Chapter Three
As the Baudelaires drove on their motorcycle towards Caligari Camp, they wondered who and what they were about to run into. The last memory they had of Caligari Carnival was helping the late Count Olaf set fire to it to convince him of taking them to the Mortmain Mountains, but Madame Lulu, the carnival owner, had told Olaf about the Baudelaires' true identities, unmasking their disguise. What happened next is history, but history was still being made that night as the Camp came into view of the Baudelaires.
The hinterlands still beared the scars of the fire that had spread from the Carnival through the dry vegetation of the plains and consumed it. They couldn't tell what was sand and what was ash, as everything was mixed up, and a few burnt trees had remained. Wild fires are no laughing matter, and the Baudelaires were in no laughing mood.
'Look, there it is!' Klaus pointed, from behind Violet, towards the direction they were heading; now they could see the Camp. It still resembled Caligari Carnival, but the rollercoaster once covered in ivy was gone; probably burnt in the Caligari Carnival fire. Instead of tents and trailers, cabins, and a palisade surrounded the Camp, much like other summer camps, it was made of big pine tree trunks carved into the liking of spikes, and a large wooden sign above the main gate with the same Caligari Carnival sign, but the word Carnival was blocked with a piece of cardboard with the inscription 'CAMP'.
The Baudelaires could see a few children running around inside the camp, but they didn't dar to approach. They were still wondering how to make contact with whoever was in charge of the camp, when a man opened the gate and exited the camp's limits, heading towards a vintage car with a few dents on the door. The man didn't see the Baudelaires until he went on to remove the keys from his pocket to open the door. He got
very surprised at the sight of them, and the Baudelaires were also
very surprised to see him.
'Kevin?' Violet said out loud, recognizing Kevin, one of the former freaks of Caligari Carnival. Kevin was ambidextrous, which in the Baudelaires' concept was merely an interesting characteristic as opposed to a handicap, but Kevin was so convinced he was a freak back when he worked in the Carnival that the Baudelaires had given up on trying to convince him that being ambidextrous was not a disability, it was the very
opposite.
'No! It can't be! Baudelaires!' Kevin smiled and came rushing towards the Baudelaires. The Baudelaires, as happy as they were to learn that Kevin had survived the fire they also helped start at Hotel Denouement, took a step back. Kevin, along with two other 'freaks' from Caligari Carnival had sided with Count Olaf because Esmé Squalor lured them in, masking it as a job opportunity. The three freaks were not at all evil, but it didn't stop the Baudelaires from distrusting them.
'Oh...I see. Well, Colette will be sure glad to see you're alive! Quickly, come this way!' Kevin said. 'The lions attack anyone out in the hinterlands at night.''Lions?' was the Baudelaires' response. Back during their time at Caligari Carnival, Count Olaf had brought a pack of lions to the carnival with the grim goal of feeding one of the freaks to the lions as a part in the sideshow. It all ended very badly, and Madame Lulu, the carnival owner, was eaten as opposed to one of the freaks, along with one of Olaf's henchmen, the long nosed bald man. Kevin opened the gate to the camp and let in the Baudelaires. 'I can always just order from In'N'Out Burger, they deliver too.'
Inside the camp, the Baudelaires could see the three cabins, two large ones and a smaller one to the left. They still remembered how the Carnival looked after so long, and the difference was quite striking. 'Colette! We have visitors! You'll never guess who they are!' Kevin shouted outside the smaller cabin. The door opened, revealing Colette, the contortionist who once worked as a freak in the carnival. She was very startled by the sight of the Baudelaires.
'B-Baudelaires!? This is quite a surprise, what brings you around these parts?' Colette asked.
'Misfortune.' Violet said. 'A new series of unfortunate events.' Was Klaus' answer, while Sunny said 'Villains.' and Beatrice 'Zeppelin.'
'Oh my, please come in! We have some catching up to do, all of us!' Colette looked truly glad to see the Baudelaires, despite siding with Olaf in the past. The Baudelaires entered the cabin, and they saw how small it was; only one tiny room area with one bed and a bathtub next to it, and the rest was all kitchen, dining room and living room at the same time, except for the pantry, which was a small room accessed by the kitchen-living-room-dining-room. Seeing only one bed, the Baudelaires realized two things. Either one of the former Caligari Carnival freaks slept in the kitchen that was also a dining room and living room, or they both shared a bed. But they also realized yet another thing.
'Where's Hugo? I don't see him.' Sunny asked, remembering how she had helped the hunchback Hugo make a delicious hot chocolate beverage by adding a bit of cinnamon, a word which here means 'a strong-tasting spice that is used to make food taste better'. Hugo was nowhere to be found, and despite having also sided with Olaf in the past, the Baudelaires would have liked to see him again.
