Chapter Four
The town of Deluge Dam has many interesting features, as the Quagmires learned, but the most thrilling one they had not seen yet. So when Cid Jetsam told them about it, they were very surprised, and then thrilled about it. ‘A slider?’ Quigley, the more adventurous triplet, said, his face widening with a smile. ‘Yes. Most of the houses have one. The sliders can take you to the bottom levels quickly, and to get back up, there are elevators.’ Cid unveiled a large pipe sitting at the bottom of the house. The pipe disappeared into the darkness below. ‘It’s really fun. Just watch out on the open sections, you don’t want to fall off.’ Martha said, going into the pipe shouting ‘Geronimo!’ Cid took Flora with him, both of them shouting ‘Banzai!’
‘Let’s do this!’ Quigley jumped in. ‘Woohoo!’His voice came in from the pipe as he slid down. ‘Aren’t you coming?’ Isadora asked Chuck. ‘Nah. Too wild for me. I’ll stay here. You guys go, and watch out for the Mayor’s cronies.’ Isadora and Duncan went into the slider, and just like Martha said, pretty soon the pipe opened, and they could see the breathtaking vista of the Ghastly Gorge. They could see the small stream that came from the bottom of the Dam, and a few houses scattered around the Gorge, some of them clinging to the stone, some at the bottom of the gorge. Seagulls could be seen flying over the area. Despite it’s name, the Ghastly Gorge was a sight to see, as was the internal structure of Deluge Dam. As the slider curved and bent in and out of the large metal beam structure the town was built on, they realized the town was just interesting to see internally. They could see small shops, houses, and the townspeople, as well as other sliders taking people everywhere. Deluge Dam seemed like a fun place, despite the small town status. I know this, because having been there prior to the events described in this dreadful book, I know there is no other town like that in the world. This greatly saddens me, because now, Deluge Dam is no more.
They arrived at the bottom level. ‘This was fun.’ Quigley said. ‘Yeah.’ Duncan agreed. The Quagmires noticed the lack of any visible activity. It was night now, and no one seemed to be treading the streets in the bottom level. The stream which came from the bottom of the Dam was the only noise that could be heard. The Quagmires saw no one, but they were being seen.
‘Let’s go take Flora to the Mayor’s house. It’s best not to linger here too long after dark.’ Cid said. He took Flora’s hand and the group made for the mayor’s house, unaware of the fact they were being closely followed. After going around a corner, the Quagmires noticed a large house behind sturdy stone walls and a menacing black iron gate. The mailbox on the sidewalk read “Flotsam” and when they arrived at the gate, Cid pushed a button on the side. A voice was heard. ‘Who disturbs the Mayor’s home at this hour?’ An annoying voice was heard with a distinct metallic tone on account of the speaker. ‘It’s Cid. I’m here to drop off Flora.’
‘Oh.’ The voice uttered in a monotone. ‘Please, come in. Mayor Flotsam would like to see his daughter now.’ With a buzzing noise, the gate opened. Cid, Flora, Martha and the Quagmires went in, and found themselves in a courtyard with a fountain. It depicted a triumphant fisherman standing over a captured mermaid, holding up a trident in a menacing pose. ‘I hate that fountain.’ Flora . ‘Why?’ Isadora asked the little girl. Grinning, Flora gave her answer. ‘The mermaid is stronger than the fisherman. She shouldn’t be below him.’
The Flotsam’s house was a mansion with a tower. If the Baudelaire orphans got to see it, they would tell you the Flotsam mansion was very similar to the run-down house of Count Olaf. But the Baudelaires, sadly enough were miles away from Deluge Dam, two of them in life-threatening situations, and one of them disguised as an entirely different person in an entirely different country. To the Quagmires, never having seen Count Olaf’s house, the similarities went unnoticed.
When the mahogany front door opened, a frail man in a butler’s suit appeared. ‘Mayor Flotsam awaits you in his study. Come with me Flora. Your father told me to get you to bed.’ The man extended his arm, his hand reaching for the girl. Flora frowned and went with him, looking back one last time to show Cid Jetsam and his companions a sad smile. ‘Bye, Flora.’ Cid said. He never sounded as sad.
