Post by Tiago James Squalor on Jun 1, 2013 19:05:25 GMT -5
Chapter Eleven
As Isadora Quagmire ventured into the innards of Jannus’ house in Tartarus she could not have imagined how close was their escape. Unfortunately, said escape ended up breaking up the group, but let’s cross that bridge when we come to it – an expression which here means ‘let’s not get the cart ahead of the bulls’ which also means “let’s put first things first” – As Isadora descended a stony spiral staircase, she plunged into a murky darkness that engulfed her. Nervous, Isadora wanted to speed up her pace, but she was well aware running on stairs in the dark has dangerous implications. Unaware, she continued her descent, oblivious to the eyes watching her from the dark.
She arrived at the bottom suddenly. If you have ever climbed stairs in the dark, you probably have felt a dreadful scare when you thought there was one more step where there wasn’t, and your foot stomped the ground. The reverse happened to her, and the already nervous Isadora almost tripped and fell as a result. She had no idea where the stairs had led her, but she saw a dim orange light in the distance, at the end of what seemed to be a long hallway. She could see the shapes of unlit sconces on the walls, as well as circular braziers, or what seemed to be braziers, along the corridor, at ground level. Some of them gave off heat while she walked past them.
‘No need to be nervous now. Come on. Open the door.’ Isadora whispered to herself and grabbed the doorknob. The door creaked when she opened it; it was a sliding door, surprisingly. The room behind it was a lot more surprising still.
On one wall, a large fireplace stood, with a large paiting above, in a garish wooden frame painted in fading gold surrounded by two large red velvet curtains. There were three people represented on the canvas, but the faces were torn and defiled, only one of them remained visible, that of a young man with platinum blonde hair. Bookcases filled with old leatherbound books were all around the room in a half-moon shaped, as the room was circular. In the middle, another set of stairs descended further into the rock. A fancy desk which had seen better days was displayed against a natural window formed by the cave’s own columns. Atop the desk, sat a gramophone – a device used for playing records – and next to it, a collection of antique records.
Isadora examined the record which was on the gramophone, just waiting to be played. It had a strange symbol, exactly the same as that one on the cultists’ robes. A thought quickly occurred to Isadora Quagmire. She half-smiled when she turned it on, and pressed the gramophone’s needle against the vinyl surface. A blood-curdling scream, a roar of a deafening nature surrounded her and invaded the air, reverberating and echoing against the stone walls of the abyss beneath Tartarus. This was Isadora’s one mistake, that night, for there was but one person who knew exactly what was happened, and immediately began their descent to the secret chamber which Isadora had discovered.
She turned off the gramophone, wondering if her hearing had been permanently damaged, when something caught her attention.
Atop the desk, behind a pile of records there were several letters. One of them was addressed to someone Isadora Quagmire knew very well.
“Dear Doctor Nebra
The orphans you mentioned arrived at the mines today. They entered after the destruction of Deluge Dam. I’m only letting you know so that you learn your lesson when directing your allies. My secret is never to be made public. Hecate and Hyperion volunteered to help me bury it forever. How is my sister? Still following my father blindly I presume. I pray that destruction shall rain on you as well, when the time comes. No one should have that much power on their hands.
L.L.”
L.L.
Isadora had a strange feeling upon seeing those initials. In her pocket, there was a lighter she had found in the mine, a silver lighter engraved with those same initials in a most sophisticate fashion, despite the scrapes and what must have been years of disuse.
“L.L.” Isadora muttered to herself, wondering who could have written that letter. Wasn’t Tartarus a shut-off community without ties to the outer world? Wasn’t communicating with the outside a mortal sin to their religion? Isadora folded the letter and stashed it in her pocket, unsure of exactly why she was doing it.
Examining the drawers, Isadora felt a chill on the back of her head. She turned around, when she was hit on the head, and everything started to fade to black.
Her aggressor looked at her, and she saw the green of his eyes catching the light from the fireplace. Green, like a shard of grimstone, she muttered. And Isadora fell unconscious.
Chapter Twelve
“She still hasn’t returned?” Duncan asked Cindry when the group arrived at Jannus’ house. ‘That can’t be good.’ Quigley said. ‘Let’s go looking for her.’ Quigley made for the door but Cindry got in his way. ‘A-Are you sure that’s a good idea?’ Quigley winced. ‘She’s my sister, she’s lost, we have to find her before that albino giant does, heavens forbid.’
‘I know, but, do I have to go as well?’ Cindry had been particularly stressed over their predicament. The unability to escape and search for her brother and the Baudelaires tormented her, and the girl’s psyche was frail to begin with. Cid tried to trancquilize her by patting her head. ‘Don’t worry, Cindry. I’ll get all of you out if I have to die to do it.’
