By the time we reached the top of the cliff, the storm was picking up. The wind whistled around us, and sent and icy chill down my spine. It had become darker with the clouds. I trudged ahead with Violet, leaving Klaus with Sunny and our groceries.
We walked in calling for our guardian. The house didn't provide much shelter from the cold, but it did raise the spooky bar. The wind picked up and rocked the house. I stumbled, only to be caught by Klaus. He smiled at me, and we continued making our through the house to find Aunt Josephine. We then window smashed, the window that was the furthest into the sea. I gasped.
"Oh, no." Violet spoke, knowingly. But my mind wouldn't accept it. It's too obvious for Olaf. People would go looking for him because he was the last person to see her alive. I looked around the room. That's when my eyes landed on the paper attached to a chain.
"Klaus!" I shouted. He looked over, and then followed my gaze to the letter.
"It's a suicide note." He announced. He began to read it. But something wasn't right.
Violet, Klaus, Sunny and Freya,
By the time you read this, my life will be at its end. My heart is as cold as Ike,
And I find life inbearable.
"Inbearable?" I asked Klaus. His eyes told me he had the same thought.
"Go on..." Violet encouraged.
I know you children may not understand the sad life of a dowadg..."
Klaus stopped again.
"Dowager has one D." He observed.
"It doesn't matter. Keep going." Violet said. The house began to shake more as the wind picked up. This house did not feel safe.
...or what would have led to this desperate akt.
"Act is spelt with a c not a k." I told them. Klaus nodded.
"It's a suicide note. Why are you checking your spelling?" Violet was getting annoyed and she didn't mean for it to come off as harsh.
"She said her greatest joy in life was grammar. Why is she making all these mistakes?" Klaus asked his sister, defending me. I edged closer to Klaus.
"Well, if you were about to jump out a window, you might make a few spelling mistakes too." She snatched the letter out of her brothers hands, and read:
"Please know that I am much happier this way. As my last will and testament, I leave you three in the care of Captain Sham, a kind an honourable man."
"That was his plan. He made her write the note then pushed her out of the window." Violet concluded. But I knew that Klaus didn't accept it. Neither did I. Why would someone who corrects everyone's grammar (in her final moments) make so many mistakes? It didn't add up.
"Its not suicide note. It's a message." He announced to us all. Then it clicked. All the books I'd ever read on codes and ciphers and encryption; all the times I had spent next to him reading over his shoulder; all the competitions we had ever had; suddenly it all meant something. Klaus grabbed a pen as the wind rattled the old house.
"Its not supposed to be 'Ike,' its supposed to be 'ice.' C." I understood what he was doing. I leant over my shoulder, like I used to when he was reading and I was bored. I saw him glance at me and smile, however he turned his attention back to the note.
"And 'unbearable' with a U." He noted down each new letter as the house shook on its stands. I had a feeling this house wouldn't see another day if this storm continued.
Finally he had spelled out two words on the bottom of the paper.
"She's not dead, she's hiding." He deduced.
"Curdled Cave." I said. He nodded. I remember her showing us where it was. That's where we must go. The house rocked and you could feel the wood beneath us start to break.
"Sunny!" Violet yelled. We ran to her and her big sister picked her up. The door flew of its hinges sending it smashing into the opposite – already broken – window. She pointed at a door, Ikes room. Curious, we all looked in.
The room was filled with pictures that displayed fires. Papers flew around the room like they were alive. Newspaper articles coated the walls. It was unnerving to look at.
"He was investigating fires." Klaus confirmed. A cabinet blew open, sending the papers flying in our direction. One blew in our faces and Klaus caught it, showing it to us. It was a pentagon with a circle in the middle. Inside that circle was an eye, much like the ugly tattoo that Count Olaf had. Suspicious or coincidence? Klaus always said that there is no such thing.
I was broke out of my daydream by being pulled back, rather harshly, and the room we were once standing in being torn away from the rest of the building. I gasped in shock. The house's back end then fell, causing us to stumble. Luckily it didn't collapse down just yet. We hurriedly made our way to the door, my hand in Klaus's. After reaching the middle of the house, the back blew straight off.
"Come away from the fridge." Violet said.
"What?" I asked. I turned to see the fridge coming closer to us.
"If it falls it could crush you flat." Violet grabbed Sunny and leapt to one side while me and Klaus moved to the other. Its strange how Aunt Josephine's fears were coming true. The crazy lady was right!
The house became steeper, and we were all making our way to the door. That task wasn't easy. Klaus was practically dragging me up, past the broken plates, the falling furniture. We saw the oven burst into flames, and then fall through the floor. Klaus pulled me closer to him and put his arm around me. We looked to the door to see the doorknob heating up due to the gas pipe. I glanced to my left and saw my Romeo and Juliet book on the floor. The pages were crumpled, but I had to get it. I left Klaus's grip and I heard Violet exclaim no way. Before my cold fingers could touch the fragile pages, I was pushed to the floor and the shielded. My head pushed into someone's neck, yet down and there arm wrapped around me. Then I felt the harsh wind slow down.
"Is it over?" I heard Violet call. I felt the person behind me move. At that point I knew it was Klaus.
"Violet, you better tie your hair up." Klaus said.