‘In here.’ A man’s voice was heard. It was a deep, husky voice. ‘Coming.’ Cid uttered, and the group went inside the study of Mayor Flotsam. He was sitting behind a large mahogany desk, distracted, writing something on a sheet of paper with golden pen. He was a fat man with white, silvery hair, whiskers, and a fearsome beard, and dark bags under his eyes, as if he never slept, or slept very little. ‘I see you have found yourself new young companions, Cid.’
‘That’s clever of you to point out, but they’re not my companions. They are merely passing through this town, and will soon be
on their way.’ Cid said, glancing aside to the Quagmires. They didn’t need to ask him what he meant. Cid was telling the Quagmires to
run. ‘Interesting. I’ve heard some disturbing stories and rumors concerning three young siblings who have been causing all sorts of trouble of late. These…
siblings wouldn’t happen to be any of you, would they?’ The mayor eyed the Quagmires. He wore a monocle on one of his eyes, which forced him into a constant frown.
‘No, sir. We certainly are not them.’ Duncan Quagmire, the most poised out of the three Quagmires at the time, answered. ‘Right.’ The mayor said. ‘Would you like to see your sister, Cid? She’s here. We were having tea in the living room and discussing your unsavory opposition to my tenure as mayor.’ The mayor’s smile was a terrible thing to witness. His teeth looked sharp and jagged, like he would leave fearsome bite wounds if he wanted to. ‘I have no desire to speak to Isabella. I’m just wondering why you called us in when you so openly despise me.’ Cid fired back. The Mayor laughed. ‘Cid, Cid, Cid. We may not be each other’s best fans, but I admire you. After all, we’ll be family soon. It is in
everyone’s best interest that we put aside our differences, as our families are the foundation and the rock that Deluge Dam was built upon. As long as you do not give me reason to retaliate, we’ll all get along just fine. You may have many supporters and close friends, Cid, but I have some…
friends of my own.’
‘You mean
Gothic Works?’ Cid asked. ‘They are nobodies’ friends, Florian, and I’ve told you before. Associating with them will bring ruin to this town. If you have any love for Deluge Dam, for my sister, you’ll hear me about this. I’m not wrong.’
‘Your mistrust of Gothic Works seems very unfounded to me. Have you any proof of any shadowy activities on their part? No. Spare me of your conspiracy theories, Cid, and do what you do best: fix the cracks on the dam. Or else, there won’t be a town to speak of very soon.’ The mayor argued. ‘Isabella, dear, will you talk some sense into your brother?’ Behind Cid, Isabella Jetsam appeared, coming in from the hallway. Cid’s expression was best described as if a gray, dark cloud had covered the sun on a summer day. ‘Cid.’ Isabella said, but Cid wouldn’t have any of it. ‘Come.’ Saying nothing else, he took Martha’s hand and made a gesture for the Quagmires to follow him. ‘Cid!’ Isabella’s voice was heard as they closed the front door behind them. Out in the courtyard, the Quagmires saw someone standing beneath the Flotsam’s gate, huffing and puffing almost as she had been running for some time. A cloud which had been covering the moon went away, and the place was moonlit. It took the Quagmires a minute to recognize her, because they had never had much contact in the Great Unknown. Her hair was longer, now tied in two pigtails. Her eyes, carefully outlined with makeup, and she wore a blue and yellow scarf and a white coat over what looked like a black school uniform, with black stockings and black high heeled shoes. She was taller, too, and as beautiful as she’d ever been.
‘At last. I’ve found
someone.’ She said, and the Quagmires saw Cindry Fulfillment walk towards them under the moonlight.
- - - - -
Chapter Five
Cindry Fulfillment hugged each of the Quagmires. They had never talked much, because of Cindry’s status inside the Unknown Agents’ schemes. Unlike her brother, Nemo, Cindry was not trusted by her captors, and spent most of her time in stasis, being infused with Grimstone. The infusion was still visible as Cindry remained very pale and her eyes had changed to a vivid green. The effect was enhanced by her black mascara and eyeliner. She looked like an entirely different person, which in a way, she was now. ‘I can’t believe I
finally found you.’ She told them. ‘What happened to you? Where is Nemo? Where is Dr. Nebra?’ Isadora asked. Inside the Great Unknown, Nemo Vladimiroff had been Isadora’s only solace and source of comfort other than her brothers. Seeing Cindry rekindled those dormant feelings about Nemo, and Isadora began to cry.