‘Don’t say that.’ Duncan said. Cid scratched his head, embarrassed. ‘Sorry. I sometimes forget I have to see you guys through this mine, and that I want to see you survive this. I’m not sure I will myself.’
‘Look at all we’ve survived so far.’ Quigley argued. ‘We were attacked by those ravenous beasts, we fell into an abyss and somehow we survived it all. We’ll get out of here. And you’ll be with your family again, Cid.’
‘Not Flora. Not anymore.’ Cid looked really sad, and there was nothing anyone could have said to make him feel better. His relative Flora Flotsam had died in the destruction of Deluge Dam, along with basically everyone from Cid’s company and all his friends, neighbors and acquaintances. And there was no proof of his assistants’, Martha and Chuck, or his sister Isabella’s survival yet.
‘Let’s go.’ Cid said, forcing himself to smile. ‘I’ll get you guys out of here, if I have to wrestle the albino giant myself.’
They sneaked out of the room as they could, hoping to not run into Jannus, Hecate or Hyperion, or worse, the albino giant whose name they could not remember, nor did they want to. ‘Are you sure she went this way?’ Cid asked Cindry as he led them down the same stairs Isadora had descended not long ago.
‘Yes. She came this way.’ Cindry said nervously. The group ventured into the same dark spiral staircase Isadora had treaded, only this time it was lit. ‘Strange.’ Quigley said, eyeing the ceiling. ‘See those wires? They look highly advanced for Tartarus. Almost like the wires of…a camera.’ Quigley pointed to a small black box fixed on the ceiling. A tiny red light was visible. Someone was watching them.
‘Cameras? Here? Oh I got a bad feeling about this.’ Cid said.
As Isadora had uncovered, so did the rest of her group realize there was more to Tartarus than a secret underground town of blind abomination worshippers. Something a lot more human in nature was what held that town together instead of some dark ancient god prone to angry tantrums and demanding sacrifices.
Eventually Quigley, Duncan, Cindry and Cid arrived at the hallway before the secret chamber. The sconces on the walls were lit as well as the braziers. As a result the hallway was incredibly hot, but well lit.
‘I’m sweatin’ like a pig. I’ll be so glad to breathe some fresh air and take a swim in a lake after we get out.’ Cid blurted out rubbing the sweat from his brow. ‘At least you’re looking forward to something.’ Duncan said. ‘Aren’t we all?’ Quigley asked. ‘Cindry wants to find her brother and the Baudelaires. I’d very much like to find them too, but the first on my list is Doctor Jill Nebra. Once we reunite with her, I’m going to demand a hefty explanation.’
It was no secret at this point that Doctor Jill Nebra, the one who prompted the Quagmires to journey across the south, a journey which had caused them much grief and horror, had done so with very little guidance and explanation. She merely gave them a name and an address, and what had come of it?
A journal which belonged to the man they were supposed to meet, and that was long dead.
A photograph of four men, two of which they knew well. Count Olaf, now deceased, and Vladimir Ivankov, also known as the man with beard but no hair.
A piece of grimstone large enough to cause an even bigger explosion than the one who did in the Great Unknown. Three pieces of a puzzle that made no sense to the Quagmires at the time, but that would come to reveal a lot when shed the proper light.
As they entered the secret chamber, they took notice of every detail. But it wasn’t until Cid, of all people, saw the painting above the fireplace, that things started to come together.
‘Wait, I know this painting.’
A collective ‘What?’ was uttered by Cindry, Quigley and Duncan as Cid approached the painting to examine it. ‘Yes, a good deal of years ago, there was this man, this scientist, he came to Deluge Dam from the east, and made deals with the miners’ union for us to send him any unusual ore we come across. I used to work in the mines, ya see. That’s how I got these’. Cid flexed his right arm, showing off his muscles, and turned back to the painting.
‘There was a painter in town, a really good painter. The scientist commissioned him to paint a picture of him with his two kids. A girl and a boy, both about the same age. They might have been twins, even.’ Cid’s narration struck the Quagmires completely out of the blue. They had no idea just how useful he could be, unfortunately.
‘His name was Lugae. Yes, the same as in Lugae Laboratories. We still had some crates marked with the laboratory’s logo back at the mine until a few years ago when the Laboratories staff came to get the last batch of unusual ore.’
‘I wonder why the scientist’s face is torn as well as his daughter’s. Creeps the hell out of me, this room.’ Cid said, ending his tale. ‘The son’s face isn’t torn.’ Cindry approached the painting.
