The Quagmires

Chapter 14: The Befitting Basket

People use the phrase 'bored to tears' quite often, but it is very rare for a person to mean it literally. The Quagmire orphans' case was rare, for they were literally bored to tears, but that was not the only reason Duncan and Isadora were crying. Sitting in an ersatz elevator with no one to talk to but each other caused painful and unwanted memories to flow right back to them.

"If Quigley was here, he'd be making irrelevant jokes, but at least he'd be keeping as humored," explained Isadora as she shed a tear.

"I miss him. I miss all of them. Mom, dad, Quigley. We wouldn't be here if they were still alive."

"It's not their fault."

"I know, but I can't help imagine how peaceful our lives would be if they weren't dead."

Isadora gasped slightly; she still couldn't stand to hear someone talk about death, especially if they were referring to her beloved family.

"I'm sorry," apologized Duncan. "I know it hurts."

"It does, but we can't think that way. We have to find a way out of here, sooner than later."

The two sat in silence, trying to figure out what to do. After quite a long while, they heard the mocking of a woman with a powerful voice and a British accent.

"Hey orphans!" they heard her yell from what seemed to be the top of the elevator shaft. The triplets looked up to see the slightest bit of light shine onto their dark and miserable circumstances. "How does it feel, being stuck down there?"

"Who are you?!" yelled Isadora.

"Who am I? I'm Esme Gigi Genevieve Squalor, the city's sixth most important financial advisor."

"The Baudelaires are about to arrive, my sweet," said another voice that the Quagmires immediately recognized.

"Count Olaf," the two triplets whispered in unison.

"Those acting lessons are finally going to pay off," they heard Esme tell Count Olaf.

"Remember, the wealthy orphans must open the blinds."

"I know. Also, darling, I'm already wealthy, so we're stealing the Quagmires' sapphires and the Baudelaire's fortune because it is in. Not to forget getting my revenge on Beatrice."

"Yes, yes, my pet, now let's go."

"I'll see you orphans, soon!" she mocked as the doors of the ersatz elevator closed.

"Count Olaf has a girlfriend," stated Duncan in surprise.

"I know, it's really weird, but she seems just as evil as he is."

"We have to warn the Baudelaires, but we can't do that because we're stuck here."

"Well we need to figure out a way out of this barred cage first, and then we can think of a way out of this shaft."

The two sat thinking for a while until Duncan spoke up.

"Hey, remember when Violet picked the lock of the library?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, do you think we can pick this lock?"

"Probably, we just need the right materials."

Duncan stuck his hand through one of the spaces between the bars and tried to find the ground using his hand. When his hand was finally on the filthy floor, he began sliding it over the floor, searching for anything that can create a lockpick.

"Do you think this will work?" he asked as he lifted his hand off the ground. He was holding up a dusty hair pin to show Isadora.

"I don't know; I can barely see it."

"I guess we'll have to try."

"Is it in the lock?" Isadora questioned as Duncan tried to fit the pin into the lock of the cage.

"It is, but I don't think it's working."

"Then we'll have to try something else."

"Like what?!" yelled Duncan. "It's not like we have anything or anyone that can help us. We don't have parents, we have a missing brother from our set of triplets, friends that are in danger, and an unbelievably powerful cage."

Isadora looked at her brother. There were tears in her eyes. She was shocked at the way her brother had reacted, and was left speechless. 

"I'm sorry, Isadora. I didn't mean it."

Isadora couldn't bring herself to answer her brother and tell him that it was okay. Instead, she shed her tears and began to cry.

The minutes turned to hours as the Quagmires sat all alone in an empty elevator shaft. No wealthy, financial advisor to brag about her status, no wicked Count to torment the triplets, and certainly no faithful friends to comfort them. They were truly, all alone.

All this boredom and crying had led the two triplets to finally fall asleep, escaping from the miseries of this world, even if it was only for a few hours.

Several hours later, the Quagmires awoken to the pain of sleeping on the ground of a cage.

"Ow, my back."

"Quit whining, Duncan."

Before he could argue with his sister, he remembered how he accidentally made her cry a long while ago. "Look, I'm really sorry about before. I never meant to make you cry."

"I almost forgot about that. Oh, and, it's alright, it really is, older brother." She walked towards him and gave him a hug. Duncan hugged her back without a second thought.

When he let go, Duncan smiled at his older triplet and emphasized,

"Don't worry, I'm only older than you by a few minutes, maybe even seconds. We're still the same age."

His sister giggled an they slowly went back into silence.

After a long while of doing nothing, the Quagmires spotted something. A basket. Not just any basket; it was a hot air balloon. An invention. 

It was their friends.