‘It’s a long story. Is there anywhere we can talk in private? This town is not safe. We shouldn’t be out here at this hour.’ Cindry said. ‘Let’s go back to my place. I’ll make you guys some cappuccino and you can catch up.’ Cid said, and the group retreated back to Cid’s place. Chuck had been worried sick. ‘There was a beating outside tonight. Two miners, they were saying things…Things about the mayor. Then two of the mayor’s lackeys showed up out of nowhere… Eve is taking care of them at the bar.’
‘Oh man. I better go check on them. Can you make the cappuccino, Martha?’ Martha nodded, and Cid left quickly. ‘How come he never asks
me to make the coffee?’ Chuck asked Martha. ‘Because your coffee is terrible, Chuck, that’s why. You guys sit over there. Go warm up, it’s goddamn cold outside.’ The Quagmires and Cindry sat in an open area in the second floor, a balcony with a donut-shaped couch with many warm blankets where Cid and Martha used to sit and talk at times.
‘Tell us everything.’ Quigley told Cindry as they sat to hear her story.
‘After the Collapse, me and Nemo, we set our stasis capsules for two years, but they eventually malfunctioned and we woke up after just six months. You’d be surprised at how much changed in just six months. They had been well at it, and many volunteers were being hunted. Back then, they didn’t know who was behind the hunt. We didn’t know about Gothic Works, and there was no one to tell us about it. So naturally, we went to the last place anyone would expect. Ultima.’
‘Ultima? That must have been a grueling journey.’ Duncan had learned all he could about the place, including the Baudelaires’ failed attempt at going there, which had ultimately resulted in the collapse of the Great Unknown. ‘It was. It wasn’t a few weeks until they tracked us down. We were very lucky. They didn’t get us, but the man who harbored us…his name was Russell. He was very kind, he was the one who found us, in the snowfield. He took us in and he did the best to restore our strength, but eventually someone must have sold him out to Gothic Works. We were out in the woods, hunting, when they arrived. We watched as Russell’s house burned, and we knew there was no going back.’ Cindry cried. ‘Nemo and me, we had to travel on foot for the most part. We stole food, clothing and did the best we could. We hid, and we hunted in the woods, always going north. Then we ran out of food, and we were starving to death before you know it. I got sick. Badly sick. I know Jill said we were impervious to most diseases, but that was when our bodies are at their bests. Starving and cold, not even our grimstone protection could help us.’ Cindry was crying even more. ‘Nemo, he did something…he… decided to do whatever it took to feed us both. He sold himself…For me.’
The shock was visible on every one of their faces. ‘I should have never let him do what he did for me. I’m only your half-sister, I said. You should let me die and live for Isadora, I told him.’ Cindry smiled. ‘I’ll never forget it. He said we were family, and he would die for me if he needed. He said you’d understand. Every night, after Nemo came back, after his encounters…he prayed, and he asked you to forgive him, Isadora. When he slept, he said your name. He was, and still is, I think, very afraid of what you’ll think of him. He thinks you’ll reject him because of what he did.’
‘I’d never reject him.’ Isadora replied, determined. She wiped away her tears and looked at her brothers. Isadora knew that she would do the same for them, if need be, thought she prayed it might not come to that. To that effect, I do have to say it never did come to that for the Quagmires. ‘That’s good. You are as every bit good as he said you were.’ Cindry took Isadora’s hand in hers. ‘So, what happened afterwards? Nemo’s not with you now. Did anything bad happen to him?’