‘Something about him…is familiar.’
‘Cindry?’
‘Don’t you think he looks like Jannus a bit?’ Cindry asked, turning to Cid.
‘Matter of fact…he does.’ Cid eyed the painting one more time.
Then they head the scream.
Chapter Thirteen
Isadora’s shriek had come from the staircase at the center of the chamber, and they wasted no time in descending it, shouting her name, as she corresponded with more shrieks. When the Quagmires, Cindry Fulfillment and Cid Jetsam arrived at the bottom, a long bridge with mine rails stretched out into the darkness from the brute rock that supported the town of Tartarus. And Isadora’s shrieks coming from the darkness ahead.
‘Isadora!’ The group responded to her shrieks. There was a mine cart on the other set of rails – it was a double rail bridge, that must be said – and the group quickly boarded it. Cindry and Duncan took seat in the cart while Quigley and Cid took the maneuver handle and they began their journey. At the same time, an earthquake began. There was nothing they could do but to go on ahead, as spires of stone fell from the altitudes of the cavern, and as cracks formed on the column that supported Tartarus. They heard screams, and crumbling stones, as the town fell apart and descended into the abyss beneath. The creatures that had tormented the Quagmires and their two allies could also be seen falling; they had been running a rampage across the town, killing and eating townsfolk with great voracity. There was no way for them to know such things as they happened, but they learned it all later.
As Cid and Duncan maneuvered the handle to the mine cart and they picked up speed, they saw the mine cart on the other set of rails, a bit ahead. Jannus operated it by himself, while Isadora was probably tied inside the mine cart.
‘Isadora! We’re coming!’ Duncan shouted.
‘Jannus! Give us Isadora!’ Cid shouted to the man.
Jannus looked deranged, as if running from a ravenous beast. ‘You’ll never get me! You’ll never take me back to him! I’ll die before I let that man touch me again!’
‘What are you talking about?’ Quigley shouted. ‘He’s gone mental!’
‘I’ll show him! Yes, I’ll show him my revenge! This girl saw my letter, she knows who I am. I can’t let her live!’ Jannus produced a gun from his robes. ‘We all know who you are!’ Duncan lied. ‘You’ll have to kill us all! But you won’t survive this either!’
The mine carts were picking momentum from a hefty fall. The wheels produced sparks, and they could see rocks falling all around, as the ancient part of Malaise Mines collapsed in on itself.
‘Then you all must die!’ Jannus took aim and shot in the direction of the other mine cart. Duncan and Cindry crouched, shielded by the cart’s metallic exterior. The bullet ricocheted against Jannus’ own mine cart and then off into the darkness. At least Isadora was out of the line of fire, but Cid and Quigley were easy targets. Jannus was about to shoot them when the bridge divided into two; a wall of stone columns had separated both groups.
‘Kids, those guns you have! This is it! If you don’t use them now, we’ll die, and so will Isadora!’ Cid shouted. ‘Quigley, jump into the cart. I’ll handle this from here on out.’
Ahead they could see the point where the two bridges would once again become one. Jannus readied his gun, failing to notice Isadora standing on the mine cart as precariously as she could; the rope around her was beginning to come undone, and it flailed in the wind. It took for both Quagmires to look into Cid’s eyes to realize his plan. It was risky, but Cid was the only one strong enough to pull it off. Isadora’s life was on his hands. Everyone else’s lives however, were on Duncan and Quigley’s. The Quagmire brothers took out their guns.
How naïve then had been to expect not needing to use them? How childish it was to have hold onto such hope in this new, cruel world they had awakened into. Everything was a nightmare, and it seemed like they would never wake up. Counting the seconds, Duncan and Quigley primed their guns. They held their breaths, and took aim. The rendezvous point was ten seconds ahead.
Nine…eight…seven…
Cindry cried and shrieked.
Six, five, four…
Cid’s eyes followed every flailing movement of the dangling rope that was tied around Isadora.
Three, two…
Jannus primed his gun and aimed. Not at Duncan. Not at Quigley. He smiled.
It all happened so fast. Jannus pulled the trigger at exactly the same time as Quigley and Duncan. Cid grabbed Isadora’s rope in mid-air and with one movement, pulled her high up in the air, and she fell into the Quagmire’s cart. It took them a second to see the blood spread from two points in Jannus body and the blood stain his priestly robes. Bleeding from the mouth, Jannus smiled one last time, and fell into the darkness. The cart he had been on did as well, as moments later the half of the bridge he was on had collapsed. The Quagmires’ however, pressed on ahead, with enough momentum that it no longer needed for anyone to maneuver the handle. Smoke still exited the barrels of both Quagmire brother’s guns as they hugged Isadora. It took them too long to realize what had really happened. When they turned to Cid to celebrate, they saw him hold onto the cart’s handle, and the blood spreading from the entry wound of a bullet on the right side of his chest. Cid smiled as well when he saw the three Quagmires together. It was a red smile, and the blood poured from his mouth and dripped down his chin, staining his beard and drawing lines on his face with the strong wind.
