Post by Tiago James Squalor on Jun 18, 2010 18:39:13 GMT -5
Chapter Five
That day, at Anwhistle Aquatics, if anyone had known what was about to happen, they would all have descended into the underwater submarine harbor and left, but unfortunately, no one at Anwhistle Aquatics had the gift of clairvoyance, a word which here means 'the ability to foresee the future'. Nothing could have prepared them for the betrayal, misfortune, and tragedy that laid ahead, not even a letter, sent from a not-too distant pub near Hazy Harbor inside a container carried by a bat. The bat, some would say, probably got lost, or into a fight with a competitive seagull, or maybe the bat simply did not correspond to the baticeer's expectations. I cannot tell what happened to that bat, but I can tell you what happened at Anwhistle Aquatics.
'Captain, the Mary Celeste has made another contact by telegraph. Here it is.' said a volunteer, holding a piece of paper in front of Elizabeth Anwhistle, who sat at her strange throne-like armchair in the bridge of Anwhistle Aquatics. Elizabeth seemed to be daydreaming, for it took her more han 10 seconds to grab the piece of paper and read the information it contained. After reading the paper, Elizabeth crunched it and then tore it to pieces. She then looked menacingly out the window towards the mysterious, silent ship, now closer to the station.
'Ready the cannons. If they come any closer, sink them.' she said.
'B-but Captain...' the volunteer stutered, but Elizabeth looked at him once and he stayed silent. When Elizabeth Anwhistle gave an order, she meant it. No one dared to go against her, not even a stubborn trio of siblings.
'Do as I say!' Elizabeth shouted, standing up. She was much taller than the volunteer, and the effect was that of a giant comanding a dwarf. Elizabeth descended from her throne-like platform, and gave one last order to a volunteer who was walking by.
'Tell me where are the Baudelaires!' she ordered, and the volunteer said.
'With Will and Wayne, C-Captain!' the man was terrified, but Elizabeth quickly left and he could breathe again.
Elizabeth exited the Anwhistle Aquatics bridge like a bull in one of Spain's bull runnings; anyone who crossed her path would suffer her fury. She was in no kidding mood, and now with her suspicions confirmed, Elizabeth only thought of her sword, and the time had come to draw it. Anwhistle Aquatics and every volunteer on board was in danger.
After a few twists and turns across the station she knew so well, Elizabeth finally saw Violet, Klaus, Sunny, and Beatrice Baudelaire with Will and Wayne, who was showing them how he trained his bats. It was noon, so everyone was off duty, Violet having fixed Elizabeth's expresso machine, Klaus having organized most of Elizabeth's papers in order of importance as clearly set by her earlier, Sunny having helped around in the kitchen and learned how to make various kinds of seafood courses, and Beatrice having spent the entire morning admiring Wayne's ways with the bats. They were clearly oblivious to the imminent danger, and Elizabeth did not want to alarm them, but it was her duty as captain.
'Baudelaires, I'm afraid we have a problem. A big problem.' Elizabeth said as she approached them. Will and Wayne's eyes suddenly bugged upon hearing this, and they looked very tense; clearly, they knew Elizabeth was not kidding.
'This is not a drill. That ship over there - and here Elizabeth pointed to the sinister ship lurking not too far from the Anwhistle Aquatics, almost as a predator ready to corner his prey - is an enemy ship.' she said, quite simply.
'But how do you know? Did they declare war on us?' Will asked. He approached Elizabeth and here Violet saw that Will kept a gun well hidden under his coat. She felt a chill going down her spine. Violet did not care for violence, and she had a bad feeling things were about to get violent at Anwhistle Aquatics.
'They are coming for the bowl, basically. And we have to get it back from the Shivery Shrine, stat.' Elizabeth said.
'But, no one can go down that deep!' Klaus protested, but apparently no one gave his protest any importance.
'We have...a device. One of you will have to use that device to retrieve the bowl safely from the shrine, or else all our efforts will be in vain.' Elizabeth said. 'I can't go there, I'm needed up here. Without my orders, everybody turns into a bunch of slackers. One of you will have to go.'
'I'll go, Elizabeth.' Will volunteered. Wayne showed him a disdainful look, as Will tried to impress Elizabeth way too often. 'No, not you, Will. I need your gunmanship, and you couldn't operate the V.F.D. to save your life.' Wayne savored this internally, and Will looked embarrassed beyond imagination. Elizabeth turned from Will to the Baudelaires.
'When I said one of you should go, I meant one of you.' She said.
'One of us?' Sunny couldn't help but to protest. The Baudelaires had accomplished many feats most people would deem impossible or too absurd to be truth, but they were all truth. Still, descending into an ocean trench to retrieve an artifact from a booby-trapped room seemed like something only a crazy person would suggest.
'Yes. Come on, let's go. I have to put one of you into the elevator to the underwater sector. From there, you can go to the Shrine. You have only until then to decide which one of you is going, I'm afraid.' Elizabeth said.
'I'm going.' Violet said.
'No, Violet!' Klaus argued, but Violet remained determined. 'Yes, Klaus. I'm sure whatever this device is, I, and I alone can operate it. There's no way Sunny or Beatrice could.'
'That's brave of you, Violet. I admire that in a woman!' said Elizabeth with a smile. 'Come now, there's not a second to waste.'
'Violet, are you mental?' Klaus whispered to Violet, as they all started walking towards the entrance to the station, from the deck. Violet remained silent. She did not know what she would find in the Shivery Shrine, but whatever it was, she didn't want to know before time.'
'Elizabeth said it herself the Shrine has a trap!A trap that no one can survive!'
'Enough, Klaus. I'm going, and that's the end of it. You help Elizabeth and take care of Bea and Sunny while I'm gone.' Violet said, even more determined. She was the eldest Baudelaire, and for all intents and purposes, an adult. Violet knew being an adult was not easy, and even if she had to descend into the dark depths of the sea to recover the sugarbowl, she would, because it was the right thing.
And after a few more minutes of walk, they all entered the elevator and Elizabeth pressed a button; the doors closed, and once again the Baudelaires found themselves underwater. If they knew, however, that the real danger was above the surface, more specifically, in the very innards of the Anwhistle Aquatics, they would have quickly backtracked and hit the button to go upwards instead of going down. Neither did the Baudelaires, nor Will and Wayne, nor Elizabeth Anwhistle know, but they had all fallen in a trap. A deadly trap.