‘Not for a while, no. When I was stronger, Nemo had finally saved enough for us to buy two tickets to Ultima, on the recently re-inaugurated new Ethereal Express. We took one of the lesser cabins, as we didn’t want to draw attention, and so we left for Ultima. But Gothic Works was onto us. Or they were onto someone else who was on the train, I’ll never know exactly, but the fact is they found us aboard the train. I thought they’d kill us, but they weren’t interested in that. They said they’d let us go if we pointed them in the direction of other volunteers. Which I’m ashamed to say, we did. They made very clear that they’d get us eventually. They let us be, I don’t really know why. I regret it. We shouldn’t have given in.’ Cindry cried more. Quigley sat next to her, and put his arm around her, rubbing his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. She laid her head on his shoulder.
‘You did what you had to do to survive. You’re survivors. We’re all survivors.’ Quigley comforted her. ‘Still, it was wrong. But we were so afraid. And Nemo, he was sick. He kept coughing up blood, and we didn’t know what to do.’
‘Did he catch an illness from one of his encounters?’ Duncan said. ‘No, it was a lung thing. I tell you, I thought being infused with Grimstone would give us an advantage, but sometimes, it really backfires. Sometimes I feel so sick I feel like I’m going to die. I’m better now, but it was really hard back then.’
‘What happened next?’ Duncan asked. ‘Nemo was very sick, and we still were a way’s way from Ultima. It was getting really bad, and we didn’t have any more money. One of Nemo’s contacts was there, however. And the man agreed to pay for Nemo’s treatment, as long as he went with him. Nemo did not want to do it, but he had to. The man even gave me a good sum of money for my troubles. I felt horrible, almost as if I just sold my brother. Nemo comforted me, and he told me we would reunite again. And when we got to Ultima, we parted ways. I investigated the place, and I stayed at Hotel Epitaph while I searched around for volunteers. If there were any, I never knew. Eventually I got a telegram from Nemo, telling me to come to the south. It would be too expensive to stay there anyway so I bought a ticket on the next train and I left Ultima.’
‘Where is he now?’ Isadora asked. ‘Way up north I think. In a town called Rogueport.’ Cindry replied. ‘Rogueport? I don’t like the sound of that place.’ Quigley commented. ‘I don’t either.’ Cindry stated. ‘I need to get to him, eventually, but I’m glad to just have found you guys. I was searching for Violet, actually, I never expected to find you here, of all places. I was hoping she knew where Klaus is, but apparently, they’ve all been separated too. You’re lucky to have been able to keep together at times like this.’
For the first time, the Quagmires realized they
had in fact, been incredibly lucky. Despite their terrible experiences at Bayou Lafayette and Firefly Farm, and their run-in with Gothic Works at Cronenberg Colossus Apartments, they had somehow managed to never get separated. The Baudelaire orphans and Cindry and Nemo were not as fortunate.
‘We’re sorry about that. It’s dreadful what you and Nemo went through, and I can’t imagine what happened to the Baudelaires.’ Duncan told Cindry. ‘Violet
was here. And for a while too. She was here before we even woke from stasis.’ Cindry’s expression was of distress. ‘Before? You mean she was awake before you? That’s strange. So were me and Nemo. You were the last to wake up and so much changed between then and now.’
‘Indeed. We’re going to try and track Violet after we leave this town. First we need to learn exactly what Violet was doing here, why she lingered for so long. If I know Violet, I know she’d need a strong reason to push back her search for her family.’ Quigley stated. ‘I’d love to come with you. But I need to find my aunt first. Jill Nebra. I need to ask her some questions.’
‘She told us to go find her, and we’ve been trying to do so, but all she provided us was with Jeremiah Hudson Sr.’s name and the coordinates for the Bayou Lafayette. She didn’t exactly pinpoint her localization for us on a map.’ Duncan said.
‘My aunt, ever so cryptic.’ Cindry smiled. She then opened her bag, and removed a book from it. Opening the book, she produced what looked like a postcard. ‘Look, Quagmires. That’s where I’m headed next. That’s where my aunt is waiting for us.’
‘This place…’ The Quagmires examined the photography of Jill Nebra’s location with horrified eyes. ‘It can’t be. She can’t be there.’ Isadora protested.
‘She is. Where else would she be but the scientific headquarters of Gothic Works, also known as Lugae Laboratory?’
On the back of the postcard, written in green letters was the cryptic message. ‘Come at once. J. N.’