'Oh...Hugo...He's not here anymore.' Colette suddenly became very sad-looking, and Kevin followed in her example. 'Hugo, he...He died in the Hotel Denouement fire.' Kevin said, trying not to cry. It wasn't that long ago, and Hugo was his and Colette's only friend, their only companion in the same hardships the three suffered at that dreadful carnival.
'Hugo is...' Violet could not bring herself to finish the sentence. The Baudelaires had had a hand in his passing, as they had helped Count Olaf start a fire in the Hotel Denouement laundry room. It still haunted them, and now it haunted them even more.
'Yes. In his memory, we took it upon ourselves to take in children with physical deformities and start a camp where they could be themselves without being stared and pointed at.' Colette said. 'Me and Kevin, we had a life before the Carnival, but Hugo grew up in Carnivals. He eventually found his way to Caligari Carnival and we became solid friends.'
'Hugo was rejected by his family, a travelling clan of gypsies, because of his deformity, but he was the sweetest person. We took him in, and now we take children like him in. He would have liked it.' Kevin added.
'So, the children in the camp, they are like Hugo?' Violet asked. Colette shook her head.
'No, not like Hugo. There are Daisy and Lilly, who are siamese twins, Robert, who is too tall for his age, Thumbs, who is too short for his age, Eli, who doesn't have legs, and Chas, who doesn't have arms. There is also Earl, who is too chubby.' Colette said, with a warm smile on her face. The Baudelaires could see she loved each and every one of the children.
'Sadly, three of our children were eaten by the stray lions of the hinterlands.' Colette sad, her face suddenly becoming of a worried expression. 'They were so high maintenance...One day we woke up and they were gone. We went to find them, and all we could find was an area where the mud was red with blood. It was during the rains.' She said. 'I'm so worried one of the rest will be eaten...Sometimes the lions can be heard
just outside the Camp...'
'That's terrible!' Violet said. 'We have to do something, we can't let the lions eat the children. I'm going to think of something I can do, leave it to me.' Violet then removed her hair ribbon from her pocket, tying her hair, the gears and engines of her inventor brain steaming into full power.
'You can use whatever materials you find around the camp. Earl's father, Rusty, gives us lots of pieces of metal and other stuff from his junkyard.' Kevin said. 'Also, can we offer you anything to eat or drink?'
'Well, right now all I want is a bath and a bed. We've already dined.' Klaus said. 'Oh, of course. We'll bunk Klaus along with the boys, and you three can stay in the girls cabin. Only Daisy and Lilly sleep there, so there's plenty room.' Colette said. 'As for the bath, there's an old bathtub out back we use, I'll warm up some water for you.'
'It's...Out in the open?' Klaus blushed, as he wasn't too comfortable with being naked outdoors. 'No, it's safe. Also, none of the kids are up right now.' Colette answered. Violet smiled, amused at her brother's blushed face. 'Stop it.' Klaus jokingly said to Violet.
'No need to be ashamed, Klaus. Come, I'll take you to the bathtub. There's a bathroom in the girls' room, so you can use that.' Kevin said as he got up and walked to the door, extending his left hand, which as just as useful and strong as the right, calling Klaus to come with him. Klaus got up and left the cabin with Kevin, while Colette decided to take Violet, Sunny and Beatrice.
'By the way, who is this? I don't recall there being more than three Baudelaires.' Colette asked as she examined Beatrice. 'Bea!' Was Beatrice's answer, which in baby speak probably meant 'Hi, I'm Beatrice Baudelaire, nice to meet you, miss.'
'This is Beatrice Baudelaire. She's our...
adoptive sister.' Violet said. She still felt uncomfortable saying that. It felt like Beatrice was truly their little sister, and her being the daughter of completely different parents was a mere detail, even if the parents in question were two of the most noble and brave volunteers the Baudelaires had encountered.
'She's adorable. I can't wait to have my own baby. I have already decided on a name.' Colette said. 'So you are with Kevin, Colette?' Violet asked. As a nearly adult woman, Violet took interest in womanly subjects. 'Yes. We had chosen to stay friends because we were co-workers during our time in Caligari Carnival, but after we escaped from the fire at Hotel Denouement, I don't know...We had both lost Hugo, we had nowhere to go, and no family to return to. Something clicked between us, and we decided to start our own family. And now we have one!' Colette said, as she pointed to the cabins where the campers slept. 'Of course, they're not really
ours but it feels that way...Which doesn't stop me from wanting my own child. I think growing up here will be good for him, or her, if it's a girl. My child will grow without prejudice.'
'I think that's probably right.' Violet said.
'Here it is, the girls' cabin.' Colette said, as the group arrived before the large cabin with the drawing of a little girl on the door. 'Good night, Baudelaires.'
'Good night.' The three Baudelaire girls replied, as they entered the cabin.
Whatever happened later that night at the camp was quite ordinary; Klaus took his bath with Kevin in guard nearby, and the Violet gave Sunny and Beatrice a bath before taking one herself. After that they all went to their respective beds. Nothing too bad happened that night at Caligari Camp. But the next day was very different.