‘Cid! No!’ Isadora screamed.
‘See you around, kiddo.’ Cid closed his eyes, as the mine cart continued to pick up speed. It was going so fast the Quagmires realized they had as much chance of surviving as Jannus had. The only consolation to be had was the fact that Jannus would not have chosen that escape route without a good reason. And they were right.
Soon, the rails ended. They seemed to hover in the air for a split second before they began falling. There is nothing that could describe their fall in the dark as well as once three orphans such as the Quagmires had fallen down a dark elevator shaft to what seemed like certain death. There is no way to know what crossed the Quagmires’ minds as they fall in the dark, and when hit the water, and everything became cold, and their minds began to wander off as they sunk into the deep.
They washed ashore in a strange sandy platform. A black lake of seemingly endless proportions stretched out before them. When the last one regained consciousness, they realized Cid’s body had washed ashore with them as well. Thinking him dead, the Quagmires cried in silence, while Cindry Fulfillment was immobile and muted, staring blankly into the deep dark underground lake.
‘I never got to tell him how I felt.’ Duncan said, putting his hand on Cid’s forehead. ‘He’s so cold now.’
‘It seems like we can bury him here. I see some driftwood. We can make a cross of some sort to mark his grave.’ Quigley suggested.
‘Cid…’ Isadora muttered. She had taken quite a liking to him, and he had saved her from a certain death not long ago. It would have pleased Isadora if Duncan could have been with Cid, even if Cid was so much older. It would not be the first couple with such an age gap. What was more saddening was that Cid never knew. And he never would know.
At least, they thought so.
Suddenly, Cid opened his eyes. ‘Cid!’ Duncan shrieked in excitement. Cid coughed up some blood mixed with water. ‘I heard someone mention making me a grave…Well I ain’t…dead yet. You damn kids.’ He smiled, his teeth red with blood. ‘You’re still losing blood…If we don’t fix this soon…’
‘I heard you, Duncan…’ Cid said. At this point, it would be safe to assume Duncan was crying.
‘When I was asleep. I heard your voice…’ Cid explained. ‘We’re gonna talk soon. I can’t now…Heh…I must have a lungful of blood now…aaaugh…’ Cid coughed up more blood.
‘Stop talking. Save your energies. I promise you, you will survive.’ Duncan said.
The sandy platform they had arrived at was back against a huge stone wall, and there was some sort of indentation at the ground level, big enough for a door. They hadn’t quite gotten around to investigating it, or they would have seen the high-tech metallic double elevator doors, and the huge logo painted on them so long ago; two L’s, mirrored, above a single line. A panel next to the door displayed numbers that were rapidly increasing.
‘What’s that?’ Isadora pointed towards the display, which had just caught her attention.
‘If I wasn’t about to go insane I’d say that’s an elevator display…’ Quigley suggested.
‘Yes but…’ Isadora spoke again, but the numbers stopped at B93F with a loud ping. The double doors slid open, and five people came out. Four of them were decked in head-to-toe combat gear, with heavy guns and shields. The fifth, however, wore no more than a white doctor’s coat, her long blonde hair cascading on her back.
The Quagmires had no idea how to react to the image of Doctor Jill Nebra, materializing herself in front of them after so long, and so unexpectedly. Before they could put the pieces together, she did it for them.
‘Hello, Quagmires. I knew you’d eventually find your way to meet me. I didn’t expect you to choose the Mines as a route, I should say. That was courageous of you. You both, help that man. He looks as he is about to die.’ She ordered two of her armed companions, and the Quagmires noticed the white bags they carried, with red crosses on them, as well as the double L logo.
‘You are now at basement level 93 of Lugae Laboratory.’ Then she took notice of Cindry. ‘Oh my, is that…is it? Cindry?’ Jill approached her niece, who was still muted and shocked.
‘Congratulations, Quagmire triplets. You fulfilled the mission I gave you, and for that I thank you. Now it’s time for us to catch up. Don’t you think?’ Doctor Jill Nebra said with a smile.
The Quagmires never felt the sting of the tranquilizer darts, but the last thing they remember was the urge to harm and insult Jill Nebra. And then everything faded into black.