you with appetite! – said Mike, still trying to catch his breath.
-Don't tell me that, or I'll fall down. – Charlie stammered out.
-Hey, I'm the one who's the Mumbler here! Everything will be great, Charlie. Just imagine the things we'll see! Isn't it fascinating?
-I hope so… and, Mike?
-Yes, Charlie. –Mike stopped climbing and turned back to face the other boy.
-Thanks for saving my life. I know it was hard.
-Don' mention. But if you want to thank me… What about giving me your body for my crazy scientific experiments? – Mike whispered slyly and made the most innocent face.
Charlie laughed and almost fell into he boiling pool.
-Carefully, skinny! I'm worried about you here!
Mike suddenly had realized what he had said and turned his back, annoyed.
Charlie smiled, feeling great, though his clothes were all covered in brown liquid. "You just said you were worried about me. But on the other hand, why do you have to drop the bone on me?"