Drawn To You: A Tintin Fanfiction

Chapter 6

In the backroom of a secret underground hideout, a trap door swung open. The head of a small white dog appeared, followed by the rest of him and the hands holding him up. The hands set the dog down and the young girl to whom they belonged climbed out. She reached back down to help an older man. Silently, our three heroes closed the trap door and looked around the room.

"Okay, Snowy. Do you think you can sniff out Tintin?" Emma whispered.

Snowy barked loudly in reply and was immediately shushed. "You're going to give us away," he was told. So the three of them traveled as quietly as possible around the villains' base. They made sure to be extra careful around corners, but they met no one.

"Emma," Captain Haddock started nervously. "Don't you think it's strange that we haven't run into anyone yet?"

"Yeah, it's like the whole place is deserted."

"Why do you think that is?"

"I don't know, but it can't be good. Keep your guard up. I don't like the feeling this place gives me."

"Like we're walking into a trap?" She looked at him, a grim expression on her face.

"Exactly."

...

Emma, Haddock, and Snowy continued to search around the base. They walked mostly in silence, but they didn't see anyone. This only increased their sense of unease. No villainous mastermind would leave their hideout unguarded. Something was incredibly wrong.

Snowy padded on with his nose to the ground. He was trying his hardest to follow Tintin's trail, but it was everywhere. Instead, he searched for the most recent smells, the ones that would lead him to Tintin's current location. He stopped momentarily at an intersection before barking happily and running off to the right.

"Snowy," Emma tried to whisper loudly as she raced after him. "There could still be someone here. You have to keep quiet." Snowy ignored her as he raced away.

They sped down an empty corridor. Haddock after Emma, Emma after Snowy, and all three after Tintin. They stopped abruptly when they came to a wall, not because it was a dead end, but because the wall had exploded.

"What do you suppose caused that?" Captain Haddock inquired, surveying the damage.

"I don't know, but I'll bet it's the reason we haven't seen anyone else down here," Emma said. "Come on. There's bound to be some clues in there. Why else would they blow it up?"

Captain Haddock looked nervous, but he followed Emma as she climbed carefully over the debris. Snowy kept to Emma's heels, sniffing at the rubble as he passed.

The room was fairly empty, with just a few overturned chairs. Emma sighed in defeat.

"There's nothing here."

She stopped when she heard something behind her. She turned around slowly and found herself staring down the barrel of a cocked gun. Her eyes widened in fear. She wasn't sure what to do, but before she could make a decision, the gun fell. The man who had been holding it collapsed.

"Captain, come quick!" she called as she rushed to his side. Even though he was obviously a criminal, her natural instinct was to see if he was alright.

The Captain rushed over. "Billions of blistering, blue barnacles," is all he managed to say.

"He's been shot. We need to get him to a hospital." As she talked she tied a piece of cloth from the ground around his wound. It wasn't the best solution, but it was better than nothing.

"Emma, he's a criminal. And judging by his attire, quite likely the leader." He was referring to the man's rich navy blue suit. "He probably ordered Tintin's kidnapping himself."

"All the more reason to help him. He could have valuable information, and we can't get it from him if he dies." Haddock sighed.

"Okay, but how are we going to get him out of here? We can't very well carry him out the way we came in. That tunnel is too long."

"We'll think of something. There has to be another way out of here. Who would build a secret hideout with only one..." She stopped when the man groaned. "He's waking up."

"Well, knock him out again."

"No! He might be able to help us. He'll know everything about this place. He should be able to tell us where Tintin is."

The man groaned again and tried to roll over. He winced in pain. His hands instinctively reached toward his wound. When he felt the cloth, he seemed surprised. He looked up and saw Emma and Captain Haddock above him.

"You, helped me?" he managed to say.

"That's right," Emma said. "But we can't do much more here. Where is the nearest exit?"

He gritted his teeth as he raised his hand weakly and pointed toward a hallway.

"Take a right. Second door on the left. Leads to the basement of a disguised building." He said all this between gasps for breath.

"Well then, up you go," Captain Haddock said as he pulled the man to his feet.

"Captain," Emma started.

"He can walk just fine with help," Haddock replied. Then, perhaps a little threateningly, he addressed the man. "Can't you?"

The man inhaled sharply from the sudden movement, but nodded.

"While we walk, perhaps you could answer a few questions for us," the Captain continued. "They're about a close friend of ours who was recently kidnapped. You wouldn't know anything about that would you?"

A/N: Hi Guys! I know it's been a while, but I wanted this chapter to be good. Especially since I didn't really like the last one. I know I ended on a terrible cliffhanger, and I didn't really give you any answers, but maybe you have a few more questions to drive you crazy for a while. Anyway, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, even if it did take me forever.

I know this is turning into a long author's note, but I have to mention something. I had discussed a previous idea for the plot with my friend AishaxRyder05, but she spoiled it in the comments. I could have just went with it and hoped no one noticed, but I was really having trouble with the idea anyway, so I decided to change it.  I love how it turned out, and I do kind of have a plan, but I want your opinion. Yes, you, the readers. What do you think happened to Tintin, and where do you think he is now? How long do you think it will take them to find him? What do you think is happening to him now? Are there any more characters that you wish I would include? Comment your answers below. I always enjoy hearing your thoughts.

Just one more thing. I am not mad at AishaxRyder05. I may have been a little annoyed, but if I came off as really upset, I was joking. I know she knows that, but I wanted to clear it up with you guys. And as I said, I'm actually really happy with how it turned out. So thank you AishaxRyder05. I would add a link, but I'm not sure how to do that on my device. You guys should still check her out. She's been really supportive of me and this book, and if you like Voltron or Marvel, you'll really enjoy her stories.

Well, I think I've dragged this out long enough. See you in the next chapter (however long it may take to write.) Don't forget to comment your opinions and ideas. TTFN!