A Series Of Different Events

Chapter 17 - The Horrible Hospital

Klaus kept walking, the frosty grass crunching and squeaking underfoot. The hard, icy road looked uninviting next to the grass verge he was on, so he stayed on it, the frozen dew soaking through his shoes. The sky was clear, a piercing, fresh azure with only the faint ghosts of clouds littering the sky. Birds twittered cheerily around him. 

He heard the tell-tale rumble of a car coming closer.

In a second of blind panic, he tried to crouch down, muffling the confused sounds of Sunny. Expecting a sinister car with a certain two Firestarters, Klaus was shocked to see the battered yellow taxi come trundling around the corner.

The wheels had rusted and the yellow paint had been all scraped up, flakes of the sunshine colour peeling off onto the road.

There was a woman driving, her short wavy brown hair framing her pale face, a red balaclava tied around her neck, and she looked heavily pregnant. With another glance, Klaus felt it safe to say that she was not a Firestarter, and nervously stuck his hand out to flag it down. The car stopped and Klaus rushed into the passenger seat. The taxi driver turned, a confused smile on her face.
"May I help you?"

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"Ah, Heimlich Hospital"
The Man with a beard but no hair looked out the window. At his voice, Violet startled from her doze, head against the door. The car screeched to a stop. Outside, there was a towering, half-built horror of a hospital, grimy and falling down, despite it not even being built completely. It was like a shell of dirt, encasing anyone who voyaged apon it.

Violet got out of the car slowly, rubbing sleep out of her blue eyes. The other Firestarters gathered around the two sinister leaders, The Woman with hair but no beard and the Man with a beard but no hair. They stood infront of the group.

"Welcome to Heimlich Hospital, the home of The Sugar Bowl." The Woman with hair but no beard said gleefully, a smug smile etched onto her wrinkled face.
"All of you shall be required to look for The Sugar Bowl. We do not know its whereabouts in this hotel, and anyone to fail to find it will face the consequences."

The Firestarters shared excited looks, but Violet just felt tense, the volatile situation making her miss her siblings all the more. Adrianna stood next to Violet, and for some odd reason, she drew comfort from the girl next to her.

"Let's go!" Adrianna gushed, eager to please her bosses who had planned on leaving her to die a few hours ago. She grabbed Violet's sleeve, tugging her in the direction of the Hospital, rushing infront of the other Firestarter as if it was a competition. Adrianna's strides were longer, and Violet had to put effort into keeping up with her.

The Man with a beard but no hair and the Woman with hair but no beard looked at the pair, and she spoke in her calm, ominous voice.
"They make a good team,"
"Violet Baudelaire may be a valuable asset to our team." He replied, watching the figure of Violet get pulled along by one of his most loyal henchperson.

"And her siblings?" The Woman with hair but no beard looked at her villainous husband, her vision clouded with her fire tinted glasses.

"I'm sure we can find a believable accident to rid of them."

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Klaus sat in awkward silence in the woman's taxi. Sunny was nuzzled into him, trying to shield herself from the cold as much as possible.

"Well, this is a taxi after all. Where would you like to go?" The woman asked him, her smile easy going and genuine. She had dimples.

Klaus froze. He didn't know where Violet was, he couldn't just say a random location and hope they'd find her. He fiddled with his half of the spyglass, his fingers catching on the roughly engraved letters. He twisted it in his cold hands. He gave a shrug.

The woman, as she looked in the back mirror, saw the spyglass. She seemed to freeze in her seat, fingers gripping on the steering wheel. "Where did you get that?" Her voice seemed slightly strained.

Klaus looked up, catching her eyes in the mirror. They were a deep, watercolour blue. "I-it was my parents?" He said, confused at her reaction. Suddenly, as she observed his face, her gaze switching from him to the road. She exhaled, as if she had just realised something.

"You must be one of the Baudelaire children... Sunny?" She asked, and Klaus' eyes widened behind his glasses. What if she was a Firestarter?!
"Klaus.. Klaus Baudelaire.." his voice quavered. The woman smiled. "Of course.. I knew your mother well. She was a good.. friend of my brother's."

She glanced at the spyglass in Klaus' hands. "Where is it's other half?" Her eyes sparkles with curiosity and slight confusion.

"My.. my sister has it.." Klaus' eyes sunk to his shoes. The waves of sadness and anger and confusion came tossing back, crashing against the barriers he had put up to try to block it out.

"Where is Violet?" She asked, her eyes fixed on the road as she navigated the twists and turns on the slippery, potholed surface of the road.

Klaus sighed, his head in his hands.
"I'm trying to look for her.."
The woman's eyes softened, blinking at him sympathetically. "I'm sorry.. I lost siblings aswell. But we will find yours, I promise, and reunite you three. I am currently looking for something at a Vigorously Fixed Destination, and I have good reason to think your captors are there."

Klaus felt his heart rate increase, and he felt butterflies in his stomach. To see Violet again, her soft black hair and her comforting smile, someone who always supported and helped him, one of the only people in his family.. he wanted to laugh and cry at the thought. But how did the woman know about his situation?

"Don't worry, Klaus Baudelaire. I know all about you and your parents. I promise I am someone you can trust and confide in."
"I have many questions.." Klaus admitted, and the woman just smiled.
"And there are a plenty answers. But not alot of time.
"What is your name?"

"Kit. Kit snicket."