No one ever leaves the factory

Chapter 4

Willy Wonka had left you to your own thoughts for the rest of yesterday. A few Oompa Loompas had come inside your room from time to time, bringing food and drinks for you. Surprisingly, these little guys were not only helping with candy-making. A few of them seemed to have excellent cooking skills. The food they prepared was delicious, and in any other situation you would have enjoyed all this a lot. The elegant room, the candy, the service. But being held here was all you could think of.
After about 3 hours of sleep, the next morning came. You felt like shit, but you knew you couldn't stay in bed and hope for someone to rescue you.
You had held Mr. Wonka for a clumsy, awkward man with no social intelligence. Despite that, it seemed like he thought of everything you would need since hygiene products and makeup were already in the bathroom. You wondered how he was able to get these things here so quickly. Did his Oompa Loompas use them? Did he have female workers? You hadn't seen any...
The only thing missing were clothes your size. You only had the clothes, you had worn on the tour. They didn't smell bad, but you would have loved some fresh ones.

You left your room after getting ready as best as possible, being faced with a gray wall. On your left, there was a large corridor, leading to a chamber, which probably was the glass elevator. To your right, you could see the corridor end at a small door. Above it was the famous W-sign of Wonka. His office... or his bedroom. Not wanting to meet him, you decided it would be best not to stay here for long. With one last turnaround, you caught another glimpse of the room that meant safety. And another thing: On the door, there was a key sticking in the keyhole. You raised an eyebrow in confusion. He had left you the opportunity to lock yourself in? Locking the door experimentally, you turned the key. When trying to open it again, it was locked.
You frowned as you took the key and put it into your pocket. Your plan now was to explore the factory further and, in the best case, find a way to escape.
Making your way down the corridor, you arrived at the glass elevator, where you were confronted with the next unpleasant surprise. Every single wall of it had about 100 buttons, and you had only seen four rooms on the tour. There was no way you would ever make your way out of here! How was there even room for all of this?! Unless... Willy Wonka did have a whole labyrinth of rooms underground. Yes, that was just it, wasn't it? The factory was not only a factory. It was like a big city. Like a whole other world. You felt scared, but with a hint of fascination.

While reading all the room names that were listed on the elevator wall, something caught your eye. There! The inventing room. You knew the way from to the main entrance from there. It was probably locked, but definitely worth taking a look at. If you would cry for help long enough, maybe somebody would hear you. With new-gained hope, you pressed the button, followed by the elevator racing downwards for what felt like several minutes.
It stopped with a bing, the doors opening. Being greeted with the familiar noise of bubbling and hissing as you stepped outside, you took a few steps. Now being alone without a guide, you noticed how large the inventing room really was. There were tables with test tubes full of colorful liquids. A few samples of candy and substances were stored on the shelves.
Looking for the main door that led to the chocolate river, you were interrupted by a familiar, cheerful voice from behind you.
"Good morning, Starshine!"

You froze and turned around slowly, seeing Willy Wonka smiling at you. He was wearing dark safety goggles and a lab coat, along with the same purple gloves as always.
Good morning..." You mumbled, trying to hide your discontentment.
"I believe I owe you an apology. I was overwhelming you, wasn't I? I just want to tell you that you have all the time in the world to adjust to your new life,'kay?"
You nodded. At least he wasn't an actual threat to you. "You gave me a key to my room."
"Of course I did. You said that you needed privacy, and I can't deny you that wish, now can I? You can lock your room whenever you want, unless in emergencies, of course."
„Huh.." You were surprised that he was so understanding, besides the fact that he forced you to stay.
„Now." Willy grinned, changing the subject. „I am working on a new mixture for toothpaste. Chocolate toothpaste, that makes your teeth extra white. And it also tastes good! Hehe~ isn't that wonderful?"
You couldn't help but smile. „I'm sure that kids will love that. I would have liked it."
His eyes sparkled. „Yah! I'm sure that they'll enjoy brushing their teeth, just like they enjoy eating my chocolate."
You chuckled, rolling your eyes in amusement at his enthusiasm. He reminded you of a child who just drew a picture and was showing it to its parents. Willy Wonka himself seemed almost child- or teenage-like. However, the moment of admiration for him quickly faded as you remembered why you even went out of your room.
"I... was going to do some more exploring of the factory. I am allowed to do that, am I?"
„Of course you are, silly! This is your home now. Just press a button on the elevator, and it takes you to any room you want! But before you go, just don't touch anything once you're there, 'kay?"
"So...I'm allowed to take the elevator?"
"Yah~ But you don't have to explore on your own. Come! I'll show you around myself so you know what is dangerous and what is not, heh~"
Just great. You forced a smile and nodded. "Alright. So we are both taking the elevator?"
-"Now, now, don't be silly, it's by far better to take the boat to explore the rooms down here, and we are going to start with the chocolate room, which is one of the most important rooms of all-"
„But I've already seen this room... on the tour, remember?"
His smile vanished for a moment. "Oh yah, silly me... Then how about... uh.. oh, tell me what you would like to see!"
It was nice of him to ask. Again, you forgot about your situation for a moment and genuinely considered it. Then you remembered, and an idea came to your mind. "Where does the chocolate leave the factory?"
-"Huh?"
"You know... the actual production of chocolate bars. Where they get ready to be exported. I would like to see that. I have to know how the factory makes its chocolate bars, don't I?"
Willy smiled again. "Well, I believe I can show you that. And it's an interesting process after all because I'm not using ordinary machines and workers like other factories. The entire production gets done by robots because they work perfectly neatly. Now! Let's get going."
He took off his lab coat and goggles, putting on his top hat before heading towards the exit. You followed, struggling to keep up with him, as he was quick when walking, his steps seeming light yet ambitious. Opening the exit door, he revealed the boat, which was floating in the chocolate river.
"We have to take the boat all the way to the production room, where the chocolate from the river gets processed into bars." Willy explained. "Lady's first~" He grinned, gesturing for you to take a seat in the boat first before he joined you.
-"And don't we need someone to row the boat?" You asked.
"Oh no, not from here. We can let the current take us, because we are going far, far down." He raised his eyebrows with a teasing smile.
Internally, you cried in desperation. You were going down again?! What kind of twisted place was this? In addition, you could tell that Willy was enjoying your rising nervousness, probably interpreting it as some kind of excitement for the boat ride.

He untied the boat and gave it a push, so the current took care of it. You were floating gently at first, until all of a sudden, the boat was racing downwards. You squeaked in shock, looking up to see him grin with a dark gleam in his eyes.
The excitement and joy were perfectly visible in his face as his hair was flowing from the air stream.
You lowered your head again, your heart racing from the adrenaline. You never liked rollercoasters or enjoyed dangerous sports. Instinctively, you grabbed his arm, making him gasp. His coat was soft and warm, probably made from the most expensive fabrics, and it fitted him so well. Being so close to his chest, you heard his heart beating rapidly and felt how stiff he turned suddenly.
Eventually the boat slowed again, and you let go of his arm, taking a look at his face. You remembered how startled he had been when Violet hugged him. You shouldn't have grabbed his arm so abruptly.
"I'm so sorry." You muttered. "I was not thinking..."
Willy Wonka, who probably was lost in thought again, just stared at you, smiling sweetly for a brief second before his expression changed into a sad frown and his gaze shifted to the ground. "I- uh." He gulped down his words as if he was going to be sick. He had a desperate look in his eyes, as if he himself didn't know what was wrong with him.
"I really didn't mean to startle you." You said softly.
Finally, he looked back at you, a tender smile forming on his face. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped right before words could come out. After another second that felt like forever, he spoke again. "Come. We're there." This time he left the boat first, and he did it quickly, grimacing as he turned around to open the production